our 10 mo old boxer is a regular at Lowes, since we have been doing non-stop repairs on this old house since we bought it.....

Since the weather in oklahoma has been a bazillion degrees this summer, wherever we go - he goes. Don't have a crate and haven't had the courage to leave him home alone being a pup BOXER

We put him in the cart with his faux bed on the bottom and he loves to wheel the isles of the hardware store. All the clerks know him by name and think he deserves a Lowes vest of his own. You've heard of counter surfing dogs? He likes to isle surf, leaning way over the cart to sniff out his favorite food - building materials. That and the occasional kisses for whoever is willing.

We spent 2 hrs picking out kitchen cabinets today and with the cart right by my side. When I reached for the leash to wheel us out of there, there was only 1 ft left of it! Thor chewed 2 ft of a 3ft leather leash! I freaked looking high and low for the rest of it and it was no where to be found.

The vet was closed, his answering service was worthless, so luckily I found another caring vet in town that would help me over the phone. He advised 2 TABLESPOONS of salt to get him to upchuck. Never heard of that one before, but the vet sounded so convinced I set out to find REAL salt in the house. That was a feat in itself.

I didn't have the heart to pour 2 tbsps of salt down the back of his throat like the vet said, so I mixed it in with canned food and cod liver oil. Luckily he was hungry! He hesitated after eating half of it, but after encouragement he lopped up the rest.

Within 3 mins the leash came up. I've heard of ipecac and peroxide to get a dog to puke, but never salt. Amazing how quickly it worked!

talk about relief - I was scared to death. I'll increase his daily cod liver oil for a few days in case their are any stragglers

Keeping that dog alive is a FT job!

The adventures of the big brown dawg.

[Bobbi]

Awwwwwwwwwe.

I hadn't heard about salt working either... until this (past) week. People staying in the hotel room next-door advised that I not let my doggie drink from the ocean or she'd be doing as you needed Thor to do.

I can imagine how scared you must have felt. Been there, done that when my poochlet gets ill from her pancreatitis .

[Curious]

i might just have some thinking to do...

just last night hubby was talking about getting a puupy for the monkeys. guess i had better buy some real salt.

granola...that is not one mess i would want to clean up!

i do miss grandpuppy, now that he lives on the east coast, but maybe not as much as before.

[ConsiderThis]

Wow, what a great story!

I must say, I did not think he'd Really eaten it. I thought ... well, in any case, I was wrong.

That is just amazing.

Thank you for this delightful story. (Sure Thor wasn't as keen on the salt)

((((((((dorry)))))))))

silly me checking his belly for breathing every time I woke up last night I'm such a worry wart about him. He's fine! When he chews something like a soccer ball or plaster, lathe, etc, he'll normally vomit it up 3-4 days later, so I know junk stays in his stomach for days. I haven't a clue how food passes by it, but it does.

Curious, GET a pup! Or a rescue dog in your area. Most states have a boxer rescue and one a few years old is definitely less work.

Interesting Bobbi about salt water. Much less invasive than a chemical.

Hi CT! Yeah I refused to believe he had eaten it too, until I couldn't find it. One of the clerks had just come up to compliment us on how well behaved he was patiently sitting there for 2 hrs. Little did we know

Also, we got a new mouser yesterday! 3 mo old female tricolor kitty named Valla. She's met Thor and the cat and other than a few hisses and swipes, it looks like she'll fit right in Good thing we don't live on a farm - I'd have a house and yard full of baybees.

[Curious]

we are doing just that today dorry. visiting some rescue places. my next door neighbors got a dog from one in the town my folks live just a few months ago.

my grandpuppy hasn't done much eating of things. he keeps getting bit by bugs. poor guy. he is recovering from a wasp sting.

give the little guy a hug from me. i'm glad his leash came up.

Originally Posted by Curious

my grandpuppy hasn't done much eating of things. he keeps getting bit by bugs. poor guy. he is recovering from a wasp sting.

give the little guy a hug from me. i'm glad his leash came up.

boxers are pretty delicate and always breaking out in hives. Benedryl works great for the swelling and itchies. I think the dose is 1 child benedryl.

I found out our local animal shelter gets many purebreds of different flavors a month. They used to kill them within 48 hrs, purebred or not. I've heard many sad tales about owners not getting the cell msg and their dogs were euthanized.

We had Thor chipped and got him a city license also. The animal control said the scanners don't always pick up the chip though. Everywhere I go (thor is also the drive thru ambassador in town) I hear heartbreaking stories where previous boxer owners had theirs stolen. Easy to steal - they are too damn friendly.

I have a friend in OR that will knock the bejeezus out of his rottie if he takes food from anyone in the family but him. He trains them to be poison proof. lol I sent him a dvd of burned Dog Whisperer shows to teach him a better way though

ps - thor just eats debri, or the occasional cell phone case (or phone) if you don't put it up. During remodeling, we'd catch him running away with a wad of insulation. More dangerous for him, but easier on the pocketbook than dogs that rip a couch to shreds when their owner isn't around. I should get a crate, but I don't have the heart to put him in prison. Much easier to take him bye bye with us or get our son to watch him.

hi monarchbutterfly! We had a boxer when I was little too, but I didn't remember it until we got thor. I remember a big dufus dog that would take the abuse of 7 kids!

Thor apparently is still upchucking pieces of leash! The only way we realized it was he was flipping pieces in the air playing with them in the backyard. So we either missed cleaning up all the messes from yesterday, or we have a bulimic dog on our hands Up/down/up/down.

I told you guys it's a full time job keeping him alive!

Dorry, Now raise your right hand and promise "next time I'll buy a shorter leash."

I'm thinking kevlar for the next one. He doesn't seem to have much luck eating his nylon one either.

I buy him those Kong Air tennis balls with the squeaker in them and his jaws are so strong he breaks the squeaker (pops it loose inside) within 5 mins. They come in 3 packs, so I'll save a pristine one for a special treat. He goes NUTZ loving it so much, we call it his 'girlfriend'

damned if he does destroy every squeaker toy! I keep buying them though, because he's hilarious when he squeaks them and pauses to howl.

stormsun - yeah I know I need to break down and buy a crate if nothing more than for emergencies. We had a sheltie for 13 yrs and always left him home alone with no problems except a knocked over xmas tree when he was a pup. For safety sake, I think I will pick up a crate and let him think it's a playhouse.

[Junie]

Dorry,
This same dog we found out loves walnuts...we had left him alone when we went to a family party at Xmas and I had a bowl of walnuts in the shell on the coffee table and when we got home there were shells everywhere all over the floor and we found the little guy in the corner cracking open yet another walnut and eating the nut inside....we were amazed that he could do that and I don't know if nuts are bad for dogs but I swear this guy has a cast iron stomach as nothing has ever hurt him or made him sick in 8 years...beats me????