Our Four-legged Friends

[NickandNora]

Thanks for your input.

I didn't know hartz is toxic...I know they're worthless but not toxic. Wow!

I've been doing some more digging and there's concern that fleas are growing tough to certain kinds of treatments/preventatives...and not just with fleas but other creepy crawlies...eeek. It makes me think of all those mutant movies I watched as a kid that I shouldn't have.

So you like Frontline Plus. I've seen the ratings for it online and it appears that one is top of the line of them all. If Comfortis doesn't work out, we'll try that next. But so far, so good. The only itching Issy has is from her skin still healing from the itchy experience. The vet said we could give her half of a benadryl. I gave her less than that at first to see what would happen and then built up to half. We only give it to her at night because she can stay distracted by us during the day and we can keep her from making it worse. Time is a healer too so... if we can keep her from scratching and biting...

So of course she's been sleeping much better and the skin is healing. She's a happier doggie.  Her skin looks much better! She never has lost any fur thankfully. Just so itchy.

We did try a hypoallergenic oatmeal shampoo by magic coat and that seemed to soothe her skin some... and we tried allercaine on the worst places but I wish we hadn't. A guy at the pet store suggested it, since she's so miserable, with the thinking that the hydrocortisone creams wouldn't be much help for that level of misery. I think the allercaine irritated the problem... maybe it stings when applied before it helps to relieve? She did leave those places alone after about 3-4 minutes, but she'd still go back to the places later, licking and biting so... it wasn't much help and I think made it a little worse, maybe dried the skin out too? It may be a good product for wounds. It just didnt' work well for Isabelle's itchies at all. Bad idea.

The only thing that's helping is the benadryl and letting her body heal itself, keeping her from scratching and biting. It looks ten times better than it did and every day she's less itchy.

Does this subject make you itch? Lol. My back keeps itching while I'm typing. Maybe I'm having sympathy itches.

I have no idea if Comfortis is affiliated with Capstar. But so far, I'm impressed with Comfortis.

FAD is a nightmare for animals...how awful to be an animal that's allergic to flea bites! I've been reading more about that since reading your post. I'm thinking back to when we got her and brought her home...she had fleas but wasn't scratching like this so I wonder if maybe she had a reaction to the drug they used on surgery day. After surgery is when things got so bad. Or maybe the allergy just got worse with time? Allergies are often so hard to pin down! How do you determine if a dog has FAD? I'm thinking even if you get the flea problem under control, what if she/he comes into contact with something else entirely that causes a reaction... but you can't tell if it was a flea bite? Are there allergy tests for dogs for FAD? I'm going to look into that and ask the vet about it if we need to go back in before the usual time to go in. But thankfully, she's relieved and healing.

I appreciate your thoughts and the info Brachiate. Issy does too. 

Has anyone used the oatmeal shampoos with flea control in them? I'd love to hear some opinions about that too.

[TiskTisk]

Meet Riddick!!! he is the best kitty ever!!! I was never a fan of cats,more a dogie lover. Until I met this guy  ::MonkeyKiss::He some how broke his Jaw about 7 months ago and it had to be wired back together.After that he has been  a lil goofy which makes him so funny.He tends to miss judge distances when jumping and gets a bit cross eyed at times LOL  <3

[crazybabyborg]

Hiya, Brachiate!! Are you going to post a picture of your furbaby?   

[crazybabyborg]

Brachiate? I'm trying to track you down!    Your Christmas avi has been waiting on you!!

[Brachiate]

Hey Issy!

How are doing with the "itchy's"? Did your Mom find a good shampoo for you? Having fleas bites! 

Mom said she was really busy and she wished Cyrus could read her forums & email. But he'd break the keyboard. So I jumped in to help. Cat's rule, dog drool. Plus I like paying with the mouse.

Mycroft

The cat that owns Brachiate. 
     

[Brachiate]

Pleased to meet you Riddick!

How did you break your jaw? You look like a rough and tumble sort. Did you lose a bar fight? 

Don't let anybody give you any grief about being a touch cross-eyed. I'm prone the that too and my humans say it makes me unique.

Mycroft

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kvue.com/news/consumer/Cat-food-recalled-over-thiamine-deficiency-78225772.html

 Cat food recalled over thiamine deficiency

by The Associated Press

Posted on December 1, 2009 at 10:15 AM

WASHINGTON -- Diamond Pet Foods recalled select bags of dry cat food Tuesday after 21 reports of health problems in cats.

Select bags of Premium Edge Finicky Adult Cat and Premium Edge Hairball could lead to gastrointestinal or neurological problems for cats, because they do not contain enough thiamine, an essential nutrient for cats.

If cats fed these foods have no other source of nutrition, they could develop thiamine deficiency. If untreated, this disorder could result in death.

Initial symptoms of thiamine deficiency include decreased appetite, salivation, vomiting and weight loss. Later, neurological problems could develop including, bending the neck toward the floor, wobbly walking, circling, falling and seizures.

The company has confirmed 21 cases of thiamine deficiency in New York and Pennsylvania.

The recalled bags of food were distributed in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

For a full refund, consumers can return the recalled cat food to the place it was purchased. For more information call 800-977-8797.

[Wyks]

Just wanted to share my Neiko with y'all.   He's actually staring at a bee, probably trying to figure out whether or not to take a bite.  Hehe.  Glad he didn't!   

[MuffyBee]

Just wanted to share my Neiko with y'all.   He's actually staring at a bee, probably trying to figure out whether or not to take a bite.  Hehe.  Glad he didn't!   

Neiko is very, very handsome 

[Wyks]

Neiko is very, very handsome 

Thanks Muffy!  Hope you and your loved ones had a great Christmas! 

[Nut44x4]

Not 'mine', but wanted to get this in here:  --I hate to snip this, but I know the rules...

Canine heroes: Intelligent, courageous, all heart -- search and rescue dogs have what it takes

September 11, 2011 12:56:00 AM
"Check!" Kathy Doty commands, and R.I.P. is off in a blur of buff and black fur. The 20-month-old Belgian Malinois runs straight toward an agility ramp, his sensitive nose already on scent. He circles the wooden structure, sniffing continuously. In two efficient leaps, the dog is at the ramp's apex, beading in on the "source," hidden there earlier by Doty. He gently touches the find with his paw, assumes the platz (down) position and makes steady eye contact with his human partner.

"He's giving the 'indication,' the sign he's found it," explains Doty, his biggest fan. She moves forward to deliver a verbal "good dog," a welcome scratch behind the ears, and the ultimate prize -- an orange rubber octopus, R.I.P.'s favorite toy

His "mom" throws it far into the mown field at her home in rural western Lowndes County. Her good dog, who just found a short PVC pipe filled with human bone, is after it in an ecstatic flash. It's the reward he's been waiting for.

snipped

Specialized work

Doty's dogs are trained for HRD -- human remains detection.

"My dogs would go in looking for deceased people," she says. "Air scent dogs are trained more for live finds, like someone with Alzheimer's who may have walked away, or someone who's gotten lost in the woods."

The dog lover had begun training her first canine for search and rescue about a year before the tragedies of Sept. 11, 2001. Watching coverage of the tireless animals and handlers work among the devastation had a profound impact.

"Watching all those first responder dogs and cadaver dogs working 9/11 sites inspired me, because they were in there for months, going through the rubble," stresses Doty, who is usually found working at Biddy Saw Works, beside her husband, Buff.

snipped

"Between Mississippi and Alabama, we probably get called out to an average of six cases a year," she shares.

In addition to R.I.P., her other most active dog is Lakota, a 6-year-old female Malinois (pronounced ma-lin-wa) that has notably located the remains of a young man missing 23 years, and another missing three years in other parts of the state. As somber as the work can be, Doty is convinced of its importance.

"You really want to bring closure to a family and all of the loved ones any time you can."

snipped

Ready to roll

Like their owner, the dogs are on call 365 days a year, eager to head wherever they're needed. Most recently, that was to Smithville and to Tuscaloosa, Ala., with the Homeland Security Task Force II after April's devastating tornadoes.


snipping
Training

After more than a decade of training seminars and workshops, Doty does most of the work with her own dogs at home. Not every dog will have the aptitude or attitude, but with a suitable prospect, the process generally takes about 18 months. Requirements include intelligence, agility, perseverance, dedication and, above all, courage.

"We do follow a circuit of seminars in the fall; you can go for a week at a time. You're in the field every day, learning all the ins and outs," the dog owner remarks. For the past three years, she's been invited to be an instructor herself. She also helps, free of charge, with several local owners and their dogs, who are candidates for search and rescue work.

While she's worked with gifted German Shepherds, Retrievers and Labradors, in her own kennels the breed of choice is the Belgian Malinois.

Often mistaken for German Shepherds, this alert, lighter-boned herding breed is hard-working, intelligent and well-suited for police or military canine units. (Doty was the first person in Columbus to have a Malinois, and the first in the state to have one certified for search and rescue work.)

For training sessions, her "sources" (of scent) are bits, small and large, of human bone or tissue.

snipped...more
http://www.cdispatch.com/lifestyles/article.asp?aid=12970

[Sister]

Not 'mine', but wanted to get this in here:  --I hate to snip this, but I know the rules...

Canine heroes: Intelligent, courageous, all heart -- search and rescue dogs have what it takes

September 11, 2011 12:56:00 AM
"Check!" Kathy Doty commands, and R.I.P. is off in a blur of buff and black fur. The 20-month-old Belgian Malinois runs straight toward an agility ramp, his sensitive nose already on scent. He circles the wooden structure, sniffing continuously. In two efficient leaps, the dog is at the ramp's apex, beading in on the "source," hidden there earlier by Doty. He gently touches the find with his paw, assumes the platz (down) position and makes steady eye contact with his human partner.

"He's giving the 'indication,' the sign he's found it," explains Doty, his biggest fan. She moves forward to deliver a verbal "good dog," a welcome scratch behind the ears, and the ultimate prize -- an orange rubber octopus, R.I.P.'s favorite toy

His "mom" throws it far into the mown field at her home in rural western Lowndes County. Her good dog, who just found a short PVC pipe filled with human bone, is after it in an ecstatic flash. It's the reward he's been waiting for.

snipped

Specialized work

Doty's dogs are trained for HRD -- human remains detection.

"My dogs would go in looking for deceased people," she says. "Air scent dogs are trained more for live finds, like someone with Alzheimer's who may have walked away, or someone who's gotten lost in the woods."

The dog lover had begun training her first canine for search and rescue about a year before the tragedies of Sept. 11, 2001. Watching coverage of the tireless animals and handlers work among the devastation had a profound impact.

"Watching all those first responder dogs and cadaver dogs working 9/11 sites inspired me, because they were in there for months, going through the rubble," stresses Doty, who is usually found working at Biddy Saw Works, beside her husband, Buff.

snipped

"Between Mississippi and Alabama, we probably get called out to an average of six cases a year," she shares.

In addition to R.I.P., her other most active dog is Lakota, a 6-year-old female Malinois (pronounced ma-lin-wa) that has notably located the remains of a young man missing 23 years, and another missing three years in other parts of the state. As somber as the work can be, Doty is convinced of its importance.

"You really want to bring closure to a family and all of the loved ones any time you can."

snipped

Ready to roll

Like their owner, the dogs are on call 365 days a year, eager to head wherever they're needed. Most recently, that was to Smithville and to Tuscaloosa, Ala., with the Homeland Security Task Force II after April's devastating tornadoes.


snipping
Training

After more than a decade of training seminars and workshops, Doty does most of the work with her own dogs at home. Not every dog will have the aptitude or attitude, but with a suitable prospect, the process generally takes about 18 months. Requirements include intelligence, agility, perseverance, dedication and, above all, courage.

"We do follow a circuit of seminars in the fall; you can go for a week at a time. You're in the field every day, learning all the ins and outs," the dog owner remarks. For the past three years, she's been invited to be an instructor herself. She also helps, free of charge, with several local owners and their dogs, who are candidates for search and rescue work.

While she's worked with gifted German Shepherds, Retrievers and Labradors, in her own kennels the breed of choice is the Belgian Malinois.

Often mistaken for German Shepherds, this alert, lighter-boned herding breed is hard-working, intelligent and well-suited for police or military canine units. (Doty was the first person in Columbus to have a Malinois, and the first in the state to have one certified for search and rescue work.)

For training sessions, her "sources" (of scent) are bits, small and large, of human bone or tissue.

snipped...more
http://www.cdispatch.com/lifestyles/article.asp?aid=12970

Nut, thanks so much for sharing this article -- how awesome!

[klaasend]

 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

[MuffyBee]

Very cute kitty!!   

[4 Donks]

x property of Michael Vick now in news.

http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/crime/pepperspray-stun-gun-found-at-shelter
August 28, 2012 (Edit to add article publication date.  MB)

 ::snipping2::

SURRY, Va. (WAVY) - According to a search warrant conducted at an animal shelter Monday, dogs were pepper sprayed and stun-gunned on a regular basis.  

The search warrant was conducted at a dog shelter housed at what used to be the home of Michael Vick. Dogs Deserve Better's owner T amira Thayne was served with a cruelty warrant. Animal Control has received numerous complaints about the property.

[spayneuteryourpets]

I love that cat!  So glad she has a good home.  Does anybody remember her name?

joan+20

[MuffyBee]

I love that cat!  So glad she has a good home.  Does anybody remember her name?

joan+20

The kitty's name is Venus.

http://animaltracks.today.com/_news/2012/08/29/13546539-two-faced-cat-is-drawing-double-takes-across-web?lite
August 29, 2012
Venus the cat may look two-faced, with her dramatic fur and different colored eyes, but she's as sweet as can be and getting lots of love on the Internet with over 600,000 hits on YouTube. Her owners talk about their beloved pet's newfound fame.
 ::snipping2::

[flutter1]

x property of Michael Vick now in news.

http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/crime/pepperspray-stun-gun-found-at-shelter
August 28, 2012 (Edit to add article publication date.  MB)

 ::snipping2::

SURRY, Va. (WAVY) - According to a search warrant conducted at an animal shelter Monday, dogs were pepper sprayed and stun-gunned on a regular basis.  

The search warrant was conducted at a dog shelter housed at what used to be the home of Michael Vick. Dogs Deserve Better's owner T amira Thayne was served with a cruelty warrant. Animal Control has received numerous complaints about the property.

Somebody needs to get that place exorcised.   

[BabsKats]

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/08/police-say-texas-mayor-killed-in-donkey-attack/
August 30, 2012 (edit to add publication date of article.  MB)


A Texas mayor was found dead after police said he was attacked by a male donkey on his ranch.

Hollywood Park Mayor William “Bill” Bohlke was killed by his 500-pound donkey in an apparent attack  Monday, said Chief Deputy David Soward of the Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office. Soward said the donkey remains on the ranch and an exact cause of death is pending.

“They [donkeys] can become very aggressive, very mean, sometimes triggered by a female in heat,” Soward told the San Antonio Express-News. “We’ll probably never know what triggered it, but it was evident that this particular donkey was involved, based on the evidence at the scene and what we saw on this donkey.”

Soward would not comment if Bohlke was kicked or trampled, saying, “We can just surmise, based on the evidence that we have, all of that.”

Bohlke, 65, was elected mayor of  the south Texas suburb, north of San Antonio, in May. It was his first run for public office. He retired from the Air Force in 1990 after a 20-year career, according to the paper

[4 Donks]

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/08/police-say-texas-mayor-killed-in-donkey-attack/
August 30, 2012 (edit to add publication date of article MB)


A Texas mayor was found dead after police said he was attacked by a male donkey on his ranch.

Hollywood Park Mayor William “Bill” Bohlke was killed by his 500-pound donkey in an apparent attack  Monday, said Chief Deputy David Soward of the Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office. Soward said the donkey remains on the ranch and an exact cause of death is pending.

“They [donkeys] can become very aggressive, very mean, sometimes triggered by a female in heat,” Soward told the San Antonio Express-News. “We’ll probably never know what triggered it, but it was evident that this particular donkey was involved, based on the evidence at the scene and what we saw on this donkey.”

Soward would not comment if Bohlke was kicked or trampled, saying, “We can just surmise, based on the evidence that we have, all of that.”

Bohlke, 65, was elected mayor of  the south Texas suburb, north of San Antonio, in May. It was his first run for public office. He retired from the Air Force in 1990 after a 20-year career, according to the paper

My goodness...Hobbs is a mammoth and weighs about 1000 lbs and the smallest weighs about 500 lbs. All intact jacks can be unpredictable and can be dangerous that's why all my jacks have been gelded. So sad that this happened.