lothianjavert

True. If the individual items were purchased in bulk, the price would be much less. I ended up doing this w/ vetwrap. It was just much cheaper (though now I have 3 dz rolls of forest green but it gets used for humans and hounds alike, and my guys are famously clutzy, as am I) And a couple things I forgot that are also in my kit: antibiotic ointment bag balm bottle of sterile saline

I know a lot of you guys have dogs with corns. Sully is my corn-dog, with a HUGE one one one of his front toes, and a couple smaller ones (one on the adjacent toe and another on a hind foot). The front foot really hurts him, even with keeping it hulled and sanded so that it's not overgrown. He's fine in his boots on walks, but they aren't something to have on all the time. I'd really like to find something that he can wear in the house so that he doesn't limp so much on our hard floors. Therapaws has little slippers called cushy paws for in the house. I was wondering if anyone had any and what you thought of them. How do they work (do they provide enough padding?) Do they stay on well? How are they holding up?

Our doggy first aid kit (well, it's all rolled into one w/ the human first aid kit, any meds that are used for both have dosages per human and canine written on the baggie) contains (at least for the dogs): benedryl pepto bismol tablets (not the chewables) immodium buffered aspirin tramadol rimadyl cephalexin amoxicillin vet wrap non-stick gauze pads medical tape scissors hemostats tweezers betadine hydrogen peroxide syringe styptic powder instant hot/cool packs ... I'm sure I'm forgetting something that's in there, but that's the basics. It all goes in a small (ish) bright red dry-bag.

pyrantel pamoate and praziquantal are pretty standard wormers. Just look up the dosage, it should work just fine.

:grouphug

My old dalmatian mix, Sebau, has sleep turdlets sometimes (she'll be 14 in a month). I just pick them up w/ some toilet paper and flush them. They are small and hard, so they aren't messy. Just in case, I keep blankets on the beds that can be washed (though the boys usually run off with the blankets and hoard them all in that case, I can just wash the bed covers). So far it's just the occasional turdlet and she's fine with her bladder, though she can't hold it as long as she used to. We have a dog door, so she can relieve herself while we're asleep or I'm at work. It isn't something that's done on purpose, and it isn't a lapse in housebreaking. As they age, sometimes they lose control back there, just like people can. They don't even realize it's happening, or if they do, it's too late and the turd's already popped out. It might help to try to give some extra fiber to make them a bit more firm and try to get her out to poop a bit more often, but especially during sleep when the muscles relax, they just happen.

Sending lots of prayers. :hope :grouphug

Marty's symptoms sound like Sebau's when she was first diagnosed w/ Lyme and when she has a flare up. She doesn't get the classic lameness, but obvious stiffness and is "off"-- not her usual obnoxious, energetic bossy self. The first time she went to the vet for it, her test came back negative. If it's newly contracted, that's fairly common, as the body needs time to create the antibodies. Once the body has had time to develop the specific antibodies, the test is quite accurate. Because of how greys travel, it wouldn't hurt to have a full tick panel done. You could also discuss starting on doxy while you wait for results if Marty is still under the weather. Lyme is extremely common in this area.

I can attest to that. Little foster harlot was only in my house for a day or two before she took my baby's virginity. LINKY :rotfl That's one of my all-time favorite threads on GT. It ranks right up there with the olives!

My guys get 2 fish oil capsules and 2 flax oil capsules per day (one of each in the bowl at each meal). I find that for some reason using the 2 together works better than either individually. I do supplement with Vit. E too. I take it as well for my joints. I haven't noticed it helping my joints, but my hair and skin are much better. My pups also have nice sof, shiny coats and don't get nearly as dry and itchy in the winter, so the fish oil helps. If I run out, I can notice the difference in their coats pretty quickly.

I"m going to have to look for some. My guys aren't picky eaters, but they'd probably enjoy the taste. I like it too, so we can split a can. Years ago my friend gave it to her old siamese cat as a supplement, and also to help convince him to eat (he was really picky and that just got worse as he got older). When I watched him, I would mix it in. She had left a note for me to try it too. Goofy me just grabbed a heaping tablespoon full and popped it in my mouth. I had yeast powder coming out of my nose... It's tasty though, and Xan is right that it's kind of cheesy! I know I'll need to order, I've looked for it around here (b vitamins are recommended for migraines) but can't find it. We only have one grocery store. Food Lion. UGH. Drive 15 miles either way.... and all you'll find is.... Food Lion. Darn it, I want a Wegman's, or a Whole Foods. I've been ordering Vegemite for myself (a yeast spread- high in B vitamins) which is AWESOME (and the pups go nuts for it). If the pups love vegemite, I'm sure they'll love the Nut. Yeast.

:fart Sully the past year or so has eaten 2 small bottles of dried baby brine shrimp Actually I don't even think they gave him gas... I keep trying to find new and inventive ways of hiding the fish foods, but one slip and he's there... or he figures out how to open or undo wherever I've hidden it. I guess the brine shrimp are just irresistible!

(&%^!!! That first film is scary! But he did a lovely job putting it back together. Wow! He did such a nice, neat job of fixing it. I guess he really was the classic awesome surgeon with the bad bedside manner. Looking at how "perfect" everything is-- even the incision/stapling, I'd say he's quite the perfectionist too. I'm so glad that Bones is back on the mend!!

She's ok. She doesn't seem to be in a lot of pain-- the rimadyl and tramadol are working for that. She can't get up on her own, but can walk some on her own once you've gotten her up. She seems frustrated that her rear just isn't doing what it's supposed to. Her left hind is knuckling under some and while she can stand on it, when she walks, it drags a bit. I should have her sling finished this afternoon, and that should help with getting her up and moving.

Jasmine isn't really our dog... well, in one way she is-- DH actually purchased her from a good breeder when she was a pup. When we bought the townhouse, his mother couldn't let her go, so Steve decided to let her stay with his parents. However, she grew up around us, and as much as his parents travel, she's here a lot of the time. She's 10. That's very old for a dane, and overall has done extremely well. She's been weak in the rear and a little unsteady for a couple months now, and it's been getting worse. Today she went down and couldn't get up. I picked up her rear (I can't pick her up, she weighs more than I do) and helped her onto a dog bed and called the vet. DH and I took her to the vet and after an exam, basically the discussion was that it's her back (and that her time will probably come soon), and they were concerned about trying to sedate her for xrays, and that even if the xrays showed something, there wasn't much that could be done at her age, certainly nothing invasive. We were sent home w/ NSAIDs to help. She's doing better now and isn't knuckling over on the left foot, but is just unsteady. I'm making a sling for her tonight, so that we can support her back end when she needs it. Her mind is still certainly willing (she was drooling on my leg trying to mooch some steak sub tonight ) but her body is starting to fail. Please keep the ol' gal in your thoughts.

We have a bottle of Carbaryl 80% at home. I really don't like the stuff. Like AJ said, it is not pleasant. While it does break down relatively quickly in the environment, the toxicity levels really are quite small. If they are walking through it and you have a foot licker, please wash his feet each time he comes in. Typical of pesticides, it kill indiscriminately, and is extremely toxic to not only honeybees but also earthworms. Unfortunately, you'll find the same situation with any broad spectrum insecticide. Imidocloprid (a synthetic nicotinoid) is another broad spectrum insecticide and is also used on animals (as Advantage) and has a pretty good safety margin. However, it too is toxic especially to honey bees. It's available at most home improvement centers and is sold as Merit (made by Bayer). I use insecticides in the greenhouse, but we try to be careful with application and keeping it IN the greenhouse, and letting as little as possible into the environment. We also use them in conjunction with Enstar, and IGR-- insect growth regulator that keeps the insects from maturing and breeding. It breaks down quite rapidly, but it's not cheap, and not an "instant kill" product either. In the yard I do a lot of hand picking and use a lot of insecticidal soaps/oils, though they aren't as effective, I don't mind eating that, as opposed to sevin doused 'maters.

Heartgard Plus and Interceptor are both supposed to help against hooks, but I've heard of quite a few dogs that have gotten hooks while on them. Because my guys are walked regularly (and there are other dogs around), and also have a nasty habit of occasionally catching and eating a rabbit (and rabbit poo is a favorite), we worm routinely. I use Ivermectin just for heartworm, and then worm with Pyrantel/Praziquantal. (one for hooks/rounds the other for tapes) I usually wait a week or so AFTER I give the ivermectin so I don't give them at the same time. Probably would be just fine if I did give it to them at the same time, but I just worry about that many things all at once. (same thing w/ frontline. I don't frontline at the same time either. so each thing has its place in a rotation)

Sebau my mix has always gotten ear infections. I'm very careful to constantly check her ears and keep them very clean, and it helps a great deal. She hasn't had an infection in a LONG time, but I check her ears constantly and clean when necessary (she also has hairy floppy ears, so I know that that type of ear can be more prone to infections,and it seems to be true with her.) She has had them cleaned out by the vet before and she was not put under. She was NOT pleased, but did OK. Generally, for her ear infections the usual treatment was: clean out w/ antiseptic/antibacterial solution (this was more than just a squirt in the ear), shot of antibiotic, and oral antibiotics and/or ear drops.

It could be the smell, but if she's still squatting several times outside (esp. if that isn't normal for her) she's obviously still in some discomfort from the UTI. It's possible that the antibiotic needs to be changed. Diesel had to have a second round of antibiotics with a different antibiotic when he had a UTI a couple years ago. It did the trick. We've used Clavamox (aka augmentin) and Baytril (enrofloxacin) successfully for UTIs, though there are many other effective antibiotics. You might want to start by getting an enzyme cleaner to thoroughly clean the pee spots with. I like Simple Solution's oxy orange formula. It works well, and the fragrance is nice. It's great on pee stains, as well as removing the pee smell. It's also great for grass stains/mud etc. tracked in by husbands too (stains of biologic origin)... For existing stains/smells I apply liberally (saturate!) and let it sit for a couple of hours-overnight if it's particularly stubborn, and then work on the stain. Usually the stain comes out easily at that point, and any hint of odor is gone. Also, take her to the vet since she is still straining to go and still urinating inside. It really does sound like she still has the UTI. After 5 days she shouldn't be in so much discomfort that she keeps squatting over and over. The only time any of my guys has peed in the house once they were house trained was when one had a UTI, so for me, if one goes in the house, it's a red flag that it's time for a vet visit pronto. Repeating squatting is another "red flag" that something is up too (Sebau, my old girl, is a "repeated squatter" with a UTI).

Sending prayers to you and sweet Marx. :hope

For me, it depends on the situation. As others have said, it's about quality of life. However, for the average person, I wouldn't be surprised that they wouldn't want to deal with a touch of dementia, even if the dog was otherwise happy and healthy. (from experience with other, esp. co workers, who thought the other year that getting a dog door for a dog that couldn't hold it for a long work day (10 hrs) was above and beyond and that "that dog should just be put out of your misery" Urgh. ) In that sense, it wasn't about the dog and her health/happiness, it was about my convenience. Because she couldn't hold it for 10 or more hours straight, it was an 'inconvenience' and according to them, I should have her put down. The fact that I spent the $ first on pee pads (while waiting for the custom door) and then the $ of the door just baffled them. She'll be 14 this fall, and with her door, she is a very happy girl. She can go out when she needs to, without waking me up, and however many times a day/night she feels the need to, whether I am at work or not. She doesn't see or hear as well, that's for sure, and is not as quick to respond, but she still loves life, and is as stubborn as can be. Heck, she can still do her mile walks. Sure, it's not the 3 miles she did a couple years ago, but it's great for her age, and she loves it. So we do it. She'll be with me as long as she can--as long as she has a good quality of life. That is what counts. If life becomes painful, or scary, then I'll know it's time. Though I don't think the average "Joe dog owner" feels this way. I know this is how most here feel, but what I've encountered elsewhere is far different. Most can't get it through their heads that all 3 of my BIG dogs actually live INSIDE. (and they see a vet regularly too , have booties, coats, etc. )

If you do a search on corns, you'll find a lot of info here. There are a bunch of us whose pups have corns, so if you read through you'll find posts on people's experiences with different treatments. Your options are hulling (non-surgical removal of the hard surface part of the corn, must be done regularly), dremeling (grinding) the corn flat, surgery to remove the corn (long healing and the corn often comes back anyway), toe amputation (removing the entire toe that has the corn), or combinations... i.e. have the vet hull the corn and in between hullings use a dremel to help keep it down. Some people have tried things like putting on bits of duct tape (over the corn on the pad), abreva, etc. with mixed results. unfortunately there isn't just a quick easy solution. Hulling does work well, but it doesn't solve the problem. It needs to be redone every couple of weeks to months depending on how fast the corn grows. This is what we do, as well as dremeling to keep it from building up as quickly. Even so, Sully's corn still causes discomfort, so I bought some boots for him to wear on our walks, when he has to walk on a hard surface. The boots provide padding for his foot, and he doesn't limp when he wears them. His corn had gotten bad enough that we couldn't take long walks anymore because his foot hurt too much to walk. The boots solved that, and he'll walk and run all day in them. We still have to keep the corn down, so the boots aren't the be-all end-all, but they really help and help him enjoy his favorite activities again. Sully in his boots:

I sure wish they didn't get corns! Sully has a nice big ol' one on his foot, and yes, they can certainly cause major lameness and limping! The pic you posted looks a lot like a corn. Actually, looks a lot like Sully's corn! Sully's will get to the point where he won't bear weight on the foot and will hobble on 3 legs. The hulling procedure really does work, and it is quick and bloodless, no anaesthesia needed, and it provides a good deal of relief. I understand your problem about finding a vet that will listen-- I have the same problem here, and am still looking for a vet that I like since my old vet retired. Part of it probably has to do with my somewhat rural location. Attitudes are really different here in general. What helps us is keeping the corn soft and filed down (some people dremel it down too, same process, dremel just does it faster) and also periodically if I soak his foot long enough, usually I can just pop the corn out. It's just like the hulling procedure, but just with my fingernail since the pad has softened and the corn starts to separate a bit on its own. Luckily Sully is easygoing, and while he doesn't care for it, he tolerates it, especially because he'll get lots of lovins' afterwards. Boots are also a major recommendation. It can take a while for them to get used to them. Sully did NOT like his at first. I started w/ 1 therapaw. I probably should have purchased two so he wouldn't be so focused on just the ONE foot. He got it off and managed to kill it. I ended up trying again, though I bought a different boot to buy, neo-paws (same idea, provide padding for the corn foot) and purchased a pair of them, so both front feet would have boots. He didn't like them at first, but got used to them quickly when he realized boots = walks (he loves his walks, so the boots quickly became associated with a good thing!). They stay on very well, and he could not take his long walks without them. His corn foot would hurt too much. I can't recommend trying boots enough. It has really helped us here!

I'm so sorry that Turbo is still hurting! Corns just plain suck. I can see where the three-legging it and limping would throw the rest of him out of whack too. It puts a lot of stress on the other legs and his back/spine moves differently, so he's going to hurt more everywhere. Give him a big ol' hug. :grouphug I think I might ask around about the laser as well. Gosh, it would be so nice to not have to worry about the corn! I feel the same way about toe amputation. I had it suggested to me by a vet as well, but I just can't see losing an entire toe because of a corn. And if he gets corns on the other toes? How many are we going to lose?? You can't just keep lopping off toes for every corn! (I understand amputation w/ bad breaks, etc. where it really makes a huge difference, and it's not likely to develop on other toes too) Booties truly have been a godsend here, though now, it's too hot for walks. The pups are perfectly happy to crash in the AC. They want nothing to do with being outside today! (it was 90 degrees at 8:00 this morning. )

Sully's overgrowth looks like hyperkeratinization. However, now that we file it down regularly, it just gets rock hard and tough before it needs filed. (I guess we're filing it before it gets to looking like it did before) It started w/ limping, and then the corn appeared. We kept it hulled, and that helped. Later, we noticed not too long after his corn had been hulled that he was limping again, and there was this excess hardened pad area all around the corn (however, it was never big enough to outgrow the sides of the pad or over the corn, just a weird area around the corn). So, DH filed it down and it made a big difference. Filing the tough growth down is now part of the regular corn maintenance schedule. Anymore, I do the hulling (Can no longer find a vet willing to do it around here. It's not hard, and the corn usually comes out easily-- literally just like the hulling info page) DH does the filing. While one of us works, the other rubs Sully's ears. He doesn't care for it, but doesn't seem to mind it too much, as long as he gets some love. :lol Sully's boots have an extra neoprene insert for padding. Do you think a bit of extra padding would help Turbo?