Learn the correct way to use the collar before you put it on him.

I know they can be an excellent dog training tool but it is also one of the tools that can be misused, even abused if not properly trained.

Hi Becky,

I drain the fat off the cooked ground beef only if there's a lot of it. Small amounts won't hurt. The cooked chicken with kibble soaked in broth you described sounds good (obviously the dog thought so too).

Yes, he probably will get food wise as you raise his culinary expectations. You can deal with a healthy dog holding out for a better menu simply by feeding at regular times and taking away uneaten food after 10-15 minutes - repeat until they get the idea. If the dog is in good physical shape then going hungry until they decide to eat what is on offer won't hurt. But personally, when I have taken in malnourished foster dogs with teeth problems or other health issues my immediate priority has been to get decent food into them and weight back on - whatever that took. JMHO.

Glad he's doing so much better, and i hope you can get his teeth checked soon.

Sarah

Sorry I have not responded, we had no cell service yesterday and today I spent the day at the airport getting Jazz on a priority flight south to wpg, to be brought into an emerg vet, he woke with a huge swollen left rear ankle, and it started leaking blood and fluid as I packed him up to send himm out, the flight was delayed 5 hours, so he just got picked up now finally by my sister 1000km away, to be taken to emerg..will let you know how it goes. We have no idea what could have happened, and hope its not serious, I will have them check his teeth while he is there, but they told me if he goes on meds the teeth will have to wait until his meds are done, depending on what he did to the leg! Wish me luck

Hi Becky. I've not posted in your thread up to now, but I have been following it. Sorry to hear about the emergency with your dog. I hope everything turns out okay. Let us know when you can.

Fingers crossed for Jazz!

Yikes! Hopefully it's something simple like an abscess. Hope Jazz is home and healing soon!

Poor boy was sedated and they found a punture wound, vet says it was tiny, 2mmX2mm, that closed and abscessed, they cleaned, opened it up and he will be on meds for the next 2weeks with daily rinses with medicated soap. They also checked his teeth, and as I thought, the front teeth were broken, to what they said looked exactly like trying to rip a kennel/pen open, they can see the pulp on some, but said that he has had the issue for a very long time, and have booked him in for a full dental exam with possible extractions for july. We are now trying to get him on a flight home, our airline is not very dependable, so hopefully I can have him back by monday, he is currently housed at my sister's, and lo and behold he is not aggressive to dogs, he is getting along fine with her mastiff mix!
The previous owner denied knowing he had broken teeth, she said she knew he had ground them down a lot, and blamed the breaks on a dog fight he was in, I have washed my hands of her, she will not be seeing us or him again, she can keep his pedigree papers, and shove them where the sun don't shine!

Canine teeth can often be wore down from chewing on fence, in particular chain link.

If the upper canines are broken off at the gum line or below it can create serious sinus infections.

 Quote: Cheri Grissom

Hi Becky. Sorry to hear about the emergency with your dog. I hope everything turns out okay. Let us know when you can.

I would like to echo these sentiments. I had some issues to work out when I rehomed my current dog, but it has been worth it every single day since. Six months or so from now, after you get the health part sorted out, I think that you will find that you have a completely different dog.

Good looking out, and best wishes.

It sure sucks not to have a vet near us!
So four days and 900 dollars later (300 for the flight, 358 for the vet, and 267 for the return flight) not counting that the flight took 8hours to get here, we finally got Jazz home!

His paw looks fine,we have a scrub they sent, we are supposed to scrape the scab off and rub in 2x's a day,antibiotics 2x's a day, and lo and behold, another infection.
When he came home, I loved him up, and proceeded to groom him as the stress has him shedding like a exploding chicken, and about an inch or more from the tip of his tail I felt a mass, much like matted hair, (not hard to miss if the vet actually looked, or my sister for that matter, whom we won't even get into that she had him sleeping and sent home on a filthy dried blood/pus covered sheet) and assumed it was yucky crap stuck on the tail from his leaking foot, so I tried to comb it out, and found it was another abscess, it bled right away (the comb took off all the hair on the abscess) so I used warm water and a cloth, cleaned all the dried guck and used the same soap they have for the paw..will be watching him like a hawk now, and he lost 2 and a half kg's to boot what a week..all training is on hold until all open wounds heal, as we are in pretend spring melt, thanks for the concern everyone, its been a tough few months, but the look of joy on his face when he saw us today was worth all the stress!