krissy
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Posts posted by krissy
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Depends on your thinking. I'm a vet and I have pet insurance. Kili is 7 months old and has run up over $7000 in bills. Thanks to insurance I've only had to pay not quite 1K of that. Totally worth the premiums for the peace of mind. Whenever her specialist said we needed to do something I just nodded. Do it.
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I expected she'd be in the 60s for weight but she'll have to have another huge growth spurt to do it. Most people don't have large, leggy dogs so most dogs I see are pretty close to their full grown size by the time I spay or neuter them at 6 months. I don't see a lot of sighthounds or Danes or Dobbies. So I'm really not sure how much more she's going to grow or how big to expect her to be. I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her to stay small. Love. As long as she's not over 65 I'll be happy.
ETA: I'll definitely look into that FB group, thanks!
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Thanks guys. Glad to hear they come out of these fear phases in the real world, not just in behaviour/training books. Somehow it always makes me feel better to hear it from lots of other people who have been there that I (kinda) know.
Definitely did better last night and today, so I'll just continue getting her out more and letting her take her time to convince herself that it's okay.
By the way, how much did Truman grow after about 8 months? I've heard that you double their 4 month weight and that is a good estimate of adult weight. That would put Kili at 56 lbs. She's 7.5 months old and hasn't quite hit 50 lbs. her growth has definitely slowed way down. Since about end of January I think she's only put on about 1.5-2 kg and she's managed to wear the same fleece coat since February. I am finally noticing it is getting just a touch short in the back (I can actually see her tail head now) but overall I definitely don't really notice her growth now. She obviously has some filling out to do, though she's not nearly as skinny as some of the boy pups on GT seem to be. She's in really good condition. I'm definitely hoping she'll be small for agility just not sure when to start celebrating. Lol
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I don't care that the dog is off leash - what I do care about is that even you said yourself his behavior frightens you. What will happen if a dog doesn't back down like the dog in the photo? It just screams a fight waiting to happen. Personally, I wouldn't let a dog off leash if he does not do well with others. But if you feel you must let him off leash, I think you should call him back to you when you see another dog coming and leash him up until they pass and avoid a confrontation.
This. I allow Summit off leash in places where he may encounter other dogs (hiking trails mostly). He exhibits similar posture/behaviour, though I've had him long enough now to know 98% of the time which dogs are going to be problems and which aren't. If I have doubts I call him back to me and ask for a heel. For the most part honestly, after a bit of posturing and maybe a bit of talking I've found the dogs typically work it out and are then great friends, however I tend to avoid that unless it's a very controlled meeting just in case. Or if it's a husky (against which he is 100% aggressive and I have no doubt would try to rip to shreds) I leash him and ask for attention while the other dog passes. There's no point taking a chance. Even though Summit would instigate against a husky and want to destroy it, I can all too well imagine how that would turn out for a greyhound.
I don't see anything wrong with having a reactive (not overtly aggressive) dog off leash so long as you have the appropriate verbal control. It does mean you have to be extra vigilant though so that you don't get surprised by a dog coming around a corner on the trail.
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Velcro dog? What is that? Summit spends most of his time sleeping in a different room. Unless it is dinner time and he wants to not-so-subtly hint that I should be feeding him. Or if it's 5 PM and I'm coming home from work.
Kili on the other hand is just starting to be allowed some free run of the house while we are home to supervise. I never shut the bathroom door. I just close it without latching it. Well, I have to latch it now because otherwise she opens the door and follows me in. If I latch it she bangs on it once or twice until she realizes she can't open it and then she just sits there and waits for me to come out. But I wouldn't call her a velcro dog either to be honest.
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Can some dog/human behaviorist jump in here please? I have a question about continuous versus intermittent reinforcement.When I taught Intro to Psychology when I was in grad school, the research indicated that continuous reinforcement (giving a treat, reinforcer, EVERY time) was not as effective at long term maintenance of a behavior as intermittent reinforcement (giving the treat/reinforcement some of the time but NOT every time)
This is true. You are supposed to vary the reward schedule and the rewards themselves. Dogs like to gamble. Making them gamble actually makes their behaviours more reliable. I do not reward Summit for every recall. If I call him in from the yard I only reward him once every 10 times probably. With food at least. He usually gets some sort of acknowledgement that he did a good thing, some praise and attention, I might throw a toy for him, etc, If we're out on a hike the reward schedule is a little higher. And I always mix up the rewards. For Summit sometimes he gets praise as his reward. Kili gets mostly food rewards still for her calls but I mix those up too. Sometimes I give really high value treats and sometimes I give plain boring kibble. She never knows what she is going to get, so her recall is more reliable because her curiosity makes her want to find out what I have.
I always have some sort of food on me. If the dogs we in a dangerous situation and responded to my emergency recall I would have something for them. It's also nice to have on hand to throw for loose dogs to get them away from us.
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Having raised Lehto from 12 weeks on and Paquita from just 5 weeks I definitely believe there are fear phases.
And they aren't gone after 8 or 9 months.
Heck, the agility class I am taking Lehto too with dogs his age (he will be 2 next month) we still have some issues at times because they still can decide that that one piece of equipment that they have done for months without trouble, suddenly has become this fearful monster.
If greyhounds are like most big dogs and sighthounds, they mature somewhat later than the smaller dogs is my understanding.
I've been doing more reading on this today since I definitely couldn't make excuses after her performance on her walk today. And yes, I agree. From my research it seems that the second fear phase is anywhere from 6-14 months, and there is often another one around 2 years that tends to be milder.
How long did your puppies' fear phases usually last? Did you do anything to help them work through it? I've basically been letting her do things at her own pace and asking strangers to try to give her a treat. I don't want to push her so hard that I overwhelm her and possibly cause permanent damage, but I do want to help her.
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Is it that you are worried that the fear phase will stay with her forever?
Yeah, I guess even though I know this is a normal phase in her life and have been reassured by multiple people (our trainer, another greyhound agility acquaintance, friends who have raised puppies) that she will get through this, it's hard for me not to worry about it. I want to help her through it, hence the extra socialization, but I don't want to overwhelm her and make it worse.
It's hard to see your previously very social, gregarious puppy very suddenly nervous of things. And people tell you it'll pass, but if you've never been there before it's kind of hard to believe even when you trust those people and have read about it in numerous books. There's always that worry in the back of your mind that it won't go away.
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There are definitely normal fear phases. My pup has come up through several training classes and we still see many of the oth pups from puppy classes in her new classes. Most of them have gone through some form of fear phase. The ages, severity and what they are afraid of have varied but most of them did have one or more phases. The Aussie is currently in a fear phase as well? It's normal enough that the trainer always talks about fear phases in the puppy classes. I'm just surprised because I had the breeder and a few other people mention that greyhounds don't have fear phases like most other breeds do so I wasn't really expecting one, particularly with how much socialization Kili gets on a regular basis compared to other puppies.
ETA: Certainly there are pups who don't have majorly noticeable fear phases. There is one pup from classes who hasn't really had a major fear period. That doesn't mean fear phases are abnormal.
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I heard from several good greyhound sources that greyhounds do not go through the typical puppy fear phases. This is a lie. At least it's a lie for Kili.
While I only noticed minor worries and insecurities throughout most of puppyhood, we are going through one whopping fear phase right now. I just got in from a walk and decided to write this blog because the alternative was to sit down and cry.
When we hit 7 months I was so happy. The last fear phase is typically around 6 months. I thought we were home free. I had noticed more interest in the environment when we were out on walks starting at about 6.5 months but it just seemed like curiosity. You normally become less interesting to an adolescent dog as they develop other interests, so I wasn't concerned. Then she started to refuse food on walks, drop food that she did accept, and constantly seemed unsure about things going on (benevolent things like birds chirping, as well as a resurgence in her anxiety about dogs barking at her). I started taking her out more often and for longer walks (it helps that the weather is FINALLY starting to cooperate). I had a week off work last week and I took her to all sorts of stores to meet people, dogs and see new places. In general I found her environmental distraction/fear was much lower indoors, even in new buildings, than outside. I walked her downtown more often so she could see more hustle and bustle. I took her to the dog park as often as possible (it's 45 minutes away) so she could meet new dogs, people, and just enjoy being outside. Instead of pulling her along when she wanted to stop I allowed her to just look around (even when it looked like there was nothing to look at). She seemed to be doing a little bit better.
Then a few days ago I noticed that she wasn't pulling head on to meet new people. She still wanted to go over to them, but she sweeps in from the side or from behind. She doesn't try to jump or get at their faces. People try to pet her and she ducks away. She won't accept food from anyone on walks. I just had her out for an hour and I probably asked over 10 people to stop and say hello to her. I gave every person a couple of high value treats. In most cases she would accept the treat and then drop it. If I then picked it up and offered it she would eat it. In a few cases she ate the treats she was offered. In a few cases she refused to even take the treat.
I want to cry. I want my friendly, waggly, jumping puppy back. My greatest fear is that this lukewarm personality is here to stay. My only option is to get her out to socialize as much as possible and make all associations with the world, people, and other dogs as positive as possible. I have to just keep telling myself this is a fear phase and it will pass. I will have my friendly, waggly, jumping puppy back. Hopefully sooner than later. I have to keep telling myself that to try to make myself believe it. It's the only thing keeping me from breaking down.
It is just a fear phase. I hope.
(Copy and pasted from my blog. Seriously though, anyone who has raised a puppy before want to reassure me? My logical brain tells me this is normal. I KNOW it's normal. But my heart is having a hard time with it. Patience has never been a particularly strong point of mine. Did your puppy go through a really bad fear phase? Did their end personality end up being similar to what it was as a puppy prior to the fear phase?)
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Summit is learning a new "trick". Teaching him to speak, which will hopefully be shaped into more of a growl than a bark. He's super quiet so this is not the easiest thing to tach him. But he loves to learn so he was really enjoying it. First new thing we've worked on in awhile... at least since the puppy came home and all my time has been devoted to her!
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Welcome from Lindsay (formerly Guelph, formerly Toronto)!
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I LOVE the dog park. However you need to bond with your dog and get to know each other before you start going. Also, no matter how much I love the dog park, not every dog is suitable to go. Kili is a great dog park dog. Summit can only go if all the stars align and even then it's a lot of work for me to be even more vigilant. With Kili I am really only watching other people's dogs and the arrival of new dogs. With Summit I have to closely monitor him, the other dogs and the entrance. If a dog shows up who has an energy I think will clash with Summit I leash him and take him out. Kili gets along with absolutely everyone so I just have to keep an eye o. Other dogs to make sure they aren't aggressive.
The dog park is something for you to decide, but not yet. It's not even time to start thinking about it yet. Get to know each other. Have fun bonding. Then rethink her prey drive when you know her better and make an informed decision. There is no shame in having a dog that is not dog park material.
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I totally understand. Summit is the exact same. He comes in with this sort of posture and if the other dog is accepting of his "top dog" position everything is good. If the other dog comes in with the same body language there's usually a lot of snarling, posturing, and air snapping. While it is not exactly "bad dog behaviour" it earns lots of stink eye from other owners, so I understand where you're at with stopping it. For us the only thing I can do is watch the body language of other dogs. If they are showing submissive body language I let Summit say hello. If I see ears up, tail up and stiff, stiff legged gait, and a very direct stare then I call Summit off and back to me if he is off leash. If he is on leash I ask for "watch me" and cross the road, turn around, etc.
If I see a husky I get Summit's attention and get out of there riteawayquik!
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I do have a lot of thinking to do....
Its a dog that is in a college program right now that we are lined up to get. I cant remember the exact issue he has but I know but I want to say it is Mitral Valve Dysplasia....
I just dont know how a dog with high maintenance would be with my CRAZY pack...
How bad is the condition? Kili has mild Mitral valve dysplasia (her murmur is a grade 2-3/6) and is okay to run competitive agility in the future. They don't expect it to really ever cause her any problems though it is of course always a possibility.
If I had known all the problems Kili would have starting at 8 weeks old I would have taken the other puppy. But I didn't and I took her, I love her, so we just deal... but when you get a puppy you are certainly not planning to deal with expensive medical problems right from the get go.
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I love doing it, but it creeps my husband out. She really sounds like she's about to relieve me of a kidney or something when we do it.
I wish I could teach one of the dogs to growl on command, but neither growl. I'd love to give it a hand signal and use it on dark night walks when I see questionable people.
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I love sugar bandages, but I usually use honey because it is less messy. Has to be unpasteurized honey. Sugar/honey bandages are high maintenance though. They produce a lot of fluid and therefore you are more likely to get strike through (wetness soaking through all layers).
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Welcome!
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Wow! I think remember you mentioned he was neutered very young, before you got him. Or am I making that up? But if so that might explain the crazy growth. Early spay/neuter delays the closure of growth plates and tends to result in taller, lankier dogs. I sure don't envy the amount of food you're going through. Kili eats 2 cups per day at 7 months old.
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It very much depends.
Summit has no prey drive (he lives with 3 rabbits). He gets along with small dogs just fine. But he would destroy a husky or any dog with blue eyes in 2 seconds flat. Why? You got me, but when I see huskies or any breed that might have a blue eye (border collies, Aussie shepherds, etc.) I give them an extra wide berth.
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What is the purpose of teaching "touch" for those of you who've taught it? I'm just curious.
It can be used to teach the dog more advanced tricks... like turning on the lights, pushing buttons, picking up objects.
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A head tilt is generally one of several signs of vestibular disease, the others being nystagmus (the eyes flick back and forth) and circling or falling to the same side as the head tilt. Causes are either in the brain or peripheral. Peripheral causes generally have a better prognosis and include inner ear infection (in which case there is often a Horner Syndrome which involves a constructed pupil and prolapsed third eyelid on the side with the infection), a tumour, or geriatric vestibular disease which is off unknown origin and comes on very quickly and usually resolves over days to weeks with no treatment. Central causes can be things like bleeding or throwing clots in the brain, cancer.
FCE causes very one sided problems, generally does not cause a head tilt. Most importantly beyond the first couple hours it s non-progressive and non-painful.
Disc disease is usually bilateral, progressive without treatment, and painful.
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Summit won "barest bum" one year at an adoption group picnic. He has no hair on his bum or belly and he's turning 8 this year. Nothing wrong with his thyroid.
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Kibble well mixed/coated in one of the following:
-canned dog food
-baby food (meat flavours, sweet potato, or fruit flavours)
-cottage cheese
-plain or vanilla yogurt
-cheez whiz
-sardines (mashed up really well!)
-canned pumpkin
-soup from the tin without water mixed in
ETA: And frozen of course.
Health Insurance - Worth It?
in Health and Medical discussion
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I'm with PetSecure because that's the provider my clinic works with. Some of my friends have Trupanion and really like it, so I'd recommend checking their policies as well.