Remdog

Today at work an coworker was severely injured. Several bones in her face were shattered, with severe lacerations, and she will lose her left eye. I am her immediate supervisor, and myself and one other co-worker were there when it happened. We were all being careful and taking every precaution, but it came as a result of a risk inherent in our work that we were all aware of. We were the only two present and had to keep her still and calm while the ambulance came.

I am having a hard time coping with the event. Even though I was as cautious as I could have been, since I was her manager, and therefore in charge of the situation, I still feel guilty. Further, the nature of her injuries was extremely graphic- she avoided damage to her brain miraculously (thank God), but there was substantial damage to her face and eye. I have never witnessed an injury anywhere near this severity.

I cannot stop seeing her and feeling anxiety and guilt. She is a beautiful young woman whose life is now forever altered.

Has anyone witnessed anything traumatic like this and coped effectively? My boyfriend feels as though I'm overreacting by having such a response. Am I?

I'm adopting a 3 year old corgi this week and I'd love to have the community's thoughts. She's had a bit of a rough start- she was brought to a vet clinic for an emergency c-section that the previous owner put off too long. When the owner found out all the pups had died, he asked the vet to euthanize her, as they were only interested in the puppies. He called a contact at a rescue, and they paid for her recovery and put her into foster.

We're picking her up this week, so aside from the usual- making sure she has good food, a safe place to retreat to (kennel), and is a loved member of the family- does anyone have any tips? Specifically for acclimating a new dog, and what your feed to improve a hair coat and add weight. She's fairly underweight and has a thin/rough coat; I feed my lab a salmon-sweet potato feed, which should be good for her, but does anyone have any supplements or feeds they swear by?

Rem is a labrador, and is fed twice a day. He is an ideal weight and body condition, so everything is great there. My boyfriend's dogs, however, are free fed. They too are healthy. The problem comes when I bring my labradumpster to his house, it is difficult to keep him from sneaking their food. He knows better than to eat it in front of us, but if we leave the room, it mysteriously disappears. I can't really blame him- it is in fact, dog food.

Any advice?

Here's the situation:

12mo old intact male Great Dane puppy. Well bred, very lean (some body fat, but ribs and hips visible), high energy, around 150 lbs. Here's the problem- I take care of him. He's my roommate's dog, a friend of a friend. I feed him good food, but if I didn't, he'd go hungry. Further, he stays in a crate that's too small (he can turn around but not stand) unless I take him out.

The dilemma is that he's a wonderful dog. He's well-bred and healthy, with no major behavioral problems other than barking and chewing- which IMO come from lack of care. He would do very well if someone put in the effort to obedience train him. My issue is this- he's my roommate's friend that was only supposed to live here for a month after his girlfriend broke up with him- he's going on 3 months with no future plans. Last night he didn't come home- If I hadn't taken him on a walk and fed him (from my dog's food that I bought), he wouldn't have been cared for, and would have been in a crate he can't stand up in for 16 hours.

So what do I do? Do I continue to enable him at my own expense because it's not the dog's fault? I can't leave a dog in the crate- it's inhumane. On the other hand- my dog just turned 4. He was a handful and I put a lot of time and effort into obedience training him and making sure his needs are met; I am thrilled to be past the basic training and puppy stage. I'm a full time student with two jobs and I still make sure my active lab is taken care of, happy and healthy. If I wanted to take care of a Dane puppy, I would have gotten a Dane puppy.

So what do I do? Continue to feed and care for this dog? Call animal control? Have him evicted? I've already told him leaving a dog that size in a too-small crate is abuse- he hasn't stopped.

Yea, I know the dudley question probably gets brought up a bit, but I was bored in my genetics class and doing some hypothetical lab color crosses. Yea, I know, super nerd. Anywho, my conclusion is that dudley coloring is a naturally occurring, homozygous recessive combination, and therefore is simply going to crop up in a certain percentage of the population (more or less, depending on color crosses).

Dudley coloring is a breed fault, however, and I'm wondering why. It's not like albinism, which is a mutation. It's also not like the "fatal white" genes in many dogs, which can cause serious health problems. The only reason I can think for it to be a fault is that if people were to breed more dudleys, they'd become prevalent in the breed quickly, because a dudley bred to a dudley will always produce a dudley, thus narrowing the genetic pool. The same thing can happen with homozygous black matings though, and that practice is, if anything encouraged because it ensures black offspring, which are desirable.

So, if the likelihood of producing dudleys is so high (25% with either a yellow factored chocolate or chocolate factored yellow cross), and it's not detrimental to the health of the dog, why is it a breed fault?

Would you as a breeder choose not to breed dogs that give such a high likelihood of producing dudleys?

Do any of your pets have it? Why or why not?

If so, are you happy with your carrier? Why or why not?

Any other thoughts/ comments/ stories?

He's a 3 year old, hunting bred labrador. He is given 3-4 hours of intense, off leash running and mental stimulation in the form of retrieving and obedience a week. He is given a minimum of 2-3, 10-15 minute walks a day and frequently tied out with a coated cable and harness, under supervision and with access to water (never left alone on a tie out) for 20-30 minute intervals several times a week. He's fed diamond naturals large breed and is a lean 80 lbs. He is vaccinated yearly against distemper, leptospirosis, parvovirus and a 3 year rabies. He is also registered with the city in which he lives. This dog is also given preventative care for external (frontline) and internal (heartguard) parasites.

This dog is also largely confined to one room for 3-6 hour increments during the day, with a total daily alone time of 10-11 hours out of the day. Some days he is alone for the total max of 11, some days he's only alone for a couple of hours. He also takes several yearly trips to lake and forests and is allowed to practice retrieving.

This dog has no known stereotypic behaviors such as chewing, breaking out, or incessant barking.

So- sorry that was long winded, but what do you think of this dog's situation?

He's 18 months, registered AQHA gelding. He's a bit down hill, but should even out by 3-4yrs when he finishes growing. 15hh and ~1200lbs.

http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af236/lburke05...

http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af236/lburke05...

http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af236/lburke05...

My cat Molly has lived with my parents for the last couple of months. I moved in with them while i had re-constructive knee surgery over the summer, so she and Remi came with me. My mom really bonded with Molly, and her older cat is 16 and on the way out. Molly also keeps her male cat (ANOTHER cat they abducted from me!) occupied- they're two peas in a pod, they play with each other all the time. I miss my kitty, but my mom really has bonded with her, loves her, takes wonderful care of her, and I think it's going to soften the blow a little when her older cat dies (though it's still going to be tough on all of us). Molly seems happy, too. Part of me wants her back, but another part of me knows its better that she's there.

I know this is the dog section, but I know a lot of the regulars here put a lot of thought into their answers and this applies to dogs, too.

I generally think it's better that the animal have a good living situation. I've given up a foster GSP I loved because it was a better home. People who have fostered can probably understand this situation, its never easy.

Would you, or have you, ever give up a pet to a better situation? Why and when?

Sorry if this question posted already. I can't find it, it's not showing up on my page. Anywho, here's the question.

So, Remi just turned two, so I think we're in the clear to modify his protein percentage. We're feeding 26% Diamond naturals chicken, but I think it would be better to go up to the extreme athlete 32%. Thoughts or experience? Though he's quite healthy,I think we could up his dietary protein. He's filling out more, and putting on a bit more muscle would do him some good.

Thoughts? He's a 2 year old, field-style labrador who is extremely active.

Thanks!

OMG- if one more person tells me my dog is too skinny, i'll blow! He's just right- vet checked, fed high quality food, and not obese like 90% of the labs you see out there.

http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af236/lburke05...

Anyone else keep their dogs in a healthy, working condition and have people add their ignorant $.02?

Can you socialize a dog at any age? Is there a socialization-sensitive period? Can you propoerly socialize an awkward or reactive dog? Thoughts?

I've received a whole bunch of this free, and the label looks pretty nice. Even better, the dogs are doing well on it.

Thoughts?

There is a breeder in my town who is very well known in the area. Many well-known people in the area get their dogs here, including many athletes and TV personnel in the city. They're a large facility, which I don't in itself find offensive, but intentionally breed labradoodles, goldendoodles, and lab-golden mixes. Assuming they did everything else in a conscientious, responsible way, would the fact they breed mixed dogs disqualify them as a responsible breeder in your book?

I had the privilege to meet with Dr. Temple Grandin recently and listened to her views on the scope of animal emotion. I'm in animal science, therefore much of this concerned livestock, but I was impressed by her convictions regarding an animal's ability to feel. She did speak to dogs quite a bit, and expressed that they (along with our meat animals) do in fact feel fear, anxiety, joy and lust. My question, to her and to this group- how can we conceptualize animal emotions in a way thay best serves them? How do we walk the fine line between respect and detrimental anthropomorphizing?

Ok, so we all know color is only skin deep, but dogs of many breeds come in a lot of difference colors- what are your favorites for the following breeds?

Greyhound

American Pit Bull Terrier

German Shepherd

Labrador Retriever

Australian Shepherd

Dachshund

Love a breed you don't see represented? What's you're favorite color?

Okay, so this is a little long, but I really think this is interesting!

Lots of people on here (myself included) frequently advocate a grain free, or particularly a corn-free diet for dogs. Many people go even further and feed raw diets consisting entirely of raw meat.

I've been taking both domestic animal physiology and nutrition classes, so I'm learning a bit about the subject. I was also reading an archaeological periodical today that brought up some questions. In searching for the origins of domestic dog, and their early relationship to humans, research suggests that the dog has been around humans for more than 15000 years. Further, in some areas and at some times dogs were companion or sacred species, and in other places or at other times they were the first and possibly the only domesticated food species. In both instances, the dominant theory of domestication is that the less aggressive individuals in the wolf pack were allowed to be near to humans, and therefore gained advantage of protection (ex: nearness to fire) and food scraps.

Now to diet- it's not likely that the food scraps consisted primarily of cuts of meat or organ, or even useful bone. Early humans subsisted largely on tubers, grains, berries and fruits, and secondarily on meat. Meat had a high skill and energy requirement, and didn't last all that long, therefore it would have been prized and very little wasted. What would be wasted were surplus grain (if any) and other vegetative refuse.

So, it's undeniable that living with humans conveyed some advantage to early dogs, or else they wouldn't be around today. It then follows that possibly this variegated diet of vegetation and bone-meat scraps was physiologically SUPERIOR to the total meat diet eaten by wolf predecessors.

Futher, in the Mississippi region of Cahokia, dogs were cultivated for meat. Interestingly, they ate diet of almost entirely corn (proven by carbon analysis of remains). Farmers would be looking for the most effective way to fatten animals for the table. If that way was corn, how is it possible that dogs cannot adequately digest corn?

Anyway, if you've seen my previous posts, I've advocated corn-free diets in the past. I'm re-thinking this opinion, and I'm curious of what people here think.

Remi was recently diagnosed with corneal dystrophy by the ophthalmology specialist at the vet school here. He informed me that it can be either inherited in certain breeds, or be a side effect of endocrine problems- likely pacreatic, as it's the buildup of lipid crystals within the outer layer of the cornea. I'm waiting to get his blood test back, but it seems he's got the inherited variety, as he's showing no other symptoms of illness. Fingers crossed!

Anyway, my question- does anyone have experience with this disorder? As a heritable disease, do people on here who breed know to look for it, and how would you factor it into your breeding decisions?

People with experience- how far did it progress? Did it occur bilaterally or unilaterally? Was there any impairment of vision?

Any thoughts or comments apppreciated!

Side question- Have you ever been to a teaching vet hospital? They're frequently referral based for emergency cases or specialists, or difficult diagnostic work. I was super impressed by all the students working there, and the specialist was very talented. Hopefully someday soon I'll be there!

I'm looking for good go-to or comprehensive horse care books. I enjoyed Margaret Cabell Self's books, but they're dated. I'm also finding it hard to parse through the "I like ponies!" books (ie- the 'eyewitness' type series) to find the horses for people actually involved with them.

Also, any good books on training? Horse veterinary care?

Thanks!

I found a few pics with conformation faults. Each has one predominant fault, but there may be others worth discussing, as we all know that faults rarely only affect one part of the horse.

Can you guess them? What are your thoughts? How do they affect performance?

Discuss!

1.

http://www.horsegroomingsupplies.com/horse-forums/...

2.

http://media.webpagesindia.net/pets/1561581881.jpg

3.

http://www.petware.ca/images/horse-supplies-linime...

4.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thum...