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Post by amyjo on Feb 19, 2004 17:25:08 GMT -5
That is a good ideer Laura - I will reccomend it if they don't like this woman. I am just worried that a behaviorist is gonna be all PP and won't really help the situation. I have to admit I am a little ingorant about why they would need a behaviorist. In my mind why need a behaviorist if you are gonna teach the dog to obey you at all times and ENFORCE it?
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Post by sibemom on Feb 19, 2004 17:31:31 GMT -5
You go girl Sounds like I would start there. Unless there is some strange underlying problem besides letting the dog get away with things I would just pump up the training before I went to a behaviorist and then see if they don't get some results.
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Post by amyjo on Feb 19, 2004 19:16:12 GMT -5
no no no - I am not going anywhere! I am giving advise from the safety of my home. I went to see the dog today because I knew I had to. I was scared nutsless the whole time but I think I did okay.
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Post by Nicole on Feb 19, 2004 20:23:36 GMT -5
Amyjo, you should be very cautious but I just wanted to say that my guess is that you were not the intended target of this bite. And as I know you know, dog aggression does not automatically mean human aggression. They are "usually" two completely different things. One does not necessarily transfer over to another. But caution is good!!
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Post by amyjo on Feb 19, 2004 21:02:08 GMT -5
Yes - I don't believe he would ever go after me - but I was careful none - the - less. He was very very standoffish to me and extreamly attentive to his owner. It was kind of cool to see how he was looking to her- we put him through some very light OB I pet him a few times and went home. I had to go see him because I was afraid if I didn't - I never would. He is a very loveable dog but my mind was playing tricks on me like he was some kind of monster with 6 inch fangs
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Post by Brooke on Feb 20, 2004 1:23:03 GMT -5
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Post by jbell on Feb 20, 2004 16:29:29 GMT -5
Hi everyone. Tbone's Mom here. I have been reading through all of the posts on this thread and the "down to business" thread trying to understand/learn.
I posted some background on Tbone and our other dog KC on the "down to business" thread for those interested in helping amyjo, Tbone and us through this further. I believe some of you have read it.
I am curious to understand more about the thyroid problem. How does this affect aggresion? Is it similar to thyroid probelms in humans...he has gained quite a bit of weight and always feels as though he needs food. Any additional info would be greatly appreciated.
Also, just want to make an update that Traci Shreyer is, apparently, part of OSU's animal behavior dept, or at least has hours at their clinic and is visiting lecturer, etc. Not sure yet...will add more after we speak to her.
As Amyjo states, Tbone is very limited in what he has the ability to do right now. He is either crated, pottying or obeying commands. He has increased his attentiveness to commands, but still seems to have an obstinant streak in him. He just has this look like "I'm better than this, but I'll do it" Probably just b/c some of his negative behaviours (not obeying until repeated commands, etc) were reinforced by us, but if it continues, we may need some help in that area.
Anyway, thanks for supporting Amyjo through this...she is a real trooper and a great friend and trainer! Thanks Am!
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Post by amyjo on Feb 20, 2004 18:15:22 GMT -5
Jebell - I got sidetracked and forgot to mention the thyroid test to you. ...sorry... anyway the symptoms of low thyroid are weight gain, constant hunger, dull flaky coat and in some cases aggression. Your vet just takes a blood sample and the lab measures the level of t4 (think it is a hormone) any way you get a reading and anything between 1 and 4 is considered normal...below 1 is too low and can be treated with synthroid. My dog Mickey was on it for years before he passed away - though his symptoms did not include aggression. Dobemom has alot of experience with this and she can explain - it helped her get a handle on the aggression but it did not disappear completley.
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Post by Dobemom on Feb 23, 2004 10:48:39 GMT -5
Yep. Too much experience . INSIST that your vet do the test if you even suspect a problem. Symptoms, as mentioned, are: poor coat, poor skin, weight gain, lethergy, inattentiveness, aggression. BUT not every dog shows every symptom. If your dog isn't FAT, most vets will blow off the test. My dog wasn't ever overweight, but she has a problem. She wasn't lethargic, either (damn-it , but she was inattentive, had itchy skin and was aggressive. I had to almost force my vet to do the thyroid test. He just insisted it wouldn't be a problem because her weight was fine. . NOT. Test runs around $85US, and if possitive, meds for life. Mine's good about taking her pills, I just put them in her food (VERY small while pills) or she'll just take them out of my hand with the promise of a treat after . Any time a dog show aggression, they should be tested.
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Post by Willow on Feb 23, 2004 12:07:05 GMT -5
Please don't hit me, gals, but at the risk of sounding like a broken record...thyroid problems are a result of vaccinosis and from feeding grains. It can be cured by a combo of feeding a species appropriate diet (raw meat and bones) and by treating homeopathically. Yes, *cured*, as in never having to take drugs.
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Post by amyjo on Feb 23, 2004 13:23:35 GMT -5
I wouldn't hit you Loey... I actually figured you were gonna say that. It will be very interesting to see how Elvis responds to his raw diet because for the last two years his t4 has been hovering just under 1 and I opted not to medicate because he had no symptoms. When he gets his senior dog tests this year we can see if there is a difference. Our own little experiment.
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Post by amyjo on Feb 23, 2004 13:24:58 GMT -5
And by the way Kerra is CUTE! ;D
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Post by Dobemom on Feb 23, 2004 16:13:01 GMT -5
Naaa, I'd never hit you Loey. Just a nip here or there Seriously, I would never dispute the validity of this. I just can't go raw, for a number of reasons (including, EWEEH, I'm out of town alot so my son would have to do it, EWEEH, cost, she's totally posessive over any bone- I can't imagine giving her something actually "good",last time I even THOUGHT about changing her diet we had to call Hazmat ). If it helps, do it! Or if a problem shows up now, and you switch to raw and it goes away, you can discontinue meds. Oh, and just a note from hell: a similar discussion was taking place on "that other board" this morning and d.ames (the dog food pushing freak) chimed in and stated that dogs (GSD's in particular) from Eastern European bloodlines don't show the same tendancy to thyroid problems as their western cousins. Hmmmm
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Post by Willow on Feb 23, 2004 18:55:23 GMT -5
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Post by Laura on Feb 23, 2004 20:38:36 GMT -5
Acording to the FIL, the answer to that is because the German working line breeders feed raw as a rule over there, and don't linebreed like they do over here. Dumb of me to ask almost, it took me an hour to shut him up on the subject (one he holds near and dear ;D) .
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