[Bathroom Issues - Help!]

Rook is 79 pounds and eats about 3.5 cups per day of kibble and I toss in a fish oil cap with each meal. (1.5 cups at each meal and the last 1/2 cup is split between two kongs when I leave for work- the kongs are also topped with peanut butter to keep the kibble in)

[Canidae]

I fed it quite a few years ago and my guys did great on it. Then they changed the formula and even my iron stomach girlie didn't do well on it-awful orange diarrhea. I haven't purchased it since.

[Violet - Rhabdomyolysis, Update: Vet Recheck (#183)]

Checking in and hoping for good news today. It sounds like the clinic is very good and on top of things.

[Violet - Rhabdomyolysis, Update: Vet Recheck (#183)]

Sending lots of good thoughts for you and Violet.

[Bert... Betabuckburt Aka The Bert Of Doofbert]

I'm so sorry. :grouphug

[Joseph Aka Won By A Nose, 9.22.2003-3.1.2013]

I'm so sorry. : :

[Dog Doors-Sizes?]

This is what I have: http://www.petdoors.com/endura-flap-thermo-panel-iiie.html

 

It doesn't take any special installation and is easy to remove and put back, plus does a good job with the double panel glass of keeping hot/cold from seeping in. It is an expensive one, but in my opinion has been totally worth it. I bought it in 2007 and have never had to replace the flap. It can be adjusted higher or lower using the spacers. When I adopted Rudy, I adjusted it a bit higher for his height.

 

This is the door that we have and we love it (12" x 23" flap). We had it as a slider insert until this summer when DH shattered the sliding glass door. We got a smaller slider and installed the dog door next to it (it's framed in like a window or door). It works great and now we also have the full slider opening and don't have to shimmy through.

[Good Thoughts For Zuri]

Sending good thoughts for Zuri!

[Moe_Moe_Fancy_Pants]

I am so sorry. :grouphug

[Sebau ~1994-2013 And Sully 2000-2012]

I am not good with words and no words can express what Sebau and Sully meant to us. We lost Sully unexpectedly before Christmas. He lost the use of his back legs and we could not keep his pain under control. He was only 12 and a half. Sully came to us a year after we got married and had purchased our first house. We were looking for a companion for Sebau, who never did well alone. I had been interested in greyhounds and Steve agreed that we should look. We were matched with a couple easy going but energetic boys (Sebau was a high energy girl) that would be a good fit. We met a couple but just fell for Sully. His first day home he found the toys and was playing and chomping on them. He met every day with joy and loved everyone he met. He was the ultimate snuggle hound and if I wasn't snuggled with him on his bed for evening TV he would find me and chirp until he got his snuggle time. He was a total ham and always kept us laughing at his antics. He was also the ultimate Diva and loved getting dressed up and going places. Sully's loss has hit us hard- the house is empty. It is quiet. I don't have a wet cold nose getting plunked on top of my keyboard or under my shirt to get my attention, I don't hear the happy chatter when leashes come out... or the happy chatter for meals, or the demanding stomp if I dared be late with a meal. Sebau also felt his loss and stopped eating after he passed. We got her eating again with treats and canned food, but she started to decline and take less and less interest in people or what was going on. Shortly after the new year she began having seizures and we went to the evet. Even with pheno, she continued to have seizures, more and more severe. She passed a little over a month after Sully. Sebau came to me shortly after I had started college. I was still in my teens and living with my parents, who weren't thrilled about now having a young pup at home. She quickly won them over. She was a ball of energy and for years we lived by the mantra "a good dog is a tired dog..." She was famous for her love of eating all things... including many inedible ones. She had a particular fondness for underwear, dirty socks and toilet paper. Other than vet visits or her people not being home, nothing phased her. She helped Sully settle in quickly and helped show the groundrules to Diesel and the other fosters. She never cared for people or dogs outside of her family, but once you were a part of her family she was completely devoted. It is hard to believe that she is gone, that they both are gone.

 

All of my babies are at the bridge now. My house is quiet. Too quiet. You never realize how much of your life, even the little things, revolve around them until they aren't there.

Diesel 2000-2010, Sully 2000-2012 and Sebau ~1994-2013.

 

Sully making noise to get attention:

Roaching

 

Coming to check on me while I work in the garden

Being my handsome old man

Enjoying an unusually warm day earlier this fall

Sebau and Sully snuggling (some variation of this happened every evening)


Sebau bossing Sully out of the toy crock

Sebau hated having her picture taken so this was usually what I got before she would get up, give me serious stinkeye, and leave.

 

Old girl on the porch this fall

All three are now together again at the bridge. I hope they are having fun running around like they used to. A fresh snowfall was always a reason to get all three outside playing and dashing about in glee.

[Cody (Aka Collateraldamage) 11/19/2000 - 1/7/2013]

I am so sorry for your loss. Cody was a gorgeous boy.

[Dog Doors]

We have a dog door with the rubber flap. The flap has strong magnets at the bottom of it and we have not had any trouble with it blowing open or being drafty or leaking (it didn't even blow open during Sandy). We've had it at least six years now and love it. When I was first looking I looked at the electronic doors but they were all too small. The other problem is that if the batteries die, the fob malfunctions or it falls off the collar, your dog could be stuck outside for long periods of time if you are at work. We went with the patio pacific with the endura flap in the largest size they had. As the dogs have gotten older and need to go out more, it really is a blessing. Sebau usually has to go out twice each night now and she can just let herself out.

[Dhpp Vaccination...do You Get It Annually?]

My vet says three years. Rabies is also every three years here, so mine are due this fall for all.

[Xander (C's Chico Bob)]

I'm so sorry. : Rebekah and Xander did our home visit when we applied to adopt. He was so calm and mellow that Sebau even decided to lay down while he was there.

[Thera Paw?]

i think there are charts on both web sites that help determine the size you will need.

 

the people at neopaw was wonderful -- i just called and talked to them directly,, we figured it out, and 2 days later, my boy was wearing boots!

Same here. We had a great experience with them. Sully has the summer shoes. I got a pair as he only had one corn on one front foot, so both front feet got shoes. At first he didn't like them, but he quickly figured out that shoes=walkies so he gets excited when he sees them because he knows he's going out. We've had them a few years now and they are still going strong. They have a rubber sole, so they wear very well.

[Corn Dogs, Boot Info Please]

I have the Neopaws summer boots for Sully and love them. They stay on well and provide plenty of padding. I've had them a few years now and they are still going strong.

[Legs Limping/crying]

Thanks. I just called a different vet that does digital xrays to ask about pricing since my regular vet does not have digital. They did not feel xrays are needed because he is not constantly limping. But I guess they will do it if I insist?

 

I see this again and again on here and it makes me so frustrated. Osteo can be present with constant limping, intermittent limping or no limping at all. If you want to set your mind at ease, they should just do the x-rays. So yes, insist. Unless you don't feel it's worthwhile or cost effective at this time. I would not waste your money on non-digital x-rays.

 

It sounds like your only other diagnostic option after that may be an MRI so I would at least want the x-rays first to rule out a problem that could be diagnosed that way. Do you have a specialist you are working with?

 

I had to push to get X rays for Diesel. I was told that there was no visible (i.e. obvious w/o xrays) tumor and his limp was not bad, he most likely pulled something and they did not want to x ray. They seemed to think I was crazy for pushing for the xray. I was there because it -wasn't- like his usual "pulled something running around like a goof" stuff that he would periodically do. After a good bit of insisting, they did the xray, and it was osteo. I don't really care for that office, but they are the closest ones that have a digital xray, so I will use them again if I need a digital xray and just be pushy about it. My regular vet doesn't have the nice digital xray.

[Weak 15 Year Old]

Sully's back end is pretty weak and stiff (he's 11). He goes to a chiropractor and it really seems to help him. Our vet has a chiro in once a week in the early morning before regular office hours, and the chiro also has his own practice and has evening hours- he has a certification that has to do with animal chiropractic.

[Vet's Offices]

I've switched vets a couple times recently. The first switch was after my old vet retired. The new vet that replaced him seemed OK enough, but I had so many issues with billing (all the old staff left or were asked to leave within a year of the old vet retiring, and the new people were having problems) and appointment setting among other issues that I left.

 

I tried a practice that is pretty close to us, in part because of they do have a high res digital x-ray. I'll probably use them again if I need a high res xray, but I was not happy with how they handled pain management for D's osteo, and it was a big fight for anything other than just deramaxx, meanwhile D is in pain.

 

The vet I'm with now is the one who sent D to the bridge. She and her assistant/tech came out to the house to do it and both explained everything they were going to do and were just so caring. She has been wonderful and the tech is also amazing. They have a mobile service in the evenings and the office is open during the day. They have a chiro come in once a week as well, and he has worked on Sully's back. What I like is that if she isn't sure about something, she'll research it and/or call another vet who has more expertise in that area, and she seems open to new things.

 

I still felt bad switching those times, but I really like my current vet and I am glad that I made the switch.

[Vestibular Disease/syndrome/event]

Sebau had an episode this past summer. It nearly gave me a heart attack as I thought she'd had a stroke, and at her age that it would be her time. When I left for work that morning, she had been fine, walking fine and being her usual bossy little self and pushing Sully around. When I came home, she could barely stand without falling over, and if she tried to walk, she did fall over. Her eyes were darting back and forth (nystagmus) and she couldn't keep down food and water. We called the vet and the vet fit us in that evening at the end of her rounds (mobile vet). She looked at her ears, didn't see an infection, but said that the symptoms were consistent with idiopathic vestibular syndrome, especially when her age (17) was taken into consideration. She said to give dramamine for the motion sickness and that we should see improvements after a few days and a more notable improvement after about a week. The dramamine definitely helped her nausea and she could keep down food and water. We carried her outside for potty breaks and carried her up and down the steps (she's only about 50 lbs). We noticed that she was doing better walking within a few days, and within a week she could do the steps again and the nystagmus was gone. Her balance is not what it used to be, but she made a good recovery, especially considering her age. The vet called every couple days to check up on her too

 

Hopefully your pup begins to improve quickly and continues to do so! I know what you mean about being in a panic. I really thought I was losing my old gal.

[Office Visit Charges]

Office visit is about 40.00 here. When I had the vet come to the house for Sebau this summer, the home visit + exam was 65.00. Sully sees a chiropractor at her office, but because he isn't seeing the vet those times, we just pay the chiro.

 

Vaccines- Sully is due later this fall for boosters, and rabies in fall of '12. I'm not vaccinating ol' mutt gal again until her rabies is due in '12, due to her age.

[Wabi Has Blown Away Like A Dandelion]

I am so, so sorry. I can't believe she's gone. I remember reading through the Wabi saga as it happened and rooting for her. All of the pics, the physical therapy... the dandelions and your gorgeous pics of her...and throughout it all, her sheer joy at life. She was so special and touched so many that met her. :grouphug

[Steak's Seizures]

I am so sorry. Sending lots of hugs to you and Steakers :grouphug

[Parvo]

Like others have said, it's usually a combo vaccine given every 3 years. Sebau will be due this fall. I did end up vaccinating her last time (3 years ago) but I want to talk to the vet because she's 17 now, and perhaps to a titer instead.

[People Meds Possible Doggie Meds?]

I wouldn't give it w/o talking to the vet first. However, yes, lots of people meds are routinely used for animals. I've had prescriptions for Tramadol and gabapentin filled at my regular pharmacy. As a kid, my dad and our poodle shared synthroid. (she took 1/4 pill, dad took 1 pill, same brand, purchased at same pharmacy if one ran out, the other's meds were used until the refill called in )