philospher77

You might also look into BAT (http://grishastewart.com/bat-overview/). It's the same basic idea, but instead of getting food rewards for displaying appropriate behavior, you increase the distance between your dog and the trigger. Since most threat displays are done in order to increase the dog's distance, this naturally rewards the dog for displaying calm behavior in the face of the trigger. Apparently she has switched it up some in BAT 2.0, but it's still something you should look at.

Or it could be that she is resource guarding you, but that would also depend on her general behavior and personality. Ie " this is MY giver of all good things, you other dogs stay away!" That's not really good, either.

Have you had a professional behaviorist or really skilled trainer come and work with you one-on-one? It sounds like you are doing all the "generic" things I would recommend, and without seeing the actual situation, I would hesitate on giving more advice. There could be some subtle signs that you are missing that would be useful in determining the next steps that you should do, and giving the wrong advice in this sort of situation could easily make the situation worse. even the "feeding when other dogs come into view" could make the situation worse, if the other dog is too close at the time it comes into view.

Try google shopping to see if there is a cheaper option. That's how I found the Cabela's price. It's not a place I normally shop.

Here's my thoughts on the Buster Activity Mat. I got it for $46 from Cabelas. I like the modularity of it, and that you can easily adapt it to your dog's particular skill level. And my two love it, even Katie, who is not always that interested in toys. I have made a video, so that you can see it in action, with different skill levels.

I've used boomerang tags for a long time. They aren't riveted, but slide on the collar. http://www.boomerangtags.com

First off, I would recommend getting a consult with a vet eye specialist. My Katie has panes in one eye, and I treated it with drops for a while, but after some discussion with her specialist, I am taking a "wait and watch" approach. According to the specialist, it is only affecting the third eyelid, and is very mild, and until starts to actually cause problems, there's no harm in not treating it. So I go in once a year to have it looked at to be sure that things are still under control, and watch the eye between visits. We've been doing this for 3 years now, with out it seeming to change, so it's not always a big deal. But I wouldn't do that without being under a vet's orders.

I tend to just do the soaked kibble, but I let it REALLY soak. Start soaking dinner right after breakfast, and breakfast right after dinner (in the fridge). You'd be amazed at how much liquid those kibbles can soak up!

Brief history for those who may've missed the first thread: Katie showed signs of distress (panting, pacing, gagging and dry heaving) in the wee hours of the morning. I thought bloat, took her to the emergency vet, at which point she seemed much better. Did x-rays. No signs of bloat, but showed an enlarged spleen. Did ultrasound of the spleen and fine-needle aspiration, which showed that yes, the spleen was enlarged, but otherwise seemed normal. However, the ultrasound also detected distended vessels in the liver, and fluid in the abdomen. Recommended talking to the cardiologist, who did echocardiogram, and said that the structure and function of the heart seemed normal, although there might be a minor bit of left ventricular hypertrophy. Tentative diagnosis after all of this was possibly Budd-Chiara-like syndrome, essentially a partial blockage of the vena cava somewhere between the heart and the diaphragm. The final recommendation after all of this was to do a CT scan. And the note that you really don't want to see in your dog's records: "She's an interesting case." So, I did the CT scan, and got to hear the second thing you don't want to hear from your vet: "She's a bit of an enigma." No signs of blockages, the liver vessels seem to be less distended, no signs of fluid in the abdomen. Best guess right now is that she threw a clot, which may have been the cause of the distress that started this entire cascade of events, but that the normal physiological processes have broken it down. No clot, no increased blood pressure in the liver, no fluid in the abdomen. The spleen is still larger than normal, but still regular. Without anything to compare it to, it's possible that it's "normal for Katie". The advice from the vet is to just keep an eye out, and unless I see additional symptoms or signs, just consider it "one of those things". So. Part of me is happy that there is nothing wrong with her. Part of me, on the other hand, would have liked to have a firm diagnosis, a smoking gun of some sort. It's a lot of things to have happened to not have any resolution!

The tick panel came back clean. The tentative diagnosis seems to be either Budd-Chiara-like syndrome or constrictive pericarditis. My vet is talking to the specialists to see what the next steps are, but I will probably go ahead and do the CT scan, just to get a better idea of what's going on in her insides. This is also one of those cases where, if I hadn't done the tests, I wouldn't really think there is anything wrong with her, but now that I have, I go "is this possibly a symptom? or this?" we had a photoshoot on Sunday, and I will post up some of the photos in another thread.

I live down by Los Angeles, and I don't have my dogs on heartworm preventative. Because I can't recall a time I have even seen or heard a mosquito since I moved here. No mosquitos, no heartworm. It's one of the advantages of living close to a desert.

Does the dog need to be sedated? Or otherwise drugged? Or is this a relatively low-risk procedure?

Not words you want to hear from your vet! Here's the situation: Katie woke me up around 1 am on Saturday, dry heaving, panting, restless, unable to settle, definitely showing signs of distress. That lasted about 10 minutes, just about long enough to get me worried about bloat, so I got us all ready to go to the emergency vet. By the time I got dressed, got her to the car, and got to the vet, she seemed back to normal. However, given the symptoms and the amount of discomfort she had been in, I went ahead and had x-rays done to check for bloat. That came back clean... BUT (get used to this word, it's going to show up a lot) there was a suspicious "tissue opacity" in the x-ray, that looked like an enlarged spleen. Recommendation: follow-up with ultrasound to get a better view and see what's going on with that. So, today I had the ultrasound done. That confirmed that the spleen is, in fact, enlarged, but otherwise looks healthy (which is a relief, since hemangiosarcoma had been firmly pushed to the back of my mind while I waited for the results). BUT... the ultrasound also detected fluid in the abdomen (a small amount, not even enough, apparently, to be able to get a sample), distention of the hepatic blood vessels, and possible fluid in the pericardium, although that was not definitive because the ultrasound was not being specifically done of the heart. Recommendation: have the cardiologist take a look at the heart and see if there are any issues with that. So, the echocardiogram came back that the heart structure and function appear to be normal. So, right now I have a bunch of very diffuse symptoms, that all point to "something" being wrong, but no real clear ideas of what the "something" is. The current working hypotheses are: a tick-born illness (most likely ehrlichiosis) in the chronic stage that is presenting in an anomalous fashion (the vet's words: Could I force a connection between the symptoms and the disease medically? Yes, but it's a stretch. However, we are testing for antibodies to see if there is any sign of it.) vasculitis (which is a condition, not a diagnosis. There's still the question of "what's causing the inflammation") And finally, Budd-Chiari-like syndrome, which is a really rare condition in which an obstruction of the caudal vena cava causes an increase in pressure in the hepatic vessels, allowing fluid and proteins to leak out the hepatic sinusoids into the surrounding tissues. And that's about all I can find on it on-line, since it's apparently rare enough that all google finds are references to articles on "here's a case I had in this dog" and a very short wiki. And, to make things more fun, the spot where the blockage would be is apparently really hard to image, so the best diagnostic tool for that is a CT scan. Also, not all of the symptoms are there for it, although if it were really early in the syndrome, they might not be yet (hepatomegaly and abdominal distention wouldn't show up, I believe, until the blockage had been there for a while). And, of course, that raises the question of "what's causing the blockage?" Not entirely sure why I am posting this, since there's not much I can do until I get the lab tests back. Assuming that there is no evidence for the ehrlichiosis, would you pursue the CT scan? It is a very rare condition, but that doesn't mean it's not possible. On the other hand, I am not sure what I would do with that information. The entire treatment section of the wiki is: Surgery is indicated for some cases, but is very risky. Medical treatment to provide supportive therapy. And the prognosis section is: Excellent with an experienced surgeon, but poor if only medical therapy is used. Which is not at all reassuring! Or, does anyone have any other ideas of what these symptoms could point to? Thanks!

And even blood values really aren't as much of an issue, because most vets send those out to labs, who run them on machines that have the values in them. I've gotten lab reports that actually say "high" with a note that it's an expected value for a greyhound. Anybody who uses that lab, or, as likely, the same machine as that lab, is going to get the same comment.

First off, my dogs don't get "pills". They get "Super Special Puppy Treats! For Super Special Puppies!" Said with that level of excitement, every morning, for the last 5 years. And I use the homemade pill pockets (liverwurst, cream cheese, and crushed shredded wheat). I whip up a batch, form them into balls, and keep them in the freezer, thawing out what I need as I go. This has the advantage of letting me use just the amount that I need to cover the pill. I really think switching MY attitude from "man, giving my dogs pills is going to be difficult" to "these are the best things ever in the world, and they are really lucky dogs to get them!" has helped. Not only do they take their pills without fussing, they work to get them! They will do downs, sits, spins, "sit pretty", etc., and come running to the super special call. I do try and make sure that they get the same number of "super special" treats, so my little rat terrier ( who takes one pill M/W/F), gets her joint supplement at that time and I add in "fakes" (just small pieces of the pill pocket) if someone is getting an additional pill for some reason. Hope that helps!

I find that the bags with the hired openings work best (like this one, but there are others out there: https://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_ID=3613&ParentCat=54) You can close them quickly by hitting with an elbow, and they are fast and easy to get into as well. And as my trainer will say, quite emphatically: NO bags inside the bait pouches. That slows down your ability to reward accurately and quickly.

I am a dog-training junkie. I've been in classes with reactive dogs, human-aggressive dogs, and dog- AND human-aggressive dogs. It's always worked out fine. (Granted, my trainer uses visual barriers to limit arousal levels and is good at tailoring activities to the dog's abilities. In some cases, the entire goal was to get the dog to be able to work and focus with the visual barrier removed.) Given that there are only four dogs in this class, and the trainer started out with a no-dogs class, I think you will be fine. I would ask the trainer why she wants your dog muzzled to start with. It may just be to get an idea of how he initially reacts so that she can determine how best to structure the class (distances, exercises, etc.) It may be that she thinks that you will be calmer and more secure if you do, which will make your dog calmer. But seriously, you will be working with your dog, and the other owners will be working with theirs, and there won't be much interaction at all between the dogs. And this is a very good way of dogs learning to be calm around other types of dogs. It will be as good for the pappillion to learn to behave around large dogs as it will be for yours to learn to ignore small dogs, so I think it will be a great opportunity for both of you. Post back and let us know what you decide and how it went!

5 minutes may be way too long. Well, if she is wanting to leave during training, I'd say it's definitely too long. I have a dog that loves training, and I have had to learn (and am still working it, trust me!) not over-training her. Sometimes I set an alarm for a minute or two, and stop when it goes off. Otherwise, it's easy to do that "just one more".

Hi! I'm wondering if your difficulty with training is that your dog needs to "learn how to learn". Greyhounds live a very regimented life on the track, and the idea that they can make things happen may be something that they need to learn. For example, a pet dog learns "if I go stand by the door and bark, my human will let me out to go to the bathroom". A track dog learns "at certain times of the day, humans come take me out to go to the bathroom, no matter what I am doing". So it can take some time for them to grasp the idea the they can make you do things. If this is the case (or even if it isn't), I'd take a look at "101 Things to do with a Box". It's a training exercise/game intended to get dogs used to offering behaviors, and, frankly, is a lot of fun. You take a novel object (the box, or anything, really... a towel, milk jug, hula hoop, banana, etc) and put it on the floor of a room with you, the dog, and few other distractions. And then you click and reward the dog for doing ANYTHING that involves the box: looking at it, sniffing it, pawing it, whatever. At least at first, you are just looking for something to click and reward, so that the dog learns that they can make you do things. If the problem is that your dog doesn't know how to learn, there will be an "ah ha!" moment eventually, where you will realize that they get it. At that point, you can start setting goals and trying shaping (right foot in box, for example). Once they have the "ah ha" moment, you will find that training becomes much easier. Katie's "ah ha" moment was when she slowly stretched her foot out to the box, and looked at me. I clicked and treated, and she walked over to the box, looked at me, and put her foot out to the box. You could practically see her thinking "wait... if I do THIS, I can make her give me food? Cool!" After that, it was much easier to get her to try new things. The links below give a description of the game, a video of it, and how to charge a clicker, in case you need to start there. (Kikopup's intro to clicker training) http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2001b/101.htm I hope this helps!

I treat mushrooms like I do carob: they are safe to give dogs, but then could lead them to try wild mushrooms or chocolate, which aren't. So I don't give those to the dogs, so I have hopefully less chance of them eating something that is not safe for them

If you interested in the "alternate cut" method (which essentially says that you need to be taking material off the "roof" of the nail if you want to get the quicks to recede), here is a good video demonstration. On black nails, too! https://vimeo.com/118336270

If you are on Facebook, there is an entire group (Nail Maintenance for Dogs) devoted to dog nails and the "alternate cut" method. It involves trimming around the quick to help it recede. It might be a good resource for you.

If she is truly drinking two to three bowls of water a day (depending on the size of the bowls), I'd get her checked for diabetes while you are at the vet. Definitely mention that to them. As a reference, my 56-pound greyhound will generally drink less than one bowl a day, so your amount seems excessive, unless we are talking very small bowls.

From what I read, it seems like neutering/spaying helps some cancers and makes others worse. Which is where knowing breed and bloodline tendencies would be helpful.

This is a really difficult question. Apparently, more and more research is showing that there are health risks associated with neutering/spaying pets. What everyone seems to agree on is that the incidence of osteosarcoma is less in intact dogs, and highest in dogs altered before a year old. The links below summarize some of the current research and their findings. I would be talking to your vet about this, and see what they think. If you are doing this just for population control,it is possible to do vasectomies in dogs, which leaves them the benefit of the sex hormones without the risk of reproducing. Of course, you would have to decide if you are willing to deal with the behavior of an essentially intact male. I will say that I am currently very happy that I will not be getting another dog for many years, when there will hopefully be more consensus on when, or IF, a dog should be altered. https://www.avma.org/news/javmanews/pages/131101a.aspx http://www.2ndchance.info/cruciatelongtermneuter.htm This is from Patricia McConnell's blog, and explores the situation in great detail, especially if you read all 173 comments. http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/the-plot-thickens-spay-neuter-effects-the-health-of-our-dogs