Dogs – Janet Post Author

Dog Blog Number 4. When is it time?

When is it time?

The worst decision any dog owner has to make is when to put your faithful companion down. No matter how artfully or carefully you phrase this, it’s still killing your dog. That’s how I view it. I read on several of my dog Facebook pages how people drive their beloved friend to hamburger joints and ice cream venders to get them one last treat on the day they’ve “selected” to kill their pet. Honestly, this horrifies me.

First, are they making this date, choosing the day they kill their dog, you know the animal who trusts you as god, because it’s convenient for you? Let’s kill Fluffy on Tuesday because Monday is bad for me, I have a doctor’s appointment, and Thursday is bad because Aunt Emily is coming to visit. Or is this the day you vet had an opening to kill your pet? Seriously, would you put Grandma down on a day convenient to yourself and her doctor or on the day she told you she’d taken all the pain and suffering she could?

I’ve had to put a beloved dog down twice this year. The first was my 200-pound mastiff. She stopped eating. That’s a huge piece of the puzzle. When an animal hides under the porch and won’t eat anything, they’re finished. If they still happily load into the car, swallow six burgers and an ice cream cone, they’re not. You’ve arbitrarily decided for your own convenience to kill your faithful, trusting friend.

The second dog I put down this year was a pitbull/lab mix I had for 18 years. He had a gross tumor on one of his back feet. His back legs got steadily weaker until his back legs were paralyzed, and he could no longer stand up. He weighed about 80 pounds and still wanted his food. He still wanted hugs and kisses and love. He didn’t care we had to load him onto a dog bed, drag him outside, and roll him into the grass. He pooped and peed when we took him out. When he’d had enough and was too tired to go on, he stopped eating. He looked so apologetic when he refused his food. He’d always been the sweetest dog, the best dog. He came whenever you called him. He could jump a six-foot high fence easily. To see him so debilitated was heart-wrenching, but I waited until he said he couldn’t do it any more. They tell you.

I have a pitbull I rescued. Her name is Happy. Happy has advanced breast cancer. She’s on a lot of meds. She was eating until yesterday. I’m taking her to the vet today, not to put her down ( a euphemism I loathe), but to see if there’s anything else I can do for her. Just because your dog’s infirmity is inconvenient is not a reason to put it down. Give them a chance. Here are seven criteria I follow when judging when they’ve had enough gleaned from the American Humane Society. Not when you’ve had enough of taking care of them. When they’re ready to go.

He is experiencing chronic pain that cannot be controlled with medication (your veterinarian can help you determine if your pet is in pain).
He has frequent vomiting or diarrhea that is causing dehydration and/or significant weight loss.
He has stopped eating or will only eat if you force feed him.
He is incontinent to the degree that he frequently soils himself.
He has lost interest in all or most of his favorite activities, such as going for walks, playing with toys or other pets, eating treats or soliciting attention and petting from family members.
He cannot stand on his own or falls down when trying to walk.
He has chronic labored breathing or coughing.

And I would go even further to say just one of these shouldn’t be enough. In other words, falling down only shouldn’t be enough. Labored breathing, shouldn’t be enough. An incontinent dog might have kidney problems. It alone shouldn’t be enough. My biggest indicator is when a dog who always scarfed their food up, suddenly stops eating. And make sure it’s for more than just one feeding. I’d wait two or three days, then decide. Always know, euthanasia is never chosen by the dog. You’re making that decision for him and in many cases, this decision is made because their pain and suffering is inconvenient. Choose wisely, your dog trusts you.

Dog Blog #3: Choke Points

Happy

So, how does a choke point work in regards to lots of dogs and what is a choke point? I just had to rearrange my living room to eliminate two choke points. A choke point is a place in your home, maybe a hallway, or a restriction caused by furniture placement, that restricts the number of dogs that can comfortably fit through it or pass through it at one time. They pile up on each other and fights break out. I still have a choke point at my front door but because it’s where the dogs que up to get outside, they usually don’t fight in it.

Choke points were causing major fights in my house and dog fights are a bad thing. Your dogs can get seriously hurt. I have a special dog named ironically Happy. Happy is rarely happy but no one blames her. I rescued her from a chain. She’d been tied to it for eight years and starved and bred. She weighed 31 pounds when I got her. She now weighs 60 lbs. Happy is mostly pitbull. She had heart worms when I got her and serious mental problems. The vet said the muscles in her back legs were atrophied from eight years of not using them so she couldn’t be treated for the heart worms. I had to use cowboy methods to cure her, but presently, she has been diagnosed heart-worm free. Because of her atrophied muscles, poor Happy had to learn how to walk, trot, and run. She’d never done any of this. It took her two years to start dreaming she was running. Because of the years of abuse, Happy’s mouth has even been taped shut, Happy has episodes. Every once in a while, she goes after another dog for no reason, and almost always, this occurs in a choke point.

Her favorite dog to pick a fight with is the mastiff. Moregon’s neck is callused and thick with muscle and fur. Happy has no teeth. It looks as though she wore them out trying to chew through her chain. Moregon (Moose) outweighs her by 150 pounds and has a fine mouth-full of teeth. Mastiffs were bred to fight bears. Happy always gets beat up and still she persists. That’s the kind of thing terrible, chronic, abuse causes in dogs. If Happy was human, I’d say she is schizophrenic. What makes it worse is Moregon likes to sleep across doorways. It’s her nature. Mastiffs do this because they’re very protective and danger comes through doors. They know this. If Happy can’t easily egress her bed or a room because it’s blocked, she attacks. She was worse when I got her, but she still has these episodes, so we’ve been eliminating choke points, places where Moose can block her in.

When you have nine dogs, things like choke points have to be considered when you arrange your furniture. We now have a much more open arrangement and so far, no fights.

It doesn’t matter how small the dogs you own are. Choke points cause fights. My grandson used to help take care of a large group of Japanese Chins. Tiny dogs. They would get into fights just like bigger dogs and usually in a choke point. When you have nine dogs, running from 200 pounds to 10 pounds, fighting must be controlled. We use the mop and blankets to stop fights. If you throw blankets over the fighters, they stop. Since we have two dogs with Jack Russel blood, we have to watch them when fights break out. Chester never saw a fight he didn’t want to join. Chompers is the same way and he’s tiny.

Fights among big dogs are loud and terrifying and can cause serious injuries to your dogs. Think fast, have equipment handy at all times, and watch those choke points.

Dog Blog #2 Feeding Time

Chester

I know what you’re thinking. I’m going to talk about what I feed my dogs. Well what you feed your dogs is not nearly as important as how and when. Dogs are like humans. They feel comfortable when the routine is the same every day. This is especially important for rescues who have lost their trust in humans and the world in general. For an abused animal to know food will arrive every single day, twice a day, at the same time, is a security blanket they need. Setting a routine is the best thing you can do to heal their insecurities and win their trust. Food is everything to dogs. The promise of two meals a day, every day, means more to them than you can know, especially if they’ve been starved or neglected.

I have nine dogs. Feeding time is a little tricky. Every dog has a bowl and every dog has a place to eat. They eat in that same place every day. There is an order I follow, and they know that order. Without the routine, the order of feeding, there would be fighting and general chaos. Because I follow this order always, I can feed all nine dogs in the same room. None of them have to be separated.

The dog I’m going to talk about today is Chester, a half Jack Russel, half something else. I got Chester from a rescue operation in New Smyrna, Florida. He was pretty skinny and about nine months old. He had hook worms. I treated him for them immediately. Chester was abandoned by his previous owner in an apartment with no food or water for approximately a month. He is a survivor. Rescues like Chester who are starved develop some interesting survival habits. Chester knows cardboard such as toilet paper tubes will make the pain of an empty belly go away and not kill you. He is an inveterate garbage hound. I have to shut all the pantry doors because he will open bags or boxes of noodles and rice and eat them. No bug is safe around Chester. He licks the walls for moisture. He knows if he bites a water bottle, he can get water from the hole. He will lick his empty bowl and all of the empty bowls until they are shiny. I picture him going to his bowl in that abandoned apartment and licking it while hoping something will appear in it.

Chester can be a troublemaker. Jack Russels are killers. Chester is now three-years old and has fifteen rats under his belt, three squirrels, and we no longer have a mole problem. He is also an escape artist. We finally have the front yard of our acre Chester proof, but the back still has a hole he can squeeze out of somewhere in the palmettos. He doesn’t like escaping alone. He’d rather someone went with him. He’s a charming fellow and a nosy scamp who has already survived an encounter with a water moccasin. When there is a fight among the other dogs, Chester will jump in. Jacks are feisty. Peepers, the Boston Terrier, is his particular friend.

When I first got Chester he had bad dreams. He would cry in his sleep. He also has separation anxiety and he worries. Some dogs are worriers some aren’t. His bad dreams are gone, but if I leave for a few hours, he will knock me down with joy when I come home. Never forget dogs have feelings and emotions. Abuse leaves scars that time can heal but not erase.

The Dog Blog

Dog Blog moregon

I think I’ve become an expert on dogs which probably means I’m not. However, I have nine, many rescues, and they have taught me bunches. Owning lots of dogs is not as easy as you would think. Dogs are like people. Each has a different personality, different problems, unique health and mental health issues. Fights can break out at any moment for no reason you can perceive between two dogs you thought were compatible, and there is always one dogs who is ready to join in on any fight not of his making. Vigilance is key. I also believe the dogs have to respect me as their leader. I am the head bitch in my dog world and each dog knows this.

I don’t have to be mean, just on top of things and I feed them. Dogs respond well to the person flopping the food bowl on the floor twice a day. Which brings me to feeding time. Feeding nine dogs is always a challenge. There are nine different bowls to fill and I try to make the dog’s food healthy and tasty. Dogs are like people. They need something to look forward to every day. They also need routine. Routine is as important for a dog’s health and wellbeing as it is for humans. My father was a huge believer in routine, something he learned in the military. My dogs know they get fed when I get up and they love it when I put my feet on the floor and climb out of bed. For some ot them, especially the rescues, the knowledge of food every day makes them feel safe and secure and helps with anxiety and other PTSD-like disorders rescued animals can have.

I’ll introduce my first dog to you. She’s a seven-year old English mastiff named Moragon. We call her Moose. She weighs 200 pounds and is extremely aggressive which is why I have her. Her former owners gave her to us because the neighbors were afraid of her and she wasn’t trustworthy on a leash; as in she lunched random people you met on the street. Moragon’s owner had severe PTSD from serving eight years as an Army Ranger Medic. He managed to pass it on to Moose. Animals like her, she’s very empathic, pick up on your emotions and often emulate them. Mastiffs are also protective, so she felt he needed her protection because she sensed his weakness.

Moose rarely causes trouble. Like most mastiffs she’s laid back, lazy, and slow. The heat really robs her of energy and is even dangerous for her. Last year her hips started bothering her so I finally took her to the vet who she tried to bite (of course.) She is now on an anti-inflammatory with a painkiller, and glucosamine with MSM. We’ve seen a huge improvement in her over-all ability to get around and go up and down stairs.

I have a rescue pitbull who was horribly mistreated that for some reason attacks Moose every once in a while. It’s never good for the pittie who has almost no teeth and is outweighed by over a hundred pounds. These are the kinds of things you must always watch out for when you own multiple dogs.