Printable View
That's crazy. I also read a lot about desperate need for people to adopt. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Our lives are so much richer for having had dogs for the last 35 years (plus one we kept for a friend while he was in college before that).Quote:
Originally Posted by Foxee
Very very envious.
This sweetest little dog Dolly was always sitting on my lap at work for a spot of peace and quiet and conversation. The owner had to let her go, she said, her toddler 'grabbing at Dolly's nose' 'getting growled at' etcetera, snap snap. I had my mind, my house prepared for Dolly's arrival, but the lady owner was too distressed and she changed her mind.
It has been very difficult with only the cat, the wife's cat in the house. A lot of people said the dog would kill the cat, and mainly racists. I'm over it now, receiving likes for goodness always eases most of my pain.
I know this is so frustrating. Plus, added to all this, is the fact that you can't simply go into a place and pick up a pup. There was a time when I still owned a home that I found this adorable little rough coat Jack Russell at an adoption fair. He had been a stray, but they couldn't find his owners, so there he was looking so cute I wanted to take him home. But no! I had to wait over a week, for the paper work to be sorted and approval given. Since he was a stray, they didn't know he had a fatal case of separation anxiety, so after I got him and went to work, he literally destroyed my bedspread, from inside his crate which was at the end of my bed. It took two hours of holding him before he finally stopped crying hysterically. This went on every time I left him and he wasn't a baby. He was probably about four. I took him with me when I went to see my daughter, who had three kids, two dogs and a cat and little Andy was in love with them all, even the dogs! There was always someone around and he was so happy. But when I took him home and had to leave him again, even for a short time, he was beyond help. So I had to take him back. I felt so bad; he was really such a nice little guy. Now that I am retired and home a lot, Andy and I would have been great together. I hope he found a good home. I did tell the shelter they needed to find a new owner who was at home more than he or she was gone. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Foxee
We used to have this bad when I lived outside Waco. Between the idiots in town who figured out their kid's Christmas puppy was too much work and the resident meth-heads who let their dogs run wild we had a huge semi-feral canine surplus. Every six to eight months it got sufficiently bad that the locals had to run their own culls (no infrastructure out the the hinterlands, and the sheriff's department had their hands full with petty crime and the aforementioned meth-heads) to put a crimp in livestock depredation.Quote:
Originally Posted by vranger
I guess the owners figured they were doing their dogs a favor, dumping them 'in the country' versus a re-homing place in town.
The reasoning process of some people's kids. :roll:
I trimmed my dog's claws today because she's afraid of running on our hardwood floors (too slippery).
A side note, if you've got any tips for this, let me know. It was NOT enjoyable.
Our cat has that problem, the mats slide out from under her when she corners. She has one back claw that got damaged in a fight and does not retract properly, so just that one foot clicks on the wood.Quote:
Originally Posted by thepancreas11
Dug over a bit more turf for what will become veg garden, cleared some rubbish hornbeams out and chopped them up, then had a fire and burnt some more clay; played hard in the garden basically :) Potted on some cucumbers; leeks and onions are coming on well, they will be next. Planted courgette seeds, beetroot, chard, kale and parsnip, all a bit less physical.
I just trimmed the "new dog's" nails today. She's 40 pounds and mostly Pit, so no matter how sweet she has been, I wondered how it would go. My wife saw me get out the clippers and gave me a sarcastic "Good Luck!"Quote:
Originally Posted by thepancreas11
The clippers I've got have a round hole to place around the nail, and you squeeze a handle to snip the nail. Here are the things I watch out for:
1) Identify where the quick is before placing the clippers. A cut into the quick HURTS (plus bleeds like crazy), and the dog will never, ever forget that happened. The quick ends where you can see red higher in the nail. Never clip even close to it. If the nail is completely black and you cannot see the quick, be conservative and don't take off much nail at one clipping. This dog has both white AND black nails, so my clips were not to an equal depth. :-) I try to clip about halfway from the tip to the quick.
2) Try not to pull on the toe to separate it out. That can also be painful.
3) As SOON as I get the clipper in place, I snap it. Giving the dog a chance to pull away from the clippers teaches the dog they can pull away from the clippers. Sometimes they will, anyway.
4) If a dog is likely to nip during the process, use a muzzle. Even one of our Toy Poodles will do that. I'm not concerned about him, but anything larger could draw blood.
5) I give the dog a rest between nails, praise them, and pet them. I have NEVER clipped nails where it wasn't stressful for the dog, so I try to take it down a notch for them.
6) After clipping, I use a file to knock off any sharp edges or spurs left. I pretty much never have resistance to that, but again, don't separate the toe out too far.
7) Very important, approach the task with confidence and determination (Never let them see you sweat! LOL) If you're nervous, the dog will be even more nervous.
Alternatively, you can use a Dremel tool to sand the nail down. The thing to watch out for there is not to "sand down" one nail for too long. The sanding process produces friction and will make the nail hot in a shorter period of time than one would expect. You typically won't get as much off the end of the nail with this method, so you're less likely to endanger the quick. But because you get less nail, you'd want to do it more often.
I just looked into these and ordered one. They look like the way to go for me and the pupper! Thank you!Quote:
Originally Posted by vranger
We use the dremel on both our boys, (greyhound and a husky/ eskimo mix). No blood, no drama. Our dumbass greyhound, Zwi falls asleep while we do it. He loves the attention. (Rue Dog and I also do enough road work that his claws are not usually a problem because they are worn down from simply walking.) We use a clipper on Potato Cat, but we have been handling his paws since he was itty bitty. He is well paid for his cooperation. Two treats per paw, fronts only. If you don't complete the process in 45 seconds countdown to the Apocalypse begins. :bomb:
Olive Shadowfax.
Attachment 26505