[nagdu] Stress Issues

Tue Sep 6 00:49:51 UTC 2011

He does scratch them and chew on them. I have shampoo and spray but I
was hoping to get to why he's so stressed.

On 9/5/11, Sam Hogle <smhogle at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello Laura. I have heard of the bauld spots coming on dogs where the
> harness is. Also, I've noticed some dogs can get them from laying on
> hard surfaces, or if they have a food alergy. However, if they are truly
> bothering him, he would probably be scratching or licking at them. Hope
> the new harness helps, and hang in there. I'm sure everything will work out.
> Sam and Seeing Eye Dog Mason
> On 9/5/2011 8:38 PM, Lora wrote:
>> Hello List
>> Yes my dog is shedding a lot but he has bald spots where his harness
>> sits around right behind his front legs and bald sopts where he lays
>> back part of knee I think. He has lots of nylabones I think like 6 and
>> tug of war toys along with a soft snake. I try to play with him in a
>> fenced yard and he doesn't seem to be interested. He loves playing
>> with my  mom's dog and seems unstressed that way, but at this time I
>> can't have a pet dog. I will try relaxing walks and more massage
>> therapy along with having him snuggle between my legs. I'm planning on
>> buying a nylon harness from pawpower to see if that helps the harness
>> issue. I hope I answered everyone's questions. Sometimes I wonder if
>> it is me the handler since I've gone through 3 dogs in 3 years sigh.
>>
>> On 9/5/11, Tami Kinney<tamara.8024 at comcast.net>  wrote:
>>> Lora,
>>>
>>> Well, it's impossible to say for sure, but the shedding at this time
>>> could be due to the time of year and/or heat. Are you still in the
>>> Pacific Northwest near the same university? I haven't been paying huge
>>> amounts of attention to the weather that far to the east of us, but into
>>> eastern Oregon, at least, it's been a pretty unusually cool and damp
>>> summer. So a lot of people here nearer the coast are complaining that
>>> their dogs are shedding like it's spring now that we're getting actual
>>> summer temperatures. For this time of year, they're pleasantly cool, but
>>> compared to what we were having, it's pretty dramatically hot. So I
>>> don't know if that is affecting your dog's shedding.
>>>
>>> As you say, stress can also be a cause of excessive shedding.  Is he
>>> showing behaviors that might indicate he is feeling more stressed than
>>> usual?
>>>
>>> Since letting him run off leash is out of the question and he doesn't
>>> run on the flexi-lead, that does limit your options for giving him
>>> exercise beyond the in-house tug of war and those types of play. Um...Is
>>> it possible for you to take him on long leash walks using your cane so
>>> that he can just hang out with you and stop and smell the flowers or,
>>> well, what other dogs have left on them? Mitzi and I do this sometimes,
>>> just to go out to spend some us time enjoying each other's company.
>>> There's not as much opportunity for walks that I find satisfying, but we
>>> do manage to have a brief enjoy together. /smile/ When we lived where we
>>> had more access to different routes and places and environments, then we
>>> could go out for a walk and even maybe grab a cup of coffee and hang out
>>> in outdoor seating area to see our friends go by. Or have coffee with
>>> them, too, since everybody in the neighborhood, practically, had a dog
>>> and stopped by the same pet shop for food and the same toys, then
>>> grabbed coffee at the same little shop and then wen to the park with
>>> their dog in the same place... In the morning. Evenings or afternoons,
>>> you could all see each other in passing (and dogs, too!) at various
>>> places all around. Loved it! Couldn't afford it, with the medical I
>>> needed to pay out of pocket, but I loved it. Anyway, When we are going
>>> around up at the corner market area here while DD is shopping, or in
>>> various shopping centers or malls, one can see people just hanging with
>>> their dogs enjoying each others' company. /smile/ I'm generally working
>>> Mitzi in harness, but once in awhile we hop up to the corner store
>>> without it just to hang around outside while DD runs his errands. Mitzi
>>> seems to get a lot out of it, actually.
>>>
>>> Don't know if your dog would find anything like that satisfying or
>>> relaxing, but it's a thought. In the winter, we do sing/dance/play,
>>> mostly for Daisy's benefit, since she is not the kind of dog you take
>>> out in public to hang around with. She does love riding in the truck,
>>> but DD goes crazy because the silly hound gets so excited about getting
>>> to go that she doesn't so much shed as throw hair into the air in
>>> globs. /lol/ I keep telling him that since he's not working for another
>>> month or so, at least, he should just leave it be and stop worrying
>>> about it. If we want to dress up to go somewhere, we can always put
>>> towels over the seat to keep the hound hair off our good clothes, can't
>>> we? I'm serious, but he is not amused. So when we take Daisy on a road
>>> trip, he spends the whole time complaining about how long it's going
>>> take him to vacuum every last hound hair out of the truck when we get
>>> home... She gets so happy that he's talking to her while she's riding
>>> with him in the truck that she bounces around to get herself more
>>> excited and shakes as hard as she can, sending clouds of white and black
>>> and tan hair everywhere. Mitzi and I just look out the passenger side
>>> window and laugh our heads off, agreeing that they are both nuts.
>>>
>>> But I digress. I'm not sure that traveling with Daisy reduces Mitzi's
>>> stress, but it doesn't seem to bother as much as I had thought it would,
>>> either. Well, loner road trips get trying for everybody, especially on
>>> the way home because Daisy can't contain herself and neither can anybody
>>> else, including tranquilizers, so Mitzi just has to stay out of the way
>>> wile DD drives and I keep Daisy from being a safety hazard. She gets a
>>> little grim after awhile but she deals somehow. /smile/
>>>
>>> Some people recommend doggy puzzle toys, although they can be spendy.
>>> The idea is that they keep the dog's mind busy figuring out how to solve
>>> the puzzle to get the reward. Fun for your dog for hours! Well, maybe
>>> your dog or somebody else's dog. /lol/ Mine got the most complicated
>>> puzzle I could find out of my hand while I was still fiddling with the
>>> box, trying to figure it out and had the puzzle solved before I had
>>> noticed what happened. Then I was entertained for awhile trying to come
>>> up with ways to make the puzzle entertaining for my dog... Which did
>>> keep her entertained. After awhile, I had to have the neighbor's kid
>>> come over to help me make the puzzle entertaining for the poodle, and
>>> they had a lot of fun together while I gave up ever getting anything
>>> useful done again in my life. /lol/ When we moved in here, I put the
>>> puzzle back together, showed it to Daisy, and she took it to shred it
>>> thoroughly without bothering to solve it. I did manage to save a piece
>>> or two that fell out of it for her to shred over the next week or so
>>> along with all of Mitzi's other shreddable toys. Mitzi seemed a little
>>> sad about it all, but every time I would pull out a stuffed toy of hers
>>> I'd managed to preserve, she would give it to Daisy to shred, so I gave
>>> up.
>>>
>>> Would your dog like a nice coonhound to play with? /lol/ I don't know if
>>> it would help his stress, but it would give me a little peace and quiet
>>> with my poodle. /smile/
>>>
>>> Beyond that, I'm afraid I've got nothing. I've used some calming touch
>>> for Mitzi's youthful high excitement and Daisy's high anxiety... Come to
>>> think of it, I work some of the bits and pieces that have worked on
>>> Daisy still in our daily routine. Mostly, I put both hands on her jaws
>>> just under her ears and massage lightly in a circular motion, the rub
>>> her throat an massage her neck a little. I also give her an ear pull,
>>> which she likes, but that's not calming touch, I don't think. Rubbing
>>> the ends of the ears between your thumbs and forefingers is, and our two
>>> dogs both seem to find gently stroking of the ears relaxing. Along with
>>> cuddles and other forms of spoiling. I think Julie has learned quite
>>> abit about Tellington touch. I've just taken bits and pieces that work
>>> with Daisy, along with a lot of guesswork style physical therapy because
>>> I'm pretty sure she has a lot of phantom leg pain, and that seems to
>>> help. Also, I rub her jaws and give her other massages in some areas
>>> because of old injuries. I just stuck with what worked with her. Same
>>> with Mitzi now. I just do what she enjoys. She's grown up enough in her
>>> work, somehow, that she's just pretty easy going about things, if in a
>>> poodley way. Also, I think that I observe and feel for signs of stress
>>> build up I've learned during my time with her since she was a pup, so I
>>> don't even notice what I do anymore. A lot of it is something you
>>> develop over time according to what works for your dog and you.
>>>
>>> Best in getting it figured out and your doggy back to normal.
>>>
>>> Tami
>>>
>>> On Mon, 2011-09-05 at 09:08 -0600, Lora wrote:
>>>> Hello List:
>>>> I know we've probably had this discussion before but I would
>>>> appreciate it if we could have it again. My dog is loosing a lot of
>>>> hair and I think it is due to stress since he is on a good diet. I
>>>> can't trust him off leash since he doesn't listen at all. I have tried
>>>> letting him play on a flexilead but he won't run around. I play with
>>>> him tug of war and other games like that but I don't think he's
>>>> getting enough stress out of his life. Do you have any suggestions?
>>>> Thank You.
>>>>
>>>
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>>
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-- 
Lora