This is great info. I think sometimes we tend to forget that even though they are our best friend (and not to just man, ha) that they need to be treated differently. Its even harder for those like me who grew up in the country and I can't ever remember "store" dog food being brought into the house they ate what you ate. I didn't know about the grapes but never would have thought to give mine them but I have a little one who loves veggies and I could see that if she got her chance she would eat grapes too. Knowing this I'll make sure when my grandkids come over and are eating snacks that I keep the grapes up. My DGD loves to feed my little dog because first she loves animals and they are both the same size. It's funny, she doesn't try to feed the big dog unless its giving him bones. We have to watch the big one because he got bloat last yr and the vet said that most dogs don't survive because they don't get taken it soon enough. I wouldn't play with his health, it was touchy because he's an older dog but he did really great with the surgery and has done well since. When I went to get him fixed I had an elder care package done on him to make sure his complete health was good before putting him under again. I was so happy to find out he's a very healthy dog. It's my sons dog and he was away during this time so he was happy that I spent the extra money to get him checked as well. It was worth the 600 to run all the test and xrays. Piece of mind has no price tag as far as I'm concerned, that and knowledge if something is wrong.
Since you are registered maybe you can help me with another problem. Ever since my little one got spayed she is always itching down there, so she's always rubbing her self on the carpet. At first I thought it was fleas but she has none. My daughter is a dog groomer and took her in to bathe her and said she has a yeast infection. She said it shows really badly in the ears. She told me to give her yogurt every day; that didn't help and the pet store recommened pro-biotics and that doesn't seem to help. Is this something only treatable at the vets or is there something else I can try. Thanks. I'm not trying to get free vet service. You can tell by what I did with my Akita above that I totally believe in taking them when they need to go. I live by myself and I love them but so does my grandkids; if anything happened to them it would break their hearts. They aren't allowed to have pets at their apartment.