BulliesRock

Soooo....we've been struggling with dog food for about 8 months now. We were feeding Stella & Chewy's raw (beef) last year when out of the blue the dog started having bloody diarrhea. We took her off immediately, thinking it was a food allergy and put her on Science Diet ZD. The idea was to stop the blood and then switch her back to a healthy food again after a few months of stability. So that worked like a charm. While on vacation, we supplemented it with Stella and Chewy's dehydrated. We actually thought it might have been a bug that she had instead of the food allergy so we went with the beef again. She was fine until we tried to go all beef again. So that was out. Back onto the ZD she went. I hate the stuff because it makes her coat dry and brittle and her skin flake. The vet isn't keen on keeping a dog on it long term either. We segued her onto EVO Chicken & Turkey because that is the only thing she has been solid on. BUT then she got two ear infections and a skin infection...so we've been trying to get her onto a high quality duck, but can't get up past half a cup or she gets the runs. Instead, we decided to go back to the raw - Stella & Chewy's lamb. So we're feeding a small amount trying to work her over but we haven't even been on it a week and she got the runs this morning. The blood came back tonight. I'm really at the point where I have to make the decision now - to feed that bad quality food and deal with the flaky skin or keep trying to move her to something which doesn't seem to be working (6 months later).

Does anyone have any experience with bloody diarrhea in their dog? (I'm waiting on a call back from the vet so need to say "get her to the vet". We have stuff to treat her at home that the vet likes us to try first before we bring her in, but if she has more tonight then she's going to the ER)

Today, my cat urinated when she was jumping onto the bed. This wasn't on purpose as it some came out on the floor. She's a younger cat (only 7) and will be going to the vet on Monday to check for a UTI.

My question is - how do I get it out of my mattress? It's a brand new $1200 beautyrest pillowtop. I haven't had a new mattress in fifteen years and we just bought this one to treat ourselves two months ago (I'm not mad at the cat, but I'm furious with myself for not thinking ahead - I have pets that sleep on the bed, I should have gotten a plastic cover and I wouldn't be in this situation right now). I used Nature's Miracle and it didn't even put a dent in it. Does anyone have any tried and true ways to get cat urine smell out of a mattress?

Thanks so much!

With snake season rapidly approaching, I was wondering if anyone has in the past tried the rattlesnake vaccine on their dog(s)? We hike often with ours and had a close call last summer so I am just trying to get people's opinion of the vaccine. If you have used it, have you seen adverse reactions? Are you continuing with the boosters? Has your dog been bit since getting it?

Thanks!

We have one dog that resource guards her bully sticks and food against one of our cats. She doesn't do it with the other dog or our other cats, nor does she do it with her doggie friends (but none of them really go near each other when they are eating or enjoying a bullystick/bone). Any ideas on why this would be a problem with only one of the cats and none of the other animals in her life? She will always try to share her toys with this cat, though. No guarding with other resources, just her food dish and bullysticks. She has never resource guarded against humans. We can take anything we want away from her. We are starting to work on desensitizing her. I really wouldn't even bother since it seems to be directed at our pushy little cat, but I don't want this spilling over into other areas where she decides to guard against a new dog coming into the home. Does anyone have experience with guarding just around other animals? I know that resource guarding is normal animal behavior but in all my years of owning dogs, I've actually never experienced it before.

My cousin is set on a frenchie puppy. We've gone over all the endless health issues with the breed so we are looking for a GOOD breeder. The problem is, most of them are breeding "very rare blue" or "very rare chocolate" and I know "very rare" anything screams BYB. Plus this is the first I've found that even claims to do genetic testing.

http://www.hollywoodfrenchbulldogs.com/

I'm emailing for a questionnaire. Any other questions I should ask?

We've always adopted our dogs from shelters and rescues. I'm just trying to be sure my cousin doesn't buy from a backyard breeder who is contributing to the problems in the shelters.

Does anyone have any experience with vaginitis in their b***h? She's had it on and off since she was a puppy and we (the vet included) were hoping it would resolve itself. We are now over 2 years of age and she just had another outbreak. We just finished our second antibiotic course. We thought it was gone, but I noticed this morning that it appears to be back. We're taking her in on Monday. They'll culture her again, I'm sure. Has anyone had experience in their spayed female with recurring vaginitis? I'm frustrated for her. I don't care about the money. I don't care about repeated appointments. I care that she can't shake this and seems uncomfortable with it. Is there anything that someone has tried in addition to the antibiotics that has worked well for them? At this point, I'm afraid we are looking at surgery. I have a feeling this is an anatomical abnormality given that she is a blue fawn pit bull, which means she is very poorly bred by a backyard greeder. I want to know if someone has a holistic that we can try in addition to what we are doing?

Thanks for any suggestions!

My cousin and his wife, with twin one year olds, just bought a boxer puppy. Yes, it wasn't from a GOOD source. My question is - how energetic are they? I'm trying to stand by for damage control now that the mistake has been made. They aren't a very active couple. Their idea of activity is throwing beer pong parties two nights out of the weekend. I'm very, very concerned for this poor puppy. Unfortunately, they got a female so when things start to go very wrong (no training classes, not enough exercise), we won't be able to take her, already having a female of our own. I'm just wondering if boxers can survive on maybe a half hour of walks a day?

I just started with a highly recommended personal trainer. I got an introductory rate of $50/hour for the first two sessions. I need to lose weight so we are doing cardio. We meet in a park and workout there. I can only afford him once a week starting next week because he charges $80/hour normally. I really, really love the workouts. I am sore afterwards, but not so sore I can't go to the gym the next day for cardio. We went over my goals. But there has been no mention of diet and what I am eating. Is this odd? Do most trainers make diet suggestions as well?

How often do you work out with your trainer?

Do you think working out once a week is going to make a difference?

You MUST take your dog to the vet if he is sick or injured whether you have money or not. Did you know that this is the law? I just learned yesterday that it is considered felony animal cruelty and they are really starting to come down hard on it L.A. County.

We have always taken our pets in even if we were unemployed. We skipped a bill payment, borrowed money or had a garage sale, but we always took them.

I just thought it was interesting to know that considering how many people come on here and say "and don't say VET because I don't have the money." They don't have a choice. If their neighbor turns them in, they're looking at having to pay a hefty fine at the very least or jail time at the most (which is happening more and more). Our neighbor had to pay a $500 fine and was court ordered to never have a dog again because he let his german shepherd go without treatment for hip dysplasia. The poor dog was falling down constantly and the man never once took him to the vet. All it took was one phone call to Animal Control. They made two trips out there - the first to warn him he had to do it, the second to take the dog. It was nice to see him taken away in handcuffs. He claimed he couldn't afford it either yet his wife wears designer clothes and they drive brand new mercedes SUVs. Guess they should have spent the money on the dog instead of the car!

I'm writing an article on the truth about Teacups. I have quotes from most of the major clubs (Yorkie, Chihuahua, Poodle), but I would like more information. Does anyone have a link or quote from the AKC? Also, where would be a good place to post asking people to email me their stories? I have one friend who was taken in by the Teacup craze and she will write her pups short story for me. I think getting testimonies from people who have bought and lose them will make a greater impact than just the quotes from the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America, don't you?

Thanks for any help!

We never did growing up because it wasn't prevalent here and never had a problem. We camp and hike a lot, with an annual summer trip to Oregon and Washington for two weeks. I have NEVER had a dog with heartworm and my vet doesn't like to give preventative unless it's absolutely necessary. I never used to worry about it, but our friend's Cane Corso was recently diagnosed with it. The dog is four years old and has always lived in Southern California. They travel for two months every summer to Colorado, Idaho, Oregon and Washington with the dogs so the vet thinks it's likely that is where the dog picked it up. Now, I'm paranoid. Do you use heartworm preventative if you live in Southern California? I don't even Frontline my dogs because they react so badly to that but we don't have a problem because we have an natural spray that works really well if applied once a week and I'm pretty anal about their baths and cleaning their bedding. I would hate to do this if it was unnecessary but I also can't imagine that my youngest would live through heartworm treatment. I need advice. Thanks!

I thought it was really sweet and this was my response:

Wow. What a lucky, lucky dog to have you.

It's only been a month, so he will warm up more with time. However, I had to laugh at the cat in a dog's body because our friends who own jindos describe them that way. They treat their jindos well, give them the choice to be inside or out with the doggie door and most of the time, they are outside. They tend to be independent. They have a male and a female, both rescues, both fixed. The male is actually more 'affectionate' than the female. He prefers to spend more time with them, lay at their feet in the room they are in, sleep in their room with them. I have only ever owned american pit bull terriers/mixes so I'm used to a dog that is gushing in human affection and can't stand to not be touching you when you are home. To me, their jindos don't seem affectionate. To them, they are. They love them.

Continue to treat him the way you are and he will slowly come around. He will sense that you love him. Right now he's got two years of past he is trying to overcome and adjust to great new home he now has.

One of our pits is allergic to everything. Having american pit bull terriers growing up and as an adult, I have dealt with allergies, but NONE as bad as these. She's a blue fawn rescued from the shelter at 8 weeks and the only one in her litter who got a home. We have spent thousands on her already. We had allergy testing done because she was really suffering. The testing showed that she was allergic to almost everything (every kind of grass, multiple kinds of trees, pollens, dust, mold). She suffers year round being a so cal dog because we don't have seasons, but it gets worse in the spring and summer. During the winter you wouldn't really know she has allergies. We have her on antihistamines daily and steroids occassionally but the specialist had recommended allergy shots for her last year. My husband was skeptical and didn't want to take her back. I'm concerned about the long term affects of steroids on her (she's only a year and a half now) so I've been pushing him for allergy shots. I think with a little more pushing, I may have him agreeing to it. The specialist did say that she might grow out of it on her own, but the likelihood of that was slim. He felt that a few years of allergy shots could save her suffering in spring/summer and she would likely be off them in a few years. Has anyone had their dogs on allergy shots? The cost doesn't matter to us because we will always find way to get the money. I just wanted to know if anyone had experience with them either negative or positive?

Thanks in advance!

Our 12 year old was just diagnosed. We are beginning the process of treating her with metronidazole. The vet wants us feeding her boiled chicken at the moment (to calm her insides). They are pushing their icky i/d food on us, but I've been reading that a duck and potato or vennison and potato diet is better which I can find in Dick Van Patten's (at Pet Co). Has anyone had any luck with this brand? Any other medication helping your cat's symptoms?

Thanks for your help!

Her stool is jelly like substance and smelly. Does this sound like giardia to anyone who's dog has had it? The stool sample will be tested tomorrow for confirmation. In the meantime, she's on metronidazole (just started tonight) and had rice for dinner. We're stumped as to how she would have gotten it. If your dog has had it, did you have any ideas how he/she got it? Our pit mix is 11 months old and hasn't been near any other dogs that have had it. One of the woman I work with is treating her dog for it, but our dogs never come in contact. We're in separate buildings on the premises. The only thing that I can think of is that I tracked from her office to mine, but I thought infection only occured when they drank out of the same water dish or were exposed to the stool of an infected dog. Any ideas/advice before we hit the vet tomorrow? I'm just an overly worried mom...

Her stool is jelly like substance and smelly. Does this sound like giardia to anyone who's dog has had it

I use an easy walk on my dogs when hiking. However, my brother's dog (pit/boxer/mastiff mix) can't walk on one because it slips over his front legs and trips him. He's very oddly proportioned in the front so no matter how we tighten it (or the trainer tightens it), it still slips. We do NOT let our dogs off leash when hiking because of the hiking laws. However, the martingale chokes just as much as the choke chain when his dog gets too far ahead. He's in advanced training, but the pup is only 6 months old so she still has ADD. Treats don't work on trail. Does anyone know of a harness that does NOT encourage pulling we could try on her? I saw one on "It's Me or the Dog" reruns, but can't seem to track that one down. Maybe it's only available in London?

Thanks for your suggestions!!

Now that she has exposed pet stores and puppy mills, do you think this will make a difference on where people get their pets? Were people horrified enough to get involved and push for tougher laws to help close down the puppy mills for good?