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Postby TheRedQueen » June 11th, 2011, 10:53 am

Relaxation Protocol:
http://www.dogscouts.org/Protocol_for_relaxation.html

I found this too...a yahoo group based on the Emma Parsons book..."Click to Calm"
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Click_To_Calm_List/

Changing Stress Cues to Calm Cues:
http://www.clickertraining.com/node/339

Training a Hyper Dog to Calm Down (the bottom of the article has ideas for clicking for calm behavior)
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues ... 259-1.html

Pat Miller's All is Calm article
http://www.peaceablepaws.com/articles.p ... 1&type=Pat

Clicking for calming signals
http://www.pickofthelitterdogtraining.c ... ssion.html

Karen Pryor on clicking calming signals
http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/karenpryor.html
"I don't have any idea if my dogs respect me or not, but they're greedy and I have their stuff." -- Patty Ruzzo

"Dogs don't want to control people. They want to control their own lives." --John Bradshaw
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Postby hugapitbull » June 11th, 2011, 11:32 am

Awesome, Erin! Thank you for the links!
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Postby Tubular Toby » June 11th, 2011, 10:13 pm

I feel in no way equipped to handle this. I am trying my best. I've been trying my best since I decided that I was committed to Toby years ago. I've done everything within my means and power to ensure that I give my dog the best. Every, EVERY decision in my life in the last few years has included Toby. Where to live, how to live, my budget, my lifestyle. I'm not saying I'm anything special. That's what we do here at PBT. We make our dogs a cornerstone of our lives.

I am saying this only out of a need to vent. Out of a need for someone to say, "I understand." I don't need a lecture on how I need to be committed to my dog, I am. If I know ANYTHING, I know how committed I am to my dog.

I feel like I am in over my head. I am scared that this may not have the happy ending I've always envisioned with Toby. I always saw Toby growing old, hell, even arthritic, seeing my family start. Seeing Allen and I together for the long haul. Now I am scared of what might happen.
-Kristen
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Postby TheRedQueen » June 11th, 2011, 10:54 pm

:hug3: You know I understand...and I'll keep helping in any way that I can...
"I don't have any idea if my dogs respect me or not, but they're greedy and I have their stuff." -- Patty Ruzzo

"Dogs don't want to control people. They want to control their own lives." --John Bradshaw
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Postby plebayo » June 12th, 2011, 12:55 am

I was thinking today aside from training -

Did the vet talk to you at all about drugs for anxiety? They have a new one out called Reconcile that is supposed to be better than Clomicalm with fewer side effects.

I'm sure the last thing you want to do is put your dog on medication, but it could potentially help him out. I haven't seen a lot of dogs on anti-anxiety medications but I've met/seen a lot of cats who take Reconcile and Paxil and it makes a HUGE difference for them.

Another thing to try as well would be a DAP collar... I might even be able to send you one just to try if you're interested. They also make plug ins but that obviously wouldn't really be helpful outside of the home.
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Postby amazincc » June 12th, 2011, 2:26 am

Tubular Toby wrote:I don't need a lecture on how I need to be committed to my dog, I am. If I know ANYTHING, I know how committed I am to my dog.



I, in NO way, question your commitment to Toby, and I wasn't trying to lecture you. If my post came across that way somehow I sincerely apologize.
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Postby pitbullmamaliz » June 12th, 2011, 7:33 am

Trust me, nobody is questioning your commitment.

I second the anti-anxiety drugs (if this ends up not being a medical issue, obviously). However, instead of Reconcile, which is bloody expensive and is simply Prozac, ask your vet for a generic script for fluoxetine (generic prozac). It is only $4 for a month supply at most pharmacies. There is also l-theanine, which is not a medicine but a natural amino acid: http://www.swansonvitamins.com/SWU110/ItemDetail .
"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"

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Postby iluvk9 » June 12th, 2011, 9:30 am

Tubular Toby wrote:I am saying this only out of a need to vent. Out of a need for someone to say, "I understand." I don't need a lecture on how I need to be committed to my dog, I am. If I know ANYTHING, I know how committed I am to my dog.


Take a deep breath, Petunia. I have been following this thread, with nothing to add of value except good thoughts. No where did I pick up that anyone said anything to infer you weren't committed, and doing everything you can.

Me thinks the stress is rubbing off on you and you are becoming reactive. :giggle: And here I can give advice...Try not to let your emotions about what he is or isn't going to do during situations, transfer to him. I had to learn that with Harley and his eating problems.
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Postby Tubular Toby » June 12th, 2011, 10:59 am

Quick reply, that wasn't so much directed towards this thread's past as it was towards responses to my fear and the future. Don't worry, I keep it together during the day and especially when working with Toby. At night though, I tend to let my worries get me down.
-Kristen
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Postby amalie79 » June 12th, 2011, 10:42 pm

I think a lot of us on here understand. I've had an HA dog and had to dedicate a lot of energy to managing him. Just hang in there. You'll be ok, whatever happens.
"In these bodies, we will live; in these bodies we will die.
Where you invest your love, you invest your life." --Marcus Mumford

--Amalie
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Postby Tubular Toby » June 14th, 2011, 3:40 am

In new news- Toby is obviously feeling better, but still sleeps a LOT and won't eat out of a bowl, the only way I can entice him to eat is with his Kong Wobbler, but even then he doesn't finish it all and plays with it much more slowly than he used to. But he isn't nearly as bad off as he was last Monday. I was really worried about him then. I'm going to go ahead and call the vet on Wednesday and see if she recommends doing blood work or what.

At this point, trying to remember to take it one day at a time is the hardest (but also most helpful!) part.
-Kristen
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http://tubular-toby.blogspot.com/
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Postby pitbullmamaliz » June 14th, 2011, 7:29 am

I would really push for more medical tests. That just seems so strange. Still keeping you guys in my thoughts. :hug3:
"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"

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Postby furever_pit » June 14th, 2011, 10:39 am

I second more medical tests. For the dog to be somewhat lethargic and not wanting to eat...somethings up.
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Postby Tubular Toby » June 14th, 2011, 11:24 am

Yup... Definitely calling the vet. He looked at his food and went and laid down. He only ate once yesterday at my urging/playing with his Wobbler. Didn't finish all of his food then either.

Thank you all for your support! <3 It means the world to me.
-Kristen
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Postby Tubular Toby » June 15th, 2011, 2:54 pm

We have an appointment at 4:30 today. My mom came over and he usually dances and is excited to see her. He went outside to pee, came back in, wagged his tail at her, and went to lay down in his crate again. Pale gums, cold ears/nose, lethargic. Got up awhile later and jumped on his nylabone, then went and laid down. It's like he wants to play, but he doesn't.
-Kristen
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http://tubular-toby.blogspot.com/
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Postby Tubular Toby » June 15th, 2011, 2:58 pm

Well we left for about an hour or so to run some errands and when we came back, his gums are more pink and he's not as cold (I did turn the air up some, but it still wasn't cold in my house...). He's still cool, just not cold. Still, his eyes are sort of glazed over and he looks exhausted. :( Poor boo.
-Kristen
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http://tubular-toby.blogspot.com/
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Postby pitbullmamaliz » June 15th, 2011, 3:57 pm

Poor kid. :( Please update us ASAP.
"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"

http://www.pitbullzen.com
http://inaradog.wordpress.com
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Postby plebayo » June 15th, 2011, 3:58 pm

I hope you get some answers!
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Postby TheRedQueen » June 15th, 2011, 4:17 pm

Good thoughts for both of you...:hug3:
"I don't have any idea if my dogs respect me or not, but they're greedy and I have their stuff." -- Patty Ruzzo

"Dogs don't want to control people. They want to control their own lives." --John Bradshaw
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Postby Tubular Toby » June 15th, 2011, 7:57 pm

Today we saw a different doctor, one of the highly recommended vets in my town. He looked at Toby's chart (including the timeline that I made for last week's appointment) and asked me a few questions just to get everything straight. Told him everything I could possibly think of. He said they would go ahead and draw some blood and do a CBC and Chem Panel. I also took in a fresh urine sample and he analyzed it.

Everything checked out within normal ranges. :headdesk: This is good news, but it's also puzzling news. Ruled out some more things, I guess.

He said with the stretching, hesitancy to jump on furniture, even the episodes of aggression, that it sounds like it could be osteoarthritis or something similar. We all agreed that Toby is a pretty stoic dog when it comes to pain, so he could just be showing subtle signs.

I don't know. I am skeptical. But I'm also willing to try anything at this point. So he prescribed five days of Rimadyl and asked me to call him and let him know how Toby was doing at that point. If he was stretching less, getting on furniture, feeling better, etc, it was a good place to start. He also recommended having a trainer come to my house and work with us instead of going to their place. This has been a priority, getting back to work with Kathy Cascade, but it's also been held off on since Toby hasn't been feeling well. If the Rimadyl helps, I'll put that back up in the top priority spot. He said it wasn't uncommon for him to see dogs with pain problems act out like this and it was probably a combination of that and a protectiveness (My trainer friend and I actually discussed this very real possibility, since Toby is okay with US approaching people, but didn't like Allen approaching us in the dark, for example. Was fine with a friend in the house, but didn't like it when she went down the hall and started to approach us again). He did say that he felt that the two were definitely linked and not just coincidental, but that it could be a combination of things. I totally understand that.

He also said that our next step would be to consider sedating and doing hip/back x rays... Sounds expensive, I do know that.

Our total today was $177. $20 for the exam (yay, it wasn't $48!!), $44 for the Chem 10, $40 for the Complete Blood Count, $50 for the Urinalysis and $23 for the Rimadyl.
After last week's cost, I asked about payment plans. Luckily, they take Care Credit and even MORE luckily, I got approved for it up to $500. So I'm going to definitely start paying that off, but money seriously sucks right now.
-Kristen
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Buy the ticket, take the ride

http://tubular-toby.blogspot.com/
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