dogbesotted

Phew! keep a close eye on her .. H

i also have a maremma information package which can b e either mailed or emailed if you woudld like to pm me with email addy :) cheers helen

OMG! that is awful... I am so sorry to hear that your big guy has been given his wings.. and under such tragic circumstances. Blessings to all who now have a hole in their world where he lived. Thankyou for sharing as this will help prevent this happenenuing again love and hugs helen

what I do regarding maremmas is always for the dogs.. which is why from time to time i help out idiots who should rightfully be left to stew in the situation of their own making..but it is their dogs who pay the price H

bred one litter of 7 pups. Kept two out of that litter. Have since re-educated and homed many maremmas and have here 6 rescue maremmas who were not rehomable because i was told they were biters.. but in the many years they have lived here there has been not one indication that they would bite..sigh I strongly feel that when you breed you have responsibility for the pups.. and that start not just with choosing good parents but also good homes and assistance should there be a problem. I do understand that it is not always possible to just take in additional dogs but i get a bit peed off when breeders tell me pompously they they are not responsible for the dogs in rescue .... that it is never dogs of their breeding ( but in my experience they have often sold the dogs that were used to breed the ones that come into rescue. I am ranting and raving I expect but somehow the burden always seems to fall on others H

No -I hate football - but couldn't resist:P fair enuff! love the names tho.. very clever H

adding that quite a while ago I helped talk a good friend into taking in a rescue maremma.. the lads full name was " Big Bomber Sheedy" and yes his owner was a full fledged Bombers support complete with tattoo at the base of her spins. My support was always limited to lacy knickers sporting the bombers logo.. sigh that was way back in my frivolous youth hate to imagine the look now :rofl: h

Ess & Don..please oh please tell me that we have a football team in common H

Amen to this. This time I hope they enforce the pet ban EFFECTiVELY. yep.. could not agree more. When i read this kind of thing my uncivilised persona want to rise to the top and do severe damage to the perpetrators of this cruelty... H

wait for it... have you had a full thyroid test carried out.. yeasty smell, yeasty ears, and many of the other symptoms are present with dogs who have a thyroid problem.. read up Dr Jean Dodds H

I agree wholeheartedly with Ernys comments re thyroid testing... and the alarm bells for me are the thinning coat and the yeasty skin. I add that I have had several "thyroid" dogs and all have presented with differing symptoms ranging from : becoming snappy, indolent, greasy/smelly skin, thinning coat, weight gain, yeasty ears, constant eye problems, heat and cold intolerance.. and on it goes. H Helen

well for me i would be choosing a loagoot. I love italian breeds ( ) and have had the pleasure of meeting with lagottos when a dear friend was choosing her puppy. THEY are divine dogs and gorgeous to boot H

yep my thoughts as well... hats off to you both .. Helen

very happy Mazda CX7 driver here..have 1 young and 5 very old maremmas... it is lowish to the ground so it is not too difficult to lift the oldies into the back.. plenty of room for 1 to lie down in the back, room for 3 with the seats down. I love it H

OMG poor dog poor you!!!! what an awful nightmare of a time. Delighted that the warmer environment is helping!. There is very little that is worse than knowing your dog is in pain and not being able to pinpoint what is the cause. h

how long ago was the surgery and did the tooth grinding start around the same time?? or after a while.. rimadyl can have adverse effects on the liver and the Gi tract. Has your pup had a recent liver function test?? abdominal pain can be a cause of tooth grinding. also gabapentin can have xylitol in the mix if it is an oral suspension. ..so i am assuming that your pup is getting it in capsule or tablet form. just musing here..but worthwhile asking your vet H

I am hearing you..but a Total T4 test cannot be used to give an accurate picture of the effective ( free) T4 level ( altho some drs and vets still try to use this to evaluate their patients) . There are a whole lot of reason that the set of tests be carried out and also a test for thyroid antibodies. You should check the blood test results to ensure that full thyroid panel was done. why do i jump up and down so much about having the full panel done? I have had three dogs dxd with thyroid disease plus one mother ( :) ) two of the dogs and my mother had only T4 levels tested..my mother despite me asking for a full panel. All three deteriorated markedly before either dr or vet gave in to me asking for a full thyroid panel. The third dog had the full thyroid panel done very early on and with a low amount of thyroxine supplementation is doing very well. Once many symptoms are showing the thyroid is extremly damaged. With my mother she was finally dxd with toxic multinodular goiter ( multiple hot nodules in the thyroid) ..this took two years of me repeatedly asking the dr for proper tests.. needless to say as my mother is aged the subsequent three year wait to see an endocrinologist ...has meant that she will actually now get no further treatment off my soap box now :D :D H

ok you have some really good suggestions already and now i am going to jump on the thyroid bandwagon. It may be worth your while to have your pups thyroid levels checked. one of the signs of hypothyroidism is "Difficulty maintaining body temperature may lead to frank hypothermia; the classic hypothyroid dog is a heat-seeker. " with thyroid insufficiency not all symptoms are present which leads many cases to be overlooked. according to Dr Jean Dodds cruciate ligament rupture can be one of the clinical signs of canine hypothyroidism ( Neuromuscular symptoms) ( http://drjeandoddspethealthresource.tumblr.com/post/60944623740/dog-aberrant-behavior-thyroid-dysfunction#.Uz-dzKiSy8A ) a full blood thyroid panel should be carried out not just T4 . Tests that may confirm the diagnosis include measurement of the serum concentrations of total T4, free T4, and TSH; provocative thyroid function tests (eg, TSH stimulation test); thyroid gland imaging; and response to thyroid hormone supplementation. H

http://www.maremma-sheepdogs.co.uk/dogs/articles/answers.html ANSWERS ABOUT MAREMMAS Everything you always wanted to know about Maremmas that isn't answered anywhere else quite as it is here. How large does a Maremma actually get? You know the height of a dinner table or a work surface in the kitchen? A normal Maremma bitch can run beneath your table as long as she tucks her head in. A Maremma dog has to bend down at the knees or he will lift the table up. You should never, under any circumstances, leave any meat, including sausages, on a table or kitchen surface. A Maremma will collect such morsels with ease, no problem at all. If the objective is to snug-fit onto the sofa, a Maremma will make itself rather small. During thunderstorms, more apprehensive Maremmas will fit underneath smallish chairs. Maremmas Weight According to the book, anything between 35 to 48 kg's. Should you try to administer medicine, try to clean his ears or clip his nails, the weight goes up to Loch Ness Monster proportions, and he can make himself just as invisible. On the first day of obedience training he will weigh in at about that of a young elephant and when introducing him to the command 'sit', applying hand pressure, he will weigh as much as your average Sumo wrestler. When making his way through a litter of kittens, chicks, lammies or young goats he will be weightless like a humming bird. How much does a Maremma eat? As much as he likes- irrespective what it says on the back of the can or what experts recommend. The Maremma is quite a frugal dog. Assuming normal levels of activity, and pound for pound, he will get away with less than a Pekinese for example. But even the best food for these large guarding breeds is never sufficient. In no time at all, your Maremma will make this crystal clear to you. He will assure you that he will starve to death if he does not receive chicken breast at regular intervals, cheese omelettes are a must twice a week, Norwegian salmon a stark necessity, steak rinds mandatory and a dollop of the cat food here and there essential. Should he find out that your own weakness are sweeties, you will end up with a black and blue thigh - this stems from the repeated paw strokes he will administer constantly until he finally gets his share. Cream puffs and oriole cookies are far superior to Pedigree treats but possibly less healthy. Do Maremmas shed? During the course of the annual moult you can brush out as much coat from your dog as you need for spinning considerable lengths of yarn, or just about enough for a pair of mittens, a hat or a scarf, no problem. Why some dog owners actually do this, is beyond me. After all, everything in a Maremma household, including the furniture is constantly covered in a discrete hue of dog hair. The shed's duration varies; usually it lasts 365 days. Maremma fur is partial to dark garments. Professional people with a live - in Maremma can be recognised by their preference for a medium grey and light beige choice of attire. Maremma owners are trained by their dogs to change in the garage into and out of dark clothes especially uniforms and suits. Every Maremma owner has a hermetically closed 'dog free' zone at home or possesses a second clothes cupboard at work. What about barking? So what about it? You can train yourself early on to get used to it. Go out and have a look whenever your Maremma barks. Pay him some attention every time he barks and praise him, soon your neighbours will do the same. Mutual support will yield excellent results! Not necessarily towards your Maremma's education but most certainly towards human relations. You will be amazed what your neighbours will come up with - usually anonymously and directly via the police and the County Court. Do take these reactions as proof of an increased interest in your person combined with a certain respect for you. Only indiscriminate people would confront you directly. Alternatively, you may opt to ignore the barking right from the word go. But what are Maremmas barking at? That's simple enough, only at what they can see and hear! This ranges from bright butterflies to low flying satellites. Maremmas have an acute sense of hearing. They will detect their family's voices halfway down the road. This is especially true should the conversation turn to them. On the other hand, Maremmas suffer from selective dumbness. This is particularly manifest when it comes to words such as 'Stay', 'No', 'Thank you', 'I'll have that', 'Quiet' and especially 'Come'. When a Maremma is allowed to sleep close to his humans during the night, he may snooze so deeply that the trumpets of Jericho would not bring him to his paws. Maremma owners trade methods of how to keep their dogs quiet like they used to trade their grandmother's secret pea soup recipes. Everyone has a different one. Is it true that Maremmas like to dig? Maremmas and almost all other large guarding breeds originate from the central European mountain ranges. How do you think these mountains came into existence and why are the Abruzzi so high? A Maremma, believing himself unobserved, turns the mouse hole in the lawn into an impact crater in no time at all. Landscape gardeners confess to a disproportionately large number of commissions from large guarding breed owners. Maremma owners should abandon all dreams about possessing lawns of Wimbledon Centre Court quality, and better get used to the fact that in future they will have to live on an artillery training range. How do Maremmas get on with children? If you have taught your children early on that one does not annoy dogs; does not tweak it's tail; does not jump on top of it when it is asleep; does not kick it; does not pull it's coat; does not yell at it; does not prick it's ears with a needle and does not pinch it's food; then your Maremma will be safe from your children. Children are not as easy to train as a Maremma, mainly because one is not allowed to put children on a lead, but also because children are not as easily offended as Maremmas are.

hugs and blessings Denali. I too have found that dogs grieve and each differently just like we do. Routine and rescue remedy or even get a Bach remedy made up especially for wee Harry http://www.aldaronessences.com/articles/Easing-Grief-With-Bach-Flower-Remedies.html Helen

another example of a small group of committed people working together to make a change!!! great work... in this day it seems there is such a huge demand for instant everything that the big thing get thrown away because it takes time and effort Kirra is a fortunate dog and your parents are wonderful responsible dog people Helen

RIP little Man. Condolances Maeby. H

woohoo!!!! this has brightened my day. Helen

I do hope that this dear old sweetheart is now home... H

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