Remedial training for an Anatolian/Pyr/Akbash and me

Oh, Wisher. 15 years is a loong life for a large breed, you obviously took really good care of Docker. What a thoughtful way to help him out of a life that was becoming a burden to him.

I couldn't help but think about the gentle irony of your son doing the driving. He and Docker were pretty much babies together, weren't they? And now here he is, on the verge of adulthood, helping to shoulder a part of the adult-sized responsibility of helping the old dog to cross the rainbow bridge.

So sorry

It's not just a dog dying. It's a family member. It's years of family history. It's seeing in your minds eye, all the memories. It's losing your friend.

I am so sorry in the loss of your friend, your family member who wore a dog suit. Big hugs.

Update:

The Biscuit took the loss of our old man very hard. He visits the grave every day and is off his feed. He is no longer chasing the chickens, I think he hasn't the heart. When I am outside, he is my shadow (he never did that before.) Worst of all, his Demodex is back. I have started him back on his ivermectin. Bless him, he loved that old dog more than I knew. I have a few feelers out for a LGD buddy for him. He loves for me to bring the housedog into the yard and he plays and plays with her. He hates it when she goes back in and likes to come inside and lay on the floor next to her crate. I haven't done that much, because in the midst of all this, he is more and more protective of the place. I can't say he is bonded with the goats, but he likes them. He will occasionally rub his body along theirs, if they will let him. Mostly, though, they rear up like they want to butt, but never do. He just stands there wagging his tail and waits for them to stop before trying to approach them again. He also charges the woods on a regular basis and "marks his territory" around the coops and field. I hope he snaps out of his gloom soon. He has lost some weight and I really wanted some more on him, already. He also started limping on a front leg, but there was no obvious injury and no tenderness when I felt all over from shoulder to pad. Poor baby, he is going through a rough patch. He is more and more bonded to me and actually seems to want to please me now. That may not be a good thing...........

Sorry you lost your old timer. I've been there and will be again soon as my eldest LGD is on borrowed time at age 13. They leave a gap with us and with their own compadres as well as the stock. But I find that I wouldn't live any other way.

The Biscuit continues to have a hard time.

Last night just before dark, he came running out of the woods, and began crying as he got to the house. He was holding up his right front leg and in such pain that he actually nipped at me when I tried to palpate it. I soon located a small spot of blood on the side of his paw and realized he had been snake bit.

I gave him 75mg of Benadryl and brought him in the house. I watched the swelling all night and took him to the vet first thing this morning. He weighed him (92lbs!) gave him a huge antibiotic shot and more antibiotics in pill form, as well as some pain/anti-inflammatories. We brought him home and bathed him and brushed him out.

He will stay in the house as long as needed, and is spoiled already. The only thing that worries me is that the site is turning black and I am watching it closely for gross necrosis.

Bless him......

Hope he is OK. Poor thing. Keep us posted on how he's doing.

Eeks, poor guy.

We had a cat that got snake bit a few years ago. She'd been missing for 3 days when I found her, head grossly swollen and with a mark over her right eye and another just in front of her right ear. She recovered, with just a slight squint in that eye as a reminder of the encounter.

Hope the Biscuit recovers quickly.

The vet said to keep him in for 4 or 5 days, but I think he will be able to go out sooner. I had to drop the dog and DS#3 off (I had a meeting) and communication through a 14 year old was spotty. I spoke briefly with the doc as I was leaving and he had already said to keep The Biscuit in, but was surprised when I said the swelling had already gone down a bit. That leg is now only slightly bigger than the other, but still obviously swollen. He is putting full weight on it and feeling fine.

Poor fella... amazing though that a dog or cat can survive a snake bite when a human needs all kinds of medical intervention. Hope he's back to 100% quick.