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Behavior, Housebreaking, Obedience / Blast from the past with a question (sorry, it's long!)
« on: July 18, 2008, 10:22:47 am »
Hey everyone! You guys may or may not remember us. I'm Shawna and I'm mom to a teeny Newfie named Sadie. It's been ages since I last posted. Things got a bit out of control in my life for a while and I needed to retreat to my own little corner and figure stuff out. Sadie and I have been through the ringer together and we're finally starting to come out on the other side (I think).
Part of the reason I stopped posting was that I was having MAJOR issues with Sadie and as much as I appreciated the support I found here I was starting to worry that you all would get sick of listening to it. Not to mention it almost hurt reading all your posts about your amazing doggies when I was having such issues with mine. Sadie was the cause of a bit of drama in our neighborhood (through absolutely NO fault of her own), which I think is around the last time I posted. It took quite some time to resolve that and during that time I started feeling majorly sick and run down. Also around that time Sadie started developing horrible separation anxiety which then became generalized anxiety. She started having accidents again when she was left by herself. She would howl and frantically paw at the door if I so much as left her by herself to go to the bathroom. She was also amazingly destructive. She'd go to the bathroom in her crate if I crated her, but if I left her out I never knew what disaster I'd come home to. At first I thought that stuff was just her picking up on my not feeling well or reacting to the tension in the house (since I had quite a bit going on personally), but very quickly it became a huge issue. She was fearful of anyone but me - those of you from the New England area who have met her know that she was anything but fearful, it was a 180 degree change and it seemed to happen overnight (although I'm sure it didn't really, I just missed the gradual signs). Thankfully she was never fear aggressive, but I couldn't take her anywhere without her being totally anxious and freaked out and miserable. I was beside myself and I felt like it was something I was doing wrong. We have worked really, really hard with our vet, and a wonderful trainer/behaviorist that our vet recommended but it was pretty brutal for awhile. I was SO frustrated with her and with myself. As much as I love her, I was starting to think I wasn't the right mom for the job. I'm highstrung and a worrier myself and I was starting to think I was making my dog afraid of everything. We kept at the training with our behaviorist and didn't give up and finally, now it seems like we've turned the corner. She's back to her old goofball self for the most part, doesn't need the anxiety meds as much and is OK with meeting new people again. Not to mention that all that one on one work with a trainer strengthened our bond immensely.
Having said that, a big part of the improvement, in my opinion, was a new addition to the family. My boyfriend moved in with us and together we adopted a 5 year old Boxer who was being retired from a breeder after having her last litter of puppies. Sadie loved having a buddy to hang with and it was really good for her. Lady (yes Lady and Sadie - gross) was a better dog trainer than I'll ever be. Despite being half her size, she mothered Sadie and even disciplined her when she got bratty and out of line. She was definitely the alpha and, pardon the pun, but Sadie just followed her around like a puppy. On top of that, Lady was an absolute joy. She was perfect on a leash even without ever having had an obedience class and was such a snugglebug. She was a very special girl. We absolutely adored her. Unfortunately, Lady became very ill, very quickly and within a week of her first symptoms presenting was diagnosed with alimentary lymphoma. It's a type of lymphoma that occurs in the digestive tract and causes intestinal lesions and prevents the dog from being able to absorb any nutrients even when they are able to eat. She lost weight rapidly and within just a few days, Lady was so thin and weak that she could hardly walk. By the time we even knew what it was she had lost so much weight you could see every bone in her body. We had started her on Prednisone to see if we could improve her appetite since our vet didn't think she could survive surgery or chemotherapy without putting on some weight but it became clear very quickly that it wasn't working and she was suffering. We made the impossible decision to put her down last Saturday morning. Our hearts are broken and we miss her desperately. I haven't stopped crying since it happened. But probably the hardest part of losing her is watching Sadie mourn. She isn't eating. She howls and whines a bit at night and paces around aimlessly. Her potty stuff is all messed up - not having accidents but just not going at all (just #2 though, she is still urinating regularly and drinking water). She has no energy. She just isn't herself. I understand how she feels - I'm not MYSELF yet either. I know that she will get over it, or maybe I'm even projecting what I'm feeling onto her and imagining it's worse than it actually is, but I also know she isn't eating or relieving herself and that worries me given her history of anxiety. I took her to our vet who couldn't find anything physically wrong with her but suggested she might be experiencing her own grieving process. I'm wondering if any of you have experienced something similar and if you might have any ideas for us as to how to make it easier for her? I'm at a loss and I figured it was time to crawl back to BPO and grovel for advice. I can use any suggestions you all might have.
I have missed this community very much, especially when I was going through Lady's illness recently. And Sadie has definitely missed her NE Newf Pack buddies. I just felt like I was starting to be that poster who never has any good news and I know that can get old really fast. And it was too hard coming here every day and reading about all the amazing pups around here when our situation was so difficult and frustrating. I'm hoping that I can get Sadie to feel better again so that I can have good news for you all instead of always being so gloom and doom. Thanks for reading (if you got through all that) and I hope it's OK to pop back in like this. I've missed you all.
Part of the reason I stopped posting was that I was having MAJOR issues with Sadie and as much as I appreciated the support I found here I was starting to worry that you all would get sick of listening to it. Not to mention it almost hurt reading all your posts about your amazing doggies when I was having such issues with mine. Sadie was the cause of a bit of drama in our neighborhood (through absolutely NO fault of her own), which I think is around the last time I posted. It took quite some time to resolve that and during that time I started feeling majorly sick and run down. Also around that time Sadie started developing horrible separation anxiety which then became generalized anxiety. She started having accidents again when she was left by herself. She would howl and frantically paw at the door if I so much as left her by herself to go to the bathroom. She was also amazingly destructive. She'd go to the bathroom in her crate if I crated her, but if I left her out I never knew what disaster I'd come home to. At first I thought that stuff was just her picking up on my not feeling well or reacting to the tension in the house (since I had quite a bit going on personally), but very quickly it became a huge issue. She was fearful of anyone but me - those of you from the New England area who have met her know that she was anything but fearful, it was a 180 degree change and it seemed to happen overnight (although I'm sure it didn't really, I just missed the gradual signs). Thankfully she was never fear aggressive, but I couldn't take her anywhere without her being totally anxious and freaked out and miserable. I was beside myself and I felt like it was something I was doing wrong. We have worked really, really hard with our vet, and a wonderful trainer/behaviorist that our vet recommended but it was pretty brutal for awhile. I was SO frustrated with her and with myself. As much as I love her, I was starting to think I wasn't the right mom for the job. I'm highstrung and a worrier myself and I was starting to think I was making my dog afraid of everything. We kept at the training with our behaviorist and didn't give up and finally, now it seems like we've turned the corner. She's back to her old goofball self for the most part, doesn't need the anxiety meds as much and is OK with meeting new people again. Not to mention that all that one on one work with a trainer strengthened our bond immensely.
Having said that, a big part of the improvement, in my opinion, was a new addition to the family. My boyfriend moved in with us and together we adopted a 5 year old Boxer who was being retired from a breeder after having her last litter of puppies. Sadie loved having a buddy to hang with and it was really good for her. Lady (yes Lady and Sadie - gross) was a better dog trainer than I'll ever be. Despite being half her size, she mothered Sadie and even disciplined her when she got bratty and out of line. She was definitely the alpha and, pardon the pun, but Sadie just followed her around like a puppy. On top of that, Lady was an absolute joy. She was perfect on a leash even without ever having had an obedience class and was such a snugglebug. She was a very special girl. We absolutely adored her. Unfortunately, Lady became very ill, very quickly and within a week of her first symptoms presenting was diagnosed with alimentary lymphoma. It's a type of lymphoma that occurs in the digestive tract and causes intestinal lesions and prevents the dog from being able to absorb any nutrients even when they are able to eat. She lost weight rapidly and within just a few days, Lady was so thin and weak that she could hardly walk. By the time we even knew what it was she had lost so much weight you could see every bone in her body. We had started her on Prednisone to see if we could improve her appetite since our vet didn't think she could survive surgery or chemotherapy without putting on some weight but it became clear very quickly that it wasn't working and she was suffering. We made the impossible decision to put her down last Saturday morning. Our hearts are broken and we miss her desperately. I haven't stopped crying since it happened. But probably the hardest part of losing her is watching Sadie mourn. She isn't eating. She howls and whines a bit at night and paces around aimlessly. Her potty stuff is all messed up - not having accidents but just not going at all (just #2 though, she is still urinating regularly and drinking water). She has no energy. She just isn't herself. I understand how she feels - I'm not MYSELF yet either. I know that she will get over it, or maybe I'm even projecting what I'm feeling onto her and imagining it's worse than it actually is, but I also know she isn't eating or relieving herself and that worries me given her history of anxiety. I took her to our vet who couldn't find anything physically wrong with her but suggested she might be experiencing her own grieving process. I'm wondering if any of you have experienced something similar and if you might have any ideas for us as to how to make it easier for her? I'm at a loss and I figured it was time to crawl back to BPO and grovel for advice. I can use any suggestions you all might have.
I have missed this community very much, especially when I was going through Lady's illness recently. And Sadie has definitely missed her NE Newf Pack buddies. I just felt like I was starting to be that poster who never has any good news and I know that can get old really fast. And it was too hard coming here every day and reading about all the amazing pups around here when our situation was so difficult and frustrating. I'm hoping that I can get Sadie to feel better again so that I can have good news for you all instead of always being so gloom and doom. Thanks for reading (if you got through all that) and I hope it's OK to pop back in like this. I've missed you all.
Rocky is a GIANT German Shepherd who's ears never stood up. 140 pounds of goofball. Bailey is my Golden boy.
). I asked why she wasn't in her crate and they said she had just settled in with the other dogs so they didn't want to separate her. When I went to pick her up, they charged me the "puppy rate" because of the books - the first I heard about them having a puppy rate and I don't know why they wouldn't have asked for it up front considering she's 6 months old and I flat out told them she's a little terror. It amounts to $10 more per day than we agreed to and I have to tell you I was a bit ticked off. Why ask me to bring a crate and then not use it and then make me pay extra because you didn't follow the instructions? It would be one thing if they said, this is where the dogs sleep, that's it. But they asked where I'd prefer her to sleep and I said she needs to be in a crate. I'd never have left her there if I knew she'd be out all night. Although, to tell you the truth I was more proud of her for not having an accident sleeping outside of the crate than anything else! Then the proceeded to tell me I shouldn't 'let her' jump on counters. I said I don't "let her", she does it and gets corrected every single time. Unfortunately she's as stubborn as an ox and was probably testing boundaries in her new environment. I was just so aggravated with these people. I wouldn't have minded paying the puppy rate as I have a PUPPY but just tell me that up front you know what I mean? Am I being unreasonable?