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Messages - mtaig12

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1
Hi Julie!

Just wanted to add my story of cats N dogs. My oldest cat was an adult and sort of dog-savy when we first got Max, and initially Max chased him a bit which we squashed. Much later, when we were thinking about getting Star (Dane), we had a home visit from the adoption agency where the lady brought her Dane so we could see how big he was. The visiting Dane wanted to head up the stairs ('cause he wasn't allowed up the stairs at his house) and I knew the cats would be hiding up there. The visiting Dane ran up and down the stairs a few times, then went up once more and stopped halfway. There, halfway down the stairs was my old cat (about 10 years old or so), hissing and turning sideways. Apparently, my cat DID NOT want that dog upstairs and knew how to stop it! We knew then that we didn't have to worry about him and a new dog. 

As long as you have a safe place for the cats to go, they'll work it out with a new dog one way or another. My current oldest cat has lived with Max for 15 years, and STILL hisses at him every time she sees him. Max just ignores her if possible, and defers to her when not.

Good luck!

Tracy

2
We are moving to Denver from NC next month. I'm trying to find a place to keep my two cats while we move. One cat needs daily medication, so I'm thinking an animal hospital/vet, or a kennel where they are willing to pill a cat.

(We will be driving cross-country with the two kids and two dogs, but the cats will be less stressed to fly there and be kenneled, even if they go alone).

Anyone have any recommendation for a particular vet who boards cats in the Denver area? We will be moving to Aurora, if that helps.

Thanks in advance!

Tracy

3
Akita Discussions / Re: Information/AdviceRequired
« on: June 13, 2008, 09:33:53 am »
Hi! Just wanted to second the advice you've already gotten. Max is our chow/akita mix. We got him when he was about 2 years old, and so didn't deal with puppy behavior. But, we have had to reinforce to him that he is not the dominant one. I think if he had gotten more of that as a puppy, perhaps he would not have challengend the boundaries we set so much or so often. 

We have not had any aggression issues with Max-he loves all animals and people. But he will sleep on the bed/couch when we're not there, and counter surf or steal food if he's given the chance (both of these are no-no's at my house). The food issues because a problem when we were fostering another dog (Dusty), who would steal food but not get caught. Max was SO obvious that he had obtained the forbidden food, but couldn't understand why Dusty got away with it.  ::)

My advice is don't let him get away with anything just because he's a puppy. No growling, no food aggression should be tolerated no matter what the situation. They are very smart dogs, and will push the envelope. If you give in, they will push even harder next time.

Good luck!
Tracy


4
Medical Conditions & Diseases / Re: Pink Eye?
« on: May 22, 2007, 08:29:42 am »
Yep, that's what the vet/pediatrician has given us in the past. The drops do sting a bit, but Star put up with it 'cause I think her eye itched like crazy. I'm not a doctor, but if I were you, I'd try the drops you have and keep your appointment with the vet for Friday to make sure the infection is gone or in case it's something else.

Good luck!
Tracy

5
Medical Conditions & Diseases / Re: Pink Eye?
« on: May 22, 2007, 06:10:42 am »
Star had an eye infection a while back. It was weepy and occasionally crusty. The vet gave her some eyedrops, which happen to be the exact same thing as the pediatrician gave my kids for pink eye! Star's infection cleared up pretty quickly. And the next time my kids got pink eye, I used Star's drops on them too! And myself (since I always get pink eye when my kids do) as well! Don't tell my pediatrician!  ;)

Tracy

6
Adding my two cents:

Star (Dane) was a rescue from MAGDRL, and so we are required to feed her on an elevated surface. We also elevated one of the water bowls (we have two cats, so we have one bowl on the floor in the bathroom for them). Star refuses to drink out of the water bowl on the floor! Max (chow akita mix) will drink out of the "floor bowl" if necessary, but Star would rather dehydrate than lower her head to drink!

Of course, if you drop a miniscule piece of food on the floor, she'll gobble that up right off the floor. But if you're giving her something in a bowl, it had better be raised or she will turn up her nose!

Tracy

7
Discussions & Information on Grooming / Here's what I do
« on: March 07, 2007, 05:26:20 pm »
Star, dane, loves baths because she loves treats. We bathe the dogs in the kids' bathroom, so if I go in that room (to put towels away, or whatever) Star will jump in the tub, waiting for her cookies. If I have to make her get out because it's not bathtime, she's so disappointed!

Max, Akita/chow mix, hates water. He walks around puddles because he hates for his feet to get wet. But he's learned that the bath will happen no matter what, and there are cookies during bathtime! He stands there, looking miserable, but happily accepting the cookies. He's too old/arthritis to jump in or out of the tub, so I lift him in (front feet, then back feet).

To prepare for bathtime, I get out towels, and break up dog biscuits into small pieces (don't want anyone to get fat from their cookies!). Usually, when I'm getting ready, Star is already in the bathtub. Max will hang out outside the bathroom, to make sure he doesn't miss anything. While I bathe Max, Star will scratch at the door! I found that I need an assistant during bathtime, who will feed the treats all through the baths so I can focus on the bath part. I have a hair catcher thingy in the drain, and have to empty it a couple of times during each bath so the water will drain (because Max becomes distressed if he has to stand in water). But with my "assistant", I can easily throw the fur from the drain into the trash without slowing things down much.

Star's coat is so short/smooth compared to Max's heavy double coat that they take about the same amount of time to bathe, even though she's twice his size!

Hope this helps!
Tracy

8
Just wanted to add-most cities do not want you to bury an animal on your property. You may want to check out your local ordinances to make sure!

(Of course, we have buried a couple of dogs in the backyard, against city ordinances-shhh!  ;))

Tracy

9
Medical Conditions & Diseases / Re: The gas...it's killing me!
« on: January 27, 2007, 06:47:10 pm »
We use something called Stink Stoppers (available at PetsMart). It's supposed to help with all kinds of body odor in dogs. It's liver flavored and chewable, so my dogs eat it up! We started using it when Max would escape the yard and run around the desert eating garbage and dead things--it does work, although it may take some time!

Also I found that giving water on an elevated platform helps with gas from gulping water.

Hope this helps!
Tracy

10
Treatment & Preventative Meds / Dog hemorrhoids, anyone? UPDATED
« on: January 26, 2007, 06:54:37 pm »
Star (Dane) has a protrusion from her butt. It actually coming out of her anus, rather than alongside of it. She's been licking it a lot, so I put witch hazel on it, and she's stopped licking it so much. It's reddish/pinkish, if that helps anyone figure out what it is!

We will take her to the vet tomorrow morning, but has anyone's dog had this? It looks like a hemorrhoid (although I've never actually seen one before :D!). There's no smell like I would expect if it were an impacted anal gland (although Max shows sudden interest in her butt when he gets close to her  ::)).

She hasn't had any change in her diet, and has been pooping normally as far as I know. Everything else is normal-eating, sleeping drinking, fighting with Max, velcro, etc.

Any ideas? Should I take her to the emergency vet tonight?

Thanks in advance
Tracy

UPDATE: Vet said she didn't know exactly what it was. Not a prolapse, but Star's anal glands needed to be expressed so they did that (free of charge, may I add!). They recommended we watch the lump to see if it gets bigger.

Thanks for all the replies!

Tracy

11
Just wanted to share our experience with the Post Office. We moved into this house a few years ago. The folks that moved out put in a mail forwarding request-their last name was Green. After we'd lived here about six months or so, all of a sudden we stopped receiving all our mail. We'd get some stuff, but other stuff wouldn't show up (including bills, etc). I didn't realize it until one day when I got a late charge for not paying a bill the previous month, and realized I hadn't received the bill. (FYI, I called the company and explained I hadn't received the bill, which she replied "you're right, because it was returned to us marked return to sender, address changed." This was for a utility bill at the house we were living in! They removed the late charge.)

Anyway, I figured out what must be going on, went to the post office and explained what I thought they were doing. Apparently my house is on an "accessory route" which means there may be a different mail carrier each day (this explains why we sometimes got mail and sometimes didn't). The forward from the previous owners (The Greens) had expired, so their mail was being "returned to sender, address changed." However, our last name also begins with "Gr" but wasn't "Green". But whoever was looking at the mail would just look at the Gr without reading the whole name, and return the mail to the sender.

After talking with the post office, things went much better!

Good luck!
Tracy

12
Groans, Gripes, Brags & Boasts / Re: Need to vent AND get some advice...
« on: January 18, 2007, 11:08:47 am »
What has worked for me is to use a litter box with a cover (the cats aren't crazy about it, but they'll still use it), and have it face the wall next to a corner (with a large potted plant on the side) so the only way into the box is around the plant. It's worked so far (for a few months)- I did find some of the plant soil that had been scraped in, where I believe Star (dane) tried to get the plant out of the way. But she wasn't sucessful!

My next scheme is to put the litter box in the (carpeted) closet that has a kitty door on it (the cat dishes/food are in the closet). The drawback to that is that I hate cleaning litter from carpet (messy kitties), and the cats will be unhappy about eating and pooping in the same small room.

Hope that helps!
Tracy

13
Thanks everyone. I don't think it's a dream, because she leaps up (as in, goes from laying to standing in less than a second). She usually doesn't make any noise before it happens, like I've heard her when she's dreaming (my DH says she's chasing rabbits when she's twitching and whimpering during a dream  ::)!). Maybe it is the "falling" thing, and maybe her reflexes are just really sharp so she leaps up. (When that sort of falling thing happens to me, I jump, but I don't leap out of bed to stand upright and look accusingly at the bed!  ;D) Anyway, it probably happens twice a week or so, but I'll try to see if it coincides with exercise (or lack of it).

Thanks for all the ideas!

Tracy

14
I've seen all those ads on TV for Restless Leg Syndrome (pins and needles feeling in the legs, or creepy crawlies, etc), and it finally hit me that maybe that's what Star (Dane) has!

She's done this for as long as we've had her (a year), but she will lay down for a while, be relatively still as if she's almost asleep, then suddenly jump up (completely up) with a start. She'll look at the bed/floor/carpet/whatever accusingly  >:(, then go lay somewhere else. Sometimes it will happen again in the "new" spot, and she'll go back to the original spot. When it happens, she jumps up so quickly she will occasionally knock something over, which startles her more and she runs a few steps before looking back at the bed.  If it happens in a quiet room, it startles everyone (Max, cats, kids, etc)  :o.

At first I thought it was something in the dog beds, but it happens whether they're freshly washed or old and stinky, and whether they've been shaken out recently or are all lumpy. Also it happens when the dogs themselves are freshly washed as well as old and stinky (but generally I don't shake the dogs out)  ;). No one is near her, so she's not being bumped or jostled as she's going to sleep.

Does anyone know if dogs can get RLS? Anyone else's dog behave similarly? I wonder if the benefits of the meds would outweigh the side effects  ???.

Thanks in advance!
Tracy

15
I had a really good experience with a local company. They have been around for ten years. The owner of the company ended up being my "sitter" as he lives nearby. They charge per visit, so we had two visits a day. During those visits, the cats would be fed/watered, litter box scooped if needed, and the dogs would be walked/fed/watered. Each visit lasted a minumum of 45 minutes. When we got home, there weren't any problems (all the pets were happy to see us, but nothing beyond that).

It did cost an arm and a leg, but we felt like the company was reputable. He asked our permission to have someone else come instead of him (we were gone a week), and we could have said no. We wrote out all our instructions for all the animals (he even said "You are the perfect pet sitting customer!")

So there are good ones out there. Good luck!

Tracy

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