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scullysmum

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Posts posted by scullysmum

    Holly 13 March 2002 - 16 August 2014

    in Remembrance

    Posted

    I remember both you and Holly very fondly. I am so sorry that yet another of the pups that I first met here so many years ago has had to leave, and that you are feeling that awful emptiness that follows.

     

    I know that all of my angels will give Holly a warm, waggy welcome....they will also want to have a go on her wheels too ;)

     

    Sending lots of :grouphug

    Cefalexin Reaction?

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    You should be able to get the generic Famotidine at a chemist, I'm pretty sure it's not prescription only. I get very bad acid reflux and have taken it in the past, I seem to remember it was a prescription but that may have been because it was a higher dosage, same thing usually applies with Ranitidine aka Gaviscon.

     

    As Batmon said if it's only a mild upset then it's probably better to continue to finish the course. I personally have a terrible reaction to it.

    Skin & Coat Concern

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    About three months ago I could have written the exact same post about my boy, but he has now been with me four and a half months, has shed his very fluffy kennel coat, got rid of his dandruff and started to grow fuzz on his thighs and belly. I too am giving him a fish oil capsule a day and have just started to change his food to a fish and potato one (he was on lamb and rice but his poops were a bit soft, much better after just one week on the new stuff).

    Squirrel Encounters At The Park

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    We had been practicing leave it in the greyhounds only training class we took with Houston. The appropriate response to "leave it" is to ignore or leave alone whatever has their attention, and *look up at you* shifting focus from the distraction to the handler. I added the foot stomp for good measure in the heat of the moment when I was sure I was going to otherwise be drug across the street. Rabbits are his kryptonite. But this was in fact our trained response to previously reversed cue. We use the same routine when we pass people who don't want to be greeted, tempting looking trash on the sidewalk, treat displays at Petsmart, etc. I was more shocked than Houston. His response was more like "ooh, I know this one!" He didn't turn around looking guilty, he turned around looking for a treat!

    It was actually a joke.....clearly missed its mark :dunno

     

    Btw. I have been teaching Johnny the same and to my utter amazement he actually did it perfectly yesterday when a cat popped out of the hedge a couple of feet in front of us....he just turned and asked for his treat without a murmur from me :omg

    Click Training Frustration

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    Pixel seems more concerned with what she wants.

    Welcome to the world of Greyhounds :lol

     

    They have been around as a breed for at least a couple of thousand years and they have long since worked "with" man but not "for" man and boy does it show. They are even different as puppies, I raised two litter brothers from six weeks.

     

    Keep following the great advice you are being given ( I am following it too as I have a newish Grey boy who has trouble focusing so I'm trying clicker training with him) things will start to fall into place.....and if you can successfully train a Greyhound I reckon you can train anything :lol

    Squirrel Encounters At The Park

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted · Edited by scullysmum

    One time Houston dead locked on a rabbit that came with feet of him. It was one of our proudest training moments, actually! Our command is "leave it" and I let out a stern VOG (voice of God) LEAVE IT! With a stomp of my sneaker on the pavement. He instantly did a 180 and locked eyes with me. I was floored. I think the highlights of this play were sound like you are serious and do something out of the ordinary to get their attention. Be more serious and more interesting than the rabbit (or in your case the squirrel)

    I hate to burst your bubble....but that wasn't training, that was shock! :rofl

     

    But if it works, what the heck :)

     

    Re. The OP, familiarity does indeed breed contempt ....when we first took Sadi to our local squirrel infested park it was all I could do to hang onto her....a couple of years and several visits later she could happily walk all the way round the park off leash.

    Stubborn, Unmotivated, Or Just Outsmarting Me? Help!

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    It sounds to me like Asha has fallen on her feet to end up with you and your husband as her servants ...erm, I meant carers :hehe I am sure that all you need is time and patience.

     

    I have had my "new" boy for just over four months.....and to be honest it is very reminiscent of the early months with our last Grey, she earned herself the nickname "goldfish brain" because she had no apparent trouble learning new things, she just seemed completely unable to retain what she had learned :lol

     

    With Sadi, our last girl took about a year, we did have to overcome terrible fear aggression towards other dogs but with hindsight I have realised that the time I spent dealing with that by rewarding her for calmness whilst micro-managing her life to avoid allowing her to go over threshold and need to be aggressive, she secretly learned the most wonderful recall :) so you see, it might seem that she's not really taking any notice, but I bet she's learning all sorts of things without even realising.

     

    Just be kind, be patient and enjoy watching her flourish. If it's any consolation I know plenty of dogs of all kinds who have received very little actual training at all and they still seem to manage to be perfectly lovely dogs.....I know a few who aren't too, but that's not going to happen to you ;)

    Stubborn, Unmotivated, Or Just Outsmarting Me? Help!

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    Well now you've posted a picture it's obvious....she's a DIVA!!!!! just look at that face....she knows exactly what she wants and she now has somebody to provide it :beatheart:hehe

     

    But seriously, don't give up it just takes more time usually, we would all love our dogs to do what we want on our timescale...but it has never worked like that for me....and I doubt it ever will. It sounds like she's a lovely dogs in all other respects...she just wants you to work a bit harder, so good luck (and keep us informed of your progress, which will require pictures of course)

    Panting And Pain?

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    :cry1 I am so sorry that you had to say goodbye to Clodagh.....I actually did start to cry when I read that she sent you a rainbow, all of my angels have sent me rainbows, but I have usually had to wait a while. Hugs to you, you did your very best for your girl, we can do no more than that.

    Fear Of Other Dogs

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    I think I've found a temporary solution - it seems walking with other members of the family make it better for now, when she freezes, they walk ahead & call her & she moves on more quickly. I guess we will just do this until she gets used to other dogs (I hope she does get used to them!) Obedience club does seem to have a lot of very calm lovely dogs, but as you can imagine, they also have a lot of boisterous rambunctious dogs, so I'll seek out calm dogs for her next week & see how we go.

    Thanks for the suggestions! Greyhounds are such sensitive souls aren't they?

    Enlisting the help of family members is a great idea as it means she will also build a bond with them and gain confidence in her new family/pack.....she really just needs to learn that she doesn't have to deal with all the things that scare her in her environment all by herself, that is what you are there for. This is why teaching her to focus on you when she is scared of something is such a good idea, it means that with time she will automatically look to you for solace, rather than shutting down or trying to get away.

     

    Unfortunately as you adopted her as an older puppy, she is clearly past the "wide eyed wonderment" stage that young pups seem to go through, where they seem to be able to cope with all that is thrown their way. This is why socialisation is so vital at an early age (6-8 weeks usually) because they are just little sponges at that age, a few months later they all seem to go through a timid stage and I think this is where she is right now. Be a confident leader, be happy and upbeat when she's scared, don't mollycoddle her too much. Her confidence will grow.

     

    Keep us posted with progress (pictures are always welcome too:) )

    My Dog Ate My Clicker

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted · Edited by scullysmum

    After several months I'm still waiting to see if the tyre /wheel from a Lego truck is ever going to make its way through Chancey. I've never found it yet.

     

    Does that mean that you have been carefully examining all of his poops for several months? :huh:lol. You need to get yourself a hobby :rofl

     

    Miss Sadi ate a Chinese water chestnut that I dropped, she obviously swallowed it whole and was unable , or unwilling to digest it because it made a re-entry four days later.....she barfed it up at about three in the morning, I was too tired to go and clear it up straight away (it was in our unused spare bedroom) and when I eventually got round to clearing it up I thought that it was a jaundiced eyeball :lol. I had quite forgotten what she had eaten four days earlier

     

    Hopefully the clicker has "passed" unnoticed (without so much as a click ;) )

    Sudden Aggression Toward Other Dog

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    But, seizing dogs don't make any noise and are also often attacked. All of the dog seizures I've seen, the dogs don't thrash either. They just tense up and maybe twitch a bit.

    Scully's seizures always started with a blood curdling scream, he would also thrash and his legs would make running motions. I agree that it is mostly the noise that provokes an attack. I have seen a few nasty injuries incurred where the dog made no or little noise and other dogs were not provoked to attack.

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