[nagdu] Stress Issues

Sam Hogle smhogle at gmail.com
Tue Sep 6 00:52:57 UTC 2011


Chances are, that means it's not stress, but alergies. It could either 
be something in the air or outdoors or his food. Has the vet said 
anything about it? Also, even if whatever originally caused the alergy 
is gone, the dog may be used to licking the spot which will keep the 
hair from growing back.
On 9/5/2011 8:49 PM, Lora wrote:
> 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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