Baileysmom

Thanks you guys........ I searched online last night for some info on debarking - I dont know much about it, but I am against doing something this drastic especially with a 7 wk old puppy youve only had a week!! to me IF it was ever done (which wouldnt be me) it should only even be considered as a LAST resort after all kinds of training have been tried. the problem is I have had a hard time finding things against the surgery! the vast majority of articles say its an easy surgery that is beneficial for owners and neighbors! :evil: (although most do also say it should be done after training has beeen tried) scotty_lvr - those are exactly the things I said and told my mom..... it jsut makes me crazy to think about it - my bailey is only part beagle, but there are alot of things we deal with that take alot of patience and training. I dont talk to this woman alot - mostly my mom sees her, so Im trying to figure out what is the right thing to do..... or how to do it! :wink: to her benefit, she did ask about training classes (but that was before she announced she was planning to do debarking)

my moms friend - kind of a friend of the family- recently adopted a very young beagle........ now, that worried me because she has a history of getting dogs because they are cute and not really knowing much about the breed, etc....... my first comments to my mom were "does she realize how much they bark and bray, I cant see she would like that....." mom said she swore she researched them and they are "perfect". well, that was about a week ago and today my mom says she told her they are goign to have her debarked!! I know they had a sheltie yrs ago that they did that to, and as much as I hate it I have heard of people doing that with shelties - do people do that with beagles too??!! the other thing that gets me is she says she likes beagles "becasue they dont shed" :o hahahahaha my beagle sheds a ton!! their short smooth coat is nice, but it definetely sheds!! I would love to say something to this lady, but I think anything would jsut make her mad - any suggestions on waht I should do? or do I just keep my mouth shut? :evil:

I chose "other super premium" - I feed chicken soup, I hope that was the right one to choose :wink:

Thanks everyone!! Bongo came home last night and is doing wonderful :D hes eating only canned food for a day or two, but is acting pretty normal and can resume normal activity by tomorrow!

Just wanted to update that I just heard from the vet and she said Bongo came through fine - hes already standing up and looking around :D she ended up taking that 4th molar that was infected, plus the "fang" on the same side and 4 other teeth that were really bad :o (but said surprisingly the rest look really good :roll: what there is left!) I will go get him in a couple hours - thanks for the happy thoughts and help with this........ it seems like having teeth pulled should be a pretty simple thing, not a difficult decision, but I guess with his age nothing is an easy decision! :wink:

I jsut wanted to let everyone know I did take Bongo in this morning for his dental and to have his teeth pulled........ think good thoughts for him, I will call this afternoon and check on him and I can get him about 430 today...... :)

my hubby was asking what would happen if the tooth comes out on its own (or he helps it :wink: one of the other teeth was bad several months ago- though not infected- and he easily helped it out it was so loose....) I said I thought the infected tissue would remain unless the vet does it - is this correct?

OK - we're back and as expected it is a "carnassial tooth abcess" - the 4th molar (the big one :wink: ) is infected...... she wants to take it and maybe more out. the infection is much better and the swelling under his eye is almost gone - the vet says if we dont take it out it will be infected again within a couple weeks (is this typically what happens?) I tentatively scheduled surgery for this thursday, but will make the final decision with my hubby tonight. We are looking at atleast $400. the vet says he is pretty healthy given his age and she will do bloodwork before. I know my hubby is very concerned about doing this at his age, and frankly if its "worth it" - I know that sounds REALLY "cold", so I hope you understand what I mean...... it seems most of our dogs have passed on about 12 yrs old due to old age and I think he is thinking this is the beginning of the end in a sense..... I understand how he feels, but I certainly dont want Bongo to be in pain and die from something that can be fixed and let him have a few more happy years...... anyone have any opinions or input?

Thanks DO, I was hoping youd reply as I knew you would have experience with this...... :wink: everyones opinions and experience is definetely appreciated though!! and I will let you know what happens this afternoon :(

I agree, I jsut want to make sure Im not missing a quest I should ask or a concern I havent thought about...... he is acting pretty good and is eating well - right now I am mixing his chicken soup kibble with low sodium chcken broth to soften it a little.

I know this is probably more of a health question, but I think more people will see it here and Id really some some opinions as our appt is today :-? many of you saw my post about aspirin for Bongo my 11 yo shep mix with an infected tooth....... today he goes in for the actual exam. a couple months ago the vet told us he should have a few teeth pulled that were pretty bad - we held off for a few reasons: his age, the money (several hundred $) and the fact that soon after that appt most of the worst teeth fell out on their own. well, now we have this infection (which the swelling in his cheek is doing MUCH better) Im pretty sure they are goign to want to do the "surgery" and pull the tooth and clean and whatever else, and I will come up with the money if thats what he needs, obviously I jsut want to do whats best for him right now. my question is, what else should I be asking the vet? and how do we know if he is ok to go through "surgery" given his age? at the past appt they said he was healthy other than his teeth and some lumps that were said to be fatty deposits and cysts. should we jsut go ahead with it or what ? my hubby is a little more leery than I am and is concerned with what his quality of life will be without most of his teeth, taht concerns me too - but I think it would have to be better than possibly dying from infections.... Thanks!

I just read that on a vet site, so Ill be sure no to do that, but I am reading confusing/contradicting ideas on tylenol vs aspirin....... :o

ok- that helps....... Bongo is about 35 pounds - any idea if reg is the only one thats ok? what about ibuprofen?

our poor 11 yo shep mix seems to have an infected tooth - he has a large lump under his eye and because of his bad teeth we are thinking that is likely (the vet and us) the vet gave us antibiotics and will see him for a reg exam on tuesday (they cant do anything until the infection is under control) my question is - can dogs have some kind of pain reliever also?? acetominophin or aspirin or ibuprofen? if so how much? he is acting "ok", but I can tell its very painful to eat ( I am soaking his reg food in low sodium chicken broth to soften, as per vets suggestion) but I thought something to help his pain would be nice :cry: any suggestions?

I'm sorry- I would love to adopt her , she is beautiful and I have always loved both terriers and dals, but I dont think my situation would be any better for her than her other as I have 2 other dogs and she would have to compete against my 11 yo shephard mix for top spot. good luck though, I really hope she finds the right forever home :)

I had no idea about the hard bones being a no-no :o bailey loves the hooves and hard bones the most! what type of "bone" can they chew ?

I cant really say a whole lot that hasnt already been said, but yes, allergies can start at any time to anything. personally I dont like benadryl because it puts me to sleep, but if you dont find any other reason (like the pollen coming in or a new shampoo) go to your doctor and possibly asked to be referred to an allergist - there they can test you and decide what method is best for you - there are shots to help you become desenstized and tons of great prescription meds. I am allregic to most everything including cats, dogs and horses. with meds and shots I do fine around them now, but I do have to have someone else brush bongo with his ultra shedding shepard hair (the other night I did it anyway and had an asthma attack :o ) good luck!

[quote]You think? I've had one dog. And that was for 8 months[/quote] I apologize - I made an assumption and that was wrong, but I think you understand waht I was saying anyway :oops: btw- DAL, Im going to try out taht lakewood petsmart today :D I need to get Bailey a kong anyway

ditto - dont worry ESS, its usually younger and/or "uneducated" (about animals) children. my oldest is 13 and I feel confident I could send him into petsmart - or almost anywhere "alone" and he AND any dogs there would be fine. you are a teenager now and have prob been around dogs your whole life and Im sure have responsible parents who started teaching you about them from a young age........ unfortunately not all parents and children are that way :roll:

No Matty, I do agree with you also - eventhough it is a place for pets, it is also a store and people should be careful about taking a dog who is not good with other people, otherwise they will be liable (and their beloved pet) should it bite someone. but as a parent, I also am careful to teach my children that you never know if a dog is friendly even if they are in a store in public and always ask first before approaching an animal and even then they are taugh the correct way of approaching and making contact. - unfortunately though - obviously not all parents teach children that. DAL - yes, I go to the one off hwy 16, but I think Im goign to try the lakewood one too :wink: I get my allergy shots jsut down the street, so Im over there failry often

DAL - which petsmart do you go to?

[quote]And then I informed her of her ignorance [/quote] LMAO!!!!! :roflt: I'm so sorry about these things happened to both of you, its really a shame when parents can't bother to teach their children about being around strange animals and then have the guts to leave them "alone" in a petstore - and get angry at the pets owners!!!! but the way you put that had me laughing me outloud! way to go!!

Thanks so much for the ideas! where do I get the diatomaceous earth and the fish body oil? I havent done much to treat the yard, which wasnt very smart on my part, but mostly because I couldnt figure out what to use, it needs to be safe for kids and other animals, so your idea sounds great. I do vacuum alot, but Im sure with the yard untreated and the animals in and out its not doing alot of good :oops: one good thing (I think) is she doesnt have "sores or leasions" its not red or swollen at all her sides are jsut a little sparse of hair :lol:

Haha how cool! I havent heard the term marianas racing hound, but its def a good name for them! I have heard that they are considered their own breed in a way - and they can look totally different! here is a pic of my two- Bongo, the boonie dog is the bigger on the left. they look very similar, but bongos ears normally stand up like a shep (I dont think he was too happy about the photos!) and their hair is very different! [img]http://images.snapfish.com/33%3A%3B%3A%3A6323232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E2326%3D%3A%3B3%3D%3A7%3B%3DXROQDF%3E23235738336%3B9ot1lsi[/img]

When we firt got Bailey we had alot of trouble with constant scratching and biting and did benadryl for quite awhile while we figured what kind of allergies were causing the problems........ (long story there, but anyway..) about a month ago she finally got a steroid shot to stop the itching and started on frontline plus - we finally narrowed down that she likely was allergic to fleas because we noticed a few, but her itching was so bad youd have thought she was horribly infested. :o anyway, all that helped alot, but by that time she had lost alot of fur on her sides. the vet said it could take months for the fur to grow back but Im worried tjhat it still wont because she still bites the area (though nothing like before!) Im trying to figure out if I shoudl try something topical either to soothe the skin or goign the other route something "yucky" so she wont bite it - or if I should add some sort of oils to her diet to moisturize her skin more (her coat seems nice, but maybe it would help?) anyone have some advice or ideas?? *edited to add - I feed chicken soup, and bathe with vets best itch relief snhampoo with tea tree oil (mabye the oatmeal would be better?)