We had a good day!

I was beginning to feel rather down and helpless because of Sandy’s situation and not knowing at all how to help her or how to even begin with behavior modification. I did all the usual things and it wasn’t working for Sandy because her situation is not the norm. Last night I was quite upset about it actually and in tears at one point.

There was one small positive thing last night just before bed that made me feel a little better and like there was still hope. When I brought Sandy up to bed, she didn’t put the brakes on at the stairs so I didn’t have to do the usual coaxing and bribing to get her up there. She walked up the stairs on her own, very slowly of course, but she still did it without any drama. That made me feel a smidgen better but then when I put her in her expen and went into the washroom she started to carry on (whining, pawing at the expen, panting) until I came back into the bedroom and then she settled down about 5 minutes later.

Today we had a really good day! We took Sandy GeoCaching with us so when we got home she was tuckered out. After we had a snack and Sandy relaxed we went through the usual routine we’d go through as if we were leaving. I gave her a Kong, told her “bye, bye baby, back in a while” (that’s what I always say when I’m only going out for a short time), we locked the door and drove out of the driveway and went a short distance down the road. We walked quietly back to the house and I peaked into a window where I could see her but she was unlikely to see me (we set a ladder up before hand so I could do this) and she was just chewing on her Kong.

I checked on her about every 5 minutes and everytime she was chewing on her Kong. I stuffed it quite loosely because I wanted to see what she would do when she was done the Kong but a treat got stuck inside it and it lasted her the whole 30 minutes we were gone. But, that was good anyway, she had a good experience while we were gone and she didn’t carry on at all. Although when we came in she was chewing a bit more intently on her Kong than I think she would have normally but that’s ok too if she was releasing her stress on the Kong. After I was home for a few minutes she layed down with her Kong and was more relaxed than she was when we first came in.

She also wasn’t crated during this time. She’s not ready to go back in her crate yet but if I can get her used to being alone uncrated and if I can feel secure about leaving her uncrated than maybe we don’t need to worry about the crate anymore. We’ll see!

So, today was a good day all around! We had fun GeoCaching and Sandy stayed by herself for 30 minutes without getting upset. We’re making progress, it’s baby steps, but that’s the way it is. I’ll still have to board her when I go to work for a a while I’m sure, but that’s ok, as long as we’re working towards Sandy being able to stay home alone again then I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. We’ll do the same thing every day, more than once a day if we’re able to and hopefully Sandy will be back to normal in a month or two.

Something else I did was a few days ago I stopped giving her the PPA that she was taking for her incontinence. I give it to her as needed and in the past she’s only needed to take it for a few weeks or a month and then she doesn’t need it for a while, but this time she’s been on it a lot longer than in the past. The side effects of PPA are: nervousness, restlessness, excitability, irritability, panting etc. A few sources that I read said that it increases the “fight or flight” response so maybe, just maybe, Sandy’s over reaction to whatever caused our current issue was due to a side effect of the PPA. Where she may have tolerated whatever it was before or would have only reacted a bit, instead she completely over reacted and her “flight” response was magnified. It might not be why we’re where we are right now but it might be, so for now she’s not taking the PPA. I’d rather have a leaky dog than a dog who cannot stay alone.

A bit more about Sandy….

Sandy’s issues are getting worse. As I mentioned in my blog post last week (Sandy – Separation Anxiety? Need Tips Pls!) she’s been sleeping upstairs in my room in the expen for the past few weeks. When it’s bed time now, she does not want to come upstairs with me, I have to coax her to come up and when she’s in the expen she’s panting and anxious for about 5-10 minutes. If I leave the room to go into the washroom she gets upset and starts trying to get out of the expen. Once we’re in bed, it takes her about 10 minutes to relax enough to lay down and then she’s fine the whole night.

During the day when I’m home she spends her time in the living room which is where she used to sleep (uncrated) until she got scared in the middle of the night a few times (I have no idea what scared her) and it’s also where she used to stay in the crate when I wasn’t home. When I’m home and she’s in the living room just lounging on the floor or on the couch, she’s calm, and I can go outside, I can go into another room etc and she does not get upset (even when the construction noises are going on). But, if I put her in the crate and go outside or go into another room she freaks out and is frantic to get out of the crate.

Not wanting to be in the crate started about two weeks ago as well, around the same time that she got scared in the middle of the night (she didn’t sleep in the crate though) and around the same time that the construction behind our house started. The blasting scares her but the construction only goes on from 7am – 4pm on week days. Week nights and weekends its quiet, but she still cannot stay in the crate at those times. When I’m home and Sandy is in the living room relaxing, she barely reacts to the blasting. Sometimes she doesn’t even twitch an ear, other times she may jump a bit, but it’s not a terrified reaction. It doesn’t match the anxiety she has when I try to leave her in the crate so I’m not sure that I can say it’s all due to the construction. And the construction noise was not going on in the middle of the night when she got spooked.

She’s also very sensitive now to certain noises that never bothered her before. If the sound on the iPhone is off and an email comes in, it makes a vibrate noise, and that noise is enough to really upset her. She starts to pant and gets anxious. I don’t recall that sound upsetting her before but last night she was almost asleep when the iPhone vibrated and she jumped up, started panting and pawing at the expen. It took her about 5 minutes to settle back down after that.

I was speaking to my vet today and from what I described to her (the same as I wrote above) she thinks it sounds like being confined is what’s upsetting Sandy so much and now Sandy seems to be associating many noises with something unpleasant that happened while confined. I don’t know what started it to begin with but because she can tolerate certain noises when she’s not crated or in the expen without reacting but gets super upset if she hears those same noises when she’s confined, it really seems like the confinement is what she’s associating with something bad.

I don’t trust her uncrated when I’m not home though. She’s not cat friendly and she’s not good with Jingles. She’s crated for their safety and for her own because she’s hurt herself before when she’s been uncrated and alone (ate threw drywall). Sandy has always been so good in her crate, she’s always loved it, but now she just cannot tolerate being in it or being in the exercise pen.

If it is the confinement than it’s going to take a lot of desensitization exercises which I know can take a very long time. As it stands, she’s going to board at my vet clinic for 3 days per week and I’ve arranged to work from home 1 day per week until I get this straightened out and my boyfriend has arranged to work from home 1 day per week as well. Hopefully, with any luck, I can get to the bottom of this soon and start working towards helping Sandy get over her fear.

I hate seeing my usually relaxed dog getting so upset. It’s heart wrenching especially when I really don’t know why it’s happening but I’ll do whatever I can to help her over come this. Oh, how I love my Sandy-girl!

A Little Mercy…

My friend Lorrie runs Adopt-A-Rott Rottweiler rescue in Toronto area and they’re currently trying to save a little Rottie named Mercy. Mercy has a sad story and really needs our help! Please read Lorrie’s email below and considering donating even a small amount. Together we can Be the Change for Mercy! Here’s Lorrie’s email:

Have Mercy on us all …..

Sadly – This little soul has known only a horrible life in the short time she has been on this earth. Abused and then abandoned by her owner under threat of “putting a bullet in her head” … she found herself at the local pound. A vet examination found one eye had a small hemorrhage and she was sore on the back end as well …. All probably from being hit.

There are times when I am very very ashamed of my species.

As if being abused and abandoned at such a young age wasn’t heartbreaking enough. The very day she came into rescued she got suddenly very ill and the subsequent trip to the emergency vet confirmed it was Parvo. So instead of being well on her way to a new home … our little Mercy is currently at the vet clinic fighting for her very life.

We know that while treatment for Parvo can be expensive … there is a good success rate if caught early. After all this little girl has seen in her life … she deserves someone to fight for her … at the very least.

Please help us help her.

YOUR TAX DEDUCTIBLE GIFT will ensure that we are able to continue helping Mercy and other Rottweilers in need.

Mercy’s Giving Page:
http://www.canadahelps.org/GivingPages/GivingPage.aspx?gpID=9027

Once the donation has been paid for, the donor receives an immediate, secure PDF tax receipt, issued by CanadaHelps, by email. CanadaHelps then disburses the funds (less a 3% transaction fee) to the designated charity.

Or the vet clinic that Mercy is currently at by mailing a cheque to:

Pierrefonds Animal Hospital
16628 Pierrefonds Blvd
Ste-Genevieve, Qc
H9H 1H1

***be sure to indicate the funds are for Mercy

You can also donate directly to Adopt-a-Rott:

http://www.adoptarott.com/sponsor.html

or Mailing Address

Adopt-a-Rott
675468 Hurontario Street
Shelburne, On
L0N 1S8

Update from Lorrie:
Please continue to keep Mercy in your thoughts and prayers. While she is stable – she is still listed as critical and needs to start eating to begin the road to recovery.

The outpouring of kindness and generosity has been nothing short of overwhelming, there are no words to express our gratitude to all of you that are enabling us to fight for Mercy by donating to her medical bill.

We will continue that fight as long as Mercy is fighting too … after suffering so much in her brief life she deserves to know what love and kindness is. I hope we have the chance to show her that.

Yours in Rescue,
Lorrie Harvie
Adopt-a-Rott

“One cannot be merciful to others without receiving a harvest of mercy in return.” — Gordon B. Hinckley

Never Shock a Puppy Campaign

Shock collars…something I really despise! When I hear that people are using shock collars on their dogs, it makes me cringe and breaks my heart.

I know of someone who bought a shock collar to put on their dog because their neighbors were complaining that the dog was barking too much. Instead of bringing the dog in the house and not letting him sit outside barking so much that he becomes a nuisance, they put a shock collar on the him. Argh! My reply was that every time the dog barks, they should shock themselves so they remember to bring him in the house!

Another person was talking about getting a shock collar for a Dachshund that he recently adopted. The poor dog was from a puppy mill, so scared and frightened and yes she barked a lot when someone made a fast movement or spoke too loudly because she was not used to being around people. Instead of trying to help her feel more secure in her environment and working with her to gain her trust they were going to put a shock collar on her. A *shock* collar, for a terrified little dog! I told him that shock collars make scared dogs more scared etc and I tried to offer him alternatives, but he didn’t care, he was set on shocking her. He even told me that they don’t really like the dog so I told him there are lots of people who have experience will puppy mill dogs who would gladly adopt her (a few had already offered) but he didn’t go for that either. I don’t know what the outcome was, but he had his mind set on a shock collar so I assume the scared dog with a terrible past ended up with a shock collar on her.

Shock collars, prong collars and other nasty devices are so unnecessary! There are so many humane alternatives that, when coupled with positive training methods, make a world of difference and are so much more effective.

Be the Change and join the Never Shock a Puppy Campaign that’s launching Sept 1, 2010!

Help spread the word about humane alternatives to shock collars and prong collars and other such devices and help the Humane Society Boulder Valley with their No-Choke Challenge to raise at least $2,500 in the Never Shock a Puppy campaign.

This is an initiative in the US but for those of us not in the US we can help Be the Change where we live by spreading the word about humane alternatives, by blogging about it, posting about it on Facebook, Tweeting about it etc. Together we can make a difference!

Sandy – Separation Anxiety? Need Tips Pls!

I’m hoping to get some feedback on the issues that Sandy is having right now with being in her crate when I go out.

Sandy is 11 yrs old and she’s crate trained (she was anyway!). She loves her crate, she runs in there at meal times to eat etc. But, about 2 weeks ago she started freaking out in her crate when I would go out. She bites the bars, pulls on them, digs at them etc. She gets herself into a real frenzy! The bars on the front door of her crate are all crooked and warped now from her biting them.

We’ve had these issues in the past as well. The last time was after Rusty passed away. He used to keep her company in the same room that her crate was in when I went to work so when he was suddenly not there anymore, Sandy had a really hard time adjusting to being alone. She was behaving the same way in her crate (I video taped her to see what she was doing) but not as bad as she’s reacting now. It took her a good 6 months to settle down in her crate again. She even broke a tooth from biting on the bars back then.

I don’t know what to do to get her to accept me going out and leaving her in her crate. I’ve been on holidays but there were many days when I wasn’t home for hours and she was fine so it’s not because I’ve been home all the time. Now she just does not want to be alone. I go back to work on Monday so I really have to get this straightened out because I can’t leave her for a full work day with her carrying on like she is. She’ll definitely hurt herself and she’s already cut one of her toes from digging at the bars when I’ve only been gone for a few minutes.

Sandy has always had a bit of an issue with me going out when it’s not part of the routine but going to work or leaving in the morning for a few hours was never an issue. Now I can’t even go out for 10 minutes in the morning because she gets so upset and she will hurt herself in her crate.

Sandy *has* to be crated too, she’s always been crated when no one is home and she gets upset if she’s not in her crate so leaving her uncrated is not an option. She’s also crated for the safety of the cats and Jingles because Sandy isn’t cat-safe and she isn’t the greatest with Jingles.

Giving her a stuffed Kong or something else to chew on doesn’t help either. She just ignores it while she’s acting up like she is right now.

Any tips on getting her to relax in her crate again will be very appreciated!

Something else I just thought of is that she used to sleep in the living room at night up until a few weeks ago as well. For some reason she got really upset late one night, got over the baby gate (which was not a good thing considering she had ligament surgery 2 months ago), and was very anxious and just wanted out of the living room. I had to sleep with her in the living room the rest of that night because she was so upset. The next two nights she was ok but then it happened again and she was really upset and anxious. She now sleeps in my bed room in an exercise pen and she’s fine up there. I don’t know what upset her, none of the other animals were scared or upset. Her crate is in the living room as well so maybe she’s still upset about whatever it was that scared her on those two nights. Tomorrow I’m going to put her crate in a different room to see if it helps at all.

Thanks!
Luanne and Sandy

Fizzion Pet Stain & Odor Remover – It works!

I just started carrying a product called Fizzion Pet Stain & Odor Remover. Although I hadn’t tried it myself, I heard great things about it from others, so I decided to carry it in my store as well.

I put Fizzion to the ultimate test today! My 18 yr old kitty, Maxxy, has been peeing outside of his litter box on the carpet for several weeks now! I took him to the vet and we ruled out a medical reason for his inappropriate urination so I know it is likely behavioral which will be hard to change! Most times there is a medical reason when dogs & cats start to pee in the house, so always rule that out first before assuming it’s behavioral! Currently Max is not allowed near the carpeted surfaces of the house and he has not had any further “accidents”.

Everyone knows how awful cat pee smells, especially after it’s sat there for a few days before you realize the source of the odor! The top floor of the house where the carpeting is really stunk and the pee had really set in. I didn’t always see Max pee on the carpet so there were times when the pee soaked right into the carpet before I realized he peed there. I tried several different methods to get rid of the pee smell before trying Fizzion. I used the Hoover Steamvac with vinegar and a bit of mild soap which helped a bit but not nearly enough. I tried two different enzyme cleaners but I could still smell the cat pee. I even used the enzyme cleaner in the steamvac, to no avail.

Today I tried the Fizzion Pet Stain & Odor Remover and guess what? No more cat pee smell! It works as well as they claim and it works as quick as they claim. Unlike the enzyme cleaners you don’t have to let it sit there for hours and hours, it works almost instantly!

I’m very happy with the Fizzion and I definitely recommend it to anyone with pets!

Blog the Change for Animals!

Today is Blog the Change for Animals day! It is a great initiative to help spread the word about helping animals, to promote an animal cause that’s near and dear to your heart, to announce your own commitment to helping animals, and to inspire others to Be the Change as well. Every little bit helps as I’ve just figured out!

I wanted to participate in this event as soon as I heard about it but my first thought was, what do I do to help animals that I can blog about? I don’t run a rescue group, I’m not able to foster due to my current animal household, I haven’t been able to help on transports for quite a while, and I don’t feel like I really do much to help.

But then I remembered the small things that I do. I have a home based business called Rusty-Dawg Pet Products and I donate a portion of my sales to the Ottawa Humane Society and also to Big on Beagles rescue. Since business has been a bit slow I haven’t had much to donate but I give what I can. I’ve also donated to other rescue groups such as Tiny Paws Dog Rescue and New Moon Rabbit Rescue. I have a category on my blog called “Rescue Posts” where you’ll find blog posts for different rescue groups.

All the animals in my life are rescues as well and I love to adopt the older animals! The oldest animal I’ve adopted is Spencer, a beautiful Flame Point Himilayan, and he was 13 yrs old when I adopted him. He’s now 22 years old and I love that lil punkin head so much! Anytime I hear that someone is considering bringing a dog or cat into their life, I always recommend that they look into rescue and consider an adult.

There are many rescue groups that I think very highly of but my favorite rescue group is Big on Beagles. Beagles have a special place in my heart because I’ve been sharing my life with a crazy Beagle for the past 13 years! Jingles is an amazing Beagle, so silly and full of life and you’d never guess he’s 18 years old. Every day I shake my head in disbelief at his antics and energy and I wouldn’t change him for the world! I love him for his foolishness and he always makes me laugh.

Big on Beagles is an assistance and adoption agency for Beagles experiencing troubled times. They are located in Toronto, ON, Canada. They currently have 15 Beagles in their care that are awaiting adoption. You can view their Beagles that are ready for adoption on their Petfinder page.

You can help Big on Beagles too by volunteering, fostering, donating or spreading the word. In addition, please post this message to your website, blog, Facebook, Twitter (with hashtag #BtC) or other social media sites. Together, we can all Be the Change for Animals!

To see more of the participants in Blog the Change for Animals, check out the blog hop!

Raw Food Now Listed on RDPP!

I’m excited to announce that I’m now carrying raw food for dogs on RDPP’s website! Currently, I have beef tripe, lamb tripe and beef trachea in stock but if it goes well, I will carry a wider array of raw products. The products I’m offering for sale are made by Bold Raw, a division of Bold Canine. They are located in Erin, ON, Canada and they are a great company!

The tripe that I have listed contains alot less fat than your typical green tripe. Bold Raw painstakingly trims the fat by hand, providing an even more nutritious product for our beloved dogs! To see a comparison of their tripe alongside another raw tripe, check out their blog post: A Tale of Two Tripes… Not All Raw Is Created Equal. Tripe is a great addition to any diet, whether you feed raw, cooked or commercial!

The beef tracheas are a great natural, recreational chew for your dog! Not only will your dog have fun chewing them up but they are also an excellent source of Glucosamine and Chondroitin.

The raw food that I have listed is not available for shipping because it’s frozen raw and would be too costly too ship. It is only available to my customers in Ottawa, ON, Canada and I offer free delivery within Ottawa, ON, Canada on all orders over $10.00. My website automatically charges shipping on all orders and until I figure out a way around that, I will refund the shipping charges back to you via PayPal.

If you’re interested in ordering some of the other raw foods that Bold Raw makes, please let me know and I’ll do my best to stock the items that you want.

For those who do not know, I’ve been feeding raw food to my dogs and cats for almost 10 years now. I really believe that feeding a raw food diet, when done properly, is an excellent diet for dogs and cats. However, I also believe that there is no “best” diet and some animals may do better on a cooked diet versus a raw diet. In those cases a homemade cooked diet or a high quality canned food may be the better option.

My cat, Max, is an example of this and he no longer eats raw food because he was eating it way too fast and then throwing it back up because he was eating so fast. As a result, he ended up losing some weight so I switched him to a high quality canned food. He has a bit of a hard time eating canned food so he’s not able to eat it as fast as the raw food so the canned food stays in his tummy. I do still add some raw chunks of meat to his canned food because he loves it and he’s fine with that.

The others all eat raw food and they all love their food and clean their plates each time! I feed my dogs and cats whatever works best for the individual animal even though I do believe that a raw diet is ideal.

Looking for a Foster Home for Bentley!

I received the following email from Marna, the founder of Big on Beagles, an assistance/adoption agency for Beagles experiencing troubled times. She’s trying hard to find a foster home for a sweet Beagle named Bentley (aka B)!

Here is Marna’s email:

On the outside, he looks like your typical young approximately 2 year old beagle boy with an angel’s face and the devil in his eye. Any minute, he’ll spring from your screen, howlering at the moon, tail spinning like a helicopter, in hot pursuit of trouble.

But that’s not B at all. And that’s what makes this story so sad. We pulled B from Toronto Animal Services-South Region just before Woofstock. He hadn’t been there long but he wasn’t coping well. It was everybody’s hope that he’d find his place in this world through the successful adoption program at this shelter after being transported from a rural rescue in Ohio where he didn’t stand a chance at finding happiness. Good loving homes are a rarity in these remote parts of Ohio. In fact, B had been rescued from an animal hoarder by the Ohio group. That was practically a year ago. The emotional scars haven’t healed even after all this time. Whatever he suffered at the hands of this hoarder has left him paralyzed with fear whenever he meets a stranger, especially men. And that’s only how he reacts to people. Household objects can even make him jump when encountering them for the first time. But the one saving grace for B is the friendship of other dogs. That’s when he shines. They boost his confidence, as long as they’re gentle with him. A rough player will send him fleeing for the hills.

Our good friends, Jen & Aron (Clyde & Rosie’s parents!) took him in for us temporarily. As much as they’d love to keep him, they’ve got a full house already with their 4-legged crew. So now that Woofstock is over, we must focus on what B needs for the longer term. He’s not asking for the world. Just a safe little corner of it with you. He needs patience and gentleness and love beyond measure. He needs to find a reason to lift up that cheeky beagle tail of his and be the beagle he’s supposed to be – one with an angel’s face and the devil in his eye.

If you think you could be that someone for B, send us an email. If you’re already a BOB foster volunteer or the proud parent of a BOB grad, we can start with a Meet & Greet! If you’ve never fostered or adopted from us before, then don’t hesitate to send us your foster application for our careful consideration. Please understand that searching for the right spot for B is important to us. We need your patience as we receive your inquiries so we can take the time necessary to choose the best spot for B to make his dreams come true.

BIG ON BEAGLES (B.O.B) Rescue
An Assistance Agency for Beagles Experiencing Troubled Times

Big on Beagles

Proudly Mending the Hearts of Down-On-Their-Luck Beagles Since 2001

More Great Artists/Shops!

Here are some more great artists/shops that I’ve purchased from and who I’m very happy with! All the artists/shops that I mention on my blog I highly recommend to others.

I received a gorgeous Tree of Life pendant for Valentine’s Day created by Dolcie of DeeCee’s Wire Wonders! It’s a very beautiful pendant and it came with a really nice chain too! Dolcie calls the pendant the Tree of Life and Faith. This is her beautiful explanation as to why: “As with faith, the tree grows stronger each day. Its branches reaching upward toward heaven to receive the promises of God. The light from the stone behind the tree represents the Light of our Lord giving nourishment to the tree and our faith.” DeeCee’s Wire Wonders makes all her jewelry by hand and she does all the wire wrapping herself.

From The Straight Stitch I purchased two enviro lunch sets and also a cutlery wrap and I use them all the time! They’re perfect for bringing sandwiches and snacks to work and they really save on using plastic baggies which means less nasty plastic going into the landfills! She also makes wet bags, enviro covers, toddler wraps etc. Her items are very well made and durable!

For Mother’s Day I purchased a beautiful watch from Sister Jewelry for my Mom! I didn’t see my Mom until this past weekend so I finally gave it to her and she loves it! It fits her perfectly and it looks so pretty on her! Sister Jewelry makes gorgeous jewelry using SRA beads, lampwork glass beads, crystals, gemstones and quality findings. Her jewelry is OOAK, fashionable and affordable!

I love lampwork beads but I don’t know what to do with them myself so when I saw the purse charm that Glass River Jewelry made with a kitty face lampwork bead, I had to have it! Everyone knows how much I love all things cat related! It’s so cute and I love it even more in person. The colors are purrfect as well. All the jewelry she makes is gorgeous!

Speaking of cats, when I came across Susan Faye’s shop I couldn’t resist buying two of her ACEO prints of Calico Cats. I love Calico Cats, after all, my Tiki is a Calico and she’s a very sweet, beautiful kitty. The prints are adorable! I bought two little wooden easels to display them on and they look great! Purrfect pieces of art! Susan also creates the “Card Carrying Crazy Cat Lady” kits. They’re priceless so I bought one for my vet, Dr Katie Jones, since she has many cats and she’s one of the best cat vets I know. And because I also have a few cats (not as many as Katie!) I bought myself a kit too! The kit includes a laminated ID card, a button, the Official Card-Carrying Crazy Cat Lady Club Guidelines and Creed! It’s a great little gift for the crazy cat lady in your life!

There are a few more artists/shops that I’ve done business with lately but I’ll include them in my next blog post!