hankdog

I hope my favourites Red went to a great home. I'm sure the peace and no poop will be enjoyed.....until next time.

BC when you say she flips out what does she do. Is she lunging and moving around? For Jake I lift his front feet off the ground, the movement is not staight up, as he lunges I sort of go with and then just hold him up there. He will struggle for a bit, as soon as he stops he gets lowered. Despite his wonky eyes he likes eye contact, while he's up there I'll be standing so I can see his face, it seems as long as I can keep that eye contact I can sort of keep him still. I guess it's just easier to read him but if Stella's lunging around it can be something to try. Initially he would go on for a bit, as soon as I lowered him he'd be right back, he has learned though and although we have gone back to having to do this he stops quickly and doesn't start up after the initial lunge. Not pleasant but physically stopping him shortens the tantrum. I think if you just keep rewarding the run back to you it can become like a reflex. As soon as Jake sees the neighbour dogs he comes to find me for treats. I've never tapered the reward schedule for this, it's on a hundred percent reward but I make him sit quietly for ten seconds and do at least two quiet looks at them before he gets a treat. He has worked this out and so the sooner he sits the sooner he gets a reward. A while ago we put him on a reward for second quiet look and it's definitely worked. He's not really responsive to tapering of rewards kind of dog, he gives up very quickly if you don't keep him on a high reward schedule. He has his own set of rules. We had a trainer that hadn't worked with him before today. We did some work with the box and then doing tricks and just getting him comfortable to approach her. He is so much like a shy two year old, he kept hiding behind my legs and he was working on his really slow bulldoggie schedule. Lying down and doing his "go to sleep" position once he was bored of an activity. He did eventually go get some treats off her and do some tricks. He can be so sweet and endearing which is good to remember in days I can throttle him.????

Aaaah the "professional" comes in so many shapes. There's some qualifications in specific methods that are quite limited in their approach. From my experience a professional is someone who has knowledge of the many different approaches, has lots of experience with many different problems. This experience obviously takes time to acquire so I'd like a person who is honest enough to say when they can't deal with your dog rather than portray themselves as someone who has all the answers ans therefor recommends any animals with big issues should be PTS. Someone who is prepared to refer you on to a more experienced mentor if they can't deal with your dog. If they're giving out a solution without extensively interviewing the owner and o serving the dog then steer clear.

I'm sorry, very hard on you. Cyber hug to you.

Must have been a very tasty meatball. Smart dog I'm glad it ended well.

Once you have a management plan and get into a routine it will become easier. There will be an adjustment time but you'll be surprised at how it just becomes part of what you do. Lots of people live with difficult dog issues, don't stress.

He is cute in a very cheeky way! My experience with a patch on the dog's nose was very expensive. After 2 courses of antibiotics the vet wanted to do a biopsy that involved putting him under. We discussed a skin scrape and sticky tape test, he's a difficult dog and the vet insisted she couldn't do it with him awake. After a nightmare morning and near death anaesthetic experience and $1300 lighter the tests revealed nothing. Within 2 days the patches were back just with stitches in the middle this time. So off to sash and the vet calmly sat on the floor and introduced herself politely to Jake who was happy to have his faced dabbed with Sellotape and a bit of a scrape. Slides were examined and antifungals prescribed and within a week all was cleared and he now has a nasty scar to show for his experience. Moral of the story is don't trust rude vets!

Even if you wanted the dogs to meet why would a crowded area with people sitting at tables be an appropriate place? Following you when you left to escape him is just wrong. Harassment. Sorry you had to go through this, it leaves such a nasty feeling doesn't it.

Well the mal got to grab his tug toy, the golden got all the other stuff.....pretty sure he did the smart thing.

I hope your back is ok and your boy isn't negatively affected.

Hold still I can nearly read your makers mark!

Tomato and olive oil... Throw in some oregano and voila pasta sauce. They're just trying to make you dinner. Sweet doggies.

When Jake having one of his tantrums it's exactly like he's blind. Today when there wasn't a dog I just let him bark to see what would happen. He kept going for ages getting more wound up until I stopped him. Then he looked really confused. I gave him an extra half a tablet when I got home. He's slept most of the day and it's training tomorrow. Strange dogs aren't they. He improved so much and when he snaps out of it he does what he's trained to but he's in his own world as you say when he has a tantrum.

Yep just had a tantrum at an imaginary dog. He hasn't done that for ages so meds are going up or I'm having them. I wonder if Stella not sleeping makes her more nervy. I know I am more on edge if I don't sleep.

Maybe it is the moon. There doesn't seem to be a standard approach to Prozac does there. Jake was prescribed 11/2 tablets, I have him down to one because he was a bit spacey on that much. He just seems to be having episodes where he goes completely hysterical in a flash, I've had to lift his front feet off the ground to immobilize him which is awful but otherwise he gets up a real head of steam and I risk falling over as he can throw himself around quite violently. Most times I can head him off and you can see him thinking and he can sit and lick and remain thinking. Three times this week though he's just gone straight into crazy, once he's subdued then he starts doing what he is supposed to, sitting and looking after the dog and back to me. That's when I get confused because he's got his brain back and doing the right thing but only after he's gone nuts..... So do I reward or not?

I just hate having to be the bad guy and he looks so confused and sad when I have to get the mean mummy out the cupboard. Then I get home and feel awful for the rest of the day. We are such a tragic pair of nutters. Note to self....do not get a naughty dog.

Definitely the Great Dane rescue program, a crate or in jakes case he has a giant beanbag that he sort of disappears into. For Jake, also a beautiful disaster, prozac which he was given for his DA issues has a marked effect on his sep Anx.

It took me about two and a half months to work through it. He took a long time for me to be able to get up off the chair and leaving the room was a big freak out. Actually I shoukd rerun it. He's having some stress issues at the moment, I'm thinking of upping his meds for a bit. Either that or take them myself! He threw a doozie tantrum yesterday and crashed into my hip, little turd then sat down and looked hopefully for peanut butter once the dog had disappeared. I was so cranky I just walked home ignoring him. Then he pulled a big sulk and refused to sit on the couch which was fine except I was ignoring him first and I wanted him to know that.

But what happens when the Rotti starts playing one co-owner against the other? Could start a toys or treats race....equals one spoilt dog.

She's so gorgeous. I'll put in an order of I ever go to hospital.

Red is my choice.....more signs.

Try Karen overall's relaxation program. From memory you run it for a month and build up to the dog in a stay whilst you're out the room and knocking on the door. You can download it for free and it's very clearly laid out with a daily session. If you don't achieve that day's task you just repeat it until you do, it took us quite a while but we got there. I keep a purple leash and jar of treats at the front door. Jake knows it's the door leash, gets snapped on and he sits etc. Very routine now.

I dreamt last night that I walked out my front door and Jake was chilaxinv on the front lawn with 4 rotti' and a malamute. Maybe it's a sign and I should get 4 rotts? Or stop looking at this thread?

It's been Jakes savior. I don't think I could have gone on much longer without it and boy do I realise that if I forget a dose. A lot of vets seem to start in low dose and go up whereas mine started on maximum and came down to a balance between dopey and manageable. If you've noticed no behaviour change then I'd think your dose might be too low. You should have seen some sleepiness in the first few weeks at least.

Well done. I don't care if my dog "really" likes me or only hangs around for food, looks the same to me.