raineth

yeah she had all the basics done for a presentation like this and it was all normal. Unless it’s something really obscure her symptoms don’t match any of the obvious medical causes for anxiety.

thanks for sharing your story Paul. It’s such a difficult situation. It really resonates with me. I feel so aware that we have no back up plan with her as she is so scared of other people she can’t be looked after by anyone else. Our daughter has been in hospital 300km away for nearly a month now and one of us has always had to stay home to care for Penny. It’s been really hard. It’s a big sacrifice to make. I’m also worried that one day we’ll be backed into a corner. sounds like you did everything for your big lad I hear ya. I am really annoyed but I am also really burned out. I have had to block her as interacting with her was making my stress levels go through the roof. When we rang the department of fair trading they told us we would need to sue and I just don’t think I can go through the stress of that. I will still put in a complaint to the governing body.

Hey guys, I just wanted to drop in with an update. I also appreciate your posts and responses even if I have not responded directly to all of them. gosh it’s hard to know what to write. It’s been such a painful and difficult experience. I feel so much pressure to help her and get her going better but I feel like a mechanic without a tool box a lot of the time. I don’t know how far we can get and I’m trying to be realistic but also optimistic. I wish I could come here and say that I’ve got a plan and we’re doing great and I’ve found some deeper meaning from the whole experience but we’re not there yet. The good news is that Penny is making progress. She’s confident enough in most parts of the house now. She is even opting to go into the front yard sometimes and the front yard is pretty scary because there can be people walking past and the sound of kids playing and noisy cars. She can now be in the same room as our son without feeling scared. The most amazing thing happened two nights ago when I went to take our other dog for a walk and Penny decided that she wanted to come too! She actually did really quite well on the walk as it was late and no one was around. Other than this I don’t take her out more than a couple of times a week to secluded locations. If she gets stressed it can take her a couple of days to be ok again. One of the most tricky things is that she is just so disinterested in food but this too has shown some improvement. When she does eat it’s like even the slightest noise will put her off. It means that when we give her her medication mixed in with some good quality wet food we all wait with bated breath for her to finish. Whilst I’m on this topic I want to say thank goodness for Big Pharma because her Fluoxetine has held the line for us. Interestingly Penny has met up with her sister a couple of times. Her sister is from the same litter and they were together until they were five months old when Penny came to us. Her sister came to live in the same town one month later. But it’s really weird as it’s like they don’t know each other at all. Penny in particular just won’t even acknowledge her sister. I wouldn’t be surprised if they hadn’t seen each other since they were eight weeks but they lived together until they were five months. They first met back up after being separated for only one month and there was no acknowledgement between them. I just find it so strange. Anyway I thought it was time to include a photo and it’s a pretty cute photo. This is Penny snuggled up to our big boy Brian.

I think the flight definitely did not help for sure but I just don’t think it’s the only thing going on. If it was a one off experience and she had been well socialised I would have expected her to bounce back quicker. Instead we’re nearly three months on and my son can’t get within three metres of her and my daughter cannot get within patting distance. She’s just so scared of people in general. We have also met her litter mate and she is the same. We got them together and they were both so stressed that they didn’t even acknowledge each other’s presence.

Hey everyone. Just wanted to say that I do appreciate everyone’s input and wanted to give you all an update. Things turned very sour between us and the breeder. She has refused to send us vaccination papers and transfer of ownership papers. She states: a) puppy has no issues and is normal. b) we have caused puppy’s issues c) she insinuates we are making it all up. She has also insinuated that puppy would be better off in a different home with people who know what they are doing. Because of these things I have lost all trust that the breeder has Penny’s best interests in mind and that she would do right by her. I also think the transport alone would be very traumatic for her. We went on a car trip with her a few weeks ago and vet prescribed alprazolam for her and she was still a wreck the entire time. we have a really good relationship with our vet, she has cared for all our dogs. So when she told us that it would be kinder to euthanise Penny than send her back we took that advice seriously. As such we have decided to keep her. Making this decision has been a relief in itself as it’s allowed our family to gain acceptance for the situation. The fluoxetine is helping and does allow her quality of life. It has also got her to the point where she can take some treats and therefore engage a bit better with behaviour mod. I don’t know how things will go but we’ll just do our best for her. Her Fluoxetine dose has been increased to 30mg and our vet is organising for a behaviourist review which will most likely happen in the new year.

Oh that’s so sad what a tough decision you had to make

She was raised indoors. The videos show her inside and in the backyard. They appear to be more rural than we are though. We live quite close to the centre of a regional city with the busyness that comes with that and this seems to be challenging for her. She is a hound but different breed to our other hound.

The breed is normally reserved with strangers which is why I was expecting some settling in time. But I have had a reserved dog before and this is quite different. I have tried with some training but she usually won’t take treats. She normally won’t eat unless we place her food next to her on the lounge because she doesn’t feel comfortable anywhere else. I have done a lot of hand feeding with her but she has to be on the lounge or she won’t accept it. The vet said the Fluoxetine is to help her enough so we can start behavioural rehab. If it is just me in the house she will have the confidence to run from the lounge room to the door to the backyard if she needs to go to the toilet. Otherwise she is just curled up on the lounge or if people are in the lounge she hides in a nearby bedroom.

TLDR: Our pedigree puppy has major fears and is struggling to adapt to our home. Six weeks ago we bought a 5 month old puppy from a registered breeder. We had been in correspondence with the breeder explaining about our situation and lifestyle and talking about the pup we would be getting and what she is like. She was described to us as playful and outgoing. Due to her location and COVID restrictions it was not possible for us to visit beforehand. The breeder sent us photos and videos and she seemed to be playful and affectionate. I thought that due to her breed and being an older puppy there would be a period of adjustment for her. I wasn’t expecting her to instantly adore us. I was expecting we would have to build a relationship with her. I told the breeder our plans to settle her in over the first week and the breeder sort of indicated I was overthinking it and that she’d be fine. When we brought her home she was completely shut down. It was like she was frozen in place. She would not move. She was clearly terrified. It was a Friday and over the next two days we could not get her eat and drink as she was so stressed. On Sunday we had to syringe her water as she became dehydrated. I updated the breeder and let her know that puppy was having a hard time. She told me that we need to give her three months to properly settle in. She stated she would begin to relax after three weeks. I was a bit shocked as this time frame had not been mentioned to us before and this was not what we had been told to expect. Over the next five weeks there continued to be little improvement in her anxiety levels. She was scared of us, scared to be anywhere other than her little safe place on the lounge. She would run out of the room if we came in. We tried to give her as much space as she needed, tried to help her feel safe. Many times throughout the day we would throw treats in her direction from a distance although most of the time she didn’t eat them. She has gradually become more comfortable with me. She is still unsure of my hubby and she is still scared of our 19year old children who have been very calm and non-intrusive with her. She still runs away from them and does not want them to be close to her. Last week I noticed she had urinary urgency and we took her to the vet who diagnosed stress induced cystitis. Vet was very concerned about her anxiety and stress levels and asked me a lot of questions about how she’s been coping. She advised us to start an antidepressant (fluoxetine) and commence using an adaptil collar. The collar has helped and time will tell if the fluoxetine helps. We have made some very small progress with her this week. She is not running away from situations as much. She loves our other dog and she lights up when she sees him. She is still very scared in the house. She will run if she hears a car door close on the street. She still does not like to be in any proximity to the children. She will seem to be ok with hubby unless he is moving or making any noise. I am worried for her that she will have a life filled with stress and anxiety and I sometimes feel overwhelmed about the prospect of the extensive rehabilitation that she seems to need for her to cope with changes to her environment and with people in general. I have done behavioural rehab with previous rescue dogs and I got those dogs with full disclosure. I know that it can be a long difficult road and it wasn’t something we were expecting to face with this puppy. I am really hoping that the medication allows her mind to calm enough that we can begin to make some grounds with counter conditioning and help her to feel safe. I feel for her and I also feel for our family as all our joy about welcoming a new puppy into our family has been replaced with concern for her and her ability to adapt. It’s just a really sad situation and I don’t know what to do.

Invitation to participate in research 2.docx Hi everyone, I'd like to invite you all to participate in my psychology research project that examines people's responses to undesirable dog behaviour. The study does take 20-30 minutes to complete, so I suggest getting yourself a cuppa and a bickie before you begin :) Who can participate? Anyone who is 18 years or older. You do not have to be a dog owner to participate. What will participation involve? Participation involves completing a survey that will take 20-30 minutes. What do I need to know? Participation is voluntary and anonymous. At the end of the survey you may go in a draw to win a gift card. If you are interested in taking part in this study, please click on the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/baddog_public I am happy to take your feedback on the questionnaire, or answer any questions via the email address provided. Or even PM here. Alternatively, I humbly suggest that if you want to complete the survey that you do so before reading any comments in this thread. This is just simply because reading other people's thoughts on the study can bias responses :) Also I am more than happy for the link to the study to be passed around via email or social media to any individuals or groups that you think might be interested in participating. Thanks, and happy participating!

yip. Whether or not the pup was sold for breeding is also beside the point. If the bite is so bad that the teeth piece the roof of the mouth then then the pup was not fit for sale. Of course it was fit for sale. Would you knock it on the head? What should have happened is that the issue with the mouth should have been advised. No it wasn't. If the puppy needs surgery to be comfortable as is the case here, it should not have been sold. It should have been either kept by the breeder to see if it improves, had surgery to remove the canines and sold with full disclosure, or discounted and sold with full disclosure. I agree.

I would have thought the average GSD would have more prey drive (desire to hunt, chase, catch other animals) than your average mastiff, but I could be wrong. Also, you have to remember that when mastiffs were used for hunting, they were used to hold the quarry, they weren't meant to kill it, or bite to kill.

Leonberger, Newfoundland, Mastiff come to mind. Or look into the Livestock guardians. However, I would never rely on any dog to protect you just because of its breed. Unless you have specifically trained your dog in protection, you just can't know for sure how it would react in a situation like that. I also think that if you don't want it to chase possums, then the easiest and most assured way is to have it sleep indoors at night.

Del has been pretty good with the vet bills over the years. But she did have a big operation last year, and at the end of last year she began her course of Cartrophen injections (which after the first few need to happen every 3 months, or sometimes more for the rest of her life). So I guess that will increase the vet bills quite a bit. I am guessing they will increase anyway as she is into her senior years now. But don't tell her that, she's still adamant that she's a puppy.

Haha, OMG how cute and funny!

Dominance is rare in the same way Big Foot is rare.

Oh boy, when is dominance theory ever going to die? It doesn's seem to matter how disproven, or illogical it is, it just hangs around like a bad smell. It says so much more about us as a species than about dogs.

Papillon Kisses, have you got the audio for it? Just in case anyone doesn't have it, I thought I would put the link here, as it really makes life so much easier :) http://championofmyheart.com/relaxation-protocol-mp3-files/

I really like smooth collies, but I thought they would be a bit more barky than the OP would want. I am thinking a whippet would suit really well. Although I know they are not rare.

Clicker and marker word are in many respects the same as they are both secondary reinforcement. However, they each have their advantages and disadvantages. For instance, the clicker is fantastic for precision, consistency, and it is much easier to use along with commands. For example, if I am making a noise to get my dog's attention, and I want to mark that moment they give me their attention, it can be a little tricky if you're using a verbal marker to get the timing really spot on. The marker word is fantastic because you have it with you whenever you need it and it is hands-free. Problems can come with it being less than distinct, and with keeping it sounding consistent. Solution: use both!

I just find it hard to think that a crow is capable of taking off with a puppy. Crows only weigh a bit over half a kilogram, and I don't think they carry things in their claws. I know they can attack much bigger creatures (like sheep), but that's usually to take their eyes (sorry, TMI?). In any case, I hope the puppy can be found.

So glad he is home Sheena. such a terrible ordeal for both dog and owner

Oh ok, that's different to what I was imagining! I thought it was a special kind of stick that you smack them with somehow...for some reason. Yeah for sure, that would definitely require some skill. And presence of mind (difficult if it's your dog being attacked ). I know a bullet would do the trick pretty quickly but it's not very legal to be walking around with a gun. (for good reason!) I don't know if it would. Usually when dogs fight they move incredibly quickly. I don't know how anyone manages to grab their legs let alone accurately aim a gun at one of them.

Fantastic! Sounds like she's already got the hang of it too :)

Good news! A positive new beginning for Odie :)