Big Paws Only Dog Forums

I worked for a collections agency one year to make money for my kids Christmas.  I sucked at it.  We were told that Christmas is the "best" time to try and collect money.  You tell the person, when they tell you they are trying to get Christmas presents for their kids, with what little money they have and cannot pay the bill,  "The very best Christmas present you can give to your children is the assurance of knowing your bills are paid and your credit is preserved."  What alternate dimension do these people live in?  I couldn't even bring myself to say it out loud, let alone to some desperate, poor person on the phone, who owed a doctor or hospital money.
Kathy

Spay incontinence is common in lots of breeds of dogs, not just giant ones.  I have never had a spayed dog who didn't have it.  My springer was on medication her whole life and my caucasian is on it.  She's only 1.5, but has absolutely no urinary control without it.  She dribbles as she walks constantly.  Luckily, with meds, she is able to hold it for 4 or 5 hours, but no more.
Kathy

Jake our pyr had horrible separation anxiety, when we got him.  After a year, it is almost gone.  He would start to pant and whine as soon as he thought we were leaving his sight.  He would jump the gate into the dining room and pee and poop all over the carpet and wood floor in the foyer.  We tried crating him and it only made it worse.  He ripped two long strips out of his back from separating a large enough opening in the top of the crate to squeeze out.  We came home to a bloody mess and I took the crate down and put it away.  It scared me to think, we could have come home to a dead dog.  My hubby raised the gate and we moved the table and chairs far enough away that he couldn't use them to jump up on.  The he learned to jump up on the counter and go through my shelves on the half wall, breaking everything on the shelves, in the process.  Hubby took wooden lattice, stained it to match the shelves, framed it in and used that as a backing on my shelves.  Jake can no longer get through and we have not come home to any messes in a month or so.  Out of my 4 dogs, the only one who has ever let me know that she needed to go out is ChiChi and she rarely does it.  The others just wait until they are let out.  Thank god we haven't been blessed with the "runs fairy" since I changed them all over to raw, last spring.  I don't know if they would let me know they needed to go out, or not.  I would opt for finding a way to securely contain him in the kitchen, or lock him in your bedroom and just let him whine, til he gets used to it. 
Kathy

That does suck.  If the others were in good shape, then those poor dogs were stuck there while others were being fed and they weren't.
Kathy

I am so sorry this happened.  Bloat is horrible and can take a dog so quickly. 
As a side note, I hope everyone is familiar with the accupressure points for treating bloat, please learn them and practice on your dog.  Our local dane rescue group swears by them.  They have dealt with many bloat cases, only a few requiring surgery.  According to what they have explained, you can actually hear and feel the dogs digestive tract start working and watch the swelling and hardness go away, as you are doing it.  This is something I do with Max regularly, not because there is a problem, but because I want him to be comfortable with it, if it is ever needed.
http://www.iwane.org/A_P.htm 
Kathy

If you don't have livestock for them to guard, keep your puppy inside.  They need to bond with someone or something and then want to be with that person or animal.  Jake will only go out to do his business and eat.  Other than that, he is leaning against the door, waiting to come back in.  Inside he is not a velcro dog, but he needs to be where we are, even if he is in another room.  He will come in to check on us from time to time and generally sleeps in our bed.  Conratulations on the new pup.  Expect lots of barking, shedding and loving.
Kathy

I am so sorry.  These wonderful, gentle souls, live such horribly short lives as it is, it breaks my heart for them to be sick or in pain, ever.
I have to ask, just because I am so worried about this happening to Max.  Is he neutered?  If so, at what age?  If you don't want to answer or feel it is too personal, I will understand. 
My heart goes out to you and Brougan.  I hope he is in major remission and has many, many, years left to lie in the sun, snuggle with puppies and enjoy his life with you.
Kathy

One of my friends runs a great dane rescue, close to me.  One of the biggest reasons she has danes returned is exactly what you are describing.  They are great in their foster homes, but start to growl, guard and eventually nip, in their forever homes.  She is challenging you right now and just testing the waters to find out what her boundaries are.  Some dogs will challenge, periodically, throughout their lives.  They are IMO just very dominant dogs.  I don't have a problem with that, it just means that I can never let anything go.  If I say do something, they have to do it, or I have to force them to.  No second chances, no "it's okay this time", ever.  ChiChi challenges us, even though we have a multi dog household.  Part of her problem is that she doesn't really fit into the hierarchy here, since she is the only female.  She kind of has her own totem pole, so to speak.  You just have to meet her, move for move.  If my dogs growl at me over food, they have to eat it out of my hand.  If that means I physically struggle with them to take the food away, so be it.  I have only done that twice.  They like being able to lay down and hold their food in their paws and eat, so to have to stand up and tear off little pieces, while I hold it, is punishment for them. 
Just stand up to her and you will win.  Don't be apprehensive or worried about her reaction.  You will transmit those feelings to her and it will be a losing battle.  Good luck and you can win.
Kathy