The Dog/Cat Adoption Zone

[Not Afraid]

Escape artist! Yep, they are slippery little things. Do you use a harness? If not, I would get a harness for him immediately. He shouldn't be walking with just a collar.

LP - basic info is that the groove under the kneecap is not deep enough so the knee cap slips and causes limping and pain. There are different grades of it and it usually gets worse over time.

[wendybeth]

We got our dog, Mellie, largely because of Mini-Pinschers. We were looking for a smallish dog, and all of our area shelters were out- only larger breeds were available. Reluctantly, I went to a pet shop to see if they might have a mutt mix that wasn't going to grow too huge. They only had a few dogs available- a litter of Mini-P's, and an 8 week old Aussie Shep-Akita. They'd put the Aussie/Akita into the same pen as the other pups, and she was just sitting there, looking utterly dejected. I'm sure she had a headache as well, as those Mini's were frikking loud!!!! Anyway, the poor thing looked just like a little bear cub, and even though she was only 8 weeks old she was enormous next to the other pups. I made the mistake of picking her up, and the sales guy said that maybe she wouldn't get too big....? I just laughed at him- my sis has Akita's and I know how big they get- but I just couldn't put that poor puppy back. I found out that someone had taken her home a few days before, but returned her the next day. When I took her to the vet, it turned out she had serious hip displasia, which is probably why she was returned. I decided to keep her, and the vet put her on a some meds and a special diet to help with the dsyplasia. (For some reason, she wasn't a good candidate for surgery). She's been a great dog, and her hips give her minimal trouble. She's now 8 years old and still acts just like a puppy.