Papillon Kisses

That was his Howloween costume from a couple of years ago. :D We had a follow up with our VB yesterday. She is impressed with our progress with the protocol — apparently taking three days to get to the end of Task 1 is actually very good?! and Malcolm is a fast learner, or at least he is now that he's less anxious. We are still on Task 2, but my point is... don't be dismayed Thistle! Like TSD says, break it down as need be and keep chipping away. I'm sure your girl will get there as she can do some pretty darn impressive things in her OB classes/training. If she can stay still while you operate your contraptions around her this should be a piece of cake once she 'gets' it. :) About 2/3 into Task 2 today I accidentally dropped the handout right in front of Malcolm which startled him. Although he didn't jump out of his skin it proved too much and he walked off having had enough. Up until then he was going pretty well though, so we might only need one or two more days on Task 2.

Malcolm has a calming cap which he wears in the car and in the evenings for his anxiety and compulsive behaviour around his own reflection and light reflections/shadows. You probably know this, but they can still see out of it, visual stimuli are just less scary and muted, like I suppose when wearing earplugs in a noisy environment. I understand the trepidation with Justice though due to his unique fears. Our VB posted this article about propanalol on their FB page recently: https://newrepublic.com/article/133008/cure-fear — it looks very promising!

Yeah, looking at the website, 100g a day is an awful lot of food for your little buddy, especially if he is receiving any treats on top of that. Some tough love might be needed with your family and education about how the excess weight is hurting him, especially with his arthritis. They are killing him with "kindness." Provided that your dog doesn't have a grass allergy, he might enjoy Sprinkles. It will make his meal last longer and burn some additional energy (sniffing apparently burns a considerable amount of energy for a dog, who knew?!). It may also help hide the amount of food you're giving him from those family members. Other options are kongs and slow feeder bowls like this one or mats like this. My Chi x eats out of the mini purple flower slo-bowl. Be aware that this sort of bowl is ineffective for the littlies. Smaller meals are more satisfying when you have to work for them, instead of woofing them down. :) If your family members don't agree with the amount of food being given, be very careful that they are not sneaking him foods that are not permitted in his diet. Some people here have seen that happen with family members who don't realise that "just a little bit" WILL hurt.

Consult with our VB today. We are adding in trazadone, which I myself am a bit anxious about. ???? She seems pleased with his progress though. Just need to keep him moving in the right direction.

Irresponsible and illegal. ETA. Ok, I presume illegal. It would be in NSW...

When it comes to feeding overweight dogs, what matters most is giving them the right amount of food to get to a healthy weight. You could have something with less protein, but if you feed too much your Chi will still be overweight. As for Prime 100, the website states that it meets the requirements for a balanced diet (see the right hand side column: http://prime100.com.au/Pages/Our_Range/Single_Protein_Diet___SPD___-_Vet_Recommended/Sk-D200__Crocodile_and_Tapioca.aspx BTW you might have to feed less than the amount suggested on the pack depending on your dog's energy requirements. It can be a good place to start though. :)

Hi sje78, I know you're new here so I just wanted to point out that the RSPCA does not get much support here not just from owners of purebred dogs but also those who rescue or own dogs of mixed parentage (I have a rescue mutt myself). The responses aren't an attack on you, I promise! :) I think most of the general public don't know the sorts of things that the RSPCA gets up to. I certainly didn't until I read more about it on DOL. Speaking only about the product: I don't have any experience with the RSPCA allwormers. Selecting these products is a by like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. For example. I note that the RSPCA allwormers it is only for the control of roundworms, whipworms, hookworms, tapeworm and hydatid tapeworm. Consequently another product(s) would be needed to treat or prevent heartworm, fleas and ticks. I hope this helps!

Or collecting many dogs of any type. I think it can be an animal hording issue combined with a fear of the dogs being in a worse situation, while being blind to the reality that what they're doing is just as bad if not worse. The dog might be alive, but does he have a life worth living? There is one other rescue where I fear this is the case, and that particular rescue gets a lot of funding and support from the general public and even some government groups.

YAY, here's to a better week for Scottie boy. And sharing a bed and leccy blanket with Scottsmummy and daddy sounds even better. :D

Another thing: "Food and water appears to have been provided." — Steve Did you SEE the water? I know dogs can sometimes dirty their water a little but the water in those buckets is putrid and reportedly never properly changed. Even if you put aside the issue of the dogs being chained for so long, the state of the water is not ok.

Ta. I've passed on your details. PS Leon. ????

Malcolm's Ruf Ruf Cool Coat arrived today. It's like a thundershirt but is a lighter material and sleeveless so it's less hot in summer and we can use it as a base layer in winter. It also has the side benefit of looking like a muscle shirt. #showusyourgunsmal

Thanks Powerlegs. I will share the album on the lost/found page of my local area.

Such a cute little gang. :D

Is this the chained dogs - blind bight album? Are you asking this to be shared with lost/found groups on Facebook? I'm confused about the situation but it appears you cannot say more? Were the dogs stolen or something?

I had to look up "leccy blanket"... so he has his own electric blanket? That makes me smile. :) I totally get it about keeping records / noticing things more, and then not knowing what you're seeing. I find it's better as a long game: once you get more data you can look look back and see how he was one or two weeks or a month ago, and have a better perspective. You might also start seeing patterns like X activity made things better or worse a day or two later, when you may not have picked up on it otherwise. I had some interesting experiences with that when I was using a diary to track exercise and rehab from injuries. For example, I was able to see that doing a particular activity or treatment would make things temporarily worse, but that the time to recover from it was shortening over time. It meant I didn't freak out over expected setbacks! And with Malcolm I've also noticed that if has a stressful experience he might still be more reactive the following day, so I need to keep things low key for him. Stuff like that. It sounds like Vivotonin might be one of those drugs that take a while to build up proper blood levels... some other meds are like that.

blinkblink - who justice sees...??? Yeah that's who I was thinking. :)

They don't have to necessarily see the possum. My dog's main trigger was the sound they made rustling in the trees but especially that terrible fighting (mating?) sound. You could presumably find videos or recordings of possums online to get the sound and then desensitise/counter condition that. In any case, my dog sleeps inside at night and the behaviour modification happened in the evening pre bed. It carried over. It is much easier to lock them inside, but if the dog is anything like mine the mere sound of a possum would wind him up from indoors so you still have a problem to address.

Does anyone know of a groomer in the northern suburbs of Adelaide who would be suitable for washing an anxious dog? They would need to use positive reinforcement and know the signs of the dog being overthreshold. Asking for someone else. I know someone in here is a groomer but I can't remember who or where they are located. Hmmm... I think I've found it.

You make possums reliably predict something very very good, like cheese or BBQ chicken or roast meat. SEE HERE: http://grishastewart.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/counterconditioning-ahimsa-manual.jpg Another way is to train your dog to do a conflicting behaviour. When my dog barked at possums, I would call him inside and tell him to go to his bed. "Go to bed" wasn't said as a punishment (this is very important!!) but as a conflicting command. "Do this" not "don't do that." It is physically impossible to be outside barking at possums at the same time that you are inside on your bed. It is easier if you have a rock solid come inside when called. When your dog is outside at any time but not barking, call him in and reward him with an AMAZING treat even if he dawdles. Note that it has to be a high value treat, not just an everyday treat.

How's the dear little man?

:D

What a relief! You can do it Amber, keep fighting girl!

Congratulations on another successful Stand for Exam. :)