Our Pets- Consolers (Four Legged, Two Legged, Fur, Finned)

[mfh]

I have always used a "restraint". I started with a gentle leader but I did not like the fact that it went around his mouth. So I bought this http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002AV3NGA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 several months ago and it is great. Bentley weighs 84 pounds and only pulls when he sees someone on our walks who pets him (literally everyone). But it gives me control without any problems.

Congrats on getting a furbaby. You know how much comfort a dog is. Not sure what I would do without my Bentley but when he does die eventually I will get another dog. He is on a roller coaster ride with me these days. Bad weeks and then stable. But holding his own pretty well.

Enjoy your new buddy.

Mary

[kayc]

Arlie can flip his Halti off if he chooses to, and he rarely does. I've only seen him do it in the back end of the truck when I'm bringing him a treat, and most of the time he leave it on to eat, sometimes he just prefers to be unencumbered. He is able to eat, drink, and talk with his Halti on, it isn't tight, there's lots of give. What it does is, if he pulls too hard, it pulls his head to the right, squinting his right eye, and although it doesn't hurt, he backs off pulling. It's a life saver for me because he pulled so hard on me before I got it that it caused constant injuries to my hands. That and the fact that it's imperative that I maintain control of him when walking him, I do NOT want him to get away and dart in front of a car! I feel it's for his protection as well as mine.

[Froggie4635]

I posted something under my "How Long in the Fog" post that was probably more appropriate here...

[KATPILOT]

We still read it Maryann and it fits in anywhere you might have chosen.

[Froggie4635]

Here is a pick of Mark with Pongo as a pup.

[MartyT]

Adorable.

[kayc]

What a sweetie!

[KarenK]

I took my new "furbaby" for her "free" wellness check today. Of course we all know, nothing in this life is free. LOL I knew the Parvo booster would be $38. I was told to bring a fecal sample, but when I presented it, the cost for analysis was $60. I declined the honor as she is not sick. If she , for any reason gets sick, I will face it then. The vet said she is very healthy and that she is a Shepherd/Husky, not Lab. I am thrilled about this as I have always wanted a Husky. She is up to 64+ lbs. I am feeding her Kibbles and Bits which is not recommended (too much salt for one thing), unknown to me when I bought it. I chose it because I am on a tight budget, but am considering switching to Iams as it is a little better rated and recommended by the vet.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I have checked the Dog Food Advisor website and it is a mid grade food. Because Arlie is a Huske, Kay, what do you feed him, if you don't mind me asking?

Rain coming tonight. Drat!!! Was my first chance to start up my yard sales again. Pretty soon it will be too hot.

Karen

[feralfae]

Karen,

I am only just beginning to catch up with reading here. I am so very happy to hear about your new fur baby! Congratulations! I am glad the medical was good. What fun for you! I am going to watch for more good furry stories here now.

Kay, I hope you are feeling better.

Mary, good to read that you and Bentley are holding your own.

It's raining here, and I am having a quiet day, remembering so many beautiful memories, all glowing with love. I am so very grateful to come here and step into the warmth of this circle of love and grace. *<twinkles>* Thank you.

namaste

fae

[kayc]

Karen,

My son has a dog that is Shepherd/Husky, she's beautiful. They use Nature's Domain Salmon formula from Costco (I use Costco's too but Arlie has to have one for overweight dogs). His late dog, Skye had a very sensitive system, prone to Colitis, and that's when Paul researched it and came up with Nature's Domain, which he's kept his next two Huskies on. I used it for Arlie until he got older and overweight.

My granddoggies (Mozzy-white 1/2 Husky, 1/2 Shepherd, Bruno-brown purebred Husky):

[mfh]

I am in the process of switching Bentley to a homemade diet. In the end it is cheaper but the main reason is that it is quality you can not get in dog food dry or canned. I make it for 30 days at a time and my next dog will be on it from day 1. I wish I had done this sooner. If you want more information let me know...I have been to many resources. It is essential that it be done right otherwise important nutrients can be missed and lead to health issues.

[kayc]

Can you share the recipe here or on FB? Are the ingredients hard to find? (There's no shopping here, my nearest city is over an hour away)

[mfh]

I will post it on Tuesday. I have one more meeting on Monday before I finalize this process.

[kayc]

I just had to share this...a church that welcomes dogs!

http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/33133257-75/unleashed-church-loves-you-and-your-dog.html.csp

http://unleashedcommunitychurch.com/

This is in Eugene, OR, where else!

[kayc]

Came home tonight...when I picked up Arlie, he wouldn't jump in the truck and Rich said he was limping a bit. He was fine when I left him there, but he had gone for a truck ride with Rich, perhaps jumping out of it when they got back injured him somehow. I checked his pad, don't see any cuts, it's likely a bruised pad. Will try to keep him off it a few days and see if it improves. He is getting older.

[KarenK]

Just my time to vent.................Can't remember if I mentioned that about 6 weeks ago, Tatum(my son's big dog) started limping badly. He took her to the vet and after x-rays, was told she has a ruptured ACL/MCL ? She got pain meds and was told to wait a few weeks, that sometimes these things repair themselves. If not, the surgery would be $2,400. I paid $400+ for the visit, meds, and x-rays.

As you would do with a human, we decided to get a second opinion. Have been waiting for over 3 weeks for the x-rays, now. The story is that the system that creates the x-ray cd is broken and no one has come to repair it. Come on......in this day and age of electronics. I did some checking and discovered that this vet has had complaints and court actions for many things(wish I'd known before) including failure to provide medical records. I called them while ago to find out if there are actual films I could get but, no they are only on the computer. Cannot be emailed because the file is too large and distorts. So, I told them I would like a refund of the x-ray charges that I paid. Of course, I must speak to the office manager and she is not in today. What a runaround!

We have an appt. in the morning for a different vet at a large vet clinic(where I took Marley for nail clipping) and I was hoping that I would not have to pay for more x-rays. Didn't work out that way. I'm hoping that if surgery is needed, it will be cheaper. If not, so be it. I just think it's inexcusable that the vet has failed to provide the x-rays in a timely manner, causing the dog added pain and possibly permanent injury.

If they do not at least refund a portion of the bill I paid(with an apology), I am going to file a complaint with the AZ Vet Board. Of course, that's nothing but a "slap on the wrist" to the vet.

There, I'm done venting!

Karen

[enna]

Karen, I am so sorry that this is happening to Tatum. I agree with you that there is no excuse for the long wait for x-rays!

Hoping for the best for Tatum. Are the pain meds working? I so agree with you about a refund from the first vet.

Anne

[KarenK]

Anne,

Thank you for caring. I believe the pain has subsided. She does not understand why she is walking on 3 legs, nor why she has not been for a walk or to chase the ball for so long, of course. She still tries to run up the stairs. I have not seen her since she got hurt because she gets so exited to see me, nor has she even had the chance to meet Marley. My son just tries to keep her calm, a feat in itself. She so enjoys riding in his jeep and going on wilderness trips. I just hope this can be fixed.

Like some surgeries for humans, this one is a "cash cow" for vets, so will be interested to see if it is necessary. Was disheartened to see the complaints against this vet regarding unnecessary tests and meds. One dog was treated for over a year, so many meds you couldn't count. In the end, while vacationing in Calif., it was taken to an emg vet who immediately referred them to a specialist. The dog had cancer all along and died. This is the same vet that performed surgery on Brownie back in 2013 when she died. I want to believe that it wasn't a medical mistake. We all loved that old dog.

Will let you know the outcome.

Karen

[Froggie4635]

Having a vet we can put our faith in is so important. When my Annie was having problems and the vet we had been taking her to failed to listen to us or missed the mark, I asked around at work for a suggestion. Someone who thought as much about her dog as I did about my Annie gave me the name of her vet clinic. I found a wonderful vet who on the first visit spent almost an hour going over her history and made suggestions, simple ones to start. What ended up being wrong was very serious and they were so kind in explaining and giving choices and not judging us when we opted out of surgery. Annie had something wrong in her neck/shoulders. She was 10 years old and the vet gently said there was surgery, but that it would not completely heal her. She went down hill really fast, and they were so kind. When we came in to take care of the bill after she had been put to sleep, both vets who took care of her came to talk to us and gave us their sympathies and said we made the right choice for her. I will NEVER go to another vet. All three of my furbabies go there; in fact they LOVE going there because they are treated so wonderfully. It is an important part of having animals to have a doctor who will listen and actually CARES about them. I hope all comes out well for you, Karen.

[kayc]

Karen, you can also rate the vet on Yelp. It is a great leverage! What your vet did is inexcusable. I would persist getting refunded, I'd go for the whole thing and turn them in if they don't do it. You might try the Better Business Bureau as well. (Are you in the US? I can't remember).

ACL: Anterior Cruciate Ligament. Often treated with surgery or a brace and PT in humans. A torn Meniscus in humans seldom heals without surgery. I did have one but was out of work and couldn't afford surgery, it did eventually heal on it's own, but that's rare...it took about a year. I had to learn to move differently to protect it, mine was in the knee, from a fall on ice.

I'm not sure they know what they're talking about. Perhaps they didn't even take an x-ray and just guessed at the diagnosis? I wouldn't put anything past them, it sounds suspicious. What a copout!

I am so sorry you're going through this, and esp. for poor Marley. I haven't had good vet experiences since I've had Arlie, I'm beginning to wonder where all the good ones went. I had a great one but he retired just before I got Arlie. So few and far between!

[Queeniemary]

Karen, sorry for Tatum, and hope she is feeling better. Hard, so hard, when animals are sick, and they don't understand what is going on. I will be keeping my fingers crossed for you all.

When my little corgi Faith developed congestive heart failure last year, you could tell she was so stressed with not being able to breathe normally, and she did not have much appetite either. Lost her only 17 days after diagnosis, in spite of great care from the vet clinic and myself. It is important to have a vet and/or a vet clinic you have confidence in. It has been almost a year now since Faith died, and I still miss her little sweet tri-colored face. Sassy turns 12 this fall, and I watch her like a hawk, so afraid she is going to develop something! Faith and Sassy were just a couple of months apart in age.

QMary

[KarenK]

Met the new vet this morning. He is very nice and knowledgeable. Explained everything to us in detail. The procedure he does is a bit different than the first vet, less invasive, and more likely to succeed. This type of injury is pretty common in large dogs. He has performed the procedure many times with no problems. His cost estimate for everything is $1,700 as opposed to $2,400 and will be even less if I can get those damn x-rays.

I called about the x-rays, told them I would give them one more week or I wanted a refund. Funniest thing, someone is coming out today to fix the computer problem and BTW, she can't give me a refund as I paid for the service, not the x-rays. Will be checking that statement out with the vet board if no x-rays appear.

In any event, the surgery is scheduled for Aug. 4. Oh, and Tatum was ecstatic to see me, just not so much to enter the vets office. My question is "how did she know we were at a vet's"? LOL

Karen

[kayc]

Arlie isn't thrilled to go to the vet either, because it's usually not a great experience. If we go to a vet in the valley, I take him by PetSmart and let him pick out a new toy. If local, I take him to the park afterwards...trying to make it an enjoyable experience. One time he cut his paw all the way through and the back end of the truck was full of snow, it snowed all the way to the valley (120 mile round trip), was 8" when we got there, so it wasn't feasible to go to PetSmart with him, I felt terrible about that, but gave him something when we got home.

Karen, I'd still be posting this all on yelp AND contacting the vet board. How do you even know they x-rayed anything? I'm so sorry you're going through all this!

[enna]

I'm so glad you have found a vet that is kind and knowledgeable, Karen. It sounds like the procedure will be easier and the price is a little lower. I hope the 4th of August comes soon.

I would fight for those x-rays. Good luck!

As for dogs knowing when their owners are coming back from somewhere ~ they really do. When I'm caring for my grand dog, Fred, he knows mom and dad are pulling into the driveway to come and pick him up because he stands at the door waiting!

[KarenK]

I just KNOW that Tatum remembers that I was one of the two humans that rescued her from that little cage at the Humane Society, so even when I don't see her for a long time, she remembers her Grandma.

Kay, I am here with Anne in the hot Valley Of The Sun, separated by about 50 miles as this is a big metropolis. Am familiar with all the places in Az from QM's vacation. I've lived her for 60 years and been all over this state. No wonder I want out. LOL Am waiting to win that lottery so I can move near you.

What a great idea to take Arlie to Petsmart or the park to offset the vet visit. So blasted hot here right now, Marley and I can only do that after 8 at night. The pavement is just too hot.