Not what you want to hear

The long version of the story: my parents found a dog on the 4th. I've been taking care of him for them. He had no collar, was not microchipped, was filthy, and had a large number of scabs and scrapes. He also has some minor dental issues, and has some sort of deformity on his leg.

Evidently his original owners contacted my parents (they put up signs and put an ad on Craigslist). I've been dealing with this poor dog's issues (separation anxiety, lack of housetraining, and territorial marking), and as someone that works at a pet rescue, I'm sickened by knowing that he'd be going to a home where he'll get lackluster care. I've been toying with the idea of giving him back as long as the owner signs a neuter agreement.

I *know* that it's out of line, but it'll at least give me the piece of mind knowing that these people are at least partially serious about caring for the poor guy. Thoughts?

I saw a flyer for some BYB's poodle/ bichon mixes, and on the flyer it said that they were "Cajun-eyed." Anyone know what in the world that means? (And I thought I was pretty hip to all the pathetic BYB jargon...)

I'm making some mini cupcakes for the dessert tray at my sister's wedding. This question is two-fold.

1. I'm going to be putting little monogram toppers on each cupcake. I was thinking about piping the letters with chocolate, but then I also remembered that royal icing could work. So which is harder--royal icing or chocolate?

2. Since it's a wedding, I was going to go with champagne cupcakes. However, there are a ton of kids in the family, and they'll be eating them the most. Would kids like a champagne cupcake? Or should I go with something more "normal"?

Thanks!

My husband and I recently opened our home to a friend, who'll be staying with us until he gets back up on his feet and can afford a place of his own. With the new roommate, came roommate's cocker spaniel puppy.

The dogs get along famously, and love to play and it's been great for them both to have someone to play with. The problem is that my dog, who usually isn't very vocal, has been making it a habit of barking like crazy when they're playing. Since she isn't also a little cocker spaniel and is a larger dog, she has an extremely obnoxious, loud, bark. And since the puppy is, well, a puppy, he does everything that she does and has been starting to bark during play as well.

I've tried making a loud, obnoxious noise and shaking a jar of pennies when she barks, but they're generally so caught up in being wacko and noisy themselves, that they don't even notice and I can't distract them.

Should I try separating them when she gets too crazy instead of just distracting them?

It's certainly starting to get cold where I live, and I'm going to have to get out my dog's sweater (she has short fur and is sensitive to the cold) soon.

So for those of you that have your dog/s wear clothing to keep them warm, at what point do you give in to the chilly weather?

A new dog grooming/ pet supply place opened up near me. They focus on holistic food, and use all-natural grooming products. My parents took their dogs there to get groomed, and they did a fantastic job. I was going to take my own dog over there for a bath, etc.

Yesterday I was looking at their site to see their hours/contact info, and I found that they sell puppies... They actually say "Nowadays, with so much media coverage about puppy mills, it actually makes people feel guilty for wanting a puppy, or a purebred, or a “designer” breed, instead of getting a dog at a shelter. Thank goodness for shelters, but you rarely find a puppy, or a purebred there. We feel that people should have choices, without being judged." ("now buy one of our pekepomaweeniepapi-poos!")

However, the location I'd go to doesn't sell puppies there. Should I go ahead and get my dog groomed at that one, or will my soul burst into flame since they sell pups at other locations? (I can always go somewhere else; it's just that I know they do a really good job at this place).

TL;DR-- I want to get my dog groomed, but the chain I'm going to sells puppies. If the one I go to doesn't happen to sell them, am I in the clear, or should I avoid the entire chain altogether?

Thanks everyone.

I recently learned about CedarCide, which is evidently a spray that can be used around the house, and on pets. Have you tried it, or heard about how well it works? Seems like a good idea, if it works as well as the ads claim it does.

I finally bought an ice cream maker, and I've been looking up different recipes. Is there an appreciable difference between ice creams made with the custard base and ones that are just mixed together? I'm not concerned with difficulty or method; I just want to see what people prefer (obviously I want to make the yummier one!).

Thanks!

I've noticed that there are several poodle breeders that breed both toys and minis, or toys and standards, etc. I know that dealing with two breeds is suspect, but if the breeder's dealing with the same breed (but different sizes) is it okay?

I'm not going to be getting a dog from a breeder; I'm just curious.

Okay, I know that the manual is going to be the preferred car in this situation, but I've been looking into 2002-2005 Mazda3s and Protege5s, and it seems like the only ones in my area are automatics. My husband's convinced that the automatics will die around 150,000 miles, so he's pressing for the manual.

So my question to you is whether or not I should steer clear of the automatics entirely, or would I be okay? It's just been such a pain to find a manual in my area.

Thanks!

I volunteer with a pet rescue who showcases their dogs at the local pet store. I'm one of the representatives, and tonight I was there with an adoptable dog, hoping to get her into a home.

Anyway; I had a strange conversation with one of the customers while I was there with the dog. The customer told me that she was going to breed her dog, and wanted to know if I knew of services to find stud dogs, etc. I honestly was SO taken aback, that I was just stunned for a bit. I told her that our rescue focuses on saving homeless animals, and that we're not affiliated with any breeders. I told her that I couldn't even begin to give her advice since I don't believe in breeding dogs unless the dog in question is a Champion (and is from a line of Champions), has been health tested/certified (as well as its parents and past generations), and is involved in breed-appropriate activities. I told her that she should go to akc.org to get affiliated with her breed's local club chapter, and get advice from that route.

I honestly just wanted to tell this woman that people like her are the reason that rescues have to exist, and that the "oh we'll just breed our dog once" mentality results in thousands of homeless animals... But I played nice and was as civil as I could be. Hopefully I handled it tactfully enough.

What would you have said in this situation?

This past weekend my husband and I agreed to take in a stray kitten. He's probably about 2-3 months old, and has been doing very well.

My dog has this weird set of behaviors when they're together, though. She doesn't act aggressively at all (but due to her large size she intimidates the kitten if she tries to chase him in an attempt to play though, which we stop immediately). If she's near him, though, she tries to nudge him with her nose (generally in his belly or chest), and she alternates between licking and nibbling (the same kind nibbling she'd do on herself if she had an itch). I discourage her from doing it, but if I don't have my eye on them every waking moment she sneaks over and pesters him. She's no trying to hurt him; it just annoys and intimidates him.

She had puppies in October (we didn't have her then--she's actually our foster and she was spayed after she had her pups), so I was wondering if this is the kind of thing she'd do with her pups, and if she just thinks the kitten is one of her puppies. I know it's a really strange theory, but I can't figure out what else it could be. Any ideas?

Thanks!

I never planned on having a kitten (they're cute but are kind of obnoxious lol), but yesterday someone *threw* this poor guy out of their car into my in-laws yard. They can't afford another animal, so my husband and I offered to take him home with us. We have two cats (which were strays that were adults when we took them in), so we're experienced with taking care of cats in general. My in-laws guessed that he's between two and three months old.

I've never had a kitten before, though, and I just have a couple questions about them.

1. Do kittens retain their personalities as they get older? He's really sweet, affectionate, and cuddly; will he stay the same way, or is there just no way to tell?

2. Do their eyes change color as they get older? If he's about two months old now, will they stay the same from here on out?

3. Should I be feeding him wet food, or is kibble okay? Or should I feed him both?

(For the record, we're going to feed him Innova, which is what our girls are on now--it's a cat/kitten formula. We're going to get him neutered when he's 5-6 months old, and he's getting his vaccinations and microchip next week. He's been eating, drinking, and using the litterbox just fine. I've only given him some Innova wet food and water.)

Thanks, everyone!

Okay, I know that sounds odd, but here's the situation:

My husband often goes on his daily bike ride between 11:00pm-3:00am. I'm not opposed to this entirely, since he does it for some good reasons. Mainly that the roads aren't busy, it's cooler out, and it helps him clear his head after a long day's work. He's very safe, and has an extremely bright light facing forwards, multiple reflectors, a light on his helmet, and rear-facing red lights. It's pretty impossible to miss him in the dark lol.

It seems, though, that *every night* he comes back and has some story about how he had a run-in with a crazy driver/s, or as*hole kids. I guess there have been a lot of drivers threatening him, driving him off the road, and just tonight he was harassed by a bunch of drunk kids (party at someone's house). I know this sounds petty, but I hear it every night, so I don't even react anymore...

So that he doesn't have any more of this drama and doesn't end up getting injured by an enraged driver, I suggested that he ride his bike at another time of day, like early in the morning before traffic (since it'd be light out). He hates this idea, since it'd force him to wake up early (but this would be good for him, since he's always late for work... long story).

Are there like, any laws or anything that would prevent someone from riding a bike so late at night? Anything else that I could tell him that might convince him to stop riding this late??

Thanks for any input!

My dog currently eats Blue Buffalo (and loves it), but I think she might have a grain allergy, so I'm switching her to a grain-free food. I'm going to switch her over to Wellness Core.

I just wanted to know how long I should take to switch her over; is two weeks enough, or could it be done in less time? Any other advice from those who feed their dogs grain-free?

Thanks for your help!

I'm making some icing for a batch of Spritz cookies, and I'm out of milk to mix with powdered sugar to drizzle on them.

This is so embarrassing... So after feeding our dog earlier (2-year-old 70-lb. German Shorthaired Pointer mix), my husband left the lid off of the rubbermaid bin we keep the dog food and treats in. The bin is in the dog's room... you see where this is going. She ate about 10 ounces of the Old Mother Hubbard P-Nuttier treats (the little ones), and a couple ounces of liver training treats (all this in addition to her normal evening meal).

She's been acting anxious, but I've been letting her out once every 30-60 min. in hopes that she'll poop again (she did when I let her out after I came home earlier), but she's only peed a couple times. She's been drinking more water than normal and her belly is slightly larger than usual. It's late, so I haven't been able to take her on a real walk; I've just been walking her around the perimeter of our property in hopes that it'll help move things along, so she'll poo again. She hasn't vomited. I've been restricting her activity (no jumping on the couch or bed), and our several short walks have been calm (no running or jogging).

My husband is certain that she'll just have a sour stomach for the night, and that she'll be fine by morning. I'm paranoid, though, and I worry that this might end up with her experiencing bloat. What should I do? Should I suck it up and take her to the emergency vet, or am I being overly cautious and will things work themselves out overnight?

Thanks for any help.

My husband and I are wanting to start an aquarium again, and we really like the aesthetic of the BiOrb Life tank (the rectangular one--not the spherical one). However, they're excruciatingly expensive. Does anyone happen to know if there'a another company that makes tanks that have a similar look without costing so much? Thanks!

for reference: http://www.everythingbiorb.com/biorbstore/index.ph...

Just within the past couple of days, I noticed that my dog had an irritated area of skin by her bum. It's hard to see exactly what it looks like since I haven't shaved the area yet, but it appears to be comprised of one larger and one smaller wound (the smaller being under 1/4", and the larger one 1/2"). The area is slightly swollen, and weeping a yellowish discharge (it's not opaque, though), which is crusting over, but there's no scab forming. She gets uncomfortable when I touch it, but doesn't seem antsy or in a foul mood. She licks it occasionally.

From what I've read about hot spots, they seem easily treatable at home (with stuff from the pet store). If I need to take her in to the vet I will; I just haven't had any experience with these before so I don't know which course of action to take.

Thanks for your help.

So here's the situation. I have two friends and they both have two cats. They each got one cat around the same time as kittens, and so they're almost the same age. Friend A's cats are both healthy and normal, but Friend B's cats are both rather skinny (even though I know that they eat fine; they both seem healthy, though--just a little light). The cats that are the same age are drastically different in weight (A's cat is norrmal, B's cat is almost like a kitten still). The only major difference that I can see is that Friend B and her roomate both smoke (pretty constantly).

So would being in a smoking environment have that big of an affect on their cats?