# Am I a worrywart?



## amy22 (May 11, 2008)

You are not a worry wart....I am the same way, I worry about everything but only take my dogs to the vet when I REALLY think something is wrong....


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## Sophie_Mom (Jan 21, 2009)

I'm with you... My husband keeps commenting that Sophie is only 2 and has already been to the vet more than any other dog he's ever owned. It's so hard when they can't tell you what's wrong! 

I do have to say that every time I have taken her in, it's been legitimate! Anaplasmosis in April and conjunctivitis this week....


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Loisiana said:


> So last night I decided Flip probably has hip dysplasia because he sure does bunny hop a lot. And he must have some kind of other condition since his coat looks funny in some areas. And this morning I was watching him and said "OMG his balls are black! " which led to a morning of searching the net for "black testicles."
> 
> How do you guys know when to take your concerns seriously and when to just blow them off? If I were to take a dog to the vet for every concern that entered my mind, I would have to change that to my permanent address. But at the same time, I don't want to overlook a developing problem because I ignored the symptoms staring me right in the face.
> 
> I should go to vet school just so I can feel better about my own dogs.


All I can say is I LOVE the internet. And the fact that my vet is open 24 hours. And they don't mind me calling up often. And they certainly don't mind letting me come in and pay them to do lab work whenever my dog sneezes.... 

:


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

You are hilarious  (I laugh because I'm a fellow neurotic) Duncan is 8 months and has 'black balls' too - I'm assuming that's normal. IMO, you deal with your dogs just like you do your kids - try to use your best judgement and know that it's better to be too careful than not enough. Anything involving excessive vomiting or potential dehydration or seriously not acting like themselves gets a call to the dr/vet the first day if it won't stop. I also never take chances with eyes and ears. Other complaints I might give a week or so to see what happens and so I can go to dr. and say "I've been watching this for 'X' amount of days and it's not better." 

It's not easy having your heart go walking around outside your body... and that's what happens when you give it so completely to the ones you love - whether they're 2 legged or 4 legged.


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

Loisiana said:


> I should go to vet school just so I can feel better about my own dogs.


You are so funny! Being a vet maybe you don't worry about the small things, you hear about all this big bad stuff and THAT'S what you worry about.

A black scrotum is perfectly normal, BTW.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

LOL to answer your thread topic, yes! But that's ok, I think we all can be that way about our furries. 


(Sam has black balls too )


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

> A black scrotum is perfectly normal, BTW.


I'm embarrassed to admit that I *did* call my vet when I noticed my previous golden's scrotum was kinda fading to pink with black spots instead of the usual black. 

:uhoh:


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## BearValley (Nov 30, 2008)

*Black is Beautiful!*

I feel cheated. None of my four goldens has black balls...

:uhoh:


.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

well good to know black is normal  (can you tell this is my first dog to keep intact past puppyhood?)

Now to decide if I need hip xrays now. And to figure out if something crazy is going on with his coat or if I'm just imagining things


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## esSJay (Apr 13, 2009)

BearValley said:


> I feel cheated. None of my four goldens has black balls...
> 
> :uhoh:
> 
> ...


hahaha I'm pretty sure that you shouls be happy about that!!!

Molson has big black balls! I know how you feel about being a worry wart. I would be at the vet way too often if I didnt have good ol' GRF! My friend is picking up her new Husky pup today and the 2nd thing I told her (after "congratulations) was "you should search for a Husky Forum or message board! It will save you so many trips to the vet for things that turn out to be nothing!"


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

There's nothing wrong with being a worrywart. I prefer to think that being neurotic about our dogs is perfectly normal. :

I think you just learn somewhere along the way to differentiate between the real concerns and the paranoia. I haven't gotten there yet, but I think it happens!
I swear, every time Riley's a little more mellow than usual, I start worrying, thinking that there's something wrong. Thankfully, it normally doesn't take too long for him to start acting like a goofball and I can put my fears to rest.
And yes, Riley's "boys" are blackish, too. Almost a mottled black and pink, actually.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I worry just as much!
About the hips....will it change anything? If it won't change anything, don't do the test, at least until he's two.
And for his coat...adult coat coming in!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

and just to make you laugh (can't believe I'm admitting this....) for a while I worried that Tito wasn't as "well endowed" as other males.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

hotel4dogs said:


> and just to make you laugh (can't believe I'm admitting this....) for a while I worried that Tito wasn't as "well endowed" as other males.


Part of the problem was he had a mat down there, and rather than trying to brush it out I just cut it out. Turns out it was his pants right below his tail that were matted. So now I have an extra good view of just how well-endowed he is! I'll admit I'm not a fan seeing them hanging down, I hate looking at a big Rottie or other breed that has no hair to hide them!
(wow this thread took a turn)


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

It took a LONG time for me to get used to the number of testicles seen at dog shows. 95+% of my patients are neutered. It was weird to see those "tumors" hanging down there!


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