fear of the dark

I found a stray this past weekend and took her to the vet today. She's infected with parasites, the worst one being heartworms. I was willing to pay the treatment since I'm already very attached, but the vet said there is no treatment. Apparently the medication that vets use to use to treat heartworms, immiticide, has run dry. All he could recommend was medication to keep her alive. But I refuse to believe that's all that can be done for her. Does anyone have any suggestions? Or anything to say that might make me feel better?

I already follow Lucky Dog Rescue Blog & Dogster's dog blog. What others do you know of?

I'm currently fostering a 6-9month-old shepherd mix for a little over two weeks now. Her biggest issue is that she cries every night when I put her in the crate. Everyone ignores her while she's crying, but during the day I've been training her to have a positive association with the crate with treats. Hasn't worked. I gave her a frozen-peanut butter-stuffed kong to keep busy. Didn't work. I gave her a raw meaty bone, still cried. I put toys in there also, but that's another issue. I bought an assortment of different toys (Nylabone, treat ball, sqeauky toys, etc) and she doesn't wanna play with any of them. I don't think she "gets" them. I demonstrated in front of her with my dog what she's suppose to do with them, but she still hasn't wanted to play. She also chews things up & I've been trying to re-direct her chewing to the toys, but she just stares at the toy like "what's that for?" Anyone have any pearls of wisdom? Training advice? Anything to offer in help

http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/19539389

What in the world breed is this? I know it says GSD, but I've never seen a dog with a snout like that.

I have a senior pekingese/japanese chin mix. Every so often, it seems like her back "gives out" & she's in immense pain. We've taken her to 3 different vets, multiple x-rays, & no one can find an injury or any cause for her discomfort. They end up sending her home with pain meds & muscle relaxants. After a few days, she's normal again. What is wrong with her? Why can't the vets tell? Especially with x-rays? Please help, I don't her to be in pain anymore, her quality of life is otherwise excellent, this just happens every 6-ish months or so.

For example, retrievers. Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, Curly-coated Retriever, Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Nova Scotia Duck-tolling Retriever, all bred to retrieve! Was it really necessary to have 5+ breeds created that all do the same type of job? (I have nothing against these breeds, btw! Just some examples, I could say the same for herding dogs or guardian breeds, etc.)

For example, retrievers. Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, Curly-coated Retriever, Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Nova Scotia Duck-tolling Retriever, all bred to retrieve! Was it really necessary to have 5+ breeds created that all do the same type of job? (I have nothing against these breeds, btw! Just some examples, I could say the same for herding dogs or guardian breeds, etc.)

So I put in an adoption application with a Giant Breeds rescue. I was denied, ok that's fine, but I have been asking them ever since why so I could improve and try again. That was almost a month ago & I've gotten no answer. Is this normal? How can I find out what I did wrong? Wouldn't the rescue want to tell me so I can fix it and they'll be able to adopt to me? How can I get them to respond? (FYI, I was never rude & am extremely knowledgeable, ESPECIALLY giant breeds. Only thing I can think of is I don't live in the country or Surburbia, just a regular urban city.)

I'm still doing my research, but alot of times, I'm just seeing to feed raw meaty bones, whole carcasses, pretty much anything from my local butcher. With so many different animals to choose to feed my dog (chicken, beef, fish, lamb, etc.) I'm worried he won't be getting a nutritionally-balanced diet since I'm sure chicken probably has vitamins beef doesn't & beef has vitamins lamb doesnt, etc. Or how do I know I'm not feeding TOO MUCH of one particular animal? How do I know he's getting the right amount of nutrition? I'm scared to do this without a mentor! lol

http://www.petsonsale.com/members/malamutelvr4/ind...

I know she's not in the parent club, but I'm wondering what the "Certificate of DNA Analysis from the American Kennel Club" is? And does she have too many dogs? Is she giving her pups away too soon? Any other input?

Do you just need to have owned a dog? Or multiple dogs? Or multiple breeds? Or puppies? What would YOU say are the qualifications for someone to be considered "experienced"?

My dog is roughly 3-4years old and I've cared for him his whole life. I've always taken him everywhere I can with me which included often going over to my best friends house (technically his parents house). Over the years, they have fallen just as much in love with him. Recently, the mother has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and just loves having the dog around. It's almost like he's become therapeutic for her. My boy doesn't seem to mind one way or another so I'm considering offering to rehome him with them. Would this be a bad idea? I could still see him whenever I want & I figure it would open up a spot in my home to rescue another less-fortunate dog. I feel I may be too close to have an objective view so please tell me what you think. Pros? Cons? Considerations? etc

I want to start fostering dogs & I know home checks are done & that it's different for every rescue. But for anyone who knows what they look for or has done home checks themselves, I have a few questions about whether my home would be approved. It is fully owned and paid off, but small. Roughly 1000-ish sq ft. 2 bedroom but 1 room is unoccupied (will hopefully be the foster's sleeping room). Will the small house be a problem for large or giant breeds (my interest)? Secondly, I don't have a fence at this time, although over the next few weekends, one will be erected. Is this a problem in the meantime if I still convincingly promise to provide adequate exercise & play (mostly in the form of parks & walks)? 3rd, there are 2 cactus plants in the yard, will these have to be removed? I'd like to get as much taken care of ahead of time as possible. Any other tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for any help you can provide!

Keep in mind REPUTABLE, not BYB please. 1) Are breeders usually stay at home/unemployed? I would think for all the time that needs to go into the dam & litter, there would be no time for 8-hour shifts. 2) When pups are born, will the breeder give you a choice if you want tail docked or dew claws removed (for breeds where this is applicable)?

My dog is limping on his hind leg, putting only a little weight on it. However, he's giving absolutely no indication of pain. I have felt up & down the leg, including in between his toes. He doesn't pull away or yelp or whine, nothing. Is this an emergency or can he wait for his appt (after the weekend, unfortunately). Note: I have the money to spend for an emergency vet, I just don't want to throw hundreds away for a vet to tell me his leg is asleep or something.

My boyfriend and I both love dogs and we're both really interested in fostering. We're stable, have a home, been together years, etc. Thing is his breed of choice is APBT & mine is Great Dane so we're thinking of fostering one Great Dane from a local rescue & one APBT from a different rescue. Would this be possible? Or even a good idea? Those two would be our only commitments, we don't currently have any other dogs. Thoughts? Please be polite.

Anyone know any good popular websites for social networking that revolve around books & book lovers?

Don't own one so this is a pure curiosity question. Obviously since they do fine in freezing snow & ice like Alaska, I was wondering just how cold does it have to be to be unsafe/uncomfortable for them? We talking like Antarctic temperatures here? Also speaking in regard to the working dog, not a pet.

I don't breed so just curious. I would have thought the pups would be too young to be able to tell?

I have trouble finding new books I like so if anyone can recommend some books that fit my criteria, I'd really appreciate it!

Fiction

No YA

Nothing popular, would like to hear about some stuff kind of under the radar (no movies nor series that are constantly mentioned ie Mortal Instruments, etc)

Little to no romance

One book per author please (if I like, course I'll read more!)

My preferred genres are horror & fantasy/supernatural, but I can read anything with a suspenseful plot that's well-written.

Just an idea, here are some books I've read that I loved:

Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks

Signs of the Zodiac series by Vicki Pettersson

Temeraire series by Naomi Novik

Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathon Stroud

anything by VC Andrews

a sign of my eclectic tastes :-)

Thank you, I know it's a lot, sorry!