Rhi*Jak*Ed

OMG - I feel for the both of you. I found it hard to keep mine crated after desexing - not sure how I'd cope with 8 weeks of it. Just wanting to wish you all the best :-) Rhi & Jak

Sorry, I shouldn't laugh but I can't help it It sounds to me like that's exactly what he's doing - telling you to hurry up. But I could be wrong!! How long has he been doing the barking for and how long have you been waiting for him to be calm before feeding him? Maybe the waiting until he's calm thing needs to go on for a little while until he learns the association between calm=being fed. My little one knows as soon as I put her food in the microwave that it's nearly time for food. She sits and stares at the microwave waiting - the entire time it's defrosting! lol. She doesn't bark though... Sorry I can't be of much help, others will be though I'm sure :-)

Ok my turn!! Name: Jak Nicknames: Jakky, Jakko, Jak@ss Breed: Jack Russell Terrier DOB: 14th February 2007 - my valentine's baby! Age: 7 months Loves: Her wading pool, doing tricks for treats, zoomies around the yard (figure 8's especially) and my shoes!! Doesn't Love: Bath time, when I'm on the phone The first pic is of Jak on her first night at home - the second is of her showing off begging for a liver treat

Oh wow - the first day outside alone is always worrying - I was a mess the first day I left Jak outside. Mind you, that first day we had a huge storm come through so she was visibly traumatised when I got home from work - I felt horrible! lol I wouldn't worry about the leaves and dirt - they're dogs afterall. Mine takes her bone, buries it then digs it back up and starts eating it - dirt and all!! You're in Brisbane aren't you? Yes it will be warm here today. As long as they have plenty of water they'll be fine :-)

Firstly I just wanted to say congrats on your two new additions - it's a very exciting time but at the same time... very trying! One of the worst things you can use to clean up after a wee accident inside is Pine 'o' Clean - I learnt this the hard way :-( I just use white vinegar... When it's time for me to actually give the floors a good mop (I have polished floorboards), I use Pine 'o' Clean and chuck in some white vinegar as well. The floors are so slippery afterwards that Jak wouldn't be able to get a good stance to pee even if she tried! haha. One thing I certainly noticed with my little one is that when she was mouthing me, if I did anything other than put her into time out, she got more excited and spurred on by my reactions, whether that was yelping, walking away etc. She's just chase me and latch on to my ankles instead of my hands! I can laugh about it now, but it was a hell of a time to go through... She is now 7 months old and whilst she still goes to mouth occasionally during play, a firm uh-uh now does the trick with her. That and I end play time. It's taken her a while, but she now knows that if she gets too rough with me the game is over. She hates that more!! I can't imagine what it must be like to have two small pups at the same time, so good on you :-) You will find what works best for you and for each individual dog - what works for one may not necessarily work for the other one. They're wonderful like that :-) Try and enjoy this time, just like kids, they grow up so fast :-) Am looking forward to seeing some pics. Rhi & Jak

Jak hasn't coughed at all since I got home from work :-) Or sneezed! Maybe she just had the sniffles from being out in the rain all day. What a softie lol ;-)

I guess I just know what it's like to have tried 10 "fixes" and then finally try the 11th one and it gets results. You grab onto that 11th fix for dear life. I went through the same thing with Jak mouthing, nipping, latching onto my pants etc. The puppy pre-school lady suggested that I basically lather my pants in a foul tasting substance so that Jak would associate that eating my pants tasted horribly. Is this not along the same lines as the coke can? By Charlie doing something he shouldn't, he gets the crap scared out of him and therefore learns not to do that particular behaviour? I've also read that a "fix" for stopping a dog from taking clothes off the line is to rig up a balloon of sorts, so that it bursts and the water falls. Not a nice thing I'm sure. Does the dog then learn not to take the washing off the line or does the dog just think "I respect that balloon, but these clothes are still free game?". I respect that everyone has their own opinions on what the best and/or ideal methods are for eradicating unwanted behaviours. But sometimes those best and/or ideal methods simply don't work for a particular dog and we work with what we can :-)

Hi guys, Firstly thank you for your responses - I have spoken with the vet and he said that there seems to be a lot of Kennel Cough going around at the moment and that that's what it sounds like. He said as long as she's eating and seems like herself then I don't need to take her in... for now. Just keep an eye on her, which I will do :-)

Hi guys, The reason I ask is that for the past two days Jak has been doing a cough of sorts, and last night she started up with some sneezing as well. It's been very wet and cold in Brisbane this week and she has been outside during the day. When I've gotten home from work she's been completely saturated and shivering. I don't think she's quite figured out yet that her kennel will keep her warm and dry!!?? The 'cough' started as a bit of a retch, almost like she had something lodged. She is fine in all other respects and is still very much an energizer bunny. Any thoughts?? Ta Rhi & Jak

I'm pretty sure Deltron mentioned that she makes sure the pup doesn't see her with the coke can... If her pup doesn't see that she's the one making the noise, Charlie is less likely then to associate Deltron as being the noise instigator. Good work Deltron - loved your op, gave me a chuckle too :-)

lol more than likely. Jak is almost 7 months old now (still hard to believe it myself) and I was the same. We went through hard times, she'd latch onto my pants legs (I have three pairs now that are just hole ridden from the ankle to the thigh!), nip, growl etc. She was a handful. But she's settling down now. The latching on to my pants has FINALLY stopped, she now FINALLY understands that my sitting on the couch is not an invitation for her to jump all over me then walk around the back of the couch and chew on my pony tail, and she now FINALLY sits every time I tell her to :-) She's a good girl now and a joy to be around, makes me laugh all the time. The hard slogs are worth it for sure. Here's two pics I took of her tonight (terrible quality, had the camera on the wrong setting - oops). She'd just arrived home from a fun packed day at doggy daycare, so was getting sleepy. She always manages a pose for the camera though :-) Rhi & Jak

I use one of those little cat kennel cabs for Jak - she still fits inside it which is great as I know that she's safe. I've tried her with the harness through the seatbelt but she freaked out big time. I think she likes the security of the kennel cab now...

Wow - good on you firstly for considering a 7 month old pup and secondly for considering a 7 month old JRT lol :-) I've had two jack russell's before my current one now, but I don't think either of them prepared me for my little girl Jak. Jak has sooooooooooooo much energy, whereas I think my other two, Penny and Belle respectively, wouldn't have had Jak's energy combined! lol. Shock to the system. I used to tear my hair out, cry, ask the ceiling WHY??. The answer was me... I wasn't doing the right thing by Jak and her training suffered as a result (or I should say lack thereof). I did so much research and that's when I discovered DOL and it's been a wonderful find. Since I stumbled across this site, Jak now recognises me as leader of our pack (which used to be a constant battle), she sits, drops, rolls over etc, and always always always sits before she gets attention of any kind :-) She's now happy to go and play outside and run around doing figure 8's in the yard and creating her own makeshift obstacle courses. After she does that, she's happy to come in and snuggle up on my lap for some cuddle time. Our night time routine is now down pat - 8.30 I open the door to her crate and in she goes, not a peep until morning, and even then only when I acknowledge her - she doesn't whine to be let out, she waits until I'm ready to let her know I'm up and about. I guess what I'm saying is that yes, times were hard and often incredibly challenging, but I now get rewarded for that every day. She makes me laugh my head off now :-) Even through the hard times there's no way I could have ever given her up. All the best with it, and if you find that you're being challenged, PM me because at least I can sympathise :-) Rhi & Jak

I was severely sleep deprived for the first month that I brought Jak home... The first four nights she howled the roof down. She soon settled in, but would still wake me at least twice a night. Each dog is different, as is each owner. I am on my own, so got up for every toilet break etc. - bloody hard work! haha. I stayed at home those first two weeks while she settled in, but when I went back to work everyone commented that I looked like a walking zombie. Not very pretty lol. I'd never considered putting her outside of a night time, for me the only option was to have her inside. She's only just started being put outside during the day when I go to work and even that was a big step for me!! Each to their own though, but I think she's a bit young to be out there all by her little self :-) All the best with it. Rhi & Jak

So cute!!!

Good for you pep - I'm pleased to hear that she is doing ok. Staff'n'Toller - do you happen to work at the Deception Bay vet surgery? One of the vet nurses there has your bedside manner.

You poor thing :-( It's REALLY hard, but you just have to ignore him. Like someone has already said, if you go in to him it will just show him that crying gets him what he wants - i.e. you :-) My pup cried, howled, scratched etc for the first 4 nights and I never thought I would get through it. Of course I did (thankfully haha). She's now 6 months old and knows that her crate means quiet time or sleep time. Usually she sleeps. And of a night time when I put her in there now I don't hear a peep out of her until she hears me moving around in the morning. Stick with it, persistence and patience are the key. All the best with it :-)

Hi, My JRT used to pee on her bed too. I went through 4 of them I think before I finally bought one that she approved of, and just didn't pee on that one so it's a keeper! Mine has a little warm donut type bed for out in the lounge, and she sleeps in a crate of a night time. She is 6 months and goes through the night without peeing now which is good. I used to wash her beds but found she just kept peeing on them. Maybe buy a new one? Perhaps dogs are fussy about their bedding too lol.

Hi all, Well Jak is now around the 95% mark I'd say, which is pretty great going. Slow, but great going nonetheless. She is now a complete and utter terror and I'm almost back to calling her Luci (a shortened version of Lucifer!!). I wonder if my "looking after" her has somehow made her think that she is now the leader of the pack. I'm not sure, but she's driving me crazy. I walk down the hall and she jumps up and nips at my thighs. Not cute, and it hurts. In fact, I have two bruises on my thighs from where she has gotten my skin. She also seems to be demolishing everything and seems to be testing her jumping abilities at the moment. Things that were previously "safe" no longer are - like on the kitchen table. I got home yesterday and the catalogues and magazines I had up there were on the floor, ripped up into tiny pieces and were literally EVERYWHERE. Her mouthing has become more of a nip, and it too now hurts. I say a loud "no", and hold her bottom jaw with my thumb, but in a way it seems to be spurring her on. So.... I'm very sad to report that she's now in bed! Last night she made it to 7.30, which was actually quite good. I usually put her to bed in her crate at 8.30, but since she's recovered I can't seem to put up with her for long. Have I just gotten used to her being so lethargic, or is she now getting rid of all that pent up energy? Someone else posted a thread about their 6 month pup driving them crazy... Well, I hear ya barkin' big dog ;-)

Hi all, Well I finally have good news to report. Jak is doing just fine She's got loads of energy again now, and I think having a houseguest all weekend has helped bring some of that energy out. Mind you, I don't think my friend will overly miss having her shoes carted down the hallway or her socks dragged out into the backyard. She's only retching occasionally now, not non-stop like she was, but is still vomiting once a day. Sometimes it's bile, sometimes there's some food there. All in all though, she's doing great. Back to latching onto my pants when I walk down the hallway, jumping up and barking at me when I'm at the computer. Ahh, good times haha. I'm back at work today so she'll be at home by herself, but I'm sure she'll be fine. My friend and I were in and out all weekend (and I was worried sick about her), but she was fine. I'll be calling the vet day to update him of her status. He did say 5-6 days for her to fully get back to her old self, and its been 4 and definite improvement, so hopefully by Wednesday or even Thursday she'll have stopped retching completely. Thanks again for everyone's comments and support, you've been great. Rhi & Jak

Hi guys, Well there's no change in Jak - she's no better and she's also no worse, which is a good thing. She did vomit overnight, and for the first time ever I slept through it. Yikes! So I'm not sure when it occurred, but it was her dinner and it was very yellow. She has not vomited today so has managed to keep her breakfast and all water down. Still lots of retching though I'm afraid. I'm watching her like a hawk, and when I can't watch her (I've been busily cleaning the house getting ready for my guest), she's more than happy to just chill out in her crate. I was cleaning the oven earlier (horrible job), so I was crouched down, and she came and jumped up on my makeshift lap. Very weird! So I moved over on to the couch and she curled up in a ball in between my legs and slept for two hours. She's at my side now wanting to jump up for a cuddle. I'm loving the cuddles, but it's just not her haha. The vet did say that it could still be 5 - 6 days before she's feeling like herself again, so I'm prepared for that. She does have little bursts of energy (usually after eating), but they don't last long and they seem to really tire her out. I'd love to take her outside to get some fresh air, but I have many palm trees and so those hard little fruity things are all over the yard. Ordinarily I don't worry about her with them, she has a chomp then spits them out and finds something else. But knowing our run of luck lately, she'll probably swallow one, get it stuck and require more surgery! ARGH! lol. So inside she's staying... I'm hoping for some clear signs of improvement by the end of the weekend :-) Will keep you posted! Rhi & Jak

Hi guys, Well we're back from the vet and also the chemist where I had to pick up some Gaviscon for her... She is now on antibiotics and has to have the Gaviscon straight after each meal. So far so good, she just ate AND swallowed the Gaviscon down. Woohoo! The vet said that it's all in her asophygus and that there are no issues with her stomach. Her asophygus has been burned, and so long as she keeps her food, the antibitiocs AND the Gaviscon down, she should be fine in about 5-6 days. Although, I think maybe the food has given her some energy because she just tried chewing on my camera strap. Um, no girl!!! haha. I'll be at home with her today and tomorrow and doing lots of washing. She has so far managed to pee on every doona and blanket that I own, and I have a guest coming this weekend (not the best timing but nothing I can do, their flights are booked), so she'll certainly need a nice clean doona. Hmm, oops! haha. Anyway, will keep you all informed of her progress. Thanks again for everyone's kind words and well wishes, you've all been great and have certainly helped me through this ;) Rhi & Jak

Hi disorder, Try not to be nervous about your pup getting desexed - I'm sure that Jak's case is not the norm (even though I'm still in the dark as to what's causing all of this). I worried sick about her procedure before, during and after, and I'm kicking myself for it now, wondering if in fact I'd been more positive would this have happened? Silly I know, but the thought is there nonetheless. Thanks for your well wishes :-)

Hi guys, Well at about 7pm last night she started to look a bit more lively, which lasted for about half an hour and followed after she'd eaten some of the i/d food. She even started to look interested in her favourite teddy, which was great. But then she just laid down again and that was that for the night... Until 5.30 this morning when I awoke to her retching, except this time she actually vomited. Twice. Both times there was a white froth on top but it was yellow when I looked at the paper towel I'd used to soak it up. Lucky she's booked in to go back this morning... The vet nurse said that they thought it might have been gastric torsion, but they have ruled that out (sorry I've just woken up so can't recall why they have ruled it out - will ask again when I take her in at 9). I was thankful to hear that though because I'd read on the net that chronic retching is a symptom of it. The emergency vet took bloods in the wee hours of Monday morning and said that they came back all clear. I had to ring them when I got home to tell them the name of the painkillers she was on because I couldn't recall when I was actually there... (I'm certainly not one to have around in the case of an emergency!). Today is Thursday, and the vomiting began late on Sunday night, with the retching continuing the entire time and a return of the vomiting this morning. Not knowing what the cause of this is, and just waiting and seeing is not an option for me now and when I take her in this morning I'll be asking for as much information as possible. I am surprised that the vet allowed her to come home when she was still retching. Is this normal? I have no idea, this is all new to me. Will keep you all posted :-) Rhi & Jak

I'm glad it's not just my eyes that can see it... I was wondering if I was overreacting or seeing something that wasn't there! Well our favourite vet nurse just called back and she's booked her in for 9am tomorrow morning - she agrees that there should have been some improvement . She said Jak's stolen her heart :-) She got me to check her gums and to check for dehydration but all is good there. Apparently they were worried that she had a twisted stomach... Maybe I should now post on that thread about constant vet visits! ARGH! She's hit the $1,000 mark this week (including the desexing). Lucky I love her lol.