Carrie O'Labrador

I think the door was off its track or something, as it was very hard to move and wouldn't close completely. I got it working again, but I noticed the floor plate is sort of scratched and sharp. Is there an easy way to fix the damage on the floor plate, or is this a huge repair?

My dog was recently vaccinated for lepto. The vet said the only reactions to the vaccine would happen within the hour of getting the shot.

My dog got diarrhea a few days after the first shot and again after the booster. It wasn't serious and went away naturally.

I have talked to the vet and they said it can't be the vaccine. But I really think it's related.

Anyone else have experience with this vaccine?

My dog had mild diarhea the last two mornings, but other than that has been fine -- no other dairhea bouts throughout the day. My Dad said if it happens again to have her tested for parasites. She's been on Interceptor her whole life, so I didn't think she could get parasites.

I think it's because he gave her eggs both mornings. She gets eggs from time to time (with no ill effects), but these eggs were brown eggs, and I was thinking they may be different, and affect her differently.

Are there any parasites that Interceptor does not kill?

Looks to me like there are no real credentials you need, although there are associations you usually join to make yourself legit.

But how does someone get started as a screenplay agent?

Who takes their dog on vacations and where do you go?

Last summer we left our dog at a boarding kennel. We missed her and when we picked her up she seemed sort of shell-shocked, and like she had not been petted the whole time. There were no lasting effects, but I really want to look into taking her with us next time. We love to go to the beach.

Anybody else take their dog on vacations and have some tips on finding dog-friendly places?

Most people nowadays think that they are entitled to have the wedding of their dreams, entitled to have other people pay for it whether or not they can afford it, and entitled to make their family and friends their slaves.

WTF.

I know this is a result of the bridal industry that feeds brides this BS so that they can suck out more money. But how can we stop it???

I have found brides and grooms to be demanding, unsympathic, greedy, self-centered, and bossy. Even the people who I used to think were reasonable. It seems like everyone goes off the deep end when they get married.

A wedding should not be stressful (unless you're not sure you want to marry your fiance!!). A wedding and accompanying parties should be offered to you, according to what people can afford, and you should just say "thank you!" That's it!

I mean, if your wedding is the best day of your life, then why bother? It's all downhill from there...

Okay, so who has sent out a Christmas card with a picture of their dog on it?

(I am guilty!)

What does everyone think about this? Cute or creepy? Weird?

I am the maid of honor for my friend. I offered to host a bridal shower, but the bride chose to have the party at one of the bridesmaid's houses. The bridesmaid told me "I win! Ha Ha!" She also said, "My husband and I would be honored to host the party."

Since her house is too small, she will be renting a tent and heaters, and also renting game tables. At my house, we wouldn't need a tent and I have a pool table, so we wouldn't have to rent games either.

Do I have to contribute to the cost of this party even if the bridesmaid is hosting? Doesn't the host of a party pay for the party? (All the bridesmaids could have hosted a shower at her house, but she has said she's hosting).

And should I really have to pay these extra rental costs when I wouldn't have had to pay them at my house?

If the shower was at my house, I wouldn't have expected anyone else to pay, but I don't want to pay for a party that I don't get to plan and don't even get the credit as host.

Is this product disturbing to anyone else?

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_...

It's an automatic feeder that will feed your dog for 8 days. Do you think there are people who are leaving their dog alone with this gizmo for 8 days and hoping everything works out okay?

SCARY!!!

This morning I took my lab to a self-serve dog wash, and then by the pet store for some extra bully sticks and things I wanted for the weekend.

On the way out of the store, a woman got out of her car, said how beautiful my dog was, then came over to pet her. My dog was wagging her tail, totally happy to see her, but as soon as she got close to the woman, began to bark, and back away. She has NEVER done that before. She seemed scared. I tried to act happy and entice her to greet the woman, as I wanted her to have a positive experience. She came closer to the woman, very obviously smelled her hand, then began to bark again and back away.

She has never barked at a stranger. She is normally very confident and friendly. She is not spooked easily. She rarely barks inside the house, but if she does, it is just one alert bark. Never a series of barks. She's never had a bad experience with anyone, so I don't think she has the concept that a person could hurt her. (more below)

I am the maid of honor for my friend's wedding. I was planning on hosting one of her 3 showers (3!). One of the other bridesmaids has recently started to change my plans for the shower and take over planning. She decided it should be a couples shower for 20 couples, should be held at her house, and should have a casino, "lucky in love" theme. While this could be a fun shower, it is not the shower that I would ever choose to give. I am single and don't exactly want to be the only single person at this couples shower where we all celebrate how lucky in love everybody but me seems to be. And I'd rather not let the other bridesmaid have it at her house, because then she really is the host, and if I do all the work she will still get all the credit.

Am I being silly? Should I just let the other bridesmaid take over? I don't want to have a fight with her, and I don't want to add to the bride's stress by having two fighting bridesmaids.

I've been doing research on the different dog foods. On the dogfoodanalysis website, there are a number of 6-star foods that are available to me at my local food store:

Solid Gold Barking at the Moon

Timberwolf Organics wild and Natural

Taste of the Wild High Prairie

TOTW Pacific Stream

TOTW Wetlands

Wellness CORE

They also have Canidae which is a 5-star.

I was wondering if anyone has had experience with these specific foods and what they reccommend? I'm sort of torn between Canidae and Wellness Core right now. I've heard so much about Canidae being great, but Wellness Core is higher rated.

My dog is almost 2 year-old lab, 65 pounds. She's been on Pro Plan because the breeder reccommended it. She's done fine on it, no problems.

What would you look for when changing dog foods and have a number of great choices? How should I choose between them?

We all know how many people are misinformed out there about dog reproduction. It's scary the types of questions that get asked, and most of the time we just tell these people to get their dogs spayed and neutered.

But, do you think this is sort of like telling all teenagers to practice abstinence? And not giving them the facts about sex, pregnancy and parenting?

Because, maybe it would help these people breed more responsibly if they knew what they were getting into. You know how they show the video of the woman giving birth and it scares a lot of kids into waiting to have sex? Maybe we need to show videos of dogs having stillborn puppies, and all the other horrific things that can happen?

I was invited to a themed shower where everybody is given a different time of day to shop for. I was given "bedtime."

Problem is, I already bought her two place settings before the invitations went out. And I got them on sale, and the store was an hour away, so I don't really want to return them. I didn't know about the theme. Should I return the place settings and get her a different gift? Is it very obnoxious to disregard the theme and give dishes when my time is bedtime?

I don't want to ask the hostess (her mother) to switch my "bedtime" to another time because I figure the invites went out already and that would cause problems if everyone wanted to switch.

BTW, I am the maid of honor.

Name an incident where a command or behavior that you taught your dog has saved his/her life, or saved him/her from injury.

Just asking because Abbyful was asking what is the first thing you teach your dog. And then I thought of how yesterday my dog ran into some barbed wire while we were hiking. Luckily, it was caught on her boot, and had not cut her. But she was panicking and trashing around, and I could see that she could really hurt herself badly if I didn't stop her. And I was 20-30 feet away, over rocky terrain. I had to stop her before I could get to her. I told her to sit, and stay, which she did, as I made my way over to her. Then I was able to get the barbed wire out of her boot, and release her without injury.

What a scary situation! I was proud, however, that even under stress, she followed my commands. Shows how hard work pays off!

Any similar stories?

Okay, it's ridiculous that all the knowledgeable people on the dog forum are getting reported and banned because they are speaking their mind.

I'm definitely on the side of the Spneut Police! They're 100% right in their advice.

The question is, can you catch more bees with honey? Do you think more people would listen if we were less judgemental? I think we all have the right to speak our minds in the way that we want, but is that helping anybody? I think it may just put people on the defensive and not listen to us.

It's not that I don't love to read some of the "rude and abusive" answers that get written. I laugh all the time. But do you think it makes people listen more?

Or are these people just so annoying that you don't care? (No argument about how annoying some people are!)

I knit as a hobby and have ammassed a lot of pieces that I am going to sell at a craft show. Some of the scarves are made of chenille and are quite long. Beautiful colors, hand-dyed yarn. The yarn cost about $25.

How much would you pay?

I know it's just September, but I really like Halloween. Last year my lab was a pumpkin. I haven't decided what she should be this year.

What things have your dogs been other years, and do you know what you want them to be this year?

Feel free to post pics!

Today while I was hiking with my dog (lab), she cut her foot pad. It bled at the time but she didn't seem bothered by it, and it is not bleeding now. I cleaned it and it looks like part of the toe pad on her back foot has been scraped/sliced off.

I called my vet right away, who says they have no time to see her either today or tomorrow. And they told me they can't tell me how serious it is or how to treat it at home for now. Obviously, I am looking for a new vet.

While I call around and try to find a vet with half a brain, I was wondering if anyone can give me any advice?

My lab is tough on toys. Unless it's a nylabone or a kong they can't be left out. The rest I just bring out for fetching and training/playing.

Just wondering: what are everyone's favorite toys?

I like the chuckit flying squirrel frisbee, jolly ball, kong tennis ball type toys. And regular tennis balls are always a hit and pretty indestructible. I am eyeing the wubba wubba. http://www.wubbaworld.com/

Anyone have a wubba?