Dog Owner Chat V. 5

[eleutheromania]

Hello!

Not a dog owner but expanding my family soon and wondering if anyone could offer some advice?

I want to rescue, and not shop.

I have a 900 sq ft apartment to myself, complete with access to a private dog park and grooming stations.
My complex limits by breed (DNA mandatory) and I am not allowed any pittie, rottie, or other large hound mixes (no matter how sweet the dog). The maximum weight per pet is also set at 50 lbs, so the pup would probably have to be relatively small. I love dogs of all sizes, so that's okay with me!

I know there is a lot of stigma to adoption of a dog into an apartment complex and I'm wondering what to expect as I have never gone through this process before. What can I expect as far as the process? Will they have DNA data available for me at the shelter? I would hate to adopt and have to say goodbye due to a DNA test. I will be purchasing all the fixings for proper care and have a lot of space, but would also like tips on creating the best environment and application.

I don’t know a shelter that DNA’s their dog as it is expensive. I would suggest trying to foster and work with a shelter first to see if it’s a fit and become a foster failure if it ends up being the pup you connect with. A lot of shelters also require fenced yards so it is possible they may deny you when applying for certain dogs. You’re best bet would be a tiny puppy or small young dog that you know would reach over 50lbs. As for tips, be sure to work on alone training and confidence training. the last thing you’d want is a dog getting you notices for excessive barking.

Don’t feel discouraged should the adoption route not work in your favor. There are always reputable breeders that may be retiring dogs or have dogs returned that need homes and screen potential families much like rescues. I also would suggest finding a general breed and activity level you’re wanting to gauge dogs.

[bear]

Hello! I was wondering if anyone here has some good tips or experience with pups getting neutered?
My 6 month old mini doxie just got neutered yesterday. She was good and sleepy the afternoon we bought her home but now she's pretty much back to normal (crazy haha). I have her in an exercise pen inside for the next ten days or so cause she isn't allowed to run, jump or do anything too extreme (though we have a check up on thursday and the vet will know if we can take her for short walks). How do you guys get through this?

I have some puppy pads in the area with her so she can pee (don't want to take her outside yet cause I don't want the surgery site getting dirty since she's so low to the ground), but she LOVES ripping puppy pads up. I've given her a kong with treats stuffed but it only kept her busy for five minutes. I bought her some new toys to play with which didn't last long either, but I have some more kong stuff on the way and yummy treats! @_@ I can't get any lick mat things as I can't go out today, but I got a slow feeder bowl from petbarn coming which I think will be good for putting peanut butter in to keep her busy!!

Does anyone have some fun ideas that'll keep her busy for awhile? Tactics? Tips? I'm desperately waiting for her to go down for a nap so I can work on some assessment due soon hahaha (I booked this in at a great time). Thank you!!

edit: i completely forgot i posted this but all went well! she is all healed up now and all went well! :]
thank you for the advice below!

[ChickenCat_]

Hello! I was wondering if anyone here has some good tips or experience with pups getting neutered?
My 6 month old mini doxie just got neutered yesterday. She was good and sleepy the afternoon we bought her home but now she's pretty much back to normal (crazy haha). I have her in an exercise pen inside for the next ten days or so cause she isn't allowed to run, jump or do anything too extreme (though we have a check up on thursday and the vet will know if we can take her for short walks). How do you guys get through this?

I have some puppy pads in the area with her so she can pee (don't want to take her outside yet cause I don't want the surgery site getting dirty since she's so low to the ground), but she LOVES ripping puppy pads up. I've given her a kong with treats stuffed but it only kept her busy for five minutes. I bought her some new toys to play with which didn't last long either, but I have some more kong stuff on the way and yummy treats! @_@ I can't get any lick mat things as I can't go out today, but I got a slow feeder bowl from petbarn coming which I think will be good for putting peanut butter in to keep her busy!!

Does anyone have some fun ideas that'll keep her busy for awhile? Tactics? Tips? I'm desperately waiting for her to go down for a nap so I can work on some assessment due soon hahaha (I booked this in at a great time). Thank you!!

so it wouldn't stop her if she's just acting crazy, but something that might be worthwhile if she loves tearing the puppy pads would be to get a washable one theyre made out of material rather than paperish stuff that puppies love. and if you have a pen that folds up like a fence you can get one bigger than her pen so that parts of it poke out under the pen and she can't tear it up as easy, i'd reccomend the pet parent ones from chewy or amazon. it could possibly hinder her training a bit if she knows to go on the disposable ones but if it's big enough she shouldn't have the option to not pee on it, though i'm not sure how big your pen is.
i dont know what you're doing with her in terms of play, but i'd try to give her as much time out of the pen as possible, if you have a carpeted or tiled floor that'd be great for her sensitive stitches just make sure that it's clean. and if you can't take her out often then sitting in the pen with her would be great

and now, might sound a bit silly or pointless but if she really LOVES to destroy things then i'd get some cheaper toys like from the dollar tree or cheap stuffed animals and she can go to town tearing them up (supervised of course!)
and one more thing, excersising her brain. like instead of just using a slow feeder you could teach her a trick and use half of her food as a reward? or just bury it in a blanket and let her dig it out (my mom does this for her chi and he loves that) it helps her to use her nose and if she likes to tear i bet she'd like to dig, maybe even bury it in a potty pad to entice her. dog burpees could also be good for excersise and brain work! basically you teach them down, sit, and stand, and then you make them do it in rapid succesion with lots of praise and rewards of course!!
you could also teach her to settle! i'd reccomend checking out kikopup on youtube for this; they're never too young for this no matter how energetic, just make sure she's plenty excersised mentally/physically but i'd wager your doing your best on that department

[nervousdog]

Hey, I have a vet appointment for something else set up Friday so I will bringing this up when we go .
But Hazel suddenly started like, frantically licking the floor and eating little bits of anything that was on the floor ? Like, it was really 0-100 type deal . Some backstory : She has been really whiny for quite a few hours, with no real solution to make it stop . She had just pottied and refused to step outside again, had just ate, and wasn't interested in staying engaged and playing . So I told her to do a trick for a treat and she did it . While I was taking a break to get more treats she started doing the frantic thing .

She was also making a gagging sound but nothing came out . No bile or much spit . I put her leash on and took her outside, she willingly went this time . She then went from gagging to eating any plant her nose was over . I let her eat grass for a moment ( our yard doesn't get treated with anything ever ) while i paused to text someone ( about this ) .

I took her back inside and I put her in her crate to prevent her from frantically eating ever crumb and dust . I put a bowl of water in her crate that she has yet to drink from .

Has anyone ever had an experience like this ? I feel it's too specific a situation to get a decent answer/opinion from google, as nothing I typed really sounded similar enough to hazel's situation .

Edit to add : a few minutes later and she is no longer gagging and is calm in her crate, still hasn't touched the water

[ChunkyChad]

-snip-

Definitely bring this up with your vet as this is very strange behaviour, its hard to say what it could be since the symptoms seem really odd. I do have a question do you have a fence that has a public area like a sidewalk or park on the other side attached to your backyard? If so maybe do a walk around it to see if anything has been thrown in your backyard, I have had issues with people throwing stuff in mine that has cause some serious complications with my dog. Even if you don't have a fence like that probably still look around as wind can carry things in or a dead animal may be back there that your dog got at.

[nervousdog]

-snip-

Definitely bring this up with your vet as this is very strange behaviour, its hard to say what it could be since the symptoms seem really odd. I do have a question do you have a fence that has a public area like a sidewalk or park on the other side attached to your backyard? If so maybe do a walk around it to see if anything has been thrown in your backyard, I have had issues with people throwing stuff in mine that has cause some serious complications with my dog. Even if you don't have a fence like that probably still look around as wind can carry things in or a dead animal may be back there that your dog got at.

Hazel is always on leash when outside as we don't have a fenced in yard !! She is not really one to pick up and eat things from the ground, unless it is a treat she watched me throw .
I haven't noticed her eating anything while on potty trips or on her walks .

[Kenjaku]

The incessant, frantic licking; gagging; and then devouring plants makes it sound like she got hit with some nausea. Dogs will ingest grass to force themselves to throw up. A lot of things can cause nausea, of course, but as long as she's back to normal I'd say you're in the clear! I'd write down to bring it up with your vet next time you go. She may have gotten a stray object she shouldn't have (food, or otherwise) and her body was just Not Happy with it, haha.
If she has another episode, I'd schedule a vet visit in the near future. If she were to start drooling a lot and throwing up, I'd bring her in to an ER vet. Also monitor her bowel movements to make sure she doesn't have an obstruction.

[ghouli]

My dream dog is a Czechoslovakian Vlack / Czech Wolfdog! They're a cross of Caparthian wolf/ German Shepherd, and were bred to be military guard dogs. I think they're absolutely stunning

[StarMadnessGod]

I would love to show off my dogs, if thats ok.



Little Bit. She's a Dachshund the I rescued from someone who was mistreating her. Let me know if you want more Info on her!



Peter Parker and Little bit.

I adopted Peter from a friend of a friend at 3 months. He's a sweet heart, but because he saw me be abused, he is very protective. He is a pit mix and a sweety.



Truffles!

We rescued her as well. He got her for free from a horrible BYB. We also tried to get the person to stop breeding their dogs. We were thankfully successful.

She is a chug- a chihuahua and pug mix

Feel free to ask me anything about these babys.

[chanel]

^^^^ theyre all so cute!!