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Topics - shangrila

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1
Discussions & Information on Grooming / Static electricity on coat
« on: November 23, 2008, 09:45:00 am »
When I was furminating Penny last night I noticed there was a lot of static electricity. I think that part of the way that the furminator works is with static cling to get the loose hairs to cling, but this was A LOT. So much that I actually saw a few little blue sparks and could hear the little shocky noise. I was afraid Penny might be able to feel the static shock, but the only way I know to get rid of static is with dryer sheets, which I thought might upset her skin. Any other ideas to get rid of static electricity on fur  ???

2
Games & Jokes / Free Rice
« on: November 21, 2008, 12:44:28 pm »
I discovered this site today called freerice.com where you play simple trivia games to build your knowledge (it has language, science, math, geography, and art). And what's really cool about it is that they donate 20 grains of rice for each correct answer, which doesn't sound like much, but it adds up. Today I played on it for like half an hour and donated more than a complete bowl (there are abou 3,500 grains in a bowl). So go build up your brain and help feed people!

http://www.freerice.com/

3
Anything Non-Dog Related / BPO's favorite recipes: Thanksgiving edition
« on: November 09, 2008, 01:01:51 pm »
Jen's turkey post inspired me. Let's hear all of BPO's favorite Thanksgiving recipes!

4
Medical Conditions & Diseases / Penny's got an infected incision
« on: July 28, 2008, 07:52:37 pm »
Penny was spayed last Thursday, and has been fine since the day after so I thought we were pretty much in the clear... And then tonight she was laying on the wood floor with the E-collar on, and when she stood up I saw blood on the floor (not just a drop) then I realized she had blood all over her legs   :-\

We rushed her to the vet and they said one staple has come loose and with the blood there was a little bit of pus so they think she has an infection. They re-stapled her and sent me home with anti-biotics.

Poor penny  :-\

5
Medical Conditions & Diseases / Sad Penny after her spay
« on: July 24, 2008, 08:26:54 pm »
My baby Penny got spayed today. She looks so sad in her cone (pic to follow once I find the camera cable).

My question is: is it normal to have a small amoung of blood come from the staples? The did staples instead of stiches which I don't like because they look too loose, and a few minutes ago she whimpered and got off the bed and when she moved I saw a little spot of blood on the bed. It's only a tiny bit of blood but I don't remember this happening before. Should I be worried?

6
Medical Conditions & Diseases / Penny's pee problems
« on: July 09, 2008, 10:56:22 am »
Penny has these enlarged lady parts and the vet said they'd make her more prone to UTIs. So we weren't suprised a the other week when we decided we thought she had a UTI and the pee test showed white blood cells. But we were suprised when the vet said her pee was too diluted, which could either mean something perfectly harmless like she drank a lot of water before she peed (which I suspected) or a kidney function problem. So we made a plan of action that she would go on antibiotics and then when they were done we with them we would bring in a first thing in the morning pee sample which hopefully would show that the pee wasn't diluted and the infection was gone.

On Sunday Penny finished her 10 day dose of antibiotics, and so on Monday morning I collected her first pee and took it to the vet. I just got a call from the vet and she said it looked virtually the same as the first one: the pee is still diluted and there was still bacteria present.

So now I have to take her to the vet in the morning and they have to put a tube into her to get pee straight from her bladder (to make sure the bacteria wasn't from her skin of the cup, etc), and take a blood test (to check her kidney function). I am worried now because the vet thinks she might have either a bacteria-resistant infection, a congenital kidney disease, or both.  :-[

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Medical Conditions & Diseases / Hooded Vulvas
« on: June 18, 2008, 08:28:27 pm »
Has anyone ever had a dog with a hooded vulva? Penny has a hooded vulva, which makes her more prone to UTIs. We're going to get her spayed soon, so I am debating whether we should get it fixed while she's getting spayed or if we should jsut leave it alone.

8
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Thank you so much BPO! I love you!
« on: June 03, 2008, 07:44:23 pm »
I came home from a long day at work today to find the most gorgeous portrait ever of my beloved Zoey. Thank you SO MUCH everyone. It is the most beutiful portrait I've ever seen and I am touched that you guys were thoughtful enough to send do it for me  :-*

I miss Zoey every single day. I loved her as if she was my own flesh and blood and lost a part of my soul when she passed. I feel so blessed that BPO was there to experience her life with me, and doubly blessed that you were there for me now that she has passed. Thank you thank you thank you from the bottom of my heart  :-*

I have to get a frame for the portrait and then I have already decided it will go at the top of my stairs so I can see her everytime I walk up to her favorite room. I'm going to post a picture as soon as I can. Rebekah did an AMAZING job - Dan couldn't even believe it was hang drawn. And it's based on my favorite picture of all time, when Zoey was young and pain free. I'm attaching the photo for now until I can get my camera charged and take a picture of the portrait

Again thank you so much, I love you! :-*

9
Medical Conditions & Diseases / Something is wrong with Penny... Reaction to vacinne? Sore from hip exam?
« on: April 24, 2008, 05:34:27 am »
Today at 4:30 Penny had a vet exam to get her last distemper shot and a rabies shot. While she was there the vet checked her hip range of motion and also gave her a kennel cough shot (I think). I know that she got a shot in the rear and a shot on the side, but I don't know which one is which.

A few minutes ago Penny was trying to get on the couch, so I picked her up to sit in my lap and she yelped in pain, then when she was just laying there she yelped again and when I set her down she yelped again. Then laying on her bed she yelped one more time. We were trying to figure out is something was in pain and it is her right hip the makes her yelp. She has never yelped about her hip before.

She can walk fine, but I am really concerned because I can tell she is in pain from the yelping. I don't know if it's a reaction to the vaccine shot or the hip check. I am worrying about her.

Has anyone ever had a puppy react like this after a vaccine? Vet check? Should I be taking her to the er, or is she just gonna be sore for a while?  ???

10
Food Discussion & Information / Satin Balls
« on: April 15, 2008, 11:46:38 am »
Penny hasn't really been eating and she is way too skinny so I am going to put her on satin balls for awhile.

Since I've seen them recommended so often here I decided to document them and make an instructable.

Here's the recipe (this is the full version; I made a 1/10th serving version):
10 pounds hamburger meat [the cheapest kind]
1 lg. box of Total cereal
1 lg. box oatmeal
1 jar of wheat germ
1 1/4 cup oil
1 1/4 cup of unsulfured molasses
10 raw eggs AND shells
10 envelopes of unflavored gelatin
pinch of salt



And here the step by step photo instructions: http://www.instructables.com/id/Put-weight-on-your-dog-with-satin-balls/

11
Saint Bernard General Discussions / Big news in the shangrila household!
« on: April 05, 2008, 12:28:43 am »
I haven't been around BPO much the past couple weeks because I was too heartbroken after Zoey's passing, but I have some big news I wanted to share with BPO. The past couple weeks I have been feeling more open to the idea of bringing another puppy into our home, but I didn't really plan on getting one until this summer. Well...

Today a little fluffball sort of fell into our laps. She's a new year's baby, so she's four months old, and she's a saint bernard (although she has so much white in her coloring I wouldn't be suprised it she's a mix). We have named her penny (lost fans will appreciate that we got the idea for her name from the love of desmonds life, penelope whitmore).

She's very mellow so far and seems pretty nervous to be in a new home. She spent the evening cuddling with me and dan, and not really exploring the house much. She also wasn't eating or drinking, so I started to worry about hypoglycemia. I rubbed some karo on her tongue and gums, and a couple minutes she walked around the room, and then ate a treat we left down for her, and then another treat that we gave her  :) She still hasn't had anything to drink, which worries me, but at least we're moving in the right direction eating the treats. I'm going to pick up some nutri-cal tommorow morning in case she still isn't eating her food.

My camera is MIA, so for now y'all will have to settle for a cameraphone picture  ;) So without further ado, introducing Penny...

12
Breeding Questions & Information / How much info is too much for a breeder to ask?
« on: March 07, 2008, 02:20:23 pm »
Dan and I are starting to think about the possibility of getting a new puppy. I am leaning towards rescue, he wants a breeder that we research more fully. He wants one today, but I am not quite ready. So we have compromised that he can at least talk to breeders about puppies that are either just born or going to be born soon, so that it will be another two months until we actually get her.

We think we want our next puppy to be a different giant because I think it would be too painful for me to get another saint right now after loosing zoey. So we have been talking about it and we think we are going to get a newfie.
There's a newfie breeder that he has been talking to who just had puppies. He found her through the akc, so I know she is respected.

Anyways, he is talking to her and she is demanding a lot of stuff from us before she would be willing to sell us a dog. At first she was asking for stuff I was expecting to ask for - she wants to meet us, have us fill out an application including vet info, household members, etc, and she wants to see pictures of our backyard which she requires to be fenced. Now none of that bothers me because; in fact I was glad she was asking all that because I want to have a breeder that shows they care about their puppies enough to be careful about who they sell them to. However, now Dan tells me she is demanding three letters of recommendation; one from our vet, one from a family friend, and one from our employers. To me that sounds like too much to ask for. I mean seriously, a letter from my boss? Now, my boss would have no problem writing a letter for me, but that's an imposition I would have to put on her time that I just think it's ridiculous for a breeder to ask for.

The breeder keeps saying that she won't compromise on her requirnments, so if we have a problem with any of them, then basically 'have a nice day'. But at the same time when I asked for ofa certs she said she would show them to use when we met her but would not email us the info before hand (so we could search for them on the ofa website). It seems hypocritical that she isn't willing to meet my requirenment that only shows I am carefully screening a breeder, but she is asking for so much that I think she is overstepping bounds.

Am I wrong here? Or is it normal for breeders to ask for that much?

13
Remembering those no longer with us. / Zoey
« on: February 22, 2008, 02:54:11 pm »
It's been a week now since my beautiful baby girl left her pains behind and went to that big field in the sky. Zoey was the sweetest, most loving dog I ever knew. I will miss her forever  :'(

14
Collars, crates, & other cool things / The dyson animal rocks
« on: February 13, 2008, 08:46:52 am »
So I'm still stressing about Zoey's butt, but there's one thing that I am pretty excited about right now. This weekend I finally gave in and shelled out the $550 to buy a dyson animal. It is wonderful! It is SO strong and so easy to use. I don't like the way the attachments attach to the vacuum, but I love how strong it is and it is so awesome how easy it is to empty it out.

I took a before/after picture of the furriest carpet in the house (this ojne absorbs hair more than others and I havent vaccuumed it in a few weeks). Look what a difference it made after just one pass! Sorry the pic is so small i shrunk it on accident and couldnt unshrink it

15
Medical Conditions & Diseases / Zoey's broken butt
« on: February 13, 2008, 06:01:43 am »
Hi everyone. It has been too long - I have missed BPO! My computer has been in the shop for over a month and my internet was broken, so I haven't been able to check in.

Zoey has been having a pretty good month, but now she is having a really bad week  :( On Sunday I noticed she was biting her butt. She wasn't letting me look at it and I couldn't see under all her fur so I went and bought a shaver so that I could shave her hind legs and discovered that under her butt hair there was black stuff around her butt. (warning, this is graphic) I thought she had had diahrea and gotten it stuck in her fur, but she wouldn't let me touch it to clean it off. So I got some pain medicine from the vet and borrowed a muzzle, and with the muzzle I was able to look at her butt closer - it looks horrible! She has a huge open wound (about the size of a nickel) and the fur around her butt is all black. What I thought was poop isn't poop - I think it is from a ruptured anal gland. So I had to take her to the vet today, which was horrible because Zoey has wicked high anxiety about being at the vet. It was horrible! The vet was great and Zoey actually walked in pretty cooperatively, but she was having nothing of the vet looking at her butt. So they had to put a muzzle of her and have two vet techs hold her down just so the vet could lift her tail to look at her butt. Zoey was struggling to get away from them and pushing her butt up against the wall so they couldn't go near it. They wouldn't let me help (not that I could help much) but it was so hard for me to watch I started crying  :'(

When the vet finally looked at it she thinks it might not be a anal gland since it is a little higher than she expects an anal gland to be, but I still thikn it's an anal gland (wheres marit when I need her anal gland queen advice ;) ). The vet thinks it looks like a gash from siomething, but I don't know how it's possible for her to cut her butt. There's nothign for her in the house to cut her butt on and I don't think there's anything in the yard to cut her butt on and plus she can't walk backwards, so I don't down how it would be possible to get a cut on her butt even if there was (if she was going to cut herself on something wouldn't it be on the front). Plus the black stuff is deffinately not blood so I am confident it's anal gland fluid. I took a picture to send to Dan but I am not going to post it here because it's a bit graphic I don't want to traumatize anyone.

Anyways, they sedated her and made me leave her there. They gave her a sedative just to do the rectal examine (haven't heard anything yet - she's been there for an hour). And they said they are probably going to have to give her general anesthesia to fix it  :-\ I asked them to cut her nails, clean her ears, and cut her paw fur so that at least we won't have to go through the stress of grooming her again soon, but I am so worried about her going under anesthesia with her neurological issues and I feel so bad about her broken butt :( And to top it off, Dan is out of town all this week and next, which means she doesn't have her daddy for moral support and I don't have a helper to take care of her  :(

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