Erny

Winter is good. I did my course through Winter. At least you can be energetic with the dogs (as you need to be). It's harder in the hot summer months to be as outwardly enthusiastic.

Don't get me wrong, DBS - not really panicking .... just a bit aghast at the 'extras' that can be involved with Cushing's. (There I was thinking I had a 'reasonable' understanding of what it was all about. ) I was really mainly posting to make sure my understanding of what was written was correct. And please don't think for a minute that I don't appreciate and value your info and input :D. Thanks for the two links. The second link doesn't work for me, but the info in the first link was valuable. I will raise the matter of adrenal steroid profiles with Guy when he calls me ....

Now that's interesting, DBS (also scarey!). So, what this is saying is that Atypical Cushing's could be the condition, even though the ACTH tests she has had don't prove Cushing's, and that she could have a tumour not only on the Adrenal Gland (as we already know it is) but ALSO in the hypothalamic-pituatary gland area? I presume these could be detected by way of blood test/s? But then, by the way it is written, it doesn't sound 100% conclusive. IE If neither elevated progesterone or hydroxyprogesterone were detected, possibly still Atypical Cushing's? Would that mean that a CT scan is necessary to determine whether a hypothalamic-pituatary tumour is present? ;) This is getting really complicated ...... not to mention, by the sounds of it, expensive beyond my capabilities. :sigh: Oh well, what is necessary to be done, will be done. The Vet didn't call me today, so I assume the test results aren't in yet. If it's ok with you, DBS, I will print off your most recent post and raise it with him, depending on what he has to say. DBS - once again, you astound me. I wouldn't even know to 'think' about this, let alone to seek the information out. :p Thank you. If you're not a Vet, then perhaps you were in your past life. In fact, your knowledge exceeds that of a many Vets I have had the opportunity to come across. Well done.

A big part of the trick is to get and keep them 'busy' - and this is where working in drive (eg. distraction with ball or other favourite motivator) is really very good. Another part of the trick is to get the dog 'busy' BEFORE he becomes "stiff and stares at them and refuses to walk". Try to increase the distance between you and the dogs behind the fence, at first. Also, practice working your dog in drive (by playing and teasing your dog with the 'motivator' - 'prey item') at home. This will help in building the dog's determination and interest in the prey item and will be a bit easier to trigger and maintain his interest when other distractions are around (in this case, the dogs behind the fence). If your dog is not a 'motivated by prey toys' type, you need to do something like working your dog in heel and sits. But be enthusiastic about it and make the releases exciting and fun. Keep active; keep the dog so busy he doesn't have the time and much less motivation to take as much notice of the dogs behind the fence. Working your dog thus, get past the 'dogs behind the fence' as quickly as you can (in other words, don't linger) and once you're past and beyond the point where your dog would show concern, big praise and continue on. If you can't work your dog's interest up enough to get him beyond the 'dogs behind the fence', work up to just behind the point where your dog would otherwise demonstrate the behaviour you describe. In otherwords, BEFORE the behaviour is exhibited. Then come back (quick recall back away from the 'dogs behind the fence' - don't venture beyond. Use your voice and be VERY encouraging for the dog's compliance to your commands. And remember - always, your main focus should be ON and WITH your dog, not on the other dogs and you should work WITH your dog - keep him very busy with quick sits, quick and fun releases, quickly back into sits, quickly into heel, quick release, quickly back into sit etc. etc. I cannot emphasise working WITH your dog enough - like, you are a TEAM ..... you're both TOGETHER in this and will work each other through it. ENGAGE him onto you and work to keep him engaged. Hope this all makes sense. ETA: If there is a danger that the 'dogs behind the fence' can escape, I wouldn't be going there, if I was you. Perhaps speak (nicely) to the owners of the dogs and talk to them about the quality and adequacy of their fencing.

How is she going, Pampa? Has the 'shock treatment' begun? Thinking of you both. :p

Hi Rusky. :p Funny how we're thinking and talking in each other's threads. The power of "vibes" can be amazing sometimes, heh? Kal's 'ok' today. The way she lays and sometimes groans (not unusual ever since she's been unwell) makes me think there is discomfort. I've always thought this was due to IBS (which, as I mentioned in earlier posts, I now wonder if she has this), but in recent times have thought perhaps there is discomfort due to the tumour. Although her Vet says he doubts the tumour would be causing her pain. I'm waiting for the Vet to call with the results of the urine test. I expect it should be today. Will post again when I know more from that. Read your last post in your thread. I'm glad Goldie is at least making progress as far as eating is concerned. That's got to be a good sign. Thinking of you and her.

Rusky ........ how's Goldie going?

There will be more 'expert' responses to follow, than mine here. But look for a distended stomach. Tap on it (I usually put two fingers together and place them on the stomach, then tap on my two fingers.) If you hear a sound that is kind of like a tight drum, then that's a huge signal that the dog has bloat. Some dogs will be trying to vomit but not successfully. Some end up vomiting froth, because that's all that can come up. With some dogs I've seen with bloat, you don't get all the usual symptoms. I can't say I like the sound of what you describe. The fact that she hasn't been able to vomit could indicate bloat. If it were me, I'd have the dog down the Vet's toot sweet urgent. When it comes to bloat, VERY FAST ACTION is required if the event is not to result in fatality. ETA: Rugerfly doesn't seem to be here. Hope she's on the way to the Vet's NOW!

;) I would've liked to have seen that ..... what a :cool: . Dag of a dog! Pitty there is no such thing as a 'remote trainer stick' Pampa. Give the command to release, doesn't listen and "bzzzzzt". :D ETA: Actually, have you tried an e-collar for this?

Oh ... I'm glad you said that, Rusky. Because I feel now we (Kal and I) must rest in their hands. This is foreign to me, as I've always taken so much control over Kal's welfare, training, desensitisation etc. etc. I feel a bit like I'm now about to jump off the deep end at a pool, even though I've done as much of the checks and balances possible to ensure there is water there to soften the impact. I think I'm now in that "holding my breath" stage. Last night, at about 11.30 pm (after Kal had been resting in her bed for about 2 hours), she all of a sudden began to pant. Panting is not something that is normal for Kal (before she became ill, I used to get concerned that she rarely panted, even in warm weather). She was laying on her side, and even became upright for a while. She looked a bit distressed, and did pointedly look at her abdomine once or twice. The panting lasted for about 1/2 hour or so. I have no idea here ..... but it crossed my mind as to whether this episode relates to the beginning of a rupture in the adrenal gland? She was ok today, albeit weak again. A 5 minute walk was all she could manage. I will mention this to Guy (the Vet) of course, when he rings me, in case it is relevant/important to know. ETA: Or maybe it was an episode of elevated blood pressure???

Yep. I was very pleased with that! The desk nurse thought I'd gone looney when, with Kal still on the scales, I threw my fist in the air and called out "YES!" :cool: I did explain. I'm a little confused myself, Pampa. From what I can gather, it's merely a re-run of earlier tests when we were checking out whether Cushing's was applicable. The tests on the urine do relate to the Cushing's and/or tumour type .... not general health. Depending on the results as to what form of pre-op meds Kal is given. Guy did explain that when they did the blood tests for Cushing's, the "suppression" (of adrenaline, I presume) was not as much as they would expect if it were Cushing's. I think this is why Guy wanted to re-run the urine and blood pressure tests. OT - While I was at the Vet's, I asked if they were able to do the test on food to determine presence of Sulphur Dioxide (referring back to the other thread/s on that topic). They said "no" .... they don't do those sort of tests. I expressed a bit of surprise, saying that I would have thought they would have, given they are a University Vet Clinic and that surely diet and/or preservatives would play a reasonable part in Veterinary care and diagnosis of conditions. Although Guy agreed with me that diet is important, he said it was a fairly new "thing" to them and that they really didn't know about Sulphur Dioxide and its affects until they heard about the Today/Tonight show (which I think I brought to their attention). :D God ...... I trust they know more about adrenal tumour removal (adrenaloptomy? ... can't remember the name).

To a degree, I agree with you Zia. But as you will have read here, there's no need to "hang out their feeding" until after yours. All you simply need to do is eat something in front of them before they are given their meal, if you wish to be demonstrative in this area.

And THAT is the BEST time to increase your praise and her reward. This way, you'll be encouraging her to look towards YOU and you can build focus and utilise this 'skill' at other times when needed. :D Maybe, but you'll have the best dog on the block. :cool: Used fairly, I find dogs don't pair the chain with dislike. In my experience dogs more often become quite excited to see their chain come out of the cupboard. Don't forget - chains mean 'good' things to the dog as well. Speaking personally, and I know it is not the case for ALL dogs, but overall, I find headcollars more disliked by dogs (compared to ch. chains) because the head collar, whether in use or not, is ALWAYS there across their faces, something they (generally speaking) don't like, but learn to tolerate (and even then, some don't). Hope she does! Good luck!

The great part about this, BL, is that the message from the check chain was CLEAR. Which means you would have had many more opportunities to subsequently praise her for good behaviour. Which in turn builds up on that 'good behaviour' and the snow ball rolls in the right direction. ;) No one on the net would have been able to properly and responsibly advise you to correct your dog ..... because we haven't had the opportunity to observe her 'in action' to determine as to whether this was an appropriate action for that dog. But yes, you have seen the advantages of appropriately including aversives in training. Just don't forget to give her HIGH reward for her newfound good behaviour, especially in the presence of triggering stimuli. I am glad it worked for you with her.

:cool: No wonder I couldn't remember the details. Oh ..... so am I, Pampa! So am I!

Hi :D I took Kal's urine sample in with me - they're going to test it again. Guy (the surgeon) took her blood pressure again. Even though she was very nervous (she gets a case of the shakes when she goes to the Vets'), it was 'only' up to 140. 'Normal' range would be about 120. It's difficult to tell if the elevated blood pressure is the result of her being nervous, or due to the adrenal gland tumour. With my limited knowledge and understanding, I'm not entirely sure, therefore, what the point of the blood pressure was ..... if they can't tell 'nervous' from 'condition'. :cool: The results from the urine test should be available by the end of the week. It turns out, according to Guy, that having consulted with Russell, they have NOT ruled out Cushing's conclusively. With everything being taken into account, Kal does show border line signs of Cushing's, although clinically speaking, they are not convinced. (Honestly, I don't understand this as the ONLY signs to my knowledge that she's not showing are dull coat and pot belly - but her coat has always been 'brilliant' .... now IMO it's just 'nice'. And maybe no pot belly because she's been carrying no excess weight for re-distribution under the influence of Cushing's? - they have both conceded that it could be because we are seeing early stages of Cushing's, whereas they would be used to seeing later stages.) The reason they want to determine this (and it's doubtful they'll be able to, 100%) is because it will give them a better idea of what type of tumour they are dealing with. Once the urine test results are available, and assuming pre-operative meds are required (and we do assume this), Guy will send out the meds to me and surgery will be scheduled for a date 2 weeks beyond starting the meds. IE Surgery will be in about 2.5 weeks. I'm not feeling confident that the surgery and post-operative period will be successful. The good news is that Kal HAS put on weight. Last weigh in which was what .... a week prior to Easter? She was 26.4 kg. Today she was 27.2 kg. This is good. We went out onto the lawns and as we were walking one of Kal's feet didn't go where it was supposed to and she fell flat on her face. This has been happening more often, lately. The student Vets who were our audience today couldn't believe how young Kal looked (albeit lean) for her age. So for all those who pointed at 'Cushings' (Kal's chiro inclusive) .... if you're not exactly on the money, you're pretty damned close.

Oh, Pampa ....... I'm sorry the news wasn't more along the lines of "its xxxxx, and we give her an injection and she's cured". Bu#@er. Although I have followed your thread, are you able to explain what Ehrlichiosis is again and also how 'shock' treatment could produce a 'negative' result to this condition? And why does Ehrilichiosis prevent import? Is it something that can spread from animal to animal (by way of tick, perhaps?) Bloomin' 'ell. I can well imagine why you'd be feeling as you do. But as you said, you now know what you're working against and can treat for it, rather than a continued multiple of tests and guess work treatments. Pampa - for small comfort that it is worth, we're right behind you and here to support whenever you need us. DBS - Again, you're right on the button with the information you come up with. You're amazing.

I think you might be talking about an "Ultrasonic Dogtrainer" ???? It looks something like a remote control that one might have for a garage door etc. Except when you activate it, it emits a high frequency sound. I have 'experimented' with one that I have. It sometimes works to momentarily silence a barking dog, but I found the effect is somewhat short lived and I carry doubts that it would work with a dog that is highly aroused. The other matter you need to take into consideration - just because you are pointing it at a particular dog, doesn't mean that others in the vicinity are not affected by it. If there is any discomfort that dogs feel as a result of the very high frequency pitch, the OP's dog is going to receive that too. BL - IMO your training goal should be that your dog turns to you/is too engaged on you to be so perturbed as to react to the dogs behind the fence. This would involve a program of building up drive and working in it; incrementally making progress towards the dogs behind the fence, but stopping just short of the point where your dog shows the VERY FIRST EARLY signs of reactivity and returning home. Bit by bit, progressing closer and closer until you can eventually pass. This will include crossing the street for the sake of distance. Naturally, your dog receives HIGH reward for the non-reactivity (eg. prey drive satisfaction).

Yes - admittedly, it's not often that she's been off her food. It wasn't so much a scare .... I've been through this with her often enough since the "bone incident", especially at the very beginning, when I was still learning what and how to feed in the best way to avoid food banking up in her oesophegus. It doesn't happen too often, now-a-days - just feel helpless when it does. And there's nothing like a dog yelping to get you panicking to do something about it. Not yet, Pampa. Vet visit tomorrow for a repeat on a couple of tests. Purpose is to try to better determine type of tumour. Once results are known, the Vet will better know whether she requires pre-medication (over a 2 week period) prior to surgery. I guess THEN we will be able to work out a date for the operation. Kal was really perky when I got home this afternoon. Trotting over to greet me, trotting out to backyard, trotting inside and racing down hallway to "show me her bed" - this is just something she started doing of her own accord years ago, and now it's just a 'ritual'. Her elevated enthusiasm and energy is great and I wouldn't wish for it to be any other way. But it does make me even more scared about the surgery because at the moment she doesn't appear so low and loss of life quality. I'm not suggesting I'm changing my mind about it ..... just makes taking the risk of losing her that bit more difficult. :sigh:

Pampa .... you know we're here for you every step of the way. You'll make it, and so will your dogs. Take one step at a time with the packing. It WILL all come together in the end, rest assured. And before you know it, you'll be on your way. Provided you and yours make it through, it doesn't really matter what else happens - it won't be the end of the world. Take care, mate. It'll be ok.

Thanks, Pampa, Rusky, Pippi. Kal is still holding down the cooked chicken (although we had a 'bad' night last night - she drank all the water I added to one half share of the chicken ... to soupify it, you know. Kal drank all the water, then proceeded to gulp all the chicken in one hit (she doesn't chew). Because a section of her oesophegus is nerve damaged, the chicken banked up and stuck, causing extreme pain. 2 minutes of yelping (I couldn't do anything .... I was rubbing the spot - human instinct, I guess). Anyway, she bolted for outside (she doesn't like to mess the carpet if she can avoid it, bless her cotton socks) and regurgitated. She felt better then, so of course, re-ate it (yuck). Today, I fed all of the chicken to her as food treats (bit by bit) for doing tricks. Time consuming, and many tricks later, she at least doesn't wolf it all down and hurt herself. Sssssshhhhhhh ....... Dare I even 'say' it ..... I think Kal is gaining weight.

How ironic. Good idea, Rusky. I think the only thing I'd be concerned about there is if my dog decided to chew them off and swallow bits of it during the trip. Thank you, Rusky. The airwaves must be 'abuzz' with good healing thoughts at the moment.

Rusky - thoughts to you and old Goldie during this rough time. It's tough when age can start to catch up on them. Go, Goldie ..... do your 'repair' stuff. Hope you feel better soon.

For your information, and for those who may be interested: Just found out that the next National Dog Trainers Federation (NDTF) dog trainers' course, beginning 6th May, was originally booked out. However there's apparently been a few students transfer to the course that begins in September, so there are a limited number of places available for the course commencing 6th May if anyone is interested. If you are, HERE'S the link for some information on NDTF, contact details etc.

Yes - I was just thinking about Goldie too.