I joined awhile back...haven't been too terribly active in the forum though. Would like to change that as this forum is pretty active, which I like...lol
For those that remember us: I have 2 dogs; Eddie the Lab and Uallis the English Mastiff. Both dogs are doing great. In June, Eddie had a seizure...it was a VERY scary experience and I've spent a lot of time worrying over it. Fortunately, his last seizure was July 18th and he hasn't had any 'odd' behavior since. I hope it continues. I really hope it continues...I've put off his agility training because of his care. I don't want him to overdo it...The vet diagnosed him with Epilepsy but won't treat him with medication unless his seizures are more frequent. I probably will take him for a second opinion but don't really like any of the other vets in my area...so I'm looking to other places. I'm finding that having a dog that has seizures is weird to me. I had a dog before that had cluster seizures, but he had cancer that spread to his brain, thus the seizures...so Eddie's whole situation has thrown me off track a bit. I've found that I'm very obsessive of his care and I want him watched at all times, which is hard when I'm trying to find a "babysitter" when I go out of town. I don't think its wise to have him boarded with his condition though...lol...yes, I'm a worry wart. Those that remember Eddie, may remember is aggressiveness toward strangers. See previous thread here: http://www.chazhound.com/forums/t89954/
He can now successfully greet a stranger without aggression. I was worried about this because after I "tested" him after the incident, it was the same reaction...he was very aggressive with ANY stranger, it didn't matter whether he'd met them before previously or not...It was very discouraging seeing that and what his behavior had come to. However, he is VERY much improved. Seeing his behavior with my own eyes, it was easy to see that it was very much FEAR based and it has cemented my belief that the UPS man did DO something to him...remember Eddie had a hurt leg at the time...just even nudging him aside could have hurt him, thus his fear of strangers developing. With training, he has been able to greet strangers, AS LONG AS they let him greet THEM on his own terms. Meaning, if they ignore him, veer off away from him, etc...basically completely ignore him, he will make an attempt to see if they are "nice" or not. However, because of his past behavior with "surprise" visits of strangers and considering that they may not be dog savy...he isn't allowed outdoors without supervision. He is let outdoors now, unleashed, because he has proven time and time again that he can be called off any object, no matter how interesting it is. My concern NOW is that I NEVER want my dog put into a position where he feels that he has to defend himself, that he feels he'll be hurt and I won't or can't protect him. So that is where we are with Eddie...As with Uallis...
Uallis, has had some...difficulty...this summer in terms of training. He completely lost his recall and now has to be leashed at all times when he's outside. I've narrowed it down to a focus issue. It's like he can't hear me when I call him. I've had to go so far as going to the car and blowing the horn to get his attention and THEN he will return. So he is on leash at all times now when he is out of the house. He doesn't like it at all and throws temper tantrums on the leash. However, its for his own safety. He's 2 1/2 year old and he's had trouble with most commands recently. I don't know if it is because of is age (he's still intact BTW) or whatever that is...making....things harder for him. But he doesn't have the focus that he had before. He's also been tripping a lot over his own feet so I've been thinking that its because he's growing...he is now 31 inches tall as opposed to 30 1/2 inches tall, so he has grown, so we will see what the vet has to say when he goes for his appointment soon. In the meantime, we have been training with him a lot on basic commands and just waiting to see what the vet says really...that is all we have really been doing. This summer, I had planned to work with Uallis for his CGC...but he just isn't ready yet...But hopefully he will be soon!
So that is how my boys have been doing lately!
For those that remember us: I have 2 dogs; Eddie the Lab and Uallis the English Mastiff. Both dogs are doing great. In June, Eddie had a seizure...it was a VERY scary experience and I've spent a lot of time worrying over it. Fortunately, his last seizure was July 18th and he hasn't had any 'odd' behavior since. I hope it continues. I really hope it continues...I've put off his agility training because of his care. I don't want him to overdo it...The vet diagnosed him with Epilepsy but won't treat him with medication unless his seizures are more frequent. I probably will take him for a second opinion but don't really like any of the other vets in my area...so I'm looking to other places. I'm finding that having a dog that has seizures is weird to me. I had a dog before that had cluster seizures, but he had cancer that spread to his brain, thus the seizures...so Eddie's whole situation has thrown me off track a bit. I've found that I'm very obsessive of his care and I want him watched at all times, which is hard when I'm trying to find a "babysitter" when I go out of town. I don't think its wise to have him boarded with his condition though...lol...yes, I'm a worry wart. Those that remember Eddie, may remember is aggressiveness toward strangers. See previous thread here: http://www.chazhound.com/forums/t89954/
He can now successfully greet a stranger without aggression. I was worried about this because after I "tested" him after the incident, it was the same reaction...he was very aggressive with ANY stranger, it didn't matter whether he'd met them before previously or not...It was very discouraging seeing that and what his behavior had come to. However, he is VERY much improved. Seeing his behavior with my own eyes, it was easy to see that it was very much FEAR based and it has cemented my belief that the UPS man did DO something to him...remember Eddie had a hurt leg at the time...just even nudging him aside could have hurt him, thus his fear of strangers developing. With training, he has been able to greet strangers, AS LONG AS they let him greet THEM on his own terms. Meaning, if they ignore him, veer off away from him, etc...basically completely ignore him, he will make an attempt to see if they are "nice" or not. However, because of his past behavior with "surprise" visits of strangers and considering that they may not be dog savy...he isn't allowed outdoors without supervision. He is let outdoors now, unleashed, because he has proven time and time again that he can be called off any object, no matter how interesting it is. My concern NOW is that I NEVER want my dog put into a position where he feels that he has to defend himself, that he feels he'll be hurt and I won't or can't protect him. So that is where we are with Eddie...As with Uallis...
Uallis, has had some...difficulty...this summer in terms of training. He completely lost his recall and now has to be leashed at all times when he's outside. I've narrowed it down to a focus issue. It's like he can't hear me when I call him. I've had to go so far as going to the car and blowing the horn to get his attention and THEN he will return. So he is on leash at all times now when he is out of the house. He doesn't like it at all and throws temper tantrums on the leash. However, its for his own safety. He's 2 1/2 year old and he's had trouble with most commands recently. I don't know if it is because of is age (he's still intact BTW) or whatever that is...making....things harder for him. But he doesn't have the focus that he had before. He's also been tripping a lot over his own feet so I've been thinking that its because he's growing...he is now 31 inches tall as opposed to 30 1/2 inches tall, so he has grown, so we will see what the vet has to say when he goes for his appointment soon. In the meantime, we have been training with him a lot on basic commands and just waiting to see what the vet says really...that is all we have really been doing. This summer, I had planned to work with Uallis for his CGC...but he just isn't ready yet...But hopefully he will be soon!
So that is how my boys have been doing lately!
Most common response you will get for the next few months is "talk to the butt 'cause the head's got better things to do."