Big Catch Up!

[Acoustics4me]

Ok! It's been a little while since I've been here....so many things going on with Simba (my Rhodesian Ridgeback Bitch). First, she had big problems with her cartilages. She was yelping as I was trying to walk her...she was flicking her head back, trying to bite at her back legs (f r e a k s me out!), and then she was also limping on her front legs at times. Man! I thought, 'Oh great....all the giant breed problems have accumulated in my dog!...lol'. Anyway, took her to the vet, who said 'Oh, it's quite common you know. She'll grow out of it, just try to keep her quiet'. 'Oh ok', I said.....rolling my eyes on the inside. I mean, come on .... keep a 6 month old pup quiet! Pleaseeeeeee! Anyway, I went back again cos it got worse. Again he told me the same thing. But this time, I was ready for him! I said, 'Well, that's just fine and all.....but she is in a lot of pain, and I want drugs (anti-inflamatories)!' So he reluctantly agreed, and told me to put her on them for 3 days. Well, rebel that I am I thought, 'I'm putting her on them till she yelps no more, and two days extra after that'. So I did. She responded really well to them. But I also did a bit of hazard control around the home. I put thick string up so she couldn't jump off the balcony (about a 1 and a half foot height) and started leash walking only. Praise God, she has been really sound for quite some time now! I know it is a common thing for large breeds to have some problems because the bone is not hard until they have finished growing, and a typical thing is at the shoulder and elbow, the cartilage can tear....then it heals, then it tears...etc. And it's really bad if it tears right off! But I think Simba is A-OK now....

Another thing....I made her the best warm jacket for her for night when she sleeps in her kennel (which is very cosy and right next to our bedroom window). It was a fantastic fit, and didn't move around at all. But the ungrateful wench would get bored in the morning waiting for us to get up, and so would proceed to tear it off.....undoing the velcro. So I thought, 'Right, I"ll fix you!' and I took the velcro off, and just sewed the straps on. I then cut down the middle at the top along the back and put some velcro there so she couldn't reach it. It worked.........for two nights...then she wrecked that also. Brat. Anyway, I said to my husband..."That's it. She can freeze!' It doesn't snow here or anything....it only gets light frosts because we are by the coast. But I was still miffed at her ruining my jacket...lol.

One more thing for those marathon readers who are still with me....lol. A programme has just started on our NZ telly featuring Cesar Milan! I am in love! What a doggy master! Have you guys seen him? He is amazing! His first book comes out soon....and I'm gonna get it.

One more thing..... (woman's prerogative to change her mind...lol), after being directed by Dobified to feeding raw food (thanks Dobi), I found this really interesting book written by a veterinarian called 'Raw Meaty Bones'. It's great. Have been following his method of feeding, and dogs looks amazing. I must confess though....when I gave her her first raw chicken carcass...I watched her like a hawk (because of the bones), but man, she made mincemeat out of it. No sweat....never looked back since. You get a mindset don't you. The vets say, 'Oh no...don't feed bones' so you think...'Well, THEY must know...they're vets!'. But then if you actually research the facts....well helloooooooo....maybe they don't know everything! In my opinion, vets suffer from the same thing as doctors (I'm generalizing here....there are some good docs....but few and far between in my experience). Tunnel vision. Read what's written in the text books....(which is often heavily influenced by drug companies, pet food manufacturers = propaganda) and don't do any research yourself! Wow....look how long my post is. I wonder if it will get through. Anyway, for those who held out to the end.....thank you!...lol

Blessings....

Me

[Sheltiemama]

Whew, I made it through your post. Wow you've been gone for a while. Hello, we haven't met My name is Judy and I have been on the pro dog forum board for about three days now. Nice to meet you.

[Acoustics4me]

Hey'a Judy,

I'm impressed that you made it to the end! I wish I had a prize to give you....lol.

It's nice to meet you. I'm sure we'll meet again on these pages.

So you have Shelties eh. Lovey things they are! How many do you have?

Cheers,

Me

[Sheltiemama]

Hello

I only (sigh) have one dog. I'd like to have more but I live in a mobile home community in the winter and the rules of the park only allow one per unit. I do have a kitty as well and she is bootleged into the park each fall. I'd be asked to leave if they knew about the kitty.
If I owned my own place I'd have at least two maybe three shelties!

[AussiesCollies]

Welcome back! I'm glad that everything is going well with you and your dog!

[Acoustics4me]

Hey'a Sheltie....I sure hope you end up getting your desire of three shelties. They are such fun dogs. I remember when I went to school...I had a friend whose parents bred rough collies, and also had 2 shelties. Some nights I'd stay over, and in the morning (because they knew I loved it!) they'd open the door to my bedroom and all 8 dogs would jump on my bed and kiss me good morning. I used to love that!...lol. Funny what you remember as a kid, huh.

Hey'a Aussie, thanks for your kind words. Always a relief when you see your dog sound after a bit of a rough patch eh.

Cheers you two...

Me