krissy
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Posts posted by krissy
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Do not routinely do long sit-stays. However, I also don't train for obedience. I will potentially ask Kili to hold a sit for a minute or more on the agility start line, and we are working on her sit pretty with building duration. If I ever decide to show her in formal obedience she will have to do a 5 minute sit-stay at the higher levels. Sitting is not particularly uncomfortable for her and she will offer sits, though the down is probably still more comfortable for her.
Summit I have mostly stopped requesting sits and just ask for stand or down stays. As he's gotten older (he's turning 9 in May) he has become more reluctant to sit when asked, and I accept that because he genuinely seems uncomfortable compared to a few years ago. But a few years ago I certainly asked him to sit and often made him maintain it for a minute or two. Again, I did not compete him in obedience so I didn't have much reason to ask for a longer stay than that, and if I did I generally asked for it in a down.
While I do not think it is necessary to do a long sit-stay, I think it is important to differentiate whether it is truly uncomfortable for the dog or we simply perceive it as uncomfortable because they are greyhounds. I have one of each. Kili has a comfortable sit and I have no qualms about asking for it. Summit is no longer comfortable and I have no reason to use it so I don't. Unless the dog is in physical pain I see no reason not to. Uncomfortable is different than painful. Uncomfortable I will work with if I feel like I need to (if I wanted to show in obedience). I would work up slowly and I would jackpot the long sit-stays to make it a very rewarding behaviour. Pain is different and I wouldn't ask for a behaviour I thought was truly painful for the dog, I would substitute a down-stay in that case.
Jennifer Bachelor has shown her greyhounds to the highest level of obedience which requires long sit-stays so you can certainly read up on her blog about training that.
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My dogs jump higher obstacles in agility. They don't jump the baby gate. For one thing it is hardwood on one see and linoleum on the other. Footing makes a difference!
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Remember that training sessions are short. 2 minutes is probably a good target, especially for a breed like this. Even for more drives breeds usually the ideal is 5 minutes. It is better to do repeated sessions than longer sessions. Personally I wouldn't try to diminish the food excitement (but I LOVE good food motivation), I would just work on impulse control... leaving it without being told.
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Greyhound puppies are so much fun. Kili came home at 8 weeks old. She just turned 18 months and is finally starting to (sometimes) act like a (kind of) adult.
Then:
Now:
Congrats on your new family member. Take lots of photos. They grow up far too fast!
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I stopped noticing changes in Kili around 13-14 months. Her weight has stayed stable around 26 kg since that time. And I have not seen any noticeable change in height either. I also had to x-ray her around 15 months for an injury and noted that her growth plates had closed. That said she's still kind of a bean pole, so I'm thinking she'll probably fill out a bit more. She's been exclusively kibble fed, puppy kibble until about 13 months and a high calorie adult food since then.
As far as behaviour... at 18 months I am FINALLY starting to notice her settling down a bit. She's able to actually turn off and relax in the evenings even if she hasn't had a lot of exercise that day. So that's nice. Her brain still comes in and out, but mostly it seems to be in. The girls definitely mature mentally faster though, so with a boy I probably wouldn't expect his brain to come in until after 2 years old.
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Learned about a product at the conference I just got back from. It's called Scraminal. It's an alarm you set on your counter. It has a laser beam which, when broken, sounds an alarm to startle the offender. As soon as the beam is restored the alarm stops and resets. I did something similar in the past by booby trapping my counter. I use empty pop cans that I put coins and nails into. I string them together and tie the string to the bait. The bait should be enticing but not easily consumable. I usually use a bully stick. You set the bait at the front of the counter and the cans at the back. When the dog takes the bait the cans come clattering down with it. Of course this doesn't reset itself and you need to be nearby to grab the bait so the dog doesn't then get rewarded.
Either way, the idea is to provide an appropriate startle, without overly traumatizing the dog. Keep your counters clear, use baby gates and muzzles when you can't supervise, and some sort of "alarm" to discourage the dog and also alert you.
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Greyhound clotting is generally abnormal. All the clotting tests are normal, however they have trouble with breaking clots down too soon. Usually this results in some pretty impressive bruising post-op.
I always, always, always apply a pressure bandage after drawing blood from anywhere on a greyhound to avoid massive hematomas. I do it for both of my dogs and I also do it for all my greyhound patients that I see. I send them home with instructions to remove it in 20 minutes. Might be something for the next time she has a blood draw... just ask for a pressure bandage. Assuming of course that her blood tests all come back normal and she doesn't actually have any clotting disorders beyond simply being a greyhound.
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Kili had a vulvoplasty done at 7 months. She had other more pressing anatomical abnormalities that were probably the greater contributors to her problems but since she was unde anesthetic already I decided not to take any chances and do everything and anything that might be a problem. The first couple of times she had to squat the next day made me cringe... But she's also a bit of a drama queen. I think really a vulvoplasty is the same regardless of breed. They're a lot harder on dogs with lots of skin folds to be honest.
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Very nice! The core strength takes time to build up.
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The mystery limp is always the worst. Hopefully it is something minor. Fingers crossed for you and Joey.
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Poor Aston! Good thoughts for your boy!
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Yogurt contains human probiotics, i.e. bacteria found in the human digestive tract. In general you'll have better luck with a canine probiotic that contains bacteria specific to the dog's digestive system. There are probably lots on the market. I only use the veterinary ones because I want to see the clinical trials behind it and the proof that the bacteria are still alive when you open the package. So far the only one I've been happy with has been FortiFlora. I keep a box on hand and will use it if someone has diarrhea, like Kili did yesterday.
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Often when I see a dog for bum licking it turns out to be anal glands. However, if he's having diarrhea he may just have irritation from that. Last time Kili was on antibiotics she was having diarrhea and it resulted in her bum getting irritated. Then she would lick at it which would make it worse. Once the diarrhea resolved and I kept herfrom licking it, it healed up. So I'd take him in for an exam. His anal glands can get checked out and he can have something for the diarrhea if that's the problem.
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She's only 57 lbs and she's been pretty light on her feet. I haven't had any problems so far unless she hits me in the gut which sort of sucks. Other than that she doesn't seem to hit too hard and as I get more vertical she should be spending less and less contact time with me. I can definitely see her knocking me down if she throws this at me randomly, but if I've asked for it and am expecting it I don't think we'll have any problems.
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Good job Bu! Couple of suggestions, if I may. When he misses something (like not going into the tunnel when you cue it) try to avoid saying things that have that sort of "downer tone" (I'm not sure how else to describe it). Even later when the mistake is YOURS. For example, when Kili misses something and it wasn't my fault I will usually go with a really happy, uplifting "you goof! What a silly turkey!". You want everything to be seen as positive by the dog, and even though there is nothing bad directed at the dog... they don't know that! Another thing, is I notice he's pretty slooooow around the course for the most part. It's normal for them to speed up as they gain confidence, but you also want to always encourage them to be as fast as possible so it doesn't become a habit to be pokey. If YOU run... Bu will run. If you get AMPED... he will too.
That's why I always look and sound like such a dolt in most of my videos with Kili.Alright, so Kili is finally back to full steam after her injury. Really pleased with how she's doing. Class was cancelled the last two weeks in a row due to the cold or due to bad driving conditions. This video was our last class 3 weeks ago. I'm hoping to be in class this week.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8jBEaW3xCA&feature=c4-overview&list=UUv4UPHwt2tthOhojMb-jtXg
And our newest trick that we are working on is a hip rebound. This is as far as we've gotten so far. This took about a week to get to where we are. From here I'll slowly raise the height until I'm standing straight and not leaning on anything. I'm super excited about this trick. It's so much fun!
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We have always gotten new dogs and just kept going with our lives. We never took any time off. Granted the first two came into our lives while I was still in school so there were days when I might not be gone a whole day. Kili we got as an 8 week old and she just came to work with me every day. She stayed downstairs in the kennel room so she got used to being alone, and I took her out hourly to potty... so that was kind of alone training for her. Everyone else just had to adapt. Our experience has been that most seem to be able to do that. The ones that have trouble with it are the ones that have separation anxiety... which unfortunately you can't know unless the dog is coming from a foster home.
I like the long weekend strategy. It has never worked out for us but I think it is ideal. It affords you the time to see how the dog is and to do some short absences. Adopting a dog when you ave A LOT of time off can be asking for separation anxiety if not handled properly. It can be hard to always remember tht you need to be leaving the dog alone even on days when you don't really want to go anywhere.
All in all, most hounds settle in and adapt to our schedules.
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Thanks Krissy! Did you teach them that or did they just figure it out on their own?
They figure it out.
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I don't really have experience with testing dogs. However, for myself, a dog has to show that it is reliably safe with small critters before it is ever allowed to become an adoption consideration. There is just no room for error in my mind. All other animals were here first and take priority over any new dog. If there is any doubt in the testing then I'm no longer interested.
The test may have been flawed, the dog MAY be cat workable. But at the end of the day... the dog put a cat in its mouth. That doesn't exactly happen by accident.
Those are just my feelings. As I said though, small animal safety is my top priority. The dog can be perfect in every other way but if I'm not sure about its cat/small animal test I will pass every time (and I have).
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Run free sweet Millie.
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He doesn't need to crawl. He'll learn to crouch down to do it. My dogs both do the tunnel full speed. They just duck their heads down, bend their elbows a bit, and rocket right on through.
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I'd feed an adult food. I switched Kili over around 13 months when the majority of her growth was finished.
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Here is our progress on "sit pretty" so far. She's doing really well and I'm quite happy. This does not strike me as an easy trick for a greyhound. It's cute and it's a great core workout!
First 2 sessions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wova40OoziM&feature=c4-overview&list=UUv4UPHwt2tthOhojMb-jtXg
Second 2 sessions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rngh_1dyVNw&feature=c4-overview&list=UUv4UPHwt2tthOhojMb-jtXg
Lastly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwJObi1qTaI&feature=c4-overview&list=UUv4UPHwt2tthOhojMb-jtXg
Actually, she is even one step past that last video. It is inconsistent but we sometimes manage to get a sit pretty of about 7-10 seconds with no flailing or teetering. Just she always does it when I don't have the camera on! ha!
Come on... anyone else working on anything? Lets see some videos of tricks or commands you're working on!
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Ike
in Remembrance
How sad and unexpected.
run free sweet boy. -
My fear is based on the fact that she seemed much happier when she was in the prison program (which was for 2 months immediately after retiring), She played with toys, was described as more outgoing, and only had slight SA.
When we adopted Summit he had been in a previous home for 2.5 years where he had been happy and loved. He was returned with his "brother" due to owner illness. When we adopted him he came to us with a couple of well worn toys and were told that he enjoyed playing fetch in the house. Our experience could not have been more different. He would not even LOOK at a toy. In fact I had to train him to fetch and from doing that he began to play more and more on his own, to the point that he now often randomly grabs a toy and brings it over to me.
I would also say that it took a good 6 months for him to show that he was happy when we came home. Now he meets me at the door almost every day at lunch and after work with his tail wagging and a bounce in his step.
Even for a dog with much less to acclimate to it still took us a year to really see his true personality.
On the SA, we have been fortunate to not have to deal with true SA. Summit never did being a bounce, and Kili we got at 8 weeks and were able to train. However, before them we had a foster dog. We had him for 3 weeks. For the first week and a half he cried whenever we were gone and I was worried (he was our test dog for our landlord) but with some alone training the rest of his time with us he learned to settle in and adjusted well.
Even a couple of months is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Your dogs won't be settled and adjusted for close to a year. Which isn't to say these are not problems that don't need to be worked on, but just keep the big picture in mind!
That's why I always look and sound like such a dolt in most of my videos with Kili.
run free sweet boy.
Additional Options For Controlling Arthritis Pain?
in Health and Medical discussion
Posted
Adequan or Cartrophen injections. This winter Summit was at a point where he was getting Deramaxx every single day which I wasn't happy about. After the first Cartrophen injection I was able to stop the Deramaxx. He has one injection left this week and then we'll see how long the effect lasts, but I'm super happy with how much of a benefit he's gotten from it and definitely recommend it for my arthritic patients.