Dog advice

[TapToBoreMeRigid]

I know this thread is dead but I'm desperate. Had to have my beautiful girl PTS two days ago and I am struggling to cope. I don't believe in rainbow bridge or an afterlife. She's physically gone and my arms ache for her. I just had to share with people who might understand.

 

[aliw]

I know this is difficult and easy for me to say, but please think about his quality of life over those extra months. He will probably be ill from chemo and not eat, lose weight etc etc. And 20k is a hell of a lot of money for a few extra months of life. Personally I don't think I would do it.

 

[ChiRie]

I have a dog 5 days after giving birth first pregnancy she had one pup. She also had difficulty getting pregnant. She isn't a great mom leaves a lot of it to me. Won't mother the pup unless she is laying on me. Even when pup is asleep very heavy panting. When away from pup no panting at all

More info about the dog is needed here but a visit to the vet to check her and pup over and ask for advice would be my first call. I also would as soon as she is ready (vet will advise) have her spayed and not breed her again.

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

I know this thread is dead but I'm desperate. Had to have my beautiful girl PTS two days ago and I am struggling to cope. I don't believe in rainbow bridge or an afterlife. She's physically gone and my arms ache for her. I just had to share with people who might understand.

I am so sorry for your loss. There is no right or wrong way to feel.

I lost my beautiful best friend last year and it took everything from me. The pain I felt was unimaginable. I have lost human family members and I didnt feel anywhere near as bad.

I think I cried all day every day for at least a week. My head and eyes and face were sore and puffy. Every time I looked around in my house I expected to see him and he wasnt there. I felt like I could burn my house to the ground because I didnt want to be here in a place that was ours and he was no longer apart of it.

We sadly lost him in a freak accident and I had another dog to care for. However my boy was my first dog and the love of my life.

Even now I miss him, every single day and its absolutely vile to say but Id easily give up my other 2 dogs to have him back with me.

He was my heart dog, my happiness in every single day and I miss him desperately. I think I will miss him every single day until I die.

So I totally understand how you are feeling. Be gentle with yourself, if you need to take time off work, do it. Dont try to do too much, take each hour as it comes. Come back here to chat to us if you feel youd like to!

 

[aidil]

Do any of you think being in tact contributes to his behaviour. The behaviourist is a new vet nurse at the practice I've always used. I think it's worth asking her about this. The going crazy barking and biting my feet and ankles when someone is at the door is bad and although I try and shoo him into the living room to answer the door there was a time he wouldn't listen and I had to say through the letterbox to leave the parcel on the step. He's also twice run out the door when my dad has answered it.

Vet nurse here and would definitely recommend a behaviour consult if the nurse is qualified in it! The neuter issue relies heavily on what’s causing the behaviour in your dog. If it’s fear aggression, then sometimes neutering them can make them even worse! Chemical castration could be something to consider as it’s only temporary so gives you a chance to “road test” whether neutering can help. We often use it at my practice for dogs that are a bit temperamental so we don’t cause any irreversible damage.

Another vote for positive reinforcement here! Grabbing a dog by a collar and throwing it into another room may get them to behave but they’ll only behave because they’re scared of you. Not sure why anyone would want their dog to have that kind of relationship with them!

 

[Elle Woods]

I know this thread is dead but I'm desperate. Had to have my beautiful girl PTS two days ago and I am struggling to cope. I don't believe in rainbow bridge or an afterlife. She's physically gone and my arms ache for her. I just had to share with people who might understand.

I couldn't scroll by without saying I'm so sorry for your loss. Losing a pet is a pain like no other, sending you so much love x

 

[Alfie1234]

I personally disagree with re-directing bad behaviour but each to their own. In my opinion, your not telling the dog what behaviour you want to stop. Someone comes into the home, said dog jumps up and straight after gets a paw and a treat? Your not teaching the dog whats wrong, he instantly thinks oh if i want a treat il just jump up. Makes sense why theres so many behaviourist’s about these days I suppose more than ever

But you’re not rewarding the bad behavior, you’re showing the dog that the behavior you want gets him good stuff and the bad behavior gets him nothing. Ideally you’ve got him on a lead and you don’t let him jump up to start with, redirecting is for behavior that is already occurring. If someone is coming in she can have him on a lead and be getting him to do some basic training and ignoring the person coming in. He gets to greet them when he’s calm, if he jumps up they turn and walk away and the training continues.
There are a lot of behaviorists and I’ve got my first pup in over 16 years and things have changed a lot, some of it I agree with some I don’t, but I’m willing to learn and try new ways. Do I ever say no or shout? Of course I do, I’m human and he’s 15 months old but 95% of the time I do my best not to, who wants to be shouted at when they can be shown another way?

 

[ChiRie]

Think the vet is a great starting point as well, you never know when something may be a pain response or not and the vet can rule that out for you.

I booked in with the Vet for a check over. I specifically asked for bloods too just to be on the safe side. On feel and having his temp done all seemed to be fine. Bloods came back normal. I've said I want to book him in for castration and the vet said it may or may not help settle him down but I want it done for future cancer problems anyway. My dad wants to wait until after Christmas so I have to wait a bit. If that doesn't work I'm gonna ask the nurse who is specialising in the subject for more advice. He's such a sweet boy otherwise. He came trotting up the stairs and wanted up with me on my bed and was loving snoring away and having his tummy rubbed. I didn't let him stay the night as he likes his crate for that.
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Another of the little trouble maker lol. He is rather cute

 

[SpaceshipEarth]

Please to have found this thread as I’m in a predicament and need some advice.

I’ve been looking to get my dog booked in with a dog trainer for a while now to sort out various behaviours.

I went for an assessment at one dog training company, I’m potentially considering. They were really on the ball and told me the course of action needed to be taken to address my dog’s (fairly moderate and manageable) behavioural issues. They offer packages for customers rather than allowing customers to pay per session. They’ve just emailed the price of the package that was recommended to me and it’s over £600 . That’s only for four 1-hour training sessions (all of which I’ll have to be present throughout), one day where I can drop him off and pick him back up and giving me access to some online resources. Is this a reasonable price for a dog trainer to charge? It’s worth noting that they are quite a big company and have good credentials.

One thing I’ve found with dog trainers is that it’s more of a case of them teaching you how to train your dog rather than them training your dog and giving you the knowledge to build on things they’ve taught your dog, which is quite annoying considering I don’t want to be paying for a service where I put in majority of the legwork and for someone to tell me something that I could’ve easily googled. That’s why I’m considering this training company as they’re the only dog trainers I’ve seen who offer a day where they help train your dog for you.

I went to another dog trainer last week but all she did was tell me what to do with my dog rather than actually helping me train him.

I would consider looking for another dog trainer, but I can’t be arsed waiting around any longer and it’s so difficult finding someone who is reliable. Has anyone got any advice over what I should do and can you tell me whether I’m being ripped off or not with that quote?

You don't say what the behaviour issues are that you are looking to resolve but any trainer worth their salt will tell you it absolutely is the humans that need to be trained. Behaviour isn't a quick fix that someone can correct in a day on your behalf and you will need to understand how to train and manage your own dog if you want to keep the behaviour consistent. Most of the time it's not a dog behaviour problem, it's a human behaviour problem.

I would not pay £600 for what you have described.

 

[TapToBoreMeRigid]

Don’t tell her she’s been bad. She needs to be taken out more frequently than 2-3 hours if it’s not cutting it. Huge praise and treats if she does go outside. My dog used to cry to go home to poo because he was scared to do it outside…he simply wasn’t used to it. At ten months there are some bad habits to break…especially if pup has been in a shelter environment. After a month she is still decompressing and learning to be safe with you. She really won’t understand you scolding her. She will either associate it with attention or with a mean tone.

 

[SpaceshipEarth]

Need some advice, please no judgement. My dog is 11 months ( he will be 1 on the 29 June) let me start by saying my dog is friendly with other dogs and humans and children.. who has been snapped at a few times by other dogs but he’s always been friendly towards other dogs..

Last week my dog got attacked by a dachshund and a fluffy mixed breed ( the two were together) all dogs were on leads..

my dog has been fine ever since playing with other dogs

today on our walk he was on a lead.. he was absolutely fine we passed two (off lead) small Pomeranian dogs who were barking and my dog had No reaction just kept walking didn’t even glance at them.

We then went to pass a dachshund and out of nowhere my dog went for the dog and nipped the other dog on the lip causing it to bleed, I couldn’t apologise enough to the owner for what happened and made sure her dog was OK.
i of course pulled my dog back and had him stand next to me but he still kept growing at the dog. The other owner walked away and I stood there feeling upset and awful and guilty at what happened.

could my dog of done it as he was previously attacked by a dachshund and felt threatened?

If he is just reacting to that particular breed then he may have developed some fear related aggression following the attack. Do you know anyone who has a friendly and laid back daschund? If so, you can work on some distraction training with your dog and the friendly daschund but it needs to be quite carefully handled and set up. For example, start with the daschund at a distance and reward your dog with high value treats for ignoring the other dog and focusing on you. Then build up gradually over time. I'd suggest using a behaviourist to help with this kind of training as they will be able to observe and advise on how to build up your dogs tolerance.

 

[aidil]

My opinion on the vets, thanks for angry and laughing likes.
So this is your response, where have they gone, packing shelves in tescos?
These have been my experiences with vets, surprised you didn't laugh at what the vet said when I had my boy pts.
Oh and I'm not petty enough to leave you an angry face.

Imagine working so hard and studying for so many years, accumulating lots of debt and a pitiful wage (yes I don’t earn a nice wage no matter what anyone says), only to have someone besmirching your whole profession based on their experience.

I would never laugh at your PTS experience and I’m
so sorry you were made to feel that way during such a horrible moment. But that experience can’t then be used to paint the whole profession in a poor light. There are good and bad people in every profession. Mechanics, teachers, doctors, hairdressers. It’s so disheartening to work yourself to the bone, absolutely adoring all of your patients, to then read stuff like this. Your replies suggest you can be just as petty here.

And plenty have left the profession, we’re currently in a staffing crisis. Many have left to go work in other forms of animal care, work abroad, in education etc.

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

I know you wont but please dont hit a dog to deter the behaviour.

Redirect and show the behaviour you do want to see. Praise when behaviour is good.

There is a lot of research into pack mentality and why its been debunked recently.

Id recommend a vet check to make sure all ok, no pain or anything like that.

 

[OutrageouslyScarlet]

I know this thread is dead but I'm desperate. Had to have my beautiful girl PTS two days ago and I am struggling to cope. I don't believe in rainbow bridge or an afterlife. She's physically gone and my arms ache for her. I just had to share with people who might understand.

I’m 3 years on and I still think of my girl daily, best advice I can give is if you can, get out the house as much as possible as it’s just so full of memories.. I was lucky enough to be able to go away for a few days and it really helped. Other than that be as sad as you need to and don’t let anyone belittle the loss

 

[SpaceshipEarth]

I know this thread is dead but I'm desperate. Had to have my beautiful girl PTS two days ago and I am struggling to cope. I don't believe in rainbow bridge or an afterlife. She's physically gone and my arms ache for her. I just had to share with people who might understand.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Pet grief is so hard, make sure you give yourself time and grace to grieve. Do you have people in your life who understand how you feel that you can share your feelings with? If you need someone to talk to, you could try the Blue Cross pet bereavement support line. I follow the petlosspsychologist on Instagram and she shares some really helpful information x

 

[ChiRie]

Fuming. My dad's dog (I live at home) had to go to the vet as his anal gland burst quite badly. I did tell my dad to take him in ages ago to have them expressed but he said no. Woke up with him bottom covered in it and red raw and burst. All new vets at the practice I've gone to for decades and I told my dad to take the stuff we have for handling him when he's snappy which he is as he's in pain. No he said they should have all that there. They had nothing that fit him. Vet did a rush job, didn't clean him up or anything just antibiotics and stuff to fim his poo. I've told my dad his poo is runny lately because he keeps giving him table scraps. I said stick to his normal food. So he's paid for a massive tub of this stuff which I know the dog will never eat as he's so fussy. The poor thing can't even sit down but was given no pain relief. It was a total rush job with a vet who seemed not to have the patience for him at all! His repeat to go back to the same vet I cancelled and booked in with the one remaining vet who knows the dog well and can handle him. He wasn't available today so I had to go with a new vet.

All my dogs had this issue which I kept on top of by expressing their glands or getting someone to do them. All the same dad giving them table scraps. I'm so angry with both my dad and this new vet. My old vet never ever recommeneded anal gland removal because of certain risks but this one has said they'll have to be removed if it happens again. Now I have a dog here in pain, who is covered in anal gland crap plus the obvious blood and who will never eat the massive pot of stuff the given him for fibre. The size is just ridiculous for a dog his size he won't even though it and he'd honestly take a year or more to get through it if he did! I asked him for painkillers not given as he is in real pain and I've never seen a burst gland look so bad in all my years.

Dad never bloody listens to me. He once gave my little Chi a whole man size handful of salted peanuts that made her very illl ending up at the vets. I've siad the odd thing is ok but it's every tea time and I noticed he's been having runny poo. I explained it needs to be firm to help push out the rubbish from the gland. I feel so sorry for poor Barney.

Rant over.

 

[Former_Antelopee]

I just saw on tiktok what I thought was a good training treat that seems easier to use than a bag of treats. A travel shampoo bottle filled with doggy peanut butter. Can keep it in your pocket and take it out and let the dog lick where it comes out when you want to give some

 

[Former_Antelopee]

Not all of us can afford insurance, so don't get the gold standard care.
And before I get berated, I've had dogs all of my life, doesn't make you a bad owner for not having it, I've loved and cared for all of my animals and have found the money, the booster jab every year is also a rip off.

A rip off even though if your dog got one of the diseases it helps to prevent then you’d have a huge vet bill most likely. I’d rather pay for a yearly booster than say 5k in treatment for parvo which may end up with a dead dog still
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Maybe I've been going to the wrong vets with all my animals, one girl (collie) ended up with pancreatitis, she was so poorly one night, rung vets, took her late at night, his first thing he said, oh look she's wee'd on the floor, she was very timid, and he didn't have a nurse with him, so he had to mop up floor, that's another example of poor vet care, I have a list tbh, most of them are only interested in the money.

What’s the poor vet care? She wee’d, he noticed and cleaned it up? Maybe there was a nurse on call? Doesn’t mean they have to be there all the time, maybe they were on their way?

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

Hi could anyone give me some advice please. My 11 year old boy has just been diagnosed with lymphoma. I'm absolutely devastated. He is my best friend, soul mate and therapy dog. They've advised he can go through chemotherapy but that could cost in the region of 20k and my insurance will only cover 7k. Without chemotherapy, I will lose him in a few weeks
I'm not on benefits so not entitled to free vet treatment.
What can I do to afford the chemotherapy? I just don't have that money but I cant face to lose my boy who is showing no outward signs of illness in just a few weeks.
Any help would be appreciated as I'm beside myself.

I am so sorry to hear this. Losing our furry friends is so difficult.

Im personally a fact person, before you decide to go down the chemo route can they give you the % of dogs with your dogs cancer at his age and recovery stats who get the chemotherapy? Whats the long term prognosis. Is it an 80-90% change be will be cured or is it that it will prolong his life but not clear the cancer.

I dont say any of this lightly but I think you need to know the ins and outs before parting with 20 grand particularly because of his age there is no way of knowing what is around the corner. Even if you put the other 13k on credit after the insurance is exhausted. What would you do if he broke his leg for example in 6 months and needed an op that could be £8k +

 

[LaBlonde]

I know this thread is dead but I'm desperate. Had to have my beautiful girl PTS two days ago and I am struggling to cope. I don't believe in rainbow bridge or an afterlife. She's physically gone and my arms ache for her. I just had to share with people who might understand.

just wanted to send you so much love we had to have our family dog PTS over the weekend and it really is a pain like no other. i went to my parents’ house for the first time yesterday and could feel myself looking and listening out for him. hoping it gets a little easier for us both as time goes on but i really empathise with you right now. it’s awful xx