Dogs and other family pets


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It said not to make a fuss of him when he was crying/howling so as not to reinforce the behaviour. I must admit I do console him, he is hurting as well as me and it seems cruel not to when he is upset. He has settled down for his nap now, hopefully he will eat something tonight he wasnt interested last nite and I didn’t force him. Think it will be chicken tonight, a bit of spoiling is in order.

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When our pets needed to take tablets we used two spoons to crush them and sprinkle the powder on their food.  Surprisingly the cats never made a fuss but Jack (the Jack Russell) was suspicious and gav

Yes friends, our little Jack is now resting peacefully 4 foot beneath one of our flower beds.   I’ve just not felt like logging on here for a couple of days.  Yesterday morning the very diff

I have now had my new companion for 4 days, Ripley became Jj, got fed up of being asked why we had named him after the place called Ripley! He has settled in really well and up to now has: Pulled

S.G., don't  make the mistake of getting your dog a playmate just yet, (assuming you may get a replacement). He needs time to get over the trauma.

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3 minutes ago, Beekay said:

(assuming you may get a replacement). He needs time to get over the trauma.

There are no replacements, BK. You can't replace a unique personality. You can only give a good home to another furry friend in need of one.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I took Kai to the vet last week for a six monthly check up, my other vet didn’t do this but my new vet offers one six months after annual boosters. So I decided to take advantage of it to have a talk to them about him. I was a bit worried as he was going days without eating except for the occasional treat, anyway he got a clean bill of health and actually weighs a bit more than his booster visit. She did suggest if I was worried they could do scans/xrays to check for anything else but I said I would think about it, he has enough to cope with at the moment with the loss of his brother.

He went for a the usual long walk on Sunday, have pictures of him near the hemlock stone, he slept all afternoon and then I gave him chicken and he cleared his bowl in one go which was a bit of a relief. Yesterday for the first time he actually ate biscuits out of his bowl. I have been hand feeding him from the bowl (I know a silly thing to do but I was worried about him) but this time he took a few from me and then started eating them on his own. He didn’t have as many as normal  but it was a start and a relief to see him do it.

He never barked much before, Wolf was the one always on guard who did all the barking when needed, but yesterday he barked at the postman. Don’t know who was more surprised me or him. 

I am hoping now he is starting to adjust to the situation a bit and his eating will gradually get back to normal. I still miss my handsome Wolf, I got his ashes back from the vet, we will be scattering them in the woods and on the meadow he loved to run in probably in spring when the weather improves. I have decided not to get another dog to go with Kai although I loved having my two boys. It was easier walking them when my husband was alive and since being on my own I had to walk them separately as if they decided to “go” I would not have been able to hold them back. They only got out together at weekends when I had someone to walk them with me.

So all in all hopefully things are starting to improve a little and although we are both still sad we can get on with our new life together.

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My childhood dog was Cindy, a small, black mongrel with a distinctive white cross on her chest. She was my pet from what must have been 3 or 4 years old and I remember distinctly the moment my Dad brought her home. I played with her on the carpet, and I adored her. She was a very affectionate dog and knew  when I was upset and nuzzled her nose under my arm when I was not happy and we cuddled for hours. Out of the back of Bobbers Mill Road there was an old allotments and quarry area, which no one went to, and it was quite extensive, and I took Cindy there every day when I could. She slept in my bed often, although she had her basket downstairs. I could hear he padding up the stairs on a cold night and I let her sleep at the foot of my bed. 

 

She had a long and happy life, cared for very well. I recall a phone call in Worksop Police Station. I was interviewing a petty criminal, when i got the call, that my Dad had said that Cindy had come to the end of her days. I said to him, if she is suffering, then dont let her suffer more. I got another call two hours later. I have never got over it. I do recall going on fooot patrol shortly after and weeping copiously in the corners and quiet places only policemen know. 

 

She would have been about 18 years old then, not a bad innings for a dog. 

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Thanks for sharing all those memories of Cindy.  It sounds like she was a lovely dog.   Have you had another dog since then?

I had to be sent off the ward because I couldn't stop crying, when my mum wrote to tell me that my Scamp  was no more.   I was 18 and I just wish  I'd been there when he died.....

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I've had to say goodbye to four best friends over the last 35 years.  It never gets easier.  Only concern now is over my two current pals.  Thing is I might go before them.  Then I start fretting about how they will do without me!  You just can't win.

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It is a worry as we get older what would happen to our companions if we go first. Here you can arrange for Dogs Trust to take them, they never put a healthy dog down. I don’t know whether I will have another when I lose Kai. My husband and I always had dogs, usually German Shepherds, and cats with them at some times (they were usually strays that we took in). I will have to see if I can tolerate an empty house and on the other hand there are plenty of dogs who need a home so I will have to see how I feel. 

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My stepdaughter is a doggy person and  says she will take them, which is comforting, but I hate to think of how they would handle it.  Probably better than I give 'em credit for.  She and her husband both like to run so they'd get more exercise than I can give them these days.

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S.G., purely as a matter of interest. You say German Shepherds are your dog of choice. If you get chance, have a look on Mr. Google for "Malvon Shilos". They look like large fluffy Shepherds, (I  thought wolves). My cousin in Canada resurrected a disappearing breed and doing very well. They are quite popular now.  Have some pix somewhere if you can't  find them.  B.

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Margie

 

I had three Weimaraners when I settled down up here in the wild north. Each one of them totally beautiful dogs and different personalities but each one very loving. Beautiful silver grey dogs. the middle one died young of cancer, but Winston and Harvey lived to a good age and had happy lives. What makes things poignant is that at my divorce my wife took my dog (the ultimate insult) and my beloved Dad saw my mental health going down, so he offered to pay for a new weimaraner. That was Harvey. Winston was always my dog, but Harvey adored my father and he loved him. Even well into his 70s my dad would walk Harvey for many miles, Selston to Newstead would not be unusual. That meant that Harvey was in dog paradise when I was off to Russia. 

 

Unfortunately my wife has a mild allergy to dogs, and I do not have my Dad anymore, so I cannot realistically give a dog the life it deserves. 

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We had an only child Yorkie many summers ago. Remember the vet saying, when he went as a young pup= "be very careful with him, they are rather delicate. Don't  let him jump of chairs or sofa, because his little legs are fragile". Was told the average age was 12-14 years. Well, he outlived our son by about 9 years! Due to a cancer in the jaw, he had to be put down (the dog that is) at the grand old age of 19.5 years. Incidentally,  me lad won a goldfish on Goose fair when he were about 7. The fish lived to 28 !

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  • 4 weeks later...

I am pleased to say that Kai has started eating properly over the past few days. Before that he was eating very little and I was starting to get worried about him. Hopefully he is now going to continue. He is a lot more settled, enjoying his walks, cuddles and playtime. The only thing he is still doing is when we get back from a walk he has to check all over the house and back garden still, possibly checking to see if Wolf has come back? 
He has also started barking when the postman/delivery driver knocks at the door, he didn’t do it before as Wolf was the one who did the barking not him. 
I still miss my handsome boy, especially on walks when they used to play together, chasing and stalking each other. It won’t be the same when we eventually go to the woods and meadow when the weather has settled down a bit. 
But it seems we are both coming to terms with it and life must go on without my Wolf.
 

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  • 5 months later...

Our Patterdale Terrier, Jack, has been a bit of a pain over the years.  We adopted him (from our son) about 12 years ago when our beautiful Rhodesian Ridgeback passed away.  Jack was about a year old when he came to live with us.  To be fair to him, he’s been a lovely little dog but has always had separation anxiety issues and a tremendous fear of fireworks and loud noises, even a loud sneeze will send him looking for cover. Our house is ‘open-plan’ with no room that we can shut him in when we go out and leave him, this is especially worrying during the autumn/winter firework season. He’s tried his best to wreck the carpets throughout the house and we’ve got patches in most doorways.  Then of course you  Nottstalgians who’ve been around a few years might recall when we left Jack with a dog-sitter in Broxtowe and flew to the South of France.  The next morning she messaged me to say he’d run away, out of an open gate!  5 days later he was found outside our gate in Mapperley Park.  He had a dislocated hip, most likely caused by being hit by a car whilst crossing one of the major roads to get home.  How he found his was home is just incredible, he’d never been to Broxtowe before ...... but then neither had I. He had surgery and hydrotherapy for weeks but recovered fully.  

Well, apart from digging up carpets he’s been a pretty good companion but in the past 2 or 3 weeks he’s been drinking a lot more than normal and despite the fact that we take him out about 11 pm every night he’s started peeing on the carpet ...... not the tiles in the kitchen ...... during the night.  It has meant that we’re not getting a good night’s sleep because we keep going downstairs to let him out into the garden at 4 or 5 am!  
We took the lad to the vet this week and blood and urine tests (don’t ask!) showed he’s diabetic.  Today he’s been in the vets all day, had an insulin injection this morning and then they monitored him all day.  We collected him at 6pm along with a bag of paraphernalia, insulin, needles, sharps box and instructions, oh and a big bill.   We haven’t set foot in the vets due to Covid and only have videos and the vet’s instructions to guide us through all this.  So it’s 2 injections a day for the rest of his life ....... I’m glad he’s not a very young dog!  Fingers crossed he keeps his legs crossed during the night now he’s on medication. 
 

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Sorry to hear that about Jack, Lizzie. He’s such a lovely character! But like all dogs, problems develop with age.
 

You could always blame hubbie for the “accidents”. ;)

 

 

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Thanks Rob, it’s difficult all round when pets start having medical problems, apparently diabetic dogs are likely to get cataracts too, we did already think he was getting one.  

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Truly sorry to read that Lizzie.  Us dog lovers all know the heartache when the med problems start.  My thoughts are with you and Jack.  Hoping that he bounces back and does ok.

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Lizzie I'm so sorry about Jack, I still have memories of when you came here in that snow storm and he was a bit wet poor thing. He's a lovely gentle dog.

Before I finished reading your post I thought he would have been diabetic as the dog next to us had the same symptoms, he was always at his water bowl. I had to tell his owners that I was worried about him as he lived outside so every time he drank I could hear him. He was an Alsatian, very old then but he developed other problems and he was then put to sleep. They now have another Alsatian who had a front leg amputated after a hit and run accident outside their gate , so sad but he's so boisterous that you'd think he's still got 4 legs.

Keep up with Jacks injections and he'll be ok , don't worry .

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Sorry about little Jack's problems, Lizzie.  Do you or Roger do his injections?   Bet he doesn't like that much!

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Yes Margie, we’re giving the injections of course.  He has to have one every 12 hours, after food.  So that’s another adjustment we’re having to make because he’s always had just one meal a day, at 5.30pm.  He knows exactly, to the minute when dinner time is. Now he’s going to have that meal split into 2, I’ve volunteered Roger to administer the early morning jab, I can’t get up early enough!  Jack’s been a brave soldier so far.  

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