This was taken about a week after we got our German Shepherd. My daughter would put him in her doll stroller and push him to school with her each day. Any wonder how he ended up so spoiled?
Had to say goodbye to this guy today, Vincent. We had him for almost 19 years. He was cool as fuck, loved people, really laid back, smart, a lot of personality for a cat. Everyone loved him. We’d be having a big party, loud as hell, drinking...the other cats would be hiding under beds, Vincent would be lounging on the table in the center of the action, waiting on someone to start petting him. Saying bye was a lot harder than I thought it would be. We knew it was coming with his age but damn.
Can anyone recommend something for a cat to scratch themselves with? My cat has a skin condition that makes her severely itchy at all times, and I'd like something to give her so she can relieve some of it. Preferably something that is "mild" as she would flay herself with anything that was too hard. Just something she can rub against.
Can anyone recommend something for a cat to scratch themselves with? My cat has a skin condition that makes her severely itchy at all times, and I'd like something to give her so she can relieve some of it. Preferably something that is "mild" as she would flay herself with anything that was too hard. Just something she can rub against.
Build a little scratching post. Square piece of plywood for the base. Attach a 12-18" piece of wood to the center and glue a piece of scrap carpet to the post.
They also sell some more advanced ones. I saw a tunnel once. It looked like a mini carwash that a cat walked through and got scratched from each side.
So now that we live in a different place and no longer own a house, our apartment has rules and regulations for "pets". I could cheat the system like some of the neighbors and get a dog and call it a service animal, but fuck that shit. If the building is 100% anti-dog, then I'll wait till we own a house instead.
It does allow cats, but I'm not interested in all in having a cat. I grew up with them, and my 1 cat was cool, but the other... shit, almost 8 in my lifetime have been complete assholes. That's not a good % to bank on. Fuck cats.
Anyway, I started doing fish. At first my daughter went to a carnival and came back with 3 little goldfish and a glass fishbowl. I thought that wasn't good enough, so I went over to PetSmart and picked up a 1.6 gallon tank with a filter and everything to store the fish. One of the goldfish died after she went to bed, so I ran out and picked up a replacement that was a completely different type of goldfish. Instead of being a feeder fish, this one was a split tail deal. Anyway, I convinced her that the one fish had "evolved" into this one, because she's real into Pokemon. Good enough excuse. She bought it.
Anyway, then another of the goldfish died. This one had black spots in it, so I picked up a black moore goldfish. It has googly eyes and is all black. To be honest, I like this one the most. It's more fun for me to watch, at least. Then the third goldfish died, so fuck that. I replaced it with 2 guppies. Turns out guppies are assholes, and tried to drill holes into the top of the larger goldfish by pecking at them constantly. The result was to go to PetSmart again and buy another 1.6 gallon tank. ($30 each). This did okay, but then the guppies started to commit suicide by jumping out of the very small opening that's on the back above the filter. Anyway, fuck these fish.
So next up, go to Walmart. They have a 5 gallon tank for sale. It's also LED lit, and has a filter system. The LED is a single light, and the tank is dull as shit.
Also, 5 gallons is a bit much for 2 small goldfish, so I upgraded again... Bought a 3rd goldfish and a small albino cory catfish to help clean the bottom of the tank. Oh, but now the Algae is an issue, so I picked up a pleco as well... and asked them to throw in a few of those snails that are in the tank.
So now I just collect fish. My tank is good now, I'm not going to change it any more. And my daughter doesn't even give a shit at this point, but I like taking care of something... so there's the fish.
I also watch all kinds of youtube videos about proper ways to clean the tank and care for different types of fish and different tank/filter setups. I'm not going to change, but I keep watching them. There's this dude in Ohio that has an 56 thousand gallon tank. It's actually an in-ground pool that he converted into a fish pond.
2:25 for the following video to see the "finished" pool pond thing.
My baby, Valkyrie, is a GSD and is getting up there... eight years old now, going on nine. She is starting to slow down on her walks and whenever she so much as stumbles or trips while playing, it makes my heart jump into my throat worrying about hip dysplasia. She has no signs of it or symptoms, but it is the big killer in GSDs. I have legit had nightmares about losing her. She is the best dog I have ever had. I wander around and she just follows at my side, always off leash, never been aggressive to any creature in the world - save for a dislike of woodchucks, always sleeps at the foot of the bed, great with all of my nephews/nieces.
I have a terrier as well, Daliah, who is 11 and despite having to have her last few teeth pulled, shows no signs of slowing down, though she has had to go on a diet/not have kibble available constantly as she is turning into a chunk. She recently has to be kept away from the children, not because she goes after them, but because her eyesight/hearing is going and she will growl, which means she gets put in the dog-room whenever I have company. She is still almost as good a mouser as most cats I have had. Whenever winter rolls in, she will kill 4-5 of them in a month, bring them to me for 'rewards', and I usually do not get any more of them for the season.
Here is my latest Schutzhund dog, or IGP to be politically correct. One year age difference. She should have her BH title this summer and wife might compete in agility with her.
I want to chime in and say that shockingly , guinea pigs make cute pets with actual personality! For those of you living in apartments. Now I have a very wide array of animals , but first time having guinea pigs and they surprised me.
So now that we live in a different place and no longer own a house, our apartment has rules and regulations for "pets". I could cheat the system like some of the neighbors and get a dog and call it a service animal, but fuck that shit. If the building is 100% anti-dog, then I'll wait till we own a house instead.
It does allow cats, but I'm not interested in all in having a cat. I grew up with them, and my 1 cat was cool, but the other... shit, almost 8 in my lifetime have been complete assholes. That's not a good % to bank on. Fuck cats.
Anyway, I started doing fish. At first my daughter went to a carnival and came back with 3 little goldfish and a glass fishbowl. I thought that wasn't good enough, so I went over to PetSmart and picked up a 1.6 gallon tank with a filter and everything to store the fish. One of the goldfish died after she went to bed, so I ran out and picked up a replacement that was a completely different type of goldfish. Instead of being a feeder fish, this one was a split tail deal. Anyway, I convinced her that the one fish had "evolved" into this one, because she's real into Pokemon. Good enough excuse. She bought it.
Anyway, then another of the goldfish died. This one had black spots in it, so I picked up a black moore goldfish. It has googly eyes and is all black. To be honest, I like this one the most. It's more fun for me to watch, at least. Then the third goldfish died, so fuck that. I replaced it with 2 guppies. Turns out guppies are assholes, and tried to drill holes into the top of the larger goldfish by pecking at them constantly. The result was to go to PetSmart again and buy another 1.6 gallon tank. ($30 each). This did okay, but then the guppies started to commit suicide by jumping out of the very small opening that's on the back above the filter. Anyway, fuck these fish.
So next up, go to Walmart. They have a 5 gallon tank for sale. It's also LED lit, and has a filter system. The LED is a single light, and the tank is dull as shit.
Also, 5 gallons is a bit much for 2 small goldfish, so I upgraded again... Bought a 3rd goldfish and a small albino cory catfish to help clean the bottom of the tank. Oh, but now the Algae is an issue, so I picked up a pleco as well... and asked them to throw in a few of those snails that are in the tank.
So now I just collect fish. My tank is good now, I'm not going to change it any more. And my daughter doesn't even give a shit at this point, but I like taking care of something... so there's the fish.
I also watch all kinds of youtube videos about proper ways to clean the tank and care for different types of fish and different tank/filter setups. I'm not going to change, but I keep watching them. There's this dude in Ohio that has an 56 thousand gallon tank. It's actually an in-ground pool that he converted into a fish pond.
2:25 for the following video to see the "finished" pool pond thing.
Forget the goldfish. They get way too big for the type of tanks you've got and they are really dirty. Not good pets IMO, I don't know why they became the default aquarium fish because they kind of suck as aquarium fish and they can't live in a bowl for more than a few days unless you're changing the water daily. I'm not saying you have to get rid of the ones you have, but in a 5 gallon tank they are probably going to die after a while and I would replace them with something else. People also think small tanks are for beginners but they are way harder to keep than a larger tank. I wouldn't fuck around with anything smaller than a 20 personally, and the bigger you go, the less volatile your water conditions will be.
Read up on the nitrogen cycle. Since your tank has been set up for a while I think I'd just assume it's cycled and do a 25-50% water change once a week. If you do that, have enough filter going, and don't overfeed them, that's all it really takes to keep a healthy tank. The pleco isn't going to do much for your algae problem and will eventually outgrow your tank as well. Get a scraper with a metal blade and just scrape it off when it starts looking ugly. Also if the sun is hitting it move it somewhere that it won't and limit how much the light is on and that will help with the algae but you're going to have it no matter what you do. Cory cats are a community fish and they will do better if there are at least 3 of them, preferably 5. They are real cool fish and fun to watch in a group.
Disregard any and all advice you get at PetSmart or Walmart. Seriously. Those people don't know what they're talking about. Even the local fish shop's advice should be taken with a grain of salt. Go to the internet.
So now that we live in a different place and no longer own a house, our apartment has rules and regulations for "pets". I could cheat the system like some of the neighbors and get a dog and call it a service animal, but fuck that shit. If the building is 100% anti-dog, then I'll wait till we own a house instead.
It does allow cats, but I'm not interested in all in having a cat. I grew up with them, and my 1 cat was cool, but the other... shit, almost 8 in my lifetime have been complete assholes. That's not a good % to bank on. Fuck cats.
Anyway, I started doing fish. At first my daughter went to a carnival and came back with 3 little goldfish and a glass fishbowl. I thought that wasn't good enough, so I went over to PetSmart and picked up a 1.6 gallon tank with a filter and everything to store the fish. One of the goldfish died after she went to bed, so I ran out and picked up a replacement that was a completely different type of goldfish. Instead of being a feeder fish, this one was a split tail deal. Anyway, I convinced her that the one fish had "evolved" into this one, because she's real into Pokemon. Good enough excuse. She bought it.
Anyway, then another of the goldfish died. This one had black spots in it, so I picked up a black moore goldfish. It has googly eyes and is all black. To be honest, I like this one the most. It's more fun for me to watch, at least. Then the third goldfish died, so fuck that. I replaced it with 2 guppies. Turns out guppies are assholes, and tried to drill holes into the top of the larger goldfish by pecking at them constantly. The result was to go to PetSmart again and buy another 1.6 gallon tank. ($30 each). This did okay, but then the guppies started to commit suicide by jumping out of the very small opening that's on the back above the filter. Anyway, fuck these fish.
So next up, go to Walmart. They have a 5 gallon tank for sale. It's also LED lit, and has a filter system. The LED is a single light, and the tank is dull as shit.
Also, 5 gallons is a bit much for 2 small goldfish, so I upgraded again... Bought a 3rd goldfish and a small albino cory catfish to help clean the bottom of the tank. Oh, but now the Algae is an issue, so I picked up a pleco as well... and asked them to throw in a few of those snails that are in the tank.
So now I just collect fish. My tank is good now, I'm not going to change it any more. And my daughter doesn't even give a shit at this point, but I like taking care of something... so there's the fish.
I also watch all kinds of youtube videos about proper ways to clean the tank and care for different types of fish and different tank/filter setups. I'm not going to change, but I keep watching them. There's this dude in Ohio that has an 56 thousand gallon tank. It's actually an in-ground pool that he converted into a fish pond.
2:25 for the following video to see the "finished" pool pond thing.
One of the goldfish died after she went to bed, so I ran out and picked up a replacement that was a completely different type of goldfish. Instead of being a feeder fish, this one was a split tail deal. Anyway, I convinced her that the one fish had "evolved" into this one, because she's real into Pokemon. Good enough excuse. She bought it.
So late October one of my wife's bucket list items came to fruition. A Saint Bernard needed a home. The dog is a fucking dump truck with legs and probably the sweetest animal I have ever had the pleasure of being around. There is one very massive catch, however, this dog has seizures. First one hit us like a truck on November 2nd. It legit is laying there one second, the next it loses all bodily control: legs are going in every direction, it is spewing drool, it's (huge) bladder is emptying everywhere, and then the shit starts pouring out. The first event was traumatizing for all of us, and it legit shook me to my core.
She is on medication (was since before we got her), and we are diligent about giving it at the 7s on the dot every day. We were told it's most likely triggered by food so the wife cooks up a hotel pan of hamburger, carrots, and peas and we get that grain free stuff. We stayed on top of the medicine and took other steps to make sure the least amount of possible triggers were in her path. Fast forward to last night, the 2nd of December, and yup, she has yet another one. This time was much better on the perception front. We knew what it was, and what to expect so we just got towels and a fan and did what we could to make her comfortable and cool. I wasn't as freaked out by it, so it was much easier to take a more active role in keeping the dog safe and comfortable as possible.
First time it was on our couch, this time it was on a massive mattress sized pillow thing at the foot of our bed. And here I am, going on 4 hours of sleep, thinking Jesus fuck I'm not sure I'm up for this shit. On top of this major health issue, the dog is high maintenance in other areas too. She is a picky ass eater and we are constantly trying to mix things up to get her to eat. She has to be attached at the hip 24/7 and has no concept of size, so of course she thinks she is a 10 pound poodle that can curl up on anyone's lap. I dunno man... just kind of in a dark place right now as I am facing the idea of this being a monthly thing for the better part of a decade. There's more to this... yes she has been to a specialist. My issue is he is holistic, so I think he's full of shit. During Christmas break we are going to go to a vet who believes in science and see what his opinion is and keep the daily medication going. God help me.
That's what broke me. The lady who runs the rescue that got her, had taken the dog to that specialist for allergy testing. We had that and have avoided foods religiously that were on her avoid list, and I was sure that's what it was, and nope. The fact that it happened on the exact same date AND the exact same time (2nd of the month around 9:30pm) and apparently her last seizure before our first one was September 2nd... And it is likely to me that she had one on October 2nd but at that time she was at this rescue lady's kennel place without human supervision so I have no way of proving that. All signs point to this being just chronic epilepsy not some allergy. The key date is December 30th - January 3rd. If she has it again at least I can pretty much definitively say it's a pattern. Then it'll be what do we do after that? If this were a 15 pound or hell even a 50 pound dog, it'd be manageable. But this dog weighs as much as many full grown adults, so it goes from hairy to impossible to get them moved somewhere safe/easy to clean up when they go into the convulsions. I'm taking her to the Vet to see if we can up her dose of the Pheno medicine, but that one has a serious catch: it damages livers over time.
So, I know its not fun to think about or consider. But talk to your wife about what the long term outlook of this dog looks like. From what I get out of your post that discussion has a few key bullet points.
1. Let medical science have a stab at this. If it resolves the problem medically then this can can be kicked a while.
2. If this dog is going to have monthly seizures with mega bowel movements everywhere this is more than you are in for, and at that point humane Euthanasia needs to be on the table. Rehoming or kicking this dogs health to someone else is not the solution.
3. You are not against having a big ass dog, its merely that this dog requires this extra conversation right now because of its own issues.
All you need right now is the assurance that this kind of conversation can happen. If the vet visits and some months pass and you are seeing Monthly events like you describe, this kindness needs to be on the table for the dog and for you and your family/relationship
I come from a rural place, sometimes nature sucks and your animals get a problem that just can't be controlled or managed. Standing up and doing the right thing is hard and its never easy to put something down you care about. Resources matter in the end for a family as well, we all die. I've been there holding quite a few animals at the end, and sometimes it has been in glorious old age, and other's had health problems that could not be arrested. It is never fun, but it is noble when its necessary.
Bruuce
