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revamp

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Posts posted by revamp

  1. Poor guy. If the vet says everything is in good shape, there's not much you can do. You can't stick cotton up his nose, and if the vet would have cauterized with silver nitrate (assuming they could even see/access where the blood was coming from) that would have hurt like the dickens. The only think I could think of is to sedate the poor boy so he sleeps, but then I don't know how wise that is after a head injury.

     

    Basically, I am no help but you have my sympathy.

  2. In regards to asking you to lift the dog to the table and asking you to keep the dog at the table...

     

    When I worked at a vet hospital, we never asked the owner to lift and/or restrain their dog. Further, we didn't allow them to lift/restrain their own dog for liability reasons (that and even though the owner always thinks they can hold their scared and snippy dog, the Vet and other techs are going to feel much better that the person who is doing the restraining actually knows what they are doing). We would *never* leave a dog of any size on an exam table without a staff member responsible for keeping the dog on the table. That was straight out negligent and dangerous. A big dog is a handful to keep on a table, and a little dog can quickly jump for it and break legs.

  3. Young dogs have faster metabolisms. I wouldn't be too concerned that he's skinny because I believe that he will, in fact, fill out as he gets a little older...but if he still has spine and hips showing I would try and up his caloric intake more.

     

    My 3yo 72lb boy eats 4 measured cups of good quality food a day, plus a dentastix and a half dozen small dog biscuits. I would think your younger and bigger boy would need a good deal more than that.

  4. My beloved, perfect, wonderful, beautiful, sensitive girl whom I lost 4 years ago at almost 15 years old was a pit bull. When I was ready to begin thinking about getting a new dog, I immediately looked at other pit bulls. But then, even though I never meant to, I was always comparing them to her which I didn't want to do. I broadened my search to any adult or senior dog of medium or larger size and saw some greyhounds in my search results. I did some research, met some dogs, and the rest is history--I ended up with a big, black, goofy boy who is pretty much entirely opposite of my sweet girl (specially in her last few years) and I still couldn't be happier.

     

    Could I have adopted another pit and been happy? I'm sure I could have. But my personal choice was to widen my search criteria and take my time finding the right *personality* for me and my family--no matter the breed, and this worked out for me.

     

    There is no right or wrong answer, and although there are some characteristics that dogs of the same breed share, this is more a large generalization than anything. Dogs are individuals and need to be measured and judged as such.

     

    I am so sorry for your loss, but know that if the time comes where you feel you want to bring another dog into your home that no matter which way you go it will be a wonderful and healing time.

  5. I'm sorry to hear this. The thing is, your adoption group is made up of dog people. Not just dog people, but grey people. Not *just* grey people, but people who are operating a rescue. They will believe that your boy is perfect now that he was removed from your house/environment because that is what they want to believe. It is easier for them to think you were to blame in some way (intentional or unintentional) than to believe that the hound is unpredictably and dangerously violent because something is chemically/physically, possibly irreparably wrong with the dog.

     

    Try not to take it personally, although I can't imagine taking it in any other way in your position. See if you can contact another group.

  6. I would suggest not driving yourself. There is also no need to pick up the ashes immediately. Take some time if you need to. Homer is in your heart and your memories, not at the vet.

     

    ETA--I would even suggest possibly having the friend run in and retrieve the ashes. When I collected by beloved heart dog's ashes, I thought I had it all together, but then the sympathetic and knowing expressions and the hushed voices the veterinary staff treated me to did me in. I appreciate that they felt bad and empathized with me, but it just made me realize my loss all that more strongly.

  7. Thanks for the advice. He finally calmed down enough to lie down around 9:30 last night, so approx. 4.5 hours after being dosed. He certainly did had a paradoxical reaction, and I'll be calling the vet to see if there is something else we can try. I saw a veterinary article online that suggests Clonidine when dogs have had paradoxical reactions to alprazolam.

     

    Bad news is the thunder is in full effect this morning, but I didnt want to give him another doze of alprazolam so he's just shaking in his kennel.

  8. Dang it....had large storm cells heading this way--scheduled to start thundering by 7pm (100% chance of heavy precipitation), so gave rocky 2mg of xanax at 5pm. Now it's pm and I check the weather to see how far away it is, and the weather (in the last hour) suddenly said their is NO chance of precipitation and the storm (which was the entire size of WI) has disappeared!

     

    Now I have a 75lb goofy stumbling dog who is feeling frisky and running and falling everywhere. He's so happy and I am just laughing my ass off, but now I am going to have to leash him or kennel him to keep him from crashing into something or breaking a leg.

     

    Stupid weather.

  9. I found that thread about the biscuits:

     

    Dale Edgar Calm K 9. I bought them directly from their website and used the coupon code facebook332 for 25% off. I cannot believe how well they work, it's kinda freaky. My vet said just to be careful and not give too many, they could cause diarrhea. I've only had to give one per evening and no one had the runs the next day. I gave my friend two last night for her greyhound who isn't any too happy about the sound of all the fireworks - she reported a little bit ago that he was sleeping through them tonight, too! I think she's going to buy a jar, too.

     

    They had a booth at the PetExpo in April and had free samples. I tried them the first night the Dodgers had a Friday home game (fireworks for every Friday home game) and Carl laid on his dog bed next to me at the computer and didn't so much as raise his head! The windows were open and neither dog could have cared less. I was immediately sold and went online that night and bought a big container of them.

     

    I bought a jar of these to help Annie Bella with her anxiety on car rides. One "cookie" worked great for her. Her anxiety was decreased by 80 to 90 percent and it didn't matter if she was already a bit anxious, which she gets when she senses I'm planning a car ride. The thing about Xanax (and maybe other drugs but I've only used Xanax) is that it has to be given in advance of the anxiety-producing event or else the nervousness the dog feels overwhelms the calming effects of the drug.

     

    Well, I went and placed an order. Won't hurt to have on hand and there have been a couple strong recommendations for them now.

  10. I found that thread about the biscuits:

     

    Dale Edgar Calm K 9. I bought them directly from their website and used the coupon code facebook332 for 25% off. I cannot believe how well they work, it's kinda freaky. My vet said just to be careful and not give too many, they could cause diarrhea. I've only had to give one per evening and no one had the runs the next day. I gave my friend two last night for her greyhound who isn't any too happy about the sound of all the fireworks - she reported a little bit ago that he was sleeping through them tonight, too! I think she's going to buy a jar, too.

     

    They had a booth at the PetExpo in April and had free samples. I tried them the first night the Dodgers had a Friday home game (fireworks for every Friday home game) and Carl laid on his dog bed next to me at the computer and didn't so much as raise his head! The windows were open and neither dog could have cared less. I was immediately sold and went online that night and bought a big container of them.

  11. My little Echo used to pant heavily and shake when we had a storm. I feared she would have a heart attack it was so bad. When she was 9, she came and got in my bed one night during a bad storm. I snuggled up to her and sang her lullabies and she calmed down some. The next storm we had, I sang Brahm's lullaby. She eventually got more comfortable and the next year she took all the storms well. This year has been really bad but I just have to sing using la-la-la (much easier than singing the words) and she calms down. I keep thinking I'll record it but then I'd have to listen to it also. I know. It's weird but I wish I had discovered it a few years ago.

     

    I've tried reading to Rocky (Selections from Whitman's Leaves of Grass as well as Shakespeare's Sonnets) but it didn't make any difference. I haven't tried singing, but I don't think that would be very soothing to anyone...lol

  12. So, like pretty much everyone else in the US, we've been in a severe drought. Well, last night we got our first measurable rain in the area in what seemed like forever, but we got it in the form of 4 inches in 10 hours with LOTS of thunder all. night. long.

     

    Rocky didn't sleep, and spent the entire night panting wildly, shaking severely, with eyes fully dilated and drooling all over himself and everything else.

     

    Thundershirt? No help. Rescue remedy? No help. Benedryl? No help. I felt powerless and awful that there was nothing I could do to help him. I simply crated him, covered his crate with a blanket, and turned on a whitenoise machine that I bought for him and let him ride out the storm...it was the best that I could do.

     

    As soon as the vet opened, I put in a call for meds. The vet wasn't in yet and I had to go to work, but it sounds like they will have *something* for me to pick up today after work. I would assume Xanax. The good news is, there are no more storms in the forecast for the next few days, and the way this summer has gone there may not be any more storms for all I know. But I do know that I don't want Rocky feeling like that again if there's something I can do to help (medications).

     

    Rocky is 73 lbs and is otherwise young and healthy. What type of dosage would you expect and does anyone have any experiences to share regarding treatment for thunderphobia?

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