Time4ANap

You're probably over-thinking it. That's really easy to do, because so much has been drummed into us about these dogs needing all kinds of special attention and handling. At the end of the day, she's still a dog. Dogs have been fine in homes for hundreds of years. It's easy to get caught up in the "you must do this thing that way" type of thinking. It still happens to us sometimes, 6 years after Rocket arrived. As long as she can't escape while you are gone, and there's nothing she could get into that might harm her like medicines, inhalers, household chemicals, big quantities of chocolate, a bowl of grapes, raisins, etc.., there's a 99.9% chance she will be fine. Destroying stuff in the crate is done out of frustration and boredom. Also, make sure that she has a collar and tags on and is NOT WEARING A MARTINGALE COLLAR. Be sure that your cell phone number is on the collar or on a tag. There have been cases where a hound got out because a door blew open, or a house was broken into etc. It's a very slim possibility, but on the off-chance of an escape, you want someone who finds her to be able to reach you. Leave a radio or TV on for ambient noise and to mask other startling noises from outside. Do a couple of trial runs for shorter periods. Have you been crating her when you run errands or only on the work days? If she's been crated every time, then start with a couple of 5-10 minute trial runs and then increase the time as long as everything goes okay. I think you will find your answer pretty quickly, especially since it sounds like she is settling in so well. As long as she is good about her boundaries and where she's allowed in the house, she is going to be fine. As a former Paramedic and FF, which I'm assuming you are based on the user name, I understand the line of thinking where you say, "But what-if...??? The what-if's will drive you nuts. Cover all the basics, work with her on training where needed when an issue occurs, and it will be fine. Good luck, and let us know how things progress.

I can't get the quote function to work correctly for this post. To answer your questions about Rocket, he was never destructive in or out of the crate. He is a very gentle guy, even though he has some space issues and has bitten when startled. We know how to work with that and all is good. He has never picked up anything that wasn't his except for a stuffed bear that was in the guest room. It looked like one of his toys. We told him "NO" and he never touched that bear again. We really did hit the lottery of hounds, as he has never counter-surfed, never stolen food or gotten into the trash, and his only vices are re-arranging and moving dog beds when we are gone, or coming home to find that all of the dog toys had a wild party. He has never given us any reason to crate him when gone. We moved to AZ last year, but prior to that we left the crate setup for him for almost 6 years so he had a spot of his own. He only typically got in it for an hour or two in the morning while the sun was hitting that window and would roach in the sunbeams. Our only other use for the crate was to have him go in when we had a plumber or other service person going in and out of the house and possibly leaving a door open. Since moving to AZ, the crate has been stored in the garage. He has full run of the house, and is pretty much perfect. If we have a service person working in the house, I just leash him and keep him with me. It's not worth setting up the crate for the few times we would use it since this house is smaller than the other one.

Once settled in, they seem to hate the crate. If she doesn't spend any other time in there, or she's not crated when you go to run errands etc, there is probably no reason to crate her as long as she isn't destructive. Rocket was always very cooperative about going into his crate, and still is if we need to use it for some reason, but after the first month or so we would hear him howling in the crate when we left and when we came home. You may want to test this by leaving her out for progressively longer periods when you go out, but leave her crate door open so she can come and go in there if she wants. If there is a loud noise, storm, etc, the crate can still be her safe place if she needs one.

Was thinking about this again this morning. I was wondering if a benadryl would chill him out enough to sleep through it. I know it's not the intended use, but when I've given it to Rocket for itching, he sleeps for a few hours.

It appears so. http://www.vetinfo.com/side-effects-of-xanax-for-dogs.html It looks like withdrawal may be the primary issue with continued use. I don't know if the storm that we just had made it down to you on the way through, but the whole house was shaking here. Give him some ear rubs from me.

Thanks!

Wondering if anyone has used the ImmuneIQ Home Allergy Test Kit for their hounds and what the experience with it was? Basically, you take a hair and saliva sample and mail it in for analysis. Rocket has allergies flaring up again and i'm considering trying it since it;s a fairly good deal through Groupon. https://www.groupon.com/deals/immuneiq-3?utm_source=fac&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=US_DT_SOM_FAC_TIM_TTT_NF_CBP_CH1_NBR_x%2Afb6026622748495

Run free, Nico.

Glad you caught it in time. It seems more products have this ingredient added, so it's becoming a much bigger hazard for pets.

Run free, Star.

We hold out a small portion (1/2 cup or so) of the breakfast kibble and use it for treats after potty breaks. We also use it in the treat dispensing toy at around lunch time when someone starts looking for a handout. This way, he's getting the food he is supposed to have without a bunch of extra treats.

I just do a mix of whatever I'm feeding as the bland diet, and start out small - like 1 cup to start. If he eats it and it stays down, in a couple hours, give another meal the same size. I then feed a small amount every few hours, with the last meal being at bedtime. Your hound may wake you up in the middle of the night looking for more food. It's not unusual, and a small meal is fine in the middle of the night. You can ramp up the amounts on the second day if he's doing okay and the diarrhea is starting to firm up. You can increase it as needed. but remember that the bland diet isn't really providing much in the way of calories. Your hound will be hungry if he's other wise feeling okay, and he will drop some weight while on it. I usually wait until I;m seeing small firm poops and no mucous or blood before going back to kibble., then introduce the kibble slowly back into the bland diet. As far as the Panacur, I would do that without the the Tylan. I don't like to mix too many things at once because you won't know what actually works and what doesn't. Also be sure to do the follow up dose in 2 or 3 weeks as directed by the vet. During one of Rocket's times with massive stomach issues, the Panacur acted like a miracle drug. I don't know if we were dealing with worms or not, but I wouldn't have known that it worked if I was also giving him Tylan for the first time. Our vet really considered Tylan to be a "last resort" after many months (2 or more years) of issues. As long as your vet has okayed it, then I would try it. It is very bitter and needs to be made into capsules by hand. We use number 0 gelatin capsules or vegan capsules, and fill the big end. That's approximately 1/8 tsp which was the dose that was prescribed by the vet for Rocket. Also - just a caution that although Tylan doesn't need a prescription, you should have your vet calculate the correct dosage for your hound. Be sure you buy the Tylan for pets, and not the one for Livestock as it is 100 times stronger and will overdose your hound. I buy this one: http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00061MQIC/ref=sr_ph?ie=UTF8&qid=1435387169&sr=1&keywords=tylan I have never had worms show up in a fecal when I suspected them. The timing has to be perfect for them to show up, and the lack of a positive fecal doesn't really mean too much because of the way the eggs cycle through, they could still be there and not be detected. Hope your boy is feeling better soon.

Any idea what the cause is? Did he eat something different or possibly get a rabbit or other small game? Gas-X is fine but it has to be regular Gas-X - Not the type with an antacid or other additives - just plain old Gas-X. You will probably hear him belch several times after giving it. It should not be used all the time - but for the occasional bout of gas is fine. If it's being caused by his food or a specific treat, then a food change may be in order, or you need to stop giving that treat. I usually just give one tablet and that usually takes care of it. Edited to add Pepcid AC is for heartburn. You need Gas-X. The ingredient that takes care of gas is Simethicone. Gaviscon may also have Simethicone, but it has to be the main ingredient without additives for a bunch of other symptoms.

I don't like immodium unless the vet specifically ordered it. I always feel that whatever is in there bugging the tummy needs to get out. 2 days of chicken and rice (this time) probably just isn't long enough. When we went through long bouts of stomach upset with mucous poops, this sort of became my recipe, and I would have to feed it for a week to 10 days before introducing kibble. 1. 4-6 small meals a day instead of 2 larger meals. 2. I used a mix of over-cooked rice or pasta (over-cooking and lots of water is the key), scrambled eggs, and Evanger's Canned Organic chicken dog food. All of this is soft and easy on the stomach. Many people prefer pasta instead of the rice, but as long as it was mushy I used either. I got really good at scrambling a dozen eggs at a time. Just pull them from the refrigerator as needed along with the rice or pasta. 3. Metronidazole - it sometimes takes many weeks. Don't stop it too early, even though it can have some side effects. We eventaully had to put Rocket on Tylan with every meal as a last resort, and his stomach has been great ever since. Don't be in a rush to go back to kibble. Sometimes the tummy just can't handle it. When you do, introduce it slowly. With all of that said, I would also ask if he has been de-wormed recently? If not, i might try a round of Panacur just in case. It really can't hurt.and sometimes it has a calming effect on the tummy. Panacur is also used for Giardia. Others who have been through this will chime in with other suggestions as well. The above has worked for chronic stomach issues to end the diarrhea, but we did not have Giardia in the mix.

From your description I didn't think that was the case this time, but wanted to post what I found when I tried to use Good RX. Hopefully a call to them will get it resolved for you. We recently had to switch from CVS to Walgreen's for prescriptions as CVS lost the contract with the hospital system that DW works for. I have never had so many problems filling prescriptions and it has taken up to 5 tries to get a refill done correctly with the local Walgreens. CVS is trying to re-negotiate the contract to get that business back, and I will be first in line taking my business back to CVS when it happens. I am going to try Walgreen's for one more refill this month, and if the experience isn't any better will probably move the prescriptions to Sam's or Costco until such time that I can go back to CVS. I am not a Walgreen's fan at all after the last couple months of poor customer service.

Did Walgreen's possibly find you a better price in their system than the GoodRx coupon would have provided? When we were in a waiting period for new insurance to kick in, I took a GoodRx coupon in to CVS for one of my more expensive prescriptions. The tech told me that there were already better prices than that coupon in their system. She found a better discount and I ended up paying much less than the Good Rx coupon. May not be the case here, but wanted to put it out there that GoodRx is not always the best deal available. It will vary from pharmacy to pharmacy and depend on the drug/brand.

Yup, sounds like a corn. There are lots of people here who have had to deal with those and can provide advice. Definitely post some pictures to confirm.

He needs to be in the routine of going out immediately after he eats - every time - even if he already went out. We started this with Rocket from Day 1, and he goes right to the door after he eats, even if he only has a snack or treat in his bowl. The guys thrive on routine, it just takes a little time. Also, you might want to do a long walk in the morning instead of putting him in the yard. A walk will get things moving and get him emptied out.

Thank you for taking in Mikey and helping his sister. I have loved reading about him and seeing his pictures. Run free, Mikey.

You lap is warm. He now prefers the AC vents!

Sounds like he's fine. I would just keep an eye on him for any changes if he's acting normal. Here's a reference chart for the symptoms of bloat. We keep a copy of this on our refrigerator just in case. http://www.bmd.org/bmdcr/bloat_chart.pdf

Run pain-free, Master.

Rocket has a habit of running right back to the door after a pee, even though it's time for other business. I found that ignoring the door and standing where he can't see me results in him going back out into the yard after a minute or two and finishing the turnout. I think it's because he wants to score the treat that he gets when he comes back in, but he doesn't bark, he just stands there waiting to see if I will fall for it and open the door.

He is gorgeous. Congratulations! Ken, you have hit the jackpot!

How can you miss a hound who isn't yours and you never met? You just do...