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-   -   Team-BHPians and their Pets (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/et-cetera/1153-team-bhpians-their-pets-203.html)

The Beagle!
Fantastic looking dog indeed.
May he grow big, strong and tough...

I would say always that you should give a puppy calcium supplements for one year, regardless of the diet.
This is the time their bones require strengthening.
Calcium plus good exercise guarantees this.

What a lovely photo! :)

But beware of balls of string, wool, etc as playthings: dogs or cats can swallow an end --- and swallow, and swallow, and swallow. nasty mess for a vet to sort out!

Hi fellow TBHPians,

New to the family here, and was just going through the forums when I happened to stumble upon this thread. Must say, this is totally turning out to be a wonderful experience, never expected to find a Pets thread ! Glad to know there are so many pet lovers like me here clap: . Posting a few pics of my best Friend Teah, she's a one year and ten months old Rottweiler. :)

Actually we thought of this but stuck with two questions :

1. Is it not ethically wrong to neuter him ? I mean aren't we depriving him of his right ? getting him a partner is a different thing though.

2. What is the right age to get him neutered ? How complicated is the process ? Is it painful and what is the recovery period ? After effects if any ?

We are more worried on the second point since none of us have any pet handling background.

At the end of the day we only want him to lead a happy healthy life.


Shankar Sir, he does lot of running, playing fetch, tug of war and we take him through the stairs regularly. Any other exercises apart from the above ?

Please pour in your valuable suggestions.

Lovely! It is always a pleasure to know anyone who plays a lot with their dogs. I think the exercise you give your dog is great!

Neutering is a perfectly acceptable practice and a safe process when done at a first class vet's place. Ideally you should do it before the dog reaches 1.5 years because after that it can become difficult.

Thank you Sir :) I will talk to my parents and the vet. Hope it all goes well :)

I'll try to clear your doubts here.

A lot of people face this question. Nothing new. I'll start by saying this - Remember that bringing an animal into your home itself is bad, going by that definition :D. Now, once the animal is your pet, it is your responsibility. Agreed. What happens if
- by accidental mating, he contracts some STDs or other diseases?
- he runs away from home in a bid to get it done with?
Both of those risks are your responsibility too, if you leave him unneutered.

Neutering does not do anything to him at all. You are just removing the strong mating instinct and allowing him to be his normal self. He will be the same dog he always was, minus the urge to 'do' it. It will also help in prolonging life expectancy, since like I mentioned before, you are effectively eliminating one of the main reasons for death in old male dogs - testicular cancer.

In my opinion, every responsible pet owner should get his/her dog neutered or spayed. Many people breed dogs for fun, for money, or just because their children enjoy playing with puppies. Sometimes litters are created accidentally (by unneutered dogs and strays), and all these homeless pups then go on to add to stray population. Breeding pedigreed breeds is best left to breeders, pet owners shouldn't be doing it. If they aren't going to do it, there is no reason why the pet should feel 'suppressed' throughout lifetime. Neutering your pet allows him to lead a wholesome life with your family, without allowing his territorial/breeding instincts to interfere with his behaviour.

Right age to get him neutered - anytime after 4-5 months of age. I disagree with shankar sir on the <1.5 year restriction. Dogs even as old as 5 years can be neutered, it is the same process no matter how old the dog is. It is just that neutering at an earlier age is more beneficial than if done later.

How complicated is it? - the whole neutering surgery probably takes 2 hours for a male. Spay surgery is more complicated (that's for females). You will have to setup a session with your vet for this. He will administer antibiotics (tablets) a day or two prior to surgery. The surgery will be done under GA (anesthesia) and the pet will be allowed to rest until he recovers consciousness in a few hours. You can then take him home and allow him to rest for the next 3-4 days. I strongly suggest you take leave and stay at home during these 3-4 days, or work from home if you have that option.

Is it painful and recovery period? - It is done under GA, so he won't feel any pain as such during the surgery. Yes the wound will pain slightly when it is healing but it will only be for 3-4 days. Recovery period - whole process from surgery to normalcy is 1 week. He will have to avoid jumping, running fast, etc for a few weeks to ensure the stitched wound is not disturbed.

After-effects if any - none. You will be asked to continue the antibiotic tablets for 3-4 days after the surgery to prevent any infections. Logically, nothing should happen.

Do consult with your vet and discuss with him. Always do such procedures at a reputed vet's hospital or clinic. In case you are curious to know the cost, it would approximately come to 4000 bucks or so for a male. Marginally more expensive for a female.

It won't be any difficult thing. The only thing you should do is prevent him from licking that stitch wound - don't allow him to be alone or else he will be tempted to do that. The dog will be tempted to lick it when that healing wound starts itching for him. Also, yes, avoid strenuous activities for 10-15 days after the surgery. Finish his nature's calls as closeby to home as possible and get back, especially during the first few days.

Neutering will ensure exactly this :)

Chill.... here is some adult talk, but need of the hour.

The veterinarian makes a tiny incision in the skin just in front of the testicles ;). The testicles are then slid up under the skin and removed through this little slit. The skin is sutured with three to five stitches. Your dog is then allowed to wake from the anesthesia and to rest overnight — either at the veterinarian’s office or at your home — after the surgery.

There is no chance of stitches getting broken as such, it is quite a loose skin there :D

You are not depriving your dog from any rights. He will hardly get to mate once or twice even if you dont get him neutered.

Guys,

I think this is the right place to ask the question I have in mind.

I am a dog lover ever since I was born, have had dogs of various breeds, mostly adopted pups from streets. My favourite was Jimmy, around 25 yrs back and he used to take me for a ride on him as soon as I used to sit and hold his ears. I can't forget him, ever !! Later there was an incident where I lost 2 of my dogs in a year and thats where I stopped. The urge never died though and I have been planning to bring one home since quite sometime.

The problem : We both(me & my wife) work and are out for atleast 8 hours everyday and no one's home. I wanted to take inputs from people here who might be facing a similar situation and found a resolution. I would not want to leave him/her to my apartment guard's mercy everyday - that's definitely out.

Its a long post, so...

My pet which is a street is now a fully grown 4 year old female. Has been pampered to the extreme by my parents.

I am listing the problems

# She doesn't get herself vaccinated. I had asked earlier as well, but... The moment she sees the vet, she is so hyper that you can't tame her & she won't get that shot. Vet being a vet has tried everything he could, but to no avail.

Can we make her unconscious & give the shots? Any concerns?

# She tends to be aggressive at times. She isn't chained. Walks, eats, sleeps on her whim & fancy. You can't force anything on her, even if it is for her good. Has never been out of the campus. And that means never been in contact with any dog.

# For the past 6 months or so, she starts to bark when the other dogs bark outside. Earlier she never paid any attention. Her barking has become much frequent. On almost anyone whom she doesn't like.

Else she is like any normal pet. Darling to everyone. You come home just to see how happy she is to see you. You wake up & she will be all over you. Though nowadays due to winter she sleeps for good 16 - 18 hours :D

We always love & care for her, never been harsh. Nor is she given any punishment & once or twice whenever someone tries to give her some form of punishment (most likely been locking all doors by not letting her in or out) someone or the other gives up soon :p

Is it normal? Any measure to bye-pass this behavior?

Thanks :-)

P.s - Any post which deals in taking the pet in a Car? Please share the link.

My GSD Ran out last night and there are a lot of strays all around my colony. I stay in Teacher's colony. Last I saw him was chasing a stray with all his horse power. Took out my bike and looked all around in the locality at 1am in the night. My GF called to inform she got him near the house. After I returned back, saw blood stains all over the ground. On inspecting, found he has scratched his front paws by running, jumping, fighting and I dont know what.

He is a very strong Male and always looks to pin down the strays. Except for the paws, I did not find any other cuts in his bodies, but I will not even know, since he is a double coat GSD.

Now, I am new to this area and dont know any vets around. People staying around HSR and Teacher's Colony please let me know if there is a good vet who could visit ZOZO home and cure for his wounds. Due to job commitment, I cant take a leave in this week and do not want to wait for the weekend until he gets some infection.

I was just wondering, what if one of the strays had rabies and he got in contact with my GSD during a fight? As far as I know him, he would have fought with all the strays he could meet. He had his dream come true last night.

Hey Buddy, do not worry as I have first hand experience in this. As far as the dog is not a puppy, it isn't a problem leaving them alone. As soon as they are more than 2 years old, it is just fine to keep them at house while you are at office. I have a hyper active Male GSD, but he is very fine from past 2 years being alone at home. I have flexibility to go to office anytime I want, so I try to keep him alone as least as possible.

When my dog was a puppy, my husband and I scheduled our work hours so that she was alone at home only for an hour or so each day. If you have flexible work time or can work from home, this will work.
Do you have family/ friends in the city who can watch your dog while you're at work? There are day care centers for dogs in some cities, but that might prove to be expensive.
If you work for yourself, you could take the dog to the office with you. I do, and she's a great stress-buster:)

Himalaya has a product called Anxocare that helps calm excitable dogs. I used it to calm my dog on Diwali and it worked well. Please consult your vet before you give it to your dog. I take my dog in my car every day, she loves it! If your dog is not used to the car, I suggest you take her for short rides to start with. Feed her a treat when she gets into the car on command. Feed her another one at the end of the ride, she'll grow used to it in time. I use a bench seat protector to protect my car's seats, you can buy it online or use a bedsheet.

Here is my current setup. Finally managed to add fish stage by stage. Now I have blue morph, tiger barb, angelfish, a rainbow shark, and a zebra morph.

She isn't anxious, but very hyper. And I don't want any medication to stop it. I just want her to be calm with us.

Shall try this out, though won't the Car's interior get spoiled?

We defer a lot of travel plans just because someone has to stay with her. The day when all 4 of us (mom, dad, me & wife) decide to go out for a dinner, everyone knows no one is home. She cries that bad. Can't go to any wedding because of her.

Thanks for your suggestions hooloovoo :thumbs up

You're welcome. If she's just hyper, I suggest you give her a good, long workout to tire her out before she sees the vet/ gets in the car. Tired dogs are calm dogs. It also sounds like she has separation anxiety. A workout before you leave will help with that as well. You could also give her something to do while you're gone, like fill a Kong toy with treats that she needs to work to get out.
About the car - yes, it will get dirty, but it's nothing that a good vacuum and wipe down won't take care of. Besides, the dirt is offset by the joy of taking your pet along on vacation:) We take ours on all our holidays and it's really good fun.