Well, a spray bottle may not be 'concentrated' enough Bernd. You may have to use a jar. LoL I know, I know...kinda nasty, gross...what have you. However, so long as you aren't on any medications, it does make good fertilizer and will keep many of the dogs away. ;) I truly got real tired of cleaning up dog messes in my house. I don't like physically punishing them and recalled an incident my brother had told me of... My eldest brother moved away, leaving behind a cat, said cat attached itself to our step-father. However, said cat did not like our younger sibling. LoL So, this cat resorted to squatting in front of our younger siblings bedroom door and tinkling right there. Well, one morning, my brother out of pure frustration deposited the cat in the tub and dropped trou and gave the cat a "Golden Shower". From that day on, the cat never left tinkles in front of our younger siblings bedroom door. LOL So... I figured if it worked for him, why not try it? I had hubby take our blue heeler into the bathroom and do the same treatment. It took a few times, because heelers are far more dominant than most dogs. But our heeler is much more subservient than most. He's very docile and calm. :) Our dane is also learning manners too. Without being broken, just shown who is more dominant just like dogs do. LOL So yeah, sorry for the long run on there. But do try it, good luck with your dog issues and hopefully it will keep deer away too! ;) ~Tina

I'm in Tucson and have been using my vet for over 10 years. He is absolutly wonderful! Dr. Michael S. Samuels at Central Animal Hospital. It is a small practice consisting of him and his partner. Good luck with the surgery! Here is a link that might be useful: Central Animal Hospital

Cesar, the dog abuser, is the last person any caring dog owner would want to take training advice from. He was essentially shut down for not being in compliance with Kennel Club requirements for humane training during a recent trip to England. Due to negative public opinion in this country, he has tried to change his television persona, but he's the same old, same old. There is a book called the "Fearful Dog" that might be helpful in learning how to give your neighbor's dog confidence to walk on a leash in unfamiliar terrain. http://fearfuldogs.com/books-consultations/ I haven't read it yet, but it is recommended by trainers I respect. Leash or other corrections will worsen this unsocialized and timid dog's fears. I'd recommend pockets full of treats on each walk, and lavishing him with goodies when you get into a situation that makes him anxious (if he will take a treat from you at that time). You want to make meeting strange dogs and people a positive experience. If he wants to hide behind you, let him. Do not try to force him to interact those he fears, or you will compound his fears. One thing that might work well is to get a friend with a quiet gentle dog to walk with you when you take your neighbor's dog out for a walk. It would give him confidence to have a buddy along, and get him used to humans as well. It is unfortunate that your neighbor is unwilling to take his dog to a beginner training course, but there isn't much that you can do about this. Does your neighbor ever walk his own dog? Another possibility would be to take the dog to an isolated area to walk, with less chance of meeting other dogs or humans, in a wooded area perhaps. This may not be possible for you, but it would allow this dog, as well as yourself, to have a more pleasant, stress-free experience. Good luck.

Oh, gosh, if I put things in capital letters I do it for emphasis. I would never be so boorish as to yell at someone on a forum. So if I have offended anyone I apologize. My mother was a squabbler and it was really embarrassing for me as a teenager because she would take anybody on and run her mouth till she figured she'd "won". But my best friend had a mother who always said, "If you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all". I really respected that woman for her restraint and her good manners. So you won't find me being obnoxious on a forum, on purpose, anyway. I appreciate everyone's input. Even if you don't all have the same opinions, it still gives me lots to think about. And, knowing that some things sound more harsh when they are written than the writer may have meant, I try to take everything other people say at face value. I love these forums and feel like I have learned so much from them. Cearbhaill, I'm going to offer Pearl a raw chicken wing tip today and see what she does. Stbonner, I will watch out for gluten on the ingredients list from now on. And also "meat by-products" or "meat and bone meal". Thanks for that information. Those who use blood-soaked sawdust from the floor, what would they call that? Does that fall in the "meat by-products" category? Minnie, I think that's a good idea you have there. I think it would be good to e-mail all these pet food producers who have the above items on their lists of ingredients and tell them we know what that is and we will not be buying their products as long as those ingredients are on the list. If they are just asked "if" they include euthanized pets and roadkill in their food, they'll just find someone who works there that doesn't know about "anything" that they put in the food, who can then truthfully tell you "I know of no such ingredients in our brand". Here's the ingredients list on the Chicken Soup brand of cat food: chicken, chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat preserved with mixed tocopherols, ocean fish meal, white rice, potatoes, oatmeal, millet, natural chicken flavor, salmon, turkey, duck, flaxseed, sodium bisulfate, egg product, methionine, potassium chloride, choline chloride, dried chicory root, taurine, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flakes, yucca schidigera extract, L-carnitine, Enterococcus facium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, zinc proteinate, vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin A supplement, biotin, potassium iodide, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, manganese oxide, sodium selenite, vitamin D supplement, folic acid. I had never heard of Eagle Pack. I checked the price and it runs about $2 for a 13-oz can of cat food, if ordered from Amazon.com. I have sent an e-mail to a distributor 35 miles away to see what their price is. For that price, though, I'd think it would be cheaper to feed raw chicken if she will eat it. Would there be calcium in the cartilage that's in the wing? When I had cats as a child we always fed them milk and table scraps, and they supplemented it by hunting. Then people started saying cats couldn't digest milk and not to feed it. My dog, Sonny, has gotten so that he doesn't want to eat the dry Chicken Soup dog food. So to about a cup of dry food I've been adding about a half cup of leftovers from our most recent meal and some water that had sausage cooked in it (fat removed), or water with dry milk powder added, and he has been cleaning the bowl.