larasmum

Thank you all. She's home safe and sound, and doesn't look as bad as I thought she would. She's an inside dog most of the time anyway, so wasn't an issue for me to take up camp next to her bed last night :) . My vet has been fantastic, and explained everything thoroughly. Just need to wait 10 days to get the histopathology results....she had a small growth above the eye......so they've sent that away along with the eye for testing. Oh and thank you t, that's good advice about approaching her on the left side. She hasn't had sight in that eye for a little while now, so I guess she got use to that, but a few times I did notice her flinch when I've gone to give her a cuddle....so now I talk to her before approaching. Gawd I Love my old girl to the moon and back :laugh:

Hi everyone My precious old girl had surgery yesterday, to have her left eye removed, due to glaucoma......stupid horrible disease!!! Anyhoo, received a call late yesterday from my vets, saying surgery went well, etc and I have to ring late this morning to find out if she's ok to bring home today sometime. What I'm wanting to know, is basically what to expect when I see her, and how best to care for her after surgery. I'm guessing the vet will give me the run down when I pick her up, but thought it best to get a heads up first......So do I just let her be and do her own thing like normal?? Obviously keeping a close watch....I did read somewhere not to moddycoddle.....and will she be in pain? She's an ole trooper, having dealt with a mast cell tumour, pancreatitis and now this

Yeah, I think that's pretty much it. Possibly, or it could be a more general thing. Like the dog wants to leap all over you but knows he only gets greeted if he sits. Or it could be he's so excited he has to find something to do and is trying to pick something appropriate, like when I'm so excited I want to jump and squeal, but I'm with complete strangers who might find that a bit disturbing and so I find something more appropriate because I just can't hold it in completely. I'm just throwing ideas out there. I think it's calming for my boy just going on the fact that he behaves more calmly during greetings when he has something in his mouth than when he doesn't. But why it's calming is anyone's guess. Maybe it's because he felt conflicted and engaging in a displacement behaviour makes him feel less conflicted which in turn makes him feel calmer. It's hard to unravel behaviour! It's why I love it so much. If the dog is not sure how to behave they may start doing displacement behaviours. Not knowing what to do can be anxiety-inducing. Or perhaps they are feeling intimidated but don't want to engage, so they'll sniff the ground or something, kind of like averting the gaze or perhaps communication to tell the other dog/person that they are not paying attention to them and therefore are no threat. My dogs have clearer ways of saying that they are no threat, but I sometimes see dogs that aren't entirely comfortable with other dogs tongue flick or sniff the ground. To me, it's like a combined message. "Let's everyone relax" and "I don't know what to do; this is uncomfortable for me". Here's one of Erik that's a bit like that: I'm not sure what his deal was, but he was giving very exaggerated "I'm no threat" signals for this wee puppy that included some tongue flicks. I think that he was a bit taken aback because he was with a lot of doggy friends and it was the first time he'd met this squirt. He was tearing around like a loon with his mates one moment and the next he was like "Argh, I don't know her. Who's she?? She's small and smells funny!" I think the tongue flicking in this context means he's not sure how to behave and I do think it's an indicator of anxiety, although it was over very quickly once Erik realised it was just another dog. Normally he is way more confident in greeting a strange dog. I'd be looking for sniffing the ground or tongue flicks, primarily. Also, looking away from me or seeming distracted, or circling with head down as if the dog was following a smell in a circle. If I got a yawn or a sneeze in training I'd be more inclined to think it was a self-calming thing, but that's just from my experiences. For Erik, I look for nose-poking. He is a serial poker. Often he does it if he's trying to get a click, but sometimes it takes on a compulsive flavour and he'll just lean over and touch something next to him with his nose in between other behaviours. If I see a nose poke in that context I assume he's a bit stressed for whatever reason. It might be because what I'm asking is too hard for him, or he's not sure what to do, or he's feeling frustrated or maybe he's not focussed for some other reason. Generally going back to easier things and/or increasing the reward rate makes the nose poking stop. For things like circling, sniffing, and tongue flicks, it might be happening because the dog is feeling too much pressure from the trainer. They might be anxious about doing the wrong thing or may actually not be enjoying the training. Could also be that they don't know what to do and are finding it frustrating, like Erik. Most of this is just guesses on my part, but I think if you look at the accompanying body behaviour it becomes a pretty educated guess. Sorry, long post! Hope that wasn't boring and off topic. I found this very interesting indeedy!

I have polished timber floors throughout my house, bedrooms and all!! Although they have a few scratches here and there, it's more from furniture than my old girl, but they still remain nice and shiney with a weekly mop over of warm water and Metho....I vaccum every second day.....glutton for punishment. On the down side? I do hear my old girl clippetty clopping around.

I go to the vets behind Pet Barn on Coreen Ave, Penrith and I think next door to the vets is a pet grooming place. Not sure what it's like though.

Gee I'd of thought i had written this thread myself about my old girl Lara! we've been through the same thing and its just horrible. I also sort Staffyluv's advise some time ago, after reading Ollies story, and so far so good. Glad Vada is doing well......will be thinking of you both