My Dogs

[Pink Cashmere]

Mar 31, 2023 15:53:13 GMT -5 Annie7 said:

Mar 31, 2023 14:57:23 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

I cannot lure Newbie into a vehicle with treats. And when she was acting a nut when we went to the park, she was not interested in the treats I offered her to correct her behavior.

I did use treats to train my big dogs. After they got consistent with working for a treat, they may or may not get a treat if they did what I asked, but they still always got praise. So I kind of weaned them off the treats until they consistently did what I asked, regardless.

But I was also very consistent with training them, I worked with them every day, twice/days for short periods of time. It was a lot of work and effort for several months, maybe even a year, but it paid off with having 2 dogs that did whatever me or my children told them to do, even though one dog weighed almost as much as I did, and more than my children at the time.

It was also easier to teach my children while I was training the dogs, than it is to teach Mister. Just a couple days ago, he was grumbling about all my rules. But he’s never had a dog that did what you tell them, the first time you tell them, until Newbie, and even though he sees how much easier life is with her, he still is a Disneyland type dog Dad.

So I admit I have not been nearly as consistent with training Boy as I should be.

Annie7 what do you feed Nala that she doesn’t really like? OG didn’t really care for the food Mister was giving her. Then we got Newbie and started feeding them all natural food with no fillers, and OG loved it. I’ve read advice from some trainers that suggest using small bits of something smelly for training. Like small pieces of hot dog or cheese. It needs to be small enough that they don’t get distracted by having to do a lot of chewing. I know you said Nala has a sensitive stomach, so that might limit the smelly stuff you can offer her. I apologize if I’m telling you stuff you already know lol.

But also, when I was training Newbie to walk on a leash (which obviously needs more work now), I bought a little pouch I wore around my waist to hold treats. The part that holds the treats doesn’t close, so it’s easy to get the treats out. It has a small zippered compartment that my phone fits in perfectly for going on walks, and a mesh outer pocket. It’s kind of like a Fanny pack tailored for dog training lol

Anyway, all dogs are different, but I can say from experience that treats can be a huge help with training most of them. And it doesn’t mean having to always have treats on hand for the rest of your life. In my experience, it just helps motivate them to learn what you want them to learn and if you are consistent with your training, eventually they will do the same behaviors just because you tell them too, treat or not.

One last thing, I do believe our dogs can feel and feed off of our energy. If a certain situation makes us anxious, it’s possible that our dog will feel anxious too. If we can remain calm and confident, it helps keep our dogs calm. Not always easy to do, when faced with a real life “situation”, but I do try to remember that myself. And again, I apologize if I’m telling you more stuff that you already know.

What is the natural food that you are feeding? I was feeing Nala Purina Pro Plan but her stools were soft. I switched to Royal Canin and she was good. She has been losing weight since joining daycare - from 75 to 68 lb. The vet said that the volume of food needed to maintain her weight is too much and so to switch to sports food. So I just started Taste of the Wild, Ancient Stream. She has starting trouble. Once she starts eating, she'll finish. But getting her to take the first couple of bites is the issue. I try hand feeding her - put a piece of cheese along with a couple of kibble and slowly increase the kibble ratio, etc. I pressure cook a combo of rice-lentils-frozen veggies-pumpkin puree-coconut oil and then blend them. I give her about 6 tablespoons of this thinned out with some water and topped with the salad chicken cubes from costco. (I am vegetarian and I am not comfortable cooking meat, so this is my compromise even though it's expensive). This she gobbles up with no issues. 

I am always with a dog training over the shoulder pouch when I'm out with her. I have treats in there along with my phone, keys, etc. I used to use it to distract her from other dogs, etc. Now I rarely use treats during our walk but I do use it for positive reinforcement sometimes - like when she sees a dog and does a "leave it" and doesn't bark. I praise her and give her a treat.

I too have read about the smelly stuff. My being vegetarian and my ick factor limits what I can do. I've tried cheese but she's not super into them. 

I know I should be calm during her barking/lunging. I am getting better at it. But like you said, sometimes it's hard

I really appreciate you giving me all these suggestions. My issue is being consistent. I do it for a few days and then slack off. I should be more consistent. I feel old and done with being the strict parent. I want to be the disney dad

Please don't apologize. I really appreciate all your suggestions and how well you have trained Newbie and are trying with Boy. Thank you. Please keep them coming.

We feed our dogs Acana dog food. We originally wanted to prepare their food ourselves, like chiver78 does, but we ended up being realistic about it since we don’t always cook for ourselves, and settled on finding dog food that has natural ingredients without all the fillers. It is not inexpensive though, and right now, we are buying a puppy formula for Boy and a separate food for Newbie, from the same brand. We buy Newbie the Poultry food, just because it’s the least expensive, even though I’ve read that we should rotate between the protein sources, and maybe even between the high quality brands. We might start experimenting with other foods from that brand after Boy is old enough to eat the same food Newbie does. 

I have accidentally bought Origen brand dog food before, because the packaging looks so similar. They gobbled that up too lol.

What he have noticed for sure after switching OG and Newbie to the “natural” dog food was that their poop wasn’t as much, and it definitely didn’t smell as bad and as much as before. Mister had been feeding OG Purina One before that, and like I said before, she didn’t even always eat all of her food. 

The feed store we buy their food from, after we buy a certain amount of the same brand of dog food and the salmon oil we give them, we get a bag of dog food or salmon oil “free”. I’m not sure, but I “think” you can get the same thing from most pet care stores.

Sometimes Mister boils chicken breasts to give them as a topper, but it’s not a regular thing, and they gobble their food down with or without the chicken breast toppers. 

I understand your desire to just be the “Disney” parent for Nala, but given my non expert experience with my own dogs, I PROMISE you that if you put in the work, time and effort now, it will be worth it in the end, because Nala will be a well behaved companion for you. She will be able to trust you to be her leader and know what’s best for her, in any given situation, and you will be able to trust her to always do what you ask her to do. I am talking to myself right now, as much as I am talking to you, because….. Boy.

I love it that you are trying to be the best “Mom” you can be for Nala. So many people just get a dog and don’t try to tend to it like they should, and that’s not what you are doing at all, and as a dog lover myself, I appreciate your efforts. I understand how you might get discouraged sometimes because things aren’t working out like you wish they would, but if you have those kind of moments, I want you to remember that you are an awesome dog “Momma” and that sometimes it just takes time and effort to get things right so you and your fur baby have a good understanding of each other and your fur baby understands what you want and expect from her. 

In the meantime, I am more than happy to try to help you, even though I am not an “expert” on dogs and have just lived with them for most of my life, ever since my Mom who doesn’t even really care for dogs, indulged me by getting my first puppy when I was around 9 or 10yo. 

I am weird about having respect for married men and their wives, because I was a single woman for so many years and I learned that a woman contacting a married man can cause issues, even if it is just business. So I never contact Mr. T directly, the unspoken agreement is that Mrs. T and I contact each other and talk, and Mr. T and Mister contact each other and talk. But if Mr. T and I are outside at the same time, we chit chat or whatever. So, if I don’t catch him outside over the next couple of days, I will reach out to Mrs. T to ask those questions, and I will get back to you with the answers. 

[chiver78]

hey there. I need to catch up on the thread, it's been a minute. I can't post pics easily, so I've actively avoided this one since I can't readily share pics of my two. 

I'm happy to answer questions about fresh feeding, bulk cooking, and any of that sort of thing. it's important to note that I'm a mostly scratch cook already, and I've been WFH for 3y now (thanks, COVID?) but, prior to going fully fresh fed, Taste of the Wild was the kibble that was mixed in with fresh veggies, etc. 

[Deleted]

We just finalized the adoption on our new dog, after 6 weeks of fostering!  She is 2 years old, 15 lbs and looks like a shrunken golden retriever.  I will probably get a DNA test soon.  I am guessing Pomeranian/dachshund, plus something else or something else entirely.

She was a stray when she was picked up in Texas.  The rescue we adopted from pulled her and brought her north.   

Right now she is a mess.  We spent the last 6 weeks dealing with medical issues, so not really training.  She is an odd mix of feral, fearful, and too well trained.  She came potty trained, in 6 weeks there haven't been any accidents in the house, so at some point she was someone's inside dog.  She will not enter the kitchen and doesn't think anyone else should be in there either.   She will go into the rest of the house now(progress), just not the kitchen.  

She hates the leash, no progress on that yet.  If she feels even the slightest bit of resistance, she pulls and fights until the harness is off.  She hated the backyard when we got her.  There has been steady improvement on that front.  She used to press herself against the door to the house and I would have to carry her into the yard.  Now she walks out of the house(this is new in the last few days!) and into the yards and stays out exploring and smelling for a bit.

She doesn't seem to understand toys.  

[Spellbound454]

Good luck with that sounds like you have got your work cut out ...... but slow and steady, there is no rush.

I got a 20 month ex breeding dog (Border Collie) last August and its been a work in progress.

She didn't know what treats are, didn't know what toys are.... and the world was a big scary place.

Physically she is in good shape now, and she is soooo pretty  I have had her spayed........... but..... like I said slow and steady.

Made a lot of progress already and learning all the time.

[Deleted]

Apr 2, 2023 13:19:32 GMT -5 Spellbound454 said:

Good luck with that sounds like you have got your work cut out ...... but slow and steady, there is no rush.

I got a 20 month ex breeding dog (Border Collie) last August and its been a work in progress.

She didn't know what treats are, didn't know what toys are.... and the world was a big scary place.

Physically she is in good shape now, and she is soooo pretty  I have had her spayed........... but..... like I said slow and steady.

Made a lot of progress already and learning all the time.

So glad to hear you are having progress, because it is going pretty slow with ours.  Small progress.  She doesn't seem to like us, so that is a little hurtful.  Right now we are working on building confidence, because she has none.  When she is confident, like now in the backyard, she has an adorable puffy tail that is so high and sways back and forth.

[Annie7]

Mar 31, 2023 17:38:37 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Mar 31, 2023 15:53:13 GMT -5 Annie7 said:

We feed our dogs Acana dog food. We originally wanted to prepare their food ourselves, like chiver78 does, but we ended up being realistic about it since we don’t always cook for ourselves, and settled on finding dog food that has natural ingredients without all the fillers. It is not inexpensive though, and right now, we are buying a puppy formula for Boy and a separate food for Newbie, from the same brand. We buy Newbie the Poultry food, just because it’s the least expensive, even though I’ve read that we should rotate between the protein sources, and maybe even between the high quality brands. We might start experimenting with other foods from that brand after Boy is old enough to eat the same food Newbie does. 

I have accidentally bought Origen brand dog food before, because the packaging looks so similar. They gobbled that up too lol.

What he have noticed for sure after switching OG and Newbie to the “natural” dog food was that their poop wasn’t as much, and it definitely didn’t smell as bad and as much as before. Mister had been feeding OG Purina One before that, and like I said before, she didn’t even always eat all of her food. 

The feed store we buy their food from, after we buy a certain amount of the same brand of dog food and the salmon oil we give them, we get a bag of dog food or salmon oil “free”. I’m not sure, but I “think” you can get the same thing from most pet care stores.

Sometimes Mister boils chicken breasts to give them as a topper, but it’s not a regular thing, and they gobble their food down with or without the chicken breast toppers. 

I understand your desire to just be the “Disney” parent for Nala, but given my non expert experience with my own dogs, I PROMISE you that if you put in the work, time and effort now, it will be worth it in the end, because Nala will be a well behaved companion for you. She will be able to trust you to be her leader and know what’s best for her, in any given situation, and you will be able to trust her to always do what you ask her to do. I am talking to myself right now, as much as I am talking to you, because….. Boy.

I love it that you are trying to be the best “Mom” you can be for Nala. So many people just get a dog and don’t try to tend to it like they should, and that’s not what you are doing at all, and as a dog lover myself, I appreciate your efforts. I understand how you might get discouraged sometimes because things aren’t working out like you wish they would, but if you have those kind of moments, I want you to remember that you are an awesome dog “Momma” and that sometimes it just takes time and effort to get things right so you and your fur baby have a good understanding of each other and your fur baby understands what you want and expect from her. 

In the meantime, I am more than happy to try to help you, even though I am not an “expert” on dogs and have just lived with them for most of my life, ever since my Mom who doesn’t even really care for dogs, indulged me by getting my first puppy when I was around 9 or 10yo. 

I am weird about having respect for married men and their wives, because I was a single woman for so many years and I learned that a woman contacting a married man can cause issues, even if it is just business. So I never contact Mr. T directly, the unspoken agreement is that Mrs. T and I contact each other and talk, and Mr. T and Mister contact each other and talk. But if Mr. T and I are outside at the same time, we chit chat or whatever. So, if I don’t catch him outside over the next couple of days, I will reach out to Mrs. T to ask those questions, and I will get back to you with the answers. 

Thanks Pink. I totally understand what you mean about the line of communication. There is no hurry. When you can, is fine. I too try to only contact the female half of a couple especially since my divorce 2.5 years ago. 

I bought the Petsafe barking color based on Raeoflyte's recommendation. I put it on this morning but not sure if it's working since she hasn't shown any reaction the two times she barked. 

Thanks for the suggestions of Acana and Orijen. I'll try them next. Another dog parent here was also recommending Orijen raw. 

Thanks for the pep talk I intellectually know all the things that you are saying. I'm just lazy. I need to buck up and do the work. Nala is a good dog. She is very smart and we understand each other quite a bit. She knows what I'm telling her and I can guess what she wants to do. She many times does not want to come inside after a walk and so she sits down and doesn't move when we are close to home. I tell her we'll sit on the front steps for a while and she gets up and trots home. She sometimes wants to walk a certain way and she has a way of looking at me and in that direction that tells me that's what she wants to do. So then I tell her - you want to go that way? ok - and we walk that way. 

She comes to my study where I work and peeks in at the door. If she hears me talking on the phone she'll quietly slink away and not disturb me. When I'm not talking, she'll come in and ask me to come with her to play or give her treats. 

It's just that she doesn't always follow what I ask. It's at her discretion when she follows. 

[Spellbound454]

She doesn't seem to like us, so that is a little hurtful.

Dont be hurt, she is probably still a bit scared. It will come over time.

My girl doesn't even wag her tail .... but she is coming out of her shell bit by bit,

Lots of over the top praise and treats ... and gentle educational experiences of a normal life she just hasn't had up to now.

[Deleted]

I have been waiting for the new dogs medical records since adoption, hoping it would clear up her history a little bit. 

I knew she was a stray, had calcified puppies removed during her spay right before transport, and came from Tx.  But I had thought she was at the shelter less than 2 weeks and was never sure why she would have been on the euthanize list.  

I am now more confused.  I found the exact shelter she came from and her intake date on Facebook, but she was there for 6 weeks before being pulled and never available for adoption, as far as I can tell.  If she was in the shelter for 6 weeks, it explains why she was so scared and shut down.  If anyone has an idea of where/why she was there for 6 weeks, I am really curious.  

She is making steady improvement.  She has picked my DD as her person.  She waits outside the bathroom for her, so they can go to bed at night.  She tries to jump onto the bed, but alas she is too short.  She is also eating without having to put her and the food in the crate.  

[raeoflyte]

Apr 7, 2023 14:50:58 GMT -5 @pooks said:

I have been waiting for the new dogs medical records since adoption, hoping it would clear up her history a little bit. 

I knew she was a stray, had calcified puppies removed during her spay right before transport, and came from Tx.  But I had thought she was at the shelter less than 2 weeks and was never sure why she would have been on the euthanize list.  

I am now more confused.  I found the exact shelter she came from and her intake date on Facebook, but she was there for 6 weeks before being pulled and never available for adoption, as far as I can tell.  If she was in the shelter for 6 weeks, it explains why she was so scared and shut down.  If anyone has an idea of where/why she was there for 6 weeks, I am really curious.  

She is making steady improvement.  She has picked my DD as her person.  She waits outside the bathroom for her, so they can go to bed at night.  She tries to jump onto the bed, but alas she is too short.  She is also eating without having to put her and the food in the crate.  

My guess would be that she was in the shelter/being fostered waiting for her puppies to be born or that she was being treated for parvo. Could be completely off base of course.

[busymom]

I've never heard of this happening here, but our local humane society has had to shut down for the next 6-7 weeks due to an outbreak of canine influenza.  They think it came in from some dogs they took in from another shelter.  So, no adoptions or intakes until all of the dogs there are healthy, because it's spreading quickly through their population.  


@pooks, is there any chance your fur baby was ill while at that shelter?

[Deleted]

Apr 7, 2023 15:40:31 GMT -5 busymom said:

I've never heard of this happening here, but our local humane society has had to shut down for the next 6-7 weeks due to an outbreak of canine influenza.  They think it came in from some dogs they took in from another shelter.  So, no adoptions or intakes until all of the dogs there are healthy, because it's spreading quickly through their population.  


@pooks , is there any chance your fur baby was ill while at that shelter?

Maybe she was ill.  I don't see any record of it, but it looks like the shelter she was at doesn't have their own vet. If so, she has really been through it.  Even when she got here, she needed surgery to fix an inguinal hernia.  I give tons of Kudos to the great work of rescues.  I am hoping she was in foster in TX, instead of 6 weeks at the shelter.  

This week has been really good.  She is finally starting to come out of her shell a little.  

[Deleted]

Today we have had her 7 weeks and was the first day it has hit 70F, so we started leash training.  We haven't tried a leash since week 1, because of the hernia.  In week 1, it was a complete disaster.  She would pull and flip and roll until she was out of the harness and it set her back days in trust.

Today was better.  Not perfect but much improved.  I couldn't direct her, she would fight that.  So in the yard, I carried her to the back and let her lead me back to the house (over and over again).  At first it was an all out run, but by the end we were walking back to the house at a normal pace and she didn't fight when she felt resistance.  Ended the training with a chew stick, water, and some nice backyard time.  She came in all normal without any new trust issues.  So I am taking today as a success! 

Hope everyone is having a great day with their dogs.

[Annie7]

I'm going to be petsitting a poodle called Simba from Wed night through Monday while his family goes on vacation. Nala and Simba are good friends and have played in each other's yards before. Simba has been in our house for a few hours a couple of times. But I'm a bit anxious how Nala will deal with him being in her house 24 hours a day for 5 nights. 

I don't think I'll be taking them for walks during this time since I don't know if I can handle two big dogs at the same time, what with Nala's reactivity to unknown dogs. I'll probably just let them run around in my fenced backyard, play some games with them, etc.

Food-wise they have not gone after each other's food when they have been together. They have chewed on their own bully sticks and the other might take it once the original owner has given it up. 

I'm open to any tips

[raeoflyte]

One of our chickens likes to escape from the run, and doesn't seem deterred by the dogs. Unfortunately puppy has a high prey drive. I thought she had killed Goldie today and was definitely tossing her around. When I told her to leave it, she did and Goldie walked away seemingly fine if missing her neck feathers. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them though. Can't keep the chicken in, not sure how to convince the dog to leave her alone.

[Deleted]

Today was TX rescue's first vet appointment.  She is heartworm positive.  Looks like this will be a long treatment, luckily her rescue is going to cover the cost of treatment.  She also has an eye problem that will need surgery, but nothing major.  This dog doesn't seem to be able to catch a break.  

[raeoflyte]

Apr 12, 2023 21:10:47 GMT -5 @pooks said:

Today was TX rescue's first vet appointment.  She is heartworm positive.  Looks like this will be a long treatment, luckily her rescue is going to cover the cost of treatment.  She also has an eye problem that will need surgery, but nothing major.  This dog doesn't seem to be able to catch a break.  

I hope it goes faster than expected.

[Pink Cashmere]

Apr 12, 2023 21:10:47 GMT -5 @pooks said:

Today was TX rescue's first vet appointment.  She is heartworm positive.  Looks like this will be a long treatment, luckily her rescue is going to cover the cost of treatment.  She also has an eye problem that will need surgery, but nothing major.  This dog doesn't seem to be able to catch a break.  

My chow chow had heart worms. It was expensive (to me) to treat, I spent well over a thousand dollars to get her better and that was a LOT of money for me back then. It’s actually still a lot of money for me today lol. Besides the cost, the hardest part for me was trying to keep her from running around and doing anything that would tax her heart while she was being treated for it.

[Deleted]

Apr 13, 2023 18:23:07 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Apr 12, 2023 21:10:47 GMT -5 @pooks said:

Today was TX rescue's first vet appointment.  She is heartworm positive.  Looks like this will be a long treatment, luckily her rescue is going to cover the cost of treatment.  She also has an eye problem that will need surgery, but nothing major.  This dog doesn't seem to be able to catch a break.  

My chow chow had heart worms. It was expensive (to me) to treat, I spent well over a thousand dollars to get her better and that was a LOT of money for me back then. It’s actually still a lot of money for me today lol. Besides the cost, the hardest part for me was trying to keep her from running around and doing anything that would tax her heart while she was being treated for it.

That is reassuring.  My vet said she has never had treatment not work for heartworms, even though it is long(AHS recommended treatment) and expensive.  Still waiting on some bloodwork to start. 

[Annie7]

Apr 12, 2023 21:10:47 GMT -5 @pooks said:

Today was TX rescue's first vet appointment.  She is heartworm positive.  Looks like this will be a long treatment, luckily her rescue is going to cover the cost of treatment.  She also has an eye problem that will need surgery, but nothing major.  This dog doesn't seem to be able to catch a break.  

I'm so sorry Pooks. Hope she recovers quickly.

[Pink Cashmere]

Annie7 My apologies for taking so long to talk to Mr. T. 

Keep in mind his German Shepards and the ones he trains, are working dogs so his expectations and methods are more strict or whatever, than those of us whose dogs are strictly pets, and we just them to be well behaved and have good manners.

Anyway, he said he prefers Dogtra bark collars, but he also prefers the older versions, because the new ones vibrate first, which delays the dog getting the message. He says E-Collar Technologies are pretty good too.

I asked if there’s a downside to using them and he said to make sure you rotate the collar so it’s not always in the same place, because depending on her fur, it could cause a sore being in the same place all the time.

He also asked how many dogs you have. I said 1. He said he asked because some bark collars can be so sensitive that another dog in the house can bark, and set off the collar on another dog that’s wearing one.

He also said you’ll probably not want to use it anymore the first few times your dog reacts after barking, but don’t stop. He said it can take several times for the dog to get the message.

[Annie7]

Apr 15, 2023 18:20:51 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Annie7 My apologies for taking so long to talk to Mr. T. 

Keep in mind his German Shepards and the ones he trains, are working dogs so his expectations and methods are more strict or whatever, than those of us whose dogs are strictly pets, and we just them to be well behaved and have good manners.

Anyway, he said he prefers Dogtra bark collars, but he also prefers the older versions, because the new ones vibrate first, which delays the dog getting the message. He says E-Collar Technologies are pretty good too.

I asked if there’s a downside to using them and he said to make sure you rotate the collar so it’s not always in the same place, because depending on her fur, it could cause a sore being in the same place all the time.

He also asked how many dogs you have. I said 1. He said he asked because some bark collars can be so sensitive that another dog in the house can bark, and set off the collar on another dog that’s wearing one.

He also said you’ll probably not want to use it anymore the first few times your dog reacts after barking, but don’t stop. He said it can take several times for the dog to get the message.

No worries Pink. Thanks for asking. 

I have currently the PetSafe one that RaeOfLyte recommended. It seems to work when I have it on her. It is the vibrating one. I will make sure to turn it around often.

Currently we have Simba with us since wednesday until tuesday. So I have not put it on her too much. I hear what your neighbor says about not stopping. I will continue more consistently after tuesday.

It has been interesting having Simba here. There are many pluses. They both can be in the backyard and play by themselves while I watch via the camera sitting safely inside away from the pollens. Though, Simba doesn't seem to get how the doggie door works so I have to keep the patio door open for him which lets in the pollen. They have been respectful of each other and wait for one to finish their food/treat before the other goes to take it. It is apparently more tasty if the other one has eaten first

My normal nightly routine with Nala is to take a carrot upstairs. She eats that and I give her a beef cheek while I get ready for bed. Once I'm ready, I take away the cheek and pet her saying goodnight and put vaseline on her paw pads. I did this with both Nala and Simba the first two nights with no issues. Friday night when I went to take the cheek away from Simba he growled at me, guarding it. Nala went to him to see what was the issue and he growled agressively at her too. I put Nala out of the bedroom and tried to talk to Simba to give up the cheek. I told him to sit, to drop it, etc but he only continued to growl. So I took another treat and lured him away and stealthily took away the cheek. Don't know if giving a treat was the right way to make him give up, but I felt it was the safest way. 

Nala has been afraid of Simba a bit since then. She gives a wide breadth around him. She doesn't play with him much since then. She is getting better with going near him and sniffing etc but that playfulness is gone unfortunately

I think both are a bit done with being with one another day and night. They are sleeping away from each other today. I believe Nala will need a few days to get back to her routine.

[Deleted]

Nothing much new to report on M, her second antigen test came back negative, so vet ordered a heat treated sample that came back positive.  Hopefully all these negative tests mean, we caught it early and there isn't much damage.  Rescue said it will be 2 weeks to start treatment. 

My vet was super weird about getting treatment from nearby vet affiliated with the rescue.  She said it will cost "twice as much at that vet".  Which is weird, because her quoted price was at the highest end when I googled it.  I need a new vet, my old vet retired and this is his replacement and this is the second odd interaction with her.  

M hasn't improved much in the last week.  Still very standoffish and maybe a little more scared than last week.  We did lots of grooming this week, which she handled surprisingly well.  She got a bath, trimmed her nails, and lots of brushing.  

[raeoflyte]

Puppy's DNA results came in -93.1% Australian Cattle dog, 6.9% German Sheppherd. Not at all what we were expecting. Dh is ready to start the anti-anxiety meds now based on the results. Lol.

[TheOtherMe]

My aunt and uncle had an Australian cattle dog.  They loved that dog but they lived on a farm.  They did teach him to bring the cows to the barn in the evening.  He also slept in the house at night.

[Annie7]

Need help please!!

Nala has been unusually clingy since Saturday late morning. She has never been the type to stay close to me or ask for pets much, except early in the morning on waking up. However, since Sat morning, she is almost at my feet at all times. She seems sad and down. She doesn't relish her home made food either. She ate it, but not with the enthusiasm she normally has. She is ok when we are out and about. She played with Simba in his backyard yesterday and was fine.

The only incident I could think of is with the bark collar. The dalmatian that she hates was walking in front of our house sat morning. She barked and the collar must have zapped her since she whimpered and then she barked once more, whimpered and then moved away from the front window. I just hugged her and told her no barking and she just slinked inside the house. Other than that there were no incidents that I can think of to make her this way.

She is avoiding the front window a bit. But still goes and stands there for a while. She's mainly sleeping away her time near me. She was asking me to go play with her in the backyard yesterday which I did a couple of times. I took her on 4 walks yesterday including once driving to a nearby park for a change of scenery. 

Last night she went and stuffed herself in a small travel crate that I have. She barely fits in it but she went and huddled in there. I heard the scraping and I went to check where she was. She then got out of there and went downstairs to sleep. She came up in the morning to wake me up at 6.25 am. This morning she's sleeping on her bed in the family room while I'm working in the study. 

She used to go to daycare twice a day. But we were asked to not come for 2 weeks because of her excessive barking. It's been over 3 weeks now, so that's not anything new. Simba also went back to his home on tuesday morning, so again it's been a while. I can't think of anything else that's different other than the bark collar incident.

Should I take her to the vet? How long should I wait until I do so? Anything else I should do? Should I discontinue the bark collar?

[Annie7]

I think it's the bark collar. She got spooked by it and is now not sitting on her bench at the front window. She is inside and lying on her bed or on the sofa or in the backyard instead. I guess now that there is no dogs to look at, I'm more interesting. Hence the sitting close to me. 

I'm wondering whether it's good that she is not looking for dogs or if it's bad. On the one hand, I feel that if she has decided that anticipating and barking at dogs is not good, it might be a win for me. She was less barky/reactive during our walks too. She would try to bark/lunge but listened to me when I'd say leave it.  I don't have the collar on during our walks. I just don't want her to think all barking is bad.

For now I'm continuing with the collar. She is eating and playing as normal. She met one of her close friends, a husky, yesterday during our walk and they played for a long time together like the crazy girls they are

Please let me know if you think I should stop or if I'm harming her psyche in any way. It hurts my heart to hurt her with the bark collar but I think she needed something like that to jolt her out of that habit. 

[Pink Cashmere]

Apr 25, 2023 14:52:20 GMT -5 Annie7 said:

I think it's the bark collar. She got spooked by it and is now not sitting on her bench at the front window. She is inside and lying on her bed or on the sofa or in the backyard instead. I guess now that there is no dogs to look at, I'm more interesting. Hence the sitting close to me. 

I'm wondering whether it's good that she is not looking for dogs or if it's bad. On the one hand, I feel that if she has decided that anticipating and barking at dogs is not good, it might be a win for me. She was less barky/reactive during our walks too. She would try to bark/lunge but listened to me when I'd say leave it.  I don't have the collar on during our walks. I just don't want her to think all barking is bad.

For now I'm continuing with the collar. She is eating and playing as normal. She met one of her close friends, a husky, yesterday during our walk and they played for a long time together like the crazy girls they are

Please let me know if you think I should stop or if I'm harming her psyche in any way. It hurts my heart to hurt her with the bark collar but I think she needed something like that to jolt her out of that habit. 

I have zero experience with bark collars, so Idk what to tell you, unfortunately.

Mr. T said you were probably going to want to stop using it when you saw her reaction. I trust his advice because he is very involved with dog stuff and very knowledgeable. But I understand his perspective is probably a little different from people like us that just see our dogs as pets. He loves his dogs, when people kept trying to steal his wife’s car, even though his dogs are trained for protection, he didn’t use them to protect the Jeep by parking it behind his fence at night, because as his wife said, he’d be devastated if the thieves hurt or killed one of his dogs.

But they are also part of a business for him, so even though he loves them and takes excellent care of them, I am guessing some of his work with them is strictly business, where he doesn’t let his emotions affect his training and handling them. If that makes sense.

And Mr. T HAD to do something about his dogs barking, because the neighbors behind his house were constantly harassing him and sending the police, animal control and code enforcement to his house. It is possible that the dogs were barking because they’d just moved to a new environment, where squirrels, raccoons and other critters were running around. The barking might’ve stopped once they got use to all of that, but they weren’t given a chance because those people immediately started calling folks on the T’s, instead of just coming around and talking to them.

Anyway, Nala is YOUR dog, and you have to do what you feel is best for her. I wish I knew more about bark collars myself or had the knowledge to advise you.

[Annie7]

Apr 25, 2023 17:30:35 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Apr 25, 2023 14:52:20 GMT -5 Annie7 said:

I have zero experience with bark collars, so Idk what to tell you, unfortunately.

Mr. T said you were probably going to want to stop using it when you saw her reaction. I trust his advice because he is very involved with dog stuff and very knowledgeable. But I understand his perspective is probably a little different from people like us that just see our dogs as pets. He loves his dogs, when people kept trying to steal his wife’s car, even though his dogs are trained for protection, he didn’t use them to protect the Jeep by parking it behind his fence at night, because as his wife said, he’d be devastated if the thieves hurt or killed one of his dogs.

But they are also part of a business for him, so even though he loves them and takes excellent care of them, I am guessing some of his work with them is strictly business, where he doesn’t let his emotions affect his training and handling them. If that makes sense.

And Mr. T HAD to do something about his dogs barking, because the neighbors behind his house were constantly harassing him and sending the police, animal control and code enforcement to his house. It is possible that the dogs were barking because they’d just moved to a new environment, where squirrels, raccoons and other critters were running around. The barking might’ve stopped once they got use to all of that, but they weren’t given a chance because those people immediately started calling folks on the T’s, instead of just coming around and talking to them.

Anyway, Nala is YOUR dog, and you have to do what you feel is best for her. I wish I knew more about bark collars myself or had the knowledge to advise you.

Thanks Pink. I appreciate your thoughts. I hear what you are saying about your neighbor. When Nala was in her land shark phase as a puppy, I would not even swat her nose to stop her from biting. My mom would tell me to swat her on the nose a couple of times and she'll learn - that's how she had taught our GSDs we had when I was growing up. I didn't spank my kids either. 

I am a bit sad that she is now avoiding sitting on the bench to watch the world outside because she thinks she'll get zapped. However, it is true that she is calmer and more focused on me. I also feel that I should not stop now and have her suffering be for naught. I will keep at it for a few more days and see how she is. 

What do your dogs do throughout the day? Mine used to sit on the bench watching outside and barking when she saw a dog. But otherwise just watching and lying around. Now she is avoiding the bench so she's just lying around. I feel that's such a boring life. It might be fine from a dog's perspective - just seems boring to me. I do go pet her between my meetings, play with her in the backyard a couple of times during the day, give her snacks, etc during my work day. She comes to me and paws at me and I follow her and give her water/snacks/play as she asks. Just that watching her lying down with nothing to do makes me feel bad. Maybe I'm just projecting my feelings on her and she's totally fine.

[Opti]

Apr 26, 2023 7:32:26 GMT -5 Annie7 said:

Apr 25, 2023 17:30:35 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Mr. T said you were probably going to want to stop using it when you saw her reaction. I trust his advice because he is very involved with dog stuff and very knowledgeable. But I understand his perspective is probably a little different from people like us that just see our dogs as pets. He loves his dogs, when people kept trying to steal his wife’s car, even though his dogs are trained for protection, he didn’t use them to protect the Jeep by parking it behind his fence at night, because as his wife said, he’d be devastated if the thieves hurt or killed one of his dogs.

But they are also part of a business for him, so even though he loves them and takes excellent care of them, I am guessing some of his work with them is strictly business, where he doesn’t let his emotions affect his training and handling them. If that makes sense.

And Mr. T HAD to do something about his dogs barking, because the neighbors behind his house were constantly harassing him and sending the police, animal control and code enforcement to his house. It is possible that the dogs were barking because they’d just moved to a new environment, where squirrels, raccoons and other critters were running around. The barking might’ve stopped once they got use to all of that, but they weren’t given a chance because those people immediately started calling folks on the T’s, instead of just coming around and talking to them.

Anyway, Nala is YOUR dog, and you have to do what you feel is best for her. I wish I knew more about bark collars myself or had the knowledge to advise you.

Thanks Pink. I appreciate your thoughts. I hear what you are saying about your neighbor. When Nala was in her land shark phase as a puppy, I would not even swat her nose to stop her from biting. My mom would tell me to swat her on the nose a couple of times and she'll learn - that's how she had taught our GSDs we had when I was growing up. I didn't spank my kids either. 

I am a bit sad that she is now avoiding sitting on the bench to watch the world outside because she thinks she'll get zapped. However, it is true that she is calmer and more focused on me. I also feel that I should not stop now and have her suffering be for naught. I will keep at it for a few more days and see how she is. 

What do your dogs do throughout the day? Mine used to sit on the bench watching outside and barking when she saw a dog. But otherwise just watching and lying around. Now she is avoiding the bench so she's just lying around. I feel that's such a boring life. It might be fine from a dog's perspective - just seems boring to me. I do go pet her between my meetings, play with her in the backyard a couple of times during the day, give her snacks, etc during my work day. She comes to me and paws at me and I follow her and give her water/snacks/play as she asks. Just that watching her lying down with nothing to do makes me feel bad. Maybe I'm just projecting my feelings on her and she's totally fine.

What kind of dog Annie7? I know when my XH and I contemplated getting a dog when we were young working professionals, we planned to build a kind of a doggie gym/obstacle course in part of our yard that would be fenced off. Dog agility training could have been in its future. 

Now having seen so many dogs by working at the hybrid care facility, I would try to have two dogs instead of one, so they do not get bored. Some of my fave dogs are working dogs so I don't know if I do finally get dog(s). What I will choose. Probably medium sized ... 

And as a non-dog owner I know you asked Pink not me, but I am unfortunately opinionated on this topic as I want all dogs and pets to live their best reasonable lives. Check out the dog thread for a YouTube video I posted. The husky rescue would be a dream for me, but I'd probably only be up to it for under a month as I'm past 50 now.

[Opti]

BTW I love the phrase land shark phase.