All About Our Pets(Pics, Advice, Etc)

[UFprevet12]

@TooLove Oh my god that is hilarious! What a silly bird. I'm a fellow bird lover/owner. Here are my babies.

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[TooLove]

@TooLove Oh my god that is hilarious! What a silly bird. I'm a fellow bird lover/owner. Here are my babies.

How cute! Love the color on the guy on the left. How do you like the aviator harnesses? I've always used the feather tether from premier but my guy hates putting it on.

 

[UFprevet12]

How cute! Love the color on the guy on the left. How do you like the aviator harnesses? I've always used the feather tether from premier but my guy hates putting it on.

Thank you I'm having problems with him plucking now ugh so frustrating because I've tried everything and he gets plenty of toys and attention so I don't know why he's doing it again. I love the aviator it's easy to put on and they love it.

 

[dovelover]

So I just calculated that I spend about $10/month on electricity to power all of my pets' ancillary heating devices. Talk about unexpected costs of pet ownership... It's mostly my diamond doves' heat lamp, so maybe this summer they I'll move them into the bedroom that gets nice and toasty due to the all day sun exposure instead of in the living room where the A/C keeps it freezing cold in order to get the temp over in the bedroom livable... of course then Katniss's incessant cooing might just keep me up all night... Anyone know of any good ways to keep birds warm that don't require too much electricity?

 

[that redhead]

Whenever I light my scented candles on the table next to my fish tank, my betta gets super excited, swims over immediately and hangs out up against the glass closest to the flickering light. Fishy enrichment!

 

[Thelemic]

Whenever I light my scented candles on the table next to my fish tank, my betta gets super excited, swims over immediately and hangs out up against the glass closest to the flickering light. Fishy enrichment!

Finrichment.

 

[UFprevet12]

My bird is being super lovable tonight and I love it.

 

[mihorsegirl]

A pic of the favorite beast at home

 

[jmo1012]

my dog has developed an annoying habit of whining and begging for attention ALL EVENING LONG. i can't tell why he's doing this - it seems like a ploy for attention, but one never can be sure i suppose

 

[swingnsave]

Hello all! Seeking some advice from y'all bout eating habits for your pets.. I have always had food set out through the day for my dogs to eat whenever they please. But now that I have a foster kitten, she tends to bee line for the dog food whenever I set it out in the morning rather than her own. I will have to now set a feeding schedule for the dogs, but I'm not really sure where to start because they don't eat in one sitting but rather periodically throughout the day. Today I was in a hurry so I mixed some of the yummy wet food with the dry kibble and they ate it right away, but I don't want them getting used to eating the wet food because it gives them loose stool. I can't keep them separated because the dogs bark when confined to a single room and my neighbors don't like that haha… any personal experience, advice, tips, etc would be greatly appreciated!

 

[orca2011]

Hello all! Seeking some advice from y'all bout eating habits for your pets.. I have always had food set out through the day for my dogs to eat whenever they please. But now that I have a foster kitten, she tends to bee line for the dog food whenever I set it out in the morning rather than her own. I will have to now set a feeding schedule for the dogs, but I'm not really sure where to start because they don't eat in one sitting but rather periodically throughout the day. Today I was in a hurry so I mixed some of the yummy wet food with the dry kibble and they ate it right away, but I don't want them getting used to eating the wet food because it gives them loose stool. I can't keep them separated because the dogs bark when confined to a single room and my neighbors don't like that haha… any personal experience, advice, tips, etc would be greatly appreciated!

I feed my dog in his crate because I live with 2 other dogs at school and one other at my parents' house (who is super food motivated and would totally try to steal my dog's food). When I first got my dog, he wouldn't eat everything in one sitting. I mixed canned in as well initially because his fosters did that, but I didn't want to feed him canned for his life either. I honestly would put the food down, give him like 5-10 minutes max and if he didn't eat it, he didn't get his food bowl again until dinner. He probably had the routine down within a week or so. They learn quickly that if they don't eat in that allowed time, they'll not get food until the next feeding.

 

[dalmatiandoc17]

So I just calculated that I spend about $10/month on electricity to power all of my pets' ancillary heating devices. Talk about unexpected costs of pet ownership... It's mostly my diamond doves' heat lamp, so maybe this summer they I'll move them into the bedroom that gets nice and toasty due to the all day sun exposure instead of in the living room where the A/C keeps it freezing cold in order to get the temp over in the bedroom livable... of course then Katniss's incessant cooing might just keep me up all night... Anyone know of any good ways to keep birds warm that don't require too much electricity?

At my work we use heating pads on the back half of our bird cages and then cover the pads with blankets to insulate it a bit. We weren't battling an extremely cold room though, just trying to give a very plucked grey some warmth she was missing. I have no clue if that's going to be less electricity than your lamps, but I assume it could be.

Also TooLove and UFprevet, your birds are all super gorgeous!

 

[swingnsave]

I feed my dog in his crate because I live with 2 other dogs at school and one other at my parents' house (who is super food motivated and would totally try to steal my dog's food). When I first got my dog, he wouldn't eat everything in one sitting. I mixed canned in as well initially because his fosters did that, but I didn't want to feed him canned for his life either. I honestly would put the food down, give him like 5-10 minutes max and if he didn't eat it, he didn't get his food bowl again until dinner. He probably had the routine down within a week or so. They learn quickly that if they don't eat in that allowed time, they'll not get food until the next feeding.

Thanks orca! I'll definitely try that out

 

[Beagleholly]

Hi, I need some advice about dealing with a senior dog. He's started urinating ALL OVER THE HOUSE, but everything at the vet checked out normal. Basically, not much to do for him, since he's got other neurological signs of aging. I let him out CONSTANTLY, but he'll stand outside and "get lost" standing there, and then come inside, fall asleep, and empty his bladder. I've tried diapers, but he always gets them off. Any advice?

 

[orca2011]

Mowgli (agouti) and Solstice (tri-color) enjoying bath time together. This is one of the only times they get along. Although they actually behaved really well together during floor time and are currently sharing a cage pretty well together. I would love it if they could finally be friends and have a fun way of connecting their cages if they do.

 

[jmo1012]

Mowgli (agouti) and Solstice (tri-color) enjoying bath time together. This is one of the only times they get along. Although they actually behaved really well together during floor time and are currently sharing a cage pretty well together. I would love it if they could finally be friends and have a fun way of connecting their cages if they do.

THEY ARE SO CUTE!!!!!!! ahhh i <3 them

 

[that redhead]

Mowgli (agouti) and Solstice (tri-color) enjoying bath time together. This is one of the only times they get along. Although they actually behaved really well together during floor time and are currently sharing a cage pretty well together. I would love it if they could finally be friends and have a fun way of connecting their cages if they do.

Holy moley that is such an adorable picture! piggies!

 

[orca2011]

They have successfully shared a cage for almost a full day! Normally they would have been chattering away at each other by the time I woke up, but so far so good. I don't see any major tufts of hair in the cage either. it stays this way!

 

[ky261682]

Mowgli and Solstice are adorable!!! They look so small. Norbert was at 876 g last weight check 10 days ago. I suspect he's crossed 900g.

 

[orca2011]

Mowgli and Solstice are adorable!!! They look so small. Norbert was at 876 g last weight check 10 days ago. I suspect he's crossed 900g.

They're both pretty tiny pigs. The both usually fall between 900-920 g. Solstice is actually slightly larger than Mowgli.

And they're still sharing a cage well! I'm so excited.

 

[pooter]

Problem Dog rooted through my purse and won herself a date with the activated charcoal and SQ fluids in ES, all expenses paid (by me). Provided she's still fine in a few days, there's a sliiiight chance that she'll end up on Dog Shaming. *headdesk*

 

[Lab Rat83]

It took me a long time to keep this to myself until it was 100% official but I can't hold it in any longer and 95% is good enough.

Meet Odin (aka Cardross Going for the Gold). He just turned 4 weeks old this past weekend and he is a stunning blue merle smooth collie. If all goes well when my partner goes to meet him next weekend he will be coming home with us in 5 weeks. We've been waiting a long time for this little guy (almost 2 years) as we specifically wanted a smooth, male, blue merle collie from this breeder.

 

[jmo1012]

It took me a long time to keep this to myself until it was 100% official but I can't hold it in any longer and 95% is good enough.

Meet Odin (aka Cardross Going for the Gold). He just turned 4 weeks old this past weekend and he is a stunning blue merle smooth collie. If all goes well when my partner goes to meet him next weekend he will be coming home with us in 5 weeks. We've been waiting a long time for this little guy (almost 2 years) as we specifically wanted a smooth, male, blue merle collie from this breeder.

squeal hes so cute!!! may i ask where you are getting him from? my parents have a 2yo rough collie (and just lost their 3yo) and got them from different parts of northa america

 

[Lab Rat83]

squeal hes so cute!!! may i ask where you are getting him from? my parents have a 2yo rough collie (and just lost their 3yo) and got them from different parts of northa america

He's from Nova Scotia.

 

[BlackDog17]

You know you're becoming a crazy cat lady when you're house/apartment hunting and find yourself saying things like "Oh it's way too small, Julius would never be happy there" or "No windows? Poor cat would go nuts!"

Turns out my cat is a more high maintenance tenant than I am.

 

[UFprevet12]

You know you're becoming a crazy cat lady when you're house/apartment hunting and find yourself saying things like "Oh it's way too small, Julius would never be happy there" or "No windows? Poor cat would go nuts!"

Turns out my cat is a more high maintenance tenant than I am.

I couldn't agree more! It's all about my cats and birds and what would make them happy! Haha

 

[orca2011]

Ugh. My mom just sent me a picture and info about a 1 year old SF Pembroke Corgi from a breeder that my mom and I both liked based on her website. I haven't actually met her but she sounds reliable and I like how detailed the adoption paperwork is. Too bad we already have 3 dogs in the house and my mom's corgi isn't the best with other dogs.

 

[TooLove]

You know you're becoming a crazy cat lady when you're house/apartment hunting and find yourself saying things like "Oh it's way too small, Julius would never be happy there" or "No windows? Poor cat would go nuts!"

Turns out my cat is a more high maintenance tenant than I am.

I've been doing the same thing. The number of times I've said "oh, the bird will never go for that view" is getting to be ridiculous. I fell in love with one place, but it would be far too expensive without a roommate.

 

[ky261682]

You know you're becoming a crazy cat lady when you're house/apartment hunting and find yourself saying things like "Oh it's way too small, Julius would never be happy there" or "No windows? Poor cat would go nuts!"

Turns out my cat is a more high maintenance tenant than I am.

When my fiancé went to pick out a new car he brought the 3 cat carriers along to make sure there was room in the backseat. He got some strange looks

 

[Filly Bay]

When my fiancé went to pick out a new car he brought the 3 cat carriers along to make sure there was room in the backseat. He got some strange looks

Back in high school my mother chose her new SUV mostly based on how many rabbit carriers would fit in the back...sales person was slightly judging us. We traveled to rabbit shows almost every other weekend though!


Also, house hunting now. Keep finding myself saying, the cats would LOVE that window. or I think that would be a great area for the dog's things...

 

[BlackDog17]

I've been doing the same thing. The number of times I've said "oh, the bird will never go for that view" is getting to be ridiculous. I fell in love with one place, but it would be far too expensive without a roommate.

Yep, I know that feel. I got it into my head that I would love to have my own little house or cabin, since the only thing I don't like about my current place is the lack of privacy. There are tons of great little places, but they're all juuuuusst out of my price range. Like, if heat was included I could afford them, but given how cold this winter has been there's no way I could afford to heat a house myself. Sucks.

 

[Rainheart]

It took me a long time to keep this to myself until it was 100% official but I can't hold it in any longer and 95% is good enough.

Meet Odin (aka Cardross Going for the Gold). He just turned 4 weeks old this past weekend and he is a stunning blue merle smooth collie. If all goes well when my partner goes to meet him next weekend he will be coming home with us in 5 weeks. We've been waiting a long time for this little guy (almost 2 years) as we specifically wanted a smooth, male, blue merle collie from this breeder.

Looks like a fantastic breeder, congrats! It always warms my heart when people take the time to search out the reputable ones.

 

[TooLove]

Yep, I know that feel. I got it into my head that I would love to have my own little house or cabin, since the only thing I don't like about my current place is the lack of privacy. There are tons of great little places, but they're all juuuuusst out of my price range. Like, if heat was included I could afford them, but given how cold this winter has been there's no way I could afford to heat a house myself. Sucks.

Ugh totally. I need heat to be included

 

[WillowLeaf]

I'm looking for advice about my cat and a cat I'm thinking of adopting. My cat is very chill and I think I can successfully introduce him to this other very chill cat, but my main concern is how to control their meals. My current cat has some health problems, has trouble keeping the weight on, and wants to snack instead of eat in meals. So I have to leave out some food for him during the day and at night to make sure he gets enough and doesn't lose more weight. The cat I want to adopt is a bit chubby and I'm worried she'll eat all my cat's food while I'm gone/asleep, and then I'll have one skinny cat and one very overweight cat.

Does anyone have experience using automatic pet doors? I've heard that suggested for situations like this, so that the cats can have their food in a cage or a room and the door/flap will only open for the right cat. Any opinions on whether that works, or if the doors are at all dangerous for cats?

 

[TooLove]

I'm looking for advice about my cat and a cat I'm thinking of adopting. My cat is very chill and I think I can successfully introduce him to this other very chill cat, but my main concern is how to control their meals. My current cat has some health problems, has trouble keeping the weight on, and wants to snack instead of eat in meals. So I have to leave out some food for him during the day and at night to make sure he gets enough and doesn't lose more weight. The cat I want to adopt is a bit chubby and I'm worried she'll eat all my cat's food while I'm gone/asleep, and then I'll have one skinny cat and one very overweight cat.

Does anyone have experience using automatic pet doors? I've heard that suggested for situations like this, so that the cats can have their food in a cage or a room and the door/flap will only open for the right cat. Any opinions on whether that works, or if the doors are at all dangerous for cats?

One of our docs recommends building a wooden box with an opening small enough for the one cat to get in but not large enough for the bigger cat. Obviously you'd need the cats to have a decent size difference for this to work.

 

[BlackDog17]

The vet I used to work for recommended Meowspace (http://meowspace.biz/) a lot. One of our clients used them for her three cats and had fantastic success - the fat cats got thinner, the thin cat got fatter without being bullied away from the food all the time, and everyone eventually reached their ideal weight. In your case you'd probably only need one box for the skinny cat, and she would wear a collar with a special magnet that would open the door. They're a bit on the expensive side but if you know anyone who's good at building things I don't think it would be very hard to build your own out of plexiglass and a cat door.

 

[orca2011]

Ten days later, Mowgli and Solstice are still sharing a cage!

 

[EngrSC]

I'm looking for advice about my cat and a cat I'm thinking of adopting. My cat is very chill and I think I can successfully introduce him to this other very chill cat, but my main concern is how to control their meals. My current cat has some health problems, has trouble keeping the weight on, and wants to snack instead of eat in meals. So I have to leave out some food for him during the day and at night to make sure he gets enough and doesn't lose more weight. The cat I want to adopt is a bit chubby and I'm worried she'll eat all my cat's food while I'm gone/asleep, and then I'll have one skinny cat and one very overweight cat.

Does anyone have experience using automatic pet doors? I've heard that suggested for situations like this, so that the cats can have their food in a cage or a room and the door/flap will only open for the right cat. Any opinions on whether that works, or if the doors are at all dangerous for cats?

I have a similar scenario in my house - an obese cat who needs to lose weight and a skinnier cat who needs to put on weight. My obese cat (who's lost 3 pounds) eats all of her food in 1 sitting whereas the skinny cat likes to graze 24/7. Our fat cat isn't very agile and we discovered she can't get up on our bathroom counter. We leave the skinny cat's food out for her all day and night on the counter and she grazes at her convenience ... and there's not a darn thing our fat cat can do about it!

 

[WillowLeaf]

The vet I used to work for recommended Meowspace (http://meowspace.biz/) a lot. One of our clients used them for her three cats and had fantastic success - the fat cats got thinner, the thin cat got fatter without being bullied away from the food all the time, and everyone eventually reached their ideal weight. In your case you'd probably only need one box for the skinny cat, and she would wear a collar with a special magnet that would open the door. They're a bit on the expensive side but if you know anyone who's good at building things I don't think it would be very hard to build your own out of plexiglass and a cat door.

That looks amazing! I could probably build one out of a wire cage, because my apartment gets a bit warm in the summer and the plexiglass might get stuffy and too warm.

Also, this picture made me laugh:

Poor cat sitting there watching...

I have a similar scenario in my house - an obese cat who needs to lose weight and a skinnier cat who needs to put on weight. My obese cat (who's lost 3 pounds) eats all of her food in 1 sitting whereas the skinny cat likes to graze 24/7. Our fat cat isn't very agile and we discovered she can't get up on our bathroom counter. We leave the skinny cat's food out for her all day and night on the counter and she grazes at her convenience ... and there's not a darn thing our fat cat can do about it!

That's a good idea! I'm not sure how far the chubby kitty can jump, but my skinny one is great at getting up on super high shelves. I think I'll have to add a non-slip pad under his bowl, though, or he would push it over the edge.

One of our docs recommends building a wooden box with an opening small enough for the one cat to get in but not large enough for the bigger cat. Obviously you'd need the cats to have a decent size difference for this to work.

That's a great idea, too. There's probably enough of a difference in circumference, at least...

Yay, I have several options to try out! Thanks for the speedy and helpful advice, all!

 

[MeowSpace]

The vet I used to work for recommended Meowspace (http://meowspace.biz/) a lot. One of our clients used them for her three cats and had fantastic success - the fat cats got thinner, the thin cat got fatter without being bullied away from the food all the time, and everyone eventually reached their ideal weight. In your case you'd probably only need one box for the skinny cat, and she would wear a collar with a special magnet that would open the door. They're a bit on the expensive side but if you know anyone who's good at building things I don't think it would be very hard to build your own out of plexiglass and a cat door.

 

[BlackDog17]

I have no idea what just happened . . . . Hi there, Meowspace.

 

[Rainheart]

Invisible fence collars could be an option to keep the cat who needs to lose weight out of a certain area in the house. They've really become innovative in some of the technology they offer nowadays besides just fences!

 

[wolfspeaker]

The vet I used to work for recommended Meowspace (http://meowspace.biz/) a lot. One of our clients used them for her three cats and had fantastic success - the fat cats got thinner, the thin cat got fatter without being bullied away from the food all the time, and everyone eventually reached their ideal weight. In your case you'd probably only need one box for the skinny cat, and she would wear a collar with a special magnet that would open the door. They're a bit on the expensive side but if you know anyone who's good at building things I don't think it would be very hard to build your own out of plexiglass and a cat door.

Hey @StartingoverVet
http://meowspace.biz/

Keep your IG's out of the cat food/litter?

 

[orca2011]

I have no idea what just happened . . . . Hi there, Meowspace.

Yeah...that was a little weird.

 

[orca2011]

Does anyone use a glucosamine chondroitin supplement for their dog? If so, what do you use?

I think I want to start my dog on some since I think he has a little bit of crepitus in his carpi and a luxating patella. I've used Glycoflex in the past, but I'm worried he has a beef allergy (he was super itchy when I last fed him beef treats but it may have been seasonal allergies too...haven't tested beef with him yet) but I don't want to buy a whole bag of them and then not be able to use them.

 

[Rainheart]

Does anyone use a glucosamine chondroitin supplement for their dog? If so, what do you use?

I think I want to start my dog on some since I think he has a little bit of crepitus in his carpi and a luxating patella. I've used Glycoflex in the past, but I'm worried he has a beef allergy (he was super itchy when I last fed him beef treats but it may have been seasonal allergies too...haven't tested beef with him yet) but I don't want to buy a whole bag of them and then not be able to use them.

I use Synovi G4's which I think has Poultry in it (the G3's had beef). I like them (though my guy is only 3 so it is more of a preventative thing).

 

[epivetlove]

@orca2011, I do! I use it for my soon-to-be 8-year old Dobe. He has fairly advanced arthritic changes in his left hip, so I started him on the Dasuquin with MSM soft chews. I'm not really sure I've seen a difference, to be honest. I wouldn't have known he was arthritic if I hadn't had his hips x-rayed. I can get them at cost, so the price isn't too bad and we've finished the "loading dose," so he's only on 1 chew a day now. If I wasn't able to get them at cost or if he was a bigger dog, I'd probably discontinue it or pick a cheaper alternative.

 

[orca2011]

I use Synovi G4's which I think has Poultry in it (the G3's had beef). I like them (though my guy is only 3 so it is more of a preventative thing).

@orca2011, I do! I use it for my soon-to-be 8-year old Dobe. He has fairly advanced arthritic changes in his left hip, so I started him on the Dasuquin with MSM soft chews. I'm not really sure I've seen a difference, to be honest. I wouldn't have known he was arthritic if I hadn't had his hips x-rayed. I can get them at cost, so the price isn't too bad and we've finished the "loading dose," so he's only on 1 chew a day now. If I wasn't able to get them at cost or if he was a bigger dog, I'd probably discontinue it or pick a cheaper alternative.

Sweet. I'll check into both. I don't think he's been particularly slow at rising or slowing down or anything, but he is potentially older than 5 years, so I figured what the heck. He's also only ~14kg, so hopefully cost won't be too bad and a single container will last me a while.

 

[epivetlove]

Yeah, I just checked chewy.com (where I have to order my cat's food since no where around here sells it) and you can get a 84-count bag of chews for less than $45. For my dog, that would be about $0.50 a day, which actually isn't too bad. If they're under 60lbs, I believe it's just 1 chew a day, even during the loading dose period. But don't quote me on that. I know he enjoys them and is very energetic, especially given his age and hip issues. I'm hoping it's helping.

 

[dyachei]

Dasuquin used to give vet students a free bottle if you contacted them