Papillon Kisses

Are you buying the Antinol rapid from your vet? If so you can possibly buy it cheaper online, which wouldn’t be a case of your lovely vet ripping you off but that they typically don’t have the same buying power as the big pet supply stores and chemists.

@Troy

Sudden behavioural change is a red flag for medical problems. I’d get a thorough wellness exam at the vet including bloods and assessing for pain. You could also consider getting a checkup by a rehab vet or physio, as they can pick up on things that a GP vet might miss in a consult (stress/adrenaline can mean dogs don’t show obvious pain). I’d be shocked if a dog her age wasn’t ouchy somewhere, and the potential role of pain in ‘problem’ behaviour is well established. It could be that she hurt herself when startled by the noise. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7071134/ https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180320100719.htm While you wait, I’d try to give her calming things to do, rather than high adrenaline activities like fetch. You could play dog relaxation music like Through A Dog’s Ear, try adaptil (if you have cash to splash on it), give her something to chew or shred, play scent games like tossing food on the grass to sniff out, gentle massage if she likes it, and go for walks (ideally somewhere more natural vs street) where you let her sniff to her heart’s content.

Indigo is at VSOS now. I can’t link to their Facebook post, but they are in urgent need of blood donors for her and other patients. https://vsos.com.au/blood-bank-program/?fbclid=IwAR0pHozwhG8kbhPcX2O4Dx_tqoF5766TzWC2TNC4MJEkBE08VobneqWqqtM_aem_AUe00nlDBoKig-TTU1I4YBjM5eIA05LE_VpTQjRFKkeWV8PVuliTRpROWrGqpExdryM

Welcome to DOL. When you’re looking at photos of dogs or meeting one on the street, be sure to go beyond appearance. Research their temperament and care requirements too, such as coat care, mental enrichment, physical exercise, and veterinary costs - both standard and if your dog were to have a condition that is common in the breed. The same goes for cross breeds where you need to be knowledgeable about the component breeds. You won’t just get the coat you desire from one breed and the temperament of the other. Poodle mixes for example can have coats that are many more times difficult to care for than their component breeds. Crossbreeds aren’t automatically healthier dogs with hybrid vigour either. My multiply-crossbred rescue had a 44% coefficient of inbreeding, which is far beyond even the most unhealthiest bottlenecked pedigree dogs, and this was reflected in his health. All of which is to say, there are breeds that I love the look of and interacting with, but I know I wouldn’t be the best caregiver for them as what we want out of life clashes. I’d hate to give a dog a sub-optimal life, or contribute to the numbers of pets in shelters. I’m sure the same applies to you too. Oh, another thing to be aware of is that puppies can sometimes look quite different to their fully grown counterparts, such as changes in coat colour and texture. I disagree. I think it can be a jumping off point. If my parents’ neighbours hadn’t bought a Papillon in the late 80s they’d have had no idea that the breed even existed. It was a perfect match both in breed and the pup selected by the breeder. The mistake would be to see a cute pup and buy it without doing any research. Simply asking a question on a dog forum doesn’t mean someone is about to do that, especially when they’ve gone to a purebred forum where members are likely to have specialised knowledge of different breeds.

Welcome to DOL. I think it’s something that they can technically do at any time, but I think they usually wait until dogs finish their heat cycle. That might be outdated information though. I’d call your vet and ask. The vet nurse likely knows the procedure. If you’re struggling with the mess and protecting her while she’s fertile, I’m sure someone here will be able to give you advice. I’m not that person having only had desexed males.

I’m so sorry, Rebanne. Please take gentle care of yourself, ok? When the shock wears off you might find yourself spinning. Vale, darling Opal.

Poor dogs, those three things would certainly be feeding into each other. Dr Michelle at Earlwood Animal Hospital has a special interest in behaviour, as does another one of the vets there but I forget which one exactly. Or if you can afford a behaviour vet, Pet Behaviour Vet, Vet Behaviour Team, or The Whole Hound. I can personally recommend PBV.

Erm, sorry T, but you’re outing yourself as never having looked at any dog bite statistics as they are there. The small breed most commonly ranked higher up is the Jack Russell, not so surprising given it was historically bred to dispatch vermin. The dogs that rank highest usually have some biting or killing aspect in their breed history. Staffies, Amstaffs and their mixes typically well outnumber the others. To be clear I don’t support breed bans as they’re not supported by science. What is needed is education. For everyone. And part of that education is understanding what the dog in front of you has historically been bred to do, it’s capabilities (yes any dog can bite but let’s not pretend there aren’t differences in the amount of damage that can be done), and how they experience the world. Yes I’m including all breeds in that, lest anyone jump to conclusions. Many don’t pay any regard to a tiny dog’s rightful fears and autonomy, especially when it comes to Chihuahuas and small white fluffers. They learn they have to shout to be listened when their subtler body language is ignored. I’m sending this comment out into the world rather than you specifically, but I get very tired of “don’t bully my breed” types turning around and shitting on small dogs and their people.

Zylkene is one of the few supplements that has an evidence base, but again more for mild-moderate anxiety. We tried it as an adjunct to meds at our BV’s recommendation and decided not to continue. We learnt from adaptil to stop after the recommended trial period if something didn’t seem to have much/any benefit, rather than just holding out hope… all these things can really add up. So that’s our story with Zylkene, but I know other dogs who benefit from it either by itself or in addition to their anxiety meds.

You’re welcome. Your dog being unable to eat suggests that he’s too anxious to do much of the training component and you need to treat the underlying medical problem first (e.g. anxiety disorder). If you were being chased by a lion you wouldn’t want to stop for snacks! Being unable to eat is also a reason why I suspect DAP by itself may not be enough. I too would start with a vet. I’m getting the impression that the vet you saw isn’t that knowledgeable about behaviour if they just referred to you to what sounds like a dog trainer (any non-vet person can call themselves a ‘behaviourist’) and they had that setup. Idk it just seems suss to me. The Behaviour Vets I know cost a bit more but their consults run anywhere between 1-3hrs and include things like phone/email support in between consults. You’re not just palmed off to a trainer after 30mins. Unfortunately I can’t think of any suitable GP vets in WA, only BVs. Good BVs are worth every cent but are a chunk of cash if your budget is stretched. Do consider when crunching numbers that all the over the counter stuff adds up fast whereas the most common meds for GAD (if he ends up needing meds) are something like $10 from chemist warehouse. Regular vets can prescribe too, it can just be a challenge sometimes finding someone knowledgeable about behaviour.

Hi Nick, My dog didn’t have storm phobia, but he did have generalised anxiety disorder, noise sensitivity and OCD. We saw a number of behaviour vets and a vet behaviour specialist as he was a tricky case, alongside a lot of behaviour management and force free training to help him feel better about the things that worried him. DAP is one of the few over the counter remedies that actually has an evidence-base, however by itself it’s only really for mild to moderate fear/anxiety/stress. There is a money back guarantee (see ADAPTIL website for terms) if your dog doesn’t respond to it. Mine didn’t, but my parents’ dog is now able to have a lower dose of one of his anxiety meds as long as he wears his adaptil collar, which I think is very cool! I have a sneaking suspicion that your Huntaway has generalised anxiety disorder and storm phobia. I’d recommend getting him assessed by a Behaviour Vet or a behaviour-savvy GP vet, to see whether that’s the case and if so what treatment he needs, such as anxiety medication or an evidence-based supplement, along with DAP if you choose to try it. If nothing else you need them to rule out and treat any medical problems that might be contributing. Chronic pain for example is highly comorbid in dogs with noise sensitivity/phobias. Please don’t just go out and buy stuff without individualised vet advice. While DAP has an evidence base and is unlikely to harm given that it’s just a smell, over the counter products often promise to do things they do not and are sometimes contraindicated for the dog in front of you (a product being perceived as ‘natural’ doesn’t necessarily mean it’s appropriate, safe or effective). One can waste a lot of time and money on things that were never going to touch the sides, all while the dog’s underlying medical problem/s go untreated and worsen. If it’s determined that your Huntaway would benefit from anxiety medication, know that the right medication/s and dose/s for him won’t change his personality for the worse, nor turn him into a zombie. If anything it will enable his personality to shine as we’re not our best selves when riddled with anxiety. Once his anxiety is reduced to a level where he’s able to eat, you can start playing counter-conditioning games where boom = high value treat rains from sky. Don’t be stingy, use something special, and make sure you do it in that order: thunderclap THEN treat. You want the scary thing to predict good things happening, rather than the other way around or else your dog might start panicking at the mere sight/smell of that tasty treat! On a related note, our behaviour vet recommends staying away from thunderstorm CDs without professional instruction, as she frequently sees dogs whose well-meaning humans (before seeing her) have accidentally sensitised rather than desensitised their dogs by playing them. Oftentimes when storm phobia is left untreated it generalises, and everyday wind, shadows, and other noises can become triggering. Untreated and under-treated anxiety also tends to worsen over time. This may have been what happened with your guy. It highlights how we really want to treat storm phobia early, often and thoroughly. That and panic attacks place tremendous stress on a dog’s cardiac and respiratory systems over time and this can be deadly. (I am not being hyperbolic, see first section: https://www.dvm360.com/view/storm-phobias) Re thundershirt, you could experiment with a scarf or bandage to see if that helps (look up ttouch wraps). Unsure if thundershirt also has a money back guarantee. You do need to be careful that your dog is genuinely calm not just shut down, and that it doesn’t come to predict the scary thing. I know dogs who ask for their thundershirt when they sense that a storm is coming (no better meteorologist than a dog with storm phobia) as they know it helps them feel better. I also know dogs who panic at the sight of it because it has come to predict a storm. Note also that thundershirts do up by velcro which can be an issue for noise sensitive dogs. With the “sulky” look when you ask your other dogs to do something. What you’re likely seeing are more subtle signs of fear/anxiety/stress (see link with body language handouts). It wouldn’t surprise me if he has a punishment history from the people or rescue who had him before you, and has come to fear anything that looks like obedience training despite not raising your voice. I can’t stress enough how important it is to stick to rewards-based/force free methods, for all dogs but especially these sensitive ones. A force free trainer can help you with a behaviour management and modification plan for his anxiety including the game I mentioned above. For WA, I’d check out Pet Professional Guild Australia and IMDT directories. Link dump https://www.anzcvs.org.au/chapters/veterinary+behaviour+chapter (many of these will do Telehealth consults if needed) https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180320100719.htm https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/2/318 https://www.drmartybecker.com/wp-content/cache/wp-rocket/drmartybecker.com/fear-free/2-things-pets-firework-fears/index-https.html_gzip https://illis.se/en/eliminating-firework-and-thunder-phobia-in-dogs/ https://www.vetbehaviourteam.com/client-handouts/ https://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/you-cant-reinforce-fear-dogs-and-thunderstorms https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2016/06/seven-reasons-to-use-reward-based-dog.html https://www.ppgaustralia.net.au/find-a-professional https://www.imdt.com.au/find-a-qualified-imdt-trainer

I chose Central Animal Records as a second (to NSW CAR) registry many years ago after asking for or reading recommendations here. There were a bunch of media stories around the time about holiday goers driving found pets across borders so their usual vet could scan them, and these weren’t even dogs in border towns…

A classic case of before you buy a dog, look into what they were historically bred to do lol.

Big day! You might like to ask him about trying Pregabalin in place of Gabapentin. One of Malcolm’s more specialist vets, who had MANZCVS level qualifications in anaesthesia and critical care (which overs analgesia) and in vet behaviour, switched him over to it as it’s easier on the organs and has fewer side effects. Malcolm was getting completely wiped out by gabapentin at doses high enough to control pain, whereas with Pregabalin we got the needed level of pain relief without the side effects. Another more novel drug she prescribed was Amantadine. You’d need to search “amantadine and analgesia” to get relevant information as it’s used for different things in humans than in dogs.

Thinking of you both

If that was a question for me, I was referring to the dry food that comes in bags. I wanted to mention it as there’s a lot of kibble shaming and fear-mongering online.

If you’d like to learn more about nutrition, a few websites that I’d recommend are the WSAVA Global Nutrition Guidelines, Tufts Clinical Nutrition Service, and Veterinary Nutrition Group. The WSAVA handout for pet owners includes questions you can ask of manufacturers. The best diet for a dog is one that is complete and balanced, appropriate for their life stage and any health issues they have, and which they enjoy and appear to do well on. Grain/wheat free is largely a gimmick. I personally would not feed it unless your dog has a diagnosed intolerance or allergy as there are risks. Part of dog’s evolution from wolves included their ability to digest grains. The vast majority of homemade and raw diets aren’t complete and balanced for a dog, some are extremely unbalanced, and this includes ratio diets. If you want to make your own I’d suggest buying a recipe or a doing a consult with a vet nutritionist such as VNG linked to above. You’ll note how they include recommendations for supplements that are needed the vast majority of the time. Be aware that ‘nutritionist’ without the ‘vet’ in front of it isn’t a protected term. Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, whether or not they have any qualifications, and if they do have some sort of certificate it’s not necessarily worth the paper it’s written on as anyone can put together a course. There are some degree qualified, non-vet nutritionists out there but they are in the minority. Incidentally the same applies for human nutritionists! For variety, I like to give some fresh food in qualities that don’t unbalance the diet, e.g. as training treats or when stuffing food toys. However there is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding kibble. It is a convenient, accessible and economical way for many people to ensure that their dogs are getting the nutrition they need to thrive.

Does your vet have a recommendation? They would be familiar with internal medicine specialists in Melbourne if referral is needed.

In Barn Hunt the rat is alive and enclosed in a tube while the dog hunts for them. They are supposedly trained to be ok with this… I’m not convinced? Predation Substitute Training appeals more to me from the little I know about it. I think meeting needs is important and that it need not be at the expense of another animal’s welfare.

Drat I feared it might just point to the ‘watch’ page... leading to anything and everything showing up. Words (c) All Pets Education & Training. 13 October 2017. [quote]Sometimes you need to think outside the box when it comes to enrichment. Enrichment means improving something or increasing value. It doesn't however always need to involve food. Scent is incredibly powerful, sniffing helps calm dogs and also helps fulfil the dogs natural seeking requirements. This activity is especially powerful for older dogs with restricted mobility or dogs on crate rest. It has been something that I've incorporated in to Poco's life for many years due to his several medically required extended crate confinement periods. What you need: • It helps to have another dog to take with you - they are better at finding the smells than you or I. • A bag of clean rags • A spare bag to pop the scented rags in to Go for a walk. When your helper dog finds an interesting smell - rub a rag over it and pop it in the spare bag. Repeat repeat repeat. Now this activity does require some common sense: • Watch what you are rubbing your rag in - obviously we don't want to bring home chunks or gross organic matter. • Also I would advise against this for immune compromised pets or pets that have not completed their puppy vaccination schedule. Parvo can live in the environment for years! • Bring your scented rags home, and give them to your dog that needs some extra mental stimulation without the physical walk. • Supervise them. - Ensure they don't eat rags etc. - If you have a dog that resource guards similar objects perhaps this isn't the best for them. Poco loves this activity. He sniffs, tastes, and sorts his rags for up to 30 minutes. And he sleeps very soundly afterwards. And yes I am that crazy lady people tend to avoid when out walking - walking around polishing poles and trees. I've even had a class client mention that they spotted me out and about doing this and thought I was a complete nutter. [/quote]

Do you have anyone who could bring a walk or other outing* home to the girls? https://fb.watch/k9YzQqk0gp/?mibextid=ykz3hl *I know someone who brings bits and pieces home for her dog who can’t join them for dog beach trips. And one time I brought the zoo home to Malcolm. Edit. If the link doesn’t work, tell me and I’ll try to do a write up. Or search “all pets education training rags” in Facebook and hopefully that will bring it up.

What I’m hearing is that you have a couple of woolies hot chook influencers How are things today, LMO?

Mal and I loved the Velfast cones! Would love to see them as options at more vets for situations like these where the hard plastic type are needed. I hope your girls feel better soon.