Giving Aspirin to Dogs...How much??

[Mona]

Thanks Shorthorsemom.

 

[shorthorsemom]

How old is your little guy now? I think about you often. I lost 3 of my oldest dogs last year and two of them were my Chinese Cresteds. My boy that recovered from the bad back injury is my only crested left.

I love looking at your avatar, just makes me smile. best wishes for speedy recovery.

 

[Mona]

Shorthorsemom, Monkey will be 6 in August. He's the most wonderful little dog...I love him SOOO much! It seems he plays almost NON-STOP! He sure keeps us entertained, for sure!

We are getting a new Boston puppy tomorrow, and I am having such mixed emotions. I have NEVER doubted my decision EVER, in getting a new puppy, but I am sooooo worrying this time if I am making a wise choice or not. I just feel that it will be so unfair to Monkey. Almost like my heart is just sooo full of love for Monkey that I don't know if I will have enough left for the new little guy. I think the biggest problem lies in my having 8 weeks to become wishy-washy...to over analyze the situation. I almost feel like I am betraying Monkey. We have another dog as well, a Boxer who is bout a year and a half older than Monkey, and I do not feel that way about her at all...it's all Monkey that I am concerned about hurting by getting the new pup. Normally, we buy a new pup when they are advertised and ready for their new homes, not when they are first born, so I am hoping this long wait time is what is causing the anxiety for me. Since we'll be going to pick him up tomorrow, I guess I'll find out soon enough.

Also, one more thing, have you ever had bad acne problems with yours? I do with Monkey, and have no idea what to do. It is not typical blackheads...those can be squeezed out easy enough, but these are like what I have seen referred to as "pearl" acne?? I have to literally, take a needle and put it under the skin and rip a little hole i order to squeeze the hard ball out, but he is loaded with them, mostly around his neck and shoulders. Any experience tips you can offer? He is bathed often, and makes no difference. I even used "Oxy pads" on him for a long while to see if that would help...no, it never. His skin does not feel greasy at all.

 

[shorthorsemom]

I have good luck using veterycin on my guy, he gets zits. Not as much when younger as he is a powderpuff, but now that he is almost 12 he gets them all the time. I clean them out and spray and really never seem to get ahead. I have to be very careful when grooming but the veterycin seems to keep them from getting infected after I clean them out.

A little over a year ago I looked at my doggies and realized I had 6 dogs over the age of 11 and 2 being over 15. I decided to bring a boston terrier into my home of old dogs with much worry. My dogs decided they LOVED her and my 12 plus Tibetan spaniel rolls all around the floor with her and plays chase games. Nobody seemed jealous and the new pup really enjoyed sleeping on my lap. I got lucky. I started slow and my new pup was on a leash in the house for quite some time so she would not over do the puppy thing before she got to understand what made the other dogs tick. She understood my Tibetan wanted to play, she understood the crested did not, she knew right away to stay away from the grouchy boy and loved all the others. I supervised heavily and took my time before allowing free play. It worked here and she fits in great. I was so glad I got her because in 4 months 3 of my oldsters failed badly and we had one too many doggie funerals here.

In my grief I decided to visit some shelters for another young dog. I adopted a mix breed hound dog last fall. I laugh. I went to the shelter looking for a female Disney type dog, smallish maybe crested mix...and I came home with a male hound dog. Love at first sight and I am so glad he is here. He too fits in and my other dogs seem glad to have him here. It can work. Again, he is mostly always leashed when in the house with my oldest dogs. I do not allow the puppy to play beat on the older dogs... they know it and trust me and it works for all.

I was expecting it to be a difficult transition adding puppies after all these years and I have to laugh at how my older dogs seem to have gotten a new lease on life and actually seem to enjoy all the excitement.

Best wishes on your new addition!!!! I can't wait to see pictures.

I LOVE Boston terriers. What a cuddly sweet breed. You will love him.

PS, I got a freedom harness for walking my boston. It helped a lot as she tended to pull and breathe heavily. Read up on Brachaecaphelic dogs (I can't spell) . My boston was my first and I have to watch her a bit on hot days.

 

[Mona]

Thanks again. Yes, I know about the wonderful temperament and personalities of the Bostons. We had our Molly when we got Monkey. Molly was another SPECIAL, SPECIAL girl to me, and unfortunately, she was killed by my husband right in our yard by a freak accident. It cut her beautiful little life short at just 7 years of age, in 2010. I have been wanting another Boston since, but have not seemed to be content with the ones I have come across since then. So I really am looking forward to Bentley coming, but just unsure of whether I will be able to fully open my heart to him. I am hoping that it will be LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT and that his sweet puppy breath will win me over instantly. And yes, I'll be sure to post pics!

 

[Debby - LB]

OH Mona!! I am so looking forward to seeing your new Bentley!!! i LOVE Bostons, we miss ours so much. Congratulations. I understand how you feel about Monkey but at least you were able to start the process of bringing another dog in your family so just relax and be content that you will do fine with both.

 

[Mona]

Thanks Debby.

 

[Mona]

We got Bentley home yesterday but I am not 100% sure we'll be keeping him. There have only been two deciding factors for me when selecting my Boston without meeting in person...one was it had to have the right markings for what I had in mind, and the other thing was the size had to be what I was looking for. Bentley definitely had the markings...that is why I chose him from the litter of 6. BUT, he fails tremendously in the size. In Canada, Bostons are categorized in 3 size ranges...the first being under 15 pounds, then next is the 15 to under 20, and the last from 20 to 25 pounds. Our Molly was in the smallest group, and that is what we wanted for our next Boston as well. I was given very false information as to the size of the parents, and when we met them to pick up Bentley, they weighed in at 19+ for the sire and 25+ for the dam. He is most probably going to mature in the uppermost weight category, as he's huge already! I know it seems insignificant to many, but is like wanting to buy a Tot Poodle and being sent a Standard Poodle. It's basically the same dog alright, but people select dogs by their size for a reason. So as it stands right now, I honestly don;t know whether we'll end up keeping him or not. He sure is a sweet little beggar though!! He is getting along just fine with the other dogs, and even Monkey has been playing a bit with him.

 

[Sonya]

He is so cute! I totally understand about his size...when I got my latest rescue I had very specifics, the dog that met those was 800 miles from me and some people didn't understand, well why don't you just go to the local pound if you want to rescue? If I went to the pound, I am afraid I would make a rash decision (or 2 or 3). Chances are if my new dog didn't turn out as expected, I would keep him anyways, but it's nice to know that you are getting as close as a match as what you want or need that fits your family. Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[shorthorsemom]

Your heart and dogs will tell you what to do. I totally understand where you are coming from. I thought my boston girl was going to be huge and then she just stopped growing. She seems petite to me, but she weighs about 16 lbs and has long legs and is very athletic. I had no idea about the 3 sizes you described when I choose her. Learn something new every day. Is that the famous haggerty spot on your pups head? I can't see the whole spot to see if it is completely surrounded by the white. My friends that breed bostons had one with that spot in their last litter. I don't know if that is urban legend or not... but the pups with that spot are supposed to be descended from a very old line of boston terriers. Interesting reading...

Best wishes with your decision.

I went to the local shelter with very specific criteria and came home with something completely different Everybody that knows me was completely baffled by my choice. Whatever his size, you will know very quickly if he is the pup for you. Sometimes when things like that happen, it is for a reason ....because your heart dog is out there waiting.

Heart dog is the dog that makes you completely melt and they speak to your heart in special ways... There are dogs you love, and then there are dogs that are so completely in tune with you and those dogs take a piece of you when they leave. Not sure if you would know what I was saying when I say "heart dog".

Keep us posted Mona.

 

[shorthorsemom]

That photo I attached is my smallish Disney type little dog hairy female young dog I went to the shelter to bring home. I came home with a male mixed breed hound. LOL Your heart will tell you what to do. Keep us posted and include photos, we do so much enjoy the pictures.

 

[Mona]

Thanks Sonya. And Shorthorsemom, yes, I most definitely DO know what you mean by a "Heart Dog". Like you say, you love them all, but there are certain ones that just dig deep into your heart in a way others don't. I have had 3 of these throughout the years. Our first Boxer Baron, our Boston Terrier, Molly, and now Monkey. It seems that with each one, that bod formed gets stronger and stronger then the last. And I don't mean the death of each pet, I mean the death and relationship with each of the "Heart Dogs" seems to get stronger with each one. Maybe it's just me, but this is how it's been working for me over the years.

 

[Mona]

Shorthorsemom, your hound is very pretty, and yes, quite the opposite of what you had in mind, but you were obviously drawn to him for a reason...you must have felt a good connection with him. Does he remind you at all of maybe part Dobe? Something in him makes me think that.

And yes, I forgot to say, Bentley does have the Haggerty Spot on his head. When he was first born, the white dividing lines were more obvious, but is just a white shading more now, dividing the white from the black. Here's some pics showing it better.

This one was when he was just a couple weeks old:



And this one was taken the day we picked him up.

 

[shorthorsemom]

My new boy was advertised as a beagle mix at the shelter and he came up from the south on one of those transports to a local shelter. He has very long legs and does not resemble or sound like a beagle to me, he barks and doesn't bay and his bark sounds like a dobie I once had. I was thinking pointer, or whippet cross or dobe mix (or lurcher)... but the spots over his eyes and his ear shape and his personality remind me of the first Doberman I ever had... his name was Max and he was very smart and had a great sense of humor and was my first heart dog. My new boy reminds me so much of Max with the things he does, that it gives me a shiver sometimes. The little eyebrow dots and head and ear shape remind me of dobe... The way he runs and corners and how fast he is, reminds me of sight hound.

I don't know.

I looked at dogs all afternoon and was pretty discouraged... finally the guy that ran the shelter came out and asked me what kind of dog I was looking for. I told him I didn't know and that I had not seen a single dog yet that tugged my heart strings. I then asked him if anybody was still working in the shelter and he said yes and I said "tell them to bring me their favorite dog in the kennel for me to look at"... He was the third dog they brought to me... and it felt immediately like I knew him already. He brought me a ball and dropped it at my feet. He played fetch for a few minutes... then he came in close for a snuggle. I hugged him and he wrapped his head around my neck and gave me a hug right back. The weird thing is that I have been training dogs for 40 years and in all my life I would never have hugged a dog that did not know me. Funny that I felt compelled to give this boy a hug. He was 5 to 6 months old when he came here. My love for this guy grows with each day.

My trainer met him and she says to me "how did you walk into a shelter with 200 dogs and come out with this dog that has no issues" She thinks it was a karma thing for me to meet him. I felt strongly to visit this shelter 55 minutes away.. I had never been there before... and I got my friend to drive me out there a couple of days before her knee replacement because I didn't want to wait.

Funny huh? Its like he has always been mine. I love him. He is silly, he is a puppy, he is a teenager,... but he snuggles and loves me like the little dog that I was looking for. I even let him sleep in my bed. LOL

I have had many Dobermans over the years... but there was only one Max. How cool that my new boy reminded you a little of a Doberman too because that is what I was thinking how nice it was to have a dog that reminded me a little of my first dobie. Max loved chasing birds an loved playing in snow. This boy does that too. He does not "sing" to the song "dust in the wind".. Max did that. It was hilarious.

I don't pick breeds anymore... I just pick dogs... so I have quite a mix of different dogs here. Now that you can show mixed breed dogs in obedience AKC shows, I don't bother looking for pure bred rescue dogs just try to pick dogs that tug my heart strings..

Love the "haggerty spot" pictures. very cute. Keep me posted on how you are doing... ... so enjoying chatting dogs with you.

 

[Mona]

WOW, that is an AWESOME story of the similarities, coincidental or not, between Max and your new guy. It really does sound like it was meant to be! A little "Divine Intervention" at work there, I think! I am so happy for you that you have found another heart dog, and wish the two of you many wonderful years of memory making ahead of you!

 

[shorthorsemom]

I chuckle... I got my little boston girl thinking she would be my new heart dog... she had all the makings to be my special girl during her puppy hood and while I was training her ... then.. at one year of age...she decided she would be my sons special dog. She wouldn't sit with me if he was in the room, she wanted to sleep in his bed, and follow him around. He has never bonded strongly to any of our other dogs like our boston girl Molly. She became his first "heart dog" and they are inseparable. She even helps him hold the pages of his book when he is doing his homework.

You just never know.

 

[Mona]

Awww, she sounds so sweet! So glad they became attached to each other the way they did. It must have happened to make way for the new boy for you!