Sister got a dog....Update

Buttonmoons

Ok so I went to my mums earlier, to drop my little one off as I was having a driving lesson and came back and my sister is now the owner of a dog :-/

She's been wanting one for ages, but she seems to totally miss the fact that she is unemployed, has no monies etc etc etc.

Anyways, the dog is 4, almost 5, and some sort of small collie. My sister said the woman who had the dog kept it in the kitchen and walked it once round the block a day - this will be why it's a wee bit fat.

Also, it's in season :eek: Who keeps a dog till almost 5 and doesn't get it done, heaven forbid. So that will need sorted when it goes out of season, my sister is under the impression PDSA pay for it all, I told her she was highly misguided as they still want SOME money for doing - which no doubt, mug me will pay for!

It's rear end was overly long, matted frizzy and disgusting, so I sat and trimmed it all with scissors, looks much better anyways. Were do dogs go to get prof clipped - vets or dog parlour? I think it's fine now and will buy a furminator for them to use.

Told her she will need to get it a check up anyways, the woman said all its vaccs were upto date but the card wasnt provided so WHO KNOWS, apparently she used the PDSA for the dog, so it could be on record (hopefully!)

It's fed on bakers :eek: and it's poops are very runny, not sure if that's the stress of leaving it's owners or what but what type of food would be best for her? Muggins me will no doubt be buying this also.

In all the negatives off it, it will be loved where it is, it's now got a poop stain free back end, a big house (not a small messy dirty flat) to roam in, an enclosed back garden and they live literally a 10min walk from a beautiful beach. It's a lovely lovely dog, walks with a halti as it does pull, very good with the kids (my daughter was there and my younger sister is 8) kept bringing them its ball to play fetch, whilst it is a bit fat it just picks at it's food throughout the day so not in anyway food possessive, though it did pinch a tuna sarnie off the worktop :rotfl:


Is there anything else that needs to be done? (Besides a vet checkup next week when her season finishes) Will need to buy her some toys as she came with 1 raggy ball.

nonnatus

Oh, That's a good looking dog!

But it won't be cheap to get things done properly :cool:.

Well done you for cleaning up her rear-end and tidying the fur - the picture shows her rump end is quite glossy so you did a great job! Keep a good grooming routine up and those problems won't return.

Get her registered at a vet is the next thing and is going to cost.
If you don't have a vaccination record card, the vet could do a blood test to check for vaccine levels but I suspect if the dog hasn't been spayed, it hasn't had jabs either! The vet will also be able to tell you if she's had puppies before and will recommend spaying. PDSA may be able to help but it won't be free!!

Her having a runny tummy could be due to the stress of the move but equally she could have worms (so son't let her kiss and lick any kids until you're sure...) and collie's have notoriously sensitive stomachs at the best of times. Ask the vet to recommend a decent quality food and then mix it slowly and gradually with the Bakers. Don't just suddenly give her a bowl of new stuff as that will likely make things worse.

I think YOU have landed yourself a load of trouble, but I think the DOG is sooooo lucky to have been found by you...:T

krlyr

CSJ is quite a good budget food, and as is Autarky salmon (the chicken flavour uses slightly less ideal ingredients). Someone on here recently posted to say they switched from cheap supermarket own-brand tins to Autarky salmon and despite the initial splurge, less needs to be fed per day so it's working out cheaper to feed. Better quality food is more easily digested/utilised so generally less of it needs to be fed - so don't just look at the price of food, but the value of it.
She doesn't look overly fat in that photo but if she hasn't been walked she will lack muscle tone which can give a 'flabby' look to it. I would say a vet checkup and then a slow introduction to exercise, going straight into long walks could put a lot of strain on an unfit body. I would be tempted to treat her like a puppy and start with 5 minute walks, then 10 minute, 15, etc. - if she'll swim in the sea then I imagine that will help build muscle without too much impact on her joints too

Fire_Fox

I thought the PDSA had changed their rules on new pets? You might switch over slowly to a raw diet, this can be cheaper than high meat commercial foods and eliminates the grains that can be the cause of runny poops and weight problems. Alternatively any wet canned food at all will have a lower grain content/ higher animal protein content than Bakers. IMO you need to harass the old owner for the vaccine card, when the dog was last de-flead and wormed and what with. The runny bum might be an untreated bacterial or parasite infection given that the flat was dirty, might not be the food.

Buttonmoons

I think PDSA let you have 2 animals registered with them. I am also entitled to use them because I recieve a small amount of HB, but have never used them with my cats, I just have insurance and take them to my vets as and when.

The previous owner said the dog was registered at the PDSA (and there is only 1 in Aberdeen) my sister has the previous owners address and details, and the dogs name, so what I might do is when I pop out there in an hour, is give them a ring and see if she is on record and work from that.

It did just get brief walks when here, but as my mum has quite a large garden the dog has been bombing around like a puppy with its little ball.

I have suggested they give the dog some raw chicken legs etc, even if it's just to give it's teeth a good clean. I will no doubt have to take my sister with the dog to the vets so everything gets done properly, my sister is 18 but with the mind of a 12 year old - :eek:

Yeah getting her wormed and de flead will be happening ASAP. I only know it's frontline/advantage for cats, is it the same for dogs?

No she's not too fat actually just a lot thicker in the middle than she should be, she looks a bit like a log shape rather than having any defination back there.

Buttonmoons

Oh, and the previous owner apparently said wet food goes straight through her but could of been pedigree chum for all we know. Is it chappie tins that are quite decent? ....

Dogs are a lot of work haha.

heartbreak_star

What a pretty dog! Mine looks like that but with white patches.

When ours had runny poo we fed her on cooked chicken chunks and white rice for a bit, then re-introduced her Wagg food.

HBS x

krlyr

I wouldn't call Chappie decent, it's very high in cereals, but for some reason it just seems to suit a lot of dogs' stomachs! Cereals are often a common culprit of food intolerances so a better quality food with less cereals (e.g. something potato-based perhaps) can often help.

For flea/worming, mine are treated with Advocate (needs a prescription) monthly and then Drontal/Cestem every 6 months. This regime covers lungworm, so try to establish whether that's a risk in your area or not (it's been quite prevalent in the South East so I want to make sure my two are covered for it)

Fire_Fox

Please don't de-flea until you know when they were last treated, you can overdose the dog. With the resistance in the flea population to certain treatments you can't be sure they haven't been treated even if they have fleas at present.

Bakers dry is very high in carbohydrates (cereals/ grains), whereas most tinned foods will be much higher in animal protein (meat/ animal derivatives) and the enzymes needed to digest these are different. The key is to switch slowly over a few weeks to allow the body time to adjust, just adding in a chicken leg or going straight over to canned is likely to cause the runs. Chappie canned is considered to be gentle by many vets and is reasonably priced but really any canned is better than Bakers long term.

Carrie80

Just wanted to say well done for giving the dog so much love and attention.

With regards to food - I can recommend Lathams, it's sold in Tesco's and is good quality but relatively cheap compared to most brands £20 for 7.5kg and a couple of times a year they sell it half price (which is when I bulk buy). I have a 4 year old collie x and she's never had an upset stomach on it (she didn't like IAMs or Arden Grange). Worming tablets bought in Tesco's also do the job, she's never had a problem. I do use Frontline for fleas and ticks though. Hope that will help you save a few pennies.

Shepherd1

krlyr wrote: »

I wouldn't call Chappie decent, it's very high in cereals, but for some reason it just seems to suit a lot of dogs' stomachs! Cereals are often a common culprit of food intolerances so a better quality food with less cereals (e.g. something potato-based perhaps) can often help.

For flea/worming, mine are treated with Advocate (needs a prescription) monthly and then Drontal/Cestem every 6 months. This regime covers lungworm, so try to establish whether that's a risk in your area or not (it's been quite prevalent in the South East so I want to make sure my two are covered for it)

Sorry to butt in on the thread, but you have me worried now. I only use advocate as I thought it covered worms. Is this wrong?