Big Paws Only Dog Forums

Hi i couldnt post before , but i feel i can now.

Amber aka Amby was our liver spot dalmatian, we collected her aged 16 weeks and fell in love instantly. she seamed to bring luck with her.Amber was the most wonderfull dog, loving , loyal, gentle & she soon became our best friend.

We decided on a dog as an addition to just myself and my hubby, we had been trying to start a family for a couple of years which resulted in several misscarriages. So we gave up on starting a family and consentrated all our love onto amby, but like i said she was my lucky charm.A short time after having amber we moved  from rented property and bought our own home which was great , but even better than that i was 8 weeks pregnant and in November 1994 our son was born.Amber was a little over a year old.

Amby was brill she loved our son and would watch over him and bark when his nappy was full, best of all she loved nothing more than him climbing onto her and falling asleep.She was also my shoulder to lean on , you know how it is tired new mum , stressed out lol ready to commit murder, well she would listen to my rants and she just seemed to understand how i felt and was just allways there when i needed her.

The thing she loved the most other than just being with us was our annual trips the the seaside , she loved the beach so much and would run like a nutter and go snorkel in the rock pools and pull out huge stones, she was a pleasure to watch she loved it. I could go on forever telling you about how great she was and how much we love her and miss her.

When amby was 12 another 2 dogs ben and callie joined our family and they brought amby new youth, all three loved to snuggle up together on the settee.

In all the time we had Amber never did she chew or destroy, or mess .She only ever had vet trips to cut her nails she was a strong healthy dog. She did hate the vets and we would have to drag her through the door to get her in and then she would just bark.

So Amber never did get to go on her seaside trip last year, she was getting old and doggery but still totally fine. Then quite quickly her back legs seemed to get weak and couldnt always hold the weight of her body & several times when she stood she would wee without knowing, which become more over the next week or so, she was still herself and in no pain but we knew it was not good.

She could have came on holiday with us but in our hearts we knew it was not fair , she couldnt walk great and was sleeping alot but still made the effort to come for loves, one thing that never changed was her tail she wagged it all the time.

On July 24th 2007 a week before our holiday we took our baby girl to the park near the vets ands had our last walk together, my heart was in pieces but i stayed strong as i wanted her to feel safe, we walked over the road to the vets and my baby girl knew it was time, she walked straight into the  vets & calmly sat down , she had never entered the vets before without a struggle.

I guess i feel guilty for not giving her that last seaside trip, but we wanted her keep her quality of  life and   dignity & not to be in pain .I knew Amber so well and it was her time, she would have held onto life as long as possible just to be with us and that was not fair for her, she was old and tired and we owed it to her for all the love and joy she had given us over the last 14 years to let her go .

We sat down on the floor with Amby hugging her , stroking her face & talking to her , it took seconds before our baby girl was sleeping peacefully.

The vet told us it was so quick she was more than ready to go and we did the right thing , but i wanted her back so much, the only good thing about that day was myself and my husband were the ones who suffered and not Amber, it would have been so much easier to keep her with us that day and just go home but then our girl would have suffered.

Amber thankyou for our 14 years , you were a  true friend and a huge part of my life and i still love and miss you and will do so forever. hope you understand why we did what we did. xxxxx

I am sure i will feel like this again and again for as long as i own dogs, but i would not change a thing, as upset as i am posting this i am also very happy that i was lucky enough to have Amby and also the dogs we still have now, and i wouldn't change a thing.

thanks for letting me post , sorry its so long and sorry about the spelling.

  I was camera happy today so here's a couple more pics of our girl.

Callie our leonberger weighs around 112lb & is 15 months old .

  hi everyone

Just a quick update on callie , she is now 6.5 months old and 6 stone and doing great.

We took her out today to see how she was with water, well i think a little practise is needed .

We now know where the meaning doggy paddle comes from lol she was terrible splashing about like a lunatic.

Anyway here are a few pics of callie & our goldie ben.

   Hiya every one .

I thought it was about time i posted some new pictures of callie our leonberger , she is now 16 weeks old and is growing like a weed  :0).She weighs roughly 3stone 5lb now.

She is lovely , cute , cuddly and naughty haha its like having a child all over again  .

I have a question does any of your leo's lie with thier back legs totally stretched out ? , also when she wakes up it seems as if she has cramp in her back leg or legs is this a usual thing for leo's , once she  is up she is fine and runs about like a mad thing.

 
Thank you to everyone who posted.

I have taken on board things people have said , like i have removed the tinsel  .

Callie is doing much better, we took her to the vets again and i took a sample with me , which the vet has sent away to be checked. The vet gave callie  a special food, some more pro biotic and some antibiotics along with a sickness jab.

I am very happy to say callie is on the mend ,her poop is firming up & she is so noisy and hungry its unbelievable , so it will be good to get her weight back up she lost just under 7lb in four days.

Once again a big thankyou to all who posted , i'm so glad my house is on the way back to being a noisy , hectic, crazy place to live, (even though i think sometimes i need my head looking into) with my senile dalmatian , my soft cuddly goldie , who growls @ the pup because she scares him & callie who is just totally crazy and moves so fast she falls over her own feet , but not before she takes a bite at your ankle on the way past

Thankyou to everyone for the info they gave out on injections & weight.

Callie is doing really well , sorry i have not posted sooner , but she is keeping me busy along with work, the other dogs a husband and a son lol  .

I have posted pictures on the other board.

Thanks Tracey.

Hi
We finally picked up our leo puppy after waiting for over a year, she is just over seven weeks old.

She takes no notice of my other dogs , and they are slowly getting used to her 

I do have a question or two if anyone can help please.

1.... what age do you suggest i get her vaccinated i have read its not good to have them done early , but also read its not good to leave it to late .

2.. does anyone have a guide or chart to the approx weight a leo should be at different ages .

thanks alot .