Papillon Kisses

Unrelated to your weight question, but I’m sure your dog would love eating from puzzle bowls, food dispensing toys, DIY enrichment games and the like.

Out of those two, Delta, but you could also consider Karen Pryor Academy and CASI. PS. I have personal experience with NDTF too.

Hi! I also have an anxious dog and agree with Tassie & Snook, they’ve given some great advice. I just wanted to mention that there are a number of vet behaviour consultants, or whatever they are calling themselves these days, in WA. There are those listed here plus Dr Gibb Macdonald at Morley Vet and Dr Nichola Frampton at Perth Veterinary Behaviour Service. Hope this helps!

I was genuinely concerned he was going to crash in parts I loved the tunnel under his handler’s legs though.

Has he had a thorough vet check? It could be a medical problem.

Awwww PS. I keep equating your name to LMAO.

... nup.

Ok so you need some help with technique. See if there’s a trainer near you who can help with “cooperative care” and “counter conditioning and desensitisation” (you will need to ask). PPGA and Delta are good places to look for trainers. You’re best to see a vet who can tell you if she needs a dental treatment before you get started with toothbrushing.

Nothing you can do at home beats toothbrushing, it’s the gold standard. But if your dog needs a dental under GA, then it needs a dental under GA. If your mouth is painful you’re not going to want people poking around in it and bones will also hurt for that matter, but if you’re a dog you’ll keep eating until your mouth is extremely rotten and you’ve decided that death is a better option (not hyperbole). You also can’t remove disease that’s under the gumline without them being anaesthetised. It sounds like you’ve heard some scaremongering about dental surgery... it’s honestly routine surgery for dogs unless a specialist is needed.

Fantastic!! Onwards and pupwards!

Are you doing much for his stress? You could try Adaptil, Zylkene, Through A Dog’s Ear music, TTouch wrap, gentle massage. Just throwing out ideas.

Unsure if someone has mentioned this already but you could measure out some kibble and store it in the same container as stinky food and it will take on some flavour or appetising scent without having to feed that food to her specifically. You could have the stinky food in a container on top of the kibble so it doesn’t touch it if that’s a concern. Re fiber you could ask your vet about a supplement. Ours currently has Mal trying unflavoured Metamucil.

It’s a potentially fatal condition caused by sudden shifts in the electrolytes that help the body metabolise food, after food is reintroduced following a period of malnourishment or starvation.

Out of interest do you need to be worried about refeeding syndrome in these cases? It sounds like she’s landed on her feet!

I’d recommend calling or emailing your VB to update them. They may be able to move your appointment forward. Your trainer could help too, even if just with improving your management.

http://www.gulfcoasthumanesociety.org/blog/socialization-vs-exposure

You have to wait until it completely defrosts to open the packet, otherwise it would be wet. Hence freezing in portions. Oh and make sure it’s well sealed.

Do you have freezer space? Malcolm’s old prescription kibble only came in 8kg bags which = 160 days, so I froze it in weekly portions. It’d have been well and truly stale if I hadn’t.

Yeah, fly catching can be neurological, gastrointestinal, behavioural (canine compulsive disorder) and perhaps other things, so pup needs a full workup at a vet, ideally one knowledgeable about behaviour and illnesses that can have an impact on it. Malcolm has canine compulsive disorder (OCD) but a different form. If it’s that then enrichment – particularly calming enrichment like scenting species appropriate enrichment like calming scent activities and working for food* – is important as it is for all dogs, but it’s not enough. That’s like telling someone with OCD to just go to yoga class, journal and get some adult colouring-in books. Mal gets a lot of enrichment and K9 Nosework has been particularly beneficial, but it’s just one component. There’s all the behaviour modification work like determining anxiety triggers and addressing them, training relaxation (genuine relaxation, not sit/stay exercises), training a positive interrupter, rewarding incompatible behaviours, managing his environment, reducing overall anxiety/arousal, and crucially medical treatment in the form of anxiety (anti-obsessional) medication. So you need to get an accurate diagnosis first. But if it is behavioural then this calls for a comprehensive behaviour modification plan and most likely medication, not just enrichment. *an easy one is to scatter small pieces of food over the lawn for him to hunt out. Things like this where he has to use his nose and brain are better for his mental health than long games of fetch.

Sorry to hear that. Can confirm that RC has a renal diet.

I’m pretty sure that’s illegal.

Marlena de Martini has an online separation anxiety course. Agree with Adaptil but Zylkene may be more effective than tryptophan supplements. Please talk to your vet if behaviour mod, management, enrichment, over the counter stuff aren’t enough.

Double check that you are correctly following the instructions for the antibiotics.

If you’re after a kennel situation, Akuna Pet Resorts was recommended to me by a number of vets and trainers (I have a special needs dog), but the owners and therefore procedures may have changed. Worth looking into. At the time when we enquired due to a similar problem, they did not share kennels/runs/yard time/walks unless with family and the general design was good for a kennel. It’s like a private room with a grassed run at the rear and some of the yards are paneled so dogs don’t have to see others.

Fences!!!! But also the vets you’ve spoken to are wrong re nothing being able to be done if your dog wasn’t properly socialised to loud noises, storms, etc by 4 weeks. Patently wrong. They clearly know NOTHING about learning theory and phobias. You need to find yourself a veterinary behaviourist and a reward-based trainer aka not someone who is going to use shock collars, sprays, any of those aversives. You don’t make a dog feel better about scary things by hurting them. What country are you in? And please get good fences before your dog is run over!