fbaudry

Wagsalot is great very reasonably priced and so fast and efficient! that's who I got my Nina Ottosson toys from...

Thank you! If Elbie is going through a chew phase, I think you should save your money for now! :D Archie (and Olaf as well for that matter) has never been a chewer so we now have way to many toys This picture was taken when he was 8 months, and I reckon now we would have double the amount of toys ;) Michelleva, yes it is the hide-a-squirrel. I think it's the "medium" size. The 'nest' would be about 20cm tall... love your sheltie BTW... I have been lurking in the sheltie thread because I think they're great little dogs! The only thing that is holding me back is the potential issue with barking Maybe one day... Milk bottles are great! I do squish and crunch them to make it a bit harder to get all the kibble out

Hey Koala I've found Wagsalot to have the most reasonable prices for both the Kyjen and Nina Ottoson toys: http://www.wagsalot.com.au/index.php?targe...;category_id=34 we now have quite a collection

I second this. I also love a new shop that only recently opened on Oxford street, Woollahra- Muttropolitan. The owner is EXTREMELY helpful. She sells Artemis at REALLY good prices and has some great other stuff. I bought a fantastic bed for Honey there the other day. I third this now how did I not know about Muttropolitan... Must go and check it out this week-end!

Oops must have posted at the same time! Click to calm is more geared towards reactive/aggressive dogs. The idea is that the instant your dog looks at another dog coming, you redirect him to watch you, then C&T. You are "calming" your dog in a sense that you are not letting the situation escalate but teach your dog to redirect. I know I am over simplifying, the book is well worth a read! The version of the relaxation protocol I work on with my behaviourist involves verbal communication (lots of it!), almost whispering in a soothing voice.

makes plenty of sense Jigsaw! the clicker is one of the many things that arouse Archie so clicking to reward calm behaviour was never an option Corvus have you looked into Karen Overall's protocol for relaxation? http://dogscouts.org/Protocol_for_relaxation.html

Hi Mickey! I can wholeheartedly recommend Kersty Seksell at SABS in Seaforth; she is a behaviourist vet and is great! Telephone: +61 2 9949 8511 Fax: +61 2 9949 6364 Address: Sydney Animal Behaviour Service 55 Ethel Street, Seaforth, NSW, 2092. Good luck with your pup!

Ditto... Dogue have been selling DD forever Bowhouse is a great shop I reckon, good range of products (including frozen meats, funky collars, beds and toys) Are you looking into doggie daycare as well? I know Dogs@Play (Crown St, Surry Hills) and For Dogs Sake (Cleveland Street, Chippendale) have a retail section. I do buy kibble (eagle pack) and the odd treats / toys / collar from Dogs@Play.

Wagsalot (another DoLer) sells the Nina Ottoson toys on her website and is superfast. I ordered the twister one day and it was delivered the next (in Sydney)... So I am not the only one who's had a pants pocket chewed through Thank you for the towel tip Aidan !

Agree once again that was not a light hearted decision and that is why we are seeing a behaviourist vet (rather than just our regular vet). And the medication is just one part of the equation and wouldn't do much on its own if not for the exercises we are doing in conjunction. We spend around 30 minutes every evening on week-days doing a protocol for relaxation, and throw in some very basic exercises for focus through the day.

Thank you Naturally Wild; yes I have Linda Tellington's book (or at least one of her books!) and have tried to apply some of the techniques to Archie. Obviously I am not a great masseur because this hasn't worked wonders. Still it is a nice thing to do when he is in a relaxed enough frame of mind, but that definitely does not address the core of his issues. SAS you are so right on that. I wish he could tell me what's wrong or what unnerves him but yet again, that wouldn't necessarily mean there is a magic cure for it (thinking of people who need to wash their hands 100 times a day, and so on...)

Hi Schnauzer, I PMed you with my long story... DAP hasn't really worked for us (especially considering the issues are exhibited both inside and outside). I completely agree with your point about training, distraction etc.... We have been doing that and going through calming exercises for over a year now but changing focus can be really hard when the mind goes into the behaviour and won't be distracted from it .

Thank you Jigsaw! ETA, nope that's not the one I was thinking of.... damn memory loss! Schnauzer, it's a long story but this dog has exhibited OCD (spinning / pacing around in circles) from his very first day with me, aged 4 months, and has always been very highly strung / unable to settle and has a very short attention span. We have been seeing a behaviourist vet every 2 months for over a year now and have been doing behaviour modification work all that time. He has improved in some areas but is still far from being 'normal'. To give you an idea of how disturbing this behaviour can be, we had our last appointment on Wednesday night and for an hour he walked around the consultation room in circles, non-stop. I was unable to distract him or get him to focus on me with treats / toys. The idea, as SAS said, is to re-wire his brain. We started on fluoxetine (Prozac) but did not notice any change at all.

just bumping from the health/nutrition thread to pick more brains Archie has been on Clomipramine for 10 months now, and his dosage has been gradually increased, so much so that we are now reaching human dose (which will be a good thing financially, if nothing else, dropping from $420 every 2 months to $55 because it doesn't have to be compounded especially for him anymore). It is a long and very slow process, and there are times when I doubt the effectiveness of his current medication. I remember someone posted a few months ago about a new medication (possibly human) now made available to dogs only recently (or maybe just about to be made available?). Of course I can't find the old thread, so would appreciate if someone could point me in the right direction as I'd really like to discuss other options with my vet. Thank you very much!

Archie has been on Clomipramine for 10 months now, and his dosage has been gradually increased, so much so that we are now reaching human dose (which will be a good thing financially, if nothing else, dropping from $420 every 2 months to $55 because it doesn't have to be compounded especially for him anymore). It is a long and very slow process, and there are times when I doubt the effectiveness of his current medication. I remember someone posted a few months ago about a new medication (possibly human) now made available to dogs only recently (or maybe just about to be made available?). Of course I can't find the old thread, so would appreciate if someone could point me in the right direction as I'd really like to discuss other options with my vet. Thank you very much!

First came Sheherazade, a rescue white Persian who followed me downunder from Dubai in 2004 She is a right princess and very lady-like Then Olaf was adopted from the Sydney Dogs Home in 2005 The sign on his cage said "not good with cats" :D Except for a bark at her through the glass door when he first came home, he's been absolutely brilliant! Then came Archie the psycho pup in 2008.... After a few weeks pretending Sheherazade didn't exist he realized she could be good fun to chase around the house. He now knows this is strongly frowned upon ;) The 3 of them get along well, greet each other etc and are left inside together with no problem whatsoever. When I creep up home to try and spy on them, I normally find them all in the same room

I feel for you BooBooBear.... But at the same time he sounds like a very clever little fellow who's trained you well Have you tried tiring him mentally by doing little training sessions / tricks learning? He is only young so can't really be exercised a lot but you might find that keeping his mind engaged and focussed will do more to tire him out than lots of arousing games (ball chasing) or exciting walks with plenty of stimuli. I did the mistake with Archie who seemingly couldn't get enough exercise; the more exercise he was getting the more "bonkers" he was from all this adrenaline rush... As the owner of a hyperactive dog myself, I can only recommend you Karen Overall's protocol for relaxation. It takes a little bit of time every day but it really helps the dog to focus on you as well as "relax" and understand he doesn't need to be on the "go go go" all the time... You can have a read through it here: http://dogscouts.org/Protocol_for_relaxation.html Also, I know you mentionned he hated the crate to start with but maybe it would be good trying again. I would try a lot of positive associations (meals in the crate, chewy bones in the crate, "let's go to the crate" games with lots of treats), without closing the door to start with so he doesn't feel trapped and gradually build up from here. Once he's learnt to be crated, there's no reasons why he wouldn't be able to be inside with you if you have tradespeople or visitors Just my 2 cents worth....

Thank you Ptolomy! ;) You haven't created monsters, they're gorgeous I really admire NSDTR but think they might be a tad too smart for me Now I need to find what to do next with targeting to make it a bit more interesting ;)

Hi guys! Hope you don't mind me jumping in this thread; I thought it'd be better than starting my own... please bear with my inexperience I am trying to do some targeting with Archie, so here is our set up Me: impatient uncoordinated confused as to what I am supposed to be doing! Archie livewire hyperactive and OCD uncoordinated too! I have been using a clicker to do short sessions in the evening in the living room (away from distractions as much as possible); I use two different shaped lids for each paw and a target stick for the nose. Archie has grasped the concept (I was actually surprised he'd be able to differentiate between 2 different shapes ), however I am struggling to build duration. The instant he's done the touch (even if I haven't clicked yet), his foot goes back on the ground and he is staring intently at the hand the treat should be coming from. When and how should I start using a cue? Haven't decided on words yet (so any suggestions are welcome ; I use 'paw' and 'shake' for the normal trick). Once the cue are introduced, should I only treat when the behaviour follows the cue, and ignore it if the behaviour is given upon presentation of the target before I give the cue? Also, where do I go from there? I don't want him to get bored with the same repetition every night...

great program! I really like the way he is showing the UK off the beaten track, and his relationship with Cadbury is just lovely... you can really tell the dog is not here just for the cuteness factor but is indeed a part of his life Makes for a very pleasant Tuesday night with the ABC!

I've had the same problem with Archie and followed the greyhound experts advice Lanolin (very cheap from any chemist or supermarket!) works even better when left in the fridge as the texture is easier to work into the pads. I used to cover this paw with a baby sock after applying to make sure it stayed sligthly moist a bit longer (not that he kept the sock all day long though ), especially at bed time when I knew he wouldn't be active.

Deelee, Light brown Am-staff type female and grey and white scruffy little mutt whose owner appear to be a painter? I think I know who you are talking about! Why haven't I bumped into you yet ? We seem to be going to the same parks.... There is another one at Moore Park who is terribly annoying... A black shepherd cross who, for the past five years has been rushing up to me and Olaf, hackles up and barking in a very aggro manner. Olaf never flinched and kept on walking with me acting as a bareer, but with scaredy-cat hyper Archie it's another story. Because of that Archie pretty much only gets walks around the neighbourood in the evening because I don't want to take the risk. I can't believe they keep on letting their dog off leash when they know it's gonna happen... they eventually call him back, saying "X, No Bark! Bad dog" , and was told as a way of apology once that he only did this to spaniels because he didn't like them.

Mmmmm..... let me think any soft toy really! Archie loves his Flea and anything soft basically, that he can carry around, play fetch with and go to sleep with.... Since he doesn't destroy anything we've built up quite a collection

Deelee, thank you for bringing up this topic !!! You described spot on (pun intended ) what Archie has; so far the vet hasn't been overly interested in addressing this "minor" issue.... Now how can I get hold of the ingredients ?

They are actually quite keen on going out before I leave because I leave bottles / treat balls etc... with kibble scattered in the yard for them. It's more to keep them mentally stimulated than anything (Archie is highly strung and suffers from OCD). If Archie has to stay out by himself all day, I might give him a higher value treat (turkey neck, frozen chicken wing) but wouldn't do that with the two of them together to avoid fights. If I leave them for a shorter period of time (eg on the week-end) they are inside with the cat or outside, and no special fuss made.