Roo

Yeah, she sleeps like the dead sometimes. It can be a little unsettling!

It definitely could have been nerves and the car ride. Hopefully that was it and the Animax won't cause any vomiting!

Thanks - I'll just keep an eye on it! So far it's about the same, and she's walking just fine and doing her little zooms and not licking it. Ugh, ouch, yes. That is quite unpleasant. Hopefully she won't lose her nail like I didn't lose my nails!

Tessa had a yeast infection in her left ear when I adopted her (same brown goo as you described, and extremely itchy for her!). Vet prescribed Gentizol - 7 drops twice a day for 7 days. Cleared right up! And then it cleared up the yeast infection in her right ear about a month later No reoccurrence (in either ear) since then. She didn't have any side effects from the Gentizol. Many greys stress off some weight when they transition from track life surrounded by buddies (all they've ever known) to adoption group to home (scary and new!). Some drop weight after their spay/neuters. It's pretty common! He should put the weight back on fairly easily. I'm not sure about them sharing muzzles... At PRH, we keep the dog with the muzzle they came from the track with. Occasionally we'll have to borrow from a neighbor or get another used muzzle out of storage to replace a particularly chewed up muzzle, but it's not terribly common to routinely swap muzzles between dogs. I guess one time sharing a muzzle could be enough for a fungus to spread. But it's also possible that it is just irritation from the muzzle. She sounds like a pretty good vet! I love the vets who will chat with you about your pup and answer all your questions without making you feel like you're holding them up.

Despite the non-slip runners I have all over my floor, Tessa managed to wipe out, taking two runners with her and banging into her crate. She's surprisingly uninjured (I was expecting skin tears or soreness, but nothing!) except for one toenail that's a bit bloody around the base. Should I do anything? The toenail itself is a little discolored. The blood around the base of the nail is dry and it doesn't seem to be actively bleeding. She's not licking it or bothering it (or seeming bothered by it). Should I just wait and see? I'm assuming she'll lose the nail (but I doubt that'll slow her down!). Photos just cause:

Aw, you're adopting McChaser! I only met him once (yesterday, for turnout ) but he's such a handsome, super sweet dude. Welcome to GT!

Art, a PRH resident, passed away - he had cancer (kind of all over). He was at the kennel awaiting adoption for nearly a year so we all got pretty close to him.

A lot of them (and a lot of dogs in general!) get the post-poo zoomies where they'll bounce around like puppies after they poop - could that be what he's doing?

I started with Iams to see how she'd do and so far so good! I'll likely stick with it as long as her output is good.

In case anyone's still interested... The DAP has been plugged in for two weeks and late last week I noticed that I was able to leave and come back to a slightly less anxious dog. As long as I stick to our established routine (we take a 1.5 mile walk, wait an hour, I feed her then leave the house) I can come home to a dog who isn't a panting anxious mess. I had to leave unexpectedly in the afternoon a couple days ago and when I got home she was panting, but not heavily and her crate hadn't been rearranged (for her, a sure sign of "Where is mom!?" anxiety is all her bedding being smashed up against one side of the crate and her laying on the other side ). The DAP is definitely helping. I'm going to order a DAP collar as well (since now we've just got the plug-in) and see if having it on her increases its effectiveness. I've stuck with crating because she will pace anxiously when left out. She might dislike going into the crate, but I think she still needs the security, at least for now. I had to break our routine this morning for a doctor's appointment, so I took her to my parents' house so that I didn't ruin all our progress. She's stayed with them for a couple hours before while I ran errands and she wasn't really willing to settle unless she was closed in a room with my mom, but this time she was passed out in the middle of the living room when I went to pick her up Progress!

That's a great idea! So far Tessa's not been picky about her pills - cheese and canned food have gotten them down the hatch just fine - but that marshmallow idea is a great one. That and Velveeta. I'll file those away for future use!

This is such an interesting article! I read it years ago and it really changed how I view skittish and nervous pups. I could never remember where I saw it or how to find it again after that

Ah, yeah, there definitely are some horror stories out there. I certainly haven't met everyone in the industry, but everyone I've met so far has been really into their dogs - they love them! Though there can be bad apples in everything. Do you know your girl's racing name?

Goodness. I just thought you'd like to know that your sweet girl likely wasn't ever mistreated and is just shy because that's her personality. Figured that kind of reassurance would be welcome...

Agree with the others - skittish doesn't necessarily mean abused. Tessa is a Nervous Nellie about almost everything, but I've met and talked to her trainer and assistant trainer and I firmly believe there was no way she was ever mistreated (they ask me about her occasionally and love seeing pictures!). I also met her while she was on the track and she was supremely confident in that environment. It's being in my home that's making her nervous - it's different from everything she's ever known. She's also the sweetest lovey dog, rests her head in my lap or in my arms, paws me for more affection, etc. But she wouldn't come out of her crate for the first month I had her. She skirts around strange people and tries to bolt. She's only just now (after almost two months) started to approach my neighbors (and only the ones who have dogs, and therefore smell like dogs). It was a huge victory a couple weeks ago when she started greeting me, my parents, and my BF with happy, enthusiastic wags - before, she'd nervously slink up to us, get a couple pets, then bolt to safety. Some things still freak her out - basketball bouncing noises, small children, people off in the distance, sudden strange noises... But my point with all this is that she wasn't ever mistreated - nervous is just her default state! Talk to your adoption group and make sure they know what's going on. They might have suggestions or know of a trainer/behaviorist who can help. Giving her up because of her aversion to men is definitely understandable and you should feel no shame if you decide to bring her back. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, a dog just isn't the right fit for your home. If you already love her and are determined to keep her, however, you'll need to really work with her. Don't look at her. Don't talk to her. Don't interact with her unless she approaches you (excluding, of course, walk time - if you have to take her on a walk, then do it with as little fuss as possible - clip the leash and go). Always have delicious special treats in your pocket - bonus points if it's actually meat - and make sure you and your son are the only ones to provide her with these high value treats. If she wants meat, she has to go to you! She might always be skittish of men, but she can learn that some men - you and your son - are trustworthy. It'll take time and patience, of course, but it's usually quite possible.

That's kind of what I do too - morning is for exercise, evening is for a more fun stroll! I was too careful about Tessa's potty trips at first, and I remember hearing "If you take the dog outside, she must pee before she goes back inside" (years and years ago but it stuck with me ) so I was making both of us crazy with fairly frequent potty trips that she didn't need or want, and then we'd be out there for fifteen minutes before I'd give up on her peeing and go back inside We're both much happier now with fewer trips (i.e. more time for her to nap!).

She's probably not getting up because she doesn't really have to go. If your 8:15 walk ends at 8:30, and you take a 9:30 pee trip, that's only an hour and she likely doesn't feel like she needs to pee, and therefore doesn't want to get up. This is my afternoon/evening schedule: 4:00 pm - take a walk (usually about a mile), expect a poop and pee 5:00 pm - dinner is served! 6:30 pm - quick pee trip (slightly longer stroll if she passed up her 4pm pooping opportunity and I know she needs to) 10:00 pm - out for last potty (this one varies slightly depending on the day - occasionally I know I'll be up super late, so I'll take her out for a pee around 9:30, then again after midnight) and second dinner (small amount of canned food so she doesn't get the empty belly barfs in the morning). She's usually good till about 7 in the morning, which is when we take our 2 mile walk. Are you just walking her around your yard, or do you take walks around the neighborhood? Can you modify the schedule so she pees at 3 or 4, eats at 5, takes her longer walk around 6/6:30, then is inside until the final pre-bed pee trip? Also, I agree about the harness. If she doesn't need it for any particular reason, then try taking her out with just the martingale and see how that goes. Clip the leash on with no fuss and just start walking - usually they'll get up and follow you.

Agreed. Treats treats treats! And calm, steady reassurance helps too. I chatter nonstop in a steady, calm, slightly monotone voice while we're walking by something that's freaking Tessa out. I don't say anything profound (), just "Oh, look at that. Seems pretty scary, but it's so not. See how not scary that is? It's just this thing making a silly noise! See? Nothing to be worried about." I don't know if it helps but it gives me something to do other than focus on her being nervous, which helps me not broadcast worry vibes which I'm assuming helps her not feed off my anxiety. The adjustment period can be a wild ride. Hang in there and try to enjoy it as much as possible! In a while, you'll look back on these strange moments with fondness while she sleeps through things that used to worry her.

Even leaving through the basement door means she's stressing after about half an hour. The vet gave us some xanax for the days where I have to be gone more than half an hour, and I tried it one day and it seemed to help. The DAP arrived and has been plugged in for almost two days. The packaging says it can take 7 days to see a difference, so now I'm just waiting to see if that helps. She's not as opposed to her crate anymore (she'll go in mostly willingly, even if she's not thrilled with being in there) so I'm sticking with that for now. She only gets food and water while in the crate (which is kind of a hassle having to move the water bowl around constantly, but it's giving her a more positive view of the crate so I'll go with it). I'm testing everything as individually as possible to see what helps and what doesn't (otherwise I'll end up using five or six things and not knowing what's working ). I finally found some way to start training her, though! I've tried capturing other behaviors (minus the clicker, because that's still a scary noise no matter how many treats I dole out as I'm clicking ) but haven't had much luck because when she's not sure what I'm doing, she runs away (and me being excited over her sitting was too weird for her and she took off). So the other day I was playing with her and she decided she wasn't into it, ran to her bed, and laid down. We did this a few times and she repeated the "run to bed and lay down" each time, so we're working on "Go to your place" as our first trick. Right now, it's mostly just me running into the room and pointing to her bed and she very excitedly flops down and gets treats. I'm adding in the words in slowly. But I feel like once I can unlock that "mommy saying words/doing weird things and me reacting a certain way gets me treats" connection, we can really start to have some fun. This dog is smart. Almost too smart She's also made a couple friends in the neighborhood, which seems to be helping her come out of her shell while outside. She'll now approach neighbors when we see them (especially if they have dogs and therefore smell like dogs) and wag at them, rather than running away. Her BFF is Pumpkin the pittie. Pumpkin adores Tessa. Tessa's pretty sure Pumpkin is an annoying little sister, but she's also more than happy to hide behind her when something scary (like the UPS guy) comes by. Pumpkin barks and Tessa's like "Yes, please protect me, thank you."

I left through the basement door and came back through the basement door (was gone about an hour and a half) and she wasn't drenched with panic panting slobber! Small victories.

I want to elaborate. I could afford the month-to-month care for a second dog, and I could likely handle the routine yearly care (especially once my own medical bills die down a bit), but it's the surprise vet bills that worry me. The only solution I can think of would be if there was a permanent foster situation, which is unlikely, but something I will consider asking about if nothing else works for her. There's one kennel resident at the moment who may fit the bill, but he comes with some behavior issues I'd have to work on (I'm willing and able, and he's never gotten snarky with me, but that does mean that he wouldn't be a "plug and play" addition and will require some work from the get-go). What I find so strange is that 1. she was fine for a month with me coming and going but has all of a sudden decided that she can't be without me, and 2. she's been okay at night. She sleeps in the basement in her crate (her choice from the beginning, not mine). She runs right in for her bedtime snack. She keeps quiet most of the night (there's some whining in the morning but nothing too bad). It's just me leaving (the house or the room) during the day that sends her into a panic.

I haven't tried it yet - I've only had longer errands and I don't want to leave her free for too long at first! I'm going to give it a try later today when I can make short trips. Till then, I'm going to try leaving through the basement door (near her crate) so she can see me leave and come back to see if that makes any difference. We have a vet appointment later for her ear. It was really red and itchy last night.

I can't afford more than one.

Ordered a DAP diffuser. It gets here Tuesday. L-theanine does nothing. Melatonin does nothing. I come home to her crate bedding drenched in spit from excessive panic panting. I don't think she's barking or howling - I hovered outside the door for a while and listened and didn't hear anything, and my neighbors have said they don't hear anything either. I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow. Her ear is pretty red and obviously itching - she scratched till she bruised it today. Is it too much to hope that some of this anxiety is because there's something medical going on with her? She was totally fine for over a month with me - I'd often come home to her roaching in her crate, even after she decided she liked me and liked being out of her crate (just last Thursday that she was upside down). Now I come home to find her panting like she ran a race. She chews at a couple nipples that seem a bit red - the rest have shrunk down (she's a broodie) but the last two are still reddish. She also needs repeat bloodwork - she was really sick in July and they want to recheck her. I'm really hoping that something medical is causing, or at least contributing, to her stressing.

That's kind of what I was thinking. I'd been keeping her in the finished basement in her crate - I set up two crates (one near the front door and one in the basement) and let her pick which she preferred, and she picked the basement. For a while, I couldn't get her out of the crate. She'd run in every time we were in there and refuse to come out. Now she refuses to go in unless I'm holding a bowl of food I assume now that she's started to enjoy her freedom, she doesn't want to go back to confinement! I'll give the ex-pen a try this week. I was hoping to keep crating her for a while, until I trust her more (she's smart and sneaky!), but I suppose that's what the muzzle is for. A regular schedule is a bit difficult (important work things will pop up randomly, usually as I'm just about to leave the house), but I do try to stay as close to regular as possible. She gets a 2 mile walk first thing in the morning and another 1 mile (or so) walk in the afternoon. She could probably handle even more (she turns 6 on Monday - she should have less energy by now! ) but I only have so much time and energy! I do vary our walks a bit to switch it up. The morning walks are always around my neighborhood and the neighborhood across the street, but I switch up our route. The afternoon walks are split between a couple local parks, a trail through the woods, and my parents' neighborhood. We walked to the pet store and back once and it was a great walk, but it's a really long one so I can't do it till it's cold. And yes! She likes me!! She nearly crawled into my lap yesterday while I was petting her. I hope, given some time, she'll end up being a snuggler. I've never had a snuggler.