Michelleva

The hair has all grown back and its not oily at all. If you rub the skin, she has flaky white bits that go through the coat, it really looks like dandruff.

Hi Melissa, She's improved a lot. She still has moments of anxiety that appear to come from nowhere but she is better able to calm herself down now. I can tell when she's getting stressed when we're out on a walk, because she starts pulling on the leash really hard, most of the time I just keep walking and ignore it but if it goes on too long I will stop and get her to sit and talk to her quietly. That gets her back out of her head. Last week I took her to a pet shop to get her out of her comfort zone, I did medicate her before I left, but she did really well. She sat for a treat there and she even walked up to a little girl who was in love with her. Oh and we've been teaching her some new stuff. She can now sit, drop, shake and she almost has roll.. Things are looking very positive for Miss Boo Boo now.

Hi Steve, I have a foster sheltie here who has very dry skin, it mostly down near her tail. She was groomed before I got her, and she had bald patches, because there was matted hair. But still after a couple of months the skin is still quite dry. If you rub it or brush the fur, it looks like dandruff through it. I've been giving her flaxseed capsules with her dinner and her coat itself looks quite healthy. Do you think the tea rinse would help? ETA - I haven't washed her, as I was concerned it would dry the skin further.

Thanks for your feedback guys. I didn't mean to start a debate over the type of leads, although I'm not a fan of them at all. I believe its not appropriate for the size of the dog. I have thought about reporting him to the council, the problem is I have no idea where he lives and I have no plans to follow him. I have no idea if the dog is aggressive to humans at all, I've never got that close. And he seems to walk all different times of day, like me. Because I work from home, I sometimes walk at 7am, sometimes lunch time and sometimes after dinner. He's definitely clueless, I spotted him chatting on his mobile casually wandering the streets with this dog, when it went mental he dropped the phone and desperately tried to gain some sort of control over it. One of the shelties is a foster who suffers from anxiety, so I need to keep her away from stressful situations as much as possible. I've already started walking in a different direction, its a bit of a pain because its the way we walk to our favourite park but the safety of me, my son and my dogs is more important than being inconvenienced.

The last couple of months nearly everytime I walk my dogs (2 shelties) I come across a guy who is walking two dogs, one is a rottweiller and the other looks like a beagle or something. Since the first time I crossed their path, I'm terrified that something bad is going to happen. I don't know if he dislikes all other dogs, but he definintely doesn't like Georgia. The guy is walking this rottweiller on an extendable lead and every time I've seen it, its reared up on its back legs and doing everything it can to try and reach my dog. The dog is deseperately trying to get control of the dog by yelling at it, etc and it doesn't hear anything he says. Last night I saw it direct that aggression at the other dog of his. It was on top of it and just going for it. I had no intention of stopping, because I'm absolutely terrified of whats going to happen when that extendable lead breaks. Those things are bloody dangerous, that dog is at least 2 - 3 metres away from the guy everytime it starts going feral. I was want to point out I have nothing against the dog or the breed, but the owner is a fool. And the dog is an accident waiting to happen, I just hope it doesn't happen to my dogs. If I see this guy in the distance, I will always avoid them by changing directions, crossing the road, whatever, its just not worth it. Its starting to make me scared to take the dogs out for a walk though.

I normally feed them once a day, Georgia puts on weight really easily, so I try and keep it down because she has knee issues. But the same amount of food, just divided into two could help matters too. That could be the key - perhaps she is not quite as hungry and less prone to be over-excited? Do you feed once or twice a day? I feed morning and evening - keeps blood sugar levels even and gives him something to look forward to :) It sounds like she is coming along wonderfully now she is back with you :)

Ok so I took your advice hankdog and read through the TOT program, I thought there's no time like the present. I did it first with Georgia and then with Bonnie. Funny enough Bonnie looked at me a lot earlier than Georgia, but both dogs hated being tied up on their own in the yard. I suspect tomorrow they'll have an idea whats coming next though, so may not be so scared. On the upside Bonnie didn't bark at me once demanding her food, that in itself is a huge improvement. So thanks for the tip.

I will definitely check out the triangle of temptation, thanks. Georgia knows the look command, so I will work on that with Bonnie too. The problem is once she knows you have a treat in your hand she goes ballistic with excitement. She's smart though because she's already learnt that if she doesn't sit calmly in front of me, there are no pats or rewards. Now everywhere I go, Bonnie will sit in front of me and wait for her pat, its pretty cute.

I took the girls to their favourite park today. They were both full of smiles. What I find amazing is they are both the same breed, but have very different faces. Bonnie is much more collie looking to me, her snout is noticably longer. ETA - dinner time was much more successful today. I decided to try feeding them earlier and it made a huge difference. I fed them around 4pm and the excitement level was greatly reduced. Bonnie didn't carry on at all when we ate a couple of hours later. I think we're going to get there. :D Tonight my daughter and I took Bonnie to Petbarn as they were having a sale. It was a good excuse to get her out and about and experiencing things again and stock up on cat food, dog food and treats. She was quite anxious, but she approached a girl for a pat, so that was nice to see. If people talk nicely to her, she will generally approach them and sit at their feet, waiting for a pat. I didn't medicate her before I went and she was 100% calm as soon as she walked in the door again. Way to go Boo Boo

That is really interesting, I was always taught that a yawning dog (excluding obviously sleepy yawns) was a dog experiencing conflict. Did he mean that yawning was a way for dogs in that state to attempt to lessen stress levels? And that yawning was infectious so that hopefully it would be transferred to the stressed dog? Thought provoking that it works for one of your dogs but not the other. Michaela, you are doing brilliantly. I have always found that the "cold shoulder" is the best way to react to any dog who is behaving in an unwanted way towards you. Perfect for teaching self-control at dinner time (although TOT also works very well with that). If only we could also use it when the dog is displaying unwanted behaviour towards something/someone else our lives would be so much easier LOL! Bonnie's training is training you to be a fantastic foster parent/rehabilitator. You will be able to share your insights with future adopters of your fosters and help them to settle the dogs down with them. Thanks, I am definiitely learning a lot as I go. Someone said she would get worse before she got better, that was yesterday with the dinner time carry on. OMG, we couldn't hear the TV over the ranting dog. But ignore her I did. I actually don't think she has much seperation anxiety anymore, its all excitement issues around food now. I can put her outside and for the most part she is totally fine. A dog with SA will not act like that. I really think more than anything its demanding behaviour and its probably a result of never having lived in a house, and learnt the house rules. I know when I get this food reaction out of her system, she's going to be an ace dog. Its taking time and patience but thats ok, luckily I'm a very patient person.

I have no idea if she knows, but she knows we love her a lot. :D She's a cheeky monkey though. She just managed to lean up against the cat scratching post a knock off a bowl of cat food for her and Georgia to gobble up. Georgia can't jump because she has a dodgy knee but there's nothing wrong with Bonnie's legs, Georgia probably thinks she's a pretty cool friend to have around. :laugh: Bonnie had a really good day yesterday, she just got demanding when we were having dinner. She barked at us, she tried to jump up on me and generally acted very silly. I ended up crating her, but she still carried on. I ignored it all, and attempted to get my hubby to ignore her too. It took her a while to settle down before she got her dinner, but hopefully the message will get through soon.

This sums up how Bonnie is feeling today, very happy and content.

LOL - I meant I need you to come and train me. :laugh:

Well I feel like a big meany today, I did the hard yards and ignored everything, whether it was anxiety or excitement. I crated her for a while before dinner, she did go into an excitable tiz, she was carrying on even when I got our dinner ready. But I ignored it all. Finally I got the dogs dinner, Georgia was nice and calm and got hers. Then she went outside, then I got Bonnie out. She barked, whined and carried on. I just stood there, made no eye contact, didn't say a word, just stood there. Surprisingly, it didn't last long and I asked her to sit. After a minute or so, she did sit so I put the bowl down and I put my hand in front of her face and said in my bossiest voice, STAY and she did. Then I released her and let her eat. She too went outside after dinner and had another melt down, but again it was demanding/excitement type behaviour. And again I ignored her. After she settled down, I bought them back in. It was a tough thing to do, but I believe she needs some tough love. Hopefully tomorrow goes a little smoother.

Bonnie does act similarly to Tempeh with the attention seeking, but she's not barking at me. Whenever she sees me from outside, she just stares at me, wheras Georgia just ignores me and goes about her business. The yawning thing is interesting and something else I didn't know. I'll have to keep that one in the old memory bank. Nice try Shelby and DD, if I can whip this one into shape I'll be impressed, let alone training others.

Mita, thats great advice and pretty much the conclusion I came to myself today. When I got back from the gym she went mental, but hypo excited mental. So I let her out of the crate and completely ignored her. She tried to get my attention by nudging me with that long snout and rubbing against me etc, but I thought no that sort of behaviour will not get any pats or praise from me. I've put the dogs outside because its a lovely day and Bonnie for the most part has been really calm. I've been working in the office where she can't see me and she's not panicking at all. What I do find is when Georgia is reactive/barking at whatever Bonnie gets hypo too, which is totally understandable. Bonnie's not an overly reactive dog to outside influences, but she is influenced by Georgia's behaviour. So by reigning in Georgia's excitement today, there is a sense of calm returning... phew I will try the ignoring at dinner time tonight and see how that goes. I taught Georgia to be calm at dinner time, and she's also a dog who LOVES food, so if I can do it once, I can do it again. I would definitely describe Bonnie as demanding. If I go outside and walk back in, she will barge through the door trying to beat me in, I'm not allowing her to, but she is trying to see what she can get away with, much like a toddler. I think if we nip it in the bud now, she can learn to be a well behaved pooch. I have my work cut out for me but I'm up to the challenge. :D No cute little hairy dog is going to rule me. :laugh:

That describes Bonnie to a tee at the moment. Her stay is me holding the collar while the bowl is on the floor. I think this week I need to stock up on treats and get her into a lot more training. Training one dog I can do, two dogs is very challenging, so I think I'll have to crate Georgia and give Bonnie some one on one training. At least with her being food focussed training shouldn't be too difficult. Theres's always an upside, right?

Thanks guys, tonight I walked them before dinner in an effort to drain some of the energy. And then I crated Bonnie, but she still goes nuts in the crate, just at the anticipation of dinner. I fed Georgia first in the kitchen, where Bonnie can't see her. Then I put Georgia outside and repeated the process with Bonnie. I'm attempting to teach her to sit and wait for her dinner, but the excitement level is still very high.

HELP DOLers... I have feeding time drama's going on here at the moment. When we first got Bonnie she wouldn't take food from me at all, then when she did eat she was so dainty and took her time and was really very ladylike. Since she's returned thats all changed and now she acts like a starving dog everyday at dinner time. The excitement level is off the charts with her, to the point that she will stand at the door, stare at me and bark consistantly, basically demanding her food NOW. I know its not anxiety because her ears are up, her tail is high in the air and wagging fast. She's so excited that she doesn't listen to anything I say. I do manage to get her to sit before her food, but so far can't get her to stay. Georgia knows if she doesn't sit and stay calm she doesn't get her food. I've been trying to feed them outside a few metres apart, but its not going too well. Bonnie will have a mouthful of hers, then run over to Georgia's, then run back etc. So tonight I fed them inside, I put Bonnie in the crate first, then got Georgia to sit calmly in the kitchen. Bonnie got hers in the crate and was a lot calmer than outside. I think that reduced the excitement level a fair bit. Any tips/pointers to make this easier and maybe drop the excitement level somewhat.

I have an awesome vet Leah. I've been there so many times, he treats me like one of the family. :D I haven't heard her cough once today, which is good... but better than that today is a much less anxious day for her. I got a bit panicky yesterday after the vet really noticed her anxiety levels. I started to doubt myself and my ability to help her, but today her and Georgia have spent a good 2 hours outside, anxiety free. Georgia has a habit of barking at any neighbourhood noises, like dogs or people outside etc and Bonnie responds to that by barking at the back door, and spinning. I used to think it was anxiety, but now I'm convinced its excitement because when she does it her ears are pricked forward, her tail is high and wagging furiously, she goes in a tight circle a few times. She does the same thing at dinner time. Which is very different to the circling she did at the vet yesterday. That was really circling aimlessly, it felt to me like she was looking for a way out of the situation. So the vet visit was really great for me, I think I got a bit more insight into her behaviours, which will help me to help her further. Feeling much more positive today.

Poor Bonnie has been back to the vet this morning because she's had a cough the last few days. So she's got some pills for that but the vet was more concerned about how anxious she was. She was continually circling until he picked her up and put her on the examination table. As soon as he did that, she looked calmer. He said she's a dog who will love a crate, which of course is true, but he didn't know that. She definitely feels safer in a confined space. So he's given me some valium for her, if we're taking her somewhere new or she's getting stressy I can give her one of those. His advice is to also keep up the exercise and ignore her when she's being anxious. So we have our homework to continue with her. Its so hard, one minute she's playing with Georgia and the next minute she's a nervous wreck. She definitely didn't cope with the changes in her world very well. And in the last two days, she's starting pulling like a freight train on walks, I suspect thats anxiety. She's just trying to get away, from what or who I don't know. She's done it with both me and my husband. My poor scared little girl. I really hope we can get her past this stage.

We took the girls to the beach on Sunday and Bonnie did very well for her first visit. She did get a bit scared when other dogs approached her, but she went running straight in the water without hesitation. I even had her off lead for a while and she did great, towards the end she was looking a bit overwhelmed, so I put her back on the lead to avoid her trying to do a runner. Overall, it was a positive experience for all of us. The last two days in particular Bonnie is desperately trying to play, we've even seen her bum wiggle, which is so heart-warming. She's been trying to win the cats over, its only a matter of time before she succeeds. Her and Georgia have been playing chaseys around the house of a night time. The fear is lessoning and the joy is starting to return.

Thinking of you and your hubby today, what you're doing is showing her the ultimate unconditional love, even though it hurts like hell. xo

Poor Dougal sounds a lot worse than Bonnie has ever been. If Bonnie was scared by kids running through the house for example she will retreat to her safe place and be as quiet as a mouse. I've always paid a lot of attention to her body language and I can think I can read her pretty well now. At times she will still retreat when we go to pat her, my husband was just saying today, I wonder what those mongrels did to her to make her this way. To my mind its a result of minimal human contact and socialisation but how can we ever really know. Either way its horrible what these people do to these innocent souls.

On a positive note, I've seen a massive drop in her anxiety levels in the second half of this week, so I feel we're doing alright with her. And she's starting to interact with the other members of a zoo, which is a huge positive. Because it means she's getting back to where she was when she left.