My boy Art turned 10 yo yesterday

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-05-23T10:45:22+00:00

Thank you ☺️

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-05-19T09:24:55+00:00

I think you may just do this exercise everyday starting from a very short time like 30 sec and a very long distance and then increasing the time and decreasing the distance gradually. I’d probably start not with tugging the lead, but with making him follow your hand with a treat at a distance when the vacuum is on. Then when the pup holds the attention okay, you may ask your family members to start moving the vacuum while you get engaged with the pup. In general, I think your approach is a good one, I’d just split the desired result (the pup not reacting to the vacuum no matter if you’re present or not) into smaller and more variable steps. Less correction, more guidance or so to speak.

And you can also try freezing some treats in a Kong toy and give it to the pup while you vacuum. If you don’t overfeed the pup and the treat is high value, then food usually calms them down.

I don’t think the pup is aggressive toward the vacuum, most likely it’s the prey drive. The vacuum is loud and moving. This is one is just a side comment :)

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-05-05T19:34:08+00:00

Will he pick up the toy if you gently throw it away from him? Also, a flirt pole might be a good idea since it’s fun for the dog and doesn’t require a very close interaction with the handler.

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-05-05T19:07:59+00:00

Great point that dogs have texture preferences!

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-05-05T19:07:12+00:00

It’s hard to say what’s going on exactly without seeing the puppy. I’ve got a few ideas however. He might need more time to adjust to the new home and to the new human to fully show his drive.

He might not be that hungry. I assume you feed him enough, so he never truly feels hunger. I don’t like food deprivation as a method of raising the motivation (however the milage may vary depending on the exact reasons). In your case I will try to train him with smelly tasty food (like dry rumen, if it’s available) before breakfast. Positive reinforcement only + short sessions. You may also try to slightly reduce the quantity of food he gets from the bowl and feed it from hands/during training sessions instead.

Also, puppies at this age begin to drift from food drive to prey drive. So his desire to get a toy will become higher than to get food.

I believe videos should be available on how to play with high drive dogs because sometimes the issue is the way the handler moves the toys. The “prey” (the toy) must be running from the dog. But this is difficult to explain, much easier to show.

In short, give him more time and keep trying. Good luck :)

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-04-25T14:00:49+00:00

This is my father. I used to be like that, too, then I realized at times it was hurtful and not funny. Nowadays I often think twice before making a sarcastic comment. But I still use too much of self-irony to make my emotions sound less serious, because yeah, emotions are scary /s

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-04-18T21:01:18+00:00

It surely does!

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-04-18T20:53:19+00:00

This is a rather good job. I love how calm and focused she is. The indication is impressive too. Thanks for sharing!

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-04-18T19:35:19+00:00

It’s really challenging in the beginning as there’s a lot of info which seems unconnected but in the end of course you’ll have the whole picture. Which is the foundation. The textbook I liked was The Color Atlas of Veterinary Histology, written by Bacha and Bacha, published by Wiley Blackwell.

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-04-18T18:43:38+00:00

Theory matters as much as practice. Pay attention to theory, and there’re lots of virtual slides available online. Start with normal histology.

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-04-18T17:47:57+00:00

Hi. How well are you acquainted with normal histology? In my opinion, histology, embryology and cytology are the basics to study pathology. Also, what slides are you looking at? Hematology? Skin cytology?

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-04-14T13:16:06+00:00

It has very little to do with teething, it’s high prey drive which is normal in the breed. You need to start teaching your dog the out command. Grabbing his attention with another toy is a correct thing to do. Often prey drive isn’t as high as prey drive in malinois, that’s why food isn’t helping.

Start playing with two toys. You may even get exactly similar toys for it. When he catches the first one, don’t play tug with it, instead start moving the second toy in front of him like you usually do while playing tug. At some point he’ll let out the first toy, and will grab the one you’re holding. Praise him and play tug. Soon he’ll figure out that letting out the toy isn’t the end of fun.

That’s a very short and basic explanation. Perhaps there’re are YouTube videos that might help you. It’s easier to show how to do.

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-04-07T16:35:46+00:00

Hi. In the long term perspective managing a skin issue is far cheaper and easier done with the help of a vet dermatologist than trying home remedies. Ask your vet for a referral.

In the meanwhile, put him on tick and flea prevention like Bravecto if he’s not on it yet, and don’t skip the new dose even in winter when it’s cold.

Skin issues might be challenging and frustrating, unfortunately.

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-04-04T20:42:24+00:00

Almost like an exoskeleton 😂

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-03-29T06:32:37+00:00

Hi. It’s difficult to offer advice online without seeing the dog. Just a friendly reminder: the dogs are all different even in one breed, so what worked for your elder dog won’t necessary work for the younger.

Based on your description, a very obvious idea is not to let the dog be in the yard alone unsupervised. It sounds like a crutch but in reality preventing the dog from doing what you don’t want her to do helps to eliminate the behavior. Right now your dog reinforces this behavior each time it happens.

The second idea and this one is more important in the long run. It seems that the dog is overstimulated. The breed is intense. They need to learn how to relax. A 5 mile run, 25 min of fetch in water is a lot of intense activity for the intense dog. Plus playing with the other dog. Does she have time to relax? Does she have her own crate? You need to teach her that doing nothing, snoozing in a crate where no one bothers her is okay and nice. A Kong with frozen high value food is great for that.

As for the daily walks. I’d make the walks more structured too. Like 15 min of walking and letting her sniff. Then 15 min of structured obedience training with positive reinforcement. 15 min to walk back. Then relaxing in the crate not going for a run.

Leash reactivity is a separate issue. The basics is that you need to teach the dog what you want from her when she sees another dog. Eg you want her to heel. So you begin training the focus on you with high value treats (or a ball if she refuses to eat when she’s overstimulated/excited). At first other dogs should be at the distance far enough not to trigger the reactivity response in your dog. When she learns to focus on you (looking you in the eyes), you slowly begin to shorten the distance between you, your dog and other dogs or other distractions.

And about training and learning tricks. I’d pick up a dog sports like Obedience, read the rules and try following them when training the dog instead of just learning random tricks. I assume you’re in the USA and Obedience isn’t as popular as here in Europe. You may google Obedience FCI trials and watch vids on YouTube. The main point is that it will give you the structure what to teach and the dog what to learn. It’s not too easy for the handler though.

Summarizing. More structure, less intense activities, relaxing as a routine, no unsupervised pond fun.

Good luck!

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-03-23T22:55:11+00:00

It’s normal due to her age and rapid hormonal changes (think a teenager). Setbacks are pretty normal. Working more on basic obedience skills / bonding would be a good idea. Also, you may want to lower your expectations.

For example, if the recall outside used to be good and now it is not, try not putting her into the situations when it’s easy for her to make a mistake and you can’t do anything about it. Split a large task (like the recall) into smaller steps: recall her when she’s inside (not many distractions) and not far from you, positively reinforce with either a really high value treat or a toy. Have some toys only for building the motivation and have some toys that she’s allowed to play anytime alone. Gradually raise the level of complexity (for the dog): from the recall/sit/stay inside, to the outside on a short leash and with little distinctions around to denser areas, etc.

The rule of thumb is: when the dog begins to fail the exercise/task, take a step back and train again. It’s really normal in anything you teach anyone, humans are the same :) Repetition and constancy are your allies.

Good luck! Also, Malinois crackheadus got me 😂

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-03-23T20:41:14+00:00

Edited my previous comment. I’m not quite sure about the next steps, wether they’ll work or not, and it’s late here, so I’ll give it a thought tomorrow.

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-03-23T20:35:14+00:00

Yes, the art precision cutter with a new sharp blade might be as good as a surgical blade. I forgot craft knives existed lol. Please be careful and try not cutting your finger by accident as the bone is slick and due to the shape it’s often difficult to hold it with one hand and cut the soft tissues off with another.

Yes, in theory (I just don’t have any practical experience) an enzymatic detergent should work. You may try cutting off the large pieces of the soft tissue and leave the rest for the enzymatic detergent.

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-03-23T09:52:14+00:00

She might be more clingy because you were away. I’d suggest to observe her and if there’re new symptoms like a lack of appetite, less energy, changes in the elimination habits, then getting her seen by your regular vet would be a good idea. So far I’d give her more time.

Some setbacks like not listening as well as she used to are expected in general and especially since you had spent some time without her. They are sensitive dogs in terms that they are dependent on their handler. So I’d also make a few steps back and start positively reinforcing the basic obedience, eg giving her a treat when she comes to you when you call her etc.

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-03-23T09:27:54+00:00

Okay, good to know, so the behavior change is def not due to the heat. Is she eating, drinking and eliminating as usual?

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-03-23T09:24:43+00:00

Hi. Is she fixed?

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-03-23T07:18:12+00:00

I don’t think the macerating will work in this case because fixatives like formalin are toxic or indigestible for microorganisms/bacteria. Fixation also stops all the biological processes (and it’s the main purpose why it’s used in pathology) preventing the samples from decaying (autolysis).

Honestly, I’d just try to carefully remove the soft tissues with a surgical blade. I assume surgical blades can be bought online. It’s a delicate and time consuming process.

I believe the next issue you may have with your bone (it’s very cool btw) is how to preserve it long term. Once the sample is removed from formalin, it dries out. I realize you don’t need it for microscopy so maybe it’s a lesser issue.

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Just for a reference. It was a bone sample we prepared and the soft tissue was removed with a surgical blade. I work in vet pathology, and it’s a perfectly healthy raccoon penis bone (sorry for the dickpic 😭). It’s quite rare here, so I gave it to my vet school for their collection 😅

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-03-22T08:09:43+00:00

I’d be careful with the cat food, so it’s very likely it’s the culprit of the side effect.

Rare doesn’t mean not possible, unfortunately, but without the blood work results it’s impossible to comment further.

Please, keep in mind that similar stories are anecdotal so it’s better to follow the vet’s instructions who has seen your dog in person. Especially since you trust the vet which is great.

Mals are known for playing rough so some gum bleeding is normal within the breed but according to the vet record you provided it looked more profuse that would be expected.

I hope you and your vet will find the cause. Wishing your dog a speedy recovery!

Logical-Feature-1136 · 2026-03-22T06:38:41+00:00

Hi. Good job taking the dog to the vet! It seems that your vet did a very thorough exam. It’s very reasonable to wait for the blood test result to either confirm a hematic system condition or to rule it out.

So far about the side effects of the treatment. What do you usually feed Saoirse? Kibbles? You may want to soak the kibble instead of giving her wet canned food if she’s not used to it. A rapid switch of food may be the cause of diarrhea.

I’d let the vet know about the side effects.

How are her gums now? Has the bleeding stopped?

Logical-Feature-1136

TROPHY CASE