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Messages - mynameislola

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31
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Re: I REALLY want another dog!!
« on: February 13, 2008, 02:16:50 am »
Since the shelter is getting overcrowded, would they let you foster the dog?  Having him dog in the house might help your hubby decide.  What a sweet face!

Every relationship is different, and I would never want to suggest anything that might provoke discord, but could you bring the dog home "without permission?" 

After 27 years of me dragging home strays, fosters, and a few grocery store pups that stayed, my hubby would let me keep the dog.  Especially if I told him it was for him.  His Wally has a thread in the Cane Corso section.

I am curious what testing the shelter does that helped them decide the dog would be good with kids.  I get asked once in a while to evaluate a dog and find it difficult since we don't have any kids to scamper past the dogs while shrieking and that sort of thing.

Best of luck getting him home.


32
Treatment & Preventative Meds / Re: Benadryl??
« on: February 11, 2008, 02:14:22 pm »
Thanks, everyone, for their patience with my saying in every Benedryl thread that there are over a dozen formulations of Benedryl and most are dosed differently.

33
Great Dane Discussions / Re: Aggression
« on: February 11, 2008, 02:06:54 pm »
Thanks for keeping us updated. 

I am curious what was done medically to check your dog.  Our dog with the tumor passed the first two checkups with the Vet. telling me that nothing was wrong.  It took a specialist to find the tumor.

Our Newfie with bilateral luxating patellas, graded three and four, also passed a cursory checkup with flying colors.  Our Aussie Shepherd was seen several times before they figured out the bridging spondylosis.

If x-rays of the spine and bloodwork were not done, I'd take her back.

34
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Re: Dustin theTibetan Mastiff Looking for a loving home!!!!!!!!!!!
« on: February 11, 2008, 12:52:24 pm »
Lots of people are giving up big dogs because of life changes where they are losing their home or a job and cannot afford to feed a huge dog or provide medical care. 

If you are concerned about a potential behavior issue, ask to take the dog for a checkup and run it past the behaviorist at your local shelter.

Dogs turned in for behavioral issues, in my experience, are generally a year old.   Older dogs with behavioral issues tend to arrive after the birth of a baby in the home.

35
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Re: Help needed from harness users, updated new pics
« on: February 11, 2008, 12:47:02 pm »
Too cute!!!  Go back for the decorated set and get one in large for our Wally.  :)

Do you know what type of mastiff those are?  They look like my Italian Mastiff, Zita.

The reason the trainer tells the class to say the command with or just after the behavior is that connects the action with the word in the dogs' brain.  The potty command is a good example.  If someone says Go Potty before the dog goes, there is nothing to associate.  No action, no reward, just meaningless babble from the owner toward the dog.

If the desired action occurs with the command and the reward, it all connects way faster.  There is some fancy dog psychology word for that...

I'd snug the harness a bit tighter.  A pup that slender tends to walk backwards out of harnesses.

36
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Re: Doggies In Tacoma--Clean Up!!
« on: February 11, 2008, 12:33:54 pm »
Wow, sure would be nice to have something like that here.  They'd lose money on my Newfie between the gallon of shampoo and the six hours under the dryer.

37
Great Dane Discussions / Re: Aggression
« on: February 11, 2008, 12:30:56 pm »
Ditto that the dogs could be helped with a complete physical from a Vet. to be sure that there is no physical cause for the behavior.  One of our dogs (125 pound GSD mix) had sudden "for no reason" aggression and he turned out to have a brain tumor.  His behavior went from odd to dangerous in about a month.

Pack order changes rarely result in injuries with blood, IMO, unless it is an accident.  Until you figure it all out, I would keep the aggressor in a different area or leashed to an attentive human.  Isolation will give you time to determine what is going on without your dogs getting injured.

38
Medical Conditions & Diseases / Re: Shaking Front Legs
« on: February 11, 2008, 03:55:10 am »
Has the dog had any x-rays?  Our Newfie's rear legs shaking turned out to be a skeletal issue.

39
Medical Conditions & Diseases / Re: Dog has dried blood on tips of ears
« on: February 09, 2008, 05:13:36 pm »
A dog shaking its head to dislodge insects can cause the tips of the ears to bleed.  So can shaking the ears due to an inner ear infection, but in your case I also would guess that the problem is caused by flies.

Our Vizsla wore a little cap I made to keep her ears intact until the neighbors got evicted who were breeding the flies with their ginormous trashpile.

40
Great Pyrenees Discussions / Re: Would this confuse the pack the harmony?
« on: February 09, 2008, 04:48:29 pm »
As the owner of both goats and dogs, here are a few things for you to consider.  The first is that housing different species together is generally a bad idea.  Another is the need for animals, even those of the same species like dogs, to have their own space. 

The last is the instinctual pattern of dog behavior where they chase things moving rapidly away from them.  Again, a blanket statement, but as a breed designed to hunt, I'd be very hesitant to let a Cocker near livestock without specialized training or at the very least an evaluation. 

If it were me, I'd wait for a sturdy pen for the goat first.  Depending on your climate, the goat may need also need a shelter.  Our pygmy goat uses a small doghouse, but the Nubian/Saanen cross at 200 pounds needed a shed.  Young goats are amazingly agile so make sure it can't jump or climb out of the pen.

If the goat will have horns, check with your Vet. to see if they can safely be disbudded.  Horns can cause serious injuries to pets as well as people.  If the goat is a male, get it neutered fast before the hormones develop and it starts to stink.  Intact male goats smell worse than skunks and it's a 24/7 stink.  If you do not already know how to trim the hooves, take a good look at the baby's feet.  That is what they should always look like.

Also, we had a very difficult time finding a Vet. that treats livestock.  Ask someone with horses about that.

It is my opinion that dogs are unlikely to fight over the goat as if it were a toy.  They would be more likely to injure the goat while trying to play.  As the goat ages, unless you specifically train it to not do head butting, your dogs will become more likely to become injured.

41
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Re: Help needed from harness users
« on: February 08, 2008, 10:09:22 pm »
Ditto that the harness is too small and needs to be pink.  Our blue dog looks very nice in her flourescent pink collar and leash.  There is a brand, the name escapes me, that will replace a harness if it gets chewed.  Foster and Smith sells them and they are a great investment for puppy owners. 

Double check with the management where you are doing the lessons.  The big box store here doesn't allow anyone under 18 in the training area and only the person who signed the contract gets near the dogs.  You could say something like, "Who is liable if my dog is injured by one of those kids?"

42
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Re: Issues treating an infected paw
« on: February 08, 2008, 12:49:11 am »
How about a spray bottle and squirt on the solution when the dog is sleepy?  I did that with a feral dog I couldn't safely touch and a matted wound.  Put on something noisy in the background so the sound of the bottle squirting doesn't cause a learned response.

Ditto the patience.  The last dog we had with touchy paws took a bit more than a year before she would let me cip all her nails in one session.

43
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Re: Need your opinions on a dog-friendly apartment!
« on: February 05, 2008, 03:58:05 am »
I'd keep looking for something on the ground floor.

44
Food Discussion & Information / Re: Mini-questionnaire:What kind of food do you feed your dog and how much?
« on: February 05, 2008, 03:55:52 am »
Canidae for all stages, free fed.

45
Medical Conditions & Diseases / Re: 9 month old English Mastiff shakes when stands and arches back constantly
« on: February 05, 2008, 03:53:55 am »
The arch in the back is compensation for an injury or other damage.  Our Newfie with bilateral patellar luxation has the same arch and shakes from muscle spasms, not pain.  One knee is grade three and the other was a four until the surgery.  He was about the same age when he started getting symptoms. 

Have you seen the Vet. yet?  They can tell a lot just manipulating the dog's legs.  We had a full diagnosis before the X-rays were done.  If they sedate the dog for x-rays, especially of the hips, you will get a much better view of the bones.

Got pictures of the dog?  If there is an angulation problem, one of the other OEM owners might notice it. 

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