I realized that Sachi in such a short time has become an integral and necessary part of my life. Due to a series of unfortunate events I ended up working 14 days in a row and by day 10 was...nostalgic of days off and ended up coming up with this list of 10 Reasons (in no particular order) Why I Can't Imagine Life Without My Dog.
10. She wags her tail when she sees me 9. When nervous or settling to an idea she noses me in the knee. 8. She lets me pet her and she likes it! 7. At the end of a long petting session she goes and grabs the dismembered head or hand of a plush/rope toy and gives it to me gently (and not for it to be tossed and chased we discovered). 6. When we go on walks and jog, sometimes she won't slow or stop for a sniff but tries to sniff and run and ends up looking very guilty when she ends up running over her nose. 5. She will cut me off on walks so that I have to stop and pet her. 4. She prefers pets to treats 100% of the time. 3. On walks she picks up one leaf at a time and carries it with her until I notice and puts it down only when I say her name. 2. She only does what she wants, when she wants, my commands be damned. 1. Sachi makes my day brighter, she has antics that make me smile.
I think Sachi has finally started adjusting given our progress. Today we did another socialization excursion to another dog boutique and she had no tail tuck (but it was down) ended the visit having approached people and taken treats from strangers and walked out of the store with her tail held high (though one woman asked if she was a GSD puppy)! Car rides are taken in stride, passing cars are not a moment to startle, strangers walking by are no reason to clear the sidewalk (unless it is nighttime then sidle away). She lets me ruffle her ears (I am trying to work up to cleaning them) and will let me gently touch her front paws, sometimes.
We still have a huge ways to go and we have our first private training session on Thursday. She is very protective of her crate while she is in it, one of my friends tried to greet her while she was chilling in there and she did her nervous whine/growl.
I'm so happy that you are seeing the "real" Sachi now. She is such a cute dog, I really miss her. Has she started making silly noises at you yet? I love her noises. )
Today was a big day for excursions. We did the dog park which overall was positive when she started to roam and play she wanted to play with me and ignored the dogs which was fine with me. She bounces more than runs right now it is very cute. I must try to get a video.
We finally did the BIG VISIT to a giant dog store (Petsmart). She did admirable! Took treats from strangers again, ignored other dogs and explored! We met with the trainer (which was a paid 20 minute session but she chilled and chatted with us for an hour) and she said we were moving forward well and just to carry on, but gave some methods for training which seem promising.
I think our next big hurdle is the move on the 27th. I know it will put us back but at least she and I have started connecting so that may bring us closer?
Sounds like things are on the up with you and Sachi! That's awesome to hear. I know exactly what you mean about the bouncing at the dog park, it makes me really happy seeing Ren relaxed and just having fun. Must feel good for you to see her like that too!
Well Sachi and I made the move well and we didn't really end up having to start over. As she is more responsive now and identifies with me we have worked on the basic commands as a refresher, she is a smart cookie, takes maybe three tries. Weirdly she does better learning in strange places than home, I think because she is in the "uh oh this is new pay attention to the hoomin". My favorite of the love bugs antics (also affectionately called sketchy and little sketch ball) is in the morning we will wrestle in bed until she does the stretch (like the play bow) to get ready for the walk but the stretch is with her front paws on my leg and will hold that position so she gets standing belly rubs along the entire length of her torso.
On a different note her ear infection has gotten worse. And I have tried with help medicating her at home its like catching a wild animal muzzling her then holding her down so we can try and get meds in her ears. I am at the point where I will have to pay the vet $77 a day to medicate her ears, not including drive time to and from work and home to get better or at least get a sedative prescribed. Thankfully she is forgiving of me and my roomie (who can cuddle with her too now!) of us trying to do this but she is hyper aware of when I have the muzzle in my hand or the med bottles and will bolt. Suggestions, please?
Thundershirt is traumatic in its own right because of the tugging to get the velcro off and the sound but if we can sedate I may add it the the program. What sedatives are safe on dogs, are they prescribed?
Well, does she act the same with a regular t shirt or harness? I was just thinking the confinement effect of the thundershirt would be helpful as many dogs freeze when they wear them.
Rescue Remedy, essential oils and DAP collar are fine. You may want to ask your vet about a prescribed sedative before ear treatments, like Ace.
I'm surprised they charge so much to do ear drops! We always did it gratis for the owners who had difficulty, unless the dog was really really horrible.
I liberally dosed her with rescue remedy and I have what I call trippy treats (not sure what they are really called) but it is a chamomile holistic supposed to help take the edge off, she hates them but the RR in the water she drinks, not sure to any effect. She hates things being pulled over her head, I am conditioning her but to continue to have it positive it is slow, and I would hate to have it associated with the drops...but we may have reached that point.
because the vet checks her every time? It does take one tech to hold her down and she bucks and fights like mad, she even did a half way decent Shiba scream. Today I held her and she whips her head around everytime we get a flush or med in her ear which then knocks around, not helping the issue. She gave me the start of a fat lip after 4 attempts but recovered quickly.
Try putting the drops in her ear while she is sleeping. Have the meds in your pocket so they are handy. You will need to be quick. Squirt in the meds and rub it in. Also play with her ears a lot. That way she does not always associate having her ears handled with the ear drops.
I'm glad to hear she was/is settling in--sorry about the ear problem, though!
These wild Kai! I could see Leo doing the same thing, except in our case Leo freezes when he has something on, so with two people, I'm sure we could get drops in (but he threw a fit at the vet when they tried to look in his ears, but that was because I let the vet techs hold him, rather than me--next time he gets the thundershirt and a tiny bit of ace). My vet said at first he was their fave of my dogs, but then after he scratched, snapped and growled, peed, and expressed his anal glands, I think they felt differently! (He went back to being a sweet boy as soon as they let him go, though)
I do think Kai are such wonderful dogs 99% of the time, but they do have their quirks! And being restrained is one of them....they seem to go wild! Does make some basic things like this difficult!
Boooo...No fun for either of you….Hopefully she will get better soon. Expect the treating of ears will cause some set backs in the trust department, particularly if you sneak up on her or have to hold down. I guess there isn't another option other than sedation if she is a bucking bronco.
Don't feel too bad, I don't know this is just a Kai thing though, apparently many dogs go "wild" when it comes to treating an persistent ear infection. even the best tempered dogs (*Edit* not to imply that Sachi is not good tempered, on the contrary) that normally do not have problems with looking in ears or touching can go nuts when there is an infection (*Edit -thinking of case with Golden and Lab).... *Edit*- i.e. animal biting children when ears or head was touched and the underlying issue was an ear infection. Play it safe in the best way you can to get her treated.
In any case, I hope she will come around soon with different medication and you can move forward in a fun direction.
Both ears have it and I can play with them both. They are both infected though the left one is more infected. I called the vet and am getting a sedative on Monday (perhaps Ace?) @shibamistress She freezes when held by their tech (also the first person outside of myself and my roomie who she will let pet her) but I think she fights more with me because she knows me? Versus the stranger danger she gets from them and perhaps a touch of learned helplessness and would rather just give up on life rather than fight? I'm not sure, after reading the other threads she could be feeding off of my emotions but I feel like I am being fairly clinical during the time.
I can't do the sneak attack as she is much to wiley for that and between cleaning then medicating...it is not worth it. Thankfully it hasn't set us back I can actually pick her up now and she will still go in the "trauma" room as we deemed it and I can collar and play with her and fondle her ears just if something is in my hand such as a bottle or the muzzle she bolts. She is, and I think this is thanks to @brada1878 household very, very curious of kids. She loves to follow them and watch them but hasn't fully approached them or let them approach her. I'm conditioning her to hugs, and some "tap" petting and mess with her tail and she takes it like an OG but until the infection is up I like to keep all visits with strange humans positive and limited to those with dog finesse because I think being sick is making her more cagey than she would be normally? She loves to follow and ninja sniff strangers but the moment they direct any attention to her she pulls away versus hiding behind me.
cdenney: wanted to clarify my last post a bit…. Sometimes clinic staff make determinations and assumptions about a dogs behavior which is not necessarily true and shy dogs are often mislabeled when actually there is an underlying medical problem…. Pays to be wary of all elements particularly with ear infections so that compassion for the situation is kept in mind. Not all clinics or vets are necessarily so.
The issue with dogs being well socialized to children does not always apply particularly when pain tolerance overrides the patience level. Not that it is of issue in this case. It's good you have Sachi's welfare in mind and doing everything you can.
Again, hope she gets better soon as I am sure it will improve things all the way around : )
Comments
@ttddinh I managed to get it off but it wasn't a happy moment. I think I need to desensitize her to the sound before we put it on again.
10. She wags her tail when she sees me
9. When nervous or settling to an idea she noses me in the knee.
8. She lets me pet her and she likes it!
7. At the end of a long petting session she goes and grabs the dismembered head or hand of a plush/rope toy and gives it to me gently (and not for it to be tossed and chased we discovered).
6. When we go on walks and jog, sometimes she won't slow or stop for a sniff but tries to sniff and run and ends up looking very guilty when she ends up running over her nose.
5. She will cut me off on walks so that I have to stop and pet her.
4. She prefers pets to treats 100% of the time.
3. On walks she picks up one leaf at a time and carries it with her until I notice and puts it down only when I say her name.
2. She only does what she wants, when she wants, my commands be damned.
1. Sachi makes my day brighter, she has antics that make me smile.
I think Sachi has finally started adjusting given our progress. Today we did another socialization excursion to another dog boutique and she had no tail tuck (but it was down) ended the visit having approached people and taken treats from strangers and walked out of the store with her tail held high (though one woman asked if she was a GSD puppy)! Car rides are taken in stride, passing cars are not a moment to startle, strangers walking by are no reason to clear the sidewalk (unless it is nighttime then sidle away). She lets me ruffle her ears (I am trying to work up to cleaning them) and will let me gently touch her front paws, sometimes.
We still have a huge ways to go and we have our first private training session on Thursday. She is very protective of her crate while she is in it, one of my friends tried to greet her while she was chilling in there and she did her nervous whine/growl.
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/c0.0.403.403/p403x403/14588_618407844320_2012129393_n.jpg
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/60910_618407784440_29878900_n.jpg
We finally did the BIG VISIT to a giant dog store (Petsmart). She did admirable! Took treats from strangers again, ignored other dogs and explored! We met with the trainer (which was a paid 20 minute session but she chilled and chatted with us for an hour) and she said we were moving forward well and just to carry on, but gave some methods for training which seem promising.
I think our next big hurdle is the move on the 27th. I know it will put us back but at least she and I have started connecting so that may bring us closer?
On a different note her ear infection has gotten worse. And I have tried with help medicating her at home its like catching a wild animal muzzling her then holding her down so we can try and get meds in her ears. I am at the point where I will have to pay the vet $77 a day to medicate her ears, not including drive time to and from work and home to get better or at least get a sedative prescribed. Thankfully she is forgiving of me and my roomie (who can cuddle with her too now!) of us trying to do this but she is hyper aware of when I have the muzzle in my hand or the med bottles and will bolt. Suggestions, please?
Rescue Remedy, essential oils and DAP collar are fine. You may want to ask your vet about a prescribed sedative before ear treatments, like Ace.
I'm surprised they charge so much to do ear drops! We always did it gratis for the owners who had difficulty, unless the dog was really really horrible.
because the vet checks her every time? It does take one tech to hold her down and she bucks and fights like mad, she even did a half way decent Shiba scream. Today I held her and she whips her head around everytime we get a flush or med in her ear which then knocks around, not helping the issue. She gave me the start of a fat lip after 4 attempts but recovered quickly.
These wild Kai! I could see Leo doing the same thing, except in our case Leo freezes when he has something on, so with two people, I'm sure we could get drops in (but he threw a fit at the vet when they tried to look in his ears, but that was because I let the vet techs hold him, rather than me--next time he gets the thundershirt and a tiny bit of ace). My vet said at first he was their fave of my dogs, but then after he scratched, snapped and growled, peed, and expressed his anal glands, I think they felt differently! (He went back to being a sweet boy as soon as they let him go, though)
I do think Kai are such wonderful dogs 99% of the time, but they do have their quirks! And being restrained is one of them....they seem to go wild! Does make some basic things like this difficult!
Expect the treating of ears will cause some set backs in the trust department, particularly if you sneak up on her or have to hold down. I guess there isn't another option other than sedation if she is a bucking bronco.
Don't feel too bad, I don't know this is just a Kai thing though, apparently many dogs go "wild" when it comes to treating an persistent ear infection. even the best tempered dogs (*Edit* not to imply that Sachi is not good tempered, on the contrary) that normally do not have problems with looking in ears or touching can go nuts when there is an infection (*Edit -thinking of case with Golden and Lab).... *Edit*- i.e. animal biting children when ears or head was touched and the underlying issue was an ear infection. Play it safe in the best way you can to get her treated.
In any case, I hope she will come around soon with different medication and you can move forward in a fun direction.
Snf
I can't do the sneak attack as she is much to wiley for that and between cleaning then medicating...it is not worth it. Thankfully it hasn't set us back I can actually pick her up now and she will still go in the "trauma" room as we deemed it and I can collar and play with her and fondle her ears just if something is in my hand such as a bottle or the muzzle she bolts. She is, and I think this is thanks to @brada1878 household very, very curious of kids. She loves to follow them and watch them but hasn't fully approached them or let them approach her. I'm conditioning her to hugs, and some "tap" petting and mess with her tail and she takes it like an OG but until the infection is up I like to keep all visits with strange humans positive and limited to those with dog finesse because I think being sick is making her more cagey than she would be normally? She loves to follow and ninja sniff strangers but the moment they direct any attention to her she pulls away versus hiding behind me.
The issue with dogs being well socialized to children does not always apply particularly when pain tolerance overrides the patience level. Not that it is of issue in this case. It's good you have Sachi's welfare in mind and doing everything you can.
Again, hope she gets better soon as I am sure it will improve things all the way around : )
Snf