XTRAWLD

I believe Canadian and American coverage plans differ greatly. For one, no dental plan was available, I think only for emergencies. They also wouldnt treat anything with a pre-existing condition or something that has occurred before. For example, Kasey came to us with a skin tear and scar. Because of this, he was "pre-disposed" to get this injury according to them and if something happened in the future they could told me it would not be covered. Likewise, if he was ever treated for diarrhea, and later needed to be treated again, I would not be covered. I just found way too many problems than solutions and figure for $35 a month (if I remember correctly) it would have been better for me to put that money away for them instead of paying into a premium that wouldnt give back. I can also pretty much guarantee when we had to go for all his allergy testing, various meds and trials, that coverage for things of that nature would not be on their list. Again, I'm very happy and pleasantly surprised to read that people do find this insurance useful and that the end user wins. It is just not for us, when it always seems to be a no win situation.

Heat away as long as you are supervising, dont see that as a problem. You know how good it feels on you, right?

Nothing to advise but OMG and Sending good thoughts your way. From what I recall in humans, there is something involved with the brain that causes the feet to invert under themselves. I'm only familiar with that because something recently has been happening with my brother, which I suspect but doctors have ruled out. I wish I could remember what it's called, but do you think it is something cognitive?

I had Kasey signed up from day one and cancelled before 30 days was up. I just found after I read ALL the fine print, that if he ever had something I would need him to be covered for, they would find some way to deny me. I'm very happy to read that someone has found insurance useful.

Yay. Good work. Glad it helped!

We had a hard time getting Kasey to potty on a leash when we moved from a fenced yard to walk only home. Patience and persistence is the key. To be totally honest, give yourself A BOAT LOAD OF TIME when you go out for a walk. Try your best not to get frustrated. Go out with him, give him time to go. It once took Kasey 45 minutes to poop. He'll pee no problem, but pooping was out of the question. Or try at 10-15 minute intervals. Go out for 10, hopefully he'll go, if not, go back in the house and try again in 15 minutes. When he goes, praise him like it's the best thing he's ever done in his life. You'll see the times come down once he does decide to go. Some are more shy than others, are there trees around you he can sorta go behind so the whole world doesn't see? To be honest, every grey poops differently. LOL! Ryder, the second we get out the door and a few steps, he'll go without issue. Kasey....has to pace. He has to actually do a fast walk on the grass along a curb, he'll come to the end of the grass where it meets a pathway or sidewalk and he'll go RIGHT on the edge without fail. Your grey is new to you and he nor you are familiar with traits, signals, etc. He'll figure it out, they always do. He'll have to go eventually! The runny poop is probably brought on by stress and excitement right now. Hold tight and it might just firm back up on it's own. If it's not better in about a week, it would be time to check his stool at the vet to rule out any bugs in his system. His whole world is new right now. Be patient. OH AND CONGRATS ON YOUR NEW ADDITION!!!!

Hmmm, instead of trying to feed him, can you just drop food on the floor and see if he's interested in vacuuming? Ryder was on cerenia to calm him, reduce nausea. Kasey is on pepcid to reduce acid. Both of these meds really do work to help tummies settle. I have given Pepto before and honestly doesn't seem to do a thing. It could be he's just not feeling well in his tummy and doesn't want to eat cause every time he does, it hurts.

Oh my. For starters keep your fist closed around the treat until she calms down to take it. She simply cannot have it if she is excited, or standing or begging. When she's calm, and hopefully in a seated position, open your fist for her to take the treat. Feed BELOW her head, under the chin, not over her head so she can't grab finger tips. This works for Ryder, and I've had bleeding fingertips too. Not fun. Similar to feeding a horse...you want to feed with treat in palm and your fingers out of the way so she can't take them. You can understand how much it hurts to have a horse chomp on fingers too. She may just need to get acclimatized to taking treats before you move to the feeding from finger position.

Oh my. Well it's only up from here. Get well Bumper.

I have to give Kasey pills with food. We hide it in cheese or bread and give him treats as well when we need to give him pills between meals. Hope things improve!

Years ago when Kasey was a single here, he wasnt a big eater and would leave some kibble always in his bowl. In the middle of the night he would go out there to finish it off. I've also had trouble with Ryder vomiting bile in the early morning which basically came down to him being hungry. These two stories relate a bit because I feel they need a really good snack before bedtime to tide them over to morning. We did get meds to help break this cycle and it was a godsend.Not only did it stop him vomitting but it calmed him down and he slept through the night. I'm not sure what is happening with the pee and poop situation you have though. She is thoroughly empty before bed? How late is bedtime? We went through a phase with Kasey where he would want to go out early morning and when we took him out he did nothing but wander in the dark. The last straw was when hubby slipped on the deck in the middle of the night going out to get him because he wouldn't come in and was eating poop. We ignored his desire to go out at 230am and in a week he settled and slept through the night. Edit: Typing on a tablet I seem to have missed a whole page of discussion......yes crating is a great suggestion....i had no idea your grey was still new. That changes things in my statement above. Good luck.

Rice usually works to coax my boy. Even mashed potatoes and gravy....a little on kibble and hes off to the races. But he usually doesnt eat because he is not food motovated in general (until lately much to my surprise). If he stopped eating out of the blue and hasnt been to a vet, this should be done first. I also think that while not eating for a day is a bit alarming, he should certainly be eating the next in the very least. Kasey went on "hunger strike" before but always went back to eating.....he is just not big on eating. If your pup generally does eat lots and now does not, thats a big deal.

I've fed it to my boys. It was the only reasonably cheap meat that wasn't chicken that he could eat (highly allergic to chicken). Both boys were fine for the few months we fed raw exclusively. I think Kasey got his appetite for food back once he started eating it. Pork heart was way too rich for both of them though, and they didn't tolerate it well. We fed pork belly. Also fed pork ribs for the bone portion again without any ill effects. If you find a raw pork supplier, ask them what grade it is and where it's raised. I have a contact here in Ontario that can help answer general questions. Please PM me if you'd like.

Oh my gosh, BUMPER, no crate chewing. The poor guy. Quick healing thoughts over here.

Holy POOP!! Reg price for bully sticks at my local Global are around $3 or more a piece. That website has somethin' goin' on!!!

I find that better quality kibble generally yields less poop because they absorb more. No kibble however can touch the poop factor next to raw. Sorry that I don't know your whole food story, but have you tried raw?

Thanks everyone. The typical symptoms that dogs generally have with pred are nearly the complete opposite for Kasey. Since being on it in 2008 he's lost weight, not a lot of interest in food, and he pees like crazy without drinking very much at all. He actually retains urine and takes a long time to pee if we don't let him out often. We have stood out there for minutes as he tinkles. The vet is aware of these backward symptoms and we make do, which is why it is such a surprise for me to see his interest in food again. So instead of free feeding, I've increased the amount of his daily meal feedings and he's happily eating every last kibble I put in his bowl. He looks better and I do think he feels better. I was curious though for people that get to free feeding for a hound that likes to eat, are you ever worried that he may just eat the whole thing you've put in front of him and become bloated or throw it all up? Do you put a lot down and take it away every minute so he can take a break? I'm convinced if Ryder ever got into one of his bags, he'd sit there and eat everything until he was sick. Do dogs get that FULL sensation and eventually stop gorging?

Kasey took forever to learn how to play in general. Ryder picked up on it the day he came home. Each one is different. I think some greys get it and like it and others don't care. I can also get Ryder to play with me in seconds, Kasey takes a lot of work - he's older now too and could care less and only plays now when he's in the mood. I think the fact that she is playing by herself is really good news for you - means that she does like to play. I agree with grabbing some really cool squeaky toys. I would suggest something squeaky and LARGE so you can hang on with one end and still have room for her to grab. Squeak it in her presence to get her attention, and dangle and throw it around in front of her to get her excited. Genuinely interact with her and the toy. If she grabs for it let her have it. If she drops it, grab it again and try again. It seems like she is not possessive of the toy which is good. I'd say don't approach her to play when she is playing by herself. You should start the play with her first. You can also use play as a reward for good behaviour. Ask her to sit (if she knows how) and then give her the toy as a reward instead of food. If she doesn't know how to sit, this is a great time to teach her! This might be very motivating for her and she might "get" it. We also play with blankets at our house. If Ryder is laying around being a bum, I'll start to play with him by draping his blanket over his head and playing hide and seek. He gets excited and tugs, etc. You just have to bond with her a bit more. I'm not sure how "new" she is to you, but she might just need a little more time to make it out of her shell.

I ask because when we first got Kasey we were told to just leave food out for him and he will eat as much as he wants to help him put his weight on. He never was a big eater, and we eventually did away with that and fed him 2 square meals a day. What he didn't finish at meal time we left out, and he would pick at throughout the day, most commonly before bed. With Ryder we can't really leave food out, he's a food maniac. Something has jump started with Kasey and his eating habits. Maybe when we got Ryder and having another dog made sure that Kasey ate all his food or he'd lose it. Maybe it was when we were feeding raw back in May may have jump started his appetite (we are now back on kibble). Maybe now that he's on Pepcid he feels better. For what ever reason, he now eats a lot. He will sometimes even finish his food before Ryder - which is very hard. A non-food motivated dog has officially become food motivated. How common is this? I bring up how do you start free feeding because I'm excited to see that he likes to eat now. Because he's been on a low dose of prednisone since 2008 he's never been able to keep a lot of weight on his bones. Now he WANTS to eat, and I'm thinking now is a chance to get some weight back on. He's not skinny and he's not fat by any means, but I would certainly love to see a couple more pounds on him any way I can get it. We just played with the tornado, and I had a tupperware of kibble beside me and I pushed it over to see how much he would eat, and he just kept eating. I eventually took it away, but wow, I'm surprised. Thoughts?

Oh no! I know hindsight is always 20/20, which probably just adds to your frustration. It's very easy to say what should be done now, as opposed to not being sure at the beginning. I hope Bumper feels better soon.

We were worried that Ryder had some glass embedded in his paw. It was just a bump I noticed and he was not lame. We soaked it with epsom salts and gently tried to express the bump. Whatever we did worked, the bump was gone within a week.

Yup, I use it for Kasey's ears when he gets a bad allergy reaction. Ensure that the spot isn't an open wound though.

AWH, what a beaut!

My Kasey has allergies that affects his head primarily. For starters you have to find out what he's allergic to and remove that from his surroundings or diet. Blood testing and skin testing are the common tests for allergies. Link To Recent Info in Another Post.

I agree, don't muzzle unless it's a grey specific event. I took my boys when we first got Ryder to the dog park and I knew that Kasey was a bit of a butthead and I didn't want to risk injury to Ryder from Kasey, and someone pointed out to me that it wouldn't be a good idea because they wouldn't be able to defend themselves from another dog. I thought, I don't want Kasey biting Ryder, but for some reason I didn't really think about anyone going to bite Kasey..... I'm also not a dog park supporter, I've experienced too much bull whenever we've gone, with people, with other dogs, with sickness, etc. When Ryder really needs to burn off some energy, I will take the chance and go to the dog park very very early one morning and put him in the "small dog" section because I can keep a better eye on him. Usually no one is there early morning, and if they are, they are in the big dog section. I'm not using the small dog section for very long and if I see a small dog wanting to use it we just leave.