Pets and Other Animal Friends II

[morrobay]

Hey Sherry
I know your favorite thing to do is take and post pictures, but PLEASE get some more of Esther before she goes to NY.

How's Diamond doing?

Buddy did something really weird Wed night....I have to go back to work now, but will update later and ask what you think....

[morrobay]

Buddy is not a cuddler, he usually only gets really close when he's afraid during a thunderstorm.  Wed night from 11pm - 2am he was on top of me, crawling in my lap, he even pushed me off the pillow so he could lay on it.  But he didn't sleep, his eyes were wide open, and he is usually out by 9 or 10, and doesn't particularly like to be bothered during the night. 

I thought it might be the onset of a seizure, but he never had one; although a couple times as he was laying against my leg, his front legs were straight out and stiff for a few seconds, so maybe a mini-seizure?  Is there such a thing?  And it went on literally for 3 hours; his seizures in the past have lasted from about 7-20 minutes.  But there was no shaking or panting......it was very strange.

[killersmom]

I don't know if this is the case, Nancy, but I have had dogs that have had petit mals, which is what this sounds like, and never did go on to have grand mals, which are the larger one you have described. I have also had dogs who have had grand mals without having petit mals first.

[doodler]

Or maybe you're going to have an earthquake. Or a tsunami.

It sounds seizure-like to me.

[conny]

so i`ve caught up on here. good to read K is doing better sherry! and i hope di will be ok as well.

for the first time i had trouble with the breeding.
imala was ready for her first litter this year and i had had done a bloodtest to see how far she was in her heat. on saturday the test said to retest on sunday,so thatmeans she`s close. on sunday test said, breeding should be happening within 24/48 hours. so drove to my friends who live in the neighbourhood of the male en where i could stay, cause it was a 2 hours drive.
on monday evening we went to the male,but it was rather warm. it took some time before imala,was convinced he realy was nice  and i still had to hold her had,cause she walked away at some point. the male didn`t  do his best either, he did show a lot of interest,and made lots of attemepts, but none of them was a good one, he got of to quickly. we took a break for an half hour and thenm tried again, but still no good. so the male owner said, that i could take the him home and so we could put the together during the day at some time. on tuesday had them together 4 times, but still no mating. one time close, but he again got off to soon and with a good breeding thats not possible.
when there was still no progress that evening i emailed a friend and she had right on that moment the exact same problem with her bitch. she advised to have imal tested again,to see how far she was. so did the next morning,with a more accurate test: the immulite. vet said she was just over her higjest point and if we wanted to have a go, she had to be inseminated that day, so that afternoon i got her inseminated. the sperm from hasna had a bit of blood with it and wasn`t in the best shape, but lively enough. could have been result of the realy hot wheather. the other morning we have done a second insemination,and then the sperm was better and less blood. but it has been done now  1 and 2 days after her higjest score, so if this mating will bring puppies will be a big if???
i have told myself to have no hope at all,so when she will be pergnant it will be so much joy.
the bad thing is too,that thos male is realy awesome, but this was his last breeding,cause he and his owners are moving to the carrebean.
she will have his sperm frozen,and i could use that next time, but that whole process is going to cost 1000 euro,and thats the price of one puppy and the results of frozen seprm  is much lower.
pfff breeding can be difficult 

[Tony_]

 Have been wondering about a subject I had never thought of before.  Why don't we have hospice care for our pets?

 Yes, I do remember the eccentric English women who left her millions to a hospital, complete with ambulances, for hedgehogs injured by cars (St. Elizabeth's?).  And I do know that we haven't even made a real dent in the care of humans, around the world, whether terminal or just suffering.
 But if we have a future, over the next few hundred years, shouldn't there be start for valuing the feelings of our companions on this journey? Especially dogs, whose primitve fears match our own, of abandonment.
 Many people, of course, do care for their dying pets, and animal volunteers already do these things.  And, yes, putting a pet down IS usually the more loving and humane choice.  Am just wondering, why gassing them is the first response, and whether we couldn't have volunteers to care for those that might, occasionally, do better in a gentle home.
 Most, for different reasons, are much better off being put to sleep.  That is the tough and the right choice.  But I just wonder, how we can ever go into the future, where we respect human life, without at least considering more options for our pets.  I hope this isn't too eccentric or controversial.
 I've had pets that had to be put to sleep, and others that passed on at home.  I am just wondering if a few more options might not eventually be there.

[doodler]

so i`ve caught up on here. good to read K is doing better sherry! and i hope di will be ok as well.

for the first time i had trouble with the breeding.
imala was ready for her first litter this year and i had had done a bloodtest to see how far she was in her heat. on saturday the test said to retest on sunday,so thatmeans she`s close. on sunday test said, breeding should be happening within 24/48 hours. so drove to my friends who live in the neighbourhood of the male en where i could stay, cause it was a 2 hours drive.
on monday evening we went to the male,but it was rather warm. it took some time before imala,was convinced he realy was nice  and i still had to hold her had,cause she walked away at some point. the male didn`t  do his best either, he did show a lot of interest,and made lots of attemepts, but none of them was a good one, he got of to quickly. we took a break for an half hour and thenm tried again, but still no good. so the male owner said, that i could take the him home and so we could put the together during the day at some time. on tuesday had them together 4 times, but still no mating. one time close, but he again got off to soon and with a good breeding thats not possible.
when there was still no progress that evening i emailed a friend and she had right on that moment the exact same problem with her bitch. she advised to have imal tested again,to see how far she was. so did the next morning,with a more accurate test: the immulite. vet said she was just over her higjest point and if we wanted to have a go, she had to be inseminated that day, so that afternoon i got her inseminated. the sperm from hasna had a bit of blood with it and wasn`t in the best shape, but lively enough. could have been result of the realy hot wheather. the other morning we have done a second insemination,and then the sperm was better and less blood. but it has been done now  1 and 2 days after her higjest score, so if this mating will bring puppies will be a big if???
i have told myself to have no hope at all,so when she will be pergnant it will be so much joy.
the bad thing is too,that thos male is realy awesome, but this was his last breeding,cause he and his owners are moving to the carrebean.
she will have his sperm frozen,and i could use that next time, but that whole process is going to cost 1000 euro,and thats the price of one puppy and the results of frozen seprm  is much lower.
pfff breeding can be difficult 

Conny, since you are testing anyway... I NEVER do for regular breeding... the results with frozen semen will be just as good as with fresh if you do a surgical  a.i.. You DO have to have a reliable lab because it is a one shot deal. But my vets have a 99% conception rate with surgical a.i. using fresh, extended or frozen semen and maybe a 25% rate with regular a.i.  with fresh, extended OR frozen. And they are not breeding experts by far! If I do not want to do a surgical insemination, I get a BULLDOG breeder to do the regular a.i. Most of them are WAY more experienced than veterinarians.

Was this the male's first experience? If so, it might have been better to confine them alone together, in a room, pen or outside, and leave them to their own devices. Dogs have their own ideas about breeding and having too many people or even just one, watching their every move can be very distracting, especially for the male. And many have their own ideas about what time of the day is appropriate. My younger dogs seem to prefer late night, after the lights are out and everyone is supposedly asleep. I have found the best way to get two dogs to do the deed is to turn them loose in a room and say over my shoulder "Now, you two behave." as I walk out and close the door. You don't have to keep sticking you head in to look because if you're smart enough to use an uncarpetted room, you can hear their feet. When a minute or two goes by with no nails clicking, the dogs are either lying down on opposite sides of the space or tied.

And rather than going to the trouble... and expense... of progesterone testing, why not use a teaser male? Surely you know someone close by with an intact guy. My boys always tell me long before a girl starts bleeding that she is coming into season. And I can tell by the way she approaches them how close she is to being ready to stand.

ANd lastly, you miss more by breeding too early than too late. So fingers crossed and think positive!
 

[doodler]

Have been wondering about a subject I had never thought of before.  Why don't we have hospice care for our pets?

 Yes, I do remember the eccentric English women who left her millions to a hospital, complete with ambulances, for hedgehogs injured by cars (St. Elizabeth's?).  And I do know that we haven't even made a real dent in the care of humans, around the world, whether terminal or just suffering.
 But if we have a future, over the next few hundred years, shouldn't there be start for valuing the feelings of our companions on this journey? Especially dogs, whose primitve fears match our own, of abandonment.
 Many people, of course, do care for their dying pets, and animal volunteers already do these things.  And, yes, putting a pet down IS usually the more loving and humane choice.  Am just wondering, why gassing them is the first response, and whether we couldn't have volunteers to care for those that might, occasionally, do better in a gentle home.
 Most, for different reasons, are much better off being put to sleep.  That is the tough and the right choice.  But I just wonder, how we can ever go into the future, where we respect human life, without at least considering more options for our pets.  I hope this isn't too eccentric or controversial.
 I've had pets that had to be put to sleep, and others that passed on at home.  I am just wondering if a few more options might not eventually be there.

First off, very few animals are gassed any more. Most euthanasias are by lethal injection.

Second, I have a house FULL of old pets living out their lives with me rather than being taken to the shelter or a vet by their owners. And probably that is the way of it for most animals. I haven't seen any figures on the subject but my GUESS would be that most animals in shelters are young to middle age rather than seniors.

And lastly, I have always hoped and prayed my children would be kind enough and smart enough to treat me in my infirmity the way I treat my animals. I don't want hospice care or resuscitation in some ER. I would prefer to be "put down" with a nice little shot of "pink juice" when I can no longer communicate or care for myself. In my opinion, THAT is the most loving and humane thing to do.

[conny]

oh but i knew it was her time,by the test and how she behaved with the males from my dogwalk and yess this was an experienced male. he is the male of about at least 6 litters.
But a couple of weeks ago a bitch has been garessive to him for 4 days in a row,and the even got into a fight on the last day,when he was tired of it,so maybe he was a bit traumatic over this.
and imala wasn`t too eager either,so leaving them alone wouldn`t have been a possibilty, cause she wouldn`t have allowed him on her at all. he wasn`t influenced at all that i was there with them, but he was when imala made some noise.
and we tried it on every part of the day/evening and even right after midnight  and at home, in the garden, in the park and at the lake, so opportunities enough 

i will wait and see what is the outcome of this and if no puppies,will have 6 months time to decide if i`m gonna use the frozen sperm or get me another male.

[doodler]

[killersmom]

This is so cute!!
Poor Baby!

[doodler]

One of my pups just moved in with two cats. I'm sure that photo describes him perfectly!

[killersmom]

^^^^ LOL Sherry!

[jack]

for those keeping track, my cat now has a new home, or will as of thursday.  my ex-wife and her husband are making room in their 2 cat 2 human family for another furry member.  my biggest worry about this move has been settled, the rest is just details.

i'm not certain if i want hospice care for my cats, as i AM hospice for my pets, and as others have said, i do for my pets what i would hope tp have done for me.  i find a vet who will come to my home, safe familiar surroundings, and while holding my pet as i would normally, petting and making eye contact, have the vet give a shot, usually sodium pentathol.  its rough on me, but i have not got the heart, or heartlessness, to take a sick animal into surrounding they associate with pain and let that be their last life experience.  i should be so lucky.

a lot of the pounds where i have lived don't use shots, they use so called rapid decompression, a method frowned on by anyone that has ever seen it.

[doodler]

Jack, I am so happy this has worked out for you and your cat! May both of you enjoy the rest of your lives.