<p>I’d be fine if she was terrified of cats. She acts like she wants to kill them. My neighbor volunteered one of her (10) cats to put in a crate in the yard so my trainer could work with my dog to desensitize to cats. He’s done it several times with great success. Even if that works, I would never leave her alone with a cat and never plan to have a cat while I have her, but i don’t want her acting like Cujo when she sees them.</p>
<p>Ohhh got it. </p>
<p>Do you know anything about her history before you got her?</p>
<p>speaking of silly boxers</p>
<p>[The</a> Trampoline Dog - YouTube](<a href=“The Trampoline Dog - YouTube”>The Trampoline Dog - YouTube)</p>
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<p>Not a lot. She was a bag of bones when rescued in April. She had been fostered from April until July. She had basic obedience when rescued and they think she probably had a decent home at some point. She was not used for fighting and had not had a litter. She’s very reactive to cats, small puffy dogs, rabbits and squirrels. She’s very much a “nose to the ground” dog so is easily distracted. The e-collar helps a lot with keeping her focus on me and allows me to control her without using brute strength. Like many pits, her skin is very sensitive so pinch and chain collars, and even nylon collars wreak havoc on her neck. She’s not particularly food driven either so treats are fine until she locks her attention on something and then I could dangle a sirloin in front of her with no reaction.</p>
<p>We have two old goldens. Both are adopted, one from a family who couldn’t take care of him and the other from golden rescue…Our oldest came from great money (trust me…Tom Cruise lived across the street.) and the other was abandoned in the desert. We love them. They love us and our friends. She doesn’t like other dogs except one who can visit.</p>
<p>I am so sad that our oldest is going to be 14 soon and the young one is about 12. Hips are giving out. When we go out of town someone lives in our house full time.</p>
<p>We gave this supplement to our lab for about 6 years. She kept going till she was 16, albeit she started out * very* healthy!
[Costco</a> - Cosequin® DS Plus MSM 360 Count Joint Health Supplement for Dogs](<a href=“http://reviews.costco.com/2070/11529852/cosequin-cosequin-ds-plus-msm-360-count-joint-health-supplement-for-dogs-reviews/reviews.htm]Costco”>http://reviews.costco.com/2070/11529852/cosequin-cosequin-ds-plus-msm-360-count-joint-health-supplement-for-dogs-reviews/reviews.htm)
She was also on Tramadol( the same thing I am currently taking!) and Thyroxine.</p>
<p>Emeralddoggy has his first check up with our vet scheduled tomorrow morning, I am eager to hear what she thinks.
Bogles ( boxers/ beagles) are apparently " designer dogs", like labradoodles, pomapoos etac.
Athough I actually have no idea if his lineage was by accident or design.</p>
<p>Darn, where did I put the leash?
Its like having a baby in the house, so many balls, bags, treats, toys & leashes & halters to keep track of already.
Even though we had a 16’ flexi leash that we used with our lab, we had to buy a new one because yesterday morning, he quickly chewed through the cord when I left him for one minute while I looked to see where his ball went to after a ranger program. ( we did find it)
Our lab being bred for hunting- & against chewing, rarely chewed anything that wasn’t edible.
Of course to her, almost everything was. Chicken carcasses, shoes, garbage, kitty roca, plastic bottles of Hershey syrup, disposable contacts…</p>
<p>Cartera, when I adopted a smaller male terrier who was extremely reactive/aggressive toward other dogs – and not very food motivated – the animal behaviorist recommended that I change the feeding schedule. No more breakfast – that way, the dog would be hungry when I was focused on training. My dogs used to be free-fed, but with the shift in feeding schedule, they became much more enthusiastic about food during training. </p>
<p>I’ve gotten a huge amount of mileage out of clicker training, on leash, mostly training to heel. It took me awhile to figure it out because I have 2 dogs that are walked together, but since I have gotten the hang of it I’ve seen a very big difference in behavior. Ideally, I’ll anticipate the reactive situation coming (like walking by a house with a dog in the front yard), and ask the dogs to heel just right before they would otherwise want to be checking out the distraction. Then they have to make a decision… more and more, the decision seems to be to keep their attention focused on mom and the possibility of click & treat. (The idea is also to create an intermittent reward situation, so they never quite know if this will be the time that they will “win” and get a reward). </p>
<p>I have to combine that with some common sense and avoiding situations that become overwhelming. It’s one thing for my dogs to learn to ignore the neighborhood dog who lazes on his front porch – it’s quite another to deal with the pair of dogs in the unfenced yard who rush out at us – better to change my route than expect my dogs to stay calm while other canines are nose-to-nose with them and barking like crazy. So I will definitely cross the street in order to avoid direct confrontations with others who are walking their dogs.</p>
<p>Congrats on the new additions!! I think it happens frequently that dogs die of old age right around when kids leave for college because the dogs were clamored for when the kids were little and DARN IT, we kind of fell in love with them!! And then everybody leaves at the same time :(. Well good for you guys for opening your hearts and homes to new, deserving creatures, they are just as lucky to have you as you are to have them!</p>
<p>EK, I have to laugh, you sound very much like a new parent! :D</p>
<p>Yes, Calmom, I also avoid situations in which I’m not sure the other dogs will be in control. One night last week, we happened upon a cat while walking. She saw the cat before I did and lunged, barking and growling like a mad dog. She’s 55 lbs of pure muscle so it was all could do to hold on. I though to myself that surely the cat would run off so this would pass soon. No, the cat stood her ground, arched her back and started approaching us! It took a minute to get my dog’s attention back to me and I am so thankful I had the e-collar on her. </p>
<p>I walk her every morning before she gets breakfast and she’s happy to get a treat when not under the spell of a small animal. I can drop food on the floor and she pays no attention to it. Food will never be reliable for her. I use the “kiss cue” with her which is similar to clicker training. I used that in horse training and it carries over nicely.</p>
<p>LOL, there’s a cat like that in our neighborhood, too. I thought ours was the world’s most fearless cat – the cat just lies out in the middle of the sidewalk and doesn’t budge.</p>
<p>My feisty dog is very small so I don’t really have to worry about physical control-- but he’s got no common sense and tries to pick fights with dogs that could kill him in an instant. A few days ago there was a Rottweiler sitting in the front of a parked truck with the window rolled down, barking like crazy – I was afraid that the dog might jump out of the car, but fortunately it stayed put (maybe there was a harness or other restraint I couldn’t see). </p>
<p>I don’t think that a food reward is supposed to be a reliable way to distract the dog – I think it’s part of the conditioning and training. That is, the idea is to use a positive association to build up different habits in the dog, starting small and working up over time to more difficult situations. Down the line, the dog doesn’t sit or heel on command because it expects a treat; it does it because it has become conditioned to respond to the command, and the conditioning starts to take over the distraction. But it’s a slow and gradual process, of course. I’m always quick to praise & reward my dog (with lots of attention, not necessarily a treat) when a new milestone is reached. </p>
<p>I personally am not someone who thought it was necessary for my terriers to walk at heel – a loose leash in front of me would be fine – but heeling requires that they pay attention to me, so it has worked out very nicely. It’s gotten so that that instead of walking ahead and pulling me, the dogs now spend 80% of their time on a walk either at my side or behind me. A few months ago I wouldn’t have thought that possible. </p>
<p>I think with a larger dog it’s also important to provide an opportunity for a lot of physical exercise. My terriers are small enough that they can get exercise by racing around the house or my small yard-- the daily walk is more for me than them. That’s one reason why I opted for smaller dogs this time around – my last dog was 65 lb and before that it was 95 lb. – but my current criteria is that I want a dog I know I will be easily able to lift in a dozen years. (I was always terrified that my 65 lb, blind, almost-deaf, and arthritic old lady dog was not going to be able to get up one day and that I wouldn’t be able to lift her). So hopefully my two little guys will be with me until I am in my 70’s.</p>
<p>Yes, the idea behind the e-collar is that you don’t use it unless basic obedience is in place. She heels well and we’re working on the auto sit at heel. She is doing well with the down command and we’re starting to work on a longer stay. The e-collar stimulus is only used to reinforce, at the very low tickle level. Nothing higher is used unless they are willfully disobeying a command that has already been mastered. I can use it in an emergency to keep her from possibly hurting another animal, but until all of her basics are really in place, I do my best to avoid those situations. All commands are perfectly in place inside and in places with no distraction. She is best behaved dog in the house I have every had. She looks for permission to do anything.</p>
<p>That’s great… though it might fade a little over time. (The doggies have a way of figuring out the little stuff they can get away with as they settle into your home and take over your heart).</p>
<p>My 9 yr old golden started chemo on Friday. Turns out she did have cancer, after all. 
But it also turns out that there IS chemo that works for this type to at least achieve substantial remission–and is generally well tolerated–which did not appear to be the case earlier. (Apparently much is known by oncologists that has not made it out to the internet or to general practice vets.) On Sunday she started showing the effects: lethargy, refusing to eat for only the second time in her life. This morning I called the vet and they called in a prescription for anti-nausea meds. She consented to eat some poached chicken bits from my hand and seems to be feeling a little better. Keeping our fingers crossed that she responds to the chemo (bi-weekly oral meds).</p>
<p>I’m so sorry, Consolation. I really hope your pup responds to the therapy, and that she starts feeling like her old self, soon! It’s so hard for us because they can’t tell us how they feel, but I do think they know how much we care. {{{hugs}}}</p>
<p>Best wishes from me too, consolation.
It is hard to get them to eat, especially when that upsets their stomach. Perhaps she would like some canna butter biscuits. ;)</p>
<p>I took mine to the vet today for his intro appt. They substituted another vet from the one that we have a long relationship with, which I didn’t think would be a problem.
However, she was very nervous & tentative, wasn’t comfortable with our dog at all & even labeled him as aggressive when he moved his head toward her when she was giving him a shot. 
( she should have seen my kids behavior if she thought * that* was aggressive!</p>
<p>She had a much more traditional viewpoint of medicine than the other vet & couldn’t really answer my questions about necessary vs suggested vaccines, flea care, foods, etc. Pretty frustrating. The biggest piece of info I got was how much he weighed. 45.6 lbs. 
Supposedly they attempted to reach me to let me know the original vet wasn’t available, but I didn’t have any phone messages.
Hate to have to change vets, but if mine is cutting back her hrs- which I suspect, I’d rather find someone now before we really need them.</p>
<p>I hope your dog’s treatment is successful, Consolation, and that she feels better soon!</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about your dog, Consolation. </p>
<p>We had half hour of panic at our house today, when we couldn’t find our pomeranian. He left the yard for the first time ever. The electric fence hasn’t been working for about a year and he finally figured it out (This dog isn’t very smart). The whole time I was looking for him, I kept worrying about what I would have to tell our son, who left for college last week. We finally heard some dogs barking two houses away and when we investigated, we found they were barking at our dog. He returned to our yard with a rabbits leg in his mouth.</p>
<p>A REAL rabbit? OMG. </p>
<p>My girl hasn’t eaten anything today. If she hasn’t turned the corner by tomorrow, I’m going to have to take her in to be looked at. I keep trying to tempt her with poached chicken.</p>
<p>When our lab was declining in health and we had to coax her to eat ( pretty significant in a lab), I put her food in tuna fish cans, because I could fool her into thinking she was eating cat food.
A new bowl might help.</p>
<p>She won’t even look at a bowl. Everything she ate yesterday was from my hand.</p>