Inherited 2 dogs .. help needed

[BrokenFlipFlop]

My flatmate (and the dogs owner) is currently very ill and so I have 'inherited' 2 small dogs. I have no idea if flatmate will survive but in respect to the dogs, I am taking full resposibility for now as flatmates family are obviously tied up with flatmates health etc.

I 'know' the dogs very well and even when flatmate was here, I would walk them.

However I am worried that I will miss something very basic regarding their care/health. I have had dogs before but they have been family pets and so parents took bulk of responsibiity.

They are walked twice a day, have fresh water throughout day, fed in eve and have a doggie chew before bed. I brush them and check their paws but have no idea what else I should do/look for.

They are slightly miserable/down due to their owner not being here and I want to make sure that I do everything 'correctly'.

Any advice would be welcome regarding health/care.

Thanks

IIRC from mu mums mut, then need feeding twice a day and walking a bit more so they can go to the loo. Something about injections aswell.

Sounds like you are doing a great job. I'm so sorry about your flatmate.

I think you are taking care of their basic needs very well but please remember that they need to be played with and contact with you throughout the day, especially if they are missing their owner.

Thanks Fluffy

Luckily, we have a large garden here so they are able to run around alot which is good (as well as being walked).

I have a feeling there is a book somewhere with details re their injections (though sure vet will have records).

Thanks for your help and words re flatmate.

Purple .. yes I agree. I do play with them when I am here but even when flatmate was here they never seemed to like to play ie they have only once chased a ball despite me buying them balls and dog toys.

Will try a bit more - they do play together alot though..

Thnaks

My original dogs wrre fed once a day, and my third dog had food down all the time(dry food)and would eat when she wanted to...I liked that the best. Always water down and as much exercise as you can do. Dog food only as human food not good for them, especially human biscuits, chocolate and bread. Yearly visits to the vet for inoculations and check over, more often if they have a problem. Grooming. Regular flee treatment easily bought at pet store.
Lots of money unfortunately.

Thanks Solo.

The money thing is not an issue as such luckily. They did go thru a phase of dry food but owner changed bk to meat. I prefer the idea of dry food being down all day.

They don't get human food tbh - oh except vegetables if I have left overs from my meals. Presumably thats ok?

They have been flea'd fairly recently and they are bathed when needed (again, I'm guessing too much bathing is not good for their coats?).

I can't believe how useless i sound... don't mind too much though as need answers/advice.

Veggies is ok. If they aren't used to having dried food down all day, they may just pig out on it until they are fit to burst. They don't understand really. Dried food though, makes for fairly dry poo, so easier to clean up.

I found that using a flea treatment that you put on the scruff periodically(monthly I think)worked to kill any that were there and prevent infestation. Don't forget, if they have fleas, it's likely that your house has them too...not nice!

Bath them when they need it. I didn't have mine bathed more than once a year unless they rolled in fox poo ~ then you have to!!!

Wash their bedding fairly regularly though as that can smell.

Dogs are omnivores - they'll eat pretty much anything, and I (personally) wouldn't give them 24/7 access to food, though they obviously must have fresh water daily. (Do not feed them grapes, raisins, chocolate, raw onion or garlic).

Mine get fed once a day, after we've all eaten in the evening, and are never de-flea'd (but we live rurally, and our dogs don't meet other dogs). Haven't had to bathe either for years, but First Dog (now deceased) used to roll in dead rats when we lived by the seaside so did need bathed then - I used baby shampoo (because I had it available at the time).

If the two play together well, they'll be getting plenty of exercise (and opportunity to pee/poo) in the garden, so twice a day walks probably fine since they're small. I'm a huge fan of Jan Fennell and have mentioned her a couple of times here without being massively flamed (though I know she's controversial in the canine world) so I'd suggest you get hold of one or two of her books.

Well done, btw, on taking over the responsibility, and all the best to your friend.

One or two of our digestive biscuits is like us eating a whole pack btw.

24/7 food availability depends on what they are used to. I inherited my third dog and that's what she'd been used to and suited me fine.

They're very flexible animals.

Thanks for the advice - I will get the flea stuff. As far as I know they don't currently have fleas but I need to be on top of it.

Luckily they don't roll too much so probably wont need a bath too often (there is dog shampoo here). As they have short legs, they do get fairly muddy when the weather is bad though.

Bedding is washed weekly as it does seems to smell!

I appreciate everyones help on here but I will have a look for some basic books.

Sorry to hear about your flatmate bff

Do you know if the dogs are insured? If not it would probably be worth setting up a policy in case they are injured or develop a serious illness which could cost thousands in vet fees. Your flatmate probably has them insured already but I'm not sure what would happen if you needed to claim if the policy isn't in your name.

Molesworth... gosh, thank you. I would never have thought of that. Will check if a policy already exists.

Its all very awkward as one of the family has stated that he will take dogs to vet and have them put down. He doesn't have any pets and sees the dogs as an inconvenience.

Its hard because in comparison to whats happening with flatmate, they aren't a priority (to him). Also when he said it, he had spent 3 hrs talking/crying/getting angry about everything thats going on.

I did say that I was happy to look after them for as long as it took for things to be resolved. At the end of the day, their long term future is not my decision - I will however do all I can in the mean time to make sure they are happy/healthy.

Anyway ive rambled on - I know where all the 'dog paper work' is kept so will have a look.

Thanks.

What a lovely friend you are to take the dogs on like this - I'm sure your flatmate appreciates it hugely!

I think you're doing really well, the dogs sound like they are really well cared for. The only thing no-one has mentioned yet is worming. I worm my dogs every 3mths, with worming tablets from the vets as they work much better than shop brought ones, you also need to give the right dosage for the weight of the dogs. I expect a quick call to the vets might tell you when they were last wormed, or I always put mine on the calandar to remind me when its worming time again. My vets send out a reminder when the booster vaccinations are due (Rhubarb is having his on Monday). I hope your friend recovers. Sounds like you are being a great friend.

Thanks guys.

Must admit I kind of feel that looking after the dogs is the least I can do - would love to beable to help more.

I have no idea when they were last wormed - hadn't even occured to me. Will give the vet a call next week.

Thanks once again

i think it's dreadful to even consider putting to sleep two healthy dogs just because the owner can't take care of them anymore(didn't want to say 'dies' as I hope they don't). There are lots of people that may want well behaved dogs to love and pamper. How old are they BFF?

Hi

The dogs are 5 and 7 yrs Solo

So they could be just half way through their lives. My family dogs have been 13, 13.6, 14 and 16.6 when they have died.