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GoldenOldie

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Posts posted by GoldenOldie

  1. I have just adopted an elderly dog which was starved in his previous home so he needs 3-4 small meals daily and is putting on weight, however, he hoovers up his food and then wants more immediately as his tummy doesn't know the food has arrived! I bought one of the GULP bowls from PAH and it has been a real success and he he is enjoying his food for longer!

  2. I sometimes change the name of any new additions to something similar sounding or simply to a new name. They all seem to adapt very quickly, even old dogs who have had their name all their life!

    Good luck with your new dog whatever you call him! Naming him after a dog special to you does not mean you love him less but rather he will be special too.

  3. Last Friday my Oldies sponsor dog Shandy went to the Bridge. He was 17 and had lived alone with his elderly owner all his life, hand fed fresh meat from the local chicken shop. He had been alone in her flat for 8 weeks while she was in hospital with one daily visit from family to feed him and let him out before he was signed over to Oldies.

    I collected him from a family member, the handover taking place at Lymm Services on Xmas Eve 2010! He had never been in a car and was very frightened and confused. He quickly settled in his basket next to a radiator after meeting his new family of 3 dogs and 4 cats. and, later, 2 grandchildren. and only ventured out for food or to go outside. From day 1 he totally clean and never soiled or wet even when I was at work; getting used to eating dog food from a bowl was a slow but steady progress and in spite of missing several teeth he loved his food until the last few days of his long life.

    Sadly he proved to have a serious heart murmur, poor vision and the likliehood of some neurological problem which caused him to have occasional 'episodes' akin to petit mal - these disappeared completely as his life took on a tranquil and stable quality . Because of his difficulties he was kept with me as a sponsor dog and thanks to the Oldies Club lived out his very long life in peace and was a very loved member of our family, also referred to by my vet as 'a special boy' and indeed he was.He loved his walks and meeting other dogs but never really bothered with people

    I keep stepping round the space in the kitchen where his basket was next to the radiator after catching my leg on it at least once a week and can still see his white face with his huge bat ears, peering at me waiting for his next walk or meal.

    Sleep well old man, I hope you know you were very well loved.

  4. Why are some people such knowitalls? Someone on another site is waffling on in reply to a response I gave advising someone of their statutory rights in relation to returning something. I know what I'm talking about d*ckhead, it's part and parcel of my job rolleyes.gif

     

    Probably the wrong section but here goes anyway!

    A week ago I was subject to an appalling verbal attack of parking rage which was completely unfounded and I'm still reeling from it. My daughter is having an extension built and a new drive and the builders have been very good and cleaned up the pavement every day and been careful with their cars and vans. I had collected my granddaughter from school, done some shopping and got back to my daughters and because there was a delivery of slates being made drove about 6 doors up from her house and went to park, on the road, in front of the wall and not near anyones driveway. the home owner of the other half of the semi was about to drive off in his van with his wife, the latter of whom has passed the time of day beforeas they have 2 rescue dogs. and my daughter also has rescue dogs and I take mine to her house as well. I smiled as I pulled up and was surprised to get a scowl in retirn and him clearly telling me to move off.

     

    I stopped the engine and he pulled out past me and accelerated up the road - burning rubber as they say, and as I was about to get out realised he was racing back. He pulled up alongside and with the window down was screaming at me to move my car, I was always parking there and he was sick of it and so on. My grandaughter was upset and his wife clearly embarrassed. I kept calm and said I had never parked outside his house before (true), was on a public highway anyway and was not causing a blockage. This drove him even further into his rant. I calmly said he was clearly mistaken as he must know that I don't park there as I have a red Peugot 3008 so he couldn't even be mistaking me for someone else. I'm at my daughters house at least twice a week and have been for the last 10 yearsand park outside their house or one or two doors down if the builders are there.This produced a threat of 'you'd better have it moved before I get back hun' which was the last straw for me as hun is not a word I associate with threats! I told him what I thought and he drove off.It was very unsettling and I still have no idea what prompted it. Maybe I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time!

  5. I'm sitting at my computer with one cat on the sunny windowsill, one sitting on top of my shredder (switched off!), and a third elderly foster sitting in his favourite place in front of me, blocking the screen and shredding long white hairs everywhere. One dog is outside, one 18 yr. old foster in his basket and two napping round my feet. Another cat is in the conservatory napping and the newest foster cat is hiding under my bed which is where she has spent a fair bit of time since arriving in January. She seems fine with the other animals and now lets me stroke her but is completely unsocialised and lived with a very elderly lady who died. Her brother in law told me that she had called all her cats Tigger, whether male or female and never petted or stroked any of them. However, this Tigger is a very beautiful girl and is very healthy with a beautiful coat; hopefully a bit more socialisation and a nice home can be found.

    I knew there was some benefit to working from home!

     

     

    Sally.

  6. Don't these stories show both sides of human nature at its best and its worst?I don't think that animal cruelty per se has necessarily increased over the years but it has got worse in the levels of neglect and gratuitous violence towaards animals. Because of access to all forms of the media we know more about, however, I do think that there is a new form of neglect and cruelty which leads to dogs and other pets becoming commodities to be discarded. The so-called celeb pets like chis , pugs and teacup yorkies who are bought as fashion accessories with no thought for their needs. I was reading an article yesterday about the steep rise in sales of cocker spaniels since the Duchess of Cambridge acquired hers; these are essentially working dogs which need stimulation both mental and physical - how many of these will be discarded when they become destructive or develop other behavioural problem.

     

    Even the smallest dogs love exercise and play and having kept many dogs over years of fostering or adopting rescue dogs my children (now in their 40s) andn their children have been brought up to exercise and play with their pets, including daily walks in all weathers. My friends and work colleagues have similar values.

     

    I have always had at least 3 or more dogs which have ranged from GSDs to mini dax and except on very long hikes or bowing to age or infirmity have exercised them together! Equally the so called status dogs - bull breeds, staffies, mastiffs etc.which either end up being trained to fight or to attack and are also either confiscated and pts or are discarded by their owners. Some of these dogs lead miserable existences living shut in bleak back yards with no stimulus or affection which is incredibly sad.

     

    What do other people think?

  7. I have never had an ex breeding dog but many years ago took on a 2 year old chihuahua which had never been socialised. A local rescue worker had gone to collect some cats and another dog from a house in Manchester but had been unable to get near the little fellow because he was on the attack! The owner and her 2 bully boy teenage sons were apparently very feared in the neighbourhood; she was allegedly a 'working girl' who had bought the chi as an added attraction! Apparently according to a neighbour she had quickly lost interest in him and he was shut ouside all the time; he had no shelter, had a cat litter tray for a bed and lived in a cobbled back yard; locals were too afraid of repercussions from the family to report her.

    I went to collect him after work one evening in winter , taking my elderly mum with me, and to this day 20 years later I can still remember the cobbled back yard , no one at home but a neighbour who had a key opening the gate. I n a corner of the bleak yard under a scrappy bush was a tiny dog, sceaming defiance, pressed against the wall. The neighbour said noone could get near him.

    I knelt down (I was much younger and more flexible then!) and to my surprise and hers he made a dash for me, I actually thought he was going to bite.I had a blanket across my lap and he just jumped onto it. I wrapped him up, took him back to the car and mum nursed him all the way back home where we unwrapped a pathetic bundle of bones with a thin covering of fur. He went to my vet next day who was used to my rescues and he was appalled. It took nearly a year for him to recover physically ,and temperamentally he was always unpredicatable, especially around men. He never bit my mum but the rest of the family, including me, felt his teeth at some point! Most of the time he was a settled member of my then pack of 7 dogs, He was a feisty little fellow which is probably what kept him going and how he survived in those conditions we never knew. He lived to the ripe old age of 15.

  8. Getting in the shower with glasses on and regularly buying books I like the look of and finding at least one or two copies already on the shelf at home - just a couple of many eccentric senior moments!

  9. I use Nature Diet , Natures Harvest and/or JWB for old dogs or dogs with tummy issues. I tried my old lab on Burns and he suffered bloating and gas;it's an excellent food but doesn't suit all dogs.

    Hope you and your vet can resolve this poor boys problem, it must be a worry for you to see him like this.

    Good luck.

     

    Sally.

  10. Fascinating - he should get a fee for every dog he tests! I have 4 cats, the eldest of which is 13 and I find they are excellent dog friendly testers - although I don't use the same method as the Dogs Trust. Over many years and many foster dogs they indicate by their behaviour which dogs should be avoided (they retreat to high points or behind the stairgate, even if the dog is seemingly calm and friendly), which are a' maybe,' when they stay around but keep a weather eye until they can relax, and the definite 'OKs', when they just keep to their normal routine.

    I currently have 15 yr. old Shandy, an oldies foster, and they are all totally comfortable with the old fellow to the extent of my greediest cat lining up with him and my other dogs at treat time - they haven't been wrong yet!

  11. My old lab was on PLT for over a year and appeared to be comfortable on it. Metacam upset her stomach and as she was crippled with arthritis when I adopted her at age 10 it was always a question of keeping her comfortable and giving her a quality of life. She only had mild/moderate side effects with the PLT although on maximum dose in her last months and was mobile and comfortable until she crossed the Bridge at the age of fourteen and a half in October.

     

    Sally,

  12. LADY (14) - I must stop standing in front of visitors looking sad and neglected so they all think the others get all the attention

    and doing a meerkat impression at the front window even when I've only just come in from a walk

     

    MAX (14 months) - I must stop managing to get out of every harness my mum puts on me as she looks so silly walking along with an empty harness and lead and me trotting along behind (looking smug!) Also must try to stop playing with my friend Mollycat at 5 in the morning which involves lots of running around and jumping on and off furniture and playing with squeaky toys

     

    MOLLY DOG (10)- I must stop peeing on the living room carpet after I push the door open when mum's out

     

     

    SHANDY (15) - Oldies foster: I must stop going into panic mode when being lifted into the car (can't manage to jump in) as it looks like foster mum is trying to kidnap me and she says it's a good thing I don't have many teeth so it's only gum marks on her hands!

  13. My old lab loved his toys but was totally indiscriminate and just wanted to toss them all about the room when he was in the mood.My two oldies don't play with toys but I now have a young mini dax who loves his toys and chooses different ones . If he's in a 'killing' and throwing around mood he chooses soft toys and does a lot of pouncing and dragging them from room to room but will sometimes sort through and choose tugger toys or chewy ones which have to be taken onto a rug and savoured.

  14. No snow here in High Peak yet, thank goodness as last winter was snowed in for days as the snow drifted against cars and froze. My 15 yr. old lab chose that time to finally leave me for the Bridge and the vet had to walk up to the house as his car was frozen in as well!

    Thick frost and some ice over the last few days and bitter cold.

     

    Sally.

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