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Topics - Brownis15

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1
Medical Conditions & Diseases / Toes!?
« on: June 03, 2007, 09:59:58 am »
So Atlas is getting bigger and bigger, and I swear to God this weekend the only comment we got were about his feet!

I am wondering though if he has splay toes? What do splayed toes look like? I mean his paws flare out when he walks but they are so BIG! Part of it may be that the tops of his paws are dark and the insides are light which make them look wide, but is it normal for their paws to spread out like that?

2
Anything Non-Dog Related / Bad days
« on: May 29, 2007, 10:18:25 am »
Hey all,
 
I have been so busy, this weekend was supposed to be relaxing but Tyler worked all weekend and so I just cleaned the house and tied up loose ends and paid bills.
 
I need some advice, I have been so depressed lately and I am not sure what to do. I have so much on my plate and I think that has a lot to do with it. I'm not enjoying things like I used to and feel full of despair quite often.

Another thing here and you are all going to roll your eyes when you read this is my weight. I have always been kinda nutso about my weight, and even though I am a healthy weight, I have gained like 5 pounds and I feel so disgusted with myself. It sounds so trivial but it rips me apart when I am not the weight i "think" i should be.
 
Merlin and Sweetpea and Atlas are doing wonderful though. They give me something else to concerntrate on. Atlas is a little monster but a cuddle from him helps a lot.
 
My new job is tough, its a tight ship and there is very VERY little positive reinforcement, which I really need to work well. I will do like 20 things awesome but they wont say a word and then the one thing I miss they find it and rub my nose in it. Its hard because everyone there is buddy-buddy and I am the new one, most of them have worked there for years. It wears you down after a while.

I just feel like I'm in a sink or swim and I am barely keeping my head above water... I think I am so burnt out, I really just want to take a month off of working and breath and relax. Esp before the wedding.
 
Thanks for letting me vent.

3
German Shepherd Discussions / Rocks and a Rant
« on: May 10, 2007, 09:04:09 am »
Atlas is a little monster and has decided he likes rocks. He likes carrying rocks in his mouth, gumming them, and then swallowing them. Yesturday he threw up like 7 small rocks and stared at me. He must have eaten them at daycare. GRRRR. I think the problem is he is so toy motivated he has to have something in his mouth at all times. The problem with raising a narc dog is they cant have any toys unless it is playing with you, and it builds the drive. So when the ball comes out to play he is so happy and hyped he will do anything for it, and this eventually is used to train scent work. He is doing great with the drive, its unbelievable the work ethic already, but in the mean time he wants to play with something so rocks are his natural toy of choice.
 
I know what I have to do to break this habit and I hate it. I have to use aversive training to make him never want to put a rock in his mouth again. I usually use loud noises for this kind of thing but because he will be a K-9 he has to not be afraid of noises, esp loud ones. (we go to the shooting range every weekend to get him used to gun fire) So I have to use a shock collar or a citranella spray collar. I know it will only take one or two zaps to make him never want to touch a rock again but I hate doing it. On the other hand, it will be a lot less painful than having surgery for an obstructed intestine. I plan on putting it on him, leaving him in the backyard and watching from the window and shocking him the second he picks one up. He has been coming inside from the backyard with rocks and dropping them at our feet to play. So hopefully this will stop him.
 
I also went to the doctor yesturday to find out why for the past month I have been nauseous. I had a bunch of blood in my urine and they think (or are hoping) I must have had a UTI at some point but didnt have any signs, which spread to my kidneys and now to my upper GI tract. Great. I have lost 11 pounds in a month, cos I dont want to eat. The lab work they did comes back tomorrow to make sure it isnt a liver problem or thyroid. And then hopefully they will get me on some meds... please hope for something simple and inexpensive!!
 
Thanks for listening to my rocks rant!

4
Group Discussions & Photos / Tribute videos to my dogs
« on: May 08, 2007, 11:23:06 am »
I made one for each... I hope you like them.. They arent too long!

ATLAS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-9RkHyVR6U

MERLIN: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX3qloIwhE8

SWEETPEA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4Ad_kOniHY

(SweetPea's is my favorite though  :) The music just fits!)

5
German Shepherd Pictures / May Snowfall
« on: May 05, 2007, 12:58:29 am »
Woke up this morning to 4 inches of snow and its still climbing! Here are some pics of the gang enjoying themselves. And a video of Atlas harassing Sweetpea. LOL. He is much better since starting daycare however!
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq1VS11j01w

6
German Shepherd Discussions / Appetite? please help
« on: May 02, 2007, 03:51:50 pm »
Okay so Atlas suddenly isnt eating as much as he used to. He was wolfing down 1.5 cups twice a day so i upped him to 2 cups and now he doesnt even seem to want to finish 1.5 cups... He is acting fine, playing everything, drinking, but isnt finishing all his meals. So I am going to go back to 1.5 cups. He is on Royal Canin Maxi puppy. He is 12 weeks old now. Anyone else experienced this in large breed pups? Do they go through growth periods where they eat more than other days?  ???

7
German Shepherd Pictures / WAR!
« on: April 28, 2007, 04:39:29 pm »
LOL NOT REALLY!!  ;D some pics of Sweetpea and Atlas wrestling! They are turning out to be great friends! :)

8
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / you wont believe this
« on: April 26, 2007, 01:15:08 pm »
Apr 26, 2007 5:00 pm US/Eastern
Dog Found Tortured, Mutilated In N.J. Woods Todd Quinones
Reporting

(CBS 3) VINELAND, N.J. Officials in South Jersey are investigating a cruel and extreme case of animal abuse that some SPCA workers have called the worst case they have ever seen.

Authorities fear that the attack is so violent, the dog's killer could turn to people.

The dog's mouth was duct-taped shut, duct-tape was placed around the dog's legs and his tongue was cut off and he was gutted like a deer.

The dog is being called "Justice" by the animal shelter officials.

"It was a protracted act of violence, torture, and mutilating of the body; it is a special kind of sick," Bev Greco of the Cumberland County SPCA said.

Greco said the dog's carcass was found by a school bus driver dumped off a highway in Fairfield Township, New Jersey.

"This is a very frightening thing and it should not be taken lightly," Greco said.

The horrific cruelty it took the kill the dog is reason enough for the entire community to be concerned, Greco said.

"This is just a precursor of possible acts of violence against humans," Greco said.

Greco and the New Jersey State Police are working on different theories for a possible motive.

The first is that it could some part of a twisted, ritualistic act or the other is that the person who killed Justice could have been looking for drugs.

"If the dog may have ingested someone's stash and they were trying to retrieve the drugs from the dog's body," Greco said.

Officials said Justice was a healthy German Shepherd, about four to five years old.

There is a $10,000 reward for information leading up to the successful prosecution of the killer.

If found, the person(s) responsible could face 18 months behind bars, a $10,000 fine and counseling.

9
Medical Conditions & Diseases / Scar Tissue????
« on: April 25, 2007, 09:12:55 pm »
Atlas had an Umbilical hernia when he was a baby and his breeder had it taken care of before we took him home, he had some scar tissue there but tonight i noticed one part of it sticking out!!?? The rest of the scar is bumpy but not that bumpy and I'm not sure what it is or if it is normal sometimes for it to stick out like that?

It isnt soft, its hard like scar tissue, and it isnt red or inflamed like its infected, and it doesnt hurt him to touch it.

He is supposed to go to daycare tomorrow and Im not sure if i should cancel and not take him? Anyone else have experience with scar tissue and will this go down??

10
Blog Feedback & Discussion Board / NO DOGS ALLOWED
« on: April 21, 2007, 06:00:52 pm »
Has anyone noticed that dogs seemed to be BANNED everywhere now?? Seriously, we are trying to socialize Atlas and yesturday at moab it was NO DOGS HERE NO DOGS THERE, but they can go in the parking lot.... I dont get it. It's getting worse too. Even in parks, dogs cant go on the grass, or near the water... it sucks..  >:(

11
German Shepherd Pictures / Moab!!!
« on: April 20, 2007, 08:10:30 pm »
Tyler and I went to Arches National Park in Moab today! We got some great pics, I wanted to share! LOL oh and some of atlas being a goof in the truck!

12
German Shepherd Pictures / BIG RED BALL FUN!
« on: April 13, 2007, 03:09:56 pm »

13
German Shepherd Pictures / Atlas goes fishing!
« on: April 13, 2007, 02:30:50 pm »
I showed you guys the nylabone puppy fish bone I ordered for Atlas, I thought I would show you how much he LOVES it. plus it is hard as nails and has stood up to his abuse so far!!

LOL and here is a cute video. BUT! you have to understand two things before you watch it. LOL. 1. "who wants a smoke?" Means who wants a bully stick, cos when merlin and sweetpea chew them they look like they are smoking cigars, that is sweetpea in the vid by the way, merlin was already inside waiting. lol and 2. I am wrapped in a blanket... because it was cold. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3JjLO_JqyI

14
Neapolitan Mastiff Discussions & Pictures / omg!!!!!!!
« on: April 13, 2007, 12:25:59 pm »
Hercules was recently awarded the honorable distinction of Worlds Biggest Dog by Guinness World Records. Hercules is an English Mastiff And has a 38 inch neck and weighs 282 pounds. With "paws the size of softballs" (reports the Boston Herald), the Three-year-old monster is far larger and heavier than his breed's Standard 200lb. Limit. Hercules owner Mr. Flynn says that Hercules Weight is natural and not induced by a bizarre diet: "I fed him  normal food and he just grew".... And grew. And grew. And grew.

Check out old mate's picture !!!

I looked this up and it is TOTALLY REAL!!! Not digitally enhanced at all!!!!

15
I have been ill with this evil stomach flu for 4 days straight now, although it has really SUCKED, i havent had to go into work and have spent most of my time in bed on BPO. lol

Okay, now to the doggie stuff.  :)

So Atlas is now LOVING his toys and playing fetch like a champ! His toy drive has TRIPPLED and he is obsessed with his kong on a rope. It does suck that he cant have toys unless I am playing with him but it has payed off and he is now sitting, going down, everything just for a game of tug or fetch. The training in German is going fine, my papillons look at me like im crazy when i ask him to platz though, lol.

The thing that is irking me is that he cant be neutered till after the narcotic training at 15 months old. Now working for the Humane Society I am a HUGE believer in the benefits of altering an animal if they arent going to be used to be bred or shown. I know WHY he cant be neutered (drive etc), I'm just interested in feedback from those with unaltered males and their peronalities with other dogs, and other things.

Other than that, I am in love with him and am so impressed at how fast he learns. I cant wait to get him into daycare however, so he can learn some manners.  :)

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