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PatricksMom

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  1. Leo came to us with long nails. We've been able to successfully trim most of them, but one was really long and he's touchy about it and just gotten worse. I asked the vet to hack it way back when he was under, but she didn't, and now he refuses to let us get anywhere near his feet with clippers or the dremmel.

     

    Our dog sitter was confident she could do it--she's very experienced, but with her and her husband, one holding him down, muzzled and feeding him super great treats, they couldn't do it without him struggling so much they worried about hurting him.

     

    He's not due for a dental for about 4 months so I don't want to knock him out, but does anyone have any suggestions for a safe sedative to ask the vet about? We tried Xanax for anxiety, it doesn't do anything.

  2. Yes...the woman is a total idiot if she has a dog that screams when other dogs sniff it. The problem is that if Sonic had punctured the dog, you would be now fighting to save Sonic from the courts depending on your local laws. While it's not fair, I strongly recommend not letting your hound romp with little dogs....it is not worth the risk for you.

    Agreed, I wouldn't take it as a sign that Sonic is aggressive--plenty of normally placid dogs would have reacted in that situation, but unfortunately she's the one who will be at risk despite the owner's idiocy.

  3. My take too. Tomorrow i am goign to Petco and buy a can of everything she has liked in the past and maybe a few others. There has to be something that she will like.

    If they only made peanut butter dog food.

    Mother Hubbard makes peanut butter biscuits that are pretty healthy (probably not that far off kibble) and they come in a variety of sizes depending on her preference. I've found them at Petsmart, probably Petco would have them too.

  4. Hi all. I've had Luna for about 5 months now, and she is really the perfect dog. She is 4 years old, and has no problem with dogs, kids, people or anything else. She is very sweet and not destructive. But starting from the beginning she had problems with SA.

     

    For some background, I'm able to take her to work with me, so she doesn't have to stay home a ton, which I think is part of the problem. I typically take her with me to the office 3 days a week or so and then spend time with her often on weekends. But I do have to leave sometimes, and her typical response is to howl and cry the whole time I'm gone. She also will chew on herself.

     

    Currently I'm boarding her at a daycare facility because I am traveling for work, and she is very stressed to be without me. They let me know next time I should consider an in-home sitter or something similar because she seems to not enjoy her time there. I'm having her picked up early by my parents who usually aren't willing to watch her but they agreed to help for a few days.

     

    I'm a little bit at a loss of what to do. I tried extensive alone training at first, and she seemed to respond. She seems to be backpedaling, now, though. I crated her originally which seemed to make it worse. I always make sure I leave her with a treat, the tv on, and a bark collar (because I live in an apartment and have already gotten one complaint).

     

    I'm just hoping to get insight on my new plan:

     

    1) More alone training. Leaving her home during the week more???

     

    2) Herbal collar and anti-anxiety treats. Maybe a thundershirt?

     

    3) Longer walks before work or before I leave her to go somewhere.

     

    I really can't afford to get another dog right now. I just feel so bad that she is so stressed and sad. I want her to be more comfortable and calm and I'm just having a hard time getting her there. Any advice woud be greatly appreciated!

    I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I can only imagine if it's doing something unpleasant when she barks, and you're putting it on to leave her alone, she's associating that unpleasantness with being alone.

  5. In the long run you need to add calcium to balance out the phosphorus in the meat, you can start by grinding up the egg shells after you boil the eggs and mix the powder in or give tums (make sure there's no added artificial flavoring). There is a proper ratio, I don't remember it off hand, but here's one website's recommendation.

     

     

    Calcium: Unless you feed RMBs, all homemade diets must be supplemented with calcium. The amount found in multivitamin and mineral supplements is not enough. Give 800 to 1,000 mg calcium per pound of food (excluding non-starchy vegetables). You can use any form of plain calcium, including eggshells ground to powder in a clean coffee grinder (1/2 teaspoon eggshell powder provides about 1,000 mg calcium). Animal Essentials’ Seaweed Calcium provides additional minerals, as well.

    You should be aiming for 80% lean meat, or add some olive oil to get the fat right if you're using 90%. When I was home cooking, I changed out the ground meats depending on what was on sale, and I think it's probably good to give some variety anyway--ground beef, turkey, chicken.
    Hope this helps some.
  6. I know you want to understand everything, many of us have had a dog, or more, where we never got a conclusive diagnosis and its frustrating. And every medication you give carries some risk. But if your dog is in pain and refusing to eat, the pain and the not eating need to be addressed, regardless of whether or not you ever get to the bottom of the cause.

     

    She certainly could have arthritis--there's no test for that and xrays can be inconclusive. I'm sure other people will have other ideas, but the pain and not eating need to be your priority. If you're really worried about the kidney liver issues, talk to you vet about trying a different kind of pain medication, like Tramadol or Gabapentine.

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