Papillon Kisses

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?

https://www.sniffspace.com.au

You can make wobblers more difficult by putting a tennis ball or scrunched up pieces of paper in it. Snuffle mats are fab. May need supervision depending on the dog. Scattering their food on the grass for them to hunt out is an excellent activity. Sniffing is calming for dogs. If you’re on Facebook, check out the Canine Enrichment group.

Do consider the dog door itself. Does it have a hard flap which might be hurting your dog’s body or face (swap to a soft flap); is it high up and your dog has to leap through it like an obstacle (add a stair on either side). I’ve seen some interesting installations where it’s little wonder the dog would rather wait for their human to open the door!

I would do two things 1) create a specific area outdoors for digging and burying his prized possessions 2) teach trade/swap. Then when you’ve finished playing together, you can trade the toy for a treat or perhaps a toy he can bury and put the playing together toys away. This way he still has his toys to play with and bury since he seems to enjoy that, they’ll be in a set area if you need to find them for some reason, and there’s an assortment of special ones for playing with together. You might find that he’s already selected a spot or spots for toy burial.

Vets cannot get medications for anywhere near the same prices as chemists due to (1) buying power and (2) no PBS. Most have very little markup.

Anxious Dogs of Australia Support Group was permanently archived, and Complicated Canines of Australia has taken its place. The ADOA website pages listing VBs, trainers, etc was taken down by the owner of the previous group. However, Vet Behaviourists can be found on the ANZCVS Behaviour Chapter website. ANZCVS don’t specifically list who does online consults, but you can trawl through all the links. Or just ask me for details of others who do it as I know of most of them (and also who I would personally avoid but I won’t say that here!). For trainers, Pet Professional Guild of Australia or Delta Institute are good places to look but if they have a VB, which would be my firm recommendation if they are open to the idea, then that VB will be able to recommend a trainer with whom they have a good working relationship if they themselves don’t cover that piece. There are occasionally issues with a VB not being able to consult in a particular state or territory due to state licensing issues but it’s getting better. https://www.anzcvs.org.au/chapters/veterinary+behaviour+chapter Side note, the vet behaviour specialists got upset about those with their memberships in behaviour being called Veterinary Behaviourists, so you’ll hear the word Behaviour Vet more often now. I’ve used VB as that’s what most here are familiar with.

Which is a much bigger problem than I thought it was until a friend was trying to buy products online for family overseas and every single one on their version of Amazon was counterfeit. Do not buy cheap stuff off eBay!!

Your vet or vet nurse can recommend products suitable for your dog and circumstances. There’s no obligation to buy from them. What some of us give may not be suitable for your dog and situation, and vice versa. I wouldn’t get too caught up in the xyz will kill your dog dialogue. What happened when Nexgard and Bravecto came out was the numbers of dogs getting sick from +/- dying from ticks plummeted. Their products are contraindicated for some individuals but not most.

I know some excellent, force free trainers who do online consults. Creative Animal Solutions is both a VB and an animal trainer who does online consults and competitive in price compared to others. The pup would only be doped up if it were on the wrong medication or dose for her. Maybe show her these? The longer anxiety goes untreated or under-treated the more ingrained it becomes... treating as a pup/adolescent can mean a less anxious adult who doesn’t need to be on any medication, or at least be on lower doses of it. I understand some people get really stuck on medication myths or negative anecdotal reports though (or their own negative experiences) and can be resistant to consider it. https://www.subthresholdtraining.com/this-article-wont-change-your-mind-on-anti-anxiety-medication/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=facebook_page&utm_medium=SubThreshold+Training&fbclid=IwAR1PRTWnnTzC94se0Ep1mhDDQVMfGKB4eZwDJE_fbLk0co8D_BpAuWutweE http://www.drjensdogblog.com/behavior-medication-first-line-therapy-or-last-resort/ Poor little love. Edited to add, if she’s on Facebook direct her to the Complicated Canines of Australia group.

Here’s another Papillon Westminster winner, 12 year old Sparkle. https://m.facebook.com/FOXSports1/videos/1136802756445178/

Yes, veterinary behaviourists suggest trialing a moderate protein diet for dogs who are hyperactive, aggressive or anxious if the current diet is high protein (which your dog’s is). I’ve read it in a number of places, but a discussion that I can recall is in an episode of The Bitey Dog Podcast where Michael Shikasio interviews Dr Chris Pachel. If it doesn’t make a difference after the trial period then go feed whatever complete and balanced diet you want, but I do think it’s worth giving a go.

Sam, I’m sharing this resource in case you need it. You might like to open it in a private tab. https://www.1800respect.org.au

I’d speak to your vet again. They might recommend a different diet or want to run more tests. You don’t have to buy food from them. They might not recommend a diet that they typically stock anyway. If you really want to home cook you could ask for a referral to a veterinary nutritionist. Then you can ensure you are feeding a diet that is complete and balanced, which is especially important for growing pups. Do we get a photo as Dog Tax?

I’m sorry to read this news. There are indeed vets with a special interest in palliative care. I don’t know if it’s a specialty. Sydney Animal Pain Clinic have many cancer patients. (I have no personal experience with them, I just know they exist). The specialty with that one is anaesthesia and critical care - these vets often do chronic pain. I think I would talk to an oncologist anyway. When a friend’s dog had cancer she elected not to do any in-hospital treatment due to her dog being anxious, but there was an at-home treatment targeted at improving QOL and increasing time if possible. I think it was a type of chemotherapy. All it involved was carefully giving a tablet while wearing gloves, and taking urine samples for some reason.

Hey I hope pup is doing ok. I thought I’d mention that there are vets who do online consults. This could be a really good option for you for out of hours emergencies. The one I know of is Your Vet Online, but there are possibly other services too.

I just want to second the recommendation to take videos. Adrenaline can override pain, resulting in a dog who appears more normal at the vet.