Labradoodledoo Doodles

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Comment by Debb, Lucy & Oscar on February 12, 2011 at 3:42pm

Lucy hasn't always had great ears. As a young puppy she had what looked like a 'dirty' right ear. I cleaned her ears regularly and still the dirty stuff appeared in that right ear. The vet never detected infection, however. When she was 8 mos. old we were at the coast and took Lucy to a vet there for a sore toe. That's when an ear infection was detected. She was put on ear drops and within a week it was better, but the left ear started taking on the same characteristics of infection, so I used the remaining drops to clear that up. Since then I've been using non irritating ProEar (from Pet Edge) to clean her ears and they've stayed nice and clear. I do think Lucy is prone to ear infections.

Comment by Nancy and Molly on February 10, 2011 at 7:02am

Lepto vaccine here we come! The Portland T.V. news stations spent a few days reporting that sea lions had been washing up dead, so we stopped taking the dogs to the beach. I didn't realize that this vaccine was available. Thanks Debb. Molly enjoys ear grooming so we have a couple sessions of quick little tugs, a few wipes with a soft cloth and a dab of mineral oil every week.I have no idea what she weighs now. I will let you know after her vet visit. Angie stay warm!

Comment by Angie, Hudson and Lily on February 9, 2011 at 6:09pm

Glad to hear Lucy and Brewster are doing well. Hudson weighed 58 pounds at his last vet visit in January. He also needs ear plucking, and is prone to ear infections if we don't. Hudson gets some canned Wellness with his dry Wellness kibble. We don't brush his teeth, but they look great. His coat is the longest it has ever been. He hasn't been clipped since September or October. We were just hit with another 12 inches of snow last week during the blizzard, and another 5 inches on Saturday during some snow showers. He loves playing in it, but it is hard to keep the mats away. Right now it is COLD with sub zero wind chill's. He has always been vaccinated for Lepto. There was an increase in the number of cases in the Detroit metro area last summer. We are much further north in a more rural area, but it still highlighted the importance of the vaccine. They felt that the increase was due to city rats losing their homes along roads/highways due to road construction, and moving closer into the citiy. Lepto can be transmitted through rat urine. Several dogs were infected.

Hope to hear how the other sisters are doing!

Comment by Sandi on February 9, 2011 at 5:26pm

Hi!  Great report Lucy!  Brewster doesn't share her ear gene -- he had an ear infection at about 6 months, because we hadn't been plucking!

As for teeth, I give both of my dogs raw beef bones -- mostly knuckle bones -- and their teeth are always spotless!  No teeth brushing in this house!  The key is raw. 

I haven't given Lepto vaccine yet, but it sounds like I should.  It's so difficult to walk the delicate balance between too many vaccines and not enough....

Comment by Debb, Lucy & Oscar on February 9, 2011 at 1:39pm

Hi everyone! I just wanted to share Lucy's vet exam yesterday with you all. She weighed in at 48lbs... her highest yet, and vet said she was a good weight. Everything checked out really well. I was complimented on keeping Lucy's ears plucked, and had to admit I NEVER pluck her ears!  LOL.. Her teeth were exceptionally white and free of tartar. Surprising, since we're now mixing canned food (as well as a 1/2" slice of cooked sweet potato) into her dry food, and brush her teeth about once every 2 weeks. Vet said to brush her teeth every day if feeding soft food, so looks like that will become a new evening routine after Lucy's dinner. She got her DHPP and Bordetella vaccine boosters, as well as the first of the series of Leptospirosis shots. Lepto is a bacterial virus that can be spread from wild critters (raccoons, sea lions, etc.) to dogs and humans and cases have been showing up in our area, so I thought it a good idea to get Lucy immunized against it. Its spread through direct contact as well as through urine.

 

We're gearing up for a trip with Lucy to Oregon's High Desert at the end of the month. This will be her first chance to play in the snow since day 1 home with us (which she loved). I promise to capture her adventures on video. Hope everyone is doing well. Pop in sometime and give us all an update on your doodle!  :-)

Comment by Debb, Lucy & Oscar on January 18, 2011 at 2:13pm

I finally got around to taking pictures of my dog bathing system we set up in our spare bathroom upstairs. Its called the Texas Bowser Blaster using parts found at Home Depot. It basically is a 10' coiled garden hose connected to the water source (in our case the shower head, which we replaced with a spigot), a garden nozzle with multi spray options, 2 Ortho Dial 'N Spray bottles (1 for extremely diluted shampoo - about 1TBL per bottle, the other for diluted conditioner) and quick release connectors for the hose, bottles and garden nozzle. The quick release connectors make changing out the bottles and garden nozzle very easy! No scrubbing is necessary with this system. Letting the shampoo solution sit on the dog's coat for several minutes before rinsing is key in breaking down dirt, oils and debris. The spray action does the rest of the job. Here's the link to pictures: http://www.doodlekisses.com/photo/albums/texas-bowser-blaster

Comment by Nancy and Molly on January 10, 2011 at 12:10pm

Becky, that's the perfect description "Brush me, don't brush me, brush me" Molly is especially cooperative if she can lounge in someones lap while the other person grooms.

Comment by Becky & Sheeba on January 9, 2011 at 12:43pm

Hi Debb~ Sheeba is exactly the same about grooming her. When I attempt to brush her, her attitude is: "Brush me, don't brush me,brush me, don't brush me" The first few time I took her in for grooming they had a wiggly doodle on their hands, but now she is a doll for them. As for me...she still had that demeanor of do and don't all at the same time.

Comment by Debb, Lucy & Oscar on January 9, 2011 at 12:21pm

Hey Sandi, I'll have to give that 'reconditioning' idea a try with Lucy. That's the way I introduced the dremmel, with lots of treats at just the sight of it, and then progressing to it being turned on, and so on. Worked great. The brush was never introduced slowly, so that approach might very well work. I find it curious though, that groomers can brush her without any objection. I guess its just the different environment and different people. I'll let you know how it goes.. thanks for the suggestion!

Comment by Debb, Lucy & Oscar on January 9, 2011 at 12:17pm

Welcome, Sue. I'm from Portland too (Bethany area). I see you also joined the Portland Area Doodles group. We all met last month for a 'doodle romp' at a Portland doggy daycare one Sunday and the doods and people all had a great time. Hopefully, you'll be able to join us next time (as yet unscheduled) and we can meet.

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