For dog lovers Pt. 2

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yolland said:
The first thing I would want to know is why did the shelter think appetite stimulant tabs were called for? Did she have a history of going multiple days without eating anything while there? Was there a known recent medical problem (worms, intestinal surgery, painful dental problem, cancer etc.) that might cause severe digestive problems or pain while eating?

Most of the time, dogs who are "finicky" or tend to go on "hunger strikes" are simply manifesting anxiety or stress (neither of which would be surprising in a dog adjusting to a new home and owners), and it's usually actually a bad idea to get into turning handsprings to coax them to eat--that can set you up for a lifetime of the dog deliberately manipulating you to get whatever food it wants most. Generally the best advice is simply to take the food away if the dog still hasn't touched it after 15-30 minutes, then offer fresh food again at the next scheduled mealtime. It won't harm an otherwise healthy dog to go 4-5 days without eating, and most will give in and simply take what's offered by then. There are some dogs who develop full-blown neurotic "anorexia," but that is very rare.

Unless you have reason to think there's an underlying physical problem, I guess I'd advise against trying too hard to entice with her with foods you don't intend to permanently keep giving her. The gravy packets Lies mentioned probably wouldn't hurt (moisture enhances aroma, which can make ordinary kibble seem more enticing) but they're probably not necessary either.

Anyhow, good luck with it...she's adorable!
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I agree. I also should have mentioned that the gravy packets and any topper should not be used long-term anyway. Quality dog kibbles are designed to be complete and balanced, so adding things (even GOOD things) throws off the digestive process and can interfere with the quality of the food. Some kibbles contain citric acid that can lead to bloat if moisture is added to the kibble.

Many, many dogs are allergic to poultry and/or crappy fillers like corn and wheat. Read = many dogs are allergic to poor quality foods b/c they usually contain poultry by-product and corn or wheat products. If she was not on a quality food at the shelter and she won't eat any of what they had her on (so you can't wean her off by doing ratios), I would do an elimination diet (a meat and a grain - like hamburger and rice) for a few weeks and then ease her into a good quality food. Or, if you don't want to mess with the elimination diet, just try a better food.

This is my favorite dog food website for picking foods:
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
 
yolland said:
The first thing I would want to know is why did the shelter think appetite stimulant tabs were called for? Did she have a history of going multiple days without eating anything while there? Was there a known recent medical problem (worms, intestinal surgery, painful dental problem, cancer etc.) that might cause severe digestive problems or pain while eating?

Most of the time, dogs who are "finicky" or tend to go on "hunger strikes" are simply manifesting anxiety or stress (neither of which would be surprising in a dog adjusting to a new home and owners), and it's usually actually a bad idea to get into turning handsprings to coax them to eat--that can set you up for a lifetime of the dog deliberately manipulating you to get whatever food it wants most. Generally the best advice is simply to take the food away if the dog still hasn't touched it after 15-30 minutes, then offer fresh food again at the next scheduled mealtime. It won't harm an otherwise healthy dog to go 4-5 days without eating, and most will give in and simply take what's offered by then. There are some dogs who develop full-blown neurotic "anorexia," but that is very rare.

Unless you have reason to think there's an underlying physical problem, I guess I'd advise against trying too hard to entice with her with foods you don't intend to permanently keep giving her. The gravy packets Lies mentioned probably wouldn't hurt (moisture enhances aroma, which can make ordinary kibble seem more enticing) but they're probably not necessary either.

Anyhow, good luck with it...she's adorable!
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Well, when my mom adopted her they told her she was recovering from kennel cough, which it seems she's recovering from quite nicely. She was found as a stray and, as you can see, is pretty skinny, hence the appetite stimulants. My mom is going to try and get her in this morning. I told her I think it's a combination of her not feeling well and getting used to a new environment, but my mom will sometimes get easily stressed out. I think this is reminding her of our old cocker, but he was over ten years old and suffering kidney failure.

Thanks for all the advice, guys. She's a sweetheart. :cute:
 
I'm currently dogsitting my parents' Collie. They've gone off to Europe for 3 weeks and he's a bit confused. Poor thing sits by the bay window in the family room (has a view of the driveway from there) and just looks and looks. Mercifully he's had absolutely no appetite loss, so I'm not too worried about his coping skills.

Question for those of you living in Canada or the northern part of the US - are you giving your dogs heartworm pills over the summer?
 
A word of warning to Michigan residents - a Border Collie died last week of blue green algae poisoning near Fenton, Michigan. The owner contacted the DNR right away and is having a necropsy done to confirm. I'm not sure if it's a problem anymore, but it had been so stinking hot with no breeze for so long that the blossoms popped up in a few locations. I had never heard of this before so I quickly did some research, seeing as I plan on taking Chop to the lake for two weeks. This is also toxic to humans, but it's fairly easy to spot.
 
anitram said:
.

Question for those of you living in Canada or the northern part of the US - are you giving your dogs heartworm pills over the summer?
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I think everyone in Michigan uses (or should use) heartworm preventative. Heartworm is transmitted through mosuitoes and Michigan definitely has mosquito seasons. It's also not rare for it to be 80-100 degrees for several weeks straight, with a much higher heat index since it gets so humid. Also, at any given time, about 1/3 of the dogs at the shelter are heartworm positive, so it is a real risk here, as are ticks/lyme (I had two ticks on me last summer and found one in Della's eyelid).
 
I talked to my mom this morning and she said our vet told her to throw out the pills they gave her at the shelter, and injected Gab with some B-12 and something else to help with her appetite and to knock out the cough. I called her again when I got back from lunch and she said that, while she still hasn't eaten a lot today she's a bit perkier. :up:
 
Liesje said:


I think everyone in Michigan uses (or should use) heartworm preventative. Heartworm is transmitted through mosuitoes and Michigan definitely has mosquito seasons. It's also not rare for it to be 80-100 degrees for several weeks straight, with a much higher heat index since it gets so humid. Also, at any given time, about 1/3 of the dogs at the shelter are heartworm positive, so it is a real risk here, as are ticks/lyme (I had two ticks on me last summer and found one in Della's eyelid).
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I asked because when I worked at the Research Institute, we had an animal facility and the vets there told me that the side effects of the heartworm meds are much worse than the near-to-nil chance of a dog contracting it in Southern Ontario. Except that our summer is really not any different than yours. They said that you can count on one hand how many dogs were heartworm+ in any given year and that the only time they'd recommend taking the pills is if you were taking your dog up to cottage country all summer. And even in that case they refused to administer to their dogs because of the side effects. I got a speech about the evils of the medication and the pharmaceuticals who push it on dogs countless times.

That kind of had me thinking about whether or not it's really a good thing, in our climate anyway.
 
I am so proud of my girl ...

Lady, who is a rescue from the Wisconsin Humane Society, is going to be in the WHS 2008 calendar.

http://www.wihumane.org/

Here is the picture I submitted:
untitled.jpg
 
anitram said:


I asked because when I worked at the Research Institute, we had an animal facility and the vets there told me that the side effects of the heartworm meds are much worse than the near-to-nil chance of a dog contracting it in Southern Ontario. Except that our summer is really not any different than yours. They said that you can count on one hand how many dogs were heartworm+ in any given year and that the only time they'd recommend taking the pills is if you were taking your dog up to cottage country all summer. And even in that case they refused to administer to their dogs because of the side effects. I got a speech about the evils of the medication and the pharmaceuticals who push it on dogs countless times.

That kind of had me thinking about whether or not it's really a good thing, in our climate anyway.
Click to expand...

Hmm, well I don't doubt that with a lot of meds the side affects can be worse. For example, none of my cats get feline leukemia vaccines because since they've all tested negative and are not exposed to other cats, the chance of them getting the disease is far less than the chance of developing a tumor because of the vaccine. I also now have a medical exemption for Posh for rabies vaccine because last time she got one, she developed a sarcoma-like lump on her shoulder for several months.

However, heartworm is really common here. I would never, ever consider not putting my dog on a preventative, at least not while I'm still in this country. It's not even all that rare for people's pets to have it, because a lot of people don't know about the preventative or just don't care. Unless I see far less shelter dogs (who are a conglomerate of surrendered pets and strays) coming in heartworm positive, I'll stick with the preventative. I'm not sure what accounts for the differences, but my experience has been the opposite: I CANT count on BOTH hands how many dogs just in our shelter are heartworm+, there's so many.
 
Some vids I just uploaded. This is my uncle's hunting dog, Della. She is a field-bred lab and has an insanely high drive, so she is not a house pet. This is from two years ago, when she was just 18 months. We shot these vids just a week after getting her off the dock for the first time. She was terrified and would only retrieve from shore, but the "buoy bounce" trick was all it took!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_19ci_hc5w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjF9U61I8ss
 
Beagles :heart: :heart:

I had another beagle before Penny called Lady too. She was tri-color though. She ran away the one time we left her outside in the backyard. There was a thunderstorm and she pounced on the wooden gate enough so it was forced open. Last someone saw of her was at a gas station a few blocks away begging for water.
We just assumed that someone had kept her when they found her. After all our searching, we got Penny two weeks later out of heartbreak. We still searched for her weeks after having Penny, and just hoped that we could keep two dogs, but that wasn't the case.
 
To be honest I didn't much care for Beagles (hounds in general, really) until I met an online acquaintance who is a very ethical, respected breeder of Beagles and her pic threads have me SOLD! :cute: Phil gets to pick our next dog when he graduates (again) and he goes back and forth between a Beagle or a Lab.
 
:bump: The cat thread is alive again, so I do believe it's only fair that the dog thread should live as well. :whistle:

More Beagle love is emanating from my avatar...:heart: Flash :heart:
 
Angela Harlem said:
my girl sally is nearly full sized now. she's almost 10 months old. she's a little ratbag.

IMG_6469.jpg


IMG_6480.jpg
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She's so pretty, love the color pattern (and that giant froofy cat in the background). I love the heads of spaniels and setters.
 
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