The past few weeks, we have not been as dedicated to Hailey's training as we should have been. She has been getting lots of exercise and puzzle time, but we haven't been doing as much "relaxing" as we should.
I have not connected with the behaviourist either. I am not as encouraged to call her because I know the conversation will be what it always is, medication. As I have said before, I have no problems/judgment with others who medicate their dogs. It is just at this time, I don't think this is something I want to explore. The reality is that over the winter, Hailey will not be exposed to the "anxiety" provoking situations such as thunder, fireworks and children. Perhaps medication is something we will explore again during "anxious" season in the spring. For now, we will try and get our act together and practice relaxing. We will continue to work on physical and mental exercise and we will do a better job at practicing relax.
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| Lee - destroying a free toy from Pet Expo |
A momma always knows best!!!!!
ReplyDeletestella rose
WE think that you are Exactly RIGHT... there is NO REASON to have your Shorts and Flip Flops out... when there is SNOW on the Ground... So there is no reason to have Lee medicated when the stressers are not present. Bravo. We like the way you think. AND we are SURE that Hailey does too!!! PeeS.... that is some GRRRRREAT Stuffie Deading and Gutting there!!!
ReplyDeleteMom saw a woman training a service dog in the airport, 25 yrs experience. Her solution to loud noises etc. she plays a movie with load noise, space ships, motorcycles etc. the volume starts normal and increases. She does this several days and leaves the movie on for hours at times. The end result, the dog could care less
ReplyDeleteMom thought this was interesting
Lily
Age will probably help too!! We love Lily's comment.
ReplyDeleteMadi was a handful for the first 6 months. NOTHING at all like our first laid back kitty. She did things that blew our mind. We had to make a few adjustments to her surroundings (which were the exact surroundings our first cat had too). Finally at about 9 months she turned from a wild cat to a Diva...different set of issues with a Diva but manageable!! LOL
Hugs Madi's Mom and don't tell her I told you!
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ReplyDeleteAnya loves to "eat" her toys lol.
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by. Yeah Lady has been abused too:-(
ReplyDeleteDear Lee,
ReplyDeleteI do not like children either. I do not like fireworks. I do not mind the thunder, but we don't get much of it.
But children are the worst. They are unpredictable. They pull my tail. They whap my back. They grab my fur. This is horrible.
For some reason Ojo likes this. I think she is weird.
My person has done much training with me to learn to walk away from children and instead of trying to tell them how they should behave. Most of the time I'm pretty good at this now, but not always.
So I understand. I also do not like banging noises, people talking outside, cars in the alleyway, dogs in the alleyway, adolescent dogs, people who move funny... The world can be a very scary place!
My person says that she hopes the behaviourist would listen to your person when she says "no drugs at the moment" and give you other options.
Enjoy your snow, and try to worry less! Your person loves you! And I'm sure Phod does too. And that's what matter, right?
Licks,
Cobi
That a gal, no meds! Mom and Dad get ME a real tight baby shirt when thunder or fireworks time comes, and there is always Dads lap!, works every time!
ReplyDeleteThe Mad Scots
Hope all goes well with improving Hailey's relaxing skills. I agree, I would not be rushing to medicate - but then I've never had to deal with an excessively anxious dog. There has to be a good chance that with more time spent in a loving home, Hailey will lighten up.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Gail.
Time is a good medicine and she may not emerge in spring as anxious as she went into fall! Me and Stanley can chillax with the best of them. Maybe we should stop over and offer a lesson?
ReplyDeleteYour Pals,
Murphy & Stanley
I personally think all other methods of control should be exhausted before turning to medication. Nothing wrong with it if it's truly needed, but why not explore every option first?
ReplyDeleteNola's Mom
I think Hailey needs to study a kitty more carefully. We have NO PROBLEM relaxing. In fact, it is our BEST THING. We lie down, arrange our furs, gaze dreamily into space, and voila! six hours later we get up for a snack and a pee, and then we lie down, arrange our furs, rev up our purr motor......well, you know the rest.
ReplyDeleteI think people are to quick to medicate their children instead of addressing the behavior. I think you should keep trying different things and maybe you will stumble across something that will work...be patient and we are all here to support you.
ReplyDeleteAroo to you,
Sully
Don't kick yourself over the "time off". I had a similar hiatus with Shyla. When we returned to our socialization after our hiatus, she'd made incredible strides despite our time off.
ReplyDeleteMy trainer is always emphasizing that "time off" is important, just so long as you get back to it at some point!
I think that I'd feel the same about medication, until I had exhausted all other avenues.
Pet Valu carries some kind calming aid disguised as a dog treat. It's all natural and it seems to help Beamer when I'm about to clip his nails. Maybe take that into consideration? If you're interested, I can look into the brand. I have the package at DK's apartment.
ReplyDeleteI feel like people are so quick to medicate these days; dogs, children, and adults. I was having this conversation with a tutoring client's parent just the other day. There are better alternatives and I commend you for looking for them.
That seems to be the answer to every thing these days, if in doubt, get the pills out ( Humans and pets ) Mollie is so anxious with bangs and loud noises, what I have started doing, is taking her in the garden when fireworks are going off in the distance, on the lead. Making her sit, so she knows they are not going to hurt her.. seems to be working, as she is calmer now when she hears them.. That or it's the brandy Hawahhwhahahahhaa xxooxxx
ReplyDeleteMollie and Alfie
if you haven't bonded with your trainer then perhaps you need to look elsewhere. I didn't bond with the trainer I used and it ended up in my dog being bitten in one of her classes and put in a few positions which had me in tears. If you are not happy then go with that gut feeling and find someone else before you really regret it!
ReplyDeleteMom is having a similar issue with our vet since I developed allergies. They don't understand why Mom doesn't want me to be on prednisone for the rest of my life, no matter how low the dose. Right now we are trying to figure out if it is a food allergy by changing me to limited ing food. Mom did try some supplements from EPIC Pet Health to help with my over the top energy, it is all natural, holistic, and she has several products. The CALM supplement helped me. Mom is also just learning some about essential oils. Some can be used for pets as well people, it might be an avenue to explore.
ReplyDeletehugs
Greta
Bailey & Hazel too