~Myschafis~

We have tried crating him near a 'buddy' this has been a bit of a hit or miss result, either it will go great and they are calm collected happy to have a snooze alongside each other. Or will be super excited and try and break out to play, my preference is for him to have a friend near by, when it seems they are going to be sensible. However, before all of this he was quite content on being crated alone and I would eventually like to get him back to that stage where he is comfortable again. It is a long rehab he has another year of confinement and little exercise, so its a long time to have an around the clock baby sitter, and I want to nip this in the bud before the problem exacerbates itself further. I agree with the behaviourist, I will be trying to contact someone reliable in the area, to get some further advice. In all circumstances other than being left alone he is the same old happy go-lucky dog.

Hi All, I am posting to seek some advice on how to care for my now somewhat disabled dog. I will start from the beginning a little bit so hopefully you get a bit of an idea of his past few months. 3 months ago Chartze broke is leg quite severly, requiring surgery, plates, screws the whole kit and kaboodle Post surgery he has had around the clock care so to speak, he always has someone with him, as he really cant do very much at all other than walk a little way at a time, regardless of that he isnt a small dog and could quite easily damage his leg further, should he do something silly. We are now 3 months in, leg is still broken but on the mend, so we feel it is about time he starts to spend a little bit of time on his own, in a crate. He has been crate trained from a pup and loves his crate. However we have created a monster, he is now dependant on human attention and is freaking out without somebody. Tonight was the icing on the cake, broke out of a strapped down metal crate, poo'd and wee'd all through my bed and is obviously very distressed when left alone and this all happened in a very short space of time. So my question to you all is how do I help him? What do we need to do from here on in to get him back on track He has a really long rehab another year of being house bound basically, with little excercise and absolutely no playing with his 'buddies' Any help/ideas/thoughts would be appreciated

. Wrong section

Im loving the analogies guys definitely something to say for future reference

We also have a fly problem, have never ever had a problem with flys before, but last summer and this one they are rearing their ugly heads again

This is the part that gets me also. We went through surgery for a broken leg, we paid for a great specialist, and dont get me wrong the results speak for themselves, our baby is doing fantastic BUT on comparing what we paid others have paid $1000's less, sometimes it hard to compare apples to apples as well, and truth be told we had a day to decide which specialist to go with so opted for the one our local vets knew recommend and trusted, we sure did pay for his work though.

It is a shock, isnt it. You have to put it aside though, Myf. Really tough at the time when someone who knows you and knows what your animals mean to you just bombards you with that, isnt it. I just wish sometimes people would keep their opinions to themselves sometimes I am happy and comfortable with the calls we have made, and so far we still have both of our kids alive and doing ok

Thanks for the replies... I agree with everyone it is so personal, I just was suprised how disposable so many animals are to people... I suppose I shouldn't be considering I do rescue as well, but when those comments are directed at your own pets its a shock.

On the insurance note, we had looked at insurance prior to this all happening, and thought, we really cant squeeze in an extra couple hundred a month for all our pets to be insured. Well it would've taken 10 years paying those premiums to amount to what we just paid in vet bills ;) So it goes to show in a crisis perhaps it really would've been the cheaper option. I hate hindsight

Rusty Bucket I am sure I could've saved hundreds of dogs with the money we just spend, could've built fantastic kennel facilities housing more dogs etc etc. But I am not responsible for those dogs and they have not spent a good chunk of their life making my life happy, I owe it to MY dogs first to take care of them, before I start helping others. We do rescue, we have done rescue for years, but my dogs still come first and im sorry if money is going to be spent it will be to the animals that have made our lives whole ;) I could rattle off a fantastic list of things I could've done with the money lol and boy would I love to do those things, but I just feel my pets have stuck by us, no matter what we wear, how we look, how much money we earn, where we moved to, they dont complain, so yup I owe it to them to make their life as comfortable as I can make it be whilst ever I have the power to do that. JMHO :D No offence directed at you personally, just that comment"what else could I do with the money" hit a raw nerve ;) I am sure it was not intended the way I have taken it

RAZ - When your already so emotional about the situation, unsure how to come up with the money etc, its not fun to be told, its just a dog, PTS, or how they wouldn't pay for the treatment etc etc, with our situation, the break was extremely bad, so a specialist was required, how can you say PTS you know the dog is going to be fine, just needs a bit of help. No way could i put down an otherwise perfectly healthy dog. Our other situation is entirely different and it was touch and go for a bit, but if we didnt pay for the treatments, the care and the tests we would've lost her for sure, without questions, I just feel we owe it to them to give it the best shot they can have. Before this all happened I dont think I could've answered this question myself, and I still really cant, its way to hard to say, not I wont pay for somethin when you know the pet is going to be fine, and even when its touch and go, you want to do everything you can to try and make sure they come out the other side. Its hard when there are too many variables and what if's? I would always have the thought lingering over my head what IF I did pay for the surgery, would they have been ok? I hate how disposable pets are to some people. Thank you all for sharing your experiences, I needed a refreshing dose of good willed people, I am sure there are loads that shell out the thousands of dollars for there pets as we have, unfortunately it would seem the ones that have decided to recently share their thoughts all feel that money would be better spent elsewhere and no use getting yourself into financial difficulty over a pet. Thanks all ;)

Hi All, This is going to be a very personal question and will probably get a wide range of answers based on personal preference. It would seem recently our good luck with avoiding huge vet bills as all but run out, we have had a broken leg requiring surgery an unwell animal requiring several days in critical care, undergoing xrays,pathology, ultra sounds etc etc etc. All amounting some seriously large vet bills over the space of about 2 months. For us it was financially very straining and im sure for a lot of other people to find that sort of money in a short space of time. But of course there was no question about it the bills were paid and hopefully all involved are now on the mend albeit a long road to full recovery. In any case, this whole situation sparked a great deal of opinions amongst peers, family, friends etc about what they would do given our situation, some would've put them down, some would've paid the bills twice over etc. So I was wondering when do you say NO I cant afford this, where is the line? Is there one? I realise in these situations including my own, you are highly emotive and a lot of decisions are based on emotion at the time, sometimes logic isn't a deciding factor. I personally don't know if I could ever say no, unless I was prolonging a life that was un-savable and largely uncomfortable to be kept here, the last few months has shown me, I have a very limited 'no' button in this situation. I am interested to hear others thoughts/opinions on their ability to know when to say no?

Sorry to hear Sammy best of luck for next time

Artemis Fan here

Yup same story here

K9 Katz - I was not going to be post but I am very pleased you are receiving great results, I truly love hearing the products working for problematic coats, maintaining a nice coat is one thing, but throw allergens in the mix and you get a handful, so it always pleases me when it helps someone else

I have made the change from Eagle Pack to Artemis, I truly believe there has been a change in quality of food since they sold the company, Eagle Pack Holistic and Eagle Pack are now also seperate. My dogs lost coat quality on Eagle Pack and i have never had that problem wit hthem, they are all doing great on Artemis.

Another vote for the caesar, purely for the fact you are controlling 'some' of the variables in the situation that could go poorly for you. Also the time frame can be more suitable. If its anything to go by our dogs seem to know after hours and weekend rates very well

Samantha, I am glad that you have taken the time to voice your question, hopefully it has given you enough of an opportunity to understand fully what your final decision will entail I am sure you will find a wealth of knowledge on this forum. From a show person/breeder & rescue perspective, I know enough lovely Pom breeders, having enough litters to cater for the 'pet market' demand and what they aren't ethically doing the puppy farmers and pet shops are filling instead. If you have your heart set on breeding, can I recommend you join your local rescue group, become involved and help them whelp the many bitches that come in needing our assistance because they have been dumped. I think its a great experience, you will get to witness the process first hand. As others have said as well you have chosen a total heart break breed, prepare yourself for the costs of human & surgical intervention when it doesnt go to plan, I would be saving a few thousand for this litter just in case. Be also mindful as a small breed you may only receive one puppy if your lucky, maybe none, or maybe one puppy that fails to thrive, all options you have to consider. I can guarantee if you do this ethically you will be severly in the red financially so just prepare yourself for that as well For me, I do not take breeding lightly, its a risk to the bitch so unless I have all my chickens in a row I would not be risking my bitch for the sake of it I hope i have not offended, if you do continue wanting to breed, you are more than welcome to contact me and I will put you in touch with some truly lovely Pomeranian breeders http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=206609 - Perhaps a thread to mull through of the dramas another Pomeranian person has recently had...very unlucky but it happens none the less

I would get a good quality steel comb, or a coat master and try and get out the dead undercoat I think the dryer suggestion is great suggestion to get out excess moisture and undercoat

As a rule I would never ever wear jeans, way to casual for me BUT I have to admit after a night of feeling atrocious and a day of feeling not much better when I was needed just for a run off, I wasn't getting all dressed up I was staying in my jeans.

We had a granny flat at the previous house, which was a little house in itself, ensuite, dining room etc. Our whelping box was in the 'dining room' of the granny flat, our bedroom where we slept was about 10 footsteps away. They stayed in that room the whole 21 days. The whelping box was made from a sandpit and I had a wheat bag, and a heat pad for them, but as it was a warmer month a lot of heating wasn't required. We had sheets and dry bed under them.

No they dont, but I certainly love it when they do. Thanks to the show secs that take the time

Miss B - Sorry, must've been poorly worded, I didn't intend you had started this with 'sour grapes' ;) I was just referring to the times in the past I had seen someone actually complain about said dog. Seems they had a personal dislike for the other person etc. I can see it was a genuine question, one in which I think your more than entitled to ask, I think most people would just over look it? Unfortunately sometimes the dog world brings out the 'best' in everyone

What about stain removal with bleaching agents etc? That is altering etc, I guess any thing other than a basic shampoo/conditioner would be considered cheating as well. Miss B - I think its totally up to the individual, if I was that put out by what someone was doing and I thought they were cheating, I would probably confront them first. However in previous experience having seen a similiar situation before, generally the person doing the complaining was frequently beaten by the 'cheater' and they were not on speaking terms. Unfortunately it often seems to be a case of sour grapes