Dog Community

Posted : 3/23/2007 2:43:01 PM

Ours usually have the option of being either indoors or outdoors. If the weather is good they choose outdoors most of the time when we aren't home particularly if the school next door is in session. Tasha, the Golden Retriever/Chow almost always chooses outdoors even when the weather is bad.

sallya

Posted : 3/23/2007 3:43:34 PM

I grew up with only indoor pets that ate dog food and good people food. Food we eat is very good for them, just depends what you give them, no junk of course. Healthful food is great. Our pets lived long lives, had great vets. I am SO glad my parents taught me to be a good caregiver. I got my love of dogs and birds from my Dad.

jenns

Posted : 3/23/2007 7:22:13 PM

ORIGINAL: sillysally

A big part of me says that if we really believed what we were writing on these posts, we would stick our dogs outside for the rest of their lives, never use a leash again, never go to the vet again, never bother with training, go out and buy the 50 lb bag of Uncle Bob's Discount Kibble and start throwing our dogs plenty of scrapes full of cooked bones. Who's first? []

Not me, that's for sure!

.There is nothing wrong with giving dogs more exercise and outside time, but I think when people remember "the good old days" they often fail to remember the negatives, some of which are pretty significant, of these situations.

So true. Dogs depend on us for their wellbeing, and keeping them outside all flea and tick ridden with cooked splintered bones and denying them medical care is really not putting the odds in their favor in my opinion, regardless of what my father in law says [

]

So true!

ottoluv

Posted : 3/23/2007 7:43:32 PM

Can someone link me up to some more information on Thimerosal, particularly vaccine companies that do or do not use it and why its bad? There are a LOT of things they don't teach you in vet school. I've never even heard of it before!

Thimerosal is a vaccine preservative which hasn't been used in human vaccines since 2004, not because it doesn anything, because multiple well done studies have shown no association between it and autism, but because of public worry. I have no idea if it's in pet vaccines, but it doesn't appear to be. I think that is old information.

Since the diagnosis of autism was on the rise, and it is definately a disease that we would love to conquer a lot of research has gone into looking at possible causes. Thimerosal did not pan out as a contributor, here are the recent important papers in this area from multiple peer reviewed journals.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=17295806&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=17295805&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=17270110&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=17237965&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=17168158&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=17168157&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum

janet_rose

Posted : 3/23/2007 8:37:58 PM

Thimerosal is a vaccine preservative which hasn't been used in human vaccines since 2004, not because it doesn anything, because multiple well done studies have shown no association between it and autism, but because of public worry. I have no idea if it's in pet vaccines, but it doesn't appear to be. I think that is old information.

Thimerosal contains mercury. I don't want mercury (a neurotoxin) IN ANY FORM put into any pet I own.

My sister and I both react to topical solutions that contain Thimerosal.

I can't give a list of what pet vaccines still use Thimerosal as a preservative, but I know that Fort Dodge still uses it in at least some vaccines. Here is an example:
[linkhttp://www.agri-med.com/site/255063/product/DURMM_MAX5-CVK_25]http://www.agri-med.com/site/255063/product/DURMM_MAX5-CVK_25[/link]
"Duramune® Max 5-CvK
... Gentamicin and thimerosal added as preservatives.

Ask before you let someone give your pet a vaccine!!

Edie

Posted : 3/23/2007 9:22:55 PM

The "good ol days" wernt that different to today for my dogs.I dont know how old some of you are,i'm in my late thirties. Our dogs were always vaccinated,spayed/neutered,had a doggy door to come and go as they pleased(fenced yard),but chose to be mostly inside with us,got walked daily,had homecooked food and raw bones,we knew not to give cooked bones and they slept on our beds.

sillysally

Posted : 3/24/2007 2:44:25 AM

ORIGINAL: sandra_slayton

Did you live on a freeway? one of our English Setters was run over--in our dirt driveway by a guy bringing in fence posts (we had sold the place to him) and he didn't see mack. But it didn't kill him and he hunted several more years--was about 11 when run over.

Now i agree that if you have dogs you keep outside it is better to have two. My girls spend a lot of time in the back yard (6 foot wood privacy fence, dogs on each side and behind us) and it is their choice. The old man prefers to be inside most of the time.Several months of the year we don't need AC or heat and i leave the back door open so they can come and go as they please. They are on the patio in the shade as i wirte this. The old man is on the bed watching me.

I also think if you keep dogs outside you need to have a secure fence, lots of shade, large pans of water, etc. And i do believe some breeds of dogs do not enjoy being in a house all that much.

The barn is near a highway, but only Willie died there. Puff Daddy was hit twice on the same road (country road) and the wolf hybrid puppy was backed over in the barn's parking area.

sandra_slayton

Posted : 3/24/2007 3:27:11 AM

That is sad about the dogs getting run over. I hit my brothers dog once--he could jump the fence and was cutting ac ross the street to get ahead of me. Upset me so bad even tho he wasn't hurt much, just a little road rash

The road we lived on when i was growing up --dirt for years, finally coated with black top, no gravel tho--had so little traffic on it(only a few houses/farms on down the road) that we played out in it --was tree lined with honey suckle growing on fences and up trees, lots of black berry vines growing wild there also. AFter we sold that place we did live on a highway--only 2 lane and I could ride the mile to my cousins riight down the middle of the road and never have to move for a car.

Hubby Wonders....