merrydog
Angel Diva
I love watching dogs play, I imagine the joy of romping after the period of restriction was even higher.
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DIVA DOGS!
- Thread starter Native Vail Gal
- Start date
I love watching dogs play, I imagine the joy of romping after the period of restriction was even higher.
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Watching dogs run is one of my favorite things!
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Doggles are important if they're spending a lot of time in reflected sun (sand, snow) ... or to protect their eyes from the wind. As a style thing? No.
va_deb
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hi fellow dog lovers! Passing along some easy, practical advice for anyone whose dogs have behavior issues, and for general training.
One of our dogs has been continuing to pick fights with his older brother. Bad fights.
We hired a dog behaviorist. She said our dogs had too much freedom and were acting like they own the place, and that they were also a tad overweight.
She suggested cutting back their food and using some of their regular kibble for positive reinforcement.
They also have to do something when they want to go out to the back yard. Now we have them sit and stay before we open the door, sit and stay before we open the front door for a walk, and sit and stay before we feed them. We also crate them about 1/3 of the time.
All of these things have made a difference. They are more obedient in the house and out of the house. Definitely not perfect, but much much better. Hopefully this advice will help others.
One of our dogs has been continuing to pick fights with his older brother. Bad fights.
We hired a dog behaviorist. She said our dogs had too much freedom and were acting like they own the place, and that they were also a tad overweight.
She suggested cutting back their food and using some of their regular kibble for positive reinforcement.
They also have to do something when they want to go out to the back yard. Now we have them sit and stay before we open the door, sit and stay before we open the front door for a walk, and sit and stay before we feed them. We also crate them about 1/3 of the time.
All of these things have made a difference. They are more obedient in the house and out of the house. Definitely not perfect, but much much better. Hopefully this advice will help others.
Our boys tend to argue too, but a lot of it is because the older one is a border collie and the little mutt gets fed up with being herded and bossed around.
The old guy, Beamish, has me a little down lately. After consulting with a veterinary ophthalmologist, we have decided that enucleation will be the best for him. We have a consult scheduled with a veterinary surgeon this week, but I don't expect the outcome to be any different.
The old guy, Beamish, has me a little down lately. After consulting with a veterinary ophthalmologist, we have decided that enucleation will be the best for him. We have a consult scheduled with a veterinary surgeon this week, but I don't expect the outcome to be any different.
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
What's that?
Our dogs have never had aggression issues with each other, but we've also had similar discussions with trainers. Loki was actually refusing to finish his kibble for a long time, and I kept trying to encourage him - only a month or so ago did I realize that he was clearly informing me that I was over feeding him. Now I'm feeding him a bit less. And yes, he's much more attentive, and motivated by treats, than he was before.
I've also used kibble as treats before, and it seems to work fine! But I like a variety of treats for training purposes, too.
Our one ironclad rule is that the dogs have to sit outside the kitchen, in a very particular location, until we release them to eat their meal. At times, they've waited for five or more minutes when we got distracted and forgot to release them. I really think this helps to establish who's boss. Loki's biggest rebellion is to put his feet forward off the mat a little bit. He's not allowed to eat until he gets all his body parts completely on the mat.
We were also told that for a couple of weeks, we shouldn't allow them to initiate contact. So if Loki came up and put his head on a lap, or if Cooper came up and put a paw up - ignore completely. All contact initiated at human's whim, not dog's. This was harder to do.
I also like to make the dogs sit and "wait" before letting them run out the back door, although I don't do it all the time. The more they've misbehaved in recent memory, the more likely they are to get that treatment.
Someone - don't know which one - barfed twice, huge piles, on the back door mat last night. Sigh.
Loki goes in for surgery Tuesday. Two growths need to be removed from the base of his tail. The vet isn't concerned that they're harmful, per se, but they're big enough that if they grew any more and then had to be removed, it would be hard to close up the incision. There's just not much loose skin on the tail. So she wants to remove them while she can close them easily. Should be a "fun" week with Loki having a shaved butt and no doubt unhappy and uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, he will become a one eyed dog. I have been assured that he will adjust quickly and be happier in the long run. The vet thinks he has already lost his vision in that eye, and it is uncomfortable for him. He could have a different procedure and need eye drops for the rest of his life (no easy task with him and getting trickier each time), but still no vision, and it would most likely just postpone the inevitable.
newboots
Angel Diva
My next-door neighbor's dog had this procedure. They feel he has been much happier. He's still a little standoffish and odd, but apparently much more comfortable, cooperative, and friendly (!) than he used to be. They think he was probably in some pain, and the eye-drop procedure was driving everybody to the brink.
va_deb
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@bounceswoosh How was Loki's surgery? Hope it went well.
Although it would be hard to ignore them, I like the idea of human-initiated contact. Adding that to our list.
@diymom Sorry about his diagnosis, but I bet he will be happier post op. We've had some one-eyed dogs in our rescue groups and they've done just fine. Obviously best to approach him from his seeing side so he isn't startled. Good luck and keep us posted!
Although it would be hard to ignore them, I like the idea of human-initiated contact. Adding that to our list.
@diymom Sorry about his diagnosis, but I bet he will be happier post op. We've had some one-eyed dogs in our rescue groups and they've done just fine. Obviously best to approach him from his seeing side so he isn't startled. Good luck and keep us posted!
va_deb
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Older boy Milo is probably a corgi, Aussie cattle dog, pit or bull terrier mix; younger boy Marshall could be a shiba inu, basenji, dingo mix; Fannie Mae is pit and...something. She has kind of a pittie head, face and ears, but she's kind of willowy compared to pits. Maybe some kind of hound? I do want to do the doggie DNA tests eventually.
I need to resize some photos and post. :-)
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bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Thanks! The surgery did go well. He has some big incisions that need to heal. He's been shockingly well behaved about not trying to chew on himself, or at least stopping immediately if we scold him. We keep him in a relatively short e collar (just short of snout) when he's supervised, and a HUGE XXL one that extends well past his nose when he has to be alone. That huge one is just too difficult for him to maneuver in, and he freaks himself out running into things.
His butt looks so painful. Like, the business area. Eric said the vet told him more than he ever wanted to know about a dog's butthole. He had to be stitched shut during the operation so that he wouldn't accidentally contaminate the surgical area. They opened it up afterwards! But I wince just thinking about it. Amazingly, he doesn't seem to be too upset or have difficulty eliminating. Of course, he's on pain killers and anti inflammatories ...
So. The growths turned out to be tumors. They were bigger than the vet expected - as big on the inside of his tail as they were outside. They're out for biopsy. I'm choosing not to think about the future right now.
Big cone:
Little cone:
