Two Best Dogs! Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 (edited) Poor old man. I hope he is not too sore! Hoping Malcolm is going on well :) We are chugging along. I keep feeling frustrated that she is still so anti ppl and my trainers keep reminding me to give it time ;) She's stopped barking and growling at ppl at my door at least! New trainer in upcoming lesson. I will take them to side and ask if we can do exercises they reinforce thistle being calm about strangers without dogs moving towards her (at an angle to start with). She can do it in stores, hopefully generalise to outside! Edited April 7, 2016 by Thistle the dog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simply Grand Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 Oh, good news Snook! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 Good news Snook! Took the dogs to an off lead place. Didn't have the energy to control Poppy much so she got to run squealing at a heap of people. She was very happy. Everyone thought she was delightful! I really need to tape the performance one day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Best Dogs! Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 Oh good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpette Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 I just saw that poor Justice is in the wars. The poor boy. I am rapt that all went well and that he will be fine once healed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Kisses Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Howdy! I'm so very happy to hear the surgery went well, Snook, but oh dear Justice, you're going to become quite the satellite dish if you keep that up! And Thistle, very well done on the calm door greetings. That is huge! I seem to remember Thistle shutting down just a few short weeks ago when an unexpected visitor came? I've been emailing our VB re. Malcolm's medication. The good news is that, for now, his GP vet isn't concerned that his Addison's is worsening so we're holding off on getting bloods done and seeing what the VB says. There's an overlap in symptoms of an Addisonian crisis and the side effects of Prozac, which has been worrying me the most. That and I have a lived experience of being given a toxic dose of medication and being unable to communicate due to it messing with my brain, so I'm a bit sensitive. Mal's order came in from Gillian. He took to his kyrjen slo-bowl after some encouragement, but is scared of his busy buddy barnacle (food dispenser toy). Poor thing was violently shaking and giving it a wide berth when I first put it on the floor. He's still wary, but is giving it the occasional sniff and eating food near it. I'm not going to push it, it's just kinda sad seeing a dog freaked out by anything new/odd in his environment. Anyone else have a dog who gets scared of toys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Best Dogs! Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 (edited) He shouldn't have chewed them out if he didn't want the wait extended Was he at least a little bit shame-faced? ;) Yeah, she did not like that lady at all - the poor thing. Currently this is just people at the door, although I have to take it back now - she did a couple of quiet woofs at what turned out to be a tradie/salesman type person today. Soon I will start inviting people over again to work on her staying calm when they enter. Just need to clean up the remains of 3 toys. Awww poor Malcolm Could piling up his other toys around it encourage him to give it an explore? How about if you handle it a lot and make it not smell so new? I've only had her be scared of the broom after it fell on her because she was wagging too hard - I played "101 things to do with a box" only using the broom and she got over it. I rewarded any interaction with the broom, any look, sniff, walking close to etc. Edited April 12, 2016 by Thistle the dog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Kisses Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Our VB said to stay the course with the med dose and put the toy away for now, as (a) we're still trying to keep things low-stress and (b) counter conditioning/desensitisation would probably take too long until the medication is fully working. The box approach sounds awesome though! CC/DS combined with an approach that encourages experimentation and taking risks sounds like just what he needs. I'll try that in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 I touch things my dogs are scared off. As in sit and pat the thing whilst they are watching. I've had border collies scared of soft toys :laugh: One went nuts about a life sized cutout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Thistle the dog, I think he's more unhappy about the new bigger cone than shame faced. It looks like the stitches in his pit here popped through normal movement rather than chewed out, which makes more sense as it should have been impossible for him to get to them with the cone on. He popped the staples too and was back at the vet yesterday. She said that where it is located is such a bigger that normal movement like lying down or stretching can pop them and although she could operate and restitch, it would mean cutting out even more skin so that she has fresh skin to stitch together and he'd probably pop them again. So, the wound is being left open and cleaned out twice a day, back to the vet for a check up tomorrow and a more extended recovery time than if the stitches or staples had stayed in. Poppy managed to wreck stitches down near her groin even with a cone on. No idea how she was doing it and I was with her all day. We ended up have to put her on ACE for a couple of days to help it heal. That worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 She couldn't reach her groin with her mouth with the cone on. I think she was rubbing it on something. Or she was rubbing the edge of the cone on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Best Dogs! Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 How can you say no to those pleading eyes?! Pretty sure he's starving to death ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dididog Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Poor Justice! Hope his wounds stop causing him so much grief It's been a bit over a month since we moved house, something which I thought would set back our progress but if anything I think it has set it forward! Part of me always thought that Didi's calmer demeanor and less reactivity was mostly because she'd become familiar with our old suburb and had had lots of practice being calm there. But since moving Didi hasn't changed at all! She's fine walking in busy areas around strangers and kids and going off lead in lots of different parks. She hasn't growled or barked or lunged at anyone since we moved (with the exception of two super rude cyclists) and so far the only time I've seen her 'scared' is by one of those advertisement boards that change slides every few seconds near our train station. We had somewhat of an affirmation yesterday at our new regular park, it was nearly dark and this man was standing with alone against a tree in the park smoking and was staring at Didi. She kept an eye on him but without any redirection from me kept moving along. In this type of scenario even 6 months ago she probably would've run up and barked at him, even my Dad commented after we passed him that he was waiting for her to run up and bark at that guy. I think it was a good indicator that while Didi is still wary of strangers, she's learnt not to redirect that fear into aggressive behaviour. We also had a house guest for the first time since Didi's dislike of strangers in our house popped up and despite a few barks at the start Didi warmed up to her super quickly and spent the first night cuddled up in her lap! She's definitely not 'normal' and probably won't ever be when it comes to strangers trying to approach her (although she's quite happy for strangers to pat her offlead) so I'm always going to be cautious and not expect too much from her but I'm really happy with her and I'm really glad she's more confident in herself and with me as a handler that going new places and seeing new things isn't so scary anymore! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Best Dogs! Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 That's a delight to hear! Didi is such a darling girl who's matured into an equally darling confident adult. Especially handling the stranger in the dark like a pro! Go Didi! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taliecat Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 I touch things my dogs are scared off. As in sit and pat the thing whilst they are watching. I've had border collies scared of soft toys :laugh: One went nuts about a life sized cutout. I'm so glad it isn't just me that does this! The first time Dozer saw a pedestal fan be was well and truly an adult dog, but we'd always had air-conditioning prior to this house and he'd never seen one. As soon as I went and started touching it he came in for a sniff and I do the same thing for anything else big and new in the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Best Dogs! Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 (edited) Haha yeah I make a big deal over new things like they're the best thing ever. Patting it, playing with it and not involving the dog etc - she gets all "hey you're having fun I want fun too!" And I modulate my enthusiasm based on how uncertain she is. Then she chooses to go to it instead of me waving it in her direction Fingers crossed. My dad and brother are coming to visit. Two strange big white men I think for this one I'll have her out back when they arrive then bring her inside once they are seated. Not sure what to do with the backyard tour. Leash her to me and keep shoving chicken nuggets in her mouth I reckon. Minimal barking out there is the target, only 1 or 2 inside with lots of cowering is the inside target. Those big scary men ignoring her Edited April 13, 2016 by Thistle the dog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpette Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 Oh poor Justice. And huge hugs to you Snook. It is absolutely awful when they are healing, and as stressful as hell. Can you use steri strips to keep his arm pit wound closed? They are a bit more flexible with movement. Huge hugs and keeping you both in my thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Best Dogs! Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 Oh poor justice what a horrible bunch of days for the 2 of you. I hope he feels better later on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpette Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 Oh poor Justice. And huge hugs to you Snook. It is absolutely awful when they are healing, and as stressful as hell. Can you use steri strips to keep his arm pit wound closed? They are a bit more flexible with movement. Huge hugs and keeping you both in my thoughts. It was a locum vet who said to leave the wound open to heal on its own, as his regular vet had the day off, and we saw his regular vet yesterday to check on it. I trust her judgement and we've been going to her for several years so I know she doesn't recommend surgery unless it's necessary, and she said there's no way in hell the wound in his pit will heal on its own and we never should have been told that. She said he needed to have the wound cut and restitched and she'd put stents in to take the pressure and put a stent in his leg while he was under, to prevent any more damage to those stitches and staples. So, he had more surgery yesterday and is a very unhappy boy. I'm not allowed to let him jump on the couch or bed so he's confined to his crate, which he's hating because he just wants to be with me. He wouldn't stop crying after I picked him up yesterday afternoon unless I was sitting on the floor next to his crate, which I could only do for an hour before my back and knees had had enough, and by 1am he hadn't had any sleep at all since getting home so I ended up lifting him on to my bed for the night. He eventually went to sleep and although he's been whimpering on and off today, and I did ring the vet concerned that his pain relief isn't enough, they think it's most likely stress than pain and said to see if he settles by this evening and if not, I can bring him in for a pain relief injection before they close. I let him lie outside in the sun for ten minutes and he didn't whimper once, until I put him back in his crate, so I suspect they're right and it's stress. Oh no. It is so bloody hard when they are upset and unwell. I slept on the couch downstairs for 3 weeks with Baylee after her cruciate operation (removed 14 stitches over a week. Apparently didn't like the blue ones and wanted white ones) and 4 weeks with Zeph and his amputated toe. Both of them were brilliant stitch removers and lickers. So cones of shame and crates required. May Justice heal quickly and the time that he is crated go even quicker. Huge hugs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Kisses Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 Hey Snook, is Justice conditioned to accept a basket muzzle? If so, could that be used instead of the cone? I've often wondered about the suitability of muzzles as a cone-of-shame alternative. Here's how one person did it: http://traumataj.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/analysis-of-dreaded-anti-licking.html?m=1 Sending safe non-wound-opening pats to your handsome boy... and best wishes for a cabin feverless experience for you. It's hard to see them in pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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