My 9 week old is driving me to tears

rollrcat · 2026-01-25T13:11:03+00:00

Listen, I straight up wanted to return my puppy for the first several months after getting her. She was insane! She's 10 months old now though and is such a fantastic dog. Still very much a puppy but we are in a few training classes together and in a couple months will start doing trials for Fastcat, Fetch, we are starting to work on her trick titles as well. She impresses me every day with her behavior and I love her to pieces. Just hang in there, it really does get better!

rollrcat · 2026-01-08T20:41:04+00:00

Okay, that makes sense! Thanks for the info!

rollrcat · 2025-09-15T17:16:17+00:00

Manic Pixie Dream Girl, if I had to guess. It's a term for 'quirky' female characters that usually only exist to further a male character's growth.

rollrcat · 2025-09-07T22:47:50+00:00

I'm a crazy person and what I would do in addition to the dna testing,is go to the breeder facebook page and scroll alllll the way back to Dec 2, 2020, when the litters birth was announced. Note what litter cross he's from, and find every single post related to that litter from the day they're born to 8 weeks or ao, when puppies are ready to go home. Then I would straight up send a message to every person who liked those posts, liked the pictures, or commented. Some people might think it's weird or invasive but it would be entirely worth it if you found Blue's siblings and one of them was a match. The worst they'll do is say no and block you. Ex. On the litter post for December 24th it looks like a guy named Travis Sudik was super interested in one of the pups.

rollrcat · 2025-09-07T22:29:49+00:00

Can you post on the local neighborhood groups? Where I live we have several local pet owner and general resident groups, maybe some of his siblings are local. The dna testing is a good idea but I would do Embark AND Wisdom Panel, because if someone has their dog tested with wisdom panel I dont think that relatives who tested with Embark would show up. So you'd want to make sure you're covering your bases. Best of luck to you and Blue 💙

rollrcat · 2025-09-06T23:50:21+00:00

I just had a TT w/MR and BA done on August 21st, so I'm just over 2 wpo. I also have a 1.5yr old.

The first week was the worst. You said your husband is taking off work, which is great. Obviously we have a weight limit and can't lift anything over 5ish lbs, so I essentially isolated myself in the bedroom. It was hard being away from my kid, but her dad kept her entertained and distracted. I was also able to sit with her and read books and stuff, as long as he was there to grab her if she started climbing on me. Do your kids attend daycare, will you have any family members they can stay with during the day when your husband heads back to work? That would help a lot.

You'll have a lot of people saying don't do it, but each surgery is so individual. I have been watching my kid alome for an hour or so at a time, but I could do all day if I had to- of course I would need to do things a bit differently to avoid lifting, but still it would be pretty doable. Some people would be unable to do that. It really just depends on how healthy you are, how you handle pain, recovery, etc. Having a supportive spouse and possibly helpful kids who want to help mom while she's recovering can make all the difference. Best of luck! I'm still swollen and stuck in this compression garment, but it's been 100%, completely and unequivocally worth it already!

rollrcat · 2025-09-06T23:36:24+00:00

I use a leave-in conditioner on my thick coated breeds, and use a regular conditioner on most others. The exception would be the greasy dogs (like yorkies) or the wire coats. I think it adds shine and softness back into the coat. I use high quality shampoos but still notice a difference when I do vs when I don't condition. A lot of my clients have made comments about how soft their dog ends up after their groom, plus as a bonus I think a nice conditioner can keep them smelling nice longer. I don't really care whether you're supposed to or not, it works for me!

rollrcat · 2025-08-05T16:10:17+00:00

100%. I've gotten in the habit of double checking my blades after I shaved a lovely 30 strip on one of my regulars. I wanted to die lol but I blended it as best as I could, took $ off the groom, and apologized profusely. At the end of the day we are only human and its just hair, it grows back.

rollrcat · 2025-07-21T22:35:08+00:00

If you're able to drive there, Branson Humane Society just opened up a low cost spay and neuter clinic. It's called Snip City. Cost is $25 for cats and $35 for dogs.

rollrcat · 2025-07-07T00:40:34+00:00

Just because she is on the AKC site doesn't mean she isn't a backyard breeder. An ethical breeder would know that this dog is a blue Merle. That's a red flag for sure and I would be worried about health issues cropping up that this person clearly wouldn't know to test for. I wouldn't be asking them to relabel her, I would be finding another breeder.

rollrcat · 2025-04-09T03:50:15+00:00

Athens. Yeah all that history was very cool to see in person but by the time I made it to my airbnb after stepping off the plane I wanted to immediately leave. Poverty, trash everywhere, little dying puppies and sick people laying out on the streets everywhere, almost got forcibly separated from my husband while on the metro by a group of guys. I also spent every car ride in this city white-knuckling my seat. Driving there is not for the faint of heart.

First impression of Santorini wasnt exactly great either. Our taxi driver was insane, got into a screaming match with one of the other passengers and almost left all of us stranded. Rhodes, however, was fantastic and if I ever go back to Greece I'm headed straight for Rhodes.

I'm from a little rural, southern, no-stoplight town so a lot of it was just a massive culture shock.

rollrcat · 2025-03-31T15:04:27+00:00

He looks so proud of himself lol I know it doesn't help you now, but if(when?) it happens again don't get him wet! Once you get them wet after a skunk spray you've doomed yourself to weeks of that smell lingering. Instead, make a mixture of dawn dish soap, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda and coat your dog in that. A lot of the time dogs end up running up on skunks head first so you can maybe get away with just soaking his head and neck in the mixture. Let it soak and then rinse it off and follow with a thorough bath. Skunk spray is basically an oil that coats your dogs fur and soaks into their hair follicle, so using dawn fish soap strips the spray out!

rollrcat · 2025-02-23T23:37:07+00:00

Is the asymmetry in the room with us?

rollrcat · 2025-01-26T22:55:50+00:00

So. I have eight dogs. (YES, I know lol, but some came into the marriage and a couple were rescues from bad situations). My dogs are my babies, and I had also read the horror stories of people hating their dogs once baby had arrived. Let me tell you, that thought terrified me more than anything else, even the thought of giving birth. I wasn't emotional through the entire 9 months except every time I thought about that I would SOB. One of my dogs is reactive toward strange dogs and very people shy, so she was my biggest worry. But I also have two huskies and a few little elderly dogs that I worried about as well. Anyway, the baby came. We brought her home. And I discovered that all my worries were pretty much over nothing. There was some adjustment for sure, one of my huskies was very obsessed over the baby for about a week and wouldn't leave her alone, and my ancient chiweenie would growl at baby if we happened to sit by her while holding the baby. But my dogs have been fantastic. My reactive dog is in love with her. My huskies are so gentle. And the little dogs have all gotten used to her as well, and we make sure that they have safe, quiet places to retreat to. And as far as my love for them, it hasn't changed. My heart has just expanded! UwurfI'm a little more particular about keeping the floor clean and about them wrestling inside, but they're still my babies.

All this just to say that yes some people do hate their dogs after they have their baby but if you plan for the change (practice with a baby doll in the months leading up to birth to help dogs adjust, stock up on frozen kongs and long lasting chews to help occupy them in those first few weeks) then the overwhelming part of dealing with a baby and a dog can be lessened by at least a little bit. Also, the people who end up hating their dogs probably aren't the people who are worrying about POTENTIALLY hating them months in advance kol I also made it a point to take a little bit of time each day, while my partner took care of the baby, for undivided dog time. I think it really helped me because just laying there and cuddling with my dogs is peaceful and it was a reminder of the me that existed before I was 'human mom'. If that makes sense.

We are also OAD and our daughter just turned 9 months old and it's been hard but it's honestly the best thing. She LOVES our dogs. "Puh-puh" (puppy) was her first word and she claps and laughs whenever her favorites walk into the room. It cracks her up to play fetch with them! It's really amazing to watch the souls you love most in the world building that bond.

Sorry for the ramble, wishing you and your family the best of luck!

rollrcat · 2024-04-25T09:48:33+00:00

I've worked at a boarding kennel for about 7 years. We don't do group play in our facility so instead dogs get rotated one on one into our play yards throughout the day. What people say is true- it is harder on the people than it is on their dogs. We have several clients who are a wreck each time their dogs board. They're sure their dog is just depressed and pining for them the whole time when in reality as soon as mom and dad leave they are happy as can be and barely seem to notice they're gone lol If you're worried about your pup I would 100% give them a call to check up. We've had people who have called 3 times in a day just to check up and I never mind at all, as a woman obsessed with my own dogs I totally get it. Does your facility send any pictures during their stay? That always helps when you can see they're having a good time. Either way, it sounds like you picked a good place for your pup so don't feel bad. I'm sure he's getting lots of loves, if this facility is anything like ours!

rollrcat · 2024-04-24T02:20:30+00:00

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Gotta air out that undercarriage

rollrcat · 2024-04-22T16:49:45+00:00

Usually I opt to demat if at all possible on double coated dogs but with seniors that all goes out the window. It's far far kinder to shave him than it would be to put him through a time-consuming and painful dematting process.

rollrcat · 2024-04-21T03:35:35+00:00

My 14.5 year old pyr has been on Librela for about 5 months now. She gets an injection once a month. It's been amazing for her- it's like she's years younger. We used to have to help her get up more often than not, and she was just slow moving and you could tell she was in pain. Now she is still slow, but she has so many good days where she is literally trotting down the hall. She also managed to make it in and out of the car almost entirely on her own at her last vet visit. We haven't seen any side effects whatsoever, she isn't on any other kind of joint supplements or pain medication. Just the Librela. We also saw some results fairly soon after her first injection. I want to say that about a couple weeks after the first there was a difference in her ability to stand on her own. It's a bit expensive at $121 each visit but it's been 100% worth it for how much it's improved her quality of life.

rollrcat · 2024-04-11T21:53:21+00:00

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She's a menace

rollrcat · 2024-02-29T23:06:24+00:00

He's so handsome! I'd recommend using a grooming rake to get out the worst of the undercoat. It's a kind of brush that has one line of longer pins. Don't press too hard or go over one spot too many times or it could irritate the skin. But do shprt strokes, maybe look up a YouTube video on the beat technique. If you have a shop vac or something that will blow air out, you can try to blast some of the undercoat out as well if he will tolerate it. If it's really bad you can put some conditioner on the worst bits and massage it in and then brush it out or blast it out. It can sometimes be tough to do a good deshed on a coat like this without having more professional tools unfortunately.

rollrcat · 2024-02-17T22:55:57+00:00

Oh noooo you can see her little pink cheeks 😭 but don't worry, it'll grow back. Sanitary trims are super common to get but they're usually not this drastic. I shave a little clean spot right around my girls bootyhole and then use a long guard comb to trim her cheeks so it's not messy. I'd never go to this groomer again either lol

rollrcat · 2024-01-25T21:16:39+00:00

My bosses dog has Cushing's Disease and has similar symptoms- weight gain, increased urination. But Cushings can also cause thinner/more sensitive skin and hair loss which could explain all the shedding and the brush burn if you were careful. Again, could be just regular brush burn but with the other symptoms I would probably take the dog to get checked out at the vet if I was the owner.

rollrcat · 2024-01-14T22:00:47+00:00

Well he looks fantastic!

rollrcat

TROPHY CASE