Please Help Me Save My Dog

[Jellyblush]

What you are doing there is behavioural program de-sensitisation 101 for separation anxiety - did your vet behaviourist not have you on a similar program long ago? It is extremely exhausting though and most people are unable to see it through - you need a lot of energy. Which I have not got so I failed at keeping up with that aspect :)

Have you started Roo on her new medication? What did the vet prescribe?

Hi Rosetta - the vet sure did, that's how I knew to do this - the thing is, it has never worked in relation to the backyard no matter how hard I have tried, but for some reason it does seem to be working in the crate, crate being a new environment without the negative connotations I guess.

The new medication is clomicalm. It's the only one left she hasn't tried before. It's killing me though, it was $80 for a 10 day supply, don't know how I'll manage it for the 6 months she recommended.

Your boss doesn't sound very accommodating, but is it possible to sometimes take her to work? Even in her crate, under your desk with a bone or something to keep her occupied? She looks like she'd just happily chill out and sleep and not make an annoyance of herself, would your boss even consider a trial for a day or a few hours?

Plus, dogs are great morale boosters for the office! I bring mine in sometimes, everyone loves it.

I think my boss actually would - the thing is, I'm a public servant in a large office with several thousand employees - it would be prohibited far above his head.

I think it is going to be pretty much impossible to find someone to look after Roo. The person would need to not leave the house from 9-5. Or have a very secure dog run. Even someone that is at home most of the day is going to have to go out sometimes.

Are there any boarding kennels near you? Or any dog breeders? They might be cheaper then the doggie day care.

boarding kennels I have looked into. The ones cheaper than daycare are an hour away, the ones in the city are more expensive than daycare. They also have restricted pick up hours that don't work for me all the time.....

[Jellyblush]

I am ashamed to say, I left her at home today I feel awful as I sit here knowing she is self harming. But it was such short notice, my friends couldn't help ,and the daycrae was fully booked... I didn't know what else to do. I don't get sick or holiday pay so couldn't take a day off and afford her meds and other care

[Sheilaheel02]

Thanks Nek and Jelly re the info on the calming paste.

I'm also sorry to read about what happened when the Uni girls decided to go out and leave Roo at home. Thank God you found Roo before she was injured.

I've had similar situations in the past where I've paid people to look after my rescues and left clear written instructions on how to manage them. Sheer dumb luck on a few occasions no animal or person was harmed. Fortunately I've got a couple of friends who help me out if they can (bless them). I'm always more comfortable because I know they will definitely let me know if there are any issues.

It does sound quite positive regarding the advice Nek has given you for Roo though which is awesome.

S

[minimax]

Your boss doesn't sound very accommodating, but is it possible to sometimes take her to work? Even in her crate, under your desk with a bone or something to keep her occupied? She looks like she'd just happily chill out and sleep and not make an annoyance of herself, would your boss even consider a trial for a day or a few hours?

Plus, dogs are great morale boosters for the office! I bring mine in sometimes, everyone loves it.

I think my boss actually would - the thing is, I'm a public servant in a large office with several thousand employees - it would be prohibited far above his head.

You'd be surprised ... I work for the state government and looked through alllllllll the rules before bringing mine to work and there is nothing about no dogs in the office ;)

I did have the Workplace Safety guy have a word to my boss about safety (purely to cover his own ass, I suspect), but he did not say I could not bring them in.

I think it's one of those rules no one ever thought they would have to implement, so they didn't write a process or guideline for it lol

[Rosetta]

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Edited March 15, 2013 by Rosetta

[WoofnHoof]

I think it is going to be pretty much impossible to find someone to look after Roo. The person would need to not leave the house from 9-5. Or have a very secure dog run. Even someone that is at home most of the day is going to have to go out sometimes.

Are there any boarding kennels near you? Or any dog breeders? They might be cheaper then the doggie day care.

I think it's possible, lots of elderly people don't go out much, I know my mum's neighbours are rarely out, I think it's worth asking around the neighbourhood anyway just in case.

I am ashamed to say, I left her at home today I feel awful as I sit here knowing she is self harming. But it was such short notice, my friends couldn't help ,and the daycrae was fully booked... I didn't know what else to do. I don't get sick or holiday pay so couldn't take a day off and afford her meds and other care

Don't feel guilty you are working on the problem and that's all you can do, she is tough she will deal and you never know she may just be a little better. I have found crate training to be really helpful for my girl :)

[JulesP]

I think it is going to be pretty much impossible to find someone to look after Roo. The person would need to not leave the house from 9-5. Or have a very secure dog run. Even someone that is at home most of the day is going to have to go out sometimes.

Are there any boarding kennels near you? Or any dog breeders? They might be cheaper then the doggie day care.

I think it's possible, lots of elderly people don't go out much, I know my mum's neighbours are rarely out, I think it's worth asking around the neighbourhood anyway just in case.

They still might need to go out to get milk or something. It would really tie you down. Murphy's law that if you said you didn't have to go out that you would need to!

Maybe someone that was disabled? Maybe Jelly could pick up their groceries on the way home.

I wonder if the Salvos or a care group would know of someone.

[Jellyblush]

Don't feel guilty you are working on the problem and that's all you can do, she is tough she will deal and you never know she may just be a little better. I have found crate training to be really helpful for my girl :)

Thanks very much for saying this. At least after seeing Nekhbet I knew not to feed her prior to leaving as per previous advice so she won't be all fired up by red meat for her frenzy this time. I also took her for a bike ride before leaving so hopefully she is too starving and knackered to do too much head butting of steel.

[mita]

In better news, crate is working a treat, I left the house today to put the bins out and also to go to the letterbox, tried the sounds of keys opening closing and garage door opening closing, about 2 minutes outside each time. She was fine. Ears pricked up when the doors closed behind me but that was it. What WAS funny is when I returned, suddenly she was all quivering and lip licking....but when I watched the video, she had only done that when I got back! Little primadonna. So, shows I have to work really hard on my reactions. From now on she gets NOTHING!! haha.

I learned from our experience with the prima donna sheltie with separation anxiety, the power of ignore to hose down the high emotional state these dogs whip themselves into.

I had to turn my back to her, no eye contact no matter how she 'emoted' to get attention. Only afterwards when she'd given up & was being calm, was I to call her over, tell her 'Sit' & that's when she got a pat or a treat. Great rule of thumb, ignore the dog for 10-15 minutes before you go... then ignore for 10-15 minutes when you come home.

Keep up the great work.

BTW, for our other small dog that had separation anxiety, the vet prescribed Valium. He said it was a muscle relaxant which would drain some of the frenetic activity. But that it was not a 'brain fuzzer', so the dog would be more alert for new learning. I found it very useful in this case.

He also recommended the Troy Calming Paste ... used on horses & dogs.

Neither of our 2 dogs with SA could've been left in the yard. That seemed to heighten their anxiety. They did better in a secure, weather-proof, small room -sized verandah deck which had all the familiar smells of their family. They had their day beds there, with toys, chew treats & items with our scent on them. I used to give them their meals there so it'd get associated with being a good place.

Edited February 12, 2013 by mita

[Sheridan]

Let us know now she is when you get home.

[WoofnHoof]

I think it is going to be pretty much impossible to find someone to look after Roo. The person would need to not leave the house from 9-5. Or have a very secure dog run. Even someone that is at home most of the day is going to have to go out sometimes.

Are there any boarding kennels near you? Or any dog breeders? They might be cheaper then the doggie day care.

I think it's possible, lots of elderly people don't go out much, I know my mum's neighbours are rarely out, I think it's worth asking around the neighbourhood anyway just in case.

They still might need to go out to get milk or something. It would really tie you down. Murphy's law that if you said you didn't have to go out that you would need to!

Maybe someone that was disabled? Maybe Jelly could pick up their groceries on the way home.

I wonder if the Salvos or a care group would know of someone.

Yeah that's a good idea, someone who can't drive/isn't very mobile would love to have company if they don't already have a dog :)

[mantis]

I think it is going to be pretty much impossible to find someone to look after Roo. The person would need to not leave the house from 9-5. Or have a very secure dog run. Even someone that is at home most of the day is going to have to go out sometimes.

Are there any boarding kennels near you? Or any dog breeders? They might be cheaper then the doggie day care.

I think it's possible, lots of elderly people don't go out much, I know my mum's neighbours are rarely out, I think it's worth asking around the neighbourhood anyway just in case.

I am ashamed to say, I left her at home today I feel awful as I sit here knowing she is self harming. But it was such short notice, my friends couldn't help ,and the daycrae was fully booked... I didn't know what else to do. I don't get sick or holiday pay so couldn't take a day off and afford her meds and other care

Don't feel guilty you are working on the problem and that's all you can do, she is tough she will deal and you never know she may just be a little better. I have found crate training to be really helpful for my girl :)

I hardly ever go out, it's not hard to stay home 9 - 5 to look after a dog you need in your life. Plenty of time to go shopping after that time & I'm sure the person whose dog you are looking after, would be quite happy to pick up the things you may need.

To me it's a win, win all round. It would be great if someone could start up a website, to connect these people.

[Jellyblush]

Hi everyone, just checking in with an update.

Roo seemed....still anxious but better than usual when I got home today.

The real good news though is that we have worked up to 20 minutes in the crate before panicking (the time it took me to get to the shop to buy a well deserved beer and return!)

Edited February 12, 2013 by Jellyblush

[mantis]

Hi everyone, just checking in with an update.

Roo seemed....still anxious but better than usual when I got home today.

The real good news though is that we have worked up to 20 minutes in the crate panicking (the time it took me to get to the shop to buy a well deserved beer and return!)

Baby steps Jelly, but it sounds like you are on the right track. I'm just enjoying a beer myself. :laugh:

[Nekhbet]

Hey it's a positive step. Roo needs to learn, she'll stress a bit in the process but she needs to learn it's not the end of the world and to stop pulling faces when she sees you too to get more attention (oh yes, not all of her SA is real)

I think if you've managed to leave her alone at home today she's on the up. Between a diet change, more exercise and just plain old putting your foot down to a change of routine her brains finally going, yup sink or swim, stop acting like a dipstick. I don't think Roo is as prescious as previous professionals have made her out to be :laugh:

[mantis]

Hey it's a positive step. Roo needs to learn, she'll stress a bit in the process but she needs to learn it's not the end of the world and to stop pulling faces when she sees you too to get more attention (oh yes, not all of her SA is real)

I think if you've managed to leave her alone at home today she's on the up. Between a diet change, more exercise and just plain old putting your foot down to a change of routine her brains finally going, yup sink or swim, stop acting like a dipstick. I don't think Roo is as prescious as previous professionals have made her out to be :laugh:

You are doing wonders Nekhbet, I'm so glad that now Jelly can see there is hope for Roo.

[WoofnHoof]

Hi everyone, just checking in with an update.

Roo seemed....still anxious but better than usual when I got home today.

The real good news though is that we have worked up to 20 minutes in the crate before panicking (the time it took me to get to the shop to buy a well deserved beer and return!)

That is awesome!

[Animal House]

A wonderful update, small baby steps, but forwards.

[bianca.a]

If we were closer and didn't have one fruitloop girl, I could look after her. Dh is disabled and I am his carer. It's rare we are both out at the same time.

Would a nursing/rest home be an option during the day?

[Nekhbet]

You are doing wonders Nekhbet, I'm so glad that now Jelly can see there is hope for Roo.

I see it a lot. As soon as dogs exhibit a stress reaction it must be real - which I find more and more a lot of reactions are not based on a realistic panic or fear but just a learned behavior that the dog pulls when it feels a bit stressed. Now no difference you say - big difference I say and this is why I tend to be unpopular and poo pood, because I don't pander to every reaction a dog pulls (and of course the other hideous, cruel and nasty things I do :laugh:) Remember when confronted a dog will pull a reaction to see what works, even if it is something that eventually progresses to detriment for the animal and causes it immense pain/stress, the dog will make that experimentation long term reality.

And dogs like Roo you can test. If a dog is truly SA, me closing it up in a crate then my van and remove its owner would have been inflammatory. Telling a dog to focus when holding it and it's owner goes and hides, I would expect anxiety increase, not decrease. More importantly owner looking at dog immediately induces some subtle signs, softening of the face, the doe eyes, and some lip licking. Remove owner, remove reaction. Mmmm, not really that SA are we Roo roo :laugh:

Once again we are coming down to forgetting dogs are dogs. We are treating them the way we are treating ourselves, every reaction is a condition, have some more medication and a pat on the head. All you get is a long life of confusion and rattling full of pills. Too many dogs doped up for my liking because most people do not know how to treat dogs reactions and frankly, this whole modern notion of avoid stress when training and don't use corrections is failing us and our dogs.

I don't find too many behaviors shocking any more and I don't believe in avoiding them either in most circumstances. Dogs do some really painful, ridiculous and stupid things which in their own heads seems like the right thing to do. The best thing you can do is let the dog exhibit a reaction, let out that rubbish that's bottled and you see a dog eventually sitting there with a bashful look when the penny drops.

This is why I opened my school and I have strict rules in place. Reactive and special case dogs deserve to learn, deserve to be out in public and are allowed to throw a fit if they like without having to feel embarrassed.