Papillon Kisses

Too cute. :D

How is Marshall? What are his favourite things to do? PS he's adorable as always! Love that black ear. :)

Thanks for explaining that Perse. I had wondered about that! We were in Tasmania in June and another thing we noticed is that lambs and sheep had been recently shorn even though it was quite cold. Is there a reason for that too?

Wow what a cutie!

I'm not in the position to get another dog, but I always love reading the Saturday Senior. Golden oldies are so precious. Thanks LabTested (and others) for highlighting them. :)

I am on Sunday. :)

That's such a wonderful update!! Go Thistle and mum!! :D

I will PM you. It's a secret group (hidden from searches) so you need to be added by an existing member.

Do it!!!

Thanks Taliecat and Snook. :D The heeling was so adorable, I'm still smiling when I think about it. It was that happy, high-footed, gaze into the chicken giver's eyes with adoration, prancy type. :laugh: Properly happy on a walk! Fancy that.

Poor little mite. Could you get the amitriptyline in liquid form, weigh him weekly, and adjust the dose to suit based on instructions from the vet? I have it on good authority (Malcolm's, lol) that chicken flavoured medication is super tasty.

Best group on Facebook!

My dog is on Prozac for Generalised Anxiety Disorder and Canine Compulsive Disorder (aka OCD) and like others have said above it's the best thing I've ever done for him. At the right dose there are no apparent side effects. He's not sedated, a zombie, or a diminished version of his former self. It hasn't turned him into little more than a piece of furniture or do anything else you may be fearing. He is the best version of himself! I wish I had known that he needed to see a veterinary behaviourist before his anxiety rapidly spiraled. I spent seven years doing behaviour modification alone for individual triggers and I was successful with that, but it's only now with medication that he's globally making progress and at a much faster rate: anxiety inhibits learning. Mental illness often first presents itself at sexual maturity in both humans and dogs, and, as with humans, good early treatment produces the best outcomes. It is extraordinarily rare for untreated mental illness to go away by itself: it usually gets worse and damages the brain in the process. So please don't delay, and instead of just seeing your regular vet please book a consult with a veterinary behaviourist. They have the specialist knowledge to arrive at a proper diagnosis(es) and prescribe the best treatment for your dog, which will include a behaviour modification plan (training) and potentially medication or other treatments. If medication is prescribed be aware that you may need to trial different types or doses. For example too much Prozac makes my dog not himself whereas at the right dose he shines. Let's us know how it goes?

Yes, your dog's quality of life will improve if you get him help for his anxiety. If your dog needed insulin because his pancreas wasn't functioning properly would you be "loathe" to give that to him? If your dog is suffering from anxiety his brain isn't functioning properly and he deserves treatment which may include medication. See a veterinary behaviourist, follow their instructions, and watch your dog's quality of life improve tenfold.

Just gave the alternate cutting method a try, so we'll see what happens! I did quick him badly on one nail. I noticed in the video that Susan Garret mentioned that she prefers one particular styptic pencil. What do you guys use? The one I have says its from Tyco Healthcare and also has Surgipack written on it. I don't find it particularly helpful. ????

We shall see. If it's not clomicalm there's probably something else suitable, I just know our VB wants something else added. And we still have Prozac on board which has been transformative. We had a number of wins yesterday: - Loud lawn mower, whipper snipper, hedging equipment: checked in with me a few times with a concerned look, but mainly worked on a bone or relaxed on his bed. No freak outs! - Relaxation protocol: minor reactivity but no intense, wired look or shaking. Not even a tremble! - Walking: non-reactive to all but one dog barking, and the one that did cause concern just led to him increasing the pace without even a whimper! I was also able to recall him at times and get a very nice heel (he loose-leash walks but I don't insist on heeling as such). Previously he's been too anxious on walks to care about food rewards and would tune out. - Smoke alarm sounding when I hadn't preemptively taken him upstairs: looked up, barked three times, rested his head again!!! His smoke alarm phobia was so bad that he back-chained it step by step to chopping boards coming out at night time. Huge progress. - Lights/Shadows: one incident of seeking out reflections and attacking a wall, but his body relaxed and he let out a big sigh about 30sec after I covered his head. And it's not surprising that his OCD came out to play a bit after he had been tested more throughout the day. So we're getting there. :) Ahhhh, more barking tonight. Oh well. We'll get there.

Thanks for that. I have a lot of trouble getting my dog's nails down to an acceptable length. Can't get the quicks to recede despite frequent trimming. Will try that method!

Add me to the chorus of not mutually exclusive! My dog doesn't have separation anxiety (thank the heavens). Sometimes we find him asleep in his kennel, but he usually welcomes us home by coming up to us with a happy face, a wagging tail and a loose, wriggley body. He doesn't jump up on us either, but he does run up a couple of stairs to get to a better patting position (he's tiny), which we have reinforced by obliging him after we put our things down. :laugh: I'm sure your friendly, non-anxious greeting will come in time. Well done on your awesome start to puppy raising, too. :)

They're both great but I particularly like the first. :)

Thanks Snook, and how awesome is it that you can expand your walking times! Malcolm's coming completely off Trazodone. Each time we've reduced the dose he's improved, so it looks like it isn't for him. Not sure what's to follow at this stage but I think it might be Clomicalm pending clearance from his Addison's Disease specialist.

My Daughter just moved to a townhouse with a small yard and owners were happy to Allow her Greyhound.. That is awesome! Unfortunately many schemes will flatout refuse larger dogs, not taking into account the individual breed and their general traits, the temperament and age of the dog in question, and most importantly responsible ownership. Meanwhile there are little dogs who would rather not be locked up in units for many hours without mental and physical stimulation. It's a one size does not fit all approach.

Housing is being downsized and there are more strata properties. The strata schemes which allow dogs tend to restrict size at up to 10kgs, because dogs under 10kg don't bark and have low energy requirements, while anything larger would automatically be a nuisance. Eye roll, eye roll, severe sarcasm, etc etc.

Do you think she may have been stressed by the property damage too? I have a tendency to blame myself when Malcolm worsens but there's usually more to the story. Please don't let a bad day/days get in the way of seeing how much progress you've both made. Remember this? That's your girl only five days ago .

Thank you, TSD. I appreciate your feedback and support. Malcolm has since had two better days in a row, and better days mean the protocol is more manageable too. I also took him back a number of tasks, but I don't think that was the trigger as on his bad days he can't even sit for more than a couple of seconds without shaking and having an intense, wired looked about him. Perhaps the med adjustment is kicking in. I'll try to work out how to record us both. I've recorded some trick training and CC/DS by hand which was insightful, but you miss out on a chunk of data when the camera's only pointed at the dog.

FYI that article is behind a paywall.