Papillon Kisses

How are you getting on with her shots? Any improvement in her response?

Based on what Tuft’s is saying I would stick with a commercial diet but supplement with fresh food, in particular high fibre food, that is kept consistent. You can switch up how it is given with enrichment activities. https://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2020/01/whats-the-best-diet-for-my-dog-with-diabetes/

You could try AAMBR https://www.aambr.com/care And in the Pet Professional Guild Australia directory, go to the advanced search, select state is VIC, then click the relevant items under pet care services and see who is in your area. https://www.ppgaustralia.net.au/Member-Search?&tab=2 A lot of the people in the PPGA directory are also force free trainers, so if needed they could help you with an enrichment plan and any training she might need for apartment living, e.g. using a toileting area, navigating lifts, being ok with noise from neighbouring units or hallways, and building up her alone time. If you ever need veterinary help for behaviour (e.g. anxiety, dementia) or pain, I can highly recommend Dr Kat Gregory at Creative Animal Solutions. She has further qualifications in veterinary behaviour, and anaesthesia & critical care (and therefore analgesia), and has lots of experience with GSP. https://www.creativeanimalsolutions.com Might as well throw in this resource for you too. https://caninearthritis.co.uk/ I’d consider also whether supports could be put in place in the home. If someone came every day to do the yard clean up, a walk or other enrichment activity, feeding, and grooming as required, could they stay at home together?

Reminds me of this http://www.friendsofthedog.co.za/uploads/6/0/9/1/6091047/he_just_wants_to_say_hi.pdf

I feel the need to clarify that we want a DOG photo not a poo sleep nugget photo.

Welcome! I would go straight to a force free (also called rewards-based or positive) dog trainer. It’s easy to accidentally sensitise rather than desensitise our dogs despite best intentions. They can teach you lots of good things like how to read your dog’s body language, how to keep them under threshold, how to change how they feel about seeing other dogs using positive reinforcement methods (this in turn changes how they react), management skills for walks, and do some controlled setups with other dogs. Pet Professional Guild Australia is the best place to look for a trainer IMO. Either enter your suburb into the visual directory, or if using the advanced directory I find it best to stick with your state rather than being too specific with location. https://www.ppgaustralia.net.au/find-a-professional I see you’re in Tasmania. If you’re near Glenorchy, Everydog appear to have a suitable reactive dog course. I’m liking what I read on their website. It’s good to ask questions though. I like Jean Donaldson’s Transparency Challenge, example of answers from another Australian trainer: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NMTrHqfTMSI If everyone is too far away from you I know some online options. In the interim, choose times and places where you’re less likely to encounter other dogs on walks, and increase your distance well in advance if you do - don’t wait until your dog reacts as he inevitably will do. Don’t go to busy places, dog parks, visit other dogs, etc. We don’t want our dogs to keep practicing the behaviour or have bad experiences undo future training efforts. Practice makes them better at it, and they’re not having a good time when they feel they have to react that way either. If you’re stuck for suitable walking places, it’s totally ok not to go out and just bump up their at home enrichment. Lots of ideas over at the Canine Enrichment group on Facebook. The video below one of my favourite skills which you could start teaching at home if you’re so inclined. When used on walks, it taught my dog that he could move away himself to get the distance he wanted from another dogs, rather than trying to barky-lunge the other dog away. But with all these skills you want to first get them fluent at home, in the yard, and on walks when no one’s around. Don’t go looking for other dogs to practice against! Another favourite skill of mine is sniffing on cue. Hope this helps and enjoy your new family member. It’s a learning curve at the start when having a reactive dog, but they are worth it.

Now reunited!

Aussie Dog Products has a bunch of tough toys but they are unlikely to be cheap as built to last. If you’re on Facebook, join the Canine Enrichment group and search for the ‘tough toys’ post and check out the DIY enrichment posts e.g. shredding cardboard, digging in an approved area of the garden, tossing his kibble or semi moist food on the grass to sniff out, walks where he gets to choose the direction and sniff to his heart’s content. Note: worthwhile having your pup’s teeth checked for malocclusions when you’re next at the vet. Sometimes dogs chew to extreme amounts because every time they close their mouth their teeth are stabbing into their gums, so having things in their mouth gives relief. I once saw a case where emergency vets had to remove a huge chefs knife that a staffy with the condition had swallowed. Owners had assumed it was just a staffy being a staffy.

I like to imagine a world where health data is taken into account at shows and given high priority. Example: you have whatever is deemed flashy at that point in time but your hip score is trash? Too bad, so sad, you can’t even enter the competition.

It is suspicious for spinal nerve pain to me; we saw this with Malcolm but he was urinating instead. Sometimes vets trial analgesia (suspect gabapentin or pregabalin in this case) to see if it has any impact. If it does, there’s your answer.

There was not one but two highly skilled and experienced vet behaviourists involved in this case. No one should be thinking they know more than the actual professionals who were on the case. I am sick of people getting pitchforks out for behavioural euthanasia. No one wants to euthanise otherwise healthy dogs.

Yup. Adrenaline sends dogs through and then they get stuck on the other side, not wanting to hurt themselves to go home. It’s a big problem in the USA where invisible fences are more common. I would be fencing a house/dog yard and saying no to shock collars.

With Malcolm who had autoimmune diseases and other problems I was simply told not to give the Proheart shot and instead give tablets. This was on the basis of (a) his illnesses and (b) that I could be relied upon not to forget the heart/intestinal wormers.

Pretty sure our BV said that was the case a couple months ago but I may have got mixed up with prescription diets which definitely need a script.

For the main part people are confusing correlation with causation, but again flea and tick drug choice is something to discuss with a vet as they know your dog’s medical history and environment. In the USA you can’t even buy any flea, tick or worming products or prescription diets without a vet script. https://www.yourvetonline.com/flea-and-tick-treatments-kill/

https://lauraivesdesign.com/portfolio/for-fun/ watercolour (scroll down to see my Malcolm)

Two possibilities with the soaking are drooling so much in fear that she was soaked (can happen), or going outside in an attempt to escape and get to people for comfort. The latter is one reason why videoing is important when assessing for separation-related distress… you can discover that the anxiety trigger is something else.

Hi, I’m not from that area but NSW council websites are usually good places to find that sort of info. This is Bateman’s Bay council. https://www.esc.nsw.gov.au/residents/pets/dog-friendly-beaches-and-areas

Coincidentally just saw this on Facebook. Fireworks phobias are treated much the same as storm phobia. This is their website for pet owners https://www.fearfreehappyhomes.com

The number one thing for storm phobia is anti-anxiety medication (NOT acepromazine/ace/acp) so it’s great you have got onto that. Other things you can do include: - Providing free access (don’t lock in) to their safe space, e.g. some dogs like to hide in the wardrobe, bathroom, under the lounge, in an open crate, or be with you in bed. - Adaptil if it helps - Counter conditioning games (clap of thunder = throw high value treat; the order matters) - Keep lights on to mask lightning - Mask noise with dog relaxation music e.g. through a dog’s ear - Thundershirt or ttouch wrap if it helps your dog (assess body language) - Comfort your dog if they want it. You cannot reinforce fear. Some dogs enjoy firm massage. - Don’t give any supplements without checking with your vet. Many are contraindicated with anxiety medication and a lack of quality control and evidence base can be another issue. - See a Behaviour Vet if you don’t make progress with your regular vet. Like a human psychiatrist, they have a lot more knowledge and experience with anxiety medications. For the lawn mowing: I initially took my dog on a walk when doing our own lawns so he was away from it when it was at its loudest/closest (see this article about thresholds). Over time as his fear improved he was able to be home so long as he didn’t see the monster.For neighbours mowing, I did some of the above (masking noise, closing windows, playing with food toys to form a positive association with the noise, cuddles in bed). If you’re close with your immediate neighbours, you could ask if they could send you a text half an hour or so before mowing so you can make tracks if you need to. Alternatively/additionally it can help to have containers of high value treats or favourite toys dotted around the house so they’re at hand for tossing whenever something happens. My dog also took an everyday (rather than situational) medication for generalised anxiety disorder which helped tremendously in treating his noise sensitivity. The amount of progress made once we added that in was astounding. A force free trainer who does behaviour consults can help with a behaviour modification plan for these fears if you would like additional help. These two websites are good places to look: Pet Professional Guild Australia and Delta Society. Hope this helps!

This website https://caninearthritis.co.uk may help you as well as their accompanying Facebook page and groups. Sending love to Hugo!

They can be combined but speak to your vet/nurse in case it’s not recommended for your dog or if they have special instructions for your area. I’m aware that some have been giving different dose schedules. Nexgard is another option (same goes for that re checking).

Vets make very little off medication. What you are seeing is (a) their lack of buying power, and (b) the fact that the pharmaceutical benefits scheme does not cover animals. An option may be to get a script from your vet. Expect a fee for the work that is involved with this as it’s not just a scribble; ours was usually around $20-$25. If it’s a medication that humans also take, then you can have it filled at a human discount chemist. If it’s a pet-only medication then there are a number of online pet chemists that may be cheaper. Some medications are compounded, in which case prices can especially differ between compound pharmacies but quality control needs to be considered alongside that. As for other things to do alongside analgesia, check out Canine Arthritis Management including their Facebook page and groups. Best wishes!