aspenleaf

:eek: :D

I'm so sad for your loss. Hugs to you. RIP Wally the beautiful Sheltie.

Mine is walked rain, hail or shine for one hour, seven days a week. I love walking in heavy rain, there's no one around, it's great. My dog does zoomies when I'm towelling him off after the walk.

So true, some humans are just so cruel! That is horrible! Poor thing!

THAT IS FABULOUS!!!!!

That is so funny! It's so true! Mine have all done that. They sit directly in the sun and pant their heads off. I'm saying 'come on, come inside, quickly!'.

:D :D :D :D :D

Excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've heard this before. It's amazing.

Oh bless. So sorry for your loss

:party: :laugh:

Such a sad thread. Vets and vet nurses are amazing people. I have no idea how they do what they do. Thank god for them. How sad is that story that Persephone told about the man and his 'mate' in the birdcage.

Yay for you guys! I'm so jealous! Happy Anniversary!

You bloody legend! That's fabulous!

That's really interesting percyk. I like reading all these stories. I have left her inside twice while I'm out. She cracked our cedar blinds and the second time she weed in one of the bedrooms, so we've left her outside when we're out. She's inside alot when we are home. As she's 37kg, one swipe of the paw and she can do some damage to a screen etc.

Thanks Greytmate, you are right. That's very encouraging. I guess that I always intended on having two dogs and I just don't think that it's ever going to happen because I believe that I'll just 'reduce' Tessa's behaviour but not enough to have another dog. I always thought that maybe adopting a mature pair would be ideal but then saw Fattima's thread and that scared the crap out of me.

ShellandShyla - I think that is a potential problem for our situation because we're home so much. Sometimes someone will be here for days on end, then when we all go out, I swear Tessa is worse. I know that I'm an anxious person so my energy doesn't help. I try not to show it but perhaps Tessa can sense it. It's so hard because when my OH is not travelling, he's home all the time, he doesn't venture out much. I'm also not out all the time, just for 2-3 hours or zipping kids around locally. Also, Tessa is worse when it's raining. She has plenty of undercover areas but of course she chooses to sit out in the rain and wait for us to come home. Sometimes I do feel that she's not fixable, that something is just not right 'upstairs' but I am trying very hard to sort it out. Maybe I'm just trying too bloody hard.

BTW I wouldn't worry too much about waiting a couple of weeks to have the behavourist check on things. Sounds like whatever it is you're dealing with isn't doing too much harm and you've already got lots of strategies underway to work on it. Hopefully by the time the behaviourist sees you next you'll be able to see if it's working and go from there. Congrats on being willing to put in the effort and time!!! It'll be worth it I reckon. It's important not to stress too much about it all or make it more complex than it needs to be. Just take it one step at a time. This better work.. Thanks for the lesson spottychick. Yeah, it's certainly not a serious case and it's improving. I'm hoping that Tessa is even better by the time the behaviourist is due to come that I may not even need a person/dog/person consult. You know, even if I didn't have this issue, I think that the leadership thing is important anyway. I enjoy the exercise so much, the training and the bonding. I couldn't imagine a life without a dog. I tried that and it just doesn't feel natural to me. You are also very right about not making it more complex that it needs to be. That's exactly what my behaviourist says I do. I'm alot of the problem. Thanks for the help

Oh god. I don't know what to say. It's just horrible. I feel so sad for you. xoxox.

OMG, that is so so sad. I'm so sorry for your loss. What did they say when you were concerned that they had the wrong dog? I'd feel physically sick.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I really appreciate it. I found the Jan Fennel DVD (that my behaviorist recommended) fabulous. I also purchased 'I'll be home soon' by Patricia McConnell (I think recommended by persephone in a previous thread? and watching 50 billion episodes of Cesar Milan...hehe. Anyhow, we were all out for over two hours this arvo, on the way home, I parked around the corner, snuck up to the house and heard nothing coming from the backyard. Such huge progress. I really hope that she eventually ends up calm and content when we are all absent from the house. Have a safe evening tomorrow. I know I'll be in bed at 8:30pm. Could my life be anymore exciting. I can't even manage to stay up to watch the 9pm fireworks. LOSER...with a capital ELL! xox.

Spottychick, does your dog still display this anxiety when there is another dog left with her? I was thinking of getting another dog as I was so sure that Tessa had a fear of being alone but the behaviourist said 'DO NOT GET ANOTHER DOG' as Tessa's behaviour will rub off onto the second dog and I'll have two nutbags to deal with. I am so very disappointed that I'm not allowed to get another dog because if Tessa didn't display this behaviour, I'd be looking for another dog sooner rather than later. I would love to have two dogs but now I can't have that. BUM!

God I'm hopeless at posting. I'm trying to figure out how to quote a certain line and then comment on it. What is a 'fast reply'? Nothing happens when I click on it. Anyhow, we got Tessa directly from Hawkesbury Pound, not a rescue org. She is an indoor dog. Referring to what SAS said, my OH mentions that Tessa needs to be reminded that she is a dog and puts her outside more often that I do. Still trying to figure out the trigger. It varies. She's not bad when we leave. I know she's okay for 20 minutes after we leave because I have parked around the corner and crept back to the house and listened to her. She did nothing for 20 minutes, I got impatient and went back to my car and drove in. She was fine upon arrival. My neighbour tells me what she's doing. Apparently she sits on her back legs and just scratches the masonite that's been screwed to the back screen, then stops, then later starts up again. My neighbour said that it's nothing to worry about neighbour wise. She said that the howl is very faint, it's more like a cry. I would just love to know that when we leave adn while we're gone, she's okay. She's got great teeth for a four year old so I reckon the neighbours just gave her bones to keep her occupied whilst they were absent. My behaviourist offered this week but my OH is away OS until 15 January and the behaviourist would like to see how the whole family interact with her.

Thank you for your comments. I was very embarrassed to think that I had no replies. Yes, it's been diagnosed by a behaviourist. I have a consult with her on the 20th January. I am a stay at home Mom and my husband works from home, so there is usually someone here all the time which I believe may be the problem (not enough time being spent alone). When I'm gone, she's fine, when OH is gone, she's fine. When we're all gone (2 adults, 3 kids), I know she is stressed. Having said all that, she has improved significantly. I can drive out of the garage and she will when asked sit and wait while the garage door goes down and just stays there (she appears more comfortable waiting in the garage for my car to return). She never would have done that at first. She's not extreme by following me from room to room etc, nor does she scratch at the door to come inside when we put her outside and we're inside. She can spend hours out on the deck and in the backyard with the doors closed and be content. It's just this fear of being alone. I go out on short trips ie kids school etc but we're never out for long periods at a time (my husband travels OS alot for work though - but I'm still here). Anyhow, I will keep doing what I'm doing. I'm also very consistent with NILIF. I think it is working, but as I said to the behaviourist, some days she's just more stressed than others. My friend has a rescue and she believes it took him a good 5-6 months to stop his behaviour issues. He's such a great dog now. He had fear biting, peeing in the house, shaking etc so different from CSA. Anyhow, thanks again for your input. Happy New Year to all xox.