I always hated getting that one back x-ray with the film. It always hurt. But I got through it. Now, they have digital x-rays. There is no film. It's a big plastic thing that has no give to it and hurts like heck. This thing made me cry. It was so painful. I could not even do it. And they kept trying and trying and it was cutting the bottom of my mouth. They made me feel really stupid and were very threatening because they said, well your insurance isn't going to cover it unless you take this x-ray. So here I am in the car crying and trying to find out if anybody else has this problem. Of course I should know by now that if I have a problem a lot of people have a problem. It's never just me. Has anyone experienced this digital x-ray bs? How do I get through this? I asked for a smaller one. they said they didn't have one. They only had one size. I said how can that be when everyone has different sized mouths?

Yes! I have a very small mouth, and my dentist last year switched to a new way of doing X-rays -- instead of the old folded X-ray tabs that go in your mouth (that were bad enough), he now does digital X-rays. And the thing that goes in your mouth to do it is HUGE. And cuts my mouth to ribbons. Add in the fact that I have a really strong gag reflex, and the entire experience is just fun, fun, fun! Usually after the first X-ray, and a whole lot of kvetching and gagging from me, the technician switches to the child size thingies...

quirkyquerus: I totally agree. We don't really have any pet stores to speak of in my area other than Petsmart. I have never gotten a pet from a petstore except for hamsters and guinea pigs and fish. I think when people buy at a petstore it's more for convenience. They decide they want a pet and they go shopping. I tend to buy from breeders unless I can find the specific breed I want from rescue. In the past I have gotten rescue animals but what I learned is that sometimes you really do need to pick an animal that will fit with your family better. This is a long term committment. Too many people buy because the breed is popular or cute and then they find out it doesn't get along with kids or cats or whatever and the dog ends up being abandoned. Research is really important. I spent a year and a half researching my current dog before I got him and he's better than I could have hoped for. My last dog was with us for over 14 years (a retriever)who was perfect for our family then.

Hi- I have a yeasty German Shepherd. She was fine up until I had her spayed and vet gave her meds she was allergic to. She almost died. They had her on several antibiotics and she wasn't herself anymore afterwards. She started itching and chewing on herself to the point of bleeding. Her once beautiful fur became very sparse and dry. I had to put a cone on her to keep her from chewing the fur off of her tail and hind legs. I noticed the yeast but didn't know what it was for the longest time. I even asked a vet what the orange greasy stuff that coated her fur was, but he didn't have any clue (which I still find very hard to believe). Finally figured out it was yeast after watching a youtube vid and understood that this what was causing her to itch like crazy. I tried all kinds of remedies- special shampoos, vitamins, special oils (but not coconut) and changed her diet which seemed to help a bit. I noticed that she seemed to have a lot of problems with diarrhea and I began to wonder if all those antibiotics messed up her stomach. She was constantly eating grass in the yard and walking around for a good bit of time to poo. So I decided to start feeding her yogurt and this has made all the difference in the world. I give her Dannon plain yogurt- not the lowfat kind though. Her fur is beautiful again. She goes to the bathroom like normal, done in a wink and stands in one spot. She still has yeast issues but nowhere near as bad. A year and a half trying all kinds of things that didn't really help and now after just a couple of months of yogurt she is almost back to normal. I give her a couple of tablespoons in the morning and the same at dinner. Does your dog have digestive issues? Here is the link to the video that helped me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl_X1I1GJ1Q I wish you lots of luck- I know how upsetting something like this is!