What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

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MPbandmom
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by MPbandmom »

Thank you Swanny, I feel a bit better that while the 5 miles was probably a bit far, she was still on her feet. The only really noticeable issue was that she seemed reluctant to climb into the van and then a 3 mile walk a couple of days later resulted in her limping. The source of the tender pad was never determined, but it seems fine now. The brake pad replacement was due to the age of the pads, their inability to provide much braking power, and the horrible screeching noise that went along with braking. (I initially thought the difficulty I was having with applying the brakes was due to the larger brake levers on the bike as opposed to the scooter and the fact that I hadn't ridden the bike in a couple of years. Turns out the pads were dry rotted.) With the scooter she would start out running, but then usually settle in to a trot fairly quickly. For her to be fairly determined to run the whole way out was out of character. (The squealing brakes probably didn't help her nerves any.)

I am debating taking both dogs to the canal this weekend. The club is having their annual scootering clinic and have found a more remote section of the canal to do so on. I need a video of both dogs running a mile for their DSA scootering badge. I originally thought I would need to have some club members come out my way and run at the quiet park across town, but the canal really is a better running surface and the dogs are very accustomed to walking and having a sniff fest at the park across town. (Not exactly conducive to running for a mile, although potentially many opportunities to demonstrate their "on by" skills...or not. :lol: )

I am checking to see if my usual running buddy will be available with one of her dogs to play rabbit, with plans to try bikejoring with Sirius solo on a short half mile out and back run. I figure I have basically one shot to get Sirius videoed at the mile and running her singly with a rabbit in front, should show better on video. She is required to have the line tight for the full mile and teaming her with Sky could mean her line is tight out in front of her rather than behind her. :lol:

Then I am thinking about a 2 mile out and back run for Sky. The distance should be doable for her and the two runs combined will give my friend's dog the minimum 5 miles required for the sammy working dog title points.
Grammy to Sky and Sirius, who came to live with me, stole my heart, and changed my life forever as I took over their care and learned how to be a dog owner.
lucyandbella
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by lucyandbella »

Lucy is a little scared of the teeter in agility because if the noise it makes. It kind of sounds like a cookie sheet crashing to the ground...its pretty loud. To help her get used to making objects make loud noises happen (she has always hated loud noises) I am training her to knock over empty soda cans. I want it to be fun so I'm going very slow and giving lots of treats. So far she has learned the cue "knock" and she uses her paws to send the can flying. I want to work up to a pyramid of cans that she sends crashing. I'm a little worried that when I'm home for the holidays and people are drinking from cans she is going to run around knocking them over :lol: .

We have our second agility trial this weekend. I've moved up from the intro course to actually competing now that I know she is okay in the ring and not afraid of the judge and noises. I've entered jumpers (mostly jumps,tunnels and maybe weaves), gamblers (sort of designing your own course as you run, different obstacles are worth different points), and relay (where me and a friend/ fellow class member with her Aussie run half the course, hand off the baton and we take the second part). Hopefully I can handle better this time, watching the videos of me last time showed me how much I was confusing poor Lucy. :lol:
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Nettle
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Nettle »

lucyandbella wrote: I'm a little worried that when I'm home for the holidays and people are drinking from cans she is going to run around knocking them over :lol: .


:lol: this we need on film......how to use a dog to train people to be tidy
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

Jasper's been whining, moaning, fussing and pacing since the fireworks started here.. but now I have let him have my sofa all to himself, he's settled down and not batting an eyelid when fireworks go off. I've a horrible feeling he might claim he needs my sofa every evening though...
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
ScarletSci
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by ScarletSci »

Pixie was spayed yesterday. :( She's doing very well, but gonna be difficult keeping her entertained when already she wants to carry on with business as usual. Jack is unhappy about the special treatment Pixie is getting, but doing our best to make sure he gets lots of extra attention as well.

About her weight: since I was talking before about how she'd put on weight and mum and dad needed to stop the extra treating... they did it! Her weight went from 7.1 kgs to 6.3 kgs in a month. She's spot on again now, and vet was very pleased.. also surprised I think! I guess they have to talk to a lot of owners about their pets being overweight, and getting a positive result so soon is more unusual. Jackpot treats and lots of fuss for mum and dad, along with a gentle reminder that especially now she's neutered, they can't slip back into old overtreating habits.

Broke my heart when she was all groggy yesterday though, and when I had to leave her at the vets. She gets so nervous there at the best of times. Then putting the collar of shame on and her looking so sad! She's handling the collar pretty well though, better than other dogs I've known who've had to wear them. Trouble is, she can still reach the incision site, even with the collar on...

Spoke to the vets, and I can have a bigger collar - for another five pounds! Not to mention that the £200 quote jumped to £235 when I went to collect her. Was so desperate to see her that I just paid it. I doubt challenging that would do any good anyway. When I called to ask for a bigger collar and book her check up for tomorrow, I asked if they had any other tips for keeping her from licking the wound, but receptionist was distinctly unhelpful and uninterested. I usually like this vets, but not so impressed today.

I'm shattered, since worry about the op kept me from sleeping at all on Wednesday night, and last night Pixie shared my bed so I could keep an eye on her and Jack couldn't lick her scar for her. Last night Pixie moaned a few times, a noise I've never heard her make before, and gave me a fright at one point when I think she overheated inside the collar just before bed. So I whipped the collar off, scenarios of a bad reaction to the drugs running through my mind and desperately checking her over, but she was fine almost immediately. But had me extra on edge though, and she was so quiet and still when she flaked out on the bed that I found myself checking her breathing every few minutes.

I'm a heavy sleeper, and often wonder how parents do it when they deal with children throughout the night, but clearly some part of the brain remains on high alert for any signs you need to wake up now, because I woke up every time she stirred overnight. She just wanted a lot of reassurance, has been glued to me since we got back.

She demanded a walk this morning - so she got a very short on lead stroll around half of the park across the road. Of course, that's no where near enough to wear her out, and she seems to be over the effects of the anaesthesia already. A frozen kong is keeping her occupied right now, but I could really use some help with ideas to keep her entertained and use some of that energy without challenging her physically. Even the exercise the mind things we do involve pawing at things or things she can't do while wearing the cone. This is day one of ten, not even 10 am and already keeping her happy and occupied is becoming a challenge!

I'm now trying to think of how to rig a t-shirt bandage to use on her lower half until I can get the bigger collar, and to keep her wound clean when we go on walks. Luckily we saved the kids t-shirts we used for Jack when he was attacked, but that wound was on his shoulder, so was easier to keep him away from it.
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

ScarletSci, would boy's soft jersey boxer shorts work? (Her tail would go through the fly opening.) The vets have got a bit of a cheek asking a fiver for a bigger collar as presumably they chose the wrong size in the first place.

Bless Jasper's cotton socks... he was whining in the front room earlier while I was working, then he came into the study and whined some more, then back into the front room, more whining... I went in to see him, thinking he just needed a bit of fuss, but he was standing next to the sofa, where the sun had just landed, and wanted to go on it but needed my permission first Image We've been seeing more of this recently - I came home the other day after leaving him at home, and after saying hello he went straight to the kitchen and pointed his nose towards the worktop where there was an empty cream pot he could smell and wanted to lick out. This is the same dog who will still do a snatch and grab right next to me if he thinks he can get away with it :lol:

We had a short walk earlier on. There was a fascinating smell in the hedge just by our house but I chivvied him along. He only went a few feet down the trailway, about 1 minute from home, did a poo, then wanted to go back home. We got back to the fascinating smell, he stuck his head in the hedge, and came out with a couple of leaves stuck to his muzzle... and a horrible smell of cat poo :? He then wanted to go and visit the GSD girls two doors down, presumably hoping to charm the pants off them with his wonderful new facial adornment - how could they resist? :lol: But after I explained we couldn't just go barging in, not with a big dollop of cat poo on his muzzle, anyway, we went straight home and I attended to the muzzle cleaning Image
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
ScarletSci
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by ScarletSci »

Judy - I like the way you describe the 'facial adornment' :lol:

You're right that the vet office was cheeky about trying to charge me even more, and politely as possible I pointed out that I wasn't the one who chose the wrong size - and they waived the fee. Course, I then bought two more kongs... :oops: I could have only stretched to one though if they'd charged that fee.

Pixie is taking to the collar so remarkably well. Even the faffing about trying to get it on, when she doesn't usually stand for faffing of any sort! She's just clanging about with it on, and figures it out when she gets it caught on something.

What she's not taking so well at all is the inactivity. She wants to play tug of war violently, we can't. She wants to go for a long walk and a run, we can't. She wants to run down to the muddy bottom of the garden and roll and bark at squirrels - I won't let her. Even one day without that and she's becoming destructive and sulking at times. Jack is also miserable that she's getting 24 hour supervision and attention. I'm telling you, a spaniel can really show that they're sulking! The contrast from their usual bouncy happy selves to sulky and big eyed is very effective... :(

So I'm letting her destroy cardboard boxes and hiding treats inside, and using kongs. I'd bought a load of toys here with me for this very reason, both dogs have destroyed them all already! But she's also a very physically active dog who is very fit - especially after diet and exercise month, and not thrilled about restricted duties.

Back to the vet in the morning to check on the wound healing - looks good to me though, and thankfully she can't get at it now with the bigger collar. Poor girl - when they shaved her, they nicked her nipples slightly. :shock: I saw a little dried blood that clearly wasn't from the op - so that must make her urge to lick even worse. Will talk to the vet then about exactly how much walking and training I can get away with. I keep promising Pixie that I'll make it up to her when she's recovered. Some long days out coming up!
ScarletSci
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by ScarletSci »

Pixie had a checkup at the vets this morning. The incision site is reddened, and her temp was ever so slightly elavated - but they don't think we're looking at antibiotics yet since she is otherwise well and bright, just means I have to keep an even closer eye and take her in if it gets any worse. Pixie doesn't flinch from having it touched though.

To walk her, in her extra large buster collar (anyone know why they changed the name from Elizabethan collar to buster collar? I'm speculating that it's since electronic collars came out, they don't want e-collar and Elizabethan collar to be mixed up, but have no idea, just guessing.) I've rigged a kids t-shirt over her lower end, with the waist tied around her middle 80s style, and green baling twine attaching t-shirt to her collar so it doesn't fall off. Since she's staying on lead and only with my supervision, it works well! It's just for walks, to keep the incision clean.

She looks both ridiculous and utterly adorable. Will try to get a pic of her tomorrow.
Erica
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by Erica »

I hope Pixie recovers well! :)

Delta keeps getting compliments in training class. We stopped by the pet store on the way to class this morning and a poodle enthusiast chatted to us for a bit. She thought he was wonderful, which of course he is, hehe.

One of our exercises in class is practicing Look At That - Delta now gets a waiver from that one because he just enjoys observing, but he doesn't get fixated in fear or joy when someone approaches, even when it's a playful out-of-control Shiba looking for a playmate. The trainer pointed out his behavior as the end goal of the exercise - a dog perfectly content to watch the world without getting overly excited or startled by it, and whose attention can easily be gotten back onto the handler. :D He's also the absolute best at chin-rests, where we have to dogs rest their chin on your hand. The others just graduated from "feed while holding hand under chin" to "put hand under chin, mark and reward" during class today. Delta's already onto 5-second and longer rests with no shown food. I've been focusing on that, though - having his face handled and keeping still while it's held - in preparation for grooming. I'm going to try using the clippers on a whole rabbit I have for his food. I missed it over last time I did prep, but that's good because it gives me something to practice on so I'm not scared when I do his face.

He is not so good at doing anything quickly in the classroom, though outside on walks he is quick and attentive. We're working on "sit means plop your bum on the ground wherever you are" instead of "come over here and sit" and he'll do it from about six feet away now. His recall is loads better outside than in class, speed-wise. He'll bolt to me when I call him on walks but only trots inside. I think it might have something to do with the floor, which is slightly slippery linoleum, or the fact that he seems to want to act like he's too cool to get excited about anything while he's there.

We do need to work more on the mat though. He doesn't think it's anything special. :/ And because he likes how the cool linoleum feels when he lies down, he prefers to lie down on the floor rather than on the mat. Silly boy.

After this class, if he's not in Terrible Teenager mode, I may look for a CGC class (or maybe just work on that stuff on my own). The trainers both think he'd be an absolutely wonderful therapy dog, and if he likes it I would love to do that with him. I think most therapy organizations require CGCs for their dogs. I'll have to find one that accepts raw-fed dogs.
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
ScarletSci
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by ScarletSci »

Now the skin on Pixies neck is red and sore where they shaved a small patch of fur, and she's been scratching at it. Removed her collar so it doesn't irritate it further and applied some cream, but have to leave the buster cone on.

While cuddling Jack, I found what I thought was a mat in his chest ruffle. Mum was trying to comb it out, then gasped when it started to bleed. I've done my best to clean it up, and I don't think it's a mat that's caused the skin to rip, seems to be a raised, flattish lump. Maybe the fur was tangling because it's been oozing. He went to the groomer just a few weeks ago, and she didn't report anything, and she grooms and trims that area thoroughly, so if it is anything, hopefully we've caught it soon.

Since he's 8, I know a benign cyst is very possible. But I've seen those on our elderly dogs before, and this looks different to me.

Mum is devastated, thinking she's a bad owner because I found it and she didn't, and doubtless worrying about what it might be. She adores that boy, we all do.

Vet office is closed now, and it doesn't really come under an emergency, so it'll be Monday before we know anything more.
ScarletSci
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by ScarletSci »

vet nurse told me to gently touch Pixie's incision site, and reaction from her could indicate infection. So I did earlier, and nothing. Did again when she came to bed with me and lay on her back, and was fine til I reached the lower end, then she flinched, desperately tried to reach it to lick, and lay back down and made soft whimpering "I'm in pain" noises that tore my heart to shreds.

I'm in floods of tears, worried about both dogs, deeply regretting having Pixie neutered at all, and wishing we could skip Sunday so I can get both dogs to the vets and sorted. Tomorrow will be just awful. Feeling guilty for crying because that doesn't help Pixie feel better.
MPbandmom
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by MPbandmom »

Hopefully your dogs will be better in the morning ScarletSci.

Great news on Delta Erica! I think most therapy groups require a CGC and then their own test.

Today I took Sirius for her first bikejoring run, er mosey along and sniff fest. :roll: :lol: I took video of her outing, but the camera stopped and didn't get the whole thing. I forgot to turn on my phone app Walk for A dog which tracks mileage and makes donations to rescue groups for mileage traveled. My goal was a 1 mile run for Sirius. I finally turned the app on a little ways before I decided to turn around and head back to the van. The distance recorded by the app was 1 mile exactly, so she did close to 2 miles.

What video I got was a lot of road noise (wheels crunching on gravel/dirt) with occasional sightings of a dog in the picture. The camera mount flopped over sideways, probably one of the times I laid the bike down to wait for others to pass by, so about half of the video is sideways. :lol: (I was busy watching the dog, not the camera.) For about the last half mile, we had one of the club samoyds come by and I had Sirius follow her for a while. She ran well while the other dog was fairly close, but even though Sammy's aren't the fastest of breeds, this one was faster than Sirius and the further the other dog got ahead, the more slowly Sirius went.

In spite of all of these glitches, I was very happy with how she did today. She was mostly polite to the other club members and passers by. The did tell one or two that she didn't want them to come any closer, but only a woof or two and only a little bit of growling. There are a couple of eskies that come to many club events and I believe they would qualify as more reactive than Sirius. Sirius grumbled at them a bit as they grumbled at her, but no big blow up on her part.

Since the video was a bust and I have kind of fluked into having a week off of work instead of the 2 days I had originally planned, I am looking into possibly getting together with some club members for a second try and hoping to get video of both dogs at the same time, but running separately. We shall see if that comes to pass.
Grammy to Sky and Sirius, who came to live with me, stole my heart, and changed my life forever as I took over their care and learned how to be a dog owner.
lucyandbella
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by lucyandbella »

Lucy and I had our second agility trial yesterday. It went a lot smoother than the first. For our first class we had jumpers and she ran clean and did great. It actually went so fast and we did so well I thought I must have missed some jumps :lol: . We ended up getting a qualifying run and a second place :D.

For pairs it started getting a little hot and she ran much slower, and decided she didn't feel like weaving today so after trying to get her to weave like three times I just skipped them and finished the course. I felt bad for my partner but her dog wouldn't weave either, so no matter what we would have been eliminated for skipping weaving. (Our group class is just getting to the point where we go from obstacles to weaving and some of the dogs are having a hard time slowing down and/or are leaving the waves early to do the next obstacle).

For the last class we did gamblers. At the end of that there is a line with obstacles on the other side and your dog has to do the obstacles at a distance from you. We haven't done any distance work in class yet so I knew it would be a challenge. I hosed Lucy down before running this time and she ran a lot faster and was doing great on her contacts and ran clean, but in the area at the end for distance work she ran by a Jump and it took me awhile to get her to go over that Jump and finish the run. So we didn't qualify but she did great and had fun. :D

She slept the rest of the day and wouldn't move for anything, not even the horrible dog next door that bites at our fence and usually gets her riled up. It was barking and she barely opened her eyes before falling back asleep. I think more than running the courses and getting physically tired, for her its all the people, all the dogs, and the sounds of overhead speakers and buzzers that are more mentally exhausting. Still she is not scared, except for a little nervous when we first arrive and see all the people she doesn't know walking around. But I'm happy for a dog that wasn't socialized around those noises and crowds as a puppy still does fine with it and was happy to run and focus on me.
MPbandmom
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by MPbandmom »

Way to go Lucy!

Thanks to my unexpected day off today and OH's comment of, "what are we going to do on your time off?" Today we took an impromptu trip over to Skyline Drive. We also took the dogs along :mrgreen: and went for a little hike with them in the mountains. OH laughed at me when I asked the park ranger if she could suggest a flatish short walk of between a mile or two. Something about me being crazy to come to the mountains and then ask for a flat walk. :lol: (I happened to know that there are some routes that are more flat than others and I didn't think OH (or I) would be up for anything steep. She came up with a very reasonable trail although OH did have a bit of a rough spot and said he couldn't walk up the hill and handle Sirius at the same time. I was glad that on a whim, I had left both dogs' tuglines on my walkabelt. When I did it I was thinking a little extra bungee strength for Sky, but it worked out perfectly because I could take Sirius off of OH and add her to the walkabelt. One thing I was surprised about was the difference in having Sky pulling while going uphill, and her not pulling uphill. I have been thinking about maybe getting OH a walkabelt for Sirius for Christmas, but with his back issues and wearing a back brace when we walk, I'm not sure that would be a good idea.

Tomorrow I will be taking Sky solo for a bikejor trip with some members of the sammy club. The person I was hoping would run Sky, while I ran Sirius decided to pass on that opportunity. Something about Sky sounding like too much of an adventure to run. :lol: I feel like I have to give full disclosure to anyone who may be considering attaching one of my dogs to their bicycle or scooter, so that they cam make a fully informed decision as to whether they want to play that game or not. I'm not sure if it was my description of Sky doing sudden u-turns to visit babies in strollers, my dogs' hatred of all red dogs, or my description of how I hold her to allow dogs coming face towards us to pass, that made her decide to run a well trained sammy instead. :lol: Any of the other things Sky could potentially do on the trail like going after wildlife and stopping suddenly, this individual has lots of experience dealing with, even some that Sky hasn't pulled yet, like suddenly running down the embankment of the canal. This person even stayed upright when the dogs took off down the embankment and captured the whole thing on video. :D
Grammy to Sky and Sirius, who came to live with me, stole my heart, and changed my life forever as I took over their care and learned how to be a dog owner.
JudyN
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Re: What are you and your dogs up to today? Part 2

Post by JudyN »

This morning's walk took us down the trailway back from the woods - I usually avoid it as Jasper can be a bit iffy meeting other dogs down there, but we kept to the wide parts of the path with good 'pull-off' areas and I was well armed with liver cake.

All went well until we saw a man approaching with a small fluffy dog who Jasper in his terrible angry young dog days had decided was 'the enemy' - and he still views him as such. I led him off the side of the path and waved liver cake under his nose. We were doing OK - he would swing his head round to look at the dog, but when I stuck liver cake under his nose he'd swing it back round to me so he could have the liver cake. The man drew alongside - and stopped to talk about our dogs :lol: Jasper started to grumble and growl and I had to tell the man rather abruptly just to go on past before he kicked off :roll:

Shortly after, having gone back on to the road, we passed a house with a dog in the front garden who barked at Jasper. Jasp & I just looked at each other, I said 'He's a silly dog, isn't he?' and Jasper agreed with me and totally ignored him. It's funny how they can have such strong opinions about particular dogs :lol:
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
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