Papillon Kisses

Fingers and paws crossed over here!

There's actually stuff you could do without a yard! Many beneficial herbs can be grown inside. Malcolm's favourite is lemon balm. You might just need to increase his distance to the trigger. You were very close. I've heard of dog that needed to start at a distance of an entire football field away before very gradually moving forward. God I hope it's not rebound anxiety. He did end up having a better day today after a rough start, though. :)

He's such a doll. ????

I just came across this new sport/game: K9 Scent Scramble It looks like a lot of fun for dogs who like ball games! There is going to be a demonstration at the Dogs NSW Dogs on Show event in Sydney on 11th June.

So Malcolm also had a bad day yesterday with his OCD and is so far struggling a bit today too (shaking). He was fixating on the walls and light reflections during both the day and night, was also staring at me with a strange intensity during the day (like he was really freaked out and asking for help), and was more reactive with Mr PK in response to noises and movements at night. He chose to turn away and lay down in the opposite direction after batting at a wall on one occasion, but in general we had a lot of trouble trying to redirect him: he'd turn to look at us briefly but then immediately go back to staring. Not entirely sure of the trigger. I had missed his trazadone the night before, and our VB says it's possible it was already helping him (he was ok on it the preceding days). His Adaptil collar is also old: I was waiting until closer to when we leave for our holiday to replace it as I wasn't sure it was doing anything, but maybe it is. I hope he improves because I really don't want to leave him when he's this bad.

If it were Malcolm I'd say carry over stress, but all dogs are different and there's Justice's new medication to consider. Remember that even going outside (and being inside in some cases) is stressful in and of itself, as there's the potential to come across triggers—other dogs in this instance—even in your usual walking area. Spending the rest of the time at home relaxing is great. That's what I do when Malcolm has had a very stressful day or incident, as he can take a day or more to re-establish his equilibrium. For us this means no walks as well. Ripping up a discarded box might be a more healthy coping mechanism? I've been meaning to make a thread about this somewhere, but I've inserted some sensory/enrichment elements into our garden with plant selection based on applied zoomopharmacosy, which is where animals self-select various plants or other natural substances seemingly to self-medicate. When Malcolm is highly aroused for whatever reason he takes himself out into the garden and really gets into sniffing and eating his plants. It can look quite feverish, but he returns in a calmer state. Our VB says he's found a healthier way to manage his anxiety vs. other behaviours (e.g. fixating on light reflections/shadows, attacking walls). He also uses play as a stress reliever. I hope Justice is having a better day today. xx

That's awesome Thistle. :D Love it.

Definitely! Pics or it didn't happen!

Hehehe, I'm cracking up because I'm pretty sure Malcolm would be smaller/shorter than both of your dogs (he's smaller than Scottie boy) and I just bend down. :laugh: I believe you that Justice is shorter than he looks (I can tell roughly by the car bumper). Everyone is surprised by Malcolm's size, I think because Mr PK has a picture of Malcolm on his massive computer monitor at work so they expect a kelpie sized dog! You do realize it's harder to scoop up hip sized dogs and carry them in one arm? :D

exact reason my next dog will be hip height LOL I am laughing at both of you! :laugh: "He's a lot lower than he looks!"

I'm happy with how Task 2 is now looking, so we're progressing with Task 3 tomorrow. Task 2 took a bit longer than Task 1, he seemed to get a bit stuck, but I did miss some days too. I'm not sure how I'm going to fit all these extra steps into my living room, though!

: cheer : (no spaces) :cheer: x many!!!

Wow! What a turn around! You and your VB have opened up a whole new world of learning for Justice by dialing down his anxiety! Wow wow wow! You're not even all that far away from the husky!!

Agreed! Look at the shine on those coats!

Where abouts in VIC are you? Someone here may be able to suggest another vet not too far away who you could see for a second opinion. :)

I raised it again with our vet today. They really aren't the slightest bit concerned! Is this something that a lot of dogs do? I will ask them to bring it to the attention of his specialist next time they touch base (this was the approach suggested by our VB too). In the meantime I will try raising his water bowl. I also like the look of the Road Refresher for when we start traveling to Nose Work classes. Perse, I don't think putting the water down is a trigger. When we get home late at night, he is more excited about running inside and drinking water than he is to greet us (even though it's been out with him the entire time). I might also see about putting a bowl inside his kennel. We haven't used the GoPro at night, but maybe when it's colder/darker he does not want to venture out so might get too thirsty. He's excited about running to his water bowl when he's been out during the day, but doesn't drink quite so much. I looked up megaesophagus, Rebanne. Interesting to see that it can be secondary to Addison's. The symptoms seem more extreme than what he has, but we also had the same issue with his Addison's (less severe/very few symptoms). Do you use a Bailey chair with Fern?

Haha, those initial questions! I kept wondering whether to answer literally or figuratively. :laugh: Looking forward to seeing the results. :)

Yay! Onwards and *Pupwards for Justice *That was a typo but I'm keeping it. :D

I like the look of that, thanks.

Good idea, guess I have to think of something that would float.

More of a brat fink side to her. Here she is yesterday, to say she's a handful would be accurate in more ways than one. Handful IG by kirislin, on Flickr :laugh:

Malcolm (Chi x) drinks his water so fast that he throws up. While he will take pauses when instructed, it's usually not enough to stop the vomiting, especially when combined with excitable behaviour though that too is discouraged! After having success slowing down his eating with the Outward Hound Fun Feeder Mini, I am wondering if anyone (or rather their dog :) ) has tried the Drink Better Bowl? Does it work? Have you seen any other slow drinker bowls, for lack of a better term? I once bought a slow feeder bowl from the same company and it made absolutely no impact on his eating rate, so I'm a bit suspicious! Thanks!

Pics of Little Red Man in tartan coat pls. :D

Agreed! This is what I got the last time I washed someone's muddy paws in nice warm water when it was cold, wet and dark outside. I'm not going to subject this little mite to a cold hose unless he's overheated!

... throws up on the carpet, simply because he's inhaled his water having not had enough while we're out, then done zoomies up the stairs and back and forth. I'm happy to see you too, pup, but I really hate removing stains from the carpet!