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Veterinary Science Graduate Programs from U. of I.
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selisona said:
They sell cabinets for cat litter boxes or if you know someone good at woodwork they could make you one that will block your dog from getting inside. http://www.buzzfeed.com/summeranne/27-useful-diy-solutions-for-hiding-the-litter-box
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I should totally make this one (the one on the bottom). The dog would probably be able to get in but not out.... kind of like an IG trap.. :laugh: (I admit it... I have evil thoughts)...

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Nstarz! I read those papers. They make sense about causing fear and so on in the animals and about always having to maintain the "power". I'm just curious if you know if that's always the case. The positioning thing. Because when I used those techniques on my girl is was never about making her afraid. I was always pretty calm. And soothing her. It was more about trying to make her relax and realize she didn't need to be on the offensive. I'm wondering if that isn't recommended either?
 
SOV - What about the Purina HA kibbles as treats? They are very low-calorie and are hypoallergenic. Purina also makes the Gentle Snackers hypoallergenic treats. If your pup likes z/d I have also heard of people using the z/d wet food to make little dog cookies in the oven. As far as the poop snacking, have you tried the feed-through yucky poop treats for your cat? I don't know if it would be strong enough to break your dog's habit, but worth a try. And I feel your pain... I did a 12 week food trial with my pittie who was on steroids for his skin and had the ex-street-dog starvation complex... he basically ended up with PICA (ate his own poop out of his butt, a chair, a pet carrier, screws, tennis balls, rabbit poop, rabbit food...) and resource guarding.

To the person looking for homes for cats - craigslist pets section and flyers have both worked great for me.
 
bunnity said:
SOV - What about the Purina HA kibbles as treats? They are very low-calorie and are hypoallergenic. Purina also makes the Gentle Snackers hypoallergenic treats. If your pup likes z/d I have also heard of people using the z/d wet food to make little dog cookies in the oven. As far as the poop snacking, have you tried the feed-through yucky poop treats for your cat? I don't know if it would be strong enough to break your dog's habit, but worth a try. And I feel your pain... I did a 12 week food trial with my pittie who was on steroids for his skin and had the ex-street-dog starvation complex... he basically ended up with PICA and resource guarding.

To the person looking for homes for cats - craigslist pets section and flyers have both worked great for me.
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HA and gentle snackers IS his diet right now.

I didn't know there was a soft food to use... I should get a script for z/d wet ... I am sure he would love the variety... and then give him more HA as snacks.

Thanks for the recommendation!
 
My cat is super-finicky. I wonder if she would eat them ... She has basically eaten one flavor of one brand of food for most of her life (15+ years). Once they changed the formulation and she wouldn't eat it for a week.

She eats some treats though.... but not many.
 
Abney said:
Nstarz! I read those papers. They make sense about causing fear and so on in the animals and about always having to maintain the "power". I'm just curious if you know if that's always the case. The positioning thing. Because when I used those techniques on my girl is was never about making her afraid. I was always pretty calm. And soothing her. It was more about trying to make her relax and realize she didn't need to be on the offensive. I'm wondering if that isn't recommended either?
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I would hesitate to say 'always' because there's always an exception to the rule. Positive punishment works in some cases, in the short term. A punishment needs to be delivered within a short time (2 seconds or less, I believe, but don't quote me on that) for the animal to link the act with the consequences. So your timing with punishment needs to be impeccable (this includes things like alpha rolls and dominance downs). A lot of people can't do that precisely (which is one of the big reasons that rubbing your dog's nose in the soiling hours after the incident doesn't work). So the dog is being punished and it doesn't know why. Which can lead the dog to feel that it needs to protect itself (hence increased aggression seen with these techniques).

You may very well not be projecting a fearful state when you roll her on her back, but that position is very scary for dogs to be in. She probably feels very vulnerable in that position. A big misunderstanding in the dominance-based training world is that a) wolves have a strict hierarchy and b) dogs are competing with us for resources/status in the 'pack.' A wolf pack is made up of a breeding pair and their offspring, So the breeding pair is automatically the most "dominant" in the pack because they are the parents (and those pesky cubs better listen to mom and dad! Lol.) When wolves are of breeding age, they leave the pack and start their own. Furthermore, if wolves were to show submissiveness to another wolf, it would be voluntary. THe way we do it, it's forced on the part of the dog to be "submissive" when it really creates fear. Also, dogs aren't dumb. They know we're not dogs. They know we control the resources. I think if any species wanted to "dominate" us in the dog-training world sense, it would be cats :laugh: I think dominance is about bullying our dogs. I believe more in a mutual, respectful relationship with my pooch, which is why when I ask him to do something and he listens, I reward him with yummy things for making the right decision. Punishment also doesn't tell the dog what TO do, only what NOT to do.

Hypothetically, if your dog were practicing poor behavior, and I wanted to discourage it, I would desensitize and countercondition to the stimulus. So, if a dog were lunging/growling at passing dogs on the street, you start from a safe (no reaction) distance, get a good "watch me" command and then move closer and closer to the dog. As you decrease the distance, ask for a watch me, then reward. The dog will eventually learn that dogs on the street mean yummy things are coming. I would much rather my dog have that reaction to something it used to fear than one it may get from being pinned on its back when it sees a dog (which only reinforces the fear it had already).

Does all that make sense? Sorry, I was rambling. ANd I don't really know if I answered your questions.
 
StartingoverVet said:
HA and gentle snackers IS his diet right now.

I didn't know there was a soft food to use... I should get a script for z/d wet ... I am sure he would love the variety... and then give him more HA as snacks.

Thanks for the recommendation!
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My kitty (who, if I recall, has similar symptoms to your pup) is on z/d with good results. She gets the wet food as her meal and the dry as a snack.
 
NStarz said:
Hypothetically, if your dog were practicing poor behavior, and I wanted to discourage it, I would desensitize and countercondition to the stimulus. So, if a dog were lunging/growling at passing dogs on the street, you start from a safe (no reaction) distance, get a good "watch me" command and then move closer and closer to the dog. As you decrease the distance, ask for a watch me, then reward. The dog will eventually learn that dogs on the street mean yummy things are coming. I would much rather my dog have that reaction to something it used to fear than one it may get from being pinned on its back when it sees a dog (which only reinforces the fear it had already).

Does all that make sense? Sorry, I was rambling. ANd I don't really know if I answered your questions.
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Missed the earlier convo... but I do find that what is necessary is not dominance but confidence and assertiveness. If my dogs sense I am aware and in control they are less likely to act out.. This is not about using punishment to create that.

Dogs are dogs, they are not human friends, and they often do need to feel secure. You have to maintain an attitude that you expect the dog to listen to you, not a negotiation, and remain calm and in control.

Remaining assertive helped a lot training my "difficult" pup (who turned out great). People don't understand what assertive means though.... it is NOT aggressive, it is not argumentative, and it is not negative.
 
StartingoverVet said:
Missed the earlier convo... but I do find that what is necessary is not dominance but confidence and assertiveness. If my dogs sense I am aware and in control they are less likely to act out.. This is not about using punishment to create that.

Dogs are dogs, they are not human friends, and they often do need to feel secure. You have to maintain an attitude that you expect the dog to listen to you, not a negotiation, and remain calm and in control.

Remaining assertive helped a lot training my "difficult" pup (who turned out great). People don't understand what assertive means though.... it is NOT aggressive, it is not argumentative, and it is not negative.
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Agree with this! 👍
 
StartingoverVet said:
Ah moderation. THat elusive concept around here.

I will have to try them though. He just seems like a marshmallow kind of boy to me. Thanks.
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Is pumpkin allowed in the diet? Had a client who would freeze little teaspoons of it on waxed paper and then just pop one off as needed and toss to the dog. Icecubes with fiber 👍
 
cowgirla said:
Is pumpkin allowed in the diet? Had a client who would freeze little teaspoons of it on waxed paper and then just pop one off as needed and toss to the dog. Icecubes with fiber 👍
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I could be totally, totally off base. But we recommend that as a laxative? Is that good for an IBD pup? I'm seriously curious.
 
Abney said:
Feed cats treats to make their poo yucky?! Why have I not heard of these? I'm guessing they work like Forbid?
Click to expand...

There is a Forbid for cats!

SOV - sorry, I forgot your guy was already on HA, but hopefully the z/d will make for some variety. You could even make z/d frozen kongs. I used to soak HA until it absorbed a lot of water, then pack it in a kong and freeze it.
 
Ok. So listen you guys. Am I total jerk or something? My new dog only has the legs. We had to amputate it because he was attacked by a much larger dog (twice) then dumped by the owner. He is understandable shy. I have no idea if he was like that before. But after giving him time to heal I wanted to get back to socializing. He has done amazingly well. I stay calm but I'm there to step in instantly if he gets uncomfortable. (and Nstarz will be proud! I carry treats for when he has a really good interaction) I decided to try a dog park that is really big so the encounters would be fewer and not overwhelming for him. He did awesome the first time! Then the second time there was a terrier that kept mounting and humping him. He was so good but was getting worked up after about 6 attempts in 15 seconds as I went to break it up. Well, Ben snapped at the dog and the dog yelped. (the owners were like "I guess he's not ready for the park. And I was like "yeah, I guess yours isn't either since he doesn't have any manners and is a serial rapist") After that he was just fine with every other dog we met.

Then I took him to Petco, no issues with other dogs but I was making official and cutting a tag. He freaked a tad at the sound of the machine. I knelt down and was very reassuring and made his focus me, then he did fine. But this lady was making comments and giving me terrible looks for making him stay there.

Am I an *******? A terrible owner? I really like to think I'm a good dog mom! (even though I was using outdated training 🙁)
 
Abney said:
I could be totally, totally off base. But we recommend that as a laxative? Is that good for an IBD pup? I'm seriously curious.
Click to expand...

IBD specifically, no clue whatsoever. But I know vets who recommend it as a "treatment" for both diarrhea and constipation. Supposedly it balances it out either way or something like that. Yay fiber?
 
Stuck at work for an extra 4 hours because no one else showed up on time to start the 8.5 hour study..... thanks everyone.....
 
Abney said:
Ok. So listen you guys. Am I total jerk or something? My new dog only has the legs. We had to amputate it because he was attacked by a much larger dog (twice) then dumped by the owner. He is understandable shy. I have no idea if he was like that before. But after giving him time to heal I wanted to get back to socializing. He has done amazingly well. I stay calm but I'm there to step in instantly if he gets uncomfortable. (and Nstarz will be proud! I carry treats for when he has a really good interaction) I decided to try a dog park that is really big so the encounters would be fewer and not overwhelming for him. He did awesome the first time! Then the second time there was a terrier that kept mounting and humping him. He was so good but was getting worked up after about 6 attempts in 15 seconds as I went to break it up. Well, Ben snapped at the dog and the dog yelped. (the owners were like "I guess he's not ready for the park. And I was like "yeah, I guess yours isn't either since he doesn't have any manners and is a serial rapist") After that he was just fine with every other dog we met.

Then I took him to Petco, no issues with other dogs but I was making official and cutting a tag. He freaked a tad at the sound of the machine. I knelt down and was very reassuring and made his focus me, then he did fine. But this lady was making comments and giving me terrible looks for making him stay there.

Am I an *******? A terrible owner? I really like to think I'm a good dog mom! (even though I was using outdated training 🙁)
Click to expand...

TBH I think dog parks are horrible places for socializing a dog.... mostly because your common everyday dog owner knows nothing about dog behaviour and will bring any dog into the park - even one that doesn't belong there.. it is like bringing a bunch of humans into one place and expecting everyone to get along (it just doesn't happen)... the problem is if you are trying to build up a dog's confidence every bad encounter he has will set him back... so every bad experience he has with some ill behaved or socially inept or aggressive dog is just going to set him back on the confidence scale... I would much rather see you get him in a small group of 2-3 dogs that you know their owners really well and the dogs personalities... that way you can ensure he has positive experiences when he is out.... small play groups are better than large dog park situations... hope that makes sense.. it is late....

Also as far as the machine at Petco goes... instead of keeping him at a spot where he was still freaking him out and reassuring him... I would take him to a distance where he is ok with the machine... seems relaxed... then treat him at that spot... then work your way towards the machine slowly... treat and praise... until you are next to it.. this might take more than one session... till you get him completely comfortable and able to stand next to the machine and not be freaked by the sound.... the issue with having him right next to the machine and freaking out whilst you are reassuring him is you are thus reinforcing his freak out... so he thinks "oh I am justified to be terrified of this scary machine" instead of realizing it is no big worry at all... which is why you need to take him back to a spot where there is no reaction and slowly work towards it.....

does this all make sense?

or am I speaking gibberish?

honestly... you are not a terrible dog owner... you are willing to work with your dogs and learn new ideas/ways... I commend you!
 
Well I have had a full month of socializing him at work so please don't think I took him straight to the park lol. Since they HAVE to go to work with me. I work an hour's drive away with no one to let them out. I started with the other tech's dogs, clients dogs etc. and did great. He's just a little shy, and I only say it like that because my girl is like "ohai! Let's be best friends" That's why I decided to try the park?

With the machine I didn't praise him until he turned his attention to me. He was growling and barking at the machine some. It wasn't like he was in full on panic mode ya know? So I tried to get him to focus on me until he did then I rewarded him with praise. If he stopped to look at the machine I stopped the loves and got him to look at me again?

I'm just second guessing because of those people and the fact that I'm incorporating better reinforcement? I don't know.
 
I think when I move I'll have better play group options. Hopefully. Since I live so far from work and those friends with well behaved, trustworthy dogs. Either my friends don't have dogs here in town, or they are horribly misbehaved.
 
I was trying to move my shelfy thingy a smidge and the shelf collapsed! Glass everywhere. Omg. And I'm trying to keep the animals away. I pulled piece of glass out and holy crap the blood. But it's not as bad as I thought. I was worried.

Back to drinking my wine from coffee mugs. I'm classy like that.
 
jmo1012 said:
thats awful. this is my biggest fear about surgery/anesthesia. i am so scared of the perfectly healthy patient that drops dead during the procedure because they just happen to be that tiny percentage of randomness. i'm so sorry 🙁
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i know this is really late but thanks jmo and i 😍 your blog 😀😀
 
Abney said:
I was trying to move my shelfy thingy a smidge and the shelf collapsed! Glass everywhere. Omg. And I'm trying to keep the animals away. I pulled piece of glass out and holy crap the blood. But it's not as bad as I thought. I was worried.

Back to drinking my wine from coffee mugs. I'm classy like that.
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Yikes!

A few weeks back, my one cat broke 9 glasses. Had them drying on a towel on my table, middle of night she decided to go skating across the table and snag the towel on her way jumping down.

Glad you (and the animals) are ok!
 
selisona said:
They sell cabinets for cat litter boxes or if you know someone good at woodwork they could make you one that will block your dog from getting inside. http://www.buzzfeed.com/summeranne/27-useful-diy-solutions-for-hiding-the-litter-box
Click to expand...

I have a version of this one!

http://www.ikeahackers.net/2009/05/put-cat-litter-box-at-entryway.html

I can post an actual picture if anyone wants it. It has doors on both sides because the dog is ... well, extra determined. It's not perfect but it works well enough and looks way better than a normal box, which is good since we don't have a good place for a normal box to go (esp out of doggie reach).

And this is so random, but I think it was from somewhere in this thread, or maybe the 2017 thread, but they totally sell Old Bay in Missouri. It's not like a black hole or something. :d
 
twelvetigers said:
And this is so random, but I think it was from somewhere in this thread, or maybe the 2017 thread, but they totally sell Old Bay in Missouri. It's not like a black hole or something. :d
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that was me. 😳

I did not mean in anyway to imply that Missouri is a black hole. Old Bay is just more of a regional thing as far as I know and I wasn't sure if it was something they carried out there.
But, good to hear! 🙂
 
Abney said:
Hang on.... tt will link me Google so I should just look it up
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:laugh: I was just gonna say, highlight it, right click and select "google". Does it for you. :naughty:

Abney said:
Oh it's seasoning?! What a let down! I was thinking whiskey or some other staple for living! Lol
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Yeah, I was thinking some type of alcohol, too. 🙁
 
Fishy seasoning. That's all. I definitely have some somewhere, though I use it in other things besides fish usually.

And yeah, abbers - the corg sure does make an effort to get in there. It's good to keep dogs out based on the size of the hole cut out, and not based on height.
 
twelvetigers said:
Fishy seasoning. That's all. I definitely have some somewhere, though I use it in other things besides fish usually.

And yeah, abbers - the corg sure does make an effort to get in there. It's good to keep dogs out based on the size of the hole cut out, and not based on height.
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:laugh: but I have dachshunds and a 15lb cat! (and he's not even a year!)
 
I am no good as a receptionist. Oh I can talk with the clients and handle stupidity all right, but understanding what people are trying to say over the phone and inputing tickets and such is just not my forte. A mistake I made a while back keeps jumping up and biting me in the arse, and I hate it when there is nothing I can do to help correct it. Argh. Makes for a whole week and probably more of feeling incompetent. 🙁 I hate paperwork. RAWR. GRRRR. etc.
 
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