dog
 

That awful pet store is getting dogs from puppy mills and they are sick!@ I would turn them in and try to get them shut down. Makes me mad to think these evil people get away with this animal abuse. They will get what they deserve because my God does not sleep nor slumber. He knows and will get them.

If you need a name of a breeder in our area email me. I got Jess from a local lady and she is really a great dog..no illness issues, can eat anything (except bully sticks)

Just curious - why 'except bully sticks'? Signed, always looking to learn more about YTers:)

I can't speak for the person who posted that comment but I can tell you my experience. I found out about bully sticks here on YT, many use them, so I went to a local store and bought some. Gracie loved them but they were too soft, she chewed too much too fast and ended up sick from them. Some companies don't process them properly. I think I tried 2 or 3 different brands before someone recommended the Best Bully brand. They do a good job with them and they are baked so they are hard enough that the dog really has to chew a lot to make any progress with it. They have solved her chewing issues. She was always looking for something to chew apart before we got them. She is a fairly small Yorkie but I buy her the 12" regular thickness sticks. They are as long as she is but she takes them on like a champ.

I loved the mental image I got of Gracie & Bully Stick!
 

The mental picture of little Gracie chewing on a chew-stick as long as she is just made me smile. My goodness, but Yorkies just don't give up do they?
I also had never heard of 'bully sticks'. Taffy likes raw hide squares--about 3" x 3", but I really have to watch him because he'll hold them down with his paws and work hard to try to tear off a piece and swallow it! Once, he threw up a 1/2" piece, so I put the whole bag away. His favorite chew item now comes from the pet section of the Farm Supply Co-op Center, built in the 1940's. It sounds awful, but another friend's pomeranian pooch also loves them, too....'rawhide lamb's ears'! Sounds like someone has tortured 'Mary's Little Lamb', but they are saved by the U.S. lamb meat plants. They are cleaned & processed here in the USA and are smooth, whitish, & cone shaped. Taffy seems to love the fact he can hold onto the heavier, round base and chew happily from the tip downward. They have a very mild smell - unlike some chewing products. He loves them! I believe there were 3-4 per bag for $4.+. Now, he has never gotten sick from chewing them, and lamb is one of the most easily digested meats. Anyway, if you live in an area with rural farms nearby, you probably have a Farm Co-operative building(s) near you. All the pet products at the big store in Augusta County are made from USA produced foods, which also helps our own country's farmers. So, now we have learned about 'bully sticks' and 'lambs ears' tonight. LOL - Sue & Taffy.

I'm sorry it didn't work out.

This is priceless! The Seahawks have done pretty well this year. I'd love to train Crab Bait to howl at a touch down! He has gotten used to the "excitement" of the game some but I sometimes need to lower my volume since he still gets a little unnerved at times. :D

Dear Mark,
 

My breeder friend was also very amused by Taffy's Howling efforts....appaerently Yorkies usually yap (bark) instead of howling at all. Yes, Mom has to join in with Hubby, too, which makes us sound like a very demented pair of owners! Mike gets more into the higher coyote howl sound; I heard Taffy having an easier time copying my lower single toned wolf: "whooooo" sound. He first looked totally perplexed! Mom & Dad had 'lost it" as far as he was concerned! He will now try to join in right away. He will at first sound like a "sputtering engine": A'rr, arr, arr, arr'... then, if I stay consistent with my nice low "Ooooooo..." and try to hold it on one steady tone, then he will havehis ears perked toward me, focusing on this strange sound. Well, he loves our "pack howl" by now--took a couple of sports seasons to get automatic for Taffy! Of course, if there is an air of "excitment" in the air from Dad freaking over his sport team's scoring, that helps Taffy want to join in with us. (The things I do for my husband & Yorkie's happiness!) Have fun, and keep practicing! Ha! -- Sue & Taffy

No idea why bully sticks give her the runs..nothing else does. I got them from best bully. I even held them for her, cut off the ends, and keep them sealed. I tried them twice and each time she got the runs. She has never had the runs any other time, with any food. I will say she loved them, they just didn't love her....and she eats anything..

Dear KBug88--
 

I sympathize with your decision to let vet help place your very ill little pup. As he says she may not get well, but face series of these seizures forever. If see has no pain, then she may enjoy a carefully medicated life. I had to chose to put my old Miniture Schnauzer down (age 8-9) when he was covered with large, bleeding scabby sores. We first thought antibiodics had helped + scrubbing off the scabs with plastic brush + special skin lotion. After 3 years, a 2nd vet said Bart's problem was from his slowly failing kidneys (a problem w/ Schnauzers), not a grass allergy nor flea bite allergies as the older vet had diagnosed. I felt like quite the lowest of humans when I had to take him to be put to sleep. By then, he was rubbing his bottom and thighs so hard against the porch sides & cement floor that he was bleeding. He was a miserable, but let me handle him. He did snap at our 2 year old when she touched his head to pat him, but he purposely did not bite her.
He was returned to me in a heavy cardboard box with his collar & leash on top.
Like several dear pets, he is buried on our back, high pasture under a tree.
You can try your best to save a pet, but you must consider the animals quality of life. As a nurse, you know about pain & suffering first hand. My own mother died of ALS (Lou Gerhig's Disease) and when she could barely move at all, nor talk, nor blink, she used her knarled hand & a letter board to push the spelked words asking to be put to sleep. But, all I was allowed "legally" to do (with signed medical power) was to let nurses give her morphine & let the developing pneaumonia take her after 2 weeks. Her nurse agreed with me that in such terrible cases it was so terribly sad that an intelligent patient could not elect to be put to sleep and not continue to choke and suffer. (Gehrigs does not affect your ability to think!). I would not let any dog or pet of mine go through what she did!
I certainly think you have done all you can, and each person knows when they have truly reached their limit of watching suffering. Love from - Sue & Taffy

Thanks for the info. Glad to hear that you figured out what was making Gracie sick. Does seem that one must be on duty to watch these little ones with the sticks, in case they bite a piece off or the sticks get too short and must be discarded to eliminate a choking hazard. Bailey loves the pizzle sticks! I don't make it a habit to give Bailey sticks anymore, but from time to time he has one. He just loves them, but I find he does drink way more water though, which I'm not fond of, and I give him a break because of this. When I looked at the ingredients of the bully sticks, I saw 'pizzle' listed. Not knowing what that was, I looked it up and I was a bit grossed out, but got over it. :eek: I found ones that don't have much of an odor to them:) Must be a funny pic Gracie taken them on, as she is as long as they are.:) By 'fairly small', what weight is that? My Bailey weighs 7.5 lbs., which is a perfect weight for me:)

I've heard of pigs ears before, but not lambs ears. Thanks for posting. Glad to hear that Mary's Little Lamb survived:) Seriously, nice to know they use the ears at the same time, so less waste. Also, no mental image of Mary's lamb being slaughtered. haha

Oh, that's too bad. Glad to hear that you found out what was upsetting your girl's system. Just wondering - does she have a replacement?

Too funny! Wonder what the neighbor's think about the odd sound coming from your place? :)

Agreed! Also, sorry to hear about your Bart:( Tough decision when you loved so deeply and did what was in Bart\'s best interest!