Erny

Oh .... Adele - I meant to add to my previous post that it is good if you let your dog see YOU pat/pay attention to the gulf buggy. Just ignore your dog while you're doing this and don't push the issue.

A "working-dog" depicts a line/breed of dog which was used to assist humans in the work they needed to accomplish. "Work" your dog depicts a dog that is being given a task or tasks to execute. IMO it is context related. I wouldn't split hairs over it.

What would you suggest for a JRT? I just want to know what the dogs already receive, at this point. Easier than me spending the time listing only to find out it already occurs.

It is that, DBS . His stools since I last posted have been pretty good, although this morning's I noted part was a bit looser than I'd prefer. Didn't eat his breakfast either, first thing. But did go back to eat about an hour later. I have noticed he'll do this sometimes (ie return to his bowl later and eat - either all or part). I'd been doing the "remove the bowl after 20 minutes" for the previous week or so, but that didn't seem to help matters. My main concern is that he eats. Knowing that it could turn to become a habit (ie leaving and returning later) is something I will deal with later, once I know that no underlying health issue is the cause for this seeming fastidiousness. He is still enjoying the goats' milk, yogurt and cottage cheese and if he hasn't eaten the EP I tend to add an egg for the protein and calcium source. Not saying this is all the diet he needs, but waiting for stool results (hopefully tomorrow) before I go tinkering further. He still looks better now than he did from before and when I made the opening post here though. ETA: One thing that seemed to change dramatically 'over-night' that I noticed when all of this 'eating' thing first began, was that he went from hoovering food (most noticeable with the kibble and which was predominantly why I continued to soak it first) to eating it almost one by one and giving each piece a chew. Sometimes he would hold his head almost to the vertical, so he tends to have some kibble fall from his mouth. Back then (about a month ago) I had a Vet give a glance at his teeth to see that all was in order - and it seemed it was. Think I'll get another check done just to be certain. It isn't a total answer though and I don't strongly believe teeth to be the issue, as he turned his nose up to the soft/soaked kibble as well.

In the case of the golf clubs - desensitise. Have the golf bags in sight when you do things such as feed, play tug etc. But use distance as your friend. Put the golf bags in another room when you're not 'working' with your dog on this exercise so that she does not continue to 'practice' her fear behaviour towards them. My preference is for YOU to take the action, not leave the action up to the dog. But this is only one thing you can do - under certain circumstances. There are other strategies that can be applied in other circumstances. What you do and when depends on the dog and the situation you are in which is why it is difficult to instruct you via the internet. But it is about YOU dealing with the 'scarey' things in life (ie taking control) and not having the dog believe that the decision to act is up to her.

Maybe the sudden drop in her sex hormones that will occur when she is desexed ..... at certain times this can lead to the dog becoming a bit irritable or fearful, more than normal. Maybe they are concerned that on top of the fact that she's exhibiting this behaviour anyway, will impact? How old is she and has she had a season? If so, how long ago?

I agree with Tony .... having some idea as to whether this is something akin to genetics can provide some extra insight. However, regardless of that, there is still the problem to deal with. I'd do a 'check' on your leadership (as your dog perceives it). Up it in what ever areas you can. Also, something like agility can be helpful in building the dog's self-confidence. And/or : Have fun with your dog when there is a noise/something that bothers her. I use the drive training I built up in my boy a fair amount for this. To give you one example : thunder/lightening. He scooted across the decking and inside the very first time he ever heard it. I sang out the magic words that he knew meant we were going to train in drive and he shot back out to me, into the rear yard and we spent time playing tug and training whilst the thunder rolled and the rain fell. Don't know if your dog is into tug or if you do any drive work with her but if you're going to do it, begin to build this up now and use whatever you've been able to build to represent "fun times are comin' when you hear that noise. If you have someone to help you, be out playing with her and get the other person to make the noise that bothers her, but on a lower intensity that she's likely to be able to cope with. I love drive training and have used it quite a bit in situations that would otherwise have ended 'scarey' if not for the fun distraction.

What mental stimulation does he provide for the dogs and in what quantities and frequencies?

Seems to me here (without having read all the posts) that if it is something is enjoyed, it is not perceived as "work"? I love my job, but it is "work". When I exercised my horse and put him through his paces, I was "working" my horse. Yet I so enjoyed doing what we were doing and from what I could tell, so did he. Whether it be obedience, herding, agility or whatever - when the animal is in training or performing the skills that have been training, IMO it is "working". So I'm not sure what the confusion is about?

I'm not sure, DBS. Nothing stands out in his blood test results to suggest that EPI has been tested for, but I have trouble reading those things properly so I will check. Ditto with the stool samples recently delivered and for which we now await results. His stools are now reasonably solid and he is eating EP again. Sometimes though he leaves it but will eat more a bit later. If it wasn't for the fact that I want him to gain weight I would have him wait until the next meal time. I'm still giving him the goats milk, yogart and cottage cheese - twice a day. I've added an egg a couple of times as well. Because he's on EP I'm a bit conscientious (concerned) about overdoing the protein balance though ..... I hope I'm doing the right thing. He was so full of beans last night and today! Took him to the beach and he had a wonderful time in the water (beautiful day for it, too). Came home and he's all plonked out, but that's to be expected. Coat is looking reasonably good with a decent sheen to it. He's on his mat nearby, having a dream. Two weeks ago he was 34.5 kgs. Today he is 35.4 kgs. He has put back on some weight that he lost over the last week or so and I'm pleased to see there is a gain. He's looking better at the moment. Going by visual, I feel he could do with another half to 1 kilo.

See, to me they are two different things (as far as terminology is concerned). It might sound as though I'm being anal, but I've noticed so much lately that some words are attracting different meanings and it makes it difficult (ie lengthy) to explain with the written word what one means. "Jackpot" to me is the giving of treats (small) one after another after another in quick succession. The instance where you might have a chicken wing or some such is not IMO "jackpotting" (in the training terminology sense) but is simply rewarding with a higher value food treat.

Heck! That's a lot of goat's milk to use!! I've had it down from the freezer but in the fridge for a full 24 hours. It hasn't fully defrosted, but should be by tomorrow. So, I have to use it all up over tomorrow and the next day? I've only used about a quarter of the bottle so far. I have to build up the courage to taste it myself. I'm a whimp when it comes to that. I was the same when we first started getting the real cow's milk from next door's. Mum had to pour it into normal milk bottles and pretend it was shop bought. After that I was fine. :rolleyes:

APBT .... Andisa kindly provided me with some. If you PM her she might be able to provide you the name of her supplier. It was considerably cheaper than the shop bought stuff that you purchased. Are you in Victoria though? I see from what you've said in the other "goats milk" thread that you drink it yourself? Know that this stuff would not be pasturised. Probably better for that fact, but something you should know and drink at own 'risk'. OT .... many years ago we lived next door to some people who owned a milking cow. As they took more milk than they knew what to do with, they gave us some of it each day. Now THAT was REAL milk. When the cow developed mastitis and they ceased using her for milk, we had to go back to pasturised milk. Absolutely no taste by comparison.

sorry shouldn't laugh - hope he continues to improve Erny If we can't laugh at ourselves for the intense interest we take over our dog's poo, then we have a bigger problem than we already think, Anniek. So go ahead and laugh ..... I do :wink:. Thanks for the well wishes. If he continues to improve (and I'm really hopeful now that he will) then I can only put it down to the tummy bug that seems to have afflicted quite a number of our dogs. Mind you, my boy's digestive issues have gone on for a couple of months. The first 'bout' was short lived and I thought he was ok after that, but then he seemingly relapsed. So I'm not sure.

:rolleyes: Erny it was .5 second not 5 second Oops. Sorry - must have mis-read. Thought 5 seconds was a bit slow and didn't figure that could possibly be how you'd understand it - ;) one'd spend so long jackpotting there'd be no time for training!

I use the "one after the other after the other after the other" in very quick succession. Not "5-second intervals" (???). Throughout the "jackpot" I continue to praise the dog. So the reward process can last 5 seconds or more. I mean think about it ..... wouldn't you prefer to have a lolly and know that there's another one to come, rather than a whole stack shoved in your gob, and then it's done?

You're spot on there, Jigsaw. Getting weight on the (now not so 'little') man has been an issue from day one (ie 8 wo). Finally I'd gotten him to a weight I was happy with, and this has stripped a fair amount off him. Provided he doesn't relapse, I can work on getting the weight back up. Only hoping his appetite continues to climb back to normal (which is generally 'ravenous'). You should have seen the stool sample I took to the Vet. I'd fed him boiled chicken, rice and also some steamed pumpkin the night before. Stool was orange, sloppy with lots of rice evident. It would easily have been mistaken for indian curry. Except for the smell .

8pm update. Having had a dinner of dollop of yogurt + dollop of cottage cheese and then about 20 minutes later a cup of EP (which he ate ALL up) - that was about an hour ago ...... we have one SOLID stool!! . He's just finished doing zoomies around the yard with 'flea'. And he thinks he's all growned up????

Thanks for being interested, DBS. All his poops are like (as someone else has described in a different thread) cow paddies. At least there is some bulk there. When he was on boiled chicken, there was very little of it and it was even more runny, albeit thickish. So I re-introduced EP and he really enjoyed it. That went well for 24 hours (two feeds) but now he's going off it again. In between I've given him goats milk; egg; cottage cheese and yogurt. I wasn't going to do all of this (he's only getting very small proportions) but as nothing else is working and I'm battling to get him eating to keep weight on, I thought "what the heck". If anyone came over to visit, they'd not spot a thing wrong with him (other than him being too thin). But of course, it is usually the owners who spot that nuance in demeanor when all is normal and calm in the household, isn't it. He is quieter and his 'mad' moments don't last as long. I took him to the Vet's today (other Vet - pentosan injection # 3) and he wanted to engage play with some Cavvies who were also there (the other two maltese or whatever crosses were little snots). He was soooooooo well behaved and easily managed though ............... and I find that a bit worrying . I should know the fecal test results sometime on Monday. I hope they show up something simple.

LOL .... yep, "gotta get a life" is something that goes through my head every time the biggest event in my life is a dog poop!! Samples are at the Vet's. Should know results this coming Monday. I'm going to thaw some goat's milk now and try him on a little of it. Also have some cottage cheese on stand-by. ETA: :p ... sorry, didn't mean to turn this into another 'my dog's not well' thread. Should stick to my own that I have running. My mistake .

If there's one to be had, with a bit of persistance from me, he normally will do a poop on command (after he's pee'd, then he realises I want more! :p). But it's ok ..... he's just done one . Have collected the samples and if the tradesperson I've been expecting for the last 2.5 hours will just arrive (20 minutes away, he says after I've rung twice and left messages .... a phone call from him would have been nice - I have some dogs I need to go work and haven't been able to leave due to expecting him at 11am) I'll whip the samples to the Vets.

I'm STILL waiting for a poop to happen. I'm sure he's holding out on me just 'cause I want it so much ;) Thanks Andisa and Stolzseinrotts for the responses. Will do as suggested and give small amount until I can be sure it won't be upsetting anything. I'll let you know how it goes .

No - I emailed her last week as soon as this thread came up and have heard nothing back as yet. ETA: However, all that it seems a long time, it was only last Friday and today is only Tuesday morning. So I presume we should hear soon.

Thanks Oonga. I'll pass on all of those to him from Maia and yourself. It pips me right off - not only because naturally no-one likes to see their dogs unwell, but also because it has abruptly halted our training momentum. I'm patiently waiting a stool sample so I can get it up to the Vets. Can you send him some "poop giving" vibes please? He's being a bit slow off the mark in this regard. ;)

If you were introducing this to a young dog (ie 9mo) for the first time, would it be better to initially give in a small amount and watered down?