Jump to content

turbotaina

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    2,504

  • Joined

 Content Type 

Posts posted by turbotaina

    Ernie - Accidents In The House.

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted · Edited by turbotaina

    Aside from the medication, are you doing any actual alone training with him? Also, you can try an Adaptil collar or difuser - those help some dogs. Xanax is a short acting med, so it's likely not getting him through the day, so moving to Prozac is a good choice, but you have to do training with him, too. The meds are to get him to a place where he can ratchet down his stress level and be receptive to training. My guess is that his stress level is what's contributing to the growling, too. Stress is really hard on the body and the poor guy just doesn't feel good. Jen (Neylasmom) usually recommends l-theanine, but I don't know how that works with a prescription med, so worth asking your vet.

    Using Tens On A Dog?

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    There sure is! How do you have the entire contents of that book inside your head? :P I need to remember to look in there more frequently. Interestingly we just came back from the vet and I had her look at his eyes as I've suspected his vision is going. She confirmed that he does have some lens thickening, worse in his left eye. COTRRG claims this is from poor circulation and indicates a heart condition. He has no other obvious signs of one, but I guess I will have the vet check that out next time we are there.

     

    We have a follow-up with Dr. C in one week so I'll to ask about the TENs while we're there. Promising that Turbo had it done there so hopefully Dr. C can tell me if it would help Z. COTRRG seems to indicate that perhaps I could do it without shaving him using a conductor gel. I'd have to hold the patches on him I think, but they're not recommending you leave it on for long.

    ...

     

    Well, I hope I'm remembering correctly about him getting it at VOSM and I'm not talking out my ass. :lol He had *a lot* of treatments when he went. I know he got ultrasound, massage, acupuncture, and I really think TENS (because I had that myself for shoulder PT). But since you're going there anyway, it certainly doesn't hurt to ask :D

    Terrible D Vets Aren't Sure Why (Health/food & Diet)

    in Food and dietary discussion

    Posted · Edited by turbotaina

    He may have developed an allergy or intolerance to chicken, so you can try a novel protein, like venison or rabbit. Rather than rice, you can use sweet potatoes. You can also add metamucil to his food, either by giving him metamucil wafers or a tablespoon of the granular stuff on his food.

     

    Also, I would worm with panacur in two courses, just because (3 weeks apart). Has your vet considered IBD with your dog? Have you tried Tylan powder? Have you tried different foods?

     

    There could be any number of things going on, but you should either push your vet on this or go see a specialist. I think I'd go the specialist route myself - a good one is worth his or her weight in gold. :)

    Airline Crate Info

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    If your dog has difficulty being confined, switching from a wire crate to an airline crate isn't likely to solve the problem. Some dogs just cannot be confined. The other possibility is that he's suffering from some separation or isolation anxiety/distress since you only see the behavior when you aren't home. I would suggest setting up a webcam that you can access remotely to see what he's doing when you leave him alone. If he is pacing, panting, drooling, vocalizing, or otherwise appearing agitated then you're dealing with more than just a baby gate issue and you need to get him help to address his anxiety.

     

    Yep. You also need to be super, super careful with dogs that escape crates - they can seriously injure or even kill themselves attempting to escape. I second the idea of using a webcam to see what's going on when you leave. Ustream is is an easy service to use - you can leave the house and watch on your smartphone (if you have one). We have DropCams in my house so we can monitor the dogs when we're away. They're a bit spendy at about $200 a pop, but they're excellent and use your wireless internet. Good luck!

    Torn Carpal Pad: Stoic Greyhounds, Dramatic Greyhounds, And Sometimes

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Heyokha nearly completely severed his running in the back yard. He had to get it sutured and we had it X-rayed to make sure he didn't fracture the stopper bone. Sutures were internal and external and the vet wasn't 100% it could be salvaged, but it did heal. And no, he didn't make a peep, just stood there bleeding all over. <_<. This is the same dog who was so focused on what I was eating that when he accidentally bumped into my foot on the ottoman as he approached for full on begging, he screamed bloody murder.

    New Aggression Towards Other Dogs

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    I had to stop taking my old boy Turbo to the dog park - we used to go quite a lot he enjoyed it for probably the first year or so. However, after one (huge) dog kept repeatedly trying to mount him and it escalated into a scuffle, Turbo became a big bully - constantly barking at other dogs to get them to run (so he could chase them and bark in their ears <_< ), jumping in to stop play when other dogs were just playing and having a good time on their own, etc. And if any dog sniffed him a second longer than he thought was appropriate, he would go off. We started calling him the drill sergeant. Dog parks were no longer fun for any of us as more often than not, he was just a prick to other dogs. He'd occasionally have a good day and run and play, but mostly, nope. And there really was no way of knowing which way he'd behave until we went in. So we stopped going. He had weekly runs with other greyhounds (where he was often still a jerk, but we figured out which dogs he would be less jerky towards and he'd run with them. Plus all were muzzled, so it was much safer).

     

    With Heyokha, he likes dog parks, but idiots will invariably bring their small dogs to the large dog side and he will try to course them :blink: Crow, I've never taken - he seems keen when we walk by the park, but I don't trust him with small dogs (or even medium furry dogs) - he's way too interested. So we don't go to the dog park at all any more. And that's fine. :)

    Recommend Soft-Side Or Pop-Up Crate Or Pen?

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted · Edited by turbotaina

    Amanda, if he likes his crate, you can certainly try a soft one. I have the It's a Breeze II that I occasionally take for events, etc. I think if you train him in it before you travel, it could be a good option for you (provided you know he won't try to get out of it). It's important to test it out before you leave your dog alone in it. I don't know that mine wouldn't try to get out or accidentally flip it, but Neylasmom's boy Zuri won't even try to get out of it with the door unzipped with the flap down :lol So it depends on the dog. The one I got is, irrc, 36 H x 48 L x 28/30 W. Here's a link to the type I have - set up is easy, just insert two spring-loaded poles on the top. It's a Breeze.

    Need Your Opinion On Second Greyhound

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    I'd say do it sooner rather than later (provided, of course, your current girl is well settled and you don't need to do specific behavioral training with her). With my first greyhound, I always wanted a second dog he could hang out with because he was a bit insecure at home by himself (not separation anxiety, but not too far from it in the beginning). Well, after a while, he didn't want to share his house with another dog. He couldn't tolerate fosters (he'd actually refuse go go on walks!) and he only liked guest dogs for a day or so. So we never adopted a second with him. When he died unexpectedly, we couldn't live without a dog in the house, so we very quickly adopted another greyhound. Heyokha took *a lot* of training (and still does, but we're lazy :lol) After we'd had him for 3 years, we decided to get another and he still hasn't really forgiven us for it. He really liked being an only dog and has a hard time sharing us with Crow (who is so low-key he's nearly comatose). After the initial adjustment period of about 4 months, the snarking got way better and now rarely occurs. They co-habit mostly fine, but I think each would be just fine without the other - they're not bonded at all. So don't wait years like we did :)


    As to whether male or female, it depends on the personality of the dog. A friend of mine has had multiple females with no issues, but others I know had lots of squabbles. I tend to like the big dumb boys, myself :)

    Loss Of Rang Of Motion

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Ryan, if you want to try a chiro, look up Dr. Malinda Venegas. She does home visits and you are probably in her service area. She does dogs and horses. I used her for my old boy, Turbo, and she helped him a lot (his corn caused compensation issues). I recommended her to several of my friends as well, and they also reported good results.

    Getting Hound To Jump Into Car

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted · Edited by turbotaina

    I've tried all the tips so far and no action on his part.

    I went to visit a friend which allowed me to back up to a pretty high curb, so jumping in wouldnt be that far and nothing..

    His love of peanut butter isnt working here either.

     

    He loves watching dogs jumping into the car, but wont follow along..LOL

     

    Ah well, he pretty great in most other areas now so this is something I can deal with. He at least stands still and lets me hoist one back leg up, then does the other back leg himself.

     

    I think we have the same dog :lol I always joke that Crow has one expression and that's to look at you, blinking. I've had him nearly a year and he will not jump into the car. At first, I thought it was because my other greyhound can be grumpy, but even when Heyokha is not in the car, Crow will not jump in. I think I've gotten him to jump in unassisted maybe three times. I've tried all manner of treats, etc, but I haven't really sat down to do the training, either. I have a Subaru Forester. The one time recently I got him to jump in, he went in after some steak jerky. But he wouldn't do it again about an hour later for the same jerky. :dunno

     

    So, try this. Find a food that's really, really tasty for him - chicken, beef - something delicious that he otherwise loves. Open your hatch and sit down. Put a treat on the very edge so your dog can get it. Then put another one a little farther back so he has to reach, then put another one a little farther back so he has to really reach, putting his paws up. Keep at it until he has to jump in, then give him a party with lots of treats, then start again. That may work - that's the tack I plan on taking when I finally get around to doing the training. We have work on indoor stairs right now - he won't do those either :rolleyes: Outside steps, even long staircases, open backs? No problem at all. Indoor? Nope. *sigh* Dogs.

    Asking Vet For Prescription (Seems Like A Silly Question)

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    My vet told me that she doesn't particularly want to run a pharmacy, so will happily call in or give me a script for whatever I need. She has even told me the best place to find sum of their medications. She also told me it was a waste of money for me to bring a dog in for maintenance injections or fluids and instructed me on how to do them myself. She does check their status, but doesn't want to cost me more money than necessary. Have to appreciate that sentiment!

     

    Who's your vet? You're in Montgomery County, right? I like the clinic I go to in Leesburg, but having a backup option is always a good thing :D Feel free to PM me if you don't want to publicly post the name. Thanks :)

×
×
  • Create New...