My dd9 is still challenging but we saw great improvement after we removed the wheat/gluten that she is intolerant of from her diet. Food intolerances can have a dramatic impact on mood. I have personally experienced this with my own food intolerances. Also dd9's intolerance did not show up on a scratch test.

The best advice that I can give about expressing a dog is practice makes perfect. It is much easier if the dog's bladder is full.

Did the vet do a deep pain test? If she can feel deep pain which it sounds like she can she has a much better chance of recovery. The good news is the ability to urinate independently should come back relatively quickly as she recovers. If the bladder gets too full it will overflow so it would be a good idea to keep something absorbent under her. If you want to try to express her feel her abdomen for something that feels like a full water balloon and apply pressure to it starting at the farthest point from the outlet. That is generally what I do but the specifics differ since my dog is male.

I have a dachshund who had a much more severe back injury at about seven. The good news is that he is still alive at fourteen. The bad news is that he is still paralyzed. It is a VERY good sign that your dog can still move her tail. Right now you should probably not try to start any sort of physical therapy. She probabaly still needs the doggie equivalent of bed rest preferably in a small crate. The vet should have taught you how to massage(or express) her bladder to help her urinate. You should make it a priority to get someone to teach you how to do this so she does not get a urinary tract infection. I still have to do this for my dog several times a day. I have to take my daughter to an activity and due to other obligations I won't be back until late tonight but that is the most important information I can think of right now.

I have always preferred backpacks because of the better weight distribution.

:lurk5: I love the ideas in this thread.

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That is the first reality show trailer that I have seen that my first thought was that I want to go do that. Maybe I need to go exercise just in case the actual show is just as cool. Because I am in lousy shape right now. Edited to correct capitalization error.

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If you choose to gripe about the way laundry is handled, be prepared to do your own.

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Dd loves the Namaste brownie mix. I love the blondie mix(I cannot tolerate chocolate). One thing to keep your eyes open for is behavior changes. Dd's behavior improved dramatically when we went gluten free and when we challenged gluten the results were very dramatic in the opposite direction.

I would love some sort of temperature alert for the backseat because I live in a very hot area and a few times when dd was little she had gotten hot in the backseat(while I was driving on a trip) while the driver's seat was still comfortable.

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I live in Mississippi and I discovered that dd did not know what race was when she was 8. I have realized that she probably gets more exposure to a diverse range of people as a homeschooler than she would in our local schools. It never occurred to her to categorize people by appearance.

Not a specific game but the big fish games site has an ipad section and every game I have gotten form that site has not needed a network.

My Belgian Malnois puts herself between any strangers and dd. She also likes to herd the chickens. They are not nearly as fond of this activity.

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Another unique idea would be be to try out working in a Renn Faire or going from one SCA(Society of Creative Anachronism) event to another. I think this sounds fun but it might get old if you are not quite fond of the middle ages. You also need a new wardrobe.

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