Yet Another Cycling Forum
Random Musings => Miscellany => Where The Wild Things Are => Topic started by: woollypigs on 31 August, 2013, 07:25:03 pm
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Well after a few years of nagging I have finally managed to drag Peli to a place to look for a dog to have. Lots of talking to and fro over the last years - rescue or kennel dog? Listed the pro and cons about where to get it from, what kind, size etc etc etc. I have always had dogs while growing up and pretty much all my friends and family has dogs. Peli have grown up dog less - cats and horses was her thing. Though while on tour we meet plenty of lovely dogs, both wild/farm and at friends and this have turned Peli around. Luck would have it that her asthma isn't playing up while around dogs and she really likes walking them too, she even scooped the poop :)
After a lot of talking and surfing various dog related websites, we had narrowed it down to a Lurcher or Working Cocker Spaniel. So today we went, pretty much last minute, jumped into the car and went.
We arrived at Darlington Dogs Trust (http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/rehoming/searchcentres/darlington/default.aspx#.UiIw_B1Dt2M) was greeted by great staff and went around to look at the dogs there. We found beautiful Lizzy the whippet/lurcher who we fell for right away, but sadly (for us only) she was picked by others while we where there.
Though then there was young Scrappy a "border" collie cross (crossed with what?) who came and said hallo to us - full of beans, 6 months old, gentle, lots of jumping and no big time licking. It is hard not to like her even when we said that border collies was not the dog for us. She was all over the place on the lead, though that is something we can train out of her. She will give us a run for the money on the moors, which we need :)
(http://www.woollypigs.com/photos/dogs/Scrappy-IMAG0114.jpg)
(http://www.woollypigs.com/photos/dogs/Scrappy-IMAG0116.jpg)
(http://www.woollypigs.com/photos/dogs/Scrappy-IMAG0113.jpg)
Now would it be wrong to go again tomorrow to say that we like to rehome this mutt?
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Scrappy is lovely and we are so tempted!
But we know that border collies needs a heck of a load of exercise and entertainment, and are prepared for that. I will be working at home all the time, and Woolly currently has 3.5 days off a week. So we are going into this with open eyes.
Any advice or tips from experienced dog owners would be much appreciated. Oh, and does anyone have any ideas what Scrappy might be crossed with?
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Top tip from my dog-owning elder sister....
"Just remember who is chief wolf. And make sure that your dog remembers it too!"
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Looks like Scrappy is crossed with cute.
What a pretty lady!
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Yup I know that we need to be "strict" when it comes to what it can do and not do and stick with it, if it can lay on the sofa then it can lay on the sofa. I got my dog advice from my uncle who is a pro dog trainer for the Danish and Norwegian Police, Danish Guide Dogs and had a top world ranking dog in ability training and have read a fair blogs and books.
Now we just need to get fit walking :)
Yes she is darn cute.
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Scrappy looks lovely.
I would suspect the Black and Tan colouring is the best clue to the other parent since it isn't a common colour for a collie. She looks fairly dainty so something smaller than a collie. Something like a Dachshund could be that colour.
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As an ex border collie owner (here (http://www.londondailyphoto.com/oldwebsite/dogs.html) is his autobidography, optimised for 1200 baud modems), I would recommend whole heartedly, as long as you are prepared to walk them for an hour a day min. Robust, easy going, doggie smarts big time (not human like smarts, doggie smarts) and a wonderful independence of spirit like few other dogs.
You will not be sorry.
Oh, and I'd say doberman.
ETA: Feline is probably more right, but I wouldn't rule out dobey ;)
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Has mummy Scrappy been laying down on the job then :)
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Looks like you've got a friend for life. If you're ready and can give her a good home, go for it!
My dog (Bumper) is a rescue dog and he's the biggest pain in the arse I've ever known*, I don't regret getting him though. He also picked us when we visited, I think his other owners died of starvation. He must have eaten everything in the house, he has hollow legs.
As you've probably discussed together, they're a big commitment.
Hes still my best friend though and I'd do it all again.
* he's in 'the dog house' this week because he's been really naughty for various reasons. It's part of his charm though.
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Other parent could be a daschund, as above, or maybe a miniature pinscher? Or, for a bit of local flavour, a Lakeland terrier or Lancashire heeler?
It matters not, if she's 6 months old then she's not going to end up huge, and a mixture is often better than a bred-to-death pedigree, I think, in terms of their future health.
The main thing is her personality and she is still young enough to be readily trained and to lose any bad habits she might have picked up. I'm you two do easily enough walking to keep her healthy.
It's the personality that counts, so if she seems healthy, happy, good with people, then if you like her, go for it!
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She is from Ireland :)
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Yes, she's currently in the kennel with her brother, who is like her but a bit bigger and mainly white with bits of black and tan. She is very sweet-natured and couldn't wait to come to the front of the kennel to say hi. We fell for her immediately.
Unlike some of the other dogs we saw, she seems young enough not to have any 'issues'. Some of them have such sad eyes and are so nervous. :(
So, Scrappy is:
Happy: tick.
Healthy: tick (and we'll check that further with the Dogs Trust).
Good with people (and dogs): tick.
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As an ex border collie owner (here (http://www.londondailyphoto.com/oldwebsite/dogs.html) is his autobidography, optimised for 1200 baud modems)
Ariel looks like he was a very special and talented woofie, Ham!
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Aww you lucky things! She's gorgeous! Our dog Hudson came from Dogs Trust Sadberge.
My advice? Ignore the dog as much as possible. Read lots of books by people like the Dog Listener. And be consistent.
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A friend of mine got a Border collie puppy a few years ago, bred from two working farm dogs. It was an absolutely stupid choice. He and his partner work full time and they didn't have the time to train, exercise, entertain and stimulate a very intelligent dog that had been bred to work. It was a complete disaster and they had to rehome him on a farm within a couple of months. So yeah, if you're thinking about a collie or a collie cross, you have to have the time and energy to give them what they need.
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She is from Ireland :)
Ah. *Tries to think of wee black and brown Irish dogs*
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We're off to visit the Dog's Trust again. Let's see how the second meeting goes!
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We're off to visit the Dog's Trust again. Let's see how the second meeting goes!
Good luck
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Now where can one get poo bags and a crate etc before Saturday? :)
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Basket or bed, not crate! But well done and congratulations
:-)
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There will be a bed too, but a crate to move her about in the car.
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Yes, I always thought a crate sounded cruel but the Dog's Trust recommended it, to give her security seeing as she's only young. And we've seen Auntie Helen's Poppy who loves hers.
Scrappy was very pleased to see us, and did a lot of wagging and cuddling and generally Being Happy.
Now we just have to find a name! (Scrappy, says my mum, sounds too much like 'Crappy'.) A shortlist is being drawn up.
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Doberman cross?
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Crappy kinda fitted her today since she was a bit of doodoo in her fur, she will get a good scrub when she arrives. Picking her up next Saturday after we have had a half an hour Adult talk/introduction.
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Doberman cross?
The dog home said not Doberman since she's so little. Possibly Dachsund. They don't expect that she will grow more than an inch or so more. She's a little 'un.
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She looks like a lovely dog (although the pictures don't say a lot about her temperament). I assumed that at 6 months old she'd grow a bit more, but from what you say, she's about as big as she'll get. I'm assuming you're sticking with just a dog, but if a cat was ever likely to occur, now's the time to do it, and get them used to each other whilst they're young.
Good luck with her, and obviously keep us informed (with pictures!)
I'd like to own a dog, but work all day, so it's just not reasonable. The cats can look after themselves pretty well, and have the cat flap, but that sort of thing doesn't really work with a dog.
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Her temperament seems good: very gentle indeed, happy, friendly with no behavioural issues other than being boisterous and uncoordinated, which hopefully we can settle with lots of training. She met a couple of other dogs today while on the lead with us and did well: lots of sniffing about but no aggression whatsoever. She's not bitey or licky, gives cuddles willingly and enjoys a good ear/head/anywhere scratch.
She goes crazy on the lead as she's young, cooped up, and a Collie! She hops along on her hind legs, pulling like mad and regularly toppling over in her excitement. The staff at the centre say she's exuberant but trainable and has never shown aggression. The only command she's learned seems to be 'Sit!' which she does biddably, as long as you can get her attention.
No cats for us in this house. This dog - and Mum's cat - is going to keep us busy enough. :o
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Yes it was very refreshing to see her with other dogs today. When two little terries growled at her, she was about 3 metres away and very keen, she just turned away and looked for someone else to play with.
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We just did a 30 minute "evening walk" with our imaginary dog. We thought it best to start to get into the routine! We've discovered that our local recreation ground has a sizeable enclosed dog run, so that will be handy for training and helping Crappy work off some energy.
I stopped short of getting Woolly to fetch a stick.
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Top tip from my dog-owning elder sister....
"Just remember who is chief wolf. And make sure that your dog remembers it too!"
Yep.
It may sound a bit "woo-woo" but one of our friends, who is a proper academic animal behaviourist at the University of Cambridge, strongly recommends the Jan Fennell (http://www.janfennellthedoglistener.com/) books.
Jack was a rescue dog (from Wood Green in Cambridge) and even Mr R now admits he was a better choice than some inbred pedigree dog...
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Yup we know about the pack. Might do the drink lots of tea/beer and pee around the garden trick. My big brother had to do this to get his pack of five dogs to calm down and tell who was the boss.
Last night we watched a DVD from the dogs trust about training and the lady there was also a behaviorist.
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Those little ginger eyebrows will be so expressive. We have a friend who has a collie-cross with, so the Welsh farmer assures them, a German-Shepherd. Lovely do. Lovely temperament. And he loves nothing more than running … and running.
I give you Archie:
(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b176/Riggers_1956/Archie1_zpsdc815647.jpg) (http://s19.photobucket.com/user/Riggers_1956/media/Archie1_zpsdc815647.jpg.html)
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I grew up with border collies (working dogs).
They are by far the most intelligent breed, which brings its own issues.
Some tips.
Border collies have an instinct to herd. They tend to either be 'eye dogs' or 'nippers'. Eye dogs will stare at an animal and flank it; fix animal with eye, dash round, stop and crouch down, stare again, etc. 'Nippers' dash in an nip at ankles.
You'll quickly work out which one your dog is. If she's a nipper, clamp down hard on it, or she'll nip every kid, visitor or postman who comes to your house.
Be the boss. Never respond immediately when she dashes up, only give her a pat and a stroke after she's obeyed a command.
Border collies tend to fix on one person as Teh Boss. Decide if it will be wp or pelly and stick to it. You can both be 'boss' over the dog, but one must be the Alpha as far as the dog is concerned.
Don't be afraid of being very firm, but border collies don't (usually) need shouting at. A stern glare can be very effective.
Although people say border collies need lots of exercise, if they have open space they are self-exercising. Be aware that they can run themselves into the ground.
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Archie is very handsome, Riggers. :D
mrcharly, thanks for the great tips, which are really helpful. I'd read about the different kinds of border collie personality but we are certainly not experts.
The Dog's Trust recommended reward-based training with no punishment. When we have our pre-adoption talk on Saturday I'll ask their behaviourist about how to deal with any nipping.
I've known a few border collies, including one called Toby (http://www.woollypigs.com/wp-content/uploads/toby-stick.jpg) who made friends with us while at a friend's place in Brisbane. Toby insisted on having his stick thrown, and being a mug, I threw it for him. And again. And again. And again, until the stick was a mere splinter lying on the edge of Toby's tongue. You get the picture. This resulted in a painful arm condition which we now know as Toby Arm. Talk about running Peli into the ground. :-[
We're very committed to setting ground rules for Scrappy-not-Crappy from the moment we collect her, but we're expecting the process to be hard work.
We're trying to decide who will be Teh Boss. Woolly has more experience with dogs, and clearly took on that role with the couple of dogs we looked after while in Portland last year. But, I'll be at home with her all day and will be taking her for her afternoon walk (probably the longest one of the day - we'll be walking her x3 each day).
If you consider that she's probably never been allowed to run naturally in her short life, it's understandable that she's a bit wild and just wants to run, run and run.
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Video of Scrappy-not-Crappy (http://www.youtube.com/embed/LNqfIM-1cmQ?feature=player_detailpage)
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she's a bit wild and just wants to run, run and run.
That's just border collies. They have no restraint and will run themselves to the point of collapse. I still have painful memories of taking Dad's border collie on a hike. I ended up carrying her home (she wasn't small).
All border collies of all personality types respond to eye contact (not in an aggressive way; some dog breeds take eye contact as a threat).
names? how about 'Spokey' as in she looks small and useful.
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No need to work out who is chief boss, the dog will do that, all you need to be is equally firm on matters of import. There will be plenty of dog to go around.
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Thanks, Ham.
I'm about to buy a crate for her. Any ideas what size I should go for? She's quite small as you can see from the pictures and video. I see from several suppliers' sites that a 106cm x 71cm x 77cm crate is recommended for Border Collies (as well as these breeds: Bearded Collie, Boxer, Dalmatian, Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, Vizsla). The next one down is 91cm x 60cm x 66cm which is recommended for the following breeds: Beagle, Brittany Spaniel, Cocker Spaniel, English Setter, English Springer Spaniel, Welsh Corgi, Whippet.
I suspect the 106cm will be too big, but we don't really know how big she will grow. Any advice?
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Go for the bigger one, then you won't have to buy another if she does out grow the first one.
For our cats we had the choice of getting small, kitten ones, then buying larger ones later, or just saying "sod it" and buying the ones for adult cats.
You will, probably, only use it once or twice whilst she is small (taking her to the vets for shots, bringing her back from the shelter), but you can guarantee, if you go for the smaller one, the one time you need to take her to the vets is the time you find out she is too big for the one you have :)
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I suspect the 106cm will be too big, but we don't really know how big she will grow. Any advice?
What size fits in the car?
As long as it is big enough for her to stand up in fully and to lie down on her side, that's enough, and if it is going to be used for housetraining purposes it shouldn't be much bigger than that. We've never needed to keep any dog in a crate in the house but it seems to be what some people do.
I don't think she grow more than a couple of inches higher than she is now, at 6 months, but I could be wrong.
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I don't think she grow more than a couple of inches higher than she is now, at 6 months, but I could be wrong.
It's funny you should say that. I just showed a few pictures of her to the man in the pet shop (who seems knowledgeable, but who knows?) and he reckons she's crossed with a GERMAN SHEPHERD and could end up really rather big! :o
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Certainly more plausible than a dachshund, as I'd have thought a collie would be more likely to be in the vicinity of alsatian types rather than sausages, but I'd have thought that she'd be much more rangy at 6 months if that were the case?
She could be younger than 6 months of course, but it sounds about right, as best as can be judged from here.
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I don't think she grow more than a couple of inches higher than she is now, at 6 months, but I could be wrong.
It's funny you should say that. I just showed a few pictures of her to the man in the pet shop (who seems knowledgeable, but who knows?) and he reckons she's crossed with a GERMAN SHEPHERD and could end up really rather big! :o
Check the paws and / or tail. If they need growing into, she will be big.
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Car not a problem as it is a van.
Paws and tail are not too big for her.
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I'd have a modest wager that she won't get huge.
Don't get the biggest crate you can get, you want it to be something that she'll make a bed in rather than having room to walk about, but still tall enough for her to stand up in without having to lower her head.
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Yes, her paws didn't seem noticeably out of proportion to her body, but I'm not an expert. They are quite narrow and slender, not wide and beefy. I'd say she's about 40-45cm at her withers at the moment. And every time we asked the staff at the centre about her adult size they thought she'd grown "another couple of inches" at most.
I know, I'll call the centre and see what size crate they suggest.
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I just spoke to the lovely people at Dog's Trust and Scrappy's carer thinks she would be best in a medium sized crate, and that she'll grow roughly another inch and that's it.
They do loan out crates for a £50 deposit for the purposes of taking the dog home for the first time, but as we're about 1h40 from Darlington and won't be passing in the very near future, it's better for us to buy our own.
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We just did a 30 minute "evening walk" with our imaginary dog. We thought it best to start to get into the routine! We've discovered that our local recreation ground has a sizeable enclosed dog run, so that will be handy for training and helping Crappy work off some energy.
I stopped short of getting Woolly to fetch a stick.
What a fine looking dog you have there!
I do like the idea of a practice walk with an imaginary dog. ;D Perhaps more non-dog owners should give that a go. But well worth finding out what's in your area from the perspective of having a dog.
Good idea to have a dog with a bit of collie in where you're living, as there's some fine walking to be had, and collies have loads of energy. A greyhound wouldn't get up the first rise before wanting to be carried home ::-)
It hardly needs saying, but please keep her on a lead on the fells. Those are the hills where, as a kid, I saw sheep which had been attacked by pet dogs. So sad.
ETA: Well done for getting a rescue dog. I've had a few, and it's very rewarding. I can't really understand anyone not doing.
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Absolutely, she will be on a lead when we go into the hills. I've seen enough photos on local Facebook groups of sheep and lambs with their faces chewed off to thoroughly convince me not to slack in that regard. >:(
We're going to start with a six-foot training lead in an attempt to get her not to pull and will not be letting her off for at least a year. (We will however see if it's safe to let her off in the enclosed dog run in the local park once we are confident with her recall.)
And I did my afternoon walk with imaginary dog this lunchtime, via the vet's to register the Scrapster. There are lovely local short walks in and around Skipton, not to mention the vast expanses of beautiful wilderness around. Scrappy will hopefully enjoy herself.
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Sorry, re-reading my post makes it sounds as if you need telling about dogs & sheep. I didn't mean to suggest that you, Pennines born & bred, would be so irresponsible. :-[
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Pennine born and bred, but I've never had a dog before, so sometimes even the most obvious things have to be pointed out!
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If you do the training thing, there will likely be a point where you are comfortable with her off the lead.
The only close call I ever had with Ariel (or with his predecessor Shadow, a GSD) was when we were walking a path with a precipitous drop on one side, and came nose to nose with a little lamb who thought it might be a good idea to stand up to him (instead of running away), with Ariel dropping into straight herding mode. Now, I would have not had a question that I could have called him back within moments, but that would have necessitated ground under paw, of which there was a distinct lack. But, he came to heel and the lamb bounded off.
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I'm so pleased for you guys, that's great news! What a lucky dog. I don't reckon she's got GSD in her; my first dog was a GSD cross and her paws and ears looked comically too big for her body.
My best piece of advice is a tired dog is a good dog :thumbsup:
We'll have to join you on a walk sometime next time we're in up north and therefore a wee bit closer than usual (as an older rescue with an uncertain past, Cam doesn't generally love the company of other dogs, but she'll walk with them as long as they don't pester her. She is almost always on a lead, because she despite her advanced years she still cannot resist rabbits/sheep/squirrels etc and has sod-all road sense anyway.)
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If you are in "learn about doggies" mode, there's always this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPfZ78m3xZo
From the people who brought you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPfZ78m3xZo
and of course
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGeKSiCQkPw
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We'll have to join you on a walk sometime next time we're in up north and therefore a wee bit closer than usual
That would be fantastic. Keep us posted. We want to get our pup comfortable with other dogs as early as possible, and seeing how she is with Cam (and Cam with her) will be interesting!
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We'll have to join you on a walk sometime next time we're in up north and therefore a wee bit closer than usual
That would be fantastic. Keep us posted. We want to get our pup comfortable with other dogs as early as possible, and seeing how she is with Cam (and Cam with her) will be interesting!
The Elder CrinklySister (not OTP) has an entire pack of hounds some days since she has two of her own and walks for/with a number of other dog owners. She had half a dozen assorted muttleys out with her in Millington the other day! M'boys love going walking with her, and them. If/when Scrappy is up for a pootle over the hills you could always come over this way and we can organise a "socialising dogs along with Hitting Nature With Sticks" expotition with the Cubs :)
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If she has a collie temperament she would probably love to be enrolled in fly-ball classes. Classes are a fantastic way to bond with your dog, help train them, and keep them mentally stimulated.
I really really miss my tennis-ball-obsessed collie cross :'(
Good luck with her, I'm sure she will reward your love and care many times over :thumbsup:
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@crinkles - that sounds fun! *mentally rehearses how to teach a dog not to pull like a train*
@feline - I keep thinking of your lovely Squidge. :'(
Funny you should say that - I bought a couple of tennis balls today for her and do plan to do some kind of agility/flyball/etc with her.
I'm very excited for Saturday! Any tips on how to best introduce her to her new home?
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Lovely looking dog, with Peli-matching eyebrows!
You need the recipe for liver cake.
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You need the recipe for liver cake.
Your better half has already provided it! :smug: :-*
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Scrappy's kennel mate (possibly brother - the staff were not sure), Squishy, is now also up for adoption: http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/rehoming/dog/1107900/squishy#.UingmN-l8kU
Everything in that description applies to Scrappy!
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Bet that one is more of a handful than the one you are getting...
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Bet that one is more of a handful than the one you are getting...
Scrappy Squishy I mean Squishy, was the calmer one when we saw them together! :
ETA, I mean Scrappy. Doh.
ETA, I mean Squishy. Oh goodness, the prospect of dog ownership is clearly addling my mind.
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Good luck with bringing her home :thumbsup:
When I first got Squidge home she was very traumatised and I remember sitting on the kitchen floor with her while she shook for several minutes. Then my daughter showed her a tennis ball and she was so delighted with it she never looked back!
I think letting them casually explore in their own time is the best way, and making sure they see straight away where they will need to go to drink and to the toilet. Start as you mean to go on, so if you want to set rules about getting on sofas or going upstairs do it straight away as its much harder to correct later!
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We got her home, bar two bit of puking we can't see that she suffered at all. Ran around the garden and kitchen looking for what food was there, laid happily next to us while we eat.
(http://woofy.woollypigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2013-09-07-13.43.02_IMG_7281.jpg)
(http://woofy.woollypigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2013-09-07-13.08.27_IMG_7270.jpg)
(http://woofy.woollypigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2013-09-07-12.55.39_IMG_7245.jpg)
Here is more photos to shake that dog stick at - http://woofy.woollypigs.com/2013/09/meet-tilley/
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Awwww she is teh cute ;D
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Here is more photos to shake that dog stick at - http://woofy.woollypigs.com/2013/09/meet-tilley/
Good photos W! Hope you all have lots of good times.
I'm moving away from the daschund-as-other-half idea... I reckon you'd end up with something much lower slung.
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Awwwww! Looks like you've found a good 'un
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I'm moving away from the daschund-as-other-half idea... I reckon you'd end up with something much lower slung.
Plus - how? :D
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She's a lovely looking dog!
Woolly, you now have two hats.
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I'm moving away from the daschund-as-other-half idea... I reckon you'd end up with something much lower slung.
Plus - how? :D
It has been known to happen apparently, but with problems during the later stages of the pregnancy (pups too big) unless the dad was the daschund.
I only read that on the web somewhere so it could be rubbish.
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No I got three - me old one, me new one and the dog :)
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Tilley's doing well. She's extremely affectionate, and gentle, and energetic, and comes and plonks herself across us most endearingly. She does a good 'sit' after a few training sessions today, and her lead-pulling is getting much better after consistent training. And we're only Day 2 :) She also had a bath today.
We need to work on socialising her as she goes mad with other dogs. In a friendlyway .
Lovely dog.
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I thoroughly recommend getting a Kong (http://www.kongcompany.com/en-uk/) and a Wubba (from Kong). They'll keep her amused for hours.
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Her Kong keeps her occupied for about ten minutes, then she's on the hunt for alternative entertainment, unless she's in her crate in which case she just sits quietly and watches the world go by. She is not easily amused for long periods of time. Shockingly, she shows no interest in tennis balls (calls herself part-Collie?!). Her favourite toy is a squeaky monkey with rope arms and legs, called Aldi, which my mum got her. She loves a simple cardboard tube filled with her dry food dinner: she spins it around the kitchen floor to release the grub and has worked out how to tip up the end on the edge of her dog bed.
She is a highly amusing and well-natured dog.
Today has been pretty exhausting, though. 'Sit' and 'down' have almost been mastered.
Tilley's doing OK, too. ;)
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Today's party trick was a trick my grand mother used to do on me. She would let some water run and off my bladder went, as it still does to this day, a certain noise that water can make when running makes me I'm hunt for a place for nature do its call.
Peli found that using the watering can and let in run on the stone flags in the back garden, works just the same on Tilley.
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(http://i0.wp.com/woofy.woollypigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2013-09-10-17.42.49.jpg)
Hometime cuddles. She just flops down on Woolly with apparent disregard for her own comfort!
(http://i1.wp.com/woofy.woollypigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2013-09-08-12.10.13_IMG_7304.jpg)
She just loves a belly rub. We're training her to show her belly when we say 'belly'. :)
(http://i0.wp.com/woofy.woollypigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMAG2466_1.jpg)
She always cocks her head at the sound of my mum's camera.
She's doing very well indeed. Some members of a dog forum Woolly frequents thinks she might have sighthound of some kind in her, as she has slender legs, a small head and a long snout.
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A question for dog experts: we're going to my sister's wedding on 28 September and will need to sort out day care for Silley Tilley from about 06.00 to 22.00.
Given that she doesn't yet have her basic training (potty training is going reasonably well but there are still accidents; walking on the lead is quite disorganised and she's not yet learned not to pull) is it better for her to go to doggy day care with other dogs in someone else's home, or for the carer to come to her for 30 minutes a few times that day? (This (http://www.homelypets.co.uk/price-guide.html) is the place the vet recommends.)
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(http://i1.wp.com/woofy.woollypigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2013-09-08-12.10.13_IMG_7304.jpg)
When you say "she likes a belly rub", who are you referring to?
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Its been over a week with her and she's been a good girl and Peli has trained her well. Sadly she had to go to vet yesterday because her spay scar got infected, we are giving her antibiotics and she is looking much better now.
Here she is with her T-shirt of shame not feeling well.
(http://woofy.woollypigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2013-09-16-11.01.38.jpg)
Feeling better.
(http://woofy.woollypigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2013-09-16-14.58.38.jpg)
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Awwww that's a shame! Hope she's feeling better soon and bouncing around again. All collie crosses love to learn so Peli's training efforts will make her a really happy pet :)
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Next step is to get her happy in the car, we took her to a local walking area and she didn't like the journey, she turned inside out. The trip to the vet had to be done in the car cause she is not ready for walking on busy road, with people, dogs and traffic yet.
Going back from the vet Peli had to walk her as she wouldn't get back into the car at all, a normal 10-15min walk turned into an hour along with all the training Peli had done was out the window.
Was hoping meeting rams, seven other dogs and new smells would teach her that the car mean fun walks at the end, but we are back to the drawing board on that one. So small steps - get her to smell the car, us sitting in it if she wants to join she can and all that before even starting the car.
We got a week to get her either happy with the car or able to walk on lead in busy places as we got doggy school booked for next Tuesday, which isn't far but on the other side of the town.
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Wooly, is is a problem I had with Squidge my rescue collie when we first had her. I think it's often because rescued dogs may never have been in a vehicle before as tend to originate from lower socioeconomic homes. Squidge would dribble profusely and then throw up even on journeys of a few hundred yards! This will very rapidly make your dog car-phobic because let's face it feeling nauseous is a very negative experience!
The best thing to do is to use medication to prevent her feeling sick on absolutely essential journeys. In the meantime try and get her used to being inside the car when it is not moving. This will be a slow process because she's already learned the car is evil and makes her feel dreadful.
Your vet can prescribe you a licensed drug to prevent nausea for a full 24 hours from one dose (tablet). The downside to using Cerenia in that way is the cost of it, they are remarkably expensive tablets unfortunately. I ended up giving Squidge a child dose of human sea/travel sickness tablets half an hour before journeys because they are cheaper to obtain, but you would need to be aware this is not a licensed use so there isn't full safety tested and dose data for dogs is unavailable. Anecdotally I can tell you I haven't seen problems when clients have used these drugs in my 20 year career.
Once you can get her to tentatively trust the car again start planning incredibly short journeys to exciting places that she will learn to love going to. Short but frequent is the key. Eventually you may be able to stop using the sickness tablets for shorter journeys. Squidge never really loved the car, but tolerated it without puking in the end. I think what this goes to show is that ideally all puppies should be introduced to car travel very early on in their lives, a bit like children if you want them to be good travellers later.
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I was hoping the 5min drive to the walking are would be short enough but she spilled her guts. We think that the journey from Ireland to the Dog's Trust and the 1.5 hour journey to us, has done its work. Getting her in at the Trust worked just fine and the first walk but since that we have only gone back wards. I have been told that ginger biscuits could do the job regarding the car sickness. We will try it nice and easy with her to get her used to the car.
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She looks lovely! Have you thought about working cocker/collie cross? It would account for her floppy ears and the colouring is right.
As regards the car thing. If she is using the dog crate as her safe space in the house it may be worth popping that in the back of the car and just sitting quietly with her in the crate in the car. Not doing anything; just being together not moving. Keep this up for as long as you think she needs to relax.
Then for the next trip pop the crate in then dog then cross fingers!
HTH
Julia
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Thanks Julia. Yes, you might be right with the working cocker cross!
We've been using the crate in the car and we were worried that she'd start to have bad associations with what is supposed to be her 'safe space' but she seems to be happy indoors in the crate.
We'll take the car easy for the time being - short sits inside, as you suggest, then engine on, then a very short trip. At the moment she's not too keen on going near it at all. :-\
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Can she see out from her crate in the car? Worth trying a change of position of the crate? Or maybe even a short journey or two with her on your knee or on the back seat - you can get car safety harnesses which are probably ok as a short term measure.
Or just wait a while and see she if she forgets or gets over it a bit, she might be associating it with going to the vet or something.
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Pluck, no, she can't see out of the car from the crate.
She's been in the car:
1. 1.5 hours home from Darlington. Staff there gave her a filled bone; she puked up within about ten minutes. Fell asleep for rest of journey.
2. ten minutes to Embsay reservoir. Puked her breakfast up (which she'd had two hours before) within five minutes. We took ages getting her back on the return journey. No puke this time (she'd not eaten anything).
3. 5 minutes to the vet. She had an exciting time at the vet and wagged her tail the whole way through. She didn't puke during that trip as she'd not eaten anything. Afterwards, she absolutely refused to get into the car and I had to walk her home. She is a nightmare on the lead, especially in new places, so it took me an hour to walk her about two miles home.
We've not tried since then apart from walking near to and around the car at the end of walks and making her feel comfortable around it.
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After a great day walking with a loose lead yesterday, she's gone back to square one today! Oh well. Onwards we click and treat!
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Maybe I'm just old school but if one of our dogs wasn't keen on going in the car, but they needed to go in the car, then in the car they went. You're in charge, not the dog. She might not be too happy about it but she'll get used to it.
Re the car sickness, assuming that has led her to dislike the car, a few of our past dogs have only been happy in a car if they can see out when they feel like it - seeing the ground go past, not just the sky - and a few others have preferred not to look out at all, blanket on top of the dog box.
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Me too it would have been picked up and put in the car.
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[Edited to actually make sense!]
Yeah, that was a tricky one.
She didn't want to go anywhere near the car, and we needed her to go in her crate, yet we had been told you should never, ever, force a dog into its crate, as that's supposed to be its safe haven. So, we decided that I'd walk her home - especially given Woolly was pushed for time and needed to get to work. Walking her was also hard as she pulls and gets so mega excited!. Having her loose in the car, even with me trying to hold her, would have been dangerous. She is a live wire.
We are being firm but positive in our training and she's improved immeasurably since we got her. But, we have a long way to go.
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Difficult situation indeed re the car on that occasion, indeed.
I reckon she's doing really well as are her trainers. Looking back on this thread, you've only had her a couple of weeks! She's at a difficult stage, still fresh from presumably a very unsettled first 6-ish months of life. She's remarkably good really in the general scheme of things.
When you eventually get to the stage where she can have a really good run off the lead, with a ball or just plain running, things will get easier as you'll be able to get her energy burnt off.
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Yes, we cannot wait for the day that we can let her run. Though she tires out pretty easily with training. You can almost see her little brain working, and the head cocks in that cute way.
She is currently flat out after hunting her food for an hour (I hide it in many, many toys).
Yes, we are smitten!
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In my experience it's always about timing. If you need to build a dog's confidence you have to be patient. In your shoes I would only take her in the car if I needed the vet. Otherwise it's all about waiting to have her relaxed;then a trip round the block - 2 minutes or less and loads of praise and encouragement. She's had a pretty traumatic start to life so I think it's only fair to expect 2 steps forward and one back!
I'd balance this stating you do need to be in charge; only you can tell if your dog is trying to get one over you! (Experience helps....). We do sometimes put our dog in his crate especially if he gets too pushy with visitors; it's still where he chooses to crash when we've managed to wear him out.
Walking on the lead properly is a tricky one our GSPs walk to heel better off the lead. It's all about keeping the communication going! The classic move if she's pulling is the 180 degree turn. You decide where you're going! Frequent changes of direction means she will look to you to lead - not try and second guess you. Again it takes time - the main reason I think people have problems with their dogs is impatience. It will happen when it happens - not to schedule!
HTH
J
(pm me if you want to chat and swap details; we've brought up 3 energetic gun-dogs so encountered most of the hiccups!)
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Thanks Julia! The offer of help via PM is one we'll probably take you up on!
We've been consistently working on the "reverse direction" loose lead method along with clicker training (click and tiny treat when she is in the right place) which is finally working. We do about five or six short (10-20 minute) walks a day and never let her pull and we're gradually working up to places with more distractions. Her morning walks are dreadful and she pulls like mad. But she gradually improves during the day, and the 10pm walk has been pretty good for the past three nights.
(Talk of the devil, Woolly's just returned with her and reports that she was a very, very good dog!)
She's learned to target really well with the clicker, so I'm able to show her where the 'close' position is quite well. I try to tire her out with clicker training in the morning before her walk, but I'm usually too bleary-eyed to concentrate.
It is frustrating at times, though, as we can't go anywhere yet other than round the back streets, otherwise she goes mental! I take her to places with more distractions every couple of days and just let her sniff about and watch the world go by. She is very reactive to everything: dogs, people, cars, cobblestones, street corners, railings, streams... everything is just so exciting!
But, we can't complain. She is an absolute joy to have around the house and has improved a huge amount since we got her only a couple of weeks ago. So we're prepared to be patient and put in the work. :)
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She been with us for nearly four weeks now, good as gold compared to many other puppies. We are well happy with her and truly enjoying her company. Though she needs some work on the lead, brilliant when it is just us but goes nuts when others around be that dogs, people or leaf blown by the wind.
So we took her to doggy school - which turned into mayhem too much too soon for her on the first day. Then second day at school we came back with a different dog, not in a good way, now two days later and she is just getting over it. Using aversives (rattle bottles, spray collars etc.) training is not the way we want to go with Tilley, so it is back to the drawing board and hopefully success with positive reinforcement training. Another dog trainer is coming tomorrow to do a "one to one dog" lesson, hopefully this would be the way to get her to be good on the lead.
Tilley training: a very accidental experience of harsh training methods. (http://woofy.woollypigs.com/2013/10/dog-training-classes/)
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I don't really do dogs, but that sounds like a vile experience. What strikes me most is the complete lack of consent here from the trainers to you the owners and Tilley. And the second bang noise stuff after it was clear she was scared of the first. That sounds vile and completely inappropriate.
It is understandable not to be able to process stuff in realtime, we're trained and socialised to trust those in authority. I hope the feedback a la blogpost is taken seriously and makes a difference.
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That really does not sound good, poor Tilley.
I hope the new trainer is a lot more gentle.
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Things have moved on a bit since Tilley's bad training experience. We complained to the club (who refunded us, but didn't apologise) and the organisations they are affiliated to. We gather our blog about the matter caused rather a stir in the dog training world.
Fortunately, we've fallen on our feet with our new trainer (http://www.taylor-made-training.com/) who has done some excellent work with us, including spending a Sunday morning with us, free of charge, socialising Tilley with her own dogs. Tilley is doing really well and delighting us every day!
I did some sleuthing today and discovered she was sent to the Dogs Trust from this rescue (http://www.leitrimanimals.com/) in Ireland, so - just to satisfy our curiosity - I emailed them to see if they can help with a bit more information about her past. On their Facebook entry about her, they wrote: "This is Scrappy, a 6 month old female Colliex. Scrappy is a very friendly, affectionate girl." They were not wrong! :)
Here's our latest Tilley blog update: http://woofy.woollypigs.com/2013/10/day-28-doggy-house/
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Glad to hear it's going better!
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We traced where she came from! Well, almost - she was found straying, probably dumped, with her sibling on a busy road in Carrick-on-Shannon, Ireland. We got in touch with the rescue centre there who were so happy to hear from us and sent us a photo of her when she arrived, looking rather bedraggled but with her usual smile!
We blogged about it here: http://woofy.woollypigs.com/2013/10/pet-detective/
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I thought I recognised the name. We stayed at Carrick-on-Shannon for a night on our Irish End-to-End over 4 years ago. The N4 is the very busy main road from Sligo to Dublin.
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She and her brother were found there on the N4, bedraggled, no collars, unchipped, not spayed, by a woman who took them in for three weeks while attempting to find their owners. None were found, so she and Squishy went to the local rescue, then to Darlington Dog's Trust. Tilley then chose a rather odd couple to be her new owners. :)
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That blog was lovely to read, I'm glad Tilley's new staff member is better behaved ;)
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She certainly is. :) I'm doing firework desensitisation with Tilley at the moment; she is lying flat out on the floor looking totally not bovvered.
[Edit - Squishy was rehomed again :) ]
In other news, we thought her brother, Squishy, had been rehomed, but it turns out he's back at Darlington Dog's Trust. Poor lad! Anyone want to rehome a gorgeous, energetic, affectionate little collie cross who needs lots of time and training? When we met them together, Squishy was actually the calmer of the two!
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For those interested, Squishy has now been reserved so will hopefully be going to a good home soon.
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She certainly is. :) I'm doing firework desensitisation with Tilley at the moment; she is lying flat out on the floor looking totally not bovvered. ...
That's good. ;D
For all that every year we get the "Keep your pets indoors on Firework night" blurb, with Diwali and people of all religions general ignoring specific nights, the firework season is probably a couple of weeks long.
Luckily, none of my cats have ever really given a monkeys about fireworks going off. I've had both Talisker and Zev on my lap when a firework has gone off outside, making me jump in surprise and neither cat has been in the slightest interested or shocked! I'm not sure about Kai, but he's generally got a pretty relaxed view of life, and I doubt I'd be able to easily "acquire" him to keep him indoors anyway! (He's was outside for the previous firework night, and didn't appear as a shivering nervous wreck).
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Poor Tilley has to have an x-ray tomorrow morning under anaesthetic because her elbows (the right one in particular) are causing her jip. :( She limps quite often, her right elbow has started clicking when she walks and the vet said she couldn't get a full range of movement when she manipulated it. Tilley was very good while being prodded and pulled about, licking the vet's face and trying to eat her diamond ring.
I'm sure her recently-discovered love of jumping onto the windowsill to try to chase birds is not helping her condition...
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Best wishes to Tilley for tomorrow.
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Hope Xray goes well and it's something the vet can fix reasonably easily.
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Thanks both. I am worried, as ever. Woolly is calm, as ever, as we are doing everything right.
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Hope all goes well
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Good luck for tomorrow. X-rays are expensive businesses.
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We are pleased we took out insurance now (though the excess is rather ouch - £90). There will possibly be an arthroscopy too, if the x-ray shows it might be needed and the right vet is around.
So far she has cost us £114 in vet's bills, but only £45 relating to this limping condition.
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She's just coming round from her x-rays.
Unfortunately, she has a condition the vet called short radius syndrome in both her elbows and will have to have surgery next week. The vet said it is fixable 'to a certain extent' and the aim will be to have her pain free and moving as normally as possible, but she may always have problems with her joints. :-\
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That's sad. It has crossed my mind that, although she is quite a small dog, her legs and paws do seem to be disproportionately slender for her size. I wonder if this is a contributory factor?
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I'll ask the vet. It is a hereditary condition which usually affects large breed dogs. Surgery (from what I've read on t'internet) involves scraping away bits of cartilage, followed by a pain relief regime.
Thank goodness we insured her with PetPlan on a lifetime cover policy.
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She's a poor little scrumplet and no mistake.
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I am glad she is with us. At least we can do everything possible to give her a good quality of life. If she'd been adopted by someone without insurance, well, her life would have been very different.
Once we've met the head vet I shall contact the Dogs Trust and ask them to pass information about her condition to the new owners of her brother, Squishy, who may also be afflicted.
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Her legs are not the right size to what she thinks they are, she often don't know how to use them. Oh the joy of "hole in the fence dogs" you don't know what bits you get :)
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She's just coming round from her x-rays.
Unfortunately, she has a condition the vet called short radius syndrome in both her elbows and will have to have surgery next week. The vet said it is fixable 'to a certain extent' and the aim will be to have her pain free and moving as normally as possible, but she may always have problems with her joints. :-\
So basically, your dog's got barakta arms (sort of). I suppose being dog-shaped makes it manifest as a elbow problem rather than a club wrist, which can only be a good thing.
Fingers crossed for the surgery.
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She's just coming round from her x-rays.
Unfortunately, she has a condition the vet called short radius syndrome in both her elbows and will have to have surgery next week. The vet said it is fixable 'to a certain extent' and the aim will be to have her pain free and moving as normally as possible, but she may always have problems with her joints. :-\
So basically, your dog's got barakta arms (sort of). I suppose being dog-shaped makes it manifest as a elbow problem rather than a club wrist, which can only be a good thing.
Fingers crossed for the surgery.
Barakta arms were my thoughts too when I saw this on Facebook!
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Poor Tilley, I hope the op helps.
What beers does the Barakta Arms sell?
IGMC
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I just said "Barakta Arms" to Tilley. She gave me her paw! Aww.
We see the surgeon this morning at 11.00. We're also looking into canine hydrotherapy and massage, which our super-duper insurance will cover up to £1000/year.
Thanks for all your good wishes for Clicking-Tilley.
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Just back from seeing the surgeon. He will be doing an arthroscopy next Tuesday on the right elbow followed by the surgery he thinks will have the best effect.
Her particular problem is a short radius, coupled with an elliptical shape to the ulna. Osteoarthritis is showing already in both elbow joints. She throws her elbow out to the side when walking and limps frequently. The joints have recently started clicking loudly when she walks.
Depending on the severity of the condition shown by the arthroscopy, the vet will either just clean out the joint, or cut a chunk out of the ulna, or cut the ulna and plate it.
He also recommended omega 3 supplements, glucosamine and chondroitin, hydrotherapy and massage. Sadly, it is likely she will always have joint problems, and the operation can only do so much.
We are very thankful, firstly that we're in a position to help her as much as we can, and secondly that we took out decent Lifetime cover PetPlan insurance as the vet's bill is likely to be £afewthousand.
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If it is standard ooooman supplements you need, Healthspan are pretty good. Don't forget to search the web for "healthspan codes" you can always get £2 - 3 off which pays for postage. Likewise, if your purchases come to multiples of £20, you are sometimes better off doing two transactions with different codes each time. Finally, do create an account and log in, because they also give £2 "loyalty" discount when you order the next time.
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If it is standard ooooman supplements you need, Healthspan are pretty good. Don't forget to search the web for "healthspan codes" you can always get £2 - 3 off which pays for postage. Likewise, if your purchases come to multiples of £20, you are sometimes better off doing two transactions with different codes each time. Finally, do create an account and log in, because they also give £2 "loyalty" discount when you order the next time.
Don't do this in Tilley's case.
Firstly there's no point, the proper pure canine licenced products your vet will prescribe will be covered by the insurance. You can't claim for something you buy in a shop off your own bat. Secondly, all joint supplements are not equal. Health food store stuff is often not pure, not bio available (made from the wrong salts of the main ingredients because it's massively cheaper to produce that way and let's face it people can't tell whether what they are buying actually works) and the best effective dose for dogs is unknown.
Someone once did some work on how much of the cheap internet chondroitin you would need to take to get the same concentrations of raw ingredient in the joint as the medical grade stuff, and it was massive. Think giving pots of the stuff daily. If you are going to do this, then do it right because you can't wind the clock back and try it differently when the joint damage is already done!
If people with no insurance and not much money have an elderly arthritic dog then trying the health food shop stuff might be better than nothing, and I normally recommend they use a few times the adult human 'dose'. Their money might be better spent on some decent pain relief, good food and physio/hydro though.
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I just said "Barakta Arms" to Tilley. She gave me her paw! Aww.
We see the surgeon this morning at 11.00. We're also looking into canine hydrotherapy and massage, which our super-duper insurance will cover up to £1000/year.
Thanks for all your good wishes for Clicking-Tilley.
Perhaps she thinks it's a pub.
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My sponsor dog Angus has died :(
So I have a new sponsor dog, a staffie cross named Copper. I wonder if they'll let me go see him?
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Oh, sorry to hear about Angus, Ruthie. If you do visit Copper at Darlington, tell them you know Scrappy's (Tilley's) owners. They might remember us.
Talking of Tilley, we are soon off to the orthopaedic specialist in Cumbria for Tilley's dual ulna ostectomy. She's having the op tomorrow but they offered to board free of charge overnight tonight so she doesn't have the stress of a car journey on the same day as surgery.
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Good luck Tilley xx
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Thanks Ruthie. She puked in the car but was calmer than last time, only crying and pacing for half the time rather than constantly. I think we have the Zylkene to thank.
The vet spent over an hour with us talking through her scans and answering questions. Then Tilley spo ed her favourite nurse through the window and wagged her tail so hard it nearly fell off! It is good to know she's with caring staff who are far more exciting than we are. ;)
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Fingers crossed, sounds like she's in good hands.
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Sending best wishes to Tilley for tomorrow and best wishes to Tilley's staff that they don't worry too much.
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Good luck for tomorrow! Hugs, leans and wags as appropriate.
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Good luck little Tilley :-*
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The only thing to watch with pet insurance is that (like human health insurance) the premiums become sky-high with age. It's about £30/month for a 10-ytear old cat, for example, which is a big chunk out of the budget if you have two of them. "Cover for life" doesn't mean "cover at this premium for life".
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Thanks for the good wishes Feline, Wow, Clare and PaulF. The op went to plan and she's eaten and drunk since coming round. And the nurses say the tail is wagging! Hoping we can take her home tomorrow.
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Glad all went well with the op and immediate recovery.
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That sounds promising. I hope she recovers quickly.
:)
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Thanks Clare. We're home!
She is now home and curled up in front of the fire covered in fleecy blankets as all the fur on her chest and front legs was shaved off. She's very dopey and wobbly on her legs (and still tries to run, typical collie) but was pleased to see us and even offered a tail wag and a show of her belly.
The surgeon was pleased with the operation - he cleaned out many small fragments of bone (which we have kept as a souvenir!) and cut a small sliver out of each ulna bone and noted that there was more cartilage in each of the coronoid processes than he'd expected. So, fingers crossed we will be able to keep her quiet enough over the next few months for a solid recovery. Luckily she loves her crate so that will be very helpful during this time. And I've been stocking up on chews and Kongs to keep her entertained and have many quiet clicker training sessions planned (I'm determined to train her to stick out her tongue).
Woolly's just popped out to get a cone of shame (poor Tilley) as she's chewing at her dressings.
The shaved parts of her chest have shown up many more little scars (we're not sure from what - other dogs? cats? rabbits?) than we'd previously known about, which must have happened in her early life before we adopted her from the Dogs Trust. Poor pup.
Phew. I'm so glad the first big event is over. It's wonderful to have her home. :)
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Here are some photos
(http://woofy.woollypigs.com/snaps/Tilley_crate_after_operation.jpg)
(http://woofy.woollypigs.com/snaps/Tilley_shaven.jpg)
A snap of some of the bits that the vet got out Tilley's inside. Yes we even got a video from her insides, I will post the highlights later.
(http://woofy.woollypigs.com/snaps/Tilley_bones.jpg)
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Aww bless her, she looks pretty comfortable considering :thumbsup:
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Poor Tilley! I hope she recovers fully. Give her a cuddle from us.
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She is in her crate making very pitiful tiny whines which are heartbreaking! :(
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I've got a ridiculous great animal squeaking at me as well, although he's just an attention-seeking tart. There's nothing the matter with him at all.
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Great to hear she's home!
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If she was a farm or country dog she could pick up scars just from running through hedges or jumping over / through barbed wire fences. Scars from fights tend be around the head / ears / neck.
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Poor little chap. I'm sure she'll pick up quickly as she's a youngster.
Will she be okay to put weight on her legs immediately because, being the type of dog she is, she'll be wanting to be up and about.
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The vet took her out for a walk shortly after the op and she wanted to go further so they had to carry her back. She can walk about but no running, steps or jumping. So to control that she is in her crate for up to six weeks as much as we can.
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Yes, it's interesting trying to keep a collie cross calm! Luckily, she is used to her crate and since we've moved it into her favourite room, she doesn't mind being in there too much (cue her starting to whine). We've stock-piled the chews and Kongs full of frozen goodies and each time she wants to come out I do some clicker training to take her mind off things.
We lift her out every few hours to go to the loo and try to avoid her running laps around the yard and jumping off the step. It's quite an operation.
She's currently chomping away on a cow's hoof (the cow is not attached) so we have a bit of peace.
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She's looking happy enough in those photos, if a little bald. It sounds like the general prognosis is promising, which has to be a good thing, although the cone of shame less so.
If dogs are anything like cats in the speed of their fur growing, she won't be bald for long. Talisker used to have blood samples taken every few months (to check on his hyperthyroidism), and you have to shave a cat to find a vein. It always grew back very quickly.
Would things like Adaptil help to keep her a little calmer? Using Feliway with my cats has seemed to be a bit random in its apparent effectiveness, but it would appear that these pheromones are quite different, so the dog product may or may not be efficacious.
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She's actually been very calm today. I think the Tramadol is knocking her right out - she's spent much of the day fast asleep on the floor next to us, or pottering gently into the kitchen to see what the smells are all about - I made her some fishcake treats.
She came to us from the Dogs' Trust with an Adaptil collar which made little difference to her excitability as far as we could tell. We have also used the very expensive Zylkene tablets - made from a protein found in milk - which has a small positive effect. It certainly calmed her before the most recent long car journey to the vet in Cumbria, but didn't stop her whining or throwing up, twice. (At least she hadn't ingested cat poo before that journey.)
We're trying to use this rest time to train her to relax properly - we started a while ago but let it drop. We now have no excuse!
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Any news? How's she doing?
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I have a collie cross, closer to a pure bred Welsh Border Collie really, but from what I can tell, the only thinkg that's really worked to calm her down is aging five years!
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Tilley is sadly not doing too well. She still has significant lameness in her right foreleg and so the vet who did her operation wants to see her again. She is still on very limited exercise: no more than 10-15 minutes per walk. She has also shown symptoms of what the vet thinks is a luxating patella on one of her hind legs: the latest sign of this was 10 minutes ago when she was hopping along, lifting her hind leg in pain. She will probably be on Metacam long term, which can have bad side effect such as liver damage. Sigh.
On the plus side, she is a gorgeous dog, makes us very happy and we're glad that we can give her a good quality of life despite her ailments. Here is a video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iFrMBMmrI8)of her being her usual cheeky self.
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She is a lovely dog. It's so sad that she has these joint problems.
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Yes, and we don't think she's in significant pain as she does hoon about the house and yard with apparent ease. She's on expensive medication and joint supplements and has the best food and lots of love. So we'll just keep plodding on and see how she goes.
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Good news. Tilley's legs seem to be working a bit better and Woolly's taking her on walks of up to two miles without discomfort. It may not seem like much, but at her worst we weren't supposed to take her further than the local ginnel (about two minutes away). Recent x-rays on all four legs, plus hips, showed that as well as dodgy elbows she has some mild hip dysplasia, but the vet was chuffed at her healthy, happy, shiny, waggy, almost pain-free condition and said we were doing everything right.
Woolly has embarked on a 10,000 steps a day challenge so this coincides nicely with Tilley's improvement as she is his walking buddy. Tomorrow they're planning to do The Loop Over the Hill, no less. Hold onto your hats!
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That's brilliant news :D
Good luck Tilley and Woolly.
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+1
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Hurrah!
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Brilliant news!
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Good news and good luck! Hold onto your hats indeed, especially if they are Tilleys. :thumbsup:
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Have a lovely walk. She's a bonny thing isn't she?
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Good news. Tilley's legs seem to be working a bit better and Woolly's taking her on walks of up to two miles without discomfort. It may not seem like much, but at her worst we weren't supposed to take her further than the local ginnel (about two minutes away). Recent x-rays on all four legs, plus hips, showed that as well as dodgy elbows she has some mild hip dysplasia, but the vet was chuffed at her healthy, happy, shiny, waggy, almost pain-free condition and said we were doing everything right.
Woolly has embarked on a 10,000 steps a day challenge so this coincides nicely with Tilley's improvement as she is his walking buddy. Tomorrow they're planning to do The Loop Over the Hill, no less. Hold onto your hats!
Well done to you two! A lot of patience, stress and hard work involved, I know.
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Thanks all. We're not out of the woods yet and she still limps after getting up from her bed, but once she's up and moving she moves fluidly with no visible signs of pain. She's on a supplement (http://www.seraquin.co.uk/) which seems to be having a better effect than the extortionately expensive one we got from the vet (http://www.synoquin.com/), and no pain killers!
So we will plod on (while she runs rings around us).
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I find myself contemplating getting a dog.
Why? Well, after losing my (our) cat, the house seems a little empty.
Not spoken to the family but youngest has in the past mentioned preferring a dog.
There is a great wood nearby to walk a dog.
Why not another cat? 'twould be very hard to replace our cat. I would find it hard to cope with the worry of keeping track of one. Sinbad was a bit different. How different? Well the first time I tried putting a lead on him he objected to the collar until he found he was allowed to walk alongside me - no trying to get collar off or pull away from the lead. He'd never had a collar on all of his life.
Anyway, I looked at the rspca dogs home. Full of staffies. I really don't like them. Or alsation border collie crosses. What an insane thing, to cross those two breeds.
I'd like something like a border terrier or similar. A small dog.
So I looked on gumtree and suchlike. My life, when did dogs get to be commodities like this! £300-500 for a dog!
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Don't touch gumtree and suchlike not even with a very long barge pole!!!
Dogs Trust, RSPCA etc is where it is at. Yes bull breads are all over the shop, there is also others:
http://tia-rescue.org/
http://www.pendledogsinneed.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/BlackRetrieverXRescue
http://www.jerrygreendogs.org.uk/
http://bordercolliesneedinghomes.weebly.com/
http://www.workingcockerspanielrescue.co.uk/
Peli will come along shortly with more I'm sure :)
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Hmm, Leeds dog trust has several suitable dogs.
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OK we have only tried Dogs Trust, but the service/help we got, it is a great deal. Highly recommend.
EDIT : Oh if you just want to go to and have a looksee, forget it! We did and came home with Tilley :)
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Please don't get a dog from Gumtree. It provides a market for puppy farmers and other unscrupulous breeders. Adopt, don't shop!
Dogs Trust Darlington is also worth a look as it's bigger than Leeds. For example (https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/rehoming/dogs/filters/dar~398~~~~n~). And Manchester (https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/rehoming/dogs/filters/man~398~~~~n~), too.
Our local RSPCA (http://www.rspca-craven.org.uk/dogs-and-puppies-for-adoption) (scroll down) has a lovely little terrier, Faith, who needs a good home.
Any reputable rescue/shelter will do a home check and ask about the kind of home you can offer one of their dogs. Keep us posted!
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I have a local mate who has, over the years, taken in a number of waifs and strays (including some hard-to-rehome ones, I believe) in our neck of the woods - I can ask her if there's a particular organisation that she'd recommend if you'd like?
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I think I need to talk to mrsc first
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Just a comment on crates in general. Our current resident, Harvey the whippet, came to us at 13 months and we were told by the breeder (puppy framer in reality) that he would benefit from having a crate to retreat to and that has very much been the case. He can go days without using it but when I was getting up to let our old boy out at 2am Harvey was most often curled up in his crate, in a little nest he had rumpled up around himself.
If someone he takes an instant dislike to comes into our living room and running a guest house this happens quite often Harvey either does not get up to greet or he retreats into his crate, his safety zone.
We are bringing our new lad Alby home from his family on Saturday and we are buying a "dog cave" for him and also setting up a 2nd crate so if he wants he has a choice.
In our experience dogs love having a safety zone and Harvey often takes himself off to bed before we do and it is far from uncommon for him to choose the crate so where the cruel element comes in we cannot see.
PH
(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b581/polyhive1/DSCF0663_zps3f98c280.jpg)
(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b581/polyhive1/Clipboard01_zpse3b228f3.jpg)
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Oh yes creates are good. I have never used it before, just a dog bed in a corner. We got a create for Tilley with a fleecy blanket thrown over. She often goes in there on her own, mostly to protest that we are not paying her enough attention. At night we only have to say "go dodo" and she goes in happily and the only sound we hear is her dreaming.
Beautiful dog there PH :)
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They look like a good idea.
I talked to MrsC last night - she was a bit flabbergasted since I've previously been against owning a dog.
The youngest (who has ME) has a few times said we should have a dog. He spends a lot of time sat alone in his room playing computer games and at his worst just immobile on the sofa. The cat would curl up with him then and he welcomed it. I think a dog would provide some companionship for him that he simply doesn't get.
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Layla never settled in her crate at night, she'd cry and howl for hours. Tried for a couple of months before admitting defeat and now she sleeps in her basket, or, more usually, on the sofa
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They look like a good idea.
I talked to MrsC last night - she was a bit flabbergasted since I've previously been against owning a dog.
The youngest (who has ME) has a few times said we should have a dog. He spends a lot of time sat alone in his room playing computer games and at his worst just immobile on the sofa. The cat would curl up with him then and he welcomed it. I think a dog would provide some companionship for him that he simply doesn't get.
That was part of our rationale for getting a dog, we just have one son and the dog was partly company for him. Helps that he loves dogs!
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We bought a "dog cave" made in the UK btw, and Harvey assessed it and with in ten minutes....Thanks Mum!
(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b581/polyhive1/DSCF11331_zps93037a98.jpg)
PH
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Having a dog as a kid was good for me. We moved around a bit, so the first few weeks where I didn't know anyone or when I got bullied, I had the dog to go to. I have read that a lot of kids/adults who suffers from illnesses, are generally better when there is dog about to pet or play with.
Don't show that dog cave to Peli, she will get it for Tilley :)
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Poppy loves her crate and will go in it to sleep at night.
Mind you, I have not seen a dog cave before - I reckon she'd like one of those for Christmas if I can find one in Germany!
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Jack never got on with his crate/cave - but I think he may have been kept locked up in a crate before we got him. He sleeps in bed with us... :-[
My sister, who is a dog behaviourist, uses crates for her two (both of whom the Dogs Trust thought they couldn't rehome) and they love them.
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Pete (who is a cat, not a dog, or at least a stomach in a cat-shaped suit) spends most of his time on his cat bed which is next to me on the sofa. But when he wants to retreat, he lies in a big cardboard box which I have put a fleece into, and I make it a rule not to disturb him while he's in there. I think they all like a safe place to go to.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v379/Flossiesdoll/Pete/DSCF3433_zps9fb5546f.jpg)
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We did quite a bit of training (https://positively.com/dog-behavior/puppy-knowledge/puppy-housetraining/crate-training/)to get Tilley to like her crate. It also has a memory foam bed, loads of fleecy blankets and a blanket over the top so it's dark and comfy in there. We leave her in there with a kong/stuffed hooves when we go out and she is gradually getting better at being alone. She's been OK for up to three hours so far, but this has taken a lot of hard work.
However, as I have gone soft over the past few weeks, and worried about her getting cold at night, she's been snuggled up with us. She generally tends to sleep at the bottom of the bed, with her head poking out from under the duvet. ::-)
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MrsC is not receptive to the idea of a dog (and as she'd be the one who would end up walking it most mornings I can understand why).
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Wow it was two years ago we picked up Tilley today. What joy, fun she is. Really grown into become a right Diva, not that we have stopped her becoming one :)
We can now take out on a good walk, nearly loose lead, though she will tell me off for not walking her before 8am. She bosses us around with telling us when too cook and when to get off our computers and sit down and watch telly, as in so that she can get to lay on my lap and get belly rubs.
http://woofy.woollypigs.com/2015/09/gotcha-day-mark-two/
(http://woofy.woollypigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015-08-18-11.20.52-IMG_1602.jpg)
(http://woofy.woollypigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015-08-18-11.49.38-IMG_1635.jpg)
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She's lovely. I love her :)
Happy Gotcha Day lovely Tilly.
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She rather likes you, too. :-*
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She is an absolute delight. So is Tilley.
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The other Tillly has just discovered peanut butter, it appears to be like crack cocaine for dogs !
I bunged up the hole in a Kong with crunchy peant butter put some kibble in it and some water then bunged up the other end with another blob of peanut butter and froze it.
She is now locked in her run/crate and the only sound is licking, lots of licking.
She really should have a snooze as we have just had a mad half hour in the garden.
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Haha, peanut butter Kongs used to be Tilley's favourite thing. Then she discovered roast chicken and salmon... #spoiledrotten
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Careful with some Kong's make sure that there is another hole, might have to drill one. So that the mutt can't created a vacuum and get tongue stuck. I hear a Kong Ball are really bad.
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Careful with some Kong's make sure that there is another hole, might have to drill one. So that the mutt can't created a vacuum and get tongue stuck. I hear a Kong Ball are really bad.
This one has a big hole at one end and a small one at the other.
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Jack knows exactly what the 'K' word means and will run off and bring you one expectantly, if you say it in his hearing...
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Three years gotcha day for Tilley
Loads of pictures here - http://woofy.woollypigs.com/2016/09/three-is-the-magic-number/
My favourite of the lot
(http://woofy.woollypigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/2016-06-28-09.55.53.jpg)
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Awww lovely Tilly :-*
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Today is Tilley's fourth birthday, well a guesstimate birthday. And today we got from the lovely NSTNB, Rob and Jane this. Totally captures her look and smile.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C3mWPY9XAAAXpWZ.jpg)
Thanks a million!
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(https://scontent-lhr3-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/f5f4516c4c1675d5e49469774d12dc56/5B1EF609/t51.2885-15/s750x750/sh0.08/e35/26864509_176647779605620_3643764436184858624_n.jpg)
5 years today and celebrated with a popcake :)
Head over here - https://www.instagram.com/woollypigs/ - to get bored of snaps of her :)
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What's a popcake Woolly? Looks like your Tilley loves them whatever they are.
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They are cupcakes for dogs from http://www.kibblebakery.com/ The one she had there was was a carrot one and there is a bacon and peas popcake to come, yum !
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They are cupcakes for dogs from http://www.kibblebakery.com/ The one she had there was was a carrot one and there is a bacon and peas popcake to come, yum !
That place looks amazing. Will have to visit it next time I'm in that end of The Dales.