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Neko
Member
08-03-2001
| Friday, October 22, 2004 - 8:20 pm
It seems like with my vet, everything can be and usually is attributed to "Separation Anxiety" but honestly, with our family's schedules, someone is home almost ALL of the time...so I really don't believe it could be that....
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Whoami
Member
08-03-2001
| Saturday, October 23, 2004 - 5:00 pm
Neko, if it were me, I'd take him in to the vet and have bloodwork done, if anything. I just talked to my veterinarian sis today. And she says with older animals, its always a good idea to have bloodwork done on them every year anyway. And if the vet doesn't ask during the routine exam, you tell them that's what you want. My sis's dog, who I mentioned earlier went into seizures before she died, had been peeing on the floor for a few days before all heck broke loose. It could have been a sign she wasn't feeling good. They didn't do a necropsy to determine cause of death, but the vet did say he felt a mass in her belly, and it was probably a tumor on the spleen that had burst. On a side note, Boomer came and snuggled with me in my dreams last night. I went to bed last night and said a little prayer for/to him, telling him I'd been sensing his presence, and hope to still be mentally strong enough to continue "receiveing" him (that I hoped my current anguish wasn't holding him at bay). I told him that I dearly missed feeling his solid body to touch and feel, but I would welcome his spirit around me any time. In the dream, I still knew he was gone, but I felt the solid body come up and lay down next to me with that solid "whomp" dogs do when they lay down. I knew it was him cause Bomba was already on the other side of me. I remember touching/patting/loving both boys on both sides of me, and feeling happy I could touch his solid body again.
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Graceunderfyre
Member
01-22-2004
| Sunday, October 24, 2004 - 10:39 am
Neko- We are going through something a little different but similar. We moved in June of this past year to a smaller apartment in a complex (we used to live in the top half of a horse barn that was converted into our apt plus a law practice downstairs - DH was the caretaker of the 35acre estate/farm we lived on). Our vet back in PA told us very firmly that when we moved we needed to make sure we set up Hershie's crate and keep her in it when we are gone and then leave it open for her to go to when we are home. We got here and found there is NO place to set it up, so our new vet in IL said not to worry about it. Initially I was home ALL the time and took her for long walks a coupla times a day and she seemed to be really happy. Then I started to work again which took me away from home for 2 hours a day when DH is not there. . . about a month ago, we came home to find she had chewed up all the kitchen cabinet doors. So we put up a baby gate. Next we found she had chewed up the banister at the top of the stairs leading to the entrance of our apartment. So we put up another baby gate at the top of the landing (we needed it for DS too). Then we came home to find she chewed up the bottom rungs on a few the DR table chairs. So now we leave her in the bedroom and close the door. . . if she chews up my bed or furniture, it's no big deal because I am planning on refinishing them all next year when we buy a house and move. Hershie seems to be doing a lot better now because her bed is next to ours and she loves sleeping on our waterbed when we aren't around. The PA vet and "Dummies Guide to Training Dogs" both say that dogs like having crates because it's like having their own room and it gives them a sense of security. While Hershie hardly went into her crate before we moved, she did go there when she was upset and when we moved she lost that space. Also, we lived on a farm in the middle of nowhere, the where her worst threat was the squirrels that used to taunt her on the front door step. Now we live in a complex next to a major road where she is constantly hearing traffic and worse for her, people moving around nearby. She really gets excited everytime she hears children yelling and laughing which happens all the time since we are near the playground. The PA vet also said that sometimes it takes dogs a while to let you know they are upset about moving so having the crate available helps them to get used to their new surroundings. Now I am going to guess that this only works when your dog is crate trained to begin with - which mine is. I don't know if you can train an old dog to like a crate, but you could give it a try. My girlfriend crate trained her puppy with a box which has turned into a large box (I think the one the stove came in) with her bed in it and a few holes cut into it so it actually looks like a kid's clubhouse. My dog is conniving and would jump out of that - but leaving her in our bedroom seems to have solved our problem - it's been about 3 weeks since the last feast on wood. Whoami That's the coolest I still feel my favorite ferret nosing my neck or licking my ear when he played in my hair sometimes ;)
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Kstme
Member
08-14-2000
| Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - 8:55 am
Who, I am so sorry for your loss! I haven't been here for a long time and I'm so saddened to hear of Boomer's passing. Big hugs to you and your mom. I do have some good news. Maesin has just purchased her first Sussex Spaniel...a gorgeous little female named Cami. We will be getting a male next August and we will begin our breeding program about a year later. Our female comes from Indiana and our male will come from England. Kris won't be bringing Cami home until she is championed, which is happening in the East. Our male will have to be sent to the East, also, but then they will both be home with us for good!! 
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Neko
Member
08-03-2001
| Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - 7:19 pm
Graceunderfyre - I don't think I could train Odée with a crate or a kennel or anything like that. He HATES enclosed spaces, like boxes. I think it has to do with the mistreatment he got with his past owners, leaving him in the bathroom and whatnot. But something else in your post caught my eye, about your dog getting excited about children.. Odée gets extremely excited over children, and the last place we lived in had some children, but they were never loud. Here, there's tons of children, all extremely loud, all the time.. Maybe there's something to do with that.. So excited that he pees... :P
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Graceunderfyre
Member
01-22-2004
| Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - 7:25 pm
Neko - that's exactly why Hershie chews on the wood. . .too much excitement! Isn't it funny how it all of a sudden affects them?
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Racsan
Member
04-09-2004
| Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - 9:49 pm
Grace you might try turning the radio or tv on when you have to leave Hershey alone. It's amazing what it can do to a dog or cat; they don't feel so much alone. And also since you know you will be moving in the future, if you get her used to the music/tv now when you move to the new place there will be something familiar for her when you have to leave her alone there. It did wonders for my cat, who gets left along for 11 hours a day, since the place I'm working for went to 4 - 10 hours a day [and usually 8 - 10 hours on Friday, sometimes Saturday too. wouldn't have gotten a pet if I knew I was going to be gone so much but it changed after I got my cat.]
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Yankee_in_ca
Member
08-01-2000
| Thursday, October 28, 2004 - 10:29 pm
Why, why, why do people insist on walking around the city with their dogs off the leash?!!?!!? I know these owners think they have "trained" their dog, and that I am in some way delinquent because I have not trained my dog to walk off the leash in the city, but you NEVER KNOW what will spook or interest a dog, and I don't want to take any chances. I choose to keep my dog on the leash. Just in the past week the following happened to me: --> I was driving down a very busy, very fast city street (three lanes each way), when a golden retriever went flying across the street against the light. I still am not sure how all the cars missed him -- there must have been 5 who braked or swerved to avoid him. Good luck, I think. The dog was running to a fountain in front of a building -- to play in the water. I was so frightened, thinking the dog might run back across the street again (this time not being so lucky), I drove around the block and back to the dog to try to "corral" him and maybe see if he had a phone number on his dog tag. Just as I arrived, his owner showed up to claim him. Good ending to a potentially bad story. --> Just TONIGHT, I was taking my dog for a walk, again in a busy section of the city. A dog came running across a side street -- right in front of 2 cars who managed to stop in time. I was worried about the dog, and called "Puppy, Puppy." He came to me, but wouldn't get close enough for me to grab his collar. It didn't help that my dog was so excited ... I think it scared the "loose" dog. So I tried to talk to it to keep it with me, but it bolted and ran towards a huge, major intersection. I kept calling for it, but it kept running. I couldn't watch. I knew if it ran out in the intersection it had a very good chance of getting hit. So I turned back to where the dog came from, to try to find its owner. I luckily found her a minute later -- she was whistling and calling for her dog on the marina walk, and had no idea where he had gone. I told her he bolted for the intersection, and she went running and screaming after her dog. Happily, he heard her and came running down the block towards her. Another happy ending, but one that could have been horrid. The owner thanked me for telling her where her dog went, because she had no idea -- and said that it had been spooked because someone on the water had let off a firecracker. I understand that sh** happens, but I can't help thinking that if the dog had been on a leash in the first place, it wouldn't have been so potentially catastrophic. It just goes to show you never know what's going to spook a dog. I grew up on a farm where our dogs were never leashed, but my opinion is that if you CHOOSE to have a dog in the middle of a major city, you then must CHOOSE to do your best to keep it and others safe by leashing your dog. You also need to pick up its poop. No, it's not nice to do, but it's the breaks. You choose to have a dog in the city, leash it and clean up after it. Period. End of rant. 
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Graceunderfyre
Member
01-22-2004
| Thursday, October 28, 2004 - 11:05 pm
Yankee ITA . . .of course I am the one in our house that always lets the dog run around the complex without her leash. . . the neighborhood kids all love her so it's not a real concern anymore (other than someone deiciding to report me to the Assoc and getting a fine). But I always grab her collar when someone new approaches, because Hershie loves to jump up on people and I just can't get her to stop that. Rascan, we do run the radio during the day - normally it's an accident because someone has pressed snooze and then forgotten about it so the alarm clock on my bed stays on all day. But DS has a radio in his room too that is generally on and it doesn't seem to help Hershie (DS's "room" is our large walk in closet that no longer has a door, so Hershie's often in there sleeping on DS' bed).
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Friday, October 29, 2004 - 1:14 pm
Dog saves woman's life by calling 911 October 29, 2004 CNN RICHLAND, Washington (AP) -- Leana Beasley has faith that a dog is man's best friend. Faith, a 4-year-old Rottweiler, phoned 911 when Beasley fell out of her wheelchair and barked urgently into the receiver until a dispatcher sent help. Then the service dog unlocked the front door for the police officer. "I sensed there was a problem on the other end of the 911 call," said dispatcher Jenny Buchanan. "The dog was too persistent in barking directly into the phone receiver. I knew she was trying to tell me something." Faith is trained to summon help by pushing a speed-dial button on the phone with her nose after taking the receiver off the hook, said her owner, Beasley, 45, who suffers grand mal seizures. Guided by experts at the Assistance Dog Club of Puget Sound, Beasley helped train Faith herself. The day of the fall, Faith "had been acting very clingy, wanting to be touching me all day long," Beasley said Thursday. The dog, whose sensitive nose can detect changes in Beasley's body chemistry, is trained to alert her owner to impending seizures. But that wasn't what was happening on September 7, and Faith apparently wasn't sure how to communicate the problem. During Beasley's three-week hospital stay, doctors determined her liver was not properly processing her seizure medication.
Yea Faith! 
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Yankee_in_ca
Member
08-01-2000
| Friday, October 29, 2004 - 1:23 pm
Arrrrgh -- I think I am cursed to witness dogs almost get hit by cars. Today while I was standing in line at Starbucks, I watched a little white fluffy dog (who was off leash while their owner was inside Starbucks) walk into traffic. Luckily a car stopped in time, while the dog just stood there in the middle of the street. Another woman said to a lady in line, "Is that your dog?" It was, and she went running out, called her dog back out of the street and then LEFT IT OFF-LEASH on the sidewalk outside again. When she came back in, she said "Oh, he's just upset and looking for my husband." WHAT?! And you left him there again? What is wrong with people? If one of these non-leashed dogs got hit by a car, not only would I feel bad for the dog, but I would also feel horrible for the driver who might not be able to stop. I accidentally hit a cat once when I was in college, and it still makes me very sad. Sorry to be ranting about this so much. Like I said, I think I'm cursed because I keep seeing this stuff happen. If you have a dog in the country, let him run if you want. If you have a dog downtown in a major metropolitan city, put him on a leash. Sigh...
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Whoami
Member
08-03-2001
| Friday, October 29, 2004 - 1:24 pm
Yea Faith! Although I do have to LOL at the wording: "Faith, a 4-year-old Rottweiler, phoned 911 when Beasley fell out of her wheelchair and barked urgently into the receiver until a dispatcher sent help." The way this is worded, Beasley fell out of her chair and barked urgently..... ETA: {{{{Yankee}}}} Some people just shouldn't have dogs!
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Seamonkey
Member
09-07-2000
| Friday, October 29, 2004 - 4:41 pm
Yankee.. I hear ya!! There are places where it is safe to let a dog run free, but they are few and far between and except a well-fenced area should still be under supervision. Sigh.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Friday, October 29, 2004 - 7:38 pm
I saw the Faith story today. I didn't realize it was a dog right here in Washington. It could be Lance's neighbor's dog! What a good dog!! Faith is also trained to smell when the owner is about to have a seizure. Faith had been acting strange but not giving the seizure alert in the day and night before before the incident. This is a heartwarming story. If you have time, go to google and search in google news on dog 911, and I am sure you will find the story.
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Friday, October 29, 2004 - 7:44 pm
It is a great story!!
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Landi
Member
07-29-2002
| Friday, October 29, 2004 - 8:53 pm
i posted the whole story in the "right now" thread.
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Amchess
Member
08-27-2002
| Monday, November 01, 2004 - 8:15 am
Has anyone seen the tv show "Dog Whisperer"? It is on the Nat'l Geo channel. In Tampa we get it at 12:30 and 6:30. Lunch and Dinner time so it's hard to remember to watch the time. The Dog Whisperer goes for mental more than behavorial. First to make the dog know without a doubt that his owners are the leaders and he is submissive. And the families of the pets of the day are always astounded how fast Cesar (the DW) gains control without raising his voice. I liked Cell Dogs too, but haven't seen that one lately (on Animal Planet).
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Nansco98
Member
03-06-2003
| Friday, November 05, 2004 - 5:58 pm
My dog is being treated for heartworms, he is doing the split treatment. He got his first shot five days ago. Has anybody been through this before and if so how did it go. Here is a pic of Max resting on the couch and the cat had to rest with him.

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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Saturday, November 06, 2004 - 9:55 am
Umm, just follow the direction of your vet and keep him "still" for as long as the vet said. I went through it twice. The first time went fine, but my dog still had heartworm a year later. The second round did not go well. Not sure I should bring you down, but you can read the sad story if you want to scroll back a page (Wed. Oct. 20; 8:33 pm). The good news is most dogs recover just fine and live a long life after the treatment. Make sure you keep Max up to date on HW pills the rest of his life. Don't let his heart rate go up until the vet says he is good to run around... Good luck and keep us updated.
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Graceunderfyre
Member
01-21-2004
| Saturday, November 06, 2004 - 11:06 am
I can't imagine trying to keep my dog still. . . just making eye contact with her causes her to jump up and down. . .
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Saturday, November 06, 2004 - 1:07 pm
Well, you don't have to keep them in a straightjacket, just so they don't run around. A crate works if the dog is used to it... but it is hard-no doubt about that. PS Grace-your DH is a cutie!!! (Saw him in your update)
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Graceunderfyre
Member
01-21-2004
| Saturday, November 06, 2004 - 2:17 pm
oh so it's ok if she gets excited when she sees us. . .it's just the chasing after the stuffed animals that's bad. . . aww shucks. . . I tell him that all the time, but he doesn't think so 
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Nansco98
Member
03-06-2003
| Saturday, November 06, 2004 - 2:18 pm
We put him in the dog cage when no one is home and it night. He is sleeping on the couch and the mail man just came and he started barking. Gave me a few more grey hairs. So far we are doing ok. He is a hyper dog so its hard when I take him out for potty breaks. He wants to take off. He does his business and I bring him back in. Its like taking care of a baby. Julieboo sorry about your dog. I had a cat that died two years ago from heartworms. Gracie was the type of cat that always wanted to be on my lap. I still miss her so much. I will keep everyone updated.
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Graceunderfyre
Member
01-21-2004
| Saturday, November 06, 2004 - 2:24 pm
Nansco, I'll pray that squirrels stop coming into your back yard for a little bit 
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Seamonkey
Member
09-07-2000
| Saturday, November 06, 2004 - 2:28 pm
Crating is an excellent option for keeping them at least fairly quiet.. while dealing with heartworm. That cat is huge!! And gorgeous!! MaineCoon?
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