[nagdu] Poodle Play (WAS Bloat)

Tamara Smith-Kinney tamara.8024 at comcast.net
Sat Mar 12 19:04:37 UTC 2011 

Poodles are sure something.  /lol/  Still haven't figured out what, but mine
is something.  They need to come with a warning:  Off Switch Not Included!
Uninterruptable Power Supply.  Good grief!  They're strangely addictive
creatures, but they are definitely high maintenance!

So what I have found with Mitzi is that keeping both her mind and body
active are my keys to survival and sanity.  So a lot of what we do is really
interactive.  Soccer is our mainstay game, either with a regular soccer ball
or with a Shadow ball (named after Mitzi's friend Shadow, from whom she
stole the first one).  I've discovered I can hear the soccer ball, and she
gives me sound cues so I can aim at it...  Or touch it with my cane tip to
kick it.  The Shadow Balls (J-squeak balls) also make a good sound, even
once the squeaker has come out.  She will also use the Shadow Ball to squeak
guide when we're hiking.  If there's a tricky spot on the trail, she will
squeak in front of me to let me know which way to go.  Love clicker
training!  /grin/  Also, I tell her how clever she is whenever she does
this, so now it's just standard procedure.  Who knew?  /grin/

I have trouble keeping her entertained during the winter, too, because it's
so hard to get out that explosive energy she has.  So when I said she was
playing hard the other day at the park, that's what she was doing.
Exploding.  /lol/  She was really very airborne for quite awhile, with lots
of spinning and leaping and all-out running.

She used to love to be chased, too, but started to outgrow that at around 3.
She would yip at other dogs to get them to chase her sometimes, but her
preferred method was to get in their face and start popping around and doing
her poodle ninja thing with her paws, which would annoy and confound them.
/lol/  If they still wouldn't chase, she would nip them in the butt and leap
away.  Since her favorite targets were the really big bruisers like pit
bulls and rotties, this prompted me to invest in Tums.  /lol/  It always
worked out for her somehow, but I was always relieved when one of her
regular play buddies (like Shadow!) was around so she didn't have to go
recruiting the biggest, grumpiest dog she could find.

These days at the park, she uses her Shadow ball to politic with the other
dogs.  It's a very high value item, so she puts her claim on it, then shares
it with those who win her favor.  She also uses it and her big dark poodle
eyes and poodle grin to recruit people to kick it for her.  /lol/  When she
gets fored with all of that, she comes to play soccer with me.  She also
likes to run while I do laps around the park at the fence line.  She'll run
ahead, then stop and sniff, then let me get ahead and race to catch up.
Often I'll end up walking the fence with a couple or even several of her
buddies, too, while they share the ball around.

At home, I give her chews to meet that need.  I've gone to giving her large
dog rawhide bones, since they last a long time and the dogs use them to
politic between each other.  It seems to be a good way to formalize their
ongoing power struggles.  When it's not quiet time and Daisy can bark, Mitzi
will flaunt a bone or ball at her, then walk around while Daisy chases until
Mitzi gets herself treed so Daisy can bark at her.  Strangest thing I ever
did see, but barking and treeing fills a deep inner need in Daisy, so it
works.  We also play Shadow ball soccer around the house, or catch.
Sometimes we just dance.

She also likes to have her face time with DD, and will just sit and stare
into his eyes for minutes at a time.  Then he does silly with her, which
makes her laugh.  One of these days that tail of hers is going to gain
independence and take flight all on its own.  /lol/  She has the newer
roommate, BB, trained to kick a ball for her on a daily basis, too.  I think
she prefers the interaction involved in having someone kick the ball.  Plain
old fetch is just too boring for her!

She's not so pushy about play these days but can still get pretty insistent
and relentless if she's really feeling the need.  Sigh.  I kept her
entertained as a pup by naming all of her toys for her, so I can have her
bring me things or show me where they are.  Sometimes, she likes to stash
her Shadow ball and then have me look for it all over the house.  This also
keeps me entertained when winter rain and blah have me extra bored and
restless, so whatever works, I guess.  /lol/

Mostly, when she was younger and still pretty rebellious, I could use play
to reinforce the types of interaction I wanted from her and maintain some
control of the play by withholding (very briefly) or granting the toy in
question.  The play definitely strengthens our bond, and I can't help
thinking it strenghtens our interactions when she's working, too.

Sometime between 3 and 4, she did start settling down more in the evenings
and snuggling up on the couch.  Yes, I know.  We are very bad around here.
/smile/  Daisy needs lots and lots of cuddle time, and I use cuddles with
her to do some physical therapy and calming touch and so forth to keep her
anxiety issues down.  It makes her much easier to live with.  So Mitzi tends
to cuddle up to DD and snooze in front of the TV.  Every now and then, just
to confuse us, each dog will claim her own human, so I get to cuddle my
poodle, which I really like to do.  /smile/

Good luck with your busy boy!

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of GARY STEEVES
Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 11:14 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Bloat

Hi Tami:

The thing they told me at my school was to not run the dog until about an
hour after he has eaten and give him about half an hour after intense
exercise before eating. I follow this rule but as I said the playing happens
with or without my participation.

When you say Mitsi plays hard, what do you mean? One thing Bogart is very
mouthy and I sometimes have to calm him down by getting him to lie down and
relax for a minute when he forgets my hand is not a squeeze toy. He loves
wrestling around when he is on his back with legs and teeth all a going
while I sort of wrestle with him.

We try to get to off leash settings a couple of times a week but until our
main off leash park stops being a mud puddle we are a bit limited. Bogart
likes to play hard too so we need a well stocked off leash park for him to
find the dog who likes to play like him. Otherwise, he is bad for getting in
dogs faces and barking at them, wanting them to chase him. When they do not
agree he actually howls. People tell me this is his  youth showing up but it
can be a bit embarrassing if there is only one other dog at the school yard
and it doesn't want to play. sigh ... my girlfriend, who has many dogs in
her life, assures me that bogart is a high maintenance dog. Most of her dogs
spent much more time lying around and not demanding to be played with the
way Bogart does. He brings his toys and whines if no one moves to play. :)

Aw, poodles, they're special.

Gary



----- Original Message -----
From: Tamara Smith-Kinney <tamara.8024 at comcast.net>
Date: Tuesday, March 8, 2011 10:42 am
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Bloat
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'"
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>

> Yeah, Mitzi's a pretty slow eater and drinker, too.  
> Whew!  Unless I'm in a
> hurry for her to eat and have to wait.  /lol/  Come to 
> think of it, she
> wants to roll around and play after she eats, too.  And 
> when she does play,
> she plays hard!  I like to get her warmed up with some long 
> running, but
> that's not always possible because of the way our park here is 
> situated.  If
> it's not crowded, I'll sneak around the back end to throw or 
> kick the ball
> for her while she runs in front of me and lets me know where the 
> path is.
> /smile/  But now that spring is in the air, she just goes 
> nuts with the
> running and bouncing and leaping and spinning...  So I do 
> keep an eye on
> her, and check her several times when she's all collapsed on the 
> floor in
> the evening after we get home.  So far so good!
> 
> Tami Smith-Kinney
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
> On Behalf
> Of GARY STEEVES
> Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 10:01 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Bloat
> 
> 
> Hi Tami:
> 
> I think this is one of those things we, as poodle owners have to 
> be aware
> of, but are lucky in some ways that our dogs eat rather slowly. 
> Well mine
> does. He tends to eat some, have a drink of water and eat 
> some  more. I
> worry about him a bit since after he eats he always wants to 
> come over and
> play which involves rolling on the floor eventually. There's 
> nothing I could
> do, in my mind, to stop this behaviour and he seems so happy who 
> would want
> to. So learning the signs certainly would be more helpful. I 
> Also think that
> bloat is just like any other medical issue any of us might face. 
> There are
> the risk factors but some dogs just might have other issues that 
> make them
> more likely to have problems than the fellow dog from the same 
> breed or even
> litter. However, the more we know about things the more we can 
> be aware and
> keep our dogs safe.
> 
> Gary
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Tamara Smith-Kinney <tamara.8024 at comcast.net>
> Date: Tuesday, March 8, 2011 8:50 am
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Bloat
> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog 
> Users'"<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> 
> > Brenda,
> > 
> > I'm going to ask my vet about that next time we go, though 
> that 
> > won't be for
> > a couple of months or so.
> > 
> > In bloat, the problem is that the intestines get twisted 
> > somehow, so blood
> > supply is cut off and the intestine necrotizes and poisons the 
> > dog.  I don't
> > know if there is a way to get things back in order before it 
> is 
> > too late
> > without surgery.
> > 
> > Some preventative measures I've read and try to follow are to 
> > always make
> > sure the dog eats and drinks in a natural posture with the 
> head 
> > down to eat
> > food at ground level.  I don't know if it's true that not 
> > doing so can
> > result in bloat, but I'm careful with Mitzi that way because 
> of 
> > her long
> > poodly neck and narrow body.  Just in case!
> > 
> > 
> > Tami Smith-Kinney
> > 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-
> bounces at nfbnet.org] 
> > On Behalf
> > Of Brenda
> > Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 5:09 AM
> > To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> > Subject: Re: [nagdu] Bloat
> > 
> > Is there anything that can be done to prevent bloat from 
> > requiring surgery?
> > Brenda
> > 
> > On 3/7/2011 3:15 PM, Tamara Smith-Kinney wrote:
> > > Yeeks!  $5K????  Yes, that is horrible!  I'd 
> > better check with my vet to
> > see
> > > what that is here.  For a guide dog, that still works 
> out 
> > as the better
> > > bargain, but good grief!
> > >
> > > I feel so bad for your friend and her loss.
> > >
> > > Tami Smith-Kinney
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-
> > bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> > > Of Tracy Carcione
> > > Sent: Monday, March 07, 2011 11:06 AM
> > > To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> > > Subject: Re: [nagdu] Bloat
> > >
> > > Hi Tami.
> > > Thanks for the further info. I'll take Ben's pulse 
> > tonight.  (People might
> > > think it was weird, if I did it in my office.)
> > > May bloat never happen to any of our dogs.
> > > My friend said that surgery might have saved the dog, but it 
> > was $5000 and
> > > the owner just couldn't afford it.  Isn't that 
> horrible, 
> > to have to choose
> > > between a huge bill and the life of your dog?! It's nice to 
> > know, but,
> > > should I ever be there, I could call on my school for help, 
> so 
> > long as my
> > > dog was still working.
> > >
> > > Tracy
> > >
> > >> Tracy,
> > >>
> > >> I'm so sorry about your friend's dog!  Thank you for 
> the 
> > reminder about
> > >> bloat.
> > >>
> > >> It is good to know the signs of bloat, since it leaves no 
> > time to waste
> > in
> > >> getting to a vet.  Poodles are prone to bloat, so I 
> live 
> > in fear of it
> > and
> > >> check Mitzi over regularly, just in case.  If she 
> seems 
> > to have a tummy
> > >> ache
> > >> or even to be feeling a bit off, I check her abdomen and 
> > femoral pulse
> > >> first, just to be sure!
> > >>
> > >> So the signs I know to look for are a hardened, distended 
> > abdomen and
> > lack
> > >> of femoral pulse on either side.  You can feel the 
> > femoral pulse by
> > >> standing
> > >> behind your dog and putting your hands around the thighs so 
> > that your
> > >> fingertips can feel up into the groin where the pulse 
> > is.  No pulse means
> > >> blood supply is cut off and you're nearly out of 
> time!  
> > It never hurts to
> > >> know what your dog's normal pulse feels like, so you can 
> tell 
> > if it's
> > very
> > >> weak or thready, especially if there's unusual tension in 
> the 
> > abdomen.>>
> > >> So far, so good with my girl, and I plan to keep it that 
> > way!  But if the
> > >> signs do show up ever, I will know it's time to head to the vet!
> > >>
> > >> Tami Smith-Kinney
> > >>
> > >> -----Original Message-----
> > >> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-
> > bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> > Behalf
> > >> Of Tracy Carcione
> > >> Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2011 6:54 AM
> > >> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> > >> Subject: [nagdu] Bloat
> > >>
> > >> My neighbor's lab mix died last night from bloat.  My 
> > friend was
> > >> dog-sitting, and called me to see what I thought about the 
> > dog pacing and
> > >> crying.  I guessed bloat, and thought the dog should 
> go 
> > to the vet
> > >> immediately, but the owner wanted to wait and see if it got 
> better.> >> Off-hours vet visits are very expensive, but 
> sometimes you 
> > just can't
> > >> wait.  I'm sorry I was right, though.
> > >>
> > >> I thought I'd share, so we can all have a better idea of 
> what 
> > to look out
> > >> for.
> > >> Tracy
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> _______________________________________________
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