philospher77

Haven't gone through this, but when I did the knee surgery on Pixie, the surgeon warned me that sometimes the wires and screws that they use to secure the head of the tibia in the new location will irritate the surrounding tissue, and need to come out. He said it could happen years after the surgery, and generally was no big deal as long as the bone had healed up.

My heart goes out to you. I can fully understand the dilemma... you don't want him to suffer, and yet, you don't want to let him go only to find out "oh... it just needs this drug and everything is good". I don't have any advice to you except to follow your heart and listen to your dog and what he is telling you. You and Neko are both in my thoughts.

Dear Moderator: I somehow seem to have posted this twice. Could you please combine them? Thanks!

Nope, she just gets to chomp on them whole, while I hold onto it so that she doesn't gulp it too fast. They are really not great treats for training, but for counter-conditioning, they work well. I have been taking along some bite-sized treats for when she does more traditional things that need rewards.

Hi! When I first got my pretty Katie 3 years ago, she was a spook. Terrified to leave her crate, had to be coaxed down the hallway step by step, had to be carried outside and would panic and run inside anytime ANYTHING changed, from a new sound to a bird flying to the wind blowing. It's been a long, sometimes slow, three years, but she has come along awesomely! I have done a lot of training with her, and she is on generic prozac, which definitely is helping. But one thing that can not be under-emphasized is the importance of what you are using to counter-condition your dog. I'd been using cheese, because she really seemed to like cheese, and it was relatively convenient to carry around. But then, when I hit a plateau, I talked to my trainer and she agreed that I could use chicken feet during class. Oh. My. God! What a difference! As someone wisely pointed out, if you don't see a change in behavior when you are counter-conditioning in a relatively short time, it's because the dog is either over threshold or doesn't find the reinforcer to be reinforcing enough. The first class (with cheese), Katie balked at going up the steps, and basically endured class. The first class with chicken feet, she went up the steps no problem, and was engaged and alert during class. The third class, she was standing up in the car looking out the front window as we got close to class, and made the eager whine she does for going on the greyhound walk. The fourth class, we had out at a park. Here's some pictures from that: So it is possible for these dogs to make huge improvements. I never really thought I would be able to get Katie to be this comfortable outside. My initial attempts to walk her resulted in her going into full-blown panic mode and acting like a little bucking bronco, so this is a huge improvement. Just thought other people might be needing some encouragement. I'm not really sure of the best forum for this, so a moderator can move it if they feel it should be somewhere else. Rebecca and Katie

Hi! When I first got my pretty Katie 3 years ago, she was a spook. Terrified to leave her crate, had to be coaxed down the hallway step by step, had to be carried outside and would panic and run inside anytime ANYTHING changed, from a new sound to a bird flying to the wind blowing. It's been a long, sometimes slow, three years, but she has come along awesomely! I have done a lot of training with her, and she is on generic prozac, which definitely is helping. But one thing that can not be under-emphasized is the importance of what you are using to counter-condition your dog. I'd been using cheese, because she really seemed to like cheese, and it was relatively convenient to carry around. But then, when I hit a plateau, I talked to my trainer and she agreed that I could use chicken feet during class. Oh. My. God! What a difference! As someone wisely pointed out, if you don't see a change in behavior when you are counter-conditioning in a relatively short time, it's because the dog is either over threshold or doesn't find the reinforcer to be reinforcing enough. The first class (with cheese), Katie balked at going up the steps, and basically endured class. The first class with chicken feet, she went up the steps no problem, and was engaged and alert during class. The third class, she was standing up in the car looking out the front window as we got close to class, and made the eager whine she does for going on the greyhound walk. The fourth class, we had out at a park. Here's some pictures from that: So it is possible for these dogs to make huge improvements. I never really thought I would be able to get Katie to be this comfortable outside. My initial attempts to walk her resulted in her going into full-blown panic mode and acting like a little bucking bronco, so this is a huge improvement. Just thought other people might be needing some encouragement. I'm not really sure of the best forum for this, so a moderator can move it if they feel it should be somewhere else. Rebecca and Katie

Is there such a thing as anti-cancer? If cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells, and this sounds like cells are just not growing at all... dunno, it was just something that popped into my head.

And Healthy Paws is very fast. I emailed my last two claims to them, and I think that the response on the reimbursement was in my in-box like 15 minutes later! Those were pretty routine visits, I will admit. (1 for Pixie's follow-up x-ray to see how her knee was doing, and the other for inducing vomiting after she decided to eat 9 ounces of dates. That may not sound bad, but it's 5% of her bodyweight, and probably 40+ date pits, so I didn't want to risk potential blockages. And they didn't even ask about why those two visits were on the same day. Yep, Pixie decided to celebrate her first day of freedom!) It takes a little longer if you fax the claim, and I have no idea about mail.

In the 10 months I have had Pixie, I have run up close to 8K in vet bills. (1 K for e-vet for pancreatitis, 7k-is for bilateral luxating patella surgery, a few e-vet trips because she WILL eat things she's not supposed to on Sundays!) Healthy Paws has paid 90% of that. I will say, when I got the patella diagnosis, about 6 months after I had adopted her, I was in a fit. I'd just gotten the insurance, I was worried that they would try and claim it was "preexisting", and looking at my finances, I could afford to do one knee, if I was willing to raid some long-term savings and delay some other projects. But doing the second knee? I looked at my funds, and just gulped. I could do it, but it would have meant touching the emergency fund, and then you get into the debate of whether it's an emergency, or do you save up and try to cash-flow it? And I make good money, so I can just imagine what someone on a tighter budget would have to go through in that situation! Thankfully, Healthy Paws looked at the vet records (scant, since I'd only had her in for one well-dog visit), said it wasn't pre-exisiting, AND covers bilateral conditions. A lot of insurance out there won't cover bilateral conditions, so keep that in mind. Has it been worth it? For me, yes. But, do keep in mind that the way insurance works is that it spread risk out. A lot of people pay a small amount, so that a few people get large amounts covered. If you aren't one of the ones that has the problem, it's totally not worth it financially. Think of it like fire insurance.... I pay hundreds of dollars a year, so that in the unlikely event that my house catches on fire, I get money to fix it. That money comes from everyone who did NOT have their house catch on fire. So, as someone else said, by paying insurance, you may very well wind up "wasting" money. By not paying insurance, you may wind up making vet decisions based on cost. Which you prefer is up to you.

Here's the problem as I see it: Hester looks to be a very dominant dog. And, dominant dogs generally do not "play" with other dogs. Keep in mind that dog packs follow family structure (essentially), and mom and dad aren't generally the ones the kids play with, since they are too busy keeping the family fed and safe. The playmates are the siblings, aunts, and uncles. Very young puppies have a "puppy license" that keeps the adults from reacting as much to them, much the same way we make excuses for infants who cry in restaurants, while we don't for their older siblings. So, Hester is showing perfectly acceptable dominant dog behavior. He will probably never be a dog that "plays" much with other dogs, because dominant dogs just don't do that. If you are looking to increase his chances to play, about the best thing you can do is find a small, set group of dogs that he can interact with. Once they have a pseudo-pack set up, he will be able to relax some since everyone will know their position in the pack, and thus he will be able to play more. But he still probably will not be as playful as you want him to be. The really playful dogs are the omegas, as they try and defuse tension around them, and are often left behind to babysit. Do be aware that, as the owner of a dominant dog, it is up to you to watch his interactions with other dogs, because, as you say, dominant dogs will not back down from a challenge. So the responsibility for preventing the challenges from occurring falls to you. Learn to read other dog's body language, and to intervene when you see another dominant dog. That part is going to take management, because in the wild it would be settled by having each dog establish their own territory, so that they can avoid each other. As humans, we force the interaction that they are trying to avoid. I do wonder what he would do with my little rattie, because she tends to approach many dogs with the same attitude: Ears up, chest out, little docked tail straight up and quivering. Of course, she's all of 10 pounds, so most dogs just look a bit bewildered at this, but I do try and get her into a calmer frame of mind before allowing her to interact with them briefly.

And if it wasn't an option to discipline in the action, then you don't discipline him for it, period. Otherwise, all you do is confuse your dog, as he tries to figure out what got him in trouble. Was it coming to you? Acting happy when he saw you? Being downstairs? The poor dog has NO IDEA that you are upset because he peed in that room, so trying to discipline him for it is useless. I'd have the vet check for a UTI. The fact that he is going outside doesn't rule out that he has a sudden need to pee from an infection, and if that happens when you aren't at home.... If that's clean, then I would close off that room, for sure, and possibly baby-gate him into a smaller area when you are out, to make sure his denning instinct kicks in.

This may be a weird idea, but could you go on walks with someone else, and let them handle the leash? I'm just thinking that if you saw someone else handle her, and got their opinion, it might be enough to change your view of Dancer and her behavior. Or at least it did for me. I boarded Katie for a week once, and warned the kennel owner that she was a spook, etc. The owner's response when I picked her up? "She's one of the best greyhounds that has ever boarded here." And I got some pics of her doing things I never thought she would do while there. So it made me step back and really look at her and realize that she isn't the dog that she was 3 years ago when I first got her. And when I stopped acting like she was, then she's just continued to impress me with how much she has improved! I'm thinking that something like that might help shift your perception of Dancer, and that could help when you go back to walking her.

I don't know where you are located, but you might want to take a look at these places: http://www.dubuquedogtraining.com/training-philosophy.html http://caninecraze.com/about/training-philosophy/

I will add that, if it is at all possible, see if you can watch a class (without your dog). You said classes were starting in April, but if they have some going now, try and see what they are like. The kind of trainer you are looking for shouldn't have an issue with you coming and quietly watching. It's not like there's trade secrets you can steal! A beginner's class would be best, if possible, but any class will do, since what you are looking for is to see the trainer's style and methods.

Katie is the first dog who I ever took to formal training classes, because she was a spook and I was looking for some way of getting her more comfortable out in the world. We have done Beginner's Fun and Games Obedience training around 4 or 5 times, and the intermediate class just about as many, and are now in our very first Advanced class. (Btw, chicken feet are magical! She is actually looking forward to class, and engaged during it, all because there is the possibility of getting chicken feet!) It's done a lot for her confidence, and I would recommend you do it, with some caveats. You do want to find a good instructor. I chose the one I did because she had, in her past, taken a shy wolfhound to a title in Agility (don't remember which title), so I knew that she had experience with both sighthounds and shy dogs. Secondly, she allows people to come and audit class. I will admit that I have never seen anyone but me do that, but it gave me a chance to see what class was like before I put Katie into it. Third, she and I have an agreement about what we expect... I keep my expectations low, and she doesn't push. People at class are pretty used to hearing instructions like: "You are going to put your dog into a down-stay, pick up as many tennis balls as you can, walk your dog across the room and ask for a sit-stay, and then put the balls in the bucket. Except for Katie... she can just stand there." As she put it, if Katie came to class and did nothing but curl up next to the wall, she would at least have learned that it didn't kill her. (Which was exactly what Katie did the first class. The second class, I was thrilled because she actually ate cheese throughout the class, while curled up against the wall. There's a reason we did beginner's so many times!) And finally.... watch to see how the instructor handles the other dogs. What's the instructor/dog ratio? Are there assistants to help out? How do they handle reactive dogs? It won't do Izzy any good at all if the instructor lets a reactive dog go crazy around her. The place I go they have movable barriers so that they can put up visual barriers between dogs so that reactive ones don't go over-threshold and learn to tolerate being around other dogs and people. Does the instructor tailor the lessons to the different abilities of the dogs? Do the owners seem to like being in class? What kind of follow-up do they offer? (Mine will do free phone advice for the life of the dog! And I took shameless advantage of that when I was starting out... think I called weekly!) And finally.... do you like the trainer? Hopefully you are going to be developing a long-term relationship with the trainer, and it helps if you think that they are nice, and friendly, and you like being around them. Hopefully that helps, and if you want more advice, I would be happy to tell you more about my experiences.

My mom lives in a house with a walk-out basement, and a deck in the back. They had a golden that liked to look through the deck railing, so they took out one of the slats for her. They had a "possibly treeing walker coonhound" as well at the time. That dog apparently leaped off the deck at least twice, with about a 15 foot drop because there is a slope to the backyard. Thankfully the dog was fine, and landed in their fenced-in yard. Not too long after that, the golden passed on, and mom replaced the slat to keep Spot from jumping out. Apparently it was deer outside the fence that he just couldn't resist!

Just a quick follow-up: no issues with getting the claim processed. Seriously, I really like dealing with this company.

Is she offering you behavior now? That is when you can really get some speed in training!

Hmm. I have just recently filed claims for Pixie's knee surgeries (one in January, and one yesterday) with Healthy Paws. For the January one, I sent in the invoice and the cover page, and they paid it without any issues. They may have contacted the vet for more records, but if they did, they didn't tell me about it. I'll see if this second one goes an differently than the first. And at 7K total for the surgeries, I can say that I really appreciate having the insurance!

You can find the video here. Note that they say the entire counter-conditioning session that they did was 4 minutes! http://drsophiayin.com/resources/video_full/training_a_dog_to_enjoy_toenail_trims

If you are going to go with classes, make sure you can watch a class or two and get a feel for the trainer before you sign up. I love my trainer! She makes classes fun, and comes up with neat socialization exercises (the next one Katie is in is a field trip out to a "pick your own" farm, with real farm animals!). If the people and dogs in the class seem to be having a good time, that's a good sign. If the trainer knows how to work with problematic dogs (reactive, etc.), even better. But yes, you are always training your dog, from the moment you get them. So establish rules for your dog to follow now, since it's a lot easier to prevent than it is to stop a behavior. It's a lot easier to teach a dog not to get on a sofa, for example, than it is to convince them that they can't come up after they've been doing that for a year! And keep in mind that it's easier, and more fun, to reward your dog for doing what you want than it is to punish them for not doing it. Yes! should come out of your mouth a lot more often than No! For your current issue with trouble on walks, one thing that will help is to picture a box near your side where you want the dog to be. When the dog is in that area, good things happen. When they are outside that area, good things don't happen. So, if they are walking nicely on leash by your side, treat, praise, getting to actually move forward, etc, all are rewards that you can use to let the dog know "this is where you should be". One trick that my trainer teaches is to drop a treat near your feet, and then turn and walk the other direction. The dog comes and gets the treat, looks up, and sees that you are in front, leading the way. Do that often enough, and the dog figures out that "treats fall out of your butt", and they stop pulling ahead because they have been reinforced for being behind you. How to handle other dogs and people is a bit trickier, and I would have to see the actual situation to give advice. Good luck!

Do you do clicker training? If so, the way to get any action to happen faster is to only click when it happens faster. If it currently takes 10 seconds to sit, you click and treat for sits that happen in 9.5 seconds. Then 9 seconds. Then 8 seconds, etc. If you are clicking and rewarding for 9 seconds, and it takes 10 to sit, no click, no reward. But I would also practice the slow way first, just to be sure that it's not a matter of the dog wondering if "sit" is really what you want him to do. Once you know that he knows the command, and can do it in multiple places, then you can work on speed. Upping the value of the reward is also likely to increase the speed that he does it at.

If you are looking for something active to try, this is a good description on how to train a "back up" command. It might be something fun to do with your boy.

I strongly second the 100 things to do with a box game. It is excellent for teaching dogs that training is a two-way street. Katie... poor, shy, spook of a dog Katie.... eventually got to the point where she would see the box, look at me, and THEN stretch out a paw and touch the box! I swear, it was like a kid saying "Mom, are you watching? Look! Look! See what I'm doing!" It really helped bring her out of her shell. A variation of the hide-and-seek game is just to work on a recall when Teague is in another room. And if he is having trouble with spin, have you tried going the other direction? Dogs are "sided"... spinning to the left may be very difficult, while spinning to the right is easy-peasy.

Are there big-box stores that you could take her to for some exercise? Out here it's the heat that causes issues, and on those days, I take the dogs shopping at Lowe's. Wander up and down the aisles for a bit, do some downs/sits, greet people if your dog is social. It can make for a nice change of pace.