Papillon Kisses

I'm really struggling with the protocol of late. Malcolm seemed to be going from strength to strength and we completed Task 6, but since then he's been brilliant one day and falling apart the next. We're currently adjusting his meds so hopefully that will help. I feel like I'm somehow screwing it up though, and impeding his recovery in the process.

Pleased to hear it Taliecat. I hope you soon feel better, too. -- Malcolm's Nosework class went well last night. My goodness does he get excited. He was scratching at the car door to get out, when usually he'd be fixating on his reflection in the car windows and launching into a tirade. I think practicing being in the car at night around such an exciting activity may be helping him, in addition to his medication and everything else. He gives the odd anxious look and starts seeking out his reflection if I'm too slow putting on his calming cap, but he's able to be redirected instead of getting stuck. The other two dogs had big metal buckets in their field, and we modified it for Malcolm by having a little tin with a black lid that did not reflect too much light. He found the food on it straight away and zoomed on by. :) He is funny to watch. He makes these little snorting sounds when he's close to finding the source. :laugh:

Sonya Bevan is another behavioural trainer who doesn't run classes but can make recommendations. :) http://www.dogcharming.com.au

How are things going Stitch?

Bless. :) Do you have a name picked out yet?

Oh Swain she is gorgeous.

One might say they're not just welcome, but mandatory. :D

Here's some excerpts from a beginner's class: I set up some boxes in our living room tonight (thanks Bunnings!) and I was amazed at just how much more difficult it was for Malcolm to complete a search with the gas heater on. I wasn't sure whether it would be easier or harder, it was definitely a lot harder!

We kept our papillon's bed as a backup when Malcolm came along, but the backup quickly became the bed of choice! Or at least the choice when sharing mine wasn't on offer. :laugh: I felt a little weird at first? Perhaps a touch of sadness. But I moved on quickly when it came to the bed. It wasn't a treasured keepsake by any means and to be honest, Malcolm responding negatively did not occur to me. It is sweet that you thought of that for your puppy. To be honest what terrified me the most was the idea of Malcolm desecrating our old boy's grave, however he has never even walked over it. I am sorry for your losses.

Oh that's an awesome update Thistle! And thanks for sharing the BAT stuff too. Is it just me or does it get a bit confusing when you get into the finer details? Anyway, I'm always a sucker for Lili Chin's graphics. :) Thanks Snook. I'm very proud of him. I'm going to email the instructor, as she gave out her details. They are good with modifying things for anxious dogs, I just need to help them better understand and speak up if I don't think something will be ok.

Oh look

Love the head snap. :D

Not my dog guys!! My parents' puppy. I have no problem remembering when to give MY dog his plethora of pills and potions, I just have recurring calendar events on my phone with alarms. Anyway, my parents have decided to go with the tablets/chews instead of the injection, but Dad is going to set reminders in his outlook calendar and ensure it gets done. If Mum were in charge she'd probably hit snooze/stop and forget about it as she's a goose that way. I like the sound of that app though, angry red reminders may do the trick. :D

Hmmm, no I think I understand, they don't have a Noseworks class and you're just waiting until you can do tracking with the teacher you want? I only know of one place that regularly runs Noseworks classes in Vic, Helping Hounds in the Mornington Penninsula. The Spotted Devil might know more. It looks like Scent Dogs Australia run workshops in Melbourne. Once you have the basics you can play Nosework in your house or anywhere you go.

Haha, thanks for the clarification. I was going to say that I have a lot of difficulty telling apart very young puppies of different breeds. He's a cutie. I love a good butterfly mask. :D

Perhaps they have some sort of generic scent detection class that is neither noseworks or tracking, because imposing eligibility criteria and banning dogs is not Noseworks at all. One of the main premises (?) of Nosework is that it is open to ALL dogs whether young, old, reactive, mobility impaired, psychologically impaired, etc. For a lot of reactive dogs, mine included, it's the only regular dog training class they can do — and these are the dogs who stand to benefit the most from doing Nosework. It makes me sad that dogs who would benefit from Noseworks are being needlessly prohibited from it.

He is 13 weeks. The vet said something about giving him a shot now and then a booster at 6 months... something about puppies outgrowing the vaccine. I just have several calendar reminders in my phone for Mal's heart and intestinal worming. What is the name of the app you use?

Nosework is based on detection dog training and the dog finds hidden target odours in different environments, which could be indoors or outdoors. In tracking, a scent trail is laid out which the dog has to follow to get to the end. Snap silentchild. :laugh:

Although both are scent related, noseworks is different from tracking and does not have any obedience requirements. :)

What sort of puppy are you getting Rozzie?

I saw a St Bernard at Bunnings who was turned away as he didn't have a muzzle and couldn't fit in a trolley. ????

This is wonderful news, Scottsmum!

Bumping up a SUPER old thread today. My parent's toy poodle pup had his first checkup with their/our vet today. The vet wanted to give the heartworm injection but his person who bred his mum repeated to me a half dozen times over two phone calls NOT to give it to him. However, this same vet recommended that I don't give the injection to my dog as he has an autoimmune disorder and there was some data about it potentially being bad for such dogs AND MORE IMPORTANTLY she trusted that I would remember to remember to give him the tablets. She was prepared to give my dog the jab as she said it was perfectly safe, but that it may be safer to do the tablets since I could be trusted to remember them. In other words, as per below, the risk of no coverage is worse than any risks associated with the vaccine, even for a dog with an autoimmune disorder. My parents were terrible at remembering our papillon's heartworm tablets so they're going to have keep that in mind. I'd be interested to hear others' views on the matter. The health risks of obesity are overwhelming to dogs. How many vets will tell a dog owner that their dog is too fat. I'll tell you it ain't many. You know what I think? I think a lot of vets would be advocating the injection because they weigh the risks of no coverage of heartworm against the risk of the jab and decide in favour of the jab. And if they assess a pet dog owner as being unlikely to ensure that their dogs get heartworm protection by any other means, then I agree with them. But for a dedicated dog owner who's prepared to avoid the injection and use a LOWER RISK option - why wouldn't you?? I completely agree with TW! I also think vets are so used to treating to the lowest common denominator that unless you walk in with "dedicated dog owner" tattooed on your forehead a vet will recommend the 12mth injection.

Thanks Steve. :)

I'm not even in a border town and I don't travel with Malcolm, but seeing posts about dogs who went missing or were stolen and wound up in other states, and even hearing from my own vet about people bringing home lost dogs found on holidays, I didn't want to risk it. I did some research on DOL and Central Animal Records came up as a good option. I also liked that I could change my details online. I'd still keep them on the NSW database even if it's not a legal requirement (I feel like it might be?) as I can imagine some NSW people not bothering to check other registries if they couldn't read the chip. Edited to add that I've seen recommendations not to add dogs to all/too many registries as you may forget to update them all.