# Economy and poodles



## Raiko (Aug 26, 2009)

So how is the economical crisis effecting everyones ability to take care of their dogs? And if it continues to go in the downward spiral what will you do? And if you know of any money saving tips post them here aswell.


----------



## roxy25 (Dec 18, 2008)

Raiko said:


> So how is the economical crisis effecting everyones ability to take care of their dogs? And if it continues to go in the downward spiral what will you do? And if you know of any money saving tips post them here aswell.


Well It has been hard for my sister since she can not find job openings for vet tech. So she has to work at that groomer downtown part time. We can not go to too many shows because of it and she always needs help with his food. I will probably go halves with her if Enzo needs medical attention.

As for my self I pretty much stopped my aquarium hobby. It taken a lot of money from me. I took down my tank and I have been having so much money lately because of it lol 

I bought a pretty good fuel economy car so gas has been a breeze. my bf is going to sell his monte carlo for a hybrid so he will also start saving money.

I am using a bog fee wavier so I do not have to pay for my classes. 

The only thing i still spend money on is my hair LOL


----------



## Raiko (Aug 26, 2009)

Yeah I had to end my Aquaria aswell.. which was sad for me because I had 6 aquariums going in my basement. I had a spare bedroom that I lined with stands I made in wood shop. But I couldnt afford to keep up with my fish anymore. I didnt use filters though.

Idk if this will help you but if you get a bucket two pond pumps and some hose you can make a biological filter. I put lucky bamboo in the bucket, it kept my tanks reaaally clean. and as long as the water is moving the roots wont rot. 


Also the common houseplant Phylodendron will grow in aquaria as long as its leaves are above the water and Pothos will grow completely submerged. Ive been helping my ex gf get an aquarium set up and we went to homedepot and bought a pothos plant and a phylodendron for $10 total, then we cut the plants at the nodes and planted them in the tank, saved alot of money on plants for bio filtering. Fish wont eat pothos either cuz it tastes bitter. 

I think you can also buy large amounts of lucky bamboo at HD too, but I never tried it.
My problem was I had mostly natural tanks.. so in the spring I would go out, catch some fry in the lake at our vacation house and grow them in our fish tank. Blue gill are awsome pets, as soon as they realise you have the food they will leap out of the water and take pelets out of your hand. Bass are neat too but... they get big too fast. Once I even had a needle nosed gar.. he was awsome. I had a blue crawfish too and tadpolls but when he got big he would eat the plants before they could grow.

I only had one tank that had non captured fish, it had a black knife fish, some cory cats, a few needle fish, and a few clown loaches.


----------



## roxy25 (Dec 18, 2008)

Raiko said:


> Yeah I had to end my Aquaria aswell.. which was sad for me because I had 6 aquariums going in my basement. I had a spare bedroom that I lined with stands I made in wood shop. But I couldnt afford to keep up with my fish anymore. I didnt use filters though.
> 
> Idk if this will help you but if you get a bucket two pond pumps and some hose you can make a biological filter. I put lucky bamboo in the bucket, it kept my tanks reaaally clean. and as long as the water is moving the roots wont rot.
> 
> ...


One problem with what you suggested is I have a reef aquarium lol 

I never used filters either I used live rock. I was using Metal Halide lighting ( which cost so freaking much on the light bill) I was once like you in where I has about 4 set ups but those days are gone. 

I lost most of my corals because of nudibranches !!!!!!


----------



## Raiko (Aug 26, 2009)

Yeah... aquariums are so beautiful to look at it was a real bummer to have to give up all my aquarium stuff. When I transfer schools I might start a fishtank in my dorm room, but nothing bigger than a 20gal will fit in there, but at least its something. 

The only pet I have right now is wasps lol... yes there is a such thing as having a pet wasp nest.. or at least if there isnt maybe I'll be the first haha.


I found a queen wasp outside when the snow was melting so I captured her and she started a nest in the tank. She ate out of my hand and I never got stung, it really gave me some insite in how wasps work too, they are more curious than aggressive.


----------



## Purple Poodle (May 5, 2008)

Living in a small town its hit me pretty hard. I am going to have to stop rescuing and get a part time job this winter. I am not sure if I can ever start rescuing again & it sucks as I enjoy it and its very much needed in my area.

I do have a tip though COUPONS! If my printer worked I would print a sack load but I do email them to my mom to print. I also get them from the paper, even if its 50 cents or a $1 off of two it does add up on the total. I use them a lot.


----------



## WonderPup (Oct 26, 2008)

I've noticed clients stretching the time between grooms out for as long as they can, which affects my income of course. 

One of the things I did was switch to a less expensive, but still higher quality dog food from what I was feeding. The kitty cats weren;t quite as lucky as the dogs, they got kitty chow. Weirdly enough though they actualy seem to be doing better on it?? Their weight is stable and they have soft shiny coats with no more shedding than normal. Funny how things like that work out. I don't have to feed the dogs any more food with the new food than what I was with the old food either which is good. I've not noticed any changes in skin, coat, or weight. Nice.
I'm lucky enough not to have to pay for grooming so thats not an issue for me - yay.

I'm not skimping on vet care either, BUT, at the same time I'm not doing quite as much as perhaps I have in the past. For example I reccently treated ear issues in both the poodles myself with a homemade solution I found and researched on the net. I told myself that it looked like a problem was just starting so I'de give it a try, if it didn't make improvements by weeks end off to the vet we'd go. It cleared right up though so - yay again. I've also taken to making ear cleaner myself at home so I'm not spending $$ on it anymore. Thats helpful since we go through a lot of it. Still on the vet front I decided this year to only update Rabies and DHPP. I'll do kennel cough myself since that is an up the nose sort of thing and I didn't spend a year working for a vet for nothing. It's 10-15 bucks cheaper to do it myself. Heartgaurd I get for less $$ on a website called petsmegastore, no script required and it's 100% legal.
For the spoos I've been using advantix for flea prevention which is a bit pricey. however I discovered that I could split a single dose between the two of them and still get a good 5-8 weeks before reapplication. Thats the same amount of time I would get out of a full dose so it only makes sense to split it up. Plus side to that is that they don't have that oily spot for nearly as long. I haven't done tried it with the little dogs yet, they get a full dose though they haven't had or needed one in two months.


----------



## Raiko (Aug 26, 2009)

I love how I didnt get any Wow thats weird comments on my wasps haha.

But what do you guys think about kirkland as an alternative food for those.. like myself who are concerned about yellow corn (If someone wants me to explain the science behind America's cash crop corn, and why it is vertually neutritionless I will, but otherwise I'll assume you all know its mainly a filler not to meantion hard to digest.)


----------



## WonderPup (Oct 26, 2008)

Wow, I never heard of wasps as pets.... LoL 
Sorry I didn't know what to say before, I am terrified of bees and wasps but what can I say I have pet rats and crayfish among other things lol. 

I've never heard of that food... where did you find that? I have a corn allergy in the house so I do my best to keep it out of anything the dogs eat anyway. Always looking for new ways though so to speak.


----------



## Raiko (Aug 26, 2009)

It was at CostCo. 

And over the six years I've had pet wasps I learned what kinds to avoid haha, polists[paper nest wasp, yellow morph] is generally docile as is mud dobbers. You can actually put your hand right over the nest and not have any guards assult you. With red morph paper wasps.. you can do that [they are longer and have a brownish/ red appearence]

Crawfish are neat, they ppick up on meal time really fast and they dont take **** from other fish so they do great in tanks with blue gill and the like.

Anyway back on track if i remember correctly the first 3 ingredients are all meats.


----------



## Raiko (Aug 26, 2009)

it only costs like 20-30 a bag too


----------



## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

Thank goodness its not really affecting me. I have a very stable job that pays ok. I am going to school full time also for my vet tech degree, so im living at home to help with things. Next year i plan on moving out though when im done. I drive a good on gas car. I groom Ry as much as i can myself to stretch things out. I search for cheap meat sources. We arnt doing any classes right now besides our tracking lessons. I dont spend my money on alot of things. I have an automatic withdrawal that goes into my savings. I have found that helps a Lot to save money!! I dont color my hair, and it doesnt need to be cut much. I get Huge discounts on my pets as i actuallly work at a vets. Heartworm/flea meds for free. 
Just a note about the website that you can get the heartguard with out a prescription. It actually is illegal for the heartworm meds to get without a doctors ok. I personally wouldnt trust the product or the website. There are cheaper products (like Iverheart which is the generic of heartguard), and better/not expensive websites.


----------



## Raiko (Aug 26, 2009)

Well hopefully the healthcare plan wont go through, else things will just get worse.
Well.... hopefully a second stimulus doesnt go through.. that would be hell, the last thing we need to do is print more money and devalue our dollar more. >.> blah politics.


----------



## cuddleparty (Apr 27, 2009)

WonderPup said:


> I've noticed clients stretching the time between grooms out for as long as they can, which affects my income of course.


I've sacrificed getting my hair done at the fancy shmancy salon so that Snoops can get his grooming done instead... now we have little Orville on his way this weekend so I guess I may have to sacrifice something else so he can get groomed! :lol: Orville will get alot of Snoops' hand me downs, the dollar store here is great because they sell puppy pads - 3pack for a buck, found a feed store that has great discounted prices so I buy the BIG bags and it lasts.. I've also been feeding Snoops chicken with his kibble so that stretches out for a longer while. 

I have to say tho, that I have been quite fortunate (thank goodness) so I guess I've had an easier go of things compared with some. I do hope the economy turns around soon so that people will be able to move forward and prosper and look towards the future again with some certainty! It's not an easy time, but it definitely will turn around with time! :angel:


----------



## Raiko (Aug 26, 2009)

Well, with the way it looks.. its not going to change soon until we stop trying to "stimulate" via printing, thusly devaluing our own currency under the assumption that we will spend it all... but many countries have tried this and it has NEVER worked for any country in the past.. 

Lol I guess I'm lucky I get my hair done for free. I've been thinking about mixing meat into food or feeding raw, some people say its cheeper some say its more expenisve. anyone ever try it?


----------



## Bella's Momma (Jul 26, 2009)

Well it has me putting off Bella's second training class for a bit. Just a month after we got her my Dh was laid off. My hours have been slashed at my job as well. Dh has a temporary position right now, thank goodness, but it's hard to spend when you just don't know what will happen next!

Bella is suffering the most.  Dh worked at home, that's why we got a puppy now - he was ALWAYS home. Now he's not and chances are any other job will also be outside. Kids are back at school, he's 9+ hours and I'm busy doing all of those things Moms try to squeeze in when their kids are at school! I feel badly for her. I have serious dog mommy guilt! I'm looking forward to it being reliably cool so I can take her on short errands with me an leave her in the car. Even moreso when she's an elegant well-behaved young lady and can come OUT of the car with me on errands. LOL. 

As for the usual stuff, special food, grooming and the occasional new toys Bella is still as taken care as can be and I hope that doesn't change! I'm considering stretching out her groomings by getting my own clipper or taking her for just FFT trims.


----------



## Evik (Sep 2, 2009)

roxy25 said:


> I have a reef aquarium lol
> 
> I never used filters either I used live rock. I was using Metal Halide lighting ( which cost so freaking much on the light bill)


Ditto roxy, I gave up this 120gallon aquarium, so I will have money for my new puppy hopefully he will come soon


----------



## Cdnjennga (Jul 30, 2009)

Evik said:


> Ditto roxy, I gave up this 120gallon aquarium, so I will have money for my new puppy hopefully he will come soon


Wow, that's gorgeous! Look at those colours. But a puppy will be even better of course.


----------



## Evik (Sep 2, 2009)

Cdnjennga said:


> Wow, that's gorgeous! Look at those colours. But a puppy will be even better of course.


Thank you  and Yes puppy will be better, lots of hugging and fun things to do together :cheer2:


----------



## WonderPup (Oct 26, 2008)

bigpoodleperson said:


> Just a note about the website that you can get the heartguard with out a prescription. It actually is illegal for the heartworm meds to get without a doctors ok. I personally wouldnt trust the product or the website. There are cheaper products (like Iverheart which is the generic of heartguard), and better/not expensive websites.


Thats incorrect, it is perfectly legal to purchase these OVER THE COUNTER and have them shipped to the U.S. Only when you buy these products from U.S. based companies do you have to have a script. Even the drug rep admited was able to research the question and come up with the same answer which pleasently surprised the vet I was working for. You should still get an all clear from a vet to begin a preventative for heartworms so yearly testing is suggested in our area, which we do. 
There are numerous companies offering these services to U.S. customers and on all of their websites you can find statements on what is and isn't legal for them to do. Some products/brands they cannot sell and wont to U.S. customers.


----------



## Spencer (Oct 7, 2009)

The Fiance and I are both students in semi-crummy jobs. We have 4 fur babies, and always joke that if worse comes to worse, we'll feel the dogs before ourselves. (Believe me, we've had some bad months lately, and the dogs get better food than we do! lol) The Fiance's hours got cut, which means so did the pay, so I'm the "bread winner" right now. (However, TF is getting to go to school well over full time because of the extra time off, so school should be over soon, and then I guess it's my turn to buckle down!)

Perry went most of the summer without being groomed, his hair doesn't grow that fast and doesn't mat up, so he was fine. None of our other dogs need to have their hair cut ever, so that is a plus. We were feeding Wellness, but have since switched to Blue Buffalo and BilJac (Perry is on BilJac, everyone else is on Blue Buffalo). "The Boys" (heeler/collie and greyhound) both are over 60 lbs, so buying the medium size bag of Wellness every couple weeks just wasn't working out financially. Plus, PetCo is so expensive.

I guess, to sum it up, The Fiance and I are making cuts in our own lives (i.e. we used to go see $4 mid-week movies every week, and eat out on Thursdays) just so we don't have to make drastic cuts in our doggies' lives. 

They are and always will be our most important family members, so scrimping in any way with them isn't an option. (Although, I have to say, Shotz is getting less and less clothing. I think she can tell. That dog would dress herself if she had opposable thumbs!)


----------



## cbrand (Aug 9, 2009)

Cut kibble.

Until about 40 years ago, dogs never ate kibble. They always ate leftovers from the family table. Assuming that your Poodle does not have allergies, assuming that your dog is a good eater (will eat all types of food) and assuming that most foods sit well with your dog (no doggie gas) then there is no reason to not let your dog eat the left over Cream of Wheat from breakfast, the end of the Peanut Butter sandwich from lunch and the last few helpings of Lamb/pureed squash/green beans that you had for dinner. Smaller meals are always better for dogs and if you are avoiding poisonous food (onions, grapes, chocolate etc) then your dog is eating human grade food. 

Avoid vaccinations and yearly well dog checks.

Why give your Poodle yearly Parvo/Distemper booster shots. All studies have shown that the initial puppy sequence through age 1 yr protects dogs well past their 7th yr. Rabies you have to do by law, but why do Lepto, Bordetella, Hep or any of the other vaccines? I go to plenty of dog shows and training classes. My dog have only ever gotten kennel cough twice. They coughed for two days and got better. Ditto the well dog check. I can take my dog's temperature at home with a 10$ digital thermometer. I don't need to pay a vet $60 once a year to tell me my dogs are healthy.


----------



## Harley_chik (Nov 7, 2008)

That post ruled!!!!!! I feel much better about Bailey's diet now. I know he gets more "people food" than kibble. He doesn't like the kibble at all and looses quite a bit of weight, when I stop giving the other stuff. He loves pasta; I usually buy enriched or whole wheat pasta. I give it plain, no sauce or anything. He had green beens last night. He doesn't always get the healthiest stuff (he loves french fries), but he's not the least bit overweight and it's not like he gets it everyday or even every week.


----------



## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

> Thats incorrect, it is perfectly legal to purchase these OVER THE COUNTER and have them shipped to the U.S. Only when you buy these products from U.S. based companies do you have to have a script.


Im sorry, but i dont understand what you are talking about (could be due to the fact that it is late, and im tired ). If you dont buy from US based companies, then where would you get them? Do you buy foreign ones? 



> Avoid vaccinations and yearly well dog checks.
> 
> Why give your Poodle yearly Parvo/Distemper booster shots. All studies have shown that the initial puppy sequence through age 1 yr protects dogs well past their 7th yr. Rabies you have to do by law, but why do Lepto, Bordetella, Hep or any of the other vaccines? I go to plenty of dog shows and training classes. My dog have only ever gotten kennel cough twice. They coughed for two days and got better. Ditto the well dog check. I can take my dog's temperature at home with a 10$ digital thermometer. I don't need to pay a vet $60 once a year to tell me my dogs are healthy.


I have to seriously disagree with this as i work at a vets. There are so many more things your vet checks for besides a temperature. What if your dog had high liver values on the yearly bloodwork run that suggested a problem. Or high kidney values. I would much rather know early when something can be done then late. I want to be sure my pet is heartworm free. I want my vet to pick up on the heart murmer my dog might have before it becomes a major problem. I want my vet to feel the mass in his abdomen before i do. I want my vet to tell me about disease risks in my area, so that we both can make an educated decission on what to vaccinate for (and Yes, many diseases are making a come back because of our lack of vaccines). By doing yearly vet checks, it will most likely save you money in the long run as you can catch problems earlier.


----------



## Raiko (Aug 26, 2009)

Right but forty years ago food wasnt the same as it is now... everything including soda has a form of corn in it. Some meats are even enriched with corn. Corn is often used as a filler in most foods, but now its a sweetener too, the primary sweetener for that matter.

All I'm saying is people who oppose corn in dog food should not be feeding them table scraps...

Corn used to be healthy but was selectivly bread for higher yeild. This means more endosperm and less germ. Over the years the size of the neutritious germ portion shrunk and now what we have is a massive endosperm and a miniscule germ. The endosperm for those who did not take botany is the portion of the plant that stores sugar in the form of starch. Cows cant survive more than 18 months on corn, but boy in those 18 months they sure as hell do get fat. Its no better for us either and hydroginated corn syrup is in everything! 

Look at a hamberger. The bun is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup and contains corn starch, the meat is corn fed beef, Ketchup has high fructose corn syrup, Frys are fried in a combination of corn and soybean oil, soda is almost completely corn. 

The only reason you hear so much about omega 3 fatty acids are because corn is lacking in it. This was never a problem until we began to build our food industry around the crap crop called corn. 

Studies conducted in the 1980's found this corn based diet to be the source of Cancer, depression, obesity, allergies, autoimmune diseases such as lupus and arthritis, diabetes, asthma, and more. This is because corn out of all the grains has THE WORST ratio of fatty acids which skews the which skews the fat balance in the membranes of our cells... bascially it makes it harder for our cells to function properly b/c our cells have a fatty acid bi layer that helps keep osmotic balance and help diffusion take place. 

Why is fructose so bad?
Well its not.. its a natural sugar made by all plants
Whats bad is it is being used IN EVERYTHING not just as a sweetener.
Unlike most simple sugars which begin breaking down in the mouth via salivary amylase, and then finish breaking down in the jejujellum[sp?] of the small intestine via alpha amylase aka pancreatic juice, Fructose IS ONLY digested by the liver. Having our entire diet composed of a sugar that only one organ can digest...


Well basically your liver takes what ever it cant process and turns it into adipose tissue. Thats animal fat. 

So the way I see it is... If its so problematic for humans who are omnivors. What can it do to dogs who are carnivors/omnivors with a meat preference? In dog food I dont see too much of a problem so long as there is less sugar in the food to balance out the corn. But if your dog is eating table scraps as its main meal I don't see how that can be helpful to his/her health

Thats my opinion based on what I learned in Botany and Anatomy. I am by no means a dog expert, just hypothosizing from my current knowledge


----------



## Raiko (Aug 26, 2009)

I think thats my longest post...


----------



## roxy25 (Dec 18, 2008)

Evik said:


> Ditto roxy, I gave up this 120gallon aquarium, so I will have money for my new puppy hopefully he will come soon


Evik are you on any reef forums ? if so what is your name on there. I am on reefcentral and nano-reef.com well I used to be on there a lot. But not any more lol 


I love you tank that is TANK OF THE MONTH QUALITY !!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Harley_chik (Nov 7, 2008)

So when is soon? How cool would it be if we had pups at the same time! 

That tank is amazing! I've never been that ambitious, I have the one goldfish, in 10g tank, and he's lucky if he gets fed everyday. I would love to have a 40-50g bowfront tank, but that's a long time off.


----------



## Cdnjennga (Jul 30, 2009)

Harley_chik said:


> So when is soon? How cool would it be if we had pups at the same time!


Harley, when are you getting your pup?! I love it when new pups join the forum (and we get to see lots of photos).


----------



## Harley_chik (Nov 7, 2008)

Not entirely sure, the female hasn't even come into heat yet. I'm supposed to go see some related poodles tomorrow and then there's another dog show next weekend. Yeah!!!!!!!!


----------



## Cdnjennga (Jul 30, 2009)

bigpoodleperson said:


> Im sorry, but i dont understand what you are talking about (could be due to the fact that it is late, and im tired ). If you dont buy from US based companies, then where would you get them? Do you buy foreign ones?


The place Wonderpup mentioned is in Australia I think (assuming I came up with the right place). http://www.pets-megastore.com.au/


----------



## cbrand (Aug 9, 2009)

bigpoodleperson said:


> I have to seriously disagree with this as i work at a vets. There are so many more things your vet checks for besides a temperature. What if your dog had high liver values on the yearly bloodwork run that suggested a problem. Or high kidney values. I would much rather know early when something can be done then late. I want to be sure my pet is heartworm free. I want my vet to pick up on the heart murmer my dog might have before it becomes a major problem. I want my vet to feel the mass in his abdomen before i do. I want my vet to tell me about disease risks in my area, so that we both can make an educated decission on what to vaccinate for (and Yes, many diseases are making a come back because of our lack of vaccines). By doing yearly vet checks, it will most likely save you money in the long run as you can catch problems earlier.


Bigpoodle... do you have yearly blood work pulled on yourself?

How exactly would a vet treat a heart murmur? If a dog has major issues with their kidneys or liver, then the owner is usually the first one to notice. How would the vet in one yearly visit detect a mass before you do?

I'm sorry, but I find many vets to be shockingly ignorant of Poodle health issues. I had to tell one of my vets that Addisons was a major issue in in our breed. I would bet you dollars to donuts that my current vet (who is a poodle owner himself) does not know that nationally JRD and CAH are on the rise in Standards. He has also never done a prophylatic gastropexy which should be recommended to all Standard Poodle owners (he will do his 1st on Oct 20 when he spays my Izze). This is because he has to deal with the health issues of all the different breeds plus all of the mixed breeds. He doesn't have time to cruise the Internet or attend breed club meetings. 

I think the best thing to do is be a highly educated owner so that you know the signs of a problem when you see it.


----------



## Harley_chik (Nov 7, 2008)

> He has also never done a prophylatic gastropexy which should be recommended to all Standard Poodle owners (he will do his 1st on Oct 20 when he spays my Izze).


Is this stomache tacking? I meant to ask you in another post what you thought about having it done while the dog was being spay/neutered, as a preventative.


----------



## akbirdy (Sep 15, 2009)

Raiko- Thanks for the bit on corn. Our family tries to keep as up to date on nutrition as possible and the whole corn issue is something I've been wanting to do some reading on for a while but have been busy busy busy. Do you ever check out mercola.com? Great site.


----------



## akbirdy (Sep 15, 2009)

Speaking of mercola.com... he has a "sister site" for pets that tends more towards a holistic and natural based mindset. This vet has many articles on the "less is more" approach on vaccines that was mentioned earlier in this post. 

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/home.aspx


----------



## Evik (Sep 2, 2009)

roxy25 said:


> Evik are you on any reef forums ? if so what is your name on there. I am on reefcentral and nano-reef.com well I used to be on there a lot. But not any more lol
> 
> 
> I love you tank that is TANK OF THE MONTH QUALITY !!!!!!!!!!!



Thank you roxy, I loved it very much. I live in NJ so I'm a member of NJ reef club and Manhattan reef club and my name on there is the same :rolffleyes: it's my nick name so I use it everywhere. But now I spend my time on Poodle forum :biggrin: b/c I want to learn about poodles and I'm learning a lot :alberteinstein:


----------



## Evik (Sep 2, 2009)

Harley_chik said:


> So when is soon? How cool would it be if we had pups at the same time!


The breeder I like now :fingers-crossed: has two litters one is a month old and second two weeks old and she has a black boy in both. In couple of weeks I will go to see them and pick, she is 3.5 hours away, so I can't go more often then twice :sad:. So hopefully in few weeks :cheer2:


----------



## cbrand (Aug 9, 2009)

Harley_chik said:


> Is this stomache tacking? I meant to ask you in another post what you thought about having it done while the dog was being spay/neutered, as a preventative.


Yes, stomach tacking. I think this should be done on every Standard Poodle when it is spayed/neutered.

I have always encouraged it. When I breed my next litter I am going to offer a rebate to puppy buyers when it is done.


----------



## Dogsinstyle (Sep 6, 2009)

I have to agree with Carol Brand, it behoves us to be as educated as we can about poodles. If I relied on vets for all my dogs health care decisions, I would have lost at least 3 dogs.
As for corn in the diet, I have found in the past week poodles love candy corn. They want it served daily.
Carole


----------



## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

> Bigpoodle... do you have yearly blood work pulled on yourself?
> 
> How exactly would a vet treat a heart murmur? If a dog has major issues with their kidneys or liver, then the owner is usually the first one to notice. How would the vet in one yearly visit detect a mass before you do?
> 
> ...



No, i dont have yearly bloodwork done on myself, but i dont age as fast as my dog does. You are right, you wouldnt treat a heart murmer. That was a bad example. Other heart conditions though a vet could pick up, and the dog doesnt have to show any symptoms. Alot of times there can be liver and kidney evelvations on labwork, and the dog again shows no symptoms. They can be highly elevated, or they could be mildly elevated. Any elevation should be monitored to see how fast and how much it is going up. ALot of times when the dog actually shows symptoms there is a major problem that could of been delt with earlier. All vets should feel the pets abdomen on a routine exam. They can feel if there are any masses present (im sure not many people on here actually palpate their dogs abdomens for masses, and they shouldnt). Just the other week we were doing a routine exam on a cat, and the vet was feeling the abdomen. She felt something odd that an ultrasound comfirmed was a bad kidney. We are actually removing the kidney. The owners saw No symptoms of anything different, and they are good/watchful owners. 

The first advocate for your pets health should be You. You should know your dog and know when something isnt right. I dont expect my vet to be an expert on every disease plaging Every breed. I expect them to know of the disease. 
I would not encourage people to wait to bring their dogs to the vet until they are actually sick. Would you wait to see a doctor until you were actually sick?


----------



## Raiko (Aug 26, 2009)

akbirdy said:


> Speaking of mercola.com... he has a "sister site" for pets that tends more towards a holistic and natural based mindset. This vet has many articles on the "less is more" approach on vaccines that was mentioned earlier in this post.
> 
> http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/home.aspx


No I havn't heard of that but I will definantly check it out


----------



## taxtell (Sep 17, 2009)

I have to agree with Bigpoodleperson about the yearly checkups.
Of course, I work for a vet as well,and see how many problems we catch early on before it becomes a huge issue.
My boss or I actually do spend a lot of time doing research on breed specific issues. Though I realize not all vets do this, they really should.
We also contact the university frequently about difficult cases.

On the topic of Vaccines, if you're going to skip them, at least have a titer done on your dog every three years.
For the first time in my career I have seen distemper in a dog just this year. The owners didnt' believe in vaccinating and the dog tangled with a raccoon that had the disease. Very sad.

And as far as table scraps go...not a fan. Honestly I'd do a raw diet if I could, but until then, a high quality kibble is it for my guys.


----------



## cbrand (Aug 9, 2009)

bigpoodleperson said:


> Would you wait to see a doctor until you were actually sick?



Actually yes. I do not see a doctor for routine care except for my OBGYN.

I think yearly well-checks for domestic pets is a pretty new idea. I want to say that it is something that has come into fashion in the last 10 years. We never did it when I was growing up and frankly the practice feels like a revenue generator to me. I feel like owners are being guilted into getting unnecessary medical screenings for their dogs.

I would note as a comparison that I had horses for years and no one every got yearly well checks for their horses. If the horse needed shots or teeth floating or if it was lame then the vet came out. Otherwise you didn't see the vet. Why would it be so different for dogs?

As for vaccines, there is a wealth of information out there about the dangers of over vaccinating dogs especially Poodles who have auto-immune issues anyway. I would lay down money that the dog mentioned above with Distemper had not been correctly vaccinated as a puppy. I have yet to find a vet who has ever seen Parvo/Distemper in a previously vaccinated adult dog. 

In the end, an owner has to decide for herself. There is a lot of information out there on the Internet. As always I encourage everyone to become an educated Poodle owner.


----------



## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

> In the end, an owner has to decide for herself. There is a lot of information out there on the Internet. As always I encourage everyone to become an educated Poodle owner.


True, but there is also alot of Bad information out there on the internet (like the client of ours that "researched" the internet and tried to treat her dogs "UTI" with apple cider vinegar for a long time, and after it wasnt getting better brought her to us where we diagnosed her with cancer of the bladder). Educating ones self on dog health, and knowing your dog are the best ways to keep them healthy (just make sure you take anything on the internet you read with a grain of salt depending on the source). 

I dont have horses, but the "large animal" field is a completely different mind set then "compainion animals". Im glad you at least go to the OBGYN Carol (as my grandma was recently diagnosed with cervical cancer after not going for a Long time).


----------

