Big Paws Only Dog Forums

yes there is definitely a discount for boredom portraits!!!!

AWESOME! I haven't got the email yet, maybe my computer is slow, but that headshot picture of Lady is PERFECT!!! Thank you!!! I just printed it out... I'll post it when I am finished!

Got pictures??

Howdy new folks! Let's see a picture of that Bochephus! I've got a pup who's a hound/saint bernard mix but really favors the hound. I had been thinking bloodhound for sure but I was walking him last night and a guy came out and said- "dang! a redbone coonhound!" It was funny but it made me want to see some coonhounds but even better to see how they show up in a mixed breed!

 

Bloat is very scary. My experience with it was with a pony. We came out to my friend's stable and noticed Suzie (the pony) was laying down. We thought, oh how cute. But then we realized she didn't look so good, and she wouldn't stand up. And we realized how FAT her belly looked, unnaturally large to the point that two 13 year-old kids like us even not knowing a thing about bloat could see that there was an emergency before us. We got my friend's mom to call the vet out and meanwhile he said to get her up and keep her moving. He got there pretty fast and down her throat with the tube. But her gut was so twisted he couldn't get the tube down. Poor Suzie was so scared and we were so scared and knew she was in horrible pain. But unfortunately it was too late to save her, and she was in so much pain that the vet had to put her down right there. My friend and I took off running because we were way too young to see that. I am sick to my stomach even thinking about it now. It is a serious and fast problem. We never really knew what caused it for Suzie, but the vet suspected she has been rolling around after drinking some water, and the stomach turned over trapping gases in there, leading her to become completely bloated.
I have deep sympathy for anyone who has had to experience this with any of their animals, it affected me so deeply even though it wasn't my pony that it happened to. I'm glad everyone is sharing information and that website posted by Oreo's dad is something we should all read.

Well, I think I figured out my own problem, but for future reference, here's what I learned: lymph nodes will swell when there is a wound or injury and the body is fighting off an infection. I figured out that the lymph node on my pup's hind leg was swollen because he got one of his toenails (from that same hind leg) caught up on something a week or so ago and was bleeding. Right between pad and nail was torn, and darn near impossible to keep clean, so he must have gotten something in the wound that got it infected. It looks like his little immune system is working things out and the lymph from that area is draining. It all makes sense now and I am no longer afraid that my dog has a tumor. (Whew). I'm going to find out if he needs any antibiotics or anything just to be safe.
 

I was petting my 3 1/2 month old puppy today and noticed what seemed to be a lump in the back of his hind leg. It occured to me that it might be a lymph node, so I did some research and found that there is a lymph node on the back of the "knee" called the popliteal lymph node. On my pup, it is pretty big, like the size of a grape I'd say. Significantly larger than the one on the other leg. Does anyone know what could cause this? All I have been able to find on the internet is that it could be due to an infection in the hind leg. But my pup has no visible injuries and he's feeling great and looks great. I am worried, I don't know how easy it will be to get an appointment with a vet this weekend... any suggestions from anyone???