a_daerr

How old is Peggy, and was she spayed recently? Sometimes hormonal changes can cause dogs to go through different developmental phases- sometimes it happens out of nowhere due to drastic changes in the environment. Truman is almost 18 months (he came home at 15 weeks), so we've seen him go through several noticeable developmental stages. In adolescence ("The Second Fear Imprint Stage"), he started becoming leash reactive and very wary of other dogs, even though absolutely nothing had changed. Previously, he was Mr. Personality and loved every dog he met. Even my retired racer, Henry (who was two when we adopted him), went through cycles where he was doing really well, then would temporarily revert back to his old ways. I really wouldn't worry too much at this point. With patience, training, and consistency they do eventually come out of those stages and progress.

I find Henry to be an excellent judge of character. He especially understands how evil children are!

If she's the type that holds the pills in her mouth but refuses to swallow, you can also gently blow on her face.

It's important to get whatever issues you're having with the original dogs worked out first before adding more to the mix. A lot of people adopt a second dog to fix problems with the first. That almost never works.

Yay!

Henry takes four pills a day for his seizures. Someone mentioned raviolis, and I have to say, that was the best advice ever! I microwave one for about 10 seconds, cut a slit in it, and stuff the pills inside. Then, I hold onto the corner while he eats it so he doesn't run away and take the pills out. We get the beef raviolis from Wal-Mart, they're like $3 and last us a long time.

Sterling is 24, I'm 25. We got Henry almost three years ago. We were definitely young, but both college grads and owned our own house.

There's no way he'll ever be reliably housetrained if you don't crate or confine him in some way when you're not home. I would say it's time to go back to the crate, and make sure you do the right training. Don't just throw him in the crate for 8 hours and leave. That's a surefire way to create separation anxiety and crate aversion. Spend a day letting him go in for a few minutes at a time, giving him treats, and coming back. There are several good threads on here regarding alone training and crates.

Another Pittsburgher here! Email me at alicia.daerr at gmail dot com for play dates. Myself and a few other GT'ers go to Hartwood fairly regularly. And P.S. I love that your dogs are named after Harry Potter characters!!

My friend made us salmon jerky in a dehydrator, and my guys went nuts over it. We also buy Milo's Kitchen, but their jerky was recalled in January due to an issue with antibiotics. It's probably fine by now.

Sorry you are going through this. Seizures are scary. My Henry is a seizure-dog, so I unfortunately know more about seizures than I would like to. Seizures fall within two categories- partial (absent) and grand mal. Seizures can also vary a lot from dog to dog. During a partial, Henry will stand frozen in one spot, his eyes will go unfocused, and one part of his body starts shaking or twitching (usually his head or back legs). He will often pee or throw up afterwards. During a grand mal, he is completely down on his side. His entire body shakes and his mouth foams. After the seizure is over, it's a very quick transition. He "snaps out of it," movement stops, then he'll be confused and disoriented for about 10-15 minutes afterwards. Henry is five years old with no other health problems, so his condition is textbook idiopathic epilepsy. However, seizures can be caused by any number of things ranging from low thyroid to brain tumor. To answer you're question, I'm not sure if Spud's behavior sounds like seizures or not. During these episodes, did you look in his eyes or observe his facial expression? If he was wincing or yelping in pain, or making eye contact with you, then I would venture to guess it wasn't a seizure. I can tell when Henry's having a seizure just by his gaze alone. To my knowledge, a partial seizure only affects one part of the body, so it would be odd if all four legs were affected but he otherwise still seemed coherent. It sounds more characteristic of muscle cramps and loss of footing, or possibly a mini stroke. Then again, I only know what my dog looks like during a seizure- yours may have symptoms that manifest in a totally different way. Unfortunately, if it was a seizure, you are most likely not going to see anything unusual in the bloodwork. The exceptions are thyroid, Tick-Borne Disease, or cancer. If something neurological is going on, which is more likely the case with an 11-year-old, the only way to know for sure is an MRI, which is usually quite expensive and done under anesthesia. One thing I've learned is that vets are really quick to diagnose a dog epileptic and prescribe Phenobarbital. A lot of the times, the side effects of the seizure meds can be worse than the seizures themselves. Before putting your dog on any seizure medication, I recommend consulting with a canine neurologist. Sending good thoughts and crossing my fingers it's muscle cramps.

I feed processed/smoked bones too without any problems. Not femurs or weight-bearing bones, but we routinely give knees and knuckles at least a few times a week. The vet always comments on how nice and white their teeth are. Neither of my guys are aggressive chewers though.

No advice for Cushing's, but I second trying Costco or Sam's Club for prescriptions. My regular pharmacy wanted around $300 for Henry's seizure meds, but we managed to get them at Sam's for less than $20 a month.

Wendell made me laugh so much in class! He was always acting so silly. Remember when he refused to walk on the grate, and kept play bowing at you in protest? What a goofball. I'd love to see him again sometime.

Are you doing raw bones or the kind from PetSmart that are already processed? We've had terrible results with anything raw (aside from chicken feet). The one time I got a bone from the butcher shop, Henry had terrible diarrhea for a week. But processed knee/knuckle bones go over fine here without any digestive issues. We also do the big rawhide rolls (made in the US) from Sam's Club.

Kristine, were we in a class together before? I remember a goofy boy named Wendell (Kiowa dog, if I remember correctly) from one of Henry's classes in Crafton. If so, hi again and welcome! Email me at alicia.daerr at gmail dot com for playdates if you're interested. I take my two boys to Hartwood Acres fairly regularly with two other people from GT.

There are several pet-safe lawn treatments that are available (Vet's Best, Adams, and BioSpot are a few). Some you mix in a sprayer and others you hook up to an attachment in your hose. You can get them at the pet store or places like Wal-Mart. We used Adams last year, and it worked just fine. You just have to let it dry for a few hours before letting your dogs out. Steer clear of the ones with harsher chemicals like Ortho. And also make sure you're treating all indoor/outdoor pets with a monthly flea and tick preventative.

I don't consider this an acceptable way to train under any circumstances. Glad you had the sense not to do it.

We didn't have the best results feeding Diamond Naturals. Poops were always hit or miss. Sometimes fine, sometimes huge and runny with an orange color. After their last big recall, I switched to Iams because our Tractor Supply wasn't selling it for a period of time. I don't think Diamond is a bad food or a bad company per se, we just didn't have any luck with it.

The only thing I would do is monitor their interactions while eating. If possible, feed your grey in her crate or in a different room. Other than that, I would just let the older dog correct her. Anytime you add a new member to the pack, there is a re-integration where the dogs' roles and rules change. If, however, the 12-year-old is growling and snapping just because she's annoyed or grumpy (i.e. not in competition of toys or food), then it may just be best to separate them when you can't supervise.

There are a ton of different routes you can go that offer all kinds of combinations for fleas, ticks, and worms. We still use good old Frontline Plus and Heartgard. It was recommended by our vet as the most comprehensive and tried and true method to cover everything. K9 Advantix is comparable to Frontline and less greasy, but it can be toxic to cats (which is why we can't use it in our home). I think the oral preventative you're referring to is Capstar, but I believe it only covers fleas, not ticks.

Sounds like she's coming along well! Good to hear

I think she was referring to people who categorize greys as being reactive to other breeds in general (not necessarily the high-prey dogs who are aggressive only with small dogs).

Well, if the vet witnessed it and didn't think it was a seizure, and if the labs were okay, then hopefully she'll be okay with regular pain management. I hear you, though. It's a tough decision to make because you don't want it to be "too late" if a splenectomy needs to happen. No advice, just hugs.

Good point.