What does everyone use for tick prevention?

We use Trifexis for fleas and heartworm and its worked great. But we're going to head to Connecticut for a week and he's going to be in the woods a lot. Last time we were up there we picked off quite a few ticks (he never gets them down here).

Should I just get a tick collar for him to wear while we're up there?

5/6/2015 10:47:13 AM

Funny you ask this- our golden has generally used Advantix for the first 3 years of his life, but we are finding ticks on him lately. We've never had a problem with ticks until now. No fleas, thank god, just ticks.

I'm wondering if he built up a tolerance to it or something?

As for dog food, we were using Royal Canine for Goldens, but now I'm on this new stuff from Amazon called Taste of the Wild....and I like what it does to his coat. I find it's cheaper on Amazon, too.

5/10/2015 8:02:13 PM

I was always a fan of advantix II. but one of my dogs kept getting ticks... so I switched to seresto collars, which last 8 months. love'em. only ticks I find are dead ticks.

[Edited on May 11, 2015 at 1:26 PM. Reason : .]

5/11/2015 1:26:16 PM

Quote :

"seresto collars, which last 8 months. love'em."

just make sure you get them online. can save big bucks. I was a dummy and got the first one(first puppy) through the Vet.

5/11/2015 2:31:05 PM

Any suggestions for obedience training in Raleigh? My dog is 5 months old and we're wanting some basic help with him. He's smart, learned to sit & fetch quickly but sometimes he's simply not interested in the come or stay commands. Plus he pulls on the leash to the point that he chokes himself...so maybe he's not all that smart.


[Edited on May 11, 2015 at 5:28 PM. Reason : .]

5/11/2015 5:26:23 PM

^Oh! There's this guy named Donny Holt. He owns a place here in Carteret County and a facility in Wake County. He's pretty much the best dog whisperer around here. It ain't no PetSmart training, I'll tell ya that much.

We sent out Golden there when he was about 5 months old and he stayed there for 2 weeks. When Humphrey came home it was all on us to follow through with the training. Just like you hear on the dog whisperer, it's about training people. Donny did a great job teaching us how to follow through with the training Humphrey got. Humphrey had a new leash on life when he got home. Had a great respect for authority and enjoyed having clear boundaries set.

Anyway, it's worth checking out. The price is totally appropriate, I don't think it was too expensive. k9 Solutions: http://nck9solutions.com/about-k9/meet-the-k9-solutions-team/

Tell him Humphrey sent ya. LOL....

5/11/2015 7:03:32 PM

Off Leash K9 Training http://www.raleighncdogtrainers.com/

Check out their YouTube channel for before and after videos of the dogs. Pretty amazing.

5/12/2015 8:08:31 AM

Quote :

"just make sure you get them online. can save big bucks."

Yep.

5/12/2015 8:49:42 AM

So I need some dog therapy help/advice. We've had one dog since October, a stray that we took in and hes about 9 months old now, about 70 pounds, very smart german shepherd mix (we think). A few months ago we adopted a second dog, a 3 year old chocolate lab mix who is about 45 pounds. They both live outside. They have gotten along wonderfully ever since we brought the new dog home months ago, until today. After I left for work the fiance called me and said they had been in a big fight and one of them was bleeding. When I got home in the afternoon it was obvious they had been in a couple more fights during the day, and have continued to go at it off and on in the evening, bloodying each other up. We've got them separated in kennels for the night now. The shepherd had a dead mole when I got home, we suspect this might have been the initial instigation for the fight, but are not sure, and they continued fighting long after I got rid of the mole. They are both fixed, and don't have any food aggression. We've been breaking the fights up, but I've read some places this isn't what you should do, but I don't want the big one to seriously hurt the smaller one. This is my first dog ownership experience, so I have no idea what to do or expect at this point. Is this something that will just blow over, or is there any advice for what to do?

[Edited on May 15, 2015 at 10:17 PM. Reason : $$$]

5/15/2015 10:05:41 PM

wow, interesting problem.

Can you tell who's instigating the fight? Is it this dog each time? Does a belonging or territory start the fight?

I feel like the dog whisperer would suggest you remind these dogs that they are both subordinate to you...so take them both on a walk and boss them both around. They need to both feel submissive to you because right now one of them is trying to be dominate...

5/27/2015 9:53:16 PM

So that^^ went on all weekend, they continued to fight, and I stopped many fights before they could happen when I heard them start to growl. On Monday morning a second mole one of them had dug up was discovered, and thrown away, and Monday afternoon when I got back from work they were back to their old friendly selves, getting along great and playing with each other. So apparently it was the moles that made them act that way, there was just another one that we didn't find at first. It's strange because they don't fight over food, toys, or anything else, but apparently there was just something about those moles.

[Edited on May 28, 2015 at 8:38 AM. Reason : $$$]

5/28/2015 8:37:37 AM

interesting

5/28/2015 10:37:34 PM

does anyone know any good no kill shelters around the durham/chapel hill area? we found a dog today, very likable and young, looks like he was just abandoned recently, def adoptable but don't want to risk it with those bastards at the animal shelter

5/31/2015 9:06:28 PM

So... i shall share my mini victory with you.

We have 2 dogs that are great and gentle dogs.. They get rough with each other sometimes but on the first yelp they stop.

We adopted a deaf cat that's about twice the size of our old cat. He is young and likes to pick fights with the other cat. The it would be ok if it was light playing but he kinda beats the crap out of her. We keep both their claws trimmed so there is never any blood or anything but it gets crazy sometimes.

So, now the dogs have learned "get grover" and "get mable" where they full on charge the :requested cat: slam on the brakes and point.
So... every time we hear a cat yell.. "get grover" and the fight is dissipated.

Now... the dogs have learned when we tell them "get grover" and "get mable" so when they hear a cat yell they immediately go and break up the fight.



I love our dogs.

6/1/2015 7:51:06 AM

One of my dogs passed away suddenly last night.

his twin brother is at a complete loss without him

I has a sad

10/23/2015 11:49:18 AM

sorry dude

10/23/2015 11:50:24 AM

That sucks man. Condolences.

10/23/2015 5:00:06 PM

^^^That sucks I'm sorry man. I can't even think about losing our dog. She just turned 4. Try not to think about it.

10/27/2015 5:32:57 PM

Does anyone have a dog trailer? There seem to be a bunch out there:

http://topdogtips.com/best-dog-trailer-for-bike/

Trying to find a good way to bike to the park, dog park, or our friends. We haven't tried getting one of those bike dog leashes yet as she likes to chase squirrels so we were thinking a trailer might be a better idea and we won't have to ride slowly if she's attached to the bike.

[Edited on October 27, 2015 at 5:36 PM. Reason : s]

10/27/2015 5:35:31 PM

We had a trailer for my dog when he was a puppy...but then he just got too big (he's 85+ lbs now). I'm in good shape, but I would literally be sweating through my shorts/pants whenever we got to our destination. Of course, we latched him to my one-speed beach cruiser...so it wasn't exactly an optimal trailer-bike...but we either just walk with him or drive our jeep these days. We've tried just having him on a leash...and it worked when I rode with him solo, but it didn't do well with the 2nd bike. He got confused and kept running in front of the bike or something similar...it was a mess.

I have seen something like this:



that I would like to try...but after the recent leash fiasco, my wife put a nix on it. Issue with this is that for 5 or 6 months out of the year, its just too hot to ride around with him on this. He's in good shape, but just too big to be able to run in the heat for this long.

[Edited on October 28, 2015 at 1:14 PM. Reason : .]

10/28/2015 1:13:46 PM

Yeah makes sense. Heat is definitely a concern for us as well in the summer. The larger concern is she's not the best on leash. She's great when there's no distractions but other dogs or squirrels are a concern. Also riding on the greenway it's hard to have enough clearance in the right lane to have a bike and a dog shoulder to shoulder. Especially with fast oncoming bike traffic and bikers trying to pass you if you're going slower.

Also when there's no greenway and it's illegal to ride on the sidewalk then I don't feel comfortable riding with a dog shoulder to shoulder on a road with cars (not sure it's actually legal to have a dog running alongside you on a street). Also even though our dog loves to run she can't keep up at 18-20 mph very long as well.

My cousin does have one of those leashes and she said it's good in theory but doesn't work great on greenways and if there isn't a greenway she doesn't use it on roads with lots of cars. So there's limited areas you can actually bike with your dog next to you without disrupting other bike or pedestrian traffic.

That's why (at least in our situation) a trailer seems to make the most sense and they're considered a legal addition to a bike as a vehicle on the road. It seems car's also give bikes with trailers and lights a much larger clearance too which is nice when there isn't a dedicated bike lane on the road.

[Edited on October 28, 2015 at 1:51 PM. Reason : s]

10/28/2015 1:34:40 PM

Can someone recommend a good vet in Durham or Chapel Hill?

11/12/2015 5:02:30 PM

Welp, just dropped $2,300 on emergency surgery for a displaced colon. Should have been closer to $5,000, but we got some charity from a surgeon that specializes in horses* that was just "driving through" downtown on Saturday and lent his work for free. I think our vet felt sorry for us and honestly fell in love with our pup. He stayed at the office all weekend and made two trips to Harris Teeter to pick him up rotisserie chicken because that's all he would eat. My wife has been a wreck for the past few days, but we brought him home yesterday and he seems to be slowly getting better. Have to monitor his temperature and he has to take a ton of medication, but hopefully he's all better. Vet said if we had waited a day or two longer, he probably wouldn't have made it.

I probably would have paid ten times the amount...but sucks to shill out that money before Christmas.


* apparently this is very common in horses...rare in dogs

[Edited on November 24, 2015 at 11:49 AM. Reason : .]

11/24/2015 11:48:57 AM

That sucks man. That's great you found such an awesome vet though. It's hard to even think about stuff like that. Good luck and best wishes on the recovery!

11/24/2015 12:23:45 PM

Yeah...when you have a very healthy and active dog, you don't think about that stuff happening. 3.5 years in and we've only had seasonal skin-allergy issues.

Crazy listening to the vet talking about having his intestines and organs out on the operating table and untangling them. I think my wife almost fainted. Also heartbreaking to hear that he was howling all night. We've never heard him howl before. He must have been really scared/depressed.

So basically he'll be sleeping in bed with us for the next few months.

11/24/2015 12:35:09 PM

I can't even imagine what they're feeling not being able to communicate what's wrong. We had a similar (albeit less intense) experience with a friends dog who likes to eat socks. We were dog sitting him for a few days and he was shitting/vomiting all over our apartment. When he got to the vet they discovered a lodged sock in his intestine that had to be removed surgically. Not a fun time. He's not a very bright dog though but I hope he now associates eating socks with intense pain.

11/24/2015 1:18:44 PM

Imma spam here, let me know if you guys don't like this and I won't do it anymore. It would be only 1 time per dog, which works out to 1 post per 1-3 months. My fiancee and I foster for a local rescue and want to start fostering for WCAC as well. Recently, we've seen several dogs who are running out of time, but since we already have a foster we haven't been able to take on another (yes, somewhat selfish, but we already have 5 pets; the additional foster is enough for now...) Anywho, I'd like to move our fosters a bit faster, so I'm expanding my advertising in hopes of doing that.

Our current foster:


She's a snuggler; good with other dogs and cats. Could use some lessons on manners (jumping, barking/growling a bit much when playing (not aggressive)), she does nip hard occasionally when she gets worked up while playing, getting her to go outside in inclement weather


[Edited on November 24, 2015 at 2:10 PM. Reason : .]

11/24/2015 2:00:58 PM

Those ears!!!!

11/24/2015 2:08:36 PM

I'm all for it.

The wife and I have said that if we aren't able to have children (highly possible given her genetics), that we will start fostering at some point in the near future.

11/24/2015 2:28:28 PM

Poor jbrick83's dog.

I had a similar experience in March of this year. My poodle was vomiting a lot so I took her to her normal vet, who found a mass in her abdomen. She got referred out to a vet in Wilmington, who originally thought the mass was cancer but fortunately the biopsy result came back that it wasn't. When the vet went into take it out, it looked like something had perforated her cecum and abscessed, so he had to take the cecum out as well. The whole ordeal ended up costing almost $4000, which is a lot to sink into a 12-13 year old dog, but it didn't even cross my mind not to do it. That was pretty much the worst week of my life, but she seems okay now so I'm hoping she'll live another few years.

11/24/2015 7:28:50 PM

Can you give a cat Immodium? Nothing definitive on Google. Have tried pill and liquid metronidazole from vet but he just spits it out. Both are bitter formulas. I figure immodium is the way to go because it's a smaller tablet than the Rx'd pills, that way I can hide it in his food. It's worked when I had him on predisone half tablets. Thought it's worth a try with Immodium.

1/3/2016 12:59:36 PM

Imodium is NOT a substitute for metronidazole. Get a pet piller and give the rx like you are supposed to. Seriously people.

1/3/2016 3:25:41 PM

Relax.

1/3/2016 4:42:17 PM

Yo, for vet services holla at Dr Byrd at http://www.socksandcomobilevet.com/

she's mobile so she can come to you. She's a fantastic vet. Treats all 3 of our dogs and pretty much everyone else on my street.

1/4/2016 5:52:16 PM

What do you guys do to keep your dogs' teeth clean? Our vet spotted some problems with our pup on the last visit and said he's probably about a year away from having some major work done. She asked us if we used any dental chews...and all we do is give him a Greenie if we're going to leave the house for a long period of time (which isn't often...maybe once a week).

Greenie's are expensive as fuck...so we're looking at cheaper alternatives, but probably something similar. I know there are a lot of options out there, so was wondering what everyone else does.

2/3/2016 12:05:42 PM

what do you feed your dog?

they sell teeth cleaning kits for not much $...

2/3/2016 12:33:58 PM

Brush their teeth. They love chicken flavored toothpaste.

2/3/2016 12:55:26 PM

^^ Natural Balance.

I think we have a dog brush and some toothpaste...but handing him a treat is much easier!

2/3/2016 1:13:41 PM

hahaha i totally forgot about lewoods

2/3/2016 1:32:33 PM

bully sticks are good for teeth cleaning. frozen strips of chicken (cooked or raw depending on your comfort) are also good. And uncooked large bones.

2/3/2016 1:34:57 PM

my dog won't stop eating her poop. I've tried supplements in her food, I've tried dousing her poops with Texas Pete...still eats it...and kind of smiles at me while she's doing it. she's on a very good diet, so I know she's not eating it because she's hungry or missing any nutrients

any advice?

2/3/2016 3:22:33 PM

What kind of dog?

2/3/2016 3:25:39 PM

border collie

a VERY well exercised Border Collie (before anyone says an energetic breed like that is acting out due to lack of exercise and boredom)

[Edited on February 3, 2016 at 3:31 PM. Reason : more]

2/3/2016 3:30:02 PM

Quote :

"she's on a very good diet"

no shit

2/3/2016 4:07:35 PM

Or yes shit in this case.

2/3/2016 4:24:26 PM

We're "dog-sitting" our in-laws pup for about 6 months while they prepare their house up North to sell. He's 10 months old and likes to eat poop. Don't know if he's eating our dog's poop or his own (I suspect its both), but we're going through some trial and error to see what works.

First step is to try and clean up poop as fast as possible. We're getting better at that, but it's not easy. The young one poops about five times a day (ours poops twice). And of course there is the heavy hand of discipline if we catch it in the act...but that just doesn't happen very often.

We've heard pineapple in their diet works. We tried it briefly, but since we were also picking up poop at the time, couldn't tell if it works. Mother in-law is shipping us down some "poop pills" that you're suppose to put in their food that make poop inedible (as if it already wasn't!!). So we'll see.

It's a disgusting problem. Nothing worse than letting your dog back in the house with shit on their breath.

2/3/2016 5:21:26 PM

Different problem but it's funny to see puke on the trail at the dog park then looping back around see it gone. Dog's love to eat other dog's puke. It's like a second meal. I didn't think eating poop was as common.

2/3/2016 5:47:28 PM

Maybe coprophagia, it's a genetic thing they do so other animals can't scent them from turds laying around. My younger dog is a poo fanatic, if we don't stay on guard she'll eat it straight out of our older one.

2/3/2016 9:37:05 PM

^^ I don't think eating other dogs' poop or their own poop is very common, but it's definitely not rare. Eating other animals' poop and/or rolling in it is very common....I wouldn't be surprised if it's a majority. My dog loves cat poop and bird poop. The park near my house has tons of geese and dogs just circle the pond licking up their shit. Fucking animals!

2/4/2016 9:02:15 AM

The worst is human shit. One time we were backpacking and Piper rolled in human shit. Was the worst smell in the world. Dog shit smells like roses compared to human shit.

2/4/2016 10:41:06 AM