XTRAWLD

This might be too much of a pain, but I've been known to put kibble in a ziplock bag and take my anger out on it on a concrete floor with a wide side of a metal meat tenderizer. Does great things for one's mood!

I remember Kasey going for my house plants when I would be STARING at him. He got over that quick, but what gets in these dogs brains sometimes. I'm sure he'll be fine, just keep an eye on him.

I'm laughing, and I know that's bad. I can't imagine how difficult your walks were!

Sounds great and how exciting. Ryder is a natural sitter, and Kasey isn't so I don't push Kasey, but he'll do EVERYTHING I ask. It's also tough to train one and not the other. I'll have Kasey out in the other room while I go through the paces with Ryder, and Kasey does everything and I see him out of the corner of my eye. He just does it all like an old pro. It's so cute. "Look maaaa, maaaa, I'm doing it." "Yes Kasey but I'm not asking YOU to do it." "But maaaaa, see, look, PAW you said PAW, it's right heeere!" I took Ryder to obedience training and it's hard not to get caught up in it all. Some days his mind just wasn't into it, but when they are on they are ON. Interesting about the HERE and nose touch. How do you teach that? I taught Ryder to look by asking him to "watch" so that's a really good command to know, especially when trying to distract from something or to keep him calm. Have fun with this! And teach EVERYONE. It's fun!

Sorry that Sadie had to go.

Love that you couldn't wait to take the tags off the ears before securing them to his head! Dino you are a very purdy boy. Welcome!

I've only used it on fur to get rid of/prevent fleas, which I don't really know how well that worked out other than having white powder all over my house. I hear it's good in the garden...... I have TOO much of it at home, so if it could be ingested, and have health benefits, I'm willing to use it to get rid of it! I'll keep an eye on this post.

We bought a foot long chain to put in Ryder's food to slow his intake.....it's a lot of work to eat between the links

1. We give Gatorade for hydration during hikes. Even watered down just so it has some flavour was good enough too. Hint: Don't use blue flavour for a white dog, just sayin'. That said, I would worry about drinking a lot and then dealing with cramps. If they don't want to drink, they don't have to, but they should have SOMETHING during the journey. It would also help if running streams are on your journey. Ryder loves walking into them and laying down and drinking from them LOL. And Kasey will stand on the edge and lap as necessary. 2. When we break for a snack, they break for a snack. Surprisingly, they love apples on the go, and granola bars actually. We used to feed some of Clif energy bars too off ones we were eating. 3. No. 4. We geocache and there is a wealth of hiking info you can gleam off of that site or other sister sites and forums. Meet fellow people, and get their tips and tricks. The Bruce Trail is really big here. Stretches from Tobermory to Niagara. Long hikes can make paws tender at the end of the day, and might result in less energy and enthusiasm the next day. Of course as would aches and pains. Don't overdo it. Have fun and post some pics!

How terrible.

My Ryder needed both of his big massive upper molars and I think 2 others extracted during his initial cleaning. I felt horrible for him because he was so super medicated when he got back. Although he's red, you could see he had some bruising around his eyes because of the (for lack of a better word) trauma inflicted on his face/jaw. Those teeth are super close to the sinuses and all of the connections in his head. They do well on the right meds, and surprisingly, the stitches never bothered him, although some of them did break open and bleed quite a bit. I have no idea how he does it but he's able to still obliterate a turkey neck and any bones by using the gums that have been vacated by teeth. They do overcome the loss eventually, just be ready for lots of pampering when they get back. Watch for how sleepy he is, and excessive drooling/bleeding. Many others here have a wealth of experience in this department so take all of their words to heart while your pup recuperates. Re: stomach acid - Kasey has done quite well on Pepcid so that is completely controllable, don't you worry.

Just a couple weeks in, you are lucky to have had it this smooth thus far!!! I'd say your pup is doing pretty well actually. Be calm, stuff happens, his life has been turned upside down and there will always be new hurdles to overcome, but they can be overcome. Try to stimulate him while you are home so he is happy, and tired. A tired dog is a happy dog. Make sure he goes out before being crated etc. Don't give up and you can get back from just a little pee. It's a learning curve for everyone involved, including your bf too. This too shall pass.

Wahoo!!! Go Houston!

Thanks. This is helpful to know how to avoid something like this for the rest of us! How scary. Scritches to Truman!

My boys get loose stools when they are overly excited. Fortunately never in the house. It also tends to happen when they got into something when at a fun run or in a yard etc. Clear vomiting, that's a tricky one. Ryder does that when he drinks too much LOL. Burping...yikes. I understand you wanting to give them meds right away, but sometimes that masks a problem that you need to find another resolution to. Pepto is pretty safe bet, but again it's a bandaid solution. Pepcid IMO is when you see more of a bile type yellow acid coming up as opposed to clear....but I think you are still sort of on the right track. It's tough to determine if his stomach is irritated or if he is simply stressed. Re: his reaction to knowing he's pooped and thrown up - when you find it, are you scolding? He might be feeding off you for being upset. Omit the treats, fast him, and then do a bland diet and start working up to his regular feeding and see what that does for the stomach situ.

Just catching up on this. How scary. What a good mom you are for observing so closely. I know when one of mine isn't feeling well, and if I make an off comment to someone not "in the know" of dogs, they wonder how I can tell. They are your BABIES and know the second something isn't right. Do you know how he happened to get a hold of a pill he presumably shouldn't have had?

Sorry to hear of Guinness' passing.

It took years for us to get Kasey's allergies under control. While the whole situation has been beat to death with testing, trials, meds, etc., we switched to raw. He's never been better. (You have probably heard this angle before and it should be wholeheartedly considered). On raw, we are able to isolate and eliminate the ingredients he has a reaction to while still getting him the proper nutrition without the added "fluff" inside of commercial kibble. For example, he's allergic to chicken, therefore ANY chicken is a no no IMO - that ingredient should be completely isolated to determine if his allergies are reduced by not having any intake of that ingredient. This includes anything called "by-product" and even fats and oils, etc. Depending on who you talk to, many believe that because it's fat, etc. it's processed in the body differently. Well, IMO I don't want to take that chance and have to go back to square one every time he ingests something related to chicken and whatever other variable is attached to that, so I just completely avoid it altogether. Do this all over again for the next ingredient on his allergy list. He's got lots of no no's, so it is extremely frustrating. When we admitted this still won't get better because he's allergic to oats, and grains, and all that kind of stuff it's a hopeless battle with kibble. So raw really did resolve our problems. We know what protein is in there, and we aren't putting anything in the raw that shows up on his radar. If you are still privy to the kibble route, I would suggest going to Z/D - absolute bare minimum ingredients and start working your way up. Stay as LIMITED as you can....any LTD to start is very important. Or if you have isolated which things she's allergic to, read read read read ingredient listings on bags you think you'd want to try and start there. We scoured bags from every manufacturer, and it does get expensive the more exotic routes you need to try - kangaroo....venison...buffalo... Basically substituting proteins that he has NEVER been exposed to.....and then what if you find the right one and she has no interest in eating it? Oy vey! Handling his environmental allergies as well is challenging but I can really only control his food intake. Sorry pup, but there is grass everywhere and that's where meds come in to help. You've done skin testing. Have you done blood testing or even testing by saliva? I wish you all the best of luck, feel free to PM me if I can be of more guidance for you. It really is a long road to get to something that works. Be patient.

Run free.

I've heard of coconut oil. How is it consumed? Is it in pill form or an additive to food like veggie oil for example? I'd vote for dry as well, the dander coming off of Kasey is incredible, and it's been really cold and dry here in Ontario too. When Kasey scabs (for whatever reason), I usually just use some CS to make sure it doesn't get infected and it heals up pretty good but that doesn't necessarily resolve the dryness problem. I've never found a topical solution though. I wonder if just some human hand cream would work? We use bottles of it in the winter on us.....couldn't be that bad for the hound....could it?

Run Free. What a touching tribute.

The boys start to hobble on walks when it gets too cold, so we have Muttluks that we opt to put on for walks. We know it's too cold when the boys struggle to walk home - often it is just cold pavement and not necessarily salt, although it is often a combination of both that is problematic. I don't blame Tito for yelping, you try walking around outside in your bare feet! LOL I am not sure if he's in pain insofar as he just can't feel his feeties! He's just letting you know he's not having fun out there. Oddly, I find Ryder statuing, sometimes with one paw in the air....and figure, well if you are cold you should move faster to get into the house instead of pausing outside! Their feet hurt so they just stop! It would certainly be worth looking up a robust set of booties. I also have a set of Pawz (the thin rubberized ones) that I use to treat corns on Kasey and are used primarily indoors, but I have the purple ones, since the blue ones are just too tight around his stick legs. I'm not sure how they stack up against preventing feet from getting cold, but most definitely they keep salt and wetness out.

OH no. Millie!! God speed.

RULEZ!!! We need pics. 21 months old sounds like a lot of fun! Congrats!

I vote skin reaction to food allergy. We've experienced the same thing recently, on Kasey's back - primarily focused along his spine. We've known about his allergies for years, and have taken many steps to get ahead, but sometimes, his reactions just keep happening. We switched to a one protein raw not too long ago (he was on a three protein raw and we were aware that the other two proteins were positive for reaction, but that's the joy of food trials), and aha problem solved.