Vent!

[bendog]

I read an interesting blog on this very topic last night.

Was this blog article about how if you're a young couple who aren't ready for kids who are thinking "oh let's get a dog" you shouldn't do it because when you have kids you will basically ignore the dog completely in favour of the kids? If it is, I read it the other day and was disgusted with how the author portrayed the whole thing

I think I read that too and it really worried me

Things will obviously have to change for all of us and the dogs won't be able to take priority as much.
For example right now I am in bed, completely exhausted, and Poppy is in season so only had a short pavement walk (made even shorter due to encountering a rogue jack russell that escaped from his garden to follow us) and she is really bored and whinging at me.

I really really need to stay in bed (seriously never felt so tired in my life!) but I will still likely get up in a minute and do some clicker training or something with her.

Whilst at the moment the dogs needs often come before my own, when the baby is here then his needs will have to come first at least for the short term as he will demand a lot of my time and attention.

I've seen 3 of my clients have babies in the time I've been dog walking and in every case the dog has suffered - having to spend more time locked out of the room alone, or being harassed by the baby. All these owners love their dog and would never give them up, but they also don't have the time to give the dog as much attention as they need.

I really hope that I manage to avoid the same mistakes, but I know I might not
We have got over 20 kongs now so that if all else fails and I need to occupy the dogs at least they can have a kong for a bit!

[delladooo]

It seems so needless though because surely he easiest way to see it is that the dog(s) are just older children that still need looking after. Personally children seem like the very worst thing in the world to me so Laufey's pretty safe but I do feel sorry for all the dogs that are replaced by children.

My vent of the day is that Laufey still barks at things we can't hear and it's annoying mum. If you acknowledge him and talk to him he calms down but she just keeps telling him to shut up. I feel like we're going in circles when she sees something I've done working but then doesn't notice it in others. I think mostly we're both just tired and things are niggling.

[bendog]

I was absolutely 100% sure I was never going to have kids either :/

[delladooo]

yeah, that's seems to be the theme for a lot of people. I'm pretty confident that I'll never had kids but if I did I think I'd end up doing something awful like leaving them in a supermarket or something. They're like tiny aliens that I don't understand. Dogs I can cope with but kids terrify me

[Erica]

Delta won't finish his dinner but he'll eat literally anything else in the house. He also still has energy beyond belief after wearing out a terrier mix and a pit bull mix in three separate play sessions, taking a good half-hour walk on hilly terrain, and playing fetch for a while. I, on the other hand, am bone-tired.

Opal's hips or legs or something are really bothering her. I'm about to ask for permission to take her to my vets for a second opinion. She rarely gets up and when she does she hobbles a lot at first. As she moves she loosens up a bit but...it's saddening to see. Poor girl.

I'm another in the please-no-kids-ever club and there are a few reasons I'm confident I'll stay there

[delladooo]

Delta won't finish his dinner but he'll eat literally anything else in the house. He also still has energy beyond belief after wearing out a terrier mix and a pit bull mix in three separate play sessions, taking a good half-hour walk on hilly terrain, and playing fetch for a while. I, on the other hand, am bone-tired.

Opal's hips or legs or something are really bothering her. I'm about to ask for permission to take her to my vets for a second opinion. She rarely gets up and when she does she hobbles a lot at first. As she moves she loosens up a bit but...it's saddening to see. Poor girl.

I'm another in the please-no-kids-ever club and there are a few reasons I'm confident I'll stay there

Erica, just out of interest what would be your take on the phrase "standard poodles are very dominant" as a lady was saying to me the other day, I brushed the comment off be sue I couldn't think of a way to convince her due to age/experience. I'd quite like to be armed against it if it ever happens again beyond that dominance theory is outdated.

I do hope Opal's okay, she seems such a lovely girl. Fingers crossed

[Nettle]

Delladoo, I think that comes from the same script as a dog being 'stubborn' or 'stupid' when the stupid human is too stubborn to take time to explain to the dog what is wanted and then rewarding it when it complies

[delladooo]

Delladoo, I think that comes from the same script as a dog being 'stubborn' or 'stupid' when the stupid human is too stubborn to take time to explain to the dog what is wanted and then rewarding it when it complies

Ahh when you put it like that I can possibly see why she said they are dominant. I've always been under the impression they're very intelligent and just need something to do so I was a bit confused by the statement. But, if someone had one and didn't do anything with it I can see how the dog would be frustrated and not know what to do.

[Erica]

They can certainly be pushy if Delta's anything to go by. If he knows what he wants and isn't able to do/get it he will pester and bug. Like when he wants to eat his bully stick instead of breakfast and spends ten minutes barking at where the bully stick is hidden :/ but you just have to outthink them, which can be a challenge of its own! They're smart and motivated and have big personalities and opinions, which could lead misinformed people to interpret them as dominant, I guess.

[delladooo]

Ahhh, I suppose that could explain the dominant comment quite well to people who use the term. Laufey can be like that in many respects but tends to abandon an idea if I distract him with food...

Speaking of, he decided he didn't want to come home tonight and stood resolutely at the end of our road because he wanted to carry on - I could practically see him going "but mummmmm I want to go this way" like a small child would but bribery with immediate treats and the promise of tea when we got in won him over. He definitely knows what breakfast means and I'm pretty sure he gets the gist of dinner and tea - not to the same extend as I don't say them as often but "let's go get breakfast" is about the quickest way to get him to come home in a morning

[JudyN]

Someone, mentioning no names Jasper, has eaten a hole in my jeans pocket, presumably to get at the kibble. I only discovered this when I put a handful of kibble in the pocket and felt it run down my leg on the inside of the jeans. Being skinny jeans, getting them out again wasn't a straightforward procedure

[delladooo]

Someone, mentioning no names Jasper, has eaten a hole in my jeans pocket, presumably to get at the kibble. I only discovered this when I put a handful of kibble in the pocket and felt it run down my leg on the inside of the jeans. Being skinny jeans, getting them out again wasn't a straightforward procedure

I shouldn't laugh, I'd be fuming, but that is rather amusing. Hope they weren't your favourite pair, that would be rather unfortunate

[rnor1120]

Opal's hips or legs or something are really bothering her. I'm about to ask for permission to take her to my vets for a second opinion. She rarely gets up and when she does she hobbles a lot at first. As she moves she loosens up a bit but...it's saddening to see. Poor girl.

How old is Opal now? Consider asking your vet to do a small kidney/liver profile (if blood work hasn't been done recently) and starting an NSAID, like carprofen [Rimadyl, Quellin], Deramaxx, Previcoxx. I've had a few arthritic patients whose quality of life improved dramatically.

Stuff you can try without a vet:
-Cosequin or other joint supplements (I like cosequin, phycox, and glycoflex). It's cheaper if you buy in bulk online, like from Amazon or eBay.
-Fish oil (GSD could probably have 3 capsules per day, as long as the ingredients don't include garlic, thyme, onion, etc)

[Erica]

Opal's hips or legs or something are really bothering her. I'm about to ask for permission to take her to my vets for a second opinion. She rarely gets up and when she does she hobbles a lot at first. As she moves she loosens up a bit but...it's saddening to see. Poor girl.

How old is Opal now? Consider asking your vet to do a small kidney/liver profile (if blood work hasn't been done recently) and starting an NSAID, like carprofen [Rimadyl, Quellin], Deramaxx, Previcoxx. I've had a few arthritic patients whose quality of life improved dramatically.

Stuff you can try without a vet:
-Cosequin or other joint supplements (I like cosequin, phycox, and glycoflex). It's cheaper if you buy in bulk online, like from Amazon or eBay.
-Fish oil (GSD could probably have 3 capsules per day, as long as the ingredients don't include garlic, thyme, onion, etc)

We took her to my vets - we didn't do more bloodwork as old vets were taking a three hour lunch break and we couldn't get the records :/ While she was doing badly Monday and Tuesday, to the point where we were wondering if she would last the week, she has gone back nearly to normal! A couple good meals got her energetic again (raw chicken was still interesting when her kibble wasn't, lol, but now she is eating her usual food). She is on a course of antibiotics as my vets think it could be a tick-borne disease - she had stiffness in her neck and hips, which, with the lethargy and disinterest in food and whatever else they observed, led them to think that was most likely. They offered to test for the tick diseases which can be diagnosed with tests, but there are so many without tests that we agreed that just treating her would be best. (Dad had suggested tick-borne illness to old vets but they ignored him in favor of the "depressed that she's not the alpha anymore" theory.) A combination of good, thorough, friendly vets and cheaper prices mean my dad is going to switch Opal to my vets, thankfully!

If the antibiotics don't help we will take another look at the bloodwork which was done and what we could test for that was missed, and probably schedule her for x-Rays of her hips or ultrasound of her abdomen to see if there is anything like cancer. That was Dad's biggest worry, but we're hoping it's the tick stuff.

Overall - she is eating well again, moving more freely, and instigating play with Delta

I think we will try the supplements, because either way she's getting older and GSDs' hips are infamous!

[rnor1120]

She is on a course of antibiotics as my vets think it could be a tick-borne disease

I clearly missed this at some point down the line . Poor Opal, I hope she feels better soon!