Big Paws Only Dog Forums

Thanks for the ideas, guys!  I'm definitely gonnna try working on getting them to put their front feet on a chair.  This would get them a lot closer to the kids.  I think I'd be too afraid they'd squish some poor little kid if they got all the way onto the bed (BTW, they are allowed to get on the bed, I just don't feel like my big clumsy boys should!)

But the chair idea is good.  I'm gonna work on that one this morning.  We have a visit scheduled for this afternoon, so I'll let you know if we have any success.

And when I see the pet-therapy coordinator, I'm gonna ask her what the other big dogs do to get close to the kids.  We have a lot of goldens, labs, and a big ol' dane and newf and saint that have been doing this for a while.  I know my boys will "get it" eventually.  I think they've made a ton of progress already.  We just have to work on the fine tuning.  The chair is a good place to start, I think. 

Thanks!!

So we've been taking Apollo and Zeus on therapy visits to the children's hospital every Friday for the last two months.  It took them a few visits to get used to the smells (food trays, trash cans, bedside commodes, etc.) but they're finally ignoring all that.  They love all the attention and seem to get a real kick out of it.  The only problem that we're having is we often can't get them to pay attention to the child in the bed (the ones that we're actually there for).

I think part of the problem is that it's a little crowded in the rooms, and they have a hard time squeezing in between IV poles and recliner chairs.  Usually they'll start going up to the bed, maybe sniff the kid's hand, then they back out and go to the other people in the room for snuggling.  I try to encourage them to stay up by the bed, but its not working.  I'm not allowed to use treats (per TDI rules).  I was thinking about using a squeaky toy, but Zeus and Apollo don't really like toys.  I'm at a loss for ideas.

Anyone?

OMG!  I'm in love with those babies!      You're totally awesome for posting those amazing, beautiful photos!

We had the most amazing luck finding our two pyrs on Petfinder.  We sprung them from a crappy little animal control shelter.  They were about a year old and obviously had no socialization or training.  But they did have the pyr temperment and with lots of love, patience, and training they are now the best dogs I've ever owned.  And we finally started taking them to do pet therapy at the Children's Hospital, and they're doing wonderful work.  So not all rescue dogs have insurmountable issues.  I hope you'll give one a chance!

Since your vet thinks the blood sample sat around for a while, then the platelets in the sample probably began to stick to each other, forming a clot in the tube.  Then when they looked at the sample to get a platelet count, the number appeared lower than it should've.  If that was the case, then the low platelet count was just an inaccuracy, not something wrong with your dog.  When he goes in for his neuter, I'm sure the vet will check the new specimen right away, and that will give you an accurate count.  This actually happens occasionally at any hospital when the specimen tube is either filled up too much or if it sits around too long.  Usually the lab notices that there are clots in the specimen and they throw it out, but sometimes they give a false low count.  I hope thats the case with your bubs. 

I've never had to do this before so these may be stupid questions, but how much should I give him? I was thinking about a cup of rice, one chicken breast, and then one cup of yogart for each meal?  Does that sound about right?  He normally just eats 2 cups of kibble twice a day.  And then should I feed this twice a day until his poops firm up?  Then I'm guessing I could just slowly add the Wellness to this mix over a couple of days?  Or am I totally off?   

ah, geez.  I guess I'm off to the store.  Hopefully I'll get a refund.  I guess it's good that we were only at the 25% new food/75% old food stage in switching them over.  They couldn't have gotten more than 2 cups each total.  Thanks for your quick replies! 

Just wanted to share my pictures of the dog show last weekend with you all.  We had such a blast.  There we're so many BPs and all of the owners were so incredibly nice.  My favorites were the pyrs (of course), the malamute who crawled into my 9 year old's lap, the big ol' bullmastiff, the lab who played young Marley in the movie, and all of the therapy dogs from my hospital (Children's Hospital of Michigan).  I can't wait until next year when hubby and I get to bring Zeus and Apollo to the show to hang out with all of the other therapy dogs!  We were invited this year, but I didn't feel right since we haven't officially had a therapy visit yet.  But orientation at the hospital is next week!!!  Yeah!!!   Anyway, I hope you enjoy the photos! 

http://s96.photobucket.com/albums/l169/guthriefamily005/DKC%20dog%20show%202009/?action=view&current=9177adb3.pbw