Add Dogs - Any Holistic Meds To Help?

[Guest GentleHugs]

Not sure if this is the right forum or not but I'm posting it here because it has to do with behavior. If it needs to be moved, I totally understand.

 

Does anyone know of any holistic treatment for a dog who has ADD? I'd like to research treatments - especially holistic forms if I could for temporary use - not for life time use. Its for LuLu in case anyone is wondering. She needs to settle down a bit more so her focus on training for becoming my next medical alert service dog will sink in. I haven't worked with her much this week like I had planned. An extended family tragedy (the case about the kids who died in the fire) turned our world upside down this past week.

 

I'm also training Patrick as well. I've already trained 2 of my dogs (Heisman and Ashley) in the past and both did quite well in their service work for me. Heisman was first but had to retire due to a medical condition so Ashley took up where Heisman left off. Ashley has been my MAS dog now since November 2005. LuLu and Patrick make #3 and #4.

 

Pat is doing rather well so far. He's done very well on walking up and down the steps slowly with me by his side. He's so tall (32 inches tall) that he does a small flight of 7 steps a bit differently than the girls. He crouches a bit so he's at hand height for me and takes one step at a time slowly. Once we reach the top (or the bottom) he waits patiently for me to give another command then we proceed on.

 

LuLu is doing well in that part of the training, too. She does steps well even with a previously broken hip. She's amazing at what all she can accomplish like sitting perfectly, etc. She just gets overly excited in some areas and I'd like to take a holistic approach with her first to "tame that excitement in her just a pinch" so she can focus on what I want her to do. If I have to resort to a prescription Rx for behavior reasons - it will cancel her training out totally and I'd rather not do that to her. She's fantastic in the emotional support area whereas Patrick isn't. He's good in the obedience part and she's good in the emotional support. I think once I can get her part the obedience training part, she will breeze through the medical/emotional support area.

 

When I train a dog for MASD (medical alert service dog) work, I start out with them walking by my side and also doing steps. They can not pull on lead which Pat and LuLu are working on because Pat pulls a bit and LuLu wanders everywhere (like her mind does daily). Its basic obedience training at first mostly but then we move on to other more specific things in training that would alert someone else that I'm having a medical problem and need help or to help me specifically.

 

I take at least a minimum of 2 weeks to a month to work on each basic step before proceeding on to the next step. They have to get every step right everytime before we move on to other things, too, otherwise we have to stop and work on the step they messed up on. Its a slow process and usually takes anywhere from a minimum of 18 months to 2 years of extensive training to accomplish everything I need in a MAS dog.

 

Wish me luck - LuLu is not as focused as Patrick is on the basic obedience part as I'd like for her to be. Poor kid - her mind is constantly racing and I've known for quite awhile that she is ADD. She means well and she is VERY in tune with my emotions - but in order for her to proceed in training, I really need her to be bit calmer than what she is now and she has to pass in all areas of training, too. There's a time to play and there's a time to work. She gets those areas confused. Yeah, I know - she's LuLu and I may be asking a bit too much from her, too.

 

Pat is doing well in the basic obedience part but he's not as in tune with me as much as LuLu is. LuLu is extremely good in the emotional support area. When I started crying the other day about the kids that died in the fire, the first dog to me was LuLu then Ashley. Patrick remained on his dog bed just looking at me. LuLu kept licking one of my hands and Ashley kept kissing me on the other. LuLu is a very good consoler and she will stick by me until I tell her that I'm all better. It was a good unexpected emotional training exercise for all the dogs. I have MS and sometimes high stress related issues causes the MS to flare up or my high blood pressure to go up to stroke stage. Greyhounds, in particular, are very good about managing stress levels and blood pressure levels in humans because of their calming nature in general.

 

Ashley is my current MAS dog but she's also 12 now and its time she totally retires from "working". I'm using her though to help train the other two. Once both have finished their training, get tested, etc. that's when I will evaluate which one would be best for me to use overall.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

 

[Guest lanielovesgreys]

How did you determine she has ADD?

[Guest GentleHugs]

How did you determine she has ADD?

 

Well, my vet for one thing said all of her behavior is very typical of an ADD dog. He is hestitant (and so am I) about medicating her with prescription rx though. One of our grand daughters was diagnosed with ADD (after extensive testing) and she and LuLu mirror each other in behavior almost exactly (except Linda doesn't eat crayons like LuLu has a tendency to do when she is mad at me or doesn't get my attention when she wants it).

 

Most generally, LuLu is a very hyper active dog and she does stuff that's just not typical or "normal" for Greyhound behavior - even a lively active Greyhound. When I can get her to focus - she is a very fast learner but there are times she doesn't focus on one certain thing - it's several things all at once even when there are no other distractions around. She's 7 1/2 and she acts like she's barely out of puppy stage sometimes. I'm not talking about normal play either. Out of all the 7 Greys I've adopted in the last 10 years, she is the only one that has exhibited this type of behavior. Don't misunderstand me though - she doesn't act this way all the time - just about 50% of the time.

 

ADD in humans actually cuts the behavioral development back by about 2 years according to my grand daughter's Dr and therapist. When the ADD flares up, instead of acting like they are their chronological age - they act at least 2 to 3 years younger than what they really are. That's LuLu, too.

 

We just recently got a camcorder and as soon as I can learn how to use it good - I plan on video taping LuLu's behavior so everyone can see how she acts when she's being a normal dog and when her behavior acts up.

[Guest lanielovesgreys]

Interesting. I have ADD myself and my symptoms are all internal. With the exception of a quivering breath thing, nobody would really know I had ADD. I take a non-stimulant medication and even that has bad side effects. In humans, I think medication should be used as a last resort, as it's just not comfortable and I'm sure it's rough on my body. I'd think with dogs it wouldn't be a good idea to medicate, but I really don't know ANYTHING about ADD in dogs.

 

Good luck, and I'm interested in what sort of holistic treatments you find.

[Guest Swifthounds]

I've never heard of it either.

[4My2Greys]

Now I'm not making any claims that these will work. They do for some and not for others, but you could try some fo the Bach Flower Remedies. Here is a link to the different remedies and what they can help with. You can read through the different indications and see which best fits the issues LuLu has.

 

http://www.bachflower.com/Pets.htm

[Guest GentleHugs]

Interesting. I have ADD myself and my symptoms are all internal. With the exception of a quivering breath thing, nobody would really know I had ADD. I take a non-stimulant medication and even that has bad side effects. In humans, I think medication should be used as a last resort, as it's just not comfortable and I'm sure it's rough on my body. I'd think with dogs it wouldn't be a good idea to medicate, but I really don't know ANYTHING about ADD in dogs.

 

Good luck, and I'm interested in what sort of holistic treatments you find.

 

My grand daughter just turned 7 and we always commented that her and LuLu were quite a lot alike behavior wise. That's when I started talking to my vet about LuLu's behavior. Linda acts out and nothing holds Linda's attention long enough for her to benefit from it. She can't stay still in school and her teacher said she's a bright child (top of her class academically) but she's all over the place. LuLu is the same way and she has some really strange behavior (LuLu not my grand daughter) like if I sweep my hard wood floor - she eats the dust pile before I can get it picked up.

 

But, otoh, she can be very in tune to my emotional needs or when I'm not feeling very well and will stick by me for as long as it takes until I tell her that I'm ok.

 

I don't like medicating dogs, kids or even myself but if its holistic and for temporary use, it depends - I might try it for a bit and see if it helps. If it doesn't then I will stop using it. I've tried the Bachs Rescue Remedy - it doesn't help LuLu. It helps Patrick with his thunderphobia a little but it doesn't affect LuLu at all.

[Batmom]

I would strongly discourage your medicating this dog. She doesn't have ADD. She's a dog, and is exhibiting a normal, doglike personality that simply doesn't suit your current purpose.

She might respond to different training methods. If not, you need a different dog to be a worker and let Lulu be the good companion that she is.

[Guest GentleHugs]

I would strongly discourage your medicating this dog. She doesn't have ADD. She's a dog, and is exhibiting a normal, doglike personality that simply doesn't suit your current purpose.

She might respond to different training methods. If not, you need a different dog to be a worker and let Lulu be the good companion that she is.

 

Batmom,

 

I really do take your advice to heart in other things but in this case, how can you know for a fact that she does not have ADD? You have not met LuLu in person. You have not evaluated her in person nor have you discussed this with my vet extensively. I did not say I was definitely medicating her. All I said was that I was researching it to see if there were any holistic meds out there to help her. My vet thinks there isn't anything holistic - just some harsh meds like doggy prozac but encouraged me to do some research if I wanted so we could discuss it further. He does not advise nor does he like doggy prozac anyway. I will not medicate my dogs EVER just to suit my purpose. If there's nothing out there - then I'm not going to worry about it and she can continue to be LuLu in my home, loved, cared for, etc.

 

Yes, she is a dog but she does NOT exhibit a normal dog like personality. I've trained 2 other dogs to be MAS dogs - one of which had seperation anxiety who overcame her SA simply by giving her a job to concentrate on other than her fears. She's completely content now and has been for a few years.

 

I'm only beginning the training stage with LuLu right now. If she's not suited to be what I am needing her for - then so be it. I already said I would stop her training. Besides, she's not completely flunking out - she's doing well in some areas and has made progress. Training a MAS dog is different than just teaching normal obedience.

 

Your words sounded kind of harsh like I was really out to do harm to my dog intentionally or like I just pulled this out of thin air. I would NEVER do intentional harm to any dog, human, etc. and yes, I have consulted with my vet about LuLu in depth. He was the one who pointed it out in the first place. I'm sorry if you did not mean to come across that way but I did take offense to what you said.

[Batmom]

If you've only begun working with her, how could you think that she DOES have ADD?

 

I don't believe that ADD is a concept that applies to dogs.

 

Dogs respond differently to training in general, and to different techniques. In addition, some dogs are not suited to some tasks and there is nothing you or I can do to change that. Again, though, if you've only begun working with her, it's way too early. One very important thing to remember in early days is that when a dog begins training, s/he needs to get used to the general process before s/he'll learn much of anything. The whole idea of it being worthwhile for her to pay attention to you can take some time to sink in.

 

I didn't mean to offend you but I confess to being flabbergasted here.

[Guest GentleHugs]

If you've only begun working with her, how could you think that she DOES have ADD?

 

I don't believe that ADD is a concept that applies to dogs.

 

Dogs respond differently to training in general, and to different techniques. In addition, some dogs are not suited to some tasks and there is nothing you or I can do to change that. Again, though, if you've only begun working with her, it's way too early. One very important thing to remember in early days is that when a dog begins training, s/he needs to get used to the general process before s/he'll learn much of anything. The whole idea of it being worthwhile for her to pay attention to you can take some time to sink in.

 

I didn't mean to offend you but I confess to being flabbergasted here.

 

I've only begun working with her in specific training to be a medical alert service dog for about a month or so but I've had her for almost 3 years and she hasn't changed from day one. My vet and I thought maybe by giving her something to focus on and concentrate on that maybe it would help her as well as help me. Our discussion about her being ADD stems WAY before I started training her for MAS work.

 

Maybe the behavior disorder is named differently for dogs than humans but that's how my vet put it to me so I could understand it a little better. He said her mind and thought process is very active. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE LuLu dearly and I'd do anything to help her if it was the right thing for HER - not me - her. She's doing well on our stair training and she does extremely well by staying by me when I'm not doing well and my BP rises to the point it makes my heart beat pound in my ear. She will even bark to get someone else's attention when I can't yell for someone to help me. So, all is not lost. It might be the timing of me training her during the day, too, when she is not clearly focused. From the time we get up in the am (she wakes up between 5 and 6am every morning) to about 6pm at night - she's on the move constantly.

 

I take their training slow anyway. We work on stairs and walking beside me anywhere between 2 weeks to a month - depending on how well the dog is doing. Sometimes it takes longer. She does great on the stairs training. She has to go up and down the steps and stay beside me all the way - stopping when I stop and proceeding when I proceed. Walking beside me on flat ground or floor isn't as good though. She walks in front of me facing me and walks backwards. But we are working on that and yesterday she did well walking beside me for about 5 minutes. That's the initial first part and there's a lot more after that. We try and work on each part slowly so it all sinks in. That's why it takes 18 months to 2 years to train a MAS dog at the bare minimum. It's just not training them in obedience - its much more than that.

 

The test that I think she will absolutely flunk first time will be the restaurant test. She's VERY food motivated. She has to be able to walk into a restaurant at my side, proceed to the table without stopping or getting distracted by other patrons of the restaurant. When we reach our table, she has to lie down next to me on her mat and stay there until we are ready to leave. The department store test might be another problem area - she's a thief, too!

 

I think I have my work cut out.... I'm off to fix dinner.

[Batmom]

OK, now I see more what you are talking about. I still wouldn't call it ADD , but I have certainly known dogs like that.

 

With a dog like her, you might think about flipping your training method on its head a bit. Consider interspersing the serious stuff -- the stairs, walking besides you, etc. -- with something else like pick up the squeaky you just threw on the ground (2' away so she can stay on leash), giving you a high five, catching marshmallows in midair, etc. 7 minutes serious, 4 minutes fruitcake, repeat once or twice as she can. If you have a fenced yard, you could also take her out for a serious game of lure pole or fetch, let her rest for an hour, and *then* do your serious training. Alternative 3 is to forget about perfecting each thing and lay more new stuff on her to keep her entertained.

 

In any case, she sounds like a smart kid, so whatever happens, you should have lots of fun. Good luck!

[Guest Swifthounds]

I agree with Batmom's assessment on this one. I think that calling Lulu's behavior ADD isn't particularly helpful. Canine personalities and behavior vary widely, even among dogs of the same breed. I can see how some of her particular behavior patterns might present challenges for what you might want to train her to do, but I don't really hear you describing anything that sounds like a significant behavior problem.

 

You can adapt her behavior through training, but you'll also have to adapt your training to suit her particular needs. I have certain training principles that I stick to (making training fun, doing it every day, individual and group training, play training, positive reinforcement, etc.), but all of my dogs' training has required individual tweaking. I had the sweetest brindle boy you'd ever imagine and it took him months to learn sit, stay, and down. My oops pup could train and work and learn things all day long and thrives on it. Each dog is an individual and each person's task in training their dog is to better help that particular dog acquire the skills to live in our human world.

[Guest eaglflyt]

I might suggest you have your hound temperament tested or evaluated for suitability as a medical alert dog by an excellent, *positive training* method dog trainer or animal behaviorist. Many times dogs are born with certain abilities that are a natural fit for a job we'd like them to do, but many times they are not. When they aren't, it doesn't matter how hard we try to mold them against their natural behaviors or traits, it just isn't going to be a possibility. In attempting to make them do something that doesn't align with their abilities, we only frustrate ourselves and make them miserable. I'm convinced every dog has a place or a job where it *fits*, but it's up to us to help them find their best niche. A trainer or animal behaviorist may really be able to assist you in this process.

 

I think you've really been blessed with being successful with your 2 first assistance dogs being successful and fitting that role well. I would be really amazed if 4 out of 4 were really good matches for that job.

 

I wish you the very best of luck, but personally, I would be hesitant to consider medicating or supplementing a dog in order to get it to do a specific service/job. If it's not a natural for the job, I don't think the dog will be happy and the person needing the assistance will most likely be frustrated with the dog's performance.

[Guest kydie]

I have a GSP with ADHD, ( always say this anyway I don't have a true diagnosis on it)i find the best thing for him a 2 to 3 hour run everyday, I understand!

[Guest GentleHugs]

I think everyone has blown this out of proportion. I'm not going to medicate her unless its warranted and if its warranted - I will stop her training - period because she can't be on medication when she goes for her final testing. My vet and I have already discussed this in depth.

 

My vet thought she might be good at becoming a MAS dog because she shows and has exhibited certain characteristics that make a good dog for being a good medical alert dog. He has several patients that are MAS dogs that he sees on a regular basis - one of which is my Ashley. If you could have met Ashley when she first came to me, you would have said she would not have made a good MAS dog at all. She was quite destructive with her SA and getting her to focus was hard, too. After her training, she was totally different. She was the one who detected that I stopped breathing at night. It was her behavior and actions that prompted MY Dr into doing more tests and discovered a secondary sleep disorder that I did not have when I was diagnosed with my primary sleep disorder.

 

All of the trainers here where I live are not real up to date on their training methods and therefore I hesitate to use them - even for evaluations. They use methods that I'm not comfortable with. I'd have to travel to possibly find a decent one which I am unable to do at this time due to some of my health problems.

 

I'm not forcing anything upon her other than what she has the ability to do. If she can't get through the obedience testing - I highly doubt she would be able to perform the more extensive testing that is the most important part of the whole training program. It would kind of disappoint me but that doesn't mean I wouldn't love her any less. It just means that I would truly know what her capabilities are and where her abilities lie - what she can handle and what she can't.

 

The only thing I asked was if there were any holistic meds out there (meaning natural) to help her in the initial part of it to see if she could focus more clearly on anything - not necessarily her training for MAS - even IF she was NOT cut out for the service job part of it. I thought I could get some helpful insight here instead of the opposite. I feel like everyone is condemning me right off the bat so maybe this discussion should end and I'll seek professional advice elsewhere.

 

Thanks.

Edited March 20, 2010 by GentleHugs

[Guest krystolla]

ADD isn't formally recognized by vets as a canine disorder. It may be in the future, but we've barely started figuring out what's happening in the human head -- let alone the canine brain.

 

There are some things you can try to get a hyper dog with a short attention span to calm down though. Exercise is definitely helpful -- you might have better luck doing a frisbee session before training. I've heard good things about massage and acupuncture though I don't have personal experience to back it up.

 

I don't know if your girl wears a backpack or jacket when working, but when my mom was training service dogs that really made a difference. For some reason they really understood the "on the job" and "off the job" difference when there was a uniform involved. The biggest goofball golden retriever was suddenly a professional when the "trainee" jacket was on.

 

Good luck.

[Batmom]

You've gotten some training and assessment advice, which I think makes more sense than looking for medications when you've only just begun work with the dog. eaglflyt makes a good point about assessment, and krystolla makes a good point about exercise and equipment. I would also reiterate trying some different techniques. An "always on," distractable, high energy dog usually doesn't do well with the "get this one thing perfect before we do anything else" method; talk to some folks who train terriers, Viszlas, setters. With that type of dog, you're usually better off varying the tasks and gradually adding polish to the half-baked ones. Keeps the dog from getting bored and looking for distractions.

 

One other thing to consider is that any "natural" medications you might encounter aren't necessarily harmless. They're just unregulated.

 

 

[Guest eaglflyt]

I didn't mean to be condemning in my reply, but rather factual and helpful. We have a therapy dog and we have others that we'd love to be therapy dogs, but all but possibly one will never fit in that role. We love them just the same, they're just not suited to therapy dog work.

 

We've worked with a really good *gentle and positive* methods trainer. I believe she has a blog post about this on her blog. I'll try to find the exact link and post it for you, if you'd like to read it. Back in a minute.

 

Please see the posts about Therapy Dog Training and also the post about Puppy Temperament Testing. These aren't exactly on target for your situation, but close. The general principles apply.

 

Here's the LINK.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Yes, she is a dog but she does NOT exhibit a normal dog like personality.

I take it you've never owned a pit bull, Border Collie, Pointer, Viszla, etc, then? Her personality is not typical for a Greyhound, but it is perfectly normal for a dog. Some dogs are high energy, have a hard time focusing, easily distractable, go-go-go, etc. But those dogs usually make the best working dogs because they want to please their owners and they can keep up. Lulu might have the right personality for the training you have in mind, she might not, I don't know, but just know that her behavior is perfectly normal. There is nothing wrong with her, and no medication or supplement will help I'm sad to say (Aidan and Clancy are looking at me suspiciously ).

 

 

Maybe the behavior disorder is named differently for dogs than humans but that's how my vet put it to me so I could understand it a little better. He said her mind and thought process is very active.

Some dogs have minds that are working 24/7, a mile a minute, etc. That's just their personality. There is no "behavior disorder" to categorize this, it's just the way some dogs are. Some people (myself included) jokingly refer to it as ADD because the dog can't seem to focus on any one thing for too long, but that's just a joke, it doesn't mean there is actually something wrong with the dog or something that needs fixing.

 

She does great on the stairs training. She has to go up and down the steps and stay beside me all the way - stopping when I stop and proceeding when I proceed. Walking beside me on flat ground or floor isn't as good though. She walks in front of me facing me and walks backwards.

A lot of dogs with her personality will walk like this. They want to be looking at you at all times, they are looking to you for direction, they want to please you. Sometimes the hardest part is getting the dog to NOT look at you constantly, but it takes time for them to know what is expected of them and not need your constant reassurance. (Another possibility is that she is looking at you because she's just bored with the training, and she's hoping you'll stop and play instead ).

 

 

She's VERY food motivated.

That's actually a good thing. If you use lots of treats in your training she should do really well. Food motivated dogs are usually easier to train than very stubborn, independent dogs.

 

If the treats/rewards are not high value enough, or you do the same exercises every day with no variation, she will get bored quickly and start focusing on other things instead of the training. I would switch up how you are training her, once you obtain a method(s) that holds her interest you should see more progress. Your previous service dogs obviously have a different personality than she does, the training you did with them might not work with her. It's also possible that she doesn't have the personality to be able to do what you need her to (lay down on a mat for X minutes when she wants to greet everyone/eat all the food, etc), but you'll know better once you do more training.

Not sure I saw this mentioned, but I was skimming... Dogs with her personality need A LOT of exercise. I would increase her exercise big time. Then when you think she's getting enough, increase it a little bit more. Some hyper dogs are not capable of focusing or learning if they have excess energy to burn off. You need to take the edge off so she's not so antsy, that will help you a lot. Does she like to play fetch or chase toys or anything? She might be a little calmer and more receptive to training if she's a little more tired when you start.

ETA: A friend of mine has a pit bull service dog that she trained herself. The dog alerts when she is about to have an episode (I think she has muscle spasms or seizures or something). I can put you in touch with her if you'd like.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

 

~Lindsay~

Edited March 20, 2010 by LindsaySF

[Guest Swifthounds]

Yes, she is a dog but she does NOT exhibit a normal dog like personality.

 

Have you owned or trained dogs other than greyhounds? I'm asking because, so far what you're describing sounds like the normal behavior for many working, herding, and task-oriented breeds (border collies, GSDs, dalmatians, etc.). Her personality and behavior may be a bit outside the norm for most greyhounds, but that certainly doesn't signal that there's anything necessarily wrong with her. It likely means that you need to adjust your training techniques and engage her in different activities than those common with greyhounds.

 

Your words sounded kind of harsh like I was really out to do harm to my dog intentionally or like I just pulled this out of thin air. I would NEVER do intentional harm to any dog, human, etc. and yes, I have consulted with my vet about LuLu in depth. He was the one who pointed it out in the first place. I'm sorry if you did not mean to come across that way but I did take offense to what you said.

 

There's a big difference between someone strongly cautioning you against something that's unlikely to produce the result you desire and may very well harm your hound and someone suggesting you're intentionally out to harm your hound. I haven't seen anything in this thread but people offering their advice and experience to help you navigate the issues you're having with your hound. You can take the advice, or you can listen to an obviously either misinformed or overly simplistic vet. I don't think your vet intends to harm your dog either. I do believe that if you medicate (chemically, herbally, or otherwise) a dog for personality and behaviors that can be addressed by lifestyle changes and adjusted training and activities, you're likely to do more harm than good.

[Guest GentleHugs]

Yes, I have owned other breeds of dogs in my life and I've trained them as well - Chihuahua's, Terriers, English Shepherds, Cocker Spaniels and a German short haired pointer. However, that doesn't have anything to do with the question I asked in the first place. You are making it sound like I'm a total idiot about dogs in general and I'm not. I'm not an expert by any means on specific dog breed behavior but I think I have a fairly good handle on most of them. I used to have a lot of hands on experience with various types of dogs and I do read - quite a lot.

 

I also asked politely to end this discussion because I feel like I'm being attacked now and I really do take offense to someone calling my vet misinformed or overly simplistic. He's a mighty fine vet that I've used for over 10 years for ALL my Greyhounds who is a licensed veterinarian and has a lot of experience with Greyhounds in particular.

 

And for your information - I'm not medicating her. I was only asking so I could research it and then everyone jumps to the conclusion that I am medicating her. If anything at all, at least give me credit for wanting to research it beforehand and not just going ahead without asking anyone. I even said I was hesitant about doing it but still wanted to research it so I knew I was doing the RIGHT thing by not medicating her. I've had other people in the past (including trainers) tell me they thought she needed to be on some type of medication for her spurts of hyperness/not focusing, etc. I did NOT take their advice but decided to ask my vet first about it.

 

Let's just end this because it's obvious I need to discuss this with someone who is a professional.

 

If the moderators would kindly close this thread - I'd appreciate it very much. Thank you.

[Guest GentleHugs]

I got so upset last night that after I signed off, my husband reminded me about our registered AKC Samoyed named Boris that I trained using German commands and hand signs many years ago (back in the early 80's). Then he reminded me of our 2nd, 3rd and 4th Greyhounds that I trained using Dutch commands for walking and crossing streets. I remembered all of our other dogs for the most part but sadly, totally forgot about Boris, Romeo, Jackie and Heisman.

 

LuLu knows and recognizes some hand signs - especially when she gets into her bouncy, hyper mode and its what I use to control her focus sometimes. I'm proud of little LuLu - she's had a hard go of it in the past and to see her come this far is amazing.

 

I'll know better next time and I won't ask any questions like that ever again - at least not here. To insinuate that I didn't know what I was doing and to attack my vet's intelligence (and mine) like that was very hurtful. I hope you don't ever have to ask a question and get the same treatment as I did.

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

[Batmom]

Nobody insinuated that you didn't know what you were doing. People merely offered advice and suggestions. No one is ever too knowledgeable to learn or consider something different.

[Guest LindsaySF]

However, that doesn't have anything to do with the question I asked in the first place.

Of course it does. For people that have only ever owned a certain breed, Lulu's personality might seem strange or abnormal. That's why people asked if you had experience with other breeds, because dogs don't get ADD and we are trying to figure out why you'd think that. I have had people tell me Aidan has something wrong with him, because they are used to low-maintenance, low-energy breeds. And Aidan is not that.

No one was attacking you or your vet. No one was calling you an idiot. No one said you didn't know what you were doing, or that you are already medicating your dog. What was said is that the behavior Lulu is expressing is NORMAL. She does not have a "behavior disorder", she does not need medication, there is nothing wrong with her.

 

What might need to change is your training style, different techniques work for different dogs. No one said you don't know how to train dogs or that you haven't had success in the past. You could have successfully trained 500 dogs, but that doesn't mean the same training will work for Lulu. If you are having a hard time getting Lulu to focus, you might need to change things up a bit. I also think she needs more exercise, high energy go-go-go dogs like Lulu need to burn some energy before they can focus.

 

I'll repeat what I said in a previous post, I have a friend that trained her own service dog. Her dog has a personality similar to Lulu's. I would be happy to put you in touch with her.

 

 

~Lindsay~