love the puppy pics! the one with the little feet in the air is just priceless! Happy Birthday Ayo!
Happy Birthday Oakley
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I'm late to the party, but Happy Belated Birthday to Oakley! I hope he had a wonderful day (with perhaps a b-day romp in the trash?).
I'm glad to see him looking healthier. Looks like he has his spunk back. Has he gained back all the weight he lost?
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Hi Pamela, Oakley decided to help me rip up his food bag on trash day..perhaps he thought smaller pieces were easier for me to manage???
He certainly regained his spunk and all his weight. It took months to get him back from that..and even longer to get him mentally readjusted after the surgery…I love looking at him and not seeing ribs or spine, I appreciate him having weight on him so much more. Crossing my fingers that age three is when he starts to become more responsible but in the last couple days I have yet to see any change in maturity..lolThree years has come and past...kinda sad how quick it moves, thanks to everyone for the wishes!!
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Happy Belated Barrooo Day to Oakley, he is still as gorgeous as ever. Hard to believe he is three already!
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Hi Pamela, Oakley decided to help me rip up his food bag on trash day..perhaps he thought smaller pieces were easier for me to manage??? He certainly regained his spunk and all his weight. It took months to get him back from that..and even longer to get him mentally readjusted after the surgery…I love looking at him and not seeing ribs or spine, I appreciate him having weight on him so much more. Crossing my fingers that age three is when he starts to become more responsible but in the last couple days I have yet to see any change in maturity..lol
Three years has come and past...kinda sad how quick it moves, thanks to everyone for the wishes!!
LOL. That Oakley– always trying to help out! He looks great-- so sleek and shiny and happy. I'm really glad he's thriving after those scary back-to-back episodes.
The time truly does go fast-- too fast when they're sweet... and not fast enough when they're feeling naughty.
Are you still thinking of getting a second B, Chealsie-- a little red girl to keep Oakley company? -
How's Ava doing?
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I always think it would be good for Oakley to have another dog…mainly because working with his behaviorist we've determined Oakley to be fear aggressive and he is so ambiguous with other dogs...as his behaviorist puts it: he wants to interact with other dogs but when push comes to
Shove he can't handle the interaction..with repeated exposures he is capable of progress; for instance he does really well with his schnauzer buddy whose 6 months younger and he's known since they were little and now she got another schnauzer and he is slowly becoming less reactive and much more tolerant...he was never this way until maturity but now he is so socially awkward (like I had never exposed him to dogs...which we always did)...I think having an in house playmate would help further him in that arena but it will also be tough at first for him to get along with another dog....which scares me..personally, I'm past the point of wanting a second but I always think it would help make Oakley a better dog with his fear aggression...if I do in the future, I predict it will be a little red and white girl named Aspen...I always wanted an Oakley and Aspen...
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Oakley and Aspen– sounds like a plan, Chealsie! I can understand your hesitation in getting another dog. It could be a big help—or it could make your situation even worse. There’s just no way to know.
It's amazing how different Bs can be. Spencer was a bit like Oakley, in that he was very well socialized from the beginning, but started liking other dogs less at maturity. He didn't have Oakley's fear aggression, but he preferred people to dogs. Ava is the complete opposite. She seems to prefer dogs to people and is happiest at doggie daycamp, where she can romp nonstop with any dog that will play with her.
Agilebasenji, Ava is Ava. She didn’t really outgrow any of her behaviors or health issues; I've just had to adapt and learn some calming signals of my own. Thanks for asking about her!
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Exactly, it could go either way…I think long term I could get him to adapt because I always get positive results from him with repeated exposure..like with the schnauzer puppy..we both thought in the beginning that it might not work for even walking them together but now she's my dog walker and walks Oakley with both her schnauzers..and while he sometimes snaps at the pup it hasn't been a bite, more like a warning to cut the puppy crap..his aggression with dogs was really an off guard over night thing...and I will say it's very difficult for me that I can't really trust Oakley in the company of dogs (especially) or people....the people part is because he's food aggressive and territorial (even food scraps in trash)...and it's constant supervision and assessing which situation are safe and which could cause a stir..he's a complicated and mixed bag...and the behaviorist think it all stems from fear aggression...he's more reactive because while he's fear aggressive he doesn't display fear in a visible manner often because for a fear based dog he has a very bold personality...all of this happened after the surgery, not sure why or what happened but I also can't go back and change anything. Hopefully, one by one and slowly he can make friends...you can tell he really wants the interaction but he can't judge a dogs intents up close so he reacts before they do....with those he's friends with he is still not uber tolerant but when annoyed its a snap rather than a 0-10 bite...I dream about him being able to go to a doggy daycare...if only he knew his life would be so much more fulfilling if he got along with dogs
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Yes, it really limits you when you can't trust their behavior around other dogs. The only time Spencer showed any snarkiness was when he was leashed and other male dogs would approach us– and that was only with me. Anybody else could walk him on-leash and he welcomed all dogs, no problem. But he resource guarded me. Does the behaviorist think resource guarding you is part of Oakley's problem? In their eyes, we're the most valuable resource of all!
Have you ever tried Oakley in doggy daycare? They could test him with other dogs first, with trained personnel right there and you not in sight. Is Oakley too nervous to try that? Maybe it would build his confidence, and he would grow to tolerate, then like it, over time. Even though, he'll probably always prefer to be with you. He's a mama's boy. And that's a very sweet thing.
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He does guard me, he tends to have less displacement behaviors when Diann walks him (my friend and dog walker)…he lives running in the dog park but it's always a point of nervousness for me which could be what causes some incidents...so I don't bring him in fairness to those whose dogs don't have a problem..most day area won't take oakleys because of his fear aggression because they don't want to risk a snark/bite..not that I blame them but I do suppose he would be better outside of my presence and for sure he would get acclimated and build confidence, it's just a matter of someone understanding him and working with us to help get Oakley controlled exposure (and that's not easy to get participants for
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He really doesn't show too much anxiety that I can translate to fear outwardly, he really pushes for an interaction (sometime too much so) but he is socially awkward in that dogs behaviors confuse him and/or he can't read them; I think if he had more adult memories built he would have some
To pull from but these days he can't tell if a dog wants to play, how to play, if they are being submissive or I'd they are challenging him...it's as if his puppy experiences are wiped and all he goes off of now is that "momma" doesn't let him see other dogs -
He is a mommas boy..lol, last time we went to the dog park was within the week after the behaviorist and she suggested he wear his gentle leader head halter and have a muzzle so I brought them..he was awkward and the other dogs drew attention to it so I took it off and he started running so the big dogs would chase him..he loved it, but then there was a min ion and he ran ahead and I ran after him and when I arrived it was a standoff..no fight..so for me..I'm nerve wracked..he wants it,like I said but knowing it's a hair trigger makes it unenjoyable and I feel irresponsible allowing it if he could cause a fight; perhaps in the future if we can gather some people to work with us one at a time to build friends and confidence for him
