The Chillout Zone (Off-Topic Thread)

I think my budgie Yellow is dying. She is healthy but she is 9. She has started to sit oddly, and act really oddly, just like my old bird JJ did before he expired of old age! She was at the vet a few weeks ago, they wanted to x ray her to see if she had a tumour making her sit differently. Well, firstly the x ray was out of my budget, second they would have had to put her under general anaesthetic (for a tiny budgie!) to do it, and third, if she has a tumour, you can't remove a tumour from a budgie, they're so tiny that any tumour that develops is most of their body!

Yellow is not suffering, in fact she is still playing with her little mates in the cage and tweeting away. Her behaviour is backwards though. She refuses now to eat from the seed dishes, she will only eat seed from the floor. And then she sleeps all day with her head between her wings, but when I cover the cage for bedtime, she goes down to the floor and eats seed! My JJ did this too. He was only 7 but died of natural causes. He started acting differently days before. He too was healthy and happy. Just their time has come up. They are both "English Budgies" so their lifespan is shorter due to physical traits.

I actually thought I was going to lose her a few weeks ago when we brought her to the vet. So I am very well prepared. I sometimes think there is something wrong with me, I'm awfully pragmatic about death. My dad's first anniversary just passes and I'm still not getting emotional.

aonb

Brought my poor little chap home from the vet last night, they replaced his cruciate ligament :eek: He is a pretty anxious/stressy (in a quiet way) type dog. He is a TOTAL wimp - a splinter in his paw is the end of his world - so he is a total wreck with this. He has lots of pain meds thankfully, and the saving grace is that he has ZERO interest in doing anything other than lying/sitting. I carry him from his bed to our bed to the sofa to the sun room - my back wont last much longer! He has a total issue with peeing - granted this is only day 1 at home - left lots of newspapers last night, and he pee'd overnight there (not a problem) - when I carry him out to the garden, he just sits - I can understand that lifting his leg to pee (or squat to poop) will be an issue for a few days, but hope not too long. He finds it very hard to settle/get comfy. Poor little chap - his leg/wound is HUGE and horrible Back to vet in 10 days for check up and exercise regime (!!) fingers crossed all will go smoothly til then.

(The ex-feral/rescue kitten - well, cat now - is totally puzzled by his lack of inactivity & keeps asking him what the hell is going on - so cute - but is not happy that play time is over!)

tk123

Aonb what did they replace the ligament with?! Is he bionic now?! At least you can carry him - takes some of the stress/danger out of loo breaks. I'll never forget when I stupidly stood on Bailey's lead when he was restricted to stop him trying to pull it out of my hand - down it went into the snow and off he went flying around the garden. Thought his leg was going to snap!! My mum ran in crying lol and left me to catch him!

Anyways poor Bailey - I got mixed up and took him for a titre test on friday - a year early lol!!! It didn't dawn on me until I was at the lights just beside the house on the way back. OOOPS!

reallyrose

Henry is getting the old snipperoo on Wednesday. He's celebrating the last days of his nutpouch by
a) Crawling into my duvet cover, wriggling off the bed, and getting stuck in a sort of hovering trap.
b) Climbing the curtains
c) Falling into the toilet
d) Falling into the bath
e) Eating garbage
f) Vomiting up garbage
g) etc

tk123

I posted on a FB page yesterday and Lucy's breeder posted hello back to Lucy from her mum and brother. We were saying 'look there's Lucy's "real" brother!!!" .... and then felt really guilty like we were hurting Bailey's feeling's LOL He's been her brother since she was 8 weeks old - longer than the other fella!

aonb

tk123 wrote: »

Aonb what did they replace the ligament with?! Is he bionic now?! At least you can carry him - takes some of the stress/danger out of loo breaks. I'll never forget when I stupidly stood on Bailey's lead when he was restricted to stop him trying to pull it out of my hand - down it went into the snow and off he went flying around the garden. Thought his leg was going to snap!! My mum ran in crying lol and left me to catch him!

Anyways poor Bailey - I got mixed up and took him for a titre test on friday - a year early lol!!! It didn't dawn on me until I was at the lights just beside the house on the way back. OOOPS!

Its an artificial ligament - all very bionic looking (vet showed one to me)! The vet receptionist told me she was doing a stock check, and there were supposed to be TWO replacement ligaments there, but after Rumbles surgery there were ZERO there :eek: Maybe they used two instead of one!! Poor old fellow, is totally clingy and whiny - we cant leave him alone - luckily my husband is working from home, so dog is under his desk when Im running around the place. Its going to be a long 10 days!!

Keep seeing two retrievers out walking - either in Johnstown or Blessington - and think of Bailey & Lucy every time!!

tk123

Yeah when Bailey got his second leg done the surgeon was showing me the different kind of plate he was going to use like it was really cool -"eh great?! " The same with Bailey's jaw - I still haven't thought of something that would impress me so much as my vet's reaction to the wound :p

Not us in Blessington :pac:

angeldaisy

Hubby's in the spare room as he's on earlies. So Elly and I are playing our usual game. It's time for bed, Tara heads straight for her bed and Elly gets on my bed.

So I tell her to go to bed and she gets in her bed. I get into bed and light goes out. This is when the fun starts! She basically waits till she thinks I'm asleep and then jumps on the bed next to me.
If I'm not and catch her, she does this ' I'm not here you can't see me face'!! Happened 3 times already tonight. I'll wake in the morning with the two of them in bed with me!

tk123

angeldaisy wrote: »

Hubby's in the spare room as he's on earlies. So Elly and I are playing our usual game. It's time for bed, Tara heads straight for her bed and Elly gets on my bed.

So I tell her to go to bed and she gets in her bed. I get into bed and light goes out. This is when the fun starts! She basically waits till she thinks I'm asleep and then jumps on the bed next to me.
If I'm not and catch her, she does this ' I'm not here you can't see me face'!! Happened 3 times already tonight. I'll wake in the morning with the two of them in bed with me!

Lucy does the same thing! Her bed is a raised one at the end of my bed so she can just step across. She'll curl herself up small like she's saying 'I don't take up any room!!!' Then during the night she'll spread out kicking me or roasting me with the heat of her. The other night she woke me so many times snoring her head off beside and I was that asleep it took me a few seconds to register it was her and I could tell her to stop lol! . She's gotten very good now - if I tell her she'll reluctantly slide over to her own bed

angeldaisy

If I'm in bed alone, the two sleep on hubby's side, but if he's there as well, Elly ends up between us, usually in some kind of starfish shape and Tara is nestled by my knees.

But if we do it the other way round and I sleep in the spare room, they will happily stay in their own beds all night!

ShaShaBear

Took Opie for his first real one-on-one obedience lesson today. To say it was a major relief and success is a huge understatement! She pointed out aspects of his personality that never even dawned on us but explained so much, and we really understand him so much better now. She gave us a lend of a front-attach harness (she even fitted and altered it for us before we left) for the week and we're back next Thursday.
She had the patience of an absolute saint and never one even slightly suggested that he wouldn't progress or that we were at fault. She was full of positive words and affirmations and he thoroughly enjoyed her company, cheese treats and her toy ball (that he had great fun bursting :pac: ).
She went over training for teaching self-control, calmness, his crate issues, his food guarding, his walking on the lead, his excitement with other people and his general fear of being touched.

Actually teared up thanking her at the end, it was such a rewarding experience!
(Opie is still an ass, though).

reallyrose

Henry has gone for the Snip this morning! :eek::eek::eek:

tk123

Ah well done to you an Opie!!! I think a lot of people are hesitant about getting help because they think it'll be a "blame game" and focus on the negatives where it's usually the opposite! I may get some help with Bailey's jumping - he only does it to certain people who are fine with it but by being fine with it they encourage him if that makes sense? As one of them says as I apologise "stop apogising I don't mind!! And he only does it to people who love him"... But for me say if we're out in public and my other friend is there with Therapy Dogs to a stranger there's this golden retriever crying and barking and then going crazy jumping/licking/rolling on their back so he looks very bold!! Yesterday I was prepared because my friend hadn't seen us coming up behind her - I held Bailey's collar and he did he usual cry/bark combo because I wasn't letting him flatten her - which added to a passing chihuahua walker's horror at even passing 3 "big dogs" let alone one going mad with excitement!! Then the icing on the cake to freak them out even more was Lucy doing the loudest "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" she's ever done in the park lol!

ShaShaBear

tk123 wrote: »

Ah well done to you an Opie!!! I think a lot of people are hesitant about getting help because they think it'll be a "blame game" and focus on the negatives where it's usually the opposite! I may get some help with Bailey's jumping - he only does it to certain people who are fine with it but by being fine with it they encourage him if that makes sense? As one of them says as I apologise "stop apogising I don't mind!! And he only does it to people who love him"... But for me say if we're out in public and my other friend is there with Therapy Dogs to a stranger there's this golden retriever crying and barking and then going crazy jumping/licking/rolling on their back so he looks very bold!! Yesterday I was prepared because my friend hadn't seen us coming up behind her - I held Bailey's collar and he did he usual cry/bark combo because I wasn't letting him flatten her - which added to a passing chihuahua walker's horror at even passing 3 "big dogs" let alone one going mad with excitement!! Then the icing on the cake to freak them out even more was Lucy doing the loudest "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" she's ever done in the park lol!

We have the same problem with Opie's jumping. Few members of the family will just not listen when we say that if one person lets him do it, he's going to chance his arm with them all - just in case it does work.

They have a knack of knowing exactly when to make you look utterly useless as an owner :pac:
She was explaining how quickly Opie had figured out "Capture Training" and that he has established that he has to "do" something to get the food, and how she would reward him for doing literally anything except bold stuff. He kept sitting, lying down and did a lovely "go around" for her.

Then he realised she had cheese in her fists and nearly bowled her over :pac:

mymo

Well done shashabear and opie, I hope it helps.

Oliver got me up 4 times before 3.45am, the 5th time he'd just come back in so I told him to go to bed.
He thanked me for that by vomiting all over the kitchen floor. Next time I'll just get up.

Reallyrose, my daughter was just asking the other night if you'd put any photos up lately (hint hint), Henry fell in the bath more than once here, he also got stuck in a Venetian blind one day (it was a bit funny, but very noisy and hard to get him out, I'm sure you know why) hope he's being a good boy.

reallyrose

mymo wrote: »

Reallyrose, my daughter was just asking the other night if you'd put any photos up lately (hint hint), Henry fell in the bath more than once here, he also got stuck in a Venetian blind one day (it was a bit funny, but very noisy and hard to get him out, I'm sure you know why) hope he's being a good boy.

I have lots of photos, I'll do a bit of curation tonight and put some up. He's a mad yoke of a cat. He's learned to play fetch lately and brings his squirrel over to me when I'm on the couch. If you don't throw it far enough, he gets pouty.

tk123

There's a charity bake sale in work tomorrow so I decided to make a 'few' treats to donate for people to buy and take home - ended up with 75 of them lol!!! o_O

bluecherry74

tk123 wrote: »

There's a charity bake sale in work tomorrow so I decided to make a 'few' treats to donate for people to buy and take home - ended up with 75 of them lol!!! o_O

Liver cake? Or sweet potato chews perhaps?

Kovu

Kovu finally has his cone off! This was the last morning in bed with me and no......I don't recommend taking a cone head to bed. Scritchy scratchy noises at 4am will occur.
But he's insistent on going to bed with me when I'm home.

Layinghen

Ahhhhhhh, doesn't he look sweet and innocent..........when he's asleep:D

Kovu

Layinghen wrote: »

Ahhhhhhh, doesn't he look sweet and innocent..........when he's asleep:D

Haha. Yeah six weeks of cone were not fun......I just gave up and let him out with it on.

tk123

bluecherry74 wrote: »

Liver cake? Or sweet potato chews perhaps?

Grain free banana, peanut butter and coconut biscuits

Dubl07

tk123 wrote: »

Grain free banana, peanut butter and coconut biscuits

They look brilliant. What is the canine verdict on the taste?

ShaShaBear

tk123 wrote: »

Grain free banana, peanut butter and coconut biscuits

... I know I'm 7 months pregnant....
But the shape of those biscuits don't seem to be deterring me in the slightest.

tk123

The dogs loved them!! And all human ingredients so we tasted a few too

Update - the guy looked at me like I was mad when I dropped them down lol!! 'eh... you know..if people are buying stuff to bring home...?!"
I'd often buy something and bring it home myself... and I'd definitely buy dog treats just for the novelty lol!

scamalert

Hi everyone,anyway since its chill out zone,gonna give it a go instead of making thread,so was teaching my dog of the leash today in the front garden,that she would get used to not run away,anyway had some chicken kiev at hand and all went smoothly,until she found better thing to bite on,other dogs crap in the grass,i hushed her away,and second time before i could tell her to leave it she swallowed it in one go :eek:

throw-ed her now into back garden in case she decides to get sick :pac:

she hadn't any deworming pills for a while now,and doesn't like to use toothbrush treat,but to say the least really disgusted now that ive seen it.

what are my options here now ? shes 4y old lab mix btw
Since i know now any food she will get will be passed to her with a pole not to mention wont allow any licking

On the bright side figured if shes into it,might save me a lot of trouble picking poo from the front garden when cutting the grass if trained properly,since hate stepping into other dogs crap

Also before someone says how come ive seen it now shes adoped so had her for 6 months now,and am a bit bacterohope when it comes to such stuff,should i be concerned-like give her mouth wash or soap to chew on (joking)

aonb

Dog recovering from surgery to replace cruciate ligament.
Allowed zero activity.
Loves food - obviously!
Hes so bored/fed-up and missing his twice/daily walks. Im concerned about weight gain while this recovery is going on.
So! went to some of the bigger pet stores this a.m. to look for options on wet food. Looking for good quality food. Preferably grain-free and maybe weight-reducing. (Im down to 1 dog, so not interested in buying online and in bulk)

Im FLABBERGASTED at the prices of tins/pouches of "good quality" dog food.

Unbelievable!

I can understand why people in general end up feeding the usual supermarket rubbish to their pets (cat & dog)

Anyway, popped in to the butcher and bought a dozen chicken thighs for €3. A bag of brown rice €1.49 (used about a quarter of it), Packet of soup-mix-veg €1.49. Boiling the lot as I type. Will debone the chicken, chop the lot up and I reckon enough dinners for the patient for about 7-10 days €6!

He will be back to his kibble when we're exercising again - or I may stick to the home cooked - have always done it but stopped when we lost our 2 elderly dogs last year.

mymo

Yep, it's awful price for good quality foods in pet shops.
I buy the cheap mixed frozen veg from aldi and make up stew with brown rice and mince/chicken thighs/fish bits from fishmonger. Freeze it in portions in freezer bags.
My two love it, I use it in Kongs mainly (freeze them to make them last longer) or if I'm running low on their normal food before a delivery.

How's the patient? Is he behaving?

aonb

Good idea re frozen veg - hadnt thought of that!
Given the crap in nearly all commercial pet foods, Ive decided to go back to just home cooking, which I have always done, but stopped since the older dogs died. I'll start again, for the dog and the cat. The cat inhaled her first home cooked meal yesterday! Finding cat foods she will eat is becoming a nuisance, so this will be easier
Is there anything (besides onions I know about) I shouldnt put in the pot for a cat please cat-knowers?

The patient doing great - wound looks good - hes such a wimp he is really being careful and minding himself, so its been pretty ok keeping him quiet for past 10 days. Off to see "his surgeon" :P tomorrow, so hopefully will get all clear for some gentle rehab

tk123

It begins! >_< Playing firework sounds in prep for Halloween to try and get Bailey used to them! Keeping it very low today playing from my phone and will gradually build it up and stream to the tv - what must the neighbours be thinking with firework sounds blaring out of the tv lol! He was listening for a few mins but has gone back asleep!