Posts made by ciarasmom

I have a dog that was diagnosed with IBD, switched to a prescription diet and told to be on a maintaince dose of pred for life, as well. One thing my holistic / traditional vet did was prescribe some herbal supplements to counterbalance the side effects of the steroid. I don't remember what they were but you might ask about that.
You might also ask about Tylan. I was given this yellow powder to give to my dog if she ever had a flare up. I'm told it tastes absolutely awful and that I would have a hard time getting it in my dog. Well, My dog is a very competitive girl, and if my other dog was getting a food treat, she would eat whatever I put in front of her, just so long as the OTHER one didn't get it.
So in my case, an 1/8 teaspon of Tylan powder hidden in canned dog food cleared the problem right up. It is supposed to reduce inflamation of the colon, which is not necessarily the same thing Echo is having trouble with, but I thought I would mention it – you can do your research and ask.
Btw, I did eventually get my dog off of the pred, so perhaps her case wasn't as bad as Echo's.

Agree, let them work it out. By they way, after a while the older one will do the same to the younger (to steal the warm spot on the couch, for example).

@JazzysMom:

I'm sorry…I've never heard that before and it just gave me SUCH a visual

Completely understandable! Maybe someone with first hand experience will chime in with a funny story.

That's exactly what it is, always startles me too every time. No reason to be concerned, altho I don't recall how long it lasts … a few weeks?

There is a vendor at the shows in the Bay area that sells them, I only visit occasionally so I can't think of the name, but I bought one last fall at the Del Valle shows. That's easist, 'cause you can try them on. Many are adjustable tho, so even buying on line should be fine.

oooo, I'm not sure, but I think 4 1/2 months is too soon to say that the testicle will stay undecended. I'd get a bunch of opinions on that, including from your or another experienced breeder.

A lot of people don't realize that B's carry their testicles a little differently than other dogs, and sometimes even judges at shows have trouble finding them because a scared B will pull them up /in.

Andrea is pointing out one of the greatest debates I've seen on lists for the last 10 yrs: which is worse, risk of collar related injury or risk of getting loose without ID? I think this comes down to a personal decision based on a personal situation.
I think the question here is what kind of collar to wear on a walk, and I like the martingale. 14" for young adult, as I recall. My females are wearing 14"-16" diameter collars now. Have fun shopping!

We used to feed the squirrels in the back yard to encourage our fanconi affected boy to go out through the doggie door more often (and he'd potty while out there), so they can be helpful!

Here's another photo of a martingale type collar and a description of why they work well
http://www.arcatapet.com/item.cfm?cat=12781
(small brag, the model dog is one that I raised and placed - proud grandma!)

I prefer martingles because they do tighten like a choke when the dog pulls so they can't back out, but they don't have the "choking" effect of a chain.

Lots of people like harnesses too, and they are certainly secure, but I wonder / worry if they teach the dog to pull. So many people complain to me that they wish their basenji didn't pull.

I personally use a really wide 2" martingale collar that is padded for every day / out for a walk. I use a buckle collar for obed / rally training, because I don't want to be tempted to use the collar as a training tool. My friend makes my collars for me, but if you search the net for "hound collars" you might find something.

Kudos to you for testing your dog, that is so important and I'm guilty of not doing it enough. I will test mine tonight, inspired by your reminder.
Catching it early is a good thing, and many dogs do really well on the protocol for many many years.

Yawning is also a "calming signal," something dogs do when they are nervous, to try to get others around them to relax.
http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/calmingsignals.html
I just did a quick google, found this site, and they say lip licking is too. Scan through this webpage and see if anything else sounds like Wyatt. I would be curious what you think.

@pastal:

I heard the low growl from Achilles and I picked up the water bottle, and banged it on the table. He stopped and walked away.

I'm glad to hear that it's working. Whew! Now that you are having some success, I'd suggest you (or anyone in this situation) could go one step further: when he stops but before he walks away have him perform an easy behavior, like sit, then praise him. Better yet, when he comes in from the walk make eye contact with him before he approaches another dog, and whoo-hoo, praise for ignoring the other dog and looking at you.

I guess I'm just a praising nut, but I like to find opportunities to praise all the time. (my cell phone even rings a happy song!)

You know, I thought of something else, flower essences. Last year when I was having some fights between my girls, two well bred, well trained basenjis, a consultant started making me a special blend that I put in their water or directly on their tongues. It might have nothing to do with it, but I think it's working. I went without it for about three weeks and Lucy started getting edgy again.
You can probably find Bach's Rescue Remedy in a health food store near you tomorrow until you can get more first-hand, professional help.

Hi Pastal,
I think you're a very alert person, it sounds like you will be very good working with Achilles until he goes to his new home. Keep up the good work having him work to earn his dinner, this is a very important lesson for a 4 month old boy who's trying to figure out his place in this home.

I find dogs who are a little tightly wound calm substantially when they understand their place, and when they understand what to do to get what they want. For example, he sits and stays to get his dinner. You can have him earn other things: from now on he has to sit before going out the door, sit before coming out of the crate, sit before playing with a toy. And you will praise praise praise him every time he does that, which will reinforce that you are leader of the pack and he doesn't have to try to be.

Another great thing you can do is in addition to using the house line for safety, you can start to teach him "come" and reward with cookies … make him start to think that you are the source of all things good and he'll hopefully pay less and less attention to the other dogs at all.

Any other lessons / tricks will give him a positive outlet for his energy.

Digging: my couches are covered with blankets and pillows, which while they dig they scatter all over the room. Seems to satisfy their reason for digging with (knock on wood) no damage to sofa.
Periodically I make a half-hearted fuss "oh my, look at this, pillows everywhere" which I then put back on the sofa for them to knock off again.

I started leaving mine out on really nice sunny days when they were likely to sleep in the sun, then move indoors and flop in the shade, then move back out to the sun … too busy sunbathing to look for trouble.

however I know every day there is a risk that they will chew up something. Like opening a closet door, pulling out all the dirty laundry and making it unnecessary to bother washing.

I don't know … it sounds like you're doing the right things and had a bad day? You might want to keep her leashed to you for a day or so, crate her a bit more for a short while. If it continues, you might give her the benefit of the doubt and see if she has a bladder infection.

Oh, neat! Tell us how it goes!

I agree with Andrea, I think there is certainly hope! there have been some other threads in the behavior section that I think would be very helpful for you, as well as the obedience / agility section. Pick something simple you can teach her, and reward her for so that you start to build a language. When she starts being a problem, have her do the thing you taught her and reward her for it. That's the start of "getting under control."

Hi,
I didn't clicker train my first dog, I used MOSTLY positive reinforcement, but I also "molded" behaivor with her, pushing her to sit, pushing her to down, etc. and now she often only does it when I touch her, that has become her "cue."
Clickers are used to "mark" the behaivor, but the concept also gets the dogs to OFFER behaivors in order to make you click and dispense food. It's this aspect that I think works very well–let the Basenji think he controls the situation, he does something to make you provide food. Doesn't that sound like something a Basenji would like?
www.clickersolutions.com can help you find a clicker trainer. Or read the info on the site and incorporate the concept in your regular class. I do recommend continuing with a class, repeating the one you are in if necessary. I think it's important to keep training, and many of us (myself included) are too lazy to keep up with it on our own. :o)
I have a good Shake, Hi Five, one that will roll over, one that will wave, and instead of a sit pretty, I have one that stands on her hind legs and throws her front paws up over her head "stick 'em up!"