So we saw Katenna today. WONDERFUL woman. I loved every second of it. I think she caught on very quickly to my learning style and she was great with Takoda. I don't think I've ever seen his brain work so hard!
She really liked that he was a problem solver and thought he was very clever and focused. She said that he was pretty self-assured and confident, but he there was a lot of stranger anxiety there. Unfortunately, he's confident so wants to investigate strangers... and sets himself up for failure.
We're working on targeting now to get him behind me when he sees strangers. He has a long road ahead of him, but I knew it was going to be that way in the first place. He's SUPER tired. Training took so much out of him since she had him do all his own problem solving instead of us giving him the answers.
Glad to hear that you went to the first meeting and it went well. I'd love to hear more about her methods and what you're doing--it sounds so interesting! I also like that here is this person who is actually able to read the complexity of the dog (rather than just oversimplifying as the bad dog people do). Here's a dog that is confident and interested, but then maybe goes beyond what he can handle with people. Very glad to hear you found a good person to work with!
@shibamistress - She is a very positive, upbeat person to speak with and she wants that to carry over to dog training - she seems to want everyone to feel confident and happy with what they're doing... people and dogs.
We're in the baby stages with Takoda, but the idea is that when we're done, whenever he sees a stranger, his automatic behavior will be to go behind me and follow me closely instead of trying to interact with them.
We're going to accomplish this with targeting. We've just started to use the verbal command ("touch") when I put my hand down. Basically, I'm placing my hand out in all these crazy places and he's meant to touch my hand with his nose. This sets him up for later so I can use my hand to keep him behind me.
She did a great job really putting things into perspective for me. She confirmed my current course of management was a good one (since his last incident) and I honestly would have never thought of using targeting to help him. It was enlightening. I'd recommend her to anyone who is having trouble with complicated behavior issues.
I'm also going to... sacrifice my NIPPO roadtrip to use that money toward more nosework sessions with him. We'll just take the usual spring/summer roadtrip to VT again this year. I think (and Katenna agreed) that it would do wonders to help him through this rough patch and keep him occupied.
@WrlyBrindle - Will do! What part of the state are you in? Last year we tried to hike a portion of the Long Trail, but we went at the worst time and all of the natural world tried to kill us on our way back down (rain, fog, ice and rogue deer). I wish I could remember where we went... (it was so bad, I blocked it out). I really like hiking off-lead with the dogs and I find Vermont is usually better for it than anywhere else around (and I grew up in VT so I might be biased).
@Saya - London is very vocal! He growls a lot, but his growls aren't always aggressive. There's a lot of depth to his growls. Sometimes they're worried, sometimes they're aggressive and other times they're playful. He does the Malamute yodeling and "woo"ing... he has two different true barks - one's yappy and annoying (when he sees a critter and tries to get it) and the other is low, deliberate and a little frightening.
Takoda is also pretty vocal, but I think he's probably more similar to Saya. He has his yappy, excited bark and his "back off" growl and his "let's play!" growl... and then he does this "muttering" thing where he mumbles and groans and whines.
@WrylyBrindle - Ah! We lived in Winhall when I was younger and went skiing Stratton every Tuesday in the winter for our school day. Best way to grow up. Step aside, Maths, say hello, Physical Education.
My dad lived in Chester for a while and worked at Okemo. Looking back on how I grew up, it's crazy that I haven't skied in so long.
My daughter skis Stratton every Tuesday for her school ski day! and I worked at Okemo for 3 years Our dentist is in Chester, and since you know the area, I will tell you that I actually live in Landgrove, but get my mail in Peru. Landgrove is a teeny little gore and very skinny and it doesnt take much walking to find yourself quickly in Londonderry or Peru... it's like that house Harry Potter goes to visit Sirius Black at the HQ of the Order of the Phoenix. So if you come up, give a shout and i'll grab a kai or two and meet you for a walk up some mountain!
@JessicaRabbit - Yep! I went to see her today. She was REALLY amazing. I loved her - thank you so much for recommending her! I touched a little upon our visit a few posts earlier. She gave me some advice and a game plan for TK that I wouldn't have thought of on my own--totally worth everything! She was so good with him and wants to use his problem-solving capabilities to keep him occupied and focused instead of trying to direct him every step of the way.
I could tell he really enjoyed just having something to do that was challenging, too.
@WrylyBrindle - That is the best analogy. Sounds amazing! We probably won't head up until the snow has finally melted and spring is really here, but I'll let you know when we plan something!
A great pyranese came wandering on my yard couple years ago.. We called owner and she came walking over she must be semi close.. She said they were repairing the chicken coop and he doesn't like drilling noises. haha
Haha, I felt like there was a Disney movie going on in my house about star crossed lovers for the last two days. The LGD and the "coyote" have been basically inseparable. London is feeling a little neglected. Murphy decided he liked TK better.
You guys are going to think I'm like... brain-dead pretty soon here with the amount of dumb things I post... but I'm really stumped on this one and I don't know if I should continue to wait-it-out or see a medical professional...
TK is having some serious shed issues.
He came to me very impacted. His fur was a mess. I couldn't even see his skin and he had dirt/sand packed in there when I gave him his first grooming. I'd been brushing his coat pretty regularly (even though we didn't see too much shed) for a few minutes each day just to get him used to the brush.
Anyway, I noticed his skin looked a little irritated so I stopped brushing him altogether because I became afraid I was doing it too much and I wasn't getting much in the way of hair off him. I waited a little while and decided (about a week ago), when I finally noticed hair was falling out in clumps, to give him a nice oatmeal bath and a blow-out to get rid of the clumpy fur.
Since then, his hair has been falling out all over the place. All the undercoat is going. Every last bit. I know that's usually normal, but this is excessive. I have pictures to show what I mean...
I found injuries on him that look self-inflicted when I went out with him and London to brush them today. Obviously I decided not to brush him after I really saw the state of his legs when I got him in the bright sunlight. I'm just wondering if this is "normal", considering everything or if I should look for some help. I thought I was being pretty cautious and not overdoing things with grooming. I'm always hyper-aware of what's happening with my dogs, so I felt really badly when I just noticed this.
You can see right to his skin. It's like... all that's left is guard hair. There's absolutely no undercoat on his front legs until you get to his shoulders and his back legs are really patchy. It's only his legs.
My shiba will shed out like that every few years. This shed could be hard on him since his coat was in the condition it was. A couple more bath with blow out will help to get the rest of that old coat out. Kuma just had a shed like that. He was nothing but guard hairs for awhile.
The big patches of fur gone is normal. The red skin on his right hind leg is redder than what I would consider normal, but the other legs don't appear as red?
Do you think this shed is due to him being on better food? It's his skin's way of extruding the old diet for the new?
@sjp051993 - I forgot about your post about Kuma. It makes sense. @ayk - His legs are all a little discolored. His front legs... the skin is like... orange/brown? It's weird. It's not RED, but it doesn't look normal. It might be from him self-grooming. You're right - all this could be due to being on a better diet. I've just never experienced this before, so I'm in paranoid mom mode and not thinking 100% rationally.
At least it's normal. I ALWAYS, without fail, work myself up and think the worst before I'm like "oh, yeah, it's probably just ____"
Is there anything I can give him (right now he's on earthborn + fish oil) to help his skin? I'm not going to be brushing him any more... and I figure I'll loosen up more hair with a warm bath in another 3 weeks.
I would just keep up the good food and fish oil. When Kuma went through his hard shed, I gave him a warm bath and blow out every 2 weeks. The blower really helps get all that hair out with irritating the skin like a brush.
I will say that my male Kuma can blow his coat and shed a lot of undercoat, so he mainly has guard hairs. Maybe not quite as much as TK in these photos, but much more than my Siberians ever did and more than the female shikoku I have. FWIW.
And TK sounds like his brother Kuma in that video -- very vocal and same tone of voice.
@Edgewood - I'm probably bias... but Kuma has risen to one of my favorite Shikoku very quickly. I like hearing the similarities and differences between them!
He really likes the grooming room so I guess I'll give him a bath in 1-2 weeks like @sjp051993 suggests instead of 3. I don't normally like bathing my dogs very much, but I think it'll be better than brushing him in this case.
I think he'll look a lot nicer after this shed is finally finished. After having some time to think about it, it's probably as @ayk said - this is his body's way of dealing with things. It's probably a little irritating to his skin, but he'll get better. I'll just keep an eye on him.
I only bath that often during a hard shed. It is just easier on the skin and coat than all the brushing. His body has probably tried to shed like this before, but it sounds like his coat was in bad shape so the dead hair was never removed. Now his skin and coat are in better condition with better nutrition so it is working to get healthy as well.
My AA is doing that right now, and because he has so many health issues, including one that is probably an autoimmune issue, I freaked at first. But then I remembered last year my male Shiba did it, and I came here and people talked about how some do this hard shed, so I calmed down! I know Oskar has a good diet and lots of fish oil, and he's three in May and has never had a shed like this before, so I think he's ok! (though once the hair gets off, you get to see their real weight, and poor Oskar is a little too thin! So we had to up his food just slightly).
So while the skin looks a little irritated, I also think the shed itself is not necessarily a problem.
Conker did that last year, he didn't have a whole lot of undercoat. He looked horrid for a while but it grew back okay. This year he is shedding a LOT, but I can't see the skin yet.
My familys feral dog likes to groom herself and on her lower belly and under thighs is light on hair. Somethin in her saliva mixed with her natural yeast on her skin turned her skin purple and hair a rust red. That could be the weird skin color you're seeing. Also @carabooa when her girl had a crazy shed used a rosewater? Mixture that helped, have to ask her though.
I agree, the shedding is normal. When I first got Kaiju, he came from the winters of New Mexico. Then, he has had to suffer through Riverside weather. This summer it got so bad, it was 120F some days. Kaiju does not have a lot of undercoat. However, like everyone said, the redness is not too normal. What kind of shampoo are you using? I use Earthbath and that really helped Kaiju's coat. When he is REALLY dirty (like rolling around in the sap tree), I would wash him with Dawn, but it's not that often. You could try rubbing coconut oil or aloe on his irritated skin.
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She really liked that he was a problem solver and thought he was very clever and focused. She said that he was pretty self-assured and confident, but he there was a lot of stranger anxiety there. Unfortunately, he's confident so wants to investigate strangers... and sets himself up for failure.
We're working on targeting now to get him behind me when he sees strangers. He has a long road ahead of him, but I knew it was going to be that way in the first place. He's SUPER tired. Training took so much out of him since she had him do all his own problem solving instead of us giving him the answers.
We're in the baby stages with Takoda, but the idea is that when we're done, whenever he sees a stranger, his automatic behavior will be to go behind me and follow me closely instead of trying to interact with them.
We're going to accomplish this with targeting. We've just started to use the verbal command ("touch") when I put my hand down. Basically, I'm placing my hand out in all these crazy places and he's meant to touch my hand with his nose. This sets him up for later so I can use my hand to keep him behind me.
She did a great job really putting things into perspective for me. She confirmed my current course of management was a good one (since his last incident) and I honestly would have never thought of using targeting to help him. It was enlightening. I'd recommend her to anyone who is having trouble with complicated behavior issues.
I'm also going to... sacrifice my NIPPO roadtrip to use that money toward more nosework sessions with him. We'll just take the usual spring/summer roadtrip to VT again this year. I think (and Katenna agreed) that it would do wonders to help him through this rough patch and keep him occupied.
Is London very vocal?
This one Malamute who went to dog park I used to go to he was very vocal.
He mainly growled a lot..
Are malamutes usually a growly breed?
Saya growls as form of communication which is more playful sounding compared to her back off I need space growl.
Last year we tried to hike a portion of the Long Trail, but we went at the worst time and all of the natural world tried to kill us on our way back down (rain, fog, ice and rogue deer). I wish I could remember where we went... (it was so bad, I blocked it out). I really like hiking off-lead with the dogs and I find Vermont is usually better for it than anywhere else around (and I grew up in VT so I might be biased).
@Saya - London is very vocal!
He growls a lot, but his growls aren't always aggressive. There's a lot of depth to his growls. Sometimes they're worried, sometimes they're aggressive and other times they're playful. He does the Malamute yodeling and "woo"ing... he has two different true barks - one's yappy and annoying (when he sees a critter and tries to get it) and the other is low, deliberate and a little frightening.
Takoda is also pretty vocal, but I think he's probably more similar to Saya. He has his yappy, excited bark and his "back off" growl and his "let's play!" growl... and then he does this "muttering" thing where he mumbles and groans and whines.
I like me some vocal dogs.
My dad lived in Chester for a while and worked at Okemo. Looking back on how I grew up, it's crazy that I haven't skied in so long.
I could tell he really enjoyed just having something to do that was challenging, too.
@WrylyBrindle - That is the best analogy. Sounds amazing! We probably won't head up until the snow has finally melted and spring is really here, but I'll let you know when we plan something!
A great pyranese came wandering on my yard couple years ago.. We called owner and she came walking over she must be semi close.. She said they were repairing the chicken coop and he doesn't like drilling noises. haha
TK is having some serious shed issues.
He came to me very impacted. His fur was a mess. I couldn't even see his skin and he had dirt/sand packed in there when I gave him his first grooming. I'd been brushing his coat pretty regularly (even though we didn't see too much shed) for a few minutes each day just to get him used to the brush.
Anyway, I noticed his skin looked a little irritated so I stopped brushing him altogether because I became afraid I was doing it too much and I wasn't getting much in the way of hair off him. I waited a little while and decided (about a week ago), when I finally noticed hair was falling out in clumps, to give him a nice oatmeal bath and a blow-out to get rid of the clumpy fur.
Since then, his hair has been falling out all over the place. All the undercoat is going. Every last bit. I know that's usually normal, but this is excessive. I have pictures to show what I mean...
I found injuries on him that look self-inflicted when I went out with him and London to brush them today. Obviously I decided not to brush him after I really saw the state of his legs when I got him in the bright sunlight. I'm just wondering if this is "normal", considering everything or if I should look for some help. I thought I was being pretty cautious and not overdoing things with grooming. I'm always hyper-aware of what's happening with my dogs, so I felt really badly when I just noticed this.
You can see right to his skin. It's like... all that's left is guard hair. There's absolutely no undercoat on his front legs until you get to his shoulders and his back legs are really patchy. It's only his legs.
Do you think this shed is due to him being on better food? It's his skin's way of extruding the old diet for the new?
@ayk - His legs are all a little discolored. His front legs... the skin is like... orange/brown? It's weird. It's not RED, but it doesn't look normal. It might be from him self-grooming. You're right - all this could be due to being on a better diet. I've just never experienced this before, so I'm in paranoid mom mode and not thinking 100% rationally.
At least it's normal. I ALWAYS, without fail, work myself up and think the worst before I'm like "oh, yeah, it's probably just ____"
Is there anything I can give him (right now he's on earthborn + fish oil) to help his skin? I'm not going to be brushing him any more... and I figure I'll loosen up more hair with a warm bath in another 3 weeks.
And TK sounds like his brother Kuma in that video -- very vocal and same tone of voice.
He really likes the grooming room so I guess I'll give him a bath in 1-2 weeks like @sjp051993 suggests instead of 3. I don't normally like bathing my dogs very much, but I think it'll be better than brushing him in this case.
I think he'll look a lot nicer after this shed is finally finished. After having some time to think about it, it's probably as @ayk said - this is his body's way of dealing with things. It's probably a little irritating to his skin, but he'll get better. I'll just keep an eye on him.
So while the skin looks a little irritated, I also think the shed itself is not necessarily a problem.