The dog musing/vent thread

[Beanie]

Auggie is going off to the vet tomorrow, we're going to discuss possibly putting him on some kind of maintenance dose of abx for his persistent UTIs. I'm hoping we'll do something like every three months he gets two weeks of abx, just routinely... but we'll have to see what the vet says.
I'm not super excited about either answer, but I would be super excited to have this no longer be a problem for Auggie.

Funnily enough I was just getting to the point in my book where I started talking about Auggie's UTI.

 

[skittledoo]

Good news: Joey now weighs almost 47 lbs. he weighed about 35 or 36 when I got him. It's amazing what a 10 lb difference can do. He doesn't even look like the same dog at all.

Bad news: he is swinging one of his back legs out a little more than usual when he walks. My vet said he is concerned about a possible past cruciate ligament injury, but wants to do X-rays to find out what's going on. The fact that I have been coursing him and raced him this past weekend might have made him more sore in his knee causing him to walk like this. He doesn't always walk weird, but I have noticed it more lately than usual. If it really is his cruciate I'm worried we won't be able to run him anymore which will absolutely devastate me, but I will have to do what is best for him and if that means he can't course or race than so be it. This sucks really bad.

 

[Dogdragoness]

Good news: Joey now weighs almost 47 lbs. he weighed about 35 or 36 when I got him. It's amazing what a 10 lb difference can do. He doesn't even look like the same dog at all.

Bad news: he is swinging one of his back legs out a little more than usual when he walks. My vet said he is concerned about a possible past cruciate ligament injury, but wants to do X-rays to find out what's going on. The fact that I have been coursing him and raced him this past weekend might have made him more sore in his knee causing him to walk like this. He doesn't always walk weird, but I have noticed it more lately than usual. If it really is his cruciate I'm worried we won't be able to run him anymore which will absolutely devastate me, but I will have to do what is best for him and if that means he can't course or race than so be it. This sucks really bad.

I'm sorry to hear that about Joey , vibes that everything turns out ok.

 

[StillandSilent]

A little boy approached Shaman and I inpetsmart and asked me if he was something from Harry Potter. I told him no, but the pup does look a bit mythical

 

[Beanie]

A little boy approached Shaman and I inpetsmart and asked me if he was something from Harry Potter.

That is super cute, hahaha.

Auggie is now going to be on antibiotics every four months just as maintenance. He went four months since his last UTI so we think four months is good. If he still seems to be getting them we'll switch to every three months.
His UAs are "unremarkable" whenever we run them... some blood, some white blood cells, some bacteria, but nothing horrible really, so this is a fine course of action for now without doing anything additional. "And you've done EVERYTHING to try and figure out what's going on," the vet added. Yeeeeep... I sure have, ugh. Poor Auggie LOL.

 

[skittledoo]

I'm sorry to hear that about Joey , vibes that everything turns out ok.

Thank you. I'm going to end up getting the X-rays done. Just need to set aside the money for it first. I just hope that I can still run him. Giving him arnica and hypericum in the meantime that was suggested.

Ok I have a hilarious one. Went to unleashed and decided to take advantage of all their Halloween clearance toys. I had all three dogs with me but only took Joey into the store. When I got back to the car and opened the door Bamm jumped out. I put Joey in the car and went to get Bamm and he ran to the store door. The automatic door opened and he went inside. Luckily there were no dogs in the store. Anyways, I run inside to grab him and find him trotting around with a toy in his mouth and happy as a clam. What a brat. I ended up getting him the toy and he went straight to the car on the way out but ugh.... Crazy dog.

 

[Laurelin]

My three day weekend and it's going to be in the 30s all weekend. We want to hike but I don't want to freeze! It was in the 60s all week! Why couldn't it have been 30 in the week and 60s on the weekend?

 

[casey82]

Thank you. I'm going to end up getting the X-rays done. Just need to set aside the money for it first. I just hope that I can still run him. Giving him arnica and hypericum in the meantime that was suggested.

Ok I have a hilarious one. Went to unleashed and decided to take advantage of all their Halloween clearance toys. I had all three dogs with me but only took Joey into the store. When I got back to the car and opened the door Bamm jumped out. I put Joey in the car and went to get Bamm and he ran to the store door. The automatic door opened and he went inside. Luckily there were no dogs in the store. Anyways, I run inside to grab him and find him trotting around with a toy in his mouth and happy as a clam. What a brat. I ended up getting him the toy and he went straight to the car on the way out but ugh.... Crazy dog.

That is so something my dog would do. I couldn't help but laugh out loud at this. You're a good owner for getting him the toy!

My three day weekend and it's going to be in the 30s all weekend. We want to hike but I don't want to freeze! It was in the 60s all week! Why couldn't it have been 30 in the week and 60s on the weekend?

Go hiking anyway. 30 is warm. It's supposed to be 18 here tomorrow. Not looking forward to that.




I'm only going to say this once, as I'm so not a cold weather, winter person. I'm actually looking forward to winter. I have a young dog that's willing to do anything I ask and have many many things I want to teach him. That's how I will be spending the next 6 months.

 

[Laurelin]

We also have freezing rain going on right now too. Meh. 29 and freezing rain coming down hard and oklahoma winds... I think we'll pass on hiking. Maybe the afternoon will be nicer.

 

[casey82]

We also have freezing rain going on right now too. Meh. 29 and freezing rain coming down hard and oklahoma winds... I think we'll pass on hiking. Maybe the afternoon will be nicer.

Yeah... That is crappy weather. I'd pass too. I make it sound like I'm so tough. I hate cold weather... I do not live in the right state. Hopefully it clears up a little.

 

[Slick]

I discovered yesterday that Leo growls at dogs when he is on leash. It seems to be all dogs. :-(
Then this morning, a dog walked by outside (he couldn't even see him, just hear the jingle of the collar) and he also growled.

His foster parent said he was good with other dogs, and at the shelter he was in close proximity with other dogs and was fine. But now he growls at all of them. This confuses me and also makes me sad.
Besides that Leo has no issues at all. He is super human friendly and well behaved.

I don't really know how to handle it. I want to continue socializing him with other dogs (since he is still only 9 months) but how do I start when I don't know how he is going to react to them? :-/

 

[PWCorgi]

Siri is SO ready for the snow with her fleece, her parka, and now I just got confirmation that her boots (please please please let them fit/work) shipped today! Frodo is seriously excited about the snow and already did his favorite rolling in the snow and refusing to come back inside schpeal.

 

[Muttkip]

I want my dog back......

 

[PWCorgi]

At least it is only growling, and if you get started working on it now it will probably be no big deal I would highly suggest the LAT game, make sure he is far enough away from the other dog to feel safe, and click and treat every time he looks at the other dog. Be fast and shovel food in his mouth as soon as he looks at the other dog, don't wait until he starts growling. If you know other people with dogs, ask them to help you. Every time Leo looks at another dog it should be THE BEST EVER! You want him to see another dog and go OMG LOOK FOOD PERSON, THERE'S A DOG! WHERE IS MY TREAT?!! Start changing the association now, work hard, and make it a non-issue before it becomes a real problem

I discovered yesterday that Leo growls at dogs when he is on leash. It seems to be all dogs. :-(
Then this morning, a dog walked by outside (he couldn't even see him, just hear the jingle of the collar) and he also growled.

His foster parent said he was good with other dogs, and at the shelter he was in close proximity with other dogs and was fine. But now he growls at all of them. This confuses me and also makes me sad.
Besides that Leo has no issues at all. He is super human friendly and well behaved.

I don't really know how to handle it. I want to continue socializing him with other dogs (since he is still only 9 months) but how do I start when I don't know how he is going to react to them? :-/

 

[Oko]

At least it is only growling, and if you get started working on it now it will probably be no big deal I would highly suggest the LAT game, make sure he is far enough away from the other dog to feel safe, and click and treat every time he looks at the other dog. Be fast and shovel food in his mouth as soon as he looks at the other dog, don't wait until he starts growling. If you know other people with dogs, ask them to help you. Every time Leo looks at another dog it should be THE BEST EVER! You want him to see another dog and go OMG LOOK FOOD PERSON, THERE'S A DOG! WHERE IS MY TREAT?!! Start changing the association now, work hard, and make it a non-issue before it becomes a real problem

Seriously, such good advice. It sounds counter intuitive, but it works and I love LAT.

 

[Southpaw]

I discovered yesterday that Leo growls at dogs when he is on leash. It seems to be all dogs. :-(
Then this morning, a dog walked by outside (he couldn't even see him, just hear the jingle of the collar) and he also growled.

His foster parent said he was good with other dogs, and at the shelter he was in close proximity with other dogs and was fine. But now he growls at all of them. This confuses me and also makes me sad.
Besides that Leo has no issues at all. He is super human friendly and well behaved.

I don't really know how to handle it. I want to continue socializing him with other dogs (since he is still only 9 months) but how do I start when I don't know how he is going to react to them? :-/

Also adding that a dog can growl while on leash and still be good with other dogs. I agree, work with him on it since it's still not a fun behavior, but it doesn't necessarily have to mean he can't be around dogs. Juno will lunge and growl if we walk past other dogs - but she can actually do an on leash greeting just fine and goes to the dog park etc and is wonderful.

Id have a better response if I wasn't on my phone but just wanted to mention it doesn't have to be worst case scenario!

 

[crazedACD]

At least it is only growling, and if you get started working on it now it will probably be no big deal I would highly suggest the LAT game, make sure he is far enough away from the other dog to feel safe, and click and treat every time he looks at the other dog. Be fast and shovel food in his mouth as soon as he looks at the other dog, don't wait until he starts growling. If you know other people with dogs, ask them to help you. Every time Leo looks at another dog it should be THE BEST EVER! You want him to see another dog and go OMG LOOK FOOD PERSON, THERE'S A DOG! WHERE IS MY TREAT?!! Start changing the association now, work hard, and make it a non-issue before it becomes a real problem

Yes this . Fiona can be a little grumbly in a crowded situation with other dogs trying to sniff her, and especially if the other dog is anxious/staring her down/etc. We started doing some heavy focus stuff, LAT, just a strong WATCH ME and it has worked pretty quickly to get her to focus on me when she sees another dog. She isn't aggressive either when meeting the dogs, just grumbly on leash.

And don't forget, you just adopted him, he might just need to settle in and learn to have trust in you .

 

[StillandSilent]

I'm pretty sure that Shamans brains are now located in his balls. Really? You don't know what sit means? I don't think so. He's obsessed with all the females at work, not one of which has had any response to his admittedly awkward flirting

 

[Slick]

At least it is only growling, and if you get started working on it now it will probably be no big deal I would highly suggest the LAT game, make sure he is far enough away from the other dog to feel safe, and click and treat every time he looks at the other dog. Be fast and shovel food in his mouth as soon as he looks at the other dog, don't wait until he starts growling. If you know other people with dogs, ask them to help you. Every time Leo looks at another dog it should be THE BEST EVER! You want him to see another dog and go OMG LOOK FOOD PERSON, THERE'S A DOG! WHERE IS MY TREAT?!! Start changing the association now, work hard, and make it a non-issue before it becomes a real problem

Thanks for the advice! I tried this on our evening walk, and it does seem to help a bit. I didn't feed him his dinner and went out on a walk with him (and it in my pocket) instead. Then it was: see a dog, click, shovel a handful of food in his face Just one or two pieces wasn't enough, but a handful definitely did the trick for him to complete forget about the other dog.
It seemed to work. He only growled once, and that was when a dog and owner rounded the corner and surprised both of us. The others, I saw first, and was ready.

I will continue working on this with him. It's nice to have something to do, instead of feeling helpless.

 

[Dogdragoness]

Seriously, such good advice. It sounds counter intuitive, but it works and I love LAT.

I did the same thing with buddy and leashes / collars because he hated them. He still doesn't love them and I don't think he ever will ... But at least we have graduated from "OH MY GOD! I HATE IT YOU ARENT GETTING ANYWHERE NEAR ME WITH IT!" To "I still don't know about this but I get treats every time it's on so I guess it ident so bad."