Posted by Doreen
on July 16, 2009, 8:06 am, in reply to "Re: A second Marley!"
I am with Jo here I think going to a possibly stressful environement of training classes is not the thing to do, but getting a Ttouch practitioner who will come to your home and asses the dogs would certainly be well worth while.I must admit I like to try natural remedies wherever possible which is why I suggested a homeopathic vet in my initial e mail. It may be that the younger dogs have identified the oldest one as "weak" and he feels threatened, it's not badnesss on their part it is what happeens in the wild. [perhaps getting a holistic trainer in to assess things might help you identify a way forward?
Have you a nice large comfy crate you can get him accustomed to? If it has nice bedding and a few interesting toys it will be a comfy den rather than a place of detention! If it has a water bowl and is placed in a cool area with plenty of ventilation he should be ok for short periods. The thing to consider too is using Ttouch massage for a short period before you have to leave him. Will try and get some info on natural remedies for lung worm and get back to you.
Doreen www.haveahappyhound.co.uk
--Previous Message--
: Thank you both so much for the sound advice.
: I will try to follow up as much as possible
: as soon as possible. I have a good, kind,
: sensible trainer here who has trained my
: original 2 and I will restore the dogs
: original training schedule as soon as he can
: fit us in. I will also order the book you
: mention.
: The reason I had to stop or rather not start
: the training was because the female had an
: epileptic fit the night before the first
: lesson (probably owing to drugs given during
: her sterilisation operation). The 2 had been
: living together in one room, brother and
: sister unsterilised, no light, heat,
: electricity, water. Once a week someone
: left 10 bowls of water and food and if they
: ate it on day one they waited until day 7.
: This was for 7 months as their owner had
: died - now all this is history and they are
: safe with me.
: There are 2 areas I would really appreciate
: your further help with.
: One is that the male has been diagnosed
: positive for adult heartworm (after 2
: bloodtests to separate laboratories). I
: immediately had treatment for microfilaria (
: baby heartworm) and these were eliminated
: however the tablet has no effect on adult
: heartworm which are growing in his heart and
: possibly breeding. I can keep on killing
: off the microfilaria but the adult worms
: will be damaging his heart in the meantime.
: The treatment I am told is very painful to
: the dog both in terms of administration
: (deep muscle injection) and the arsenic
: which is injected. Let alone the chance of
: heart failure as the worms are eliminated
: from the heart. There seems to be no other
: solution to this but it is hard to subject
: the dog to so much pain and suffering after
: what he has been through.
: The other thing is to ask for any
: suggestions for a temporary period to simply
: detain the dog if we need to take the others
: to the vet for example. I am at home most
: of the day so it is rare for him to be left
: alone but I'm not sure where I can put him
: for a short period of time. Husband
: suggests chaining him up outside as you can
: imagine (for his own good!) and as much as I
: want this training and de=stressing to have
: an immediate effect I am worried about him
: going through glass windows or slashing his
: paws if he is not somehow restrained.
: (still talking about the dog, not the
: husband!)
: Any help you could give would be much
: appreciated.
: Thanks again
:
:
: --Previous Message--
: I would agree with Jo, that this dog sounds
: very much like he is suffering from stress
: and separation anxiety. There has been a
: huge change in his life and he is reacting
: to that. If your husband is starting to get
: a bit irritated he will undoubtedly be
: sensing that which will be making it worse.
: Physical castration is not the answer it
: will take time to build up his confidence
: and trust, the trauma of surgery at this
: time is likely to make things worse insetad
: of better.
: Get him checked out for any physical
: problems like a urine infection/prostate
: problems just to be on the safe side.
: Consider getting some help in relaxing the
: dogs, which can be achieved through
: something like Tellington Touch ( Getting in
: Ttouch with Your Dog by Linda Tellington
: Jones is very comprehensive) and you can
: also get trained practitioners. Try getting
: him to do some Ttouch groundwork exercises
: in the garden instead of him working himself
: up until all he can do is react instead of
: think/listen.
: As Jo mentioned keeping him on long lead
: in the back garden will allow you to keep
: control, and have a chance of distracting
: him onto something more positive. There are
: also a range of homeopathic and herbal
: remedies to help him relax, if your vet is
: not a homeoptathic vet, could you consider
: getting him to refer you to one who is?
: It sounds as though you have doen a lot for
: these dogs, I am sure with time it will come
: right.
: Doreen www.haveahappyhound.co.uk
:
: --Previous Message--
: Hi Marilyn
:
: The 2nd Marley sounds like he is suffering
: from stress and separation anxiety. i take
: it when he is confined he is on his own i.e.
: away from you or the other dogs? When dogs
: get stressed it affects their water works,
: so peeing is a release for them - he's not
: being naughty and shouldn't be punished for
: it.
:
: He may well be picking up on your husbands
: negativity towards him which will make the
: situation worse.
:
: I would not be in a rush to castrate him -
: castration is not a cure-all for these
: problems, or many others that vets suggest.
: The chemical implant they recommend can also
: 'fry' dogs brains and make them worse.
:
: I would start a plan of de-stressing him and
: training in small amounts. Be in no rush to
: start walking him, but do practice lead
: training - Turid Rugaas has a book on lead
: training (look on Amazon), her method is the
: best I have come across. Doing this a few
: times a day, plus games, will help him focus
: (brain work will tire him out), and bond
: with you. Also practice leaving him alone
: for very short periods of time and return to
: him with minimal fuss, to build up his
: confidence in being alone. Try to get your
: husband involved as well, positively!
:
: You may need to accompany him in the garden
: for now on a long lead to stop him running
: off - use this time to reward him for peeing
: in the garden, to reinforce that is where
: you want him to go.
:
: You've done a brilliant thing taking these
: dogs on and you will be fine, it's just some
: dogs take longer to settle than others and a
: house and owner change is a major deal in a
: dog, especially sensitive ones. He just
: needs time!
:
: Best wishes
:
: Jo
:
: --Previous Message--
: I started with 2 Samoyeds(now 4 years old).
: I
: adopted an elderly ill-treated Samoyed 2
: years ago (now 13 years old). I recently
: had no choice but to adopt a brother and
: sister Samoyed (four years old) as they were
: in indescribably bad conditions.
: They both have their medical problems which
: I am curing. Neither have ever seen a lead
: before which is currently making walking
: difficult. The girl is a sweetie, but her
: brother is a second Marley.
: Despite reinforcing all fences he bludgeons
: his way out (but always comes back). If he
: is confined in a room he hacks away at the
: door. I am afraid he may even damage
: himself in his desperation to get out. He
: sometimes pees against the furniture and
: husband is becoming very anti. He is a sweet
: dog in his own way but I don't know how to
: stop him wrecking the house.
: I wanted to have him sterilised but cannot
: until his heartworm is cured (he can't be
: sedated safely). The vet administered a
: "chemical sterilisation implant"
: which she says should last for 6 months but
: is showing no signs of slowing him down.
: I don't know whether to have the dog adopted
: or the husband. Help!
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
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