Papillon Kisses

It has spread to Victoria too now.

My previous dog died from congestive heart failure. I’m begging you: please speak to your vet, don’t get veterinary advice off the internet. I wouldn’t take a dog off or reduce the dose of any medication let alone such an important one without veterinary instruction. There are things they can do to help appetite if it’s still an issue, there may be other suitable heart medications too. Referral to a vet cardiologist is also an option. Sending lots of love to Sonny.

I’m in NSW and have my dog on Central Animal Records as well as the NSW Companion Animal Register, as NSW doesn’t let interstate people access their registry. I chose CAR a few years back after doing some research here.

It is very painful. You’d want very good pain relief on board. I’m unsure of the point where positives outweigh negatives, although nails puncturing paw pads or causing structural deformities would be two. The alternate cut method has receded Malcolm’s quicks if that is helpful to know. https://susangarrettdogagility.com/2013/08/cutting-your-dogs-nails-how-important-is-it-really/

Something I find fascinating is the research coming out about the behavioural impacts of desexing. It’s not just about whether or not you desex but also the timing. There’s a window for example in which if you had a breed prone to noise phobia you might want to avoid desexing; dogs desexed before or after that age range did not show the same uptick.

Really sorry you and pup are in this position, Chess. Thank you for sharing the experience as a warning to others.

Anxiety medication and behaviour modification are not quick fixes, but if you don’t want to be doing multiple GAs for the rest of a dog’s life then a holistic approach where you get nails done under sedation/GA when needed but address the pain and work on the anxiety outside of these times makes sense. I’m sorry you have seen some dogs worsen with medication. It sounds like they would have benefited from having their medication, behaviour modification and management plans reviewed, as the right medication/dose for the individual will not have the effect you describe. I know this comment probably won’t change your mind and that’s fine, we can disagree. I am commenting for anyone following along because too often people fear anxiety medication for themselves or their pets when it saves and restores lives. I’ll make one further point also that when things do go wrong, the vast majority of the time it’s a vet without any training in behaviour medicine who has done the prescribing. (I’m not suggesting the vet has done anything bad in this instance).

This can happen if something like acepromazine (ACE/ACP) is given. ACE is a chemical straight jacket with zero anti-anxiety effects, so the dog is just as panicked but can’t move = more panic over time. I’m guessing that’s what you have seen. Actual anxiety medication calms the brain so that learning can better occur, but it can take some time to determine the best fit for the individual. We found some meds or doses made Malcolm more anxious and others had no effect, but we got there in the end.

Just in case anyone thinks to try this please, please don’t. Many people have copped nasty bites to the face by copying this viral video. No one thinks their dog will do that but all dogs can when fearful and pushed/lured beyond their comfort zone as is happening in the video. Instead of this we want to use systematic desensitisation and counter conditioning (not to be confused with bribing). If you have a canned diet your guy could eat you can try baking it in a pyramid/dot mould pan or tray. This is what we do for Malcolm as he’s on a very low fat prescription diet.

Poor boy. Here are a few more considerations: 1. Tweaking the situational anxiety medication and making sure the arthritic pain is also being adequately covered. There are a number of other situational anxiety meds that can be prescribed if the first one didn’t help or sometimes the dose or timing just needs tweaking. 2. A training plan to systematically change how he feels about nail trims. His anxiety and pain needs to be covered to progress with this. Nail Maintenance for Dogs Facebook group has units you can work through. I have a couple of friends who specialise in cooperative care and who do zoom consults if you’d like a trainer to help you (likely to be faster). 3. Every time nail trims are forced the fear worsens. Hence working at the dog’s pace, getting meds right, and if it becomes urgent doing them under actual sedation or anaesthesia at the vet in the meantime. 4. You can enlist the help of a Behaviour Vet if need be. 5. Diva mentioned the scratch board. My only consideration with this is making sure the movement doesn’t flare up his arthritis. This podcast episode might interest you https://www.animaltrainingacademy.com/podcast/training-tidbits/lori-nanan/

You could do a hands on assessment: https://wsava.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Body-Condition-Score-Dog.pdf

Hey Cat, sorry to hear your dog is getting worse. Best wishes for the vet - do check for pain and run a blood panel. You can find a veterinary behaviourist/behaviour vet here: https://www.anzcvs.org.au/chapters/veterinary+behaviour+chapter

Malcolm has been enjoying navigating piles of mulch. One section is a bit like a ramp with a viewing (sniffing? can’t see anymore) post. He also has a potted sensory garden.

It’s not (or shouldn’t be) unusual, but scrap the food bowl and feed from enrichment toys. Snuffle mats are a good starter, just supervise at first. If you’re on Facebook, check out the Canine Enrichment group. Hope this helps!

I can totally see that

They are bellies on stumps!

Mal’s BV just told me it’s old news so there’s your answer. I didn’t know either. We switched specialist hospitals a while back as neither Mal or I were happy anymore. I’d be curious as to the ownership status at the time we left... When vets sell to big corporates they sometimes go downhill. We made the sad decision to leave our family vet of 20 years. I can see there being benefits for practice owners but I know not all vets are happy working for corporate practices.

I would ask a vet instead of people on an internet forum. I suspect a vet would advise against storing it. Open packets are no longer a protected atmosphere.

I’d be desensitising and counter conditioning to all aspects individually and then putting what you can together. Sound proof puppy training app has take off/landing and in cabin sounds which you can work up to being on proper speakers. Combine with adpatil if it helps, and discuss anti-anxiety medication (NOT acepromazine, and note that anxiety meds aren’t necessarily sedatives) or at least zylkene supplementation with a vet experienced in treating anxiety (most aren’t). Start now and ideally get help - it is very easy to inadvertently sensitise instead of desensitise a dog. Pet Professional Guild Australia is a good place to look for a trainer, ANZCVS vet behaviour chapter website for a vet behaviourist/behaviour vet - many do zoom consults. And a full vet check. A huge number of noise phobic dogs have chronic pain of some sort. Hope this helps and apologies if you already have this stuff covered.

Have parcels delivered to the post office then. Messages are sent to an app or email to tell you when they’ve arrived. https://auspost.com.au/receiving/collection-points/choose-a-post-office-for-deliveries

If it’s an option and you’ve got the insurance/money/time, I think I would seriously consider immunotherapy shots for the grass allergy. In a young dog I imagine there would be considerable payoff in getting it sorted now and not needing as much or any medication and management along the lifespan. Maybe something to ask your vet/dermatologist about.

FYI this is a post from 2017.

Anxiety has unfortunately become more common in ridgies so be sure to ask some questions about that - how are the parents/lines with things like storms, fireworks, noises in general, separation, children, men, other dogs, novelty...

Just wanted to say that it’s great that your dog is doing well on apoquel and best wishes for the appointment with the dermatologist. I strongly recommend doing the allergy testing before mucking around with diet or other interventions. You might restrict things for no good reason and create a rod for your back if your dog requires a novel diet in the future, if for example they develop a food allergy, intolerance or IBD

Have you considered the help em up harness?