Postings by Samson

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Samson Work? What's- that?     Barked: Thu May 16, '13 4:13am PST  The semantics of it has never really bothered me. I've never really thought of myself as anything other than Samson's owner. People calling me his dad/parent just sounds...weird to me. Being his owner doesn't mean I value or cherish his life any less than I would a hypothetical child of mine. I love him and I treat him very well. But I still own him - just not in the same way I own my desk chair. And the law already reflects this distinction. I can take a sledgehammer to my chair, burn it, throw it in the dumpster, etc. If I were to beat/mutilate/toss/etc my dog, I'd rightfully be in jail. The "guardian" nonsense is legal path to removing the rights of pet owners to make decisions for their animals. It plays right into the hands of PETA's stated goal of eradicating domestic animals. ~ I don't think I could live without a dog. I don't know how I lived as long as I did without one. If mandatory neuter was nationwide, I'd just opt for the nutless dog. I wouldn't like it, mind you, not one bit - but as far as the important traits of a dog go (loving, loyal, empathetic, etc) balls aren't really necessary :p. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Samson Work? What's- that?     Barked: Sun May 12, '13 2:51am PST  I OWN my dog and that simple legal definition allows me to make decisions for him that would otherwise be taken out of my hands. I don't want it any other way. I can't be told how to train him, what to feed him, etc, etc, so on and so forth. For those who think this is actually a good idea (and aren't the least bit suspicious as to why PETA/HSUS are on board with this), do yourself a favor and education yourself on the legal distinctions between "owner" and "guardian" and what the consequences of those differences are. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Dog Health > Right age to Neuter?

Samson Work? What's- that?     Barked: Tue Apr 16, '13 10:41am PST  Six months should really be an absolute bare minimum for a dog that size. I wouldn't even really be comfortable doing it that early. Maybe as early as nine, and that's a big stretch. A year isn't a bad timeline, though. At that point most medium to large-sized dogs have finished the most of their growth (as far as their frame is concerned). It's not going to necessarily hurt your dog to do it earlier, but as long as you have the vigilance and the ability to choose when your dog is neutered, later is better to reduce the likelihood certain potential health risks (we're still talking about very small increases). my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Service & Therapy Dogs > Which law applies to county jails?

Samson Work? What's- that?     Barked: Thu Apr 11, '13 5:13am PST  I used to work in a county jail as well. We have high/close security jail (not quite maximum security, but close), contact visits were never allowed for anyone, with the exception of legal counsel. I'm not sure what the jail commander would have decided in your situation - but we probably would have required you to show up during regular visitation hours. If your county jail allows for contact visits, that's a whole 'nother ball game that I'm not at all familiar with. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Dog Health > Very Dissapointed With My Local Vets :(

Samson Work? What's- that?     Barked: Wed Mar 20, '13 10:57am PST  My e-vet just asks for verbal confirmation that I'm capable of paying. I've never been asked to pay up front, even the first time I went there, and I've never had immediate, urgent cases (like, dog bleeding out or passing in and out of consciousness, etc). Regular vets in this area, however, leave something to be desired. I've finally found one that is okay, but they are really horrible about communication, and their prices are lower than most other vets in the area so they are constantly swamped, leading to assembly-line type practices. Not that they aren't good and don't do a good job, there's just not a lot of time even when I do schedule an appointment, to really talk things over. They just kind of rush you through. Not much I can do about it. The other choices in the area...one I'm convinced is partially or entirely responsible for Samson's fear aggression issues, and the other was a self-absorbed jerk. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Samson Work? What's- that?     Barked: Wed Mar 20, '13 10:52am PST  "Unless directly exposed to a stimulus like a female in heat, mating doesn't ever seem to be on their minds." And in the case of mine, it doesn't even seem to be on his mind WHEN he is exposed to said stimulus. Mind you, I'm sure he'd figure something out if I locked him in a room with an in-heat female and left them alone for awhile, but he's had a couple instances where he was on supervised meet & greets, and didn't seem to react differently or show any more interest than he does with any dog. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Dog Health > Urinating in House

Samson Work? What's- that?     Barked: Tue Jan 29, '13 3:21pm PST  It's possible it did clear it up, I don't know. He had it for an ear infection and it seems to be cleared up for good this time around. But antibiotics wreck good AND bad bacteria, so, it's possible his GI and/or urinary tracts are messed up from that. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Dog Health > Urinating in House

Samson Work? What's- that?     Barked: Tue Jan 29, '13 12:06pm PST  Not any more than usual, no. Not drinking any more than usual either, nor is he any more thirsty than usual. If this doesn't seem to clear up in a bit I'll get bloodwork & a urinalysis done. He had some done two years ago, I think. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Dog Health > Urinating in House

Samson Work? What's- that?     Barked: Tue Jan 29, '13 10:09am PST  So the past couple weeks Samson has started peeing in the house. And it is definitely peeing, not marking, the volume is SO MUCH MORE than just marking. He's already ruined an expensive set of insulated drapes, a basket, and a cat tree. He's on 100% leashed supervision while indoors now, no exceptions. He HAS marked in the house in the past before (been a very long time though), so I know the difference in volume. He was on antibiotics off and on for about a month and a half due to an ear infection we COULD NOT get rid of. I know the last one was an oral antibiotic, Baytril. He was on a week of that, but it has probably been two weeks since he was off that (right when the problems started). The one right before that were ear drops, "TMP-SMZ." I honestly can't remember what the first med was, though - but it was an ear drop, too, different antibiotic though. I know being on antibiotics for so long has probably really screwed up his gut flora, and I know it can mess up "healthy" bacteria in the urinary tract - but he's not acting at all like he has a UTI (he's had them before). When cleaning up the mess he made last night (which was the last straw - that's what led me to impose a 100% leashed in the house rule, though he's still allowed to roam free in my room, where he's never peed), I noticed it smelled very...alkaline? I don't know if that is the word. He's always killed grass where he pees though, so that might be normal for him. Just trying to think of any details that might help. I'm going to go to the grocery store today and try to pick him up some yogurt to help repopulate his gut with good bacteria. Part of me wonders if this is behavioral, I mean he won't pee at all in my room, which basically doubles as his "den" - but the rest of the house all of the sudden seems to be fair game. He's given multiple opportunities to go outside a day, and does pee when he's let out. There's no symptoms of a UTI. But this is so far out of the realm of his normal behavior, and there's no other indications to suggest a behavioral problem is going on that I'm still wondering if it is medical. Any ideas? Is it just going to take some time for his body to recover from the antibiotics? I know Baytril is a really powerful one and if I understand correctly is not normally given as a first course, so maybe that just really wrecked the good bacteria in his system and is making him feel off? my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Samson Work? What's- that?     Barked: Thu Jan 3, '13 3:41am PST  There's certainly the potential his personality could change - hormones play a large role in any biological organism and you're making a very drastic hormonal change. That said, typically personality changes are for the better, and we're not talking about changes that make your dog into a completely different dog. Small things, nothing intrinsic to who your dog is. And depression? No. Hormonal loss like that can cause depression in humans, but there's no evidence whatsoever to suggest that it can cause chronic depression like that in any animal. Jake is just about the happiest dog I know, and he hasn't had "the boys" around for almost three years now. I'm a guy and I'll admit straight up the thought of neutering a dog does bring on a sort of empathetic cringe. But if it is the best decision for the dog & owner, then it is the best decision, you can't be making it based on what a human guy thinks about it based on some inappropriate sense of anthropomorphism. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

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