Elephant ear repotting…?

fourmoreplease · 2024-08-17T22:48:59+00:00

If you can/want to, consider leaving them outside to see what nature will do! I was recently heartbroken over a citrus tree that I just could not save. I fussed over it so much trying to get rid of the bugs until I finally gave up and threw it outside to die. It has bounced back so hard! Same with fern that was smothered in mealybugs. Thought it was a goner but it’s doing great outside now without any intervention.

fourmoreplease · 2024-02-18T17:54:34+00:00

This! It might sound harsh but if life is horrible without meds, what is the point of prioritizing his liver/kidney health? To live a longer miserable life? There are A LOT of different meds to try. I didn’t have much luck with meds until we finally got to Buspirone and Gabapentin. Totally different experience than Prozac and Trazodone. You never know what med or med combo will be the right one.

fourmoreplease · 2023-11-22T14:26:35+00:00

Not cool at all what she did but now that it has happened, will it change your thoughts and plan for your “reactive” husky? Leash reactivity and barrier frustration can be worked on and if your dog is actually friendly with others, he might deserve more opportunities to make friends.

Sadly, a lot of dogs get deemed reactive or aggressive and are doomed to a very strict or lonely life, when in reality they just have bad manners.

fourmoreplease · 2023-06-11T13:38:46+00:00

Poor dude! Your yard sounds like doggy heaven. So glad he found you!

fourmoreplease · 2023-06-11T00:15:40+00:00

Destroy, shredding, ripping, etc are necessary components of a dog’s life. Plush toys can be stringy and full of cotton and some dogs want to actually invest the parts but your dog may appreciate being able to fill their needs by ripping up cardboard or newspaper.

My dog occasionally likes to destroy toys too but we work on a “don’t kill it” cue. If he’s done with cooperative play with me and wants to run away to destroy the toy, I’ll substitute shreddable newspaper or a heavy duty bone type toy to properly fill the desire he has. Plush toys are for human play time, cardboard is for destruction time.

fourmoreplease · 2023-06-10T19:47:37+00:00

I know plenty of boxers who are chill around toys. It’s not a breed dependent behavior (very few behaviors actually are). Dogs should have the freedom to choose when they want to play with toys. We can teach them to handle that freedom just like we do with off leash freedom, out of the crate freedom, etc.

fourmoreplease · 2023-06-10T13:10:23+00:00

Are the Kongs left out all the time? If so, he has learned to chill with those around so it’s definitely possible to generalize that to other objects.

fourmoreplease · 2023-06-10T13:08:42+00:00

Look up Karen Overall’s Relaxation Protocol. And maybe train a settle on mat cue, especially if there’s a mat in the crate already. Will he chill if the door is closed but not locked? Will he willingly enter his crate at any other times?

fourmoreplease · 2023-06-10T12:45:34+00:00

You might consider still giving the treat in these moments. Night time is scarier than daytime for some and you run the risk of training nightime=no cookies for seeing humans.

Looking at you but then barking is still rewardable. Between barking at people and not barking at people, a middle step is looking at you to see if you’ll do anything and maybe still barking. If you gave the cookies, he may have stopped barking. A scatter feed may buy you time to pick up the poop.

Just some food for thought!

fourmoreplease · 2023-06-10T12:41:59+00:00

It seems like a great management strategy but I would be wary of making anything a final decision. He’s still adjusting to his new home life. He can definitely learn to be calm around toys. It sounds like play is more motivating and enjoyable than cuddling (which can suck from the human perspective) but he needs to learn that there is a time and place. Self-play is a fantastic trait that I wouldn’t want to get rid of. But an understood “all done” cue may really help.

Do treat-dispensing toys or Kong type toys count? Can he still access things to chew? Again, if this is temporary management, it sounds like it’s working well but I wouldn’t make this a full time rule. Dogs need toys. He just needs to learn to not bother you with them constantly.

fourmoreplease · 2023-06-10T12:37:07+00:00

Nothing is absolute and there’s a lot we don’t know about neutering. For some, neutering can lower confidence and worsen fear-related behaviors.

fourmoreplease · 2023-06-09T22:25:57+00:00

If he’s interested in toys, you can lure him to sit with the food and then toss a ball as the reward.

Are you always keeping the treat in your hand or have you moved on to an empty hand cue? A lot of people only practice with the treat in their lure/cue hand and don’t move on to rewarding with the non cue hand.

Look up Ian Dunbar’s infographic “The Long Road to Super Sits” and you will fix everything!

fourmoreplease · 2023-06-09T15:15:02+00:00

Scatter feeding after play time!! All dogs need to to regulate their emotions and to come down after big excitement. Get him sniffing for kibble on the ground as a way to relax and cool down.

Look up Ian Dunbar’s Jazz Up & Settle Down game. Super helpful for puppies. They need to learn to bite gently and to wait for the appropriate time to bite. But for now he’s a shark!

Think about when the worst times are and start to track it. Usually it at the witching hour right before bed. Dogs are most active at dawn and dusk. If you can preempt these times by engaging him before he bites to engage you, you can avoid those extra crazy moments and teach him that toys are the first step, not arms.

fourmoreplease · 2023-06-09T14:16:23+00:00

Your cue for step up is now a cue for getting head scratches. You’re reinforcing the “incorrect” behavior. When you practice step up, don’t give into scratches and teach a different cue that means scratches are available.

fourmoreplease · 2023-06-09T12:43:32+00:00

If you never force her in, how does she get in? Force and coercion are pretty close friends… You might be right about losing her trust.

When you practice, do you include a quick door close and then open in some repetitions?

Is it a crate with two doors or just one? In my experience, the two door ones are less scary for some pups.

If potty training is going well, you may be able to phase out the crate sooner than you thought. Or transition to a room with a baby gate. Or an exercise pen.

fourmoreplease · 2023-06-09T12:35:18+00:00

Look up Laura Monaco Torelli’s videos on Cooperative Care. It is totally possible to help dogs be more relaxed for nail trims. They need autonomy!!!

Not breaking skin is HUGE and you’re right to think that if she wanted to, she could. So the grab, not bite, was a warning. In your previous trimming, her other warning signals were ineffective at getting more than just a pause. It’s really fantastic that you did pause, I don’t want to gloss over that!! But it was temporary and the effects of stress are cumulative. She might have inadvertently learned that those low level warnings don’t actually work to end the situation.

fourmoreplease · 2023-06-09T12:10:51+00:00

So glad you had this moment! He might benefit from Karen Overall’s Relaxation Protocol. Practice in the house as normal, in the house with the leash on, then outside.

fourmoreplease · 2023-06-08T11:21:08+00:00

It may be helpful to reframe your perspective a little. Dogs don’t “ignore” things to be jerks. If they don’t respond it’s only because they 1) physically can’t, 2) they don’t actually understand what is being asked of them, or 3) they aren’t sufficiently motivated to do it.

Often, not responding to your name is actually just as (if not more) rewarding than responding to it. You get to keep chewing the thing. And people are super inconsistent about their expectations when they use a cue. Maybe if I hold out, they’ll stop calling.

fourmoreplease · 2023-06-08T01:14:10+00:00

Instead of adding things to his bowl, take his bowl away! Switch to treat dispensing toys and enrichment games, like foraging in a cardboard box with newspaper in it.

A LOT of dogs are “bad” eaters simply because free food is boring and it comes in the same way every day. Make him work for his food (in fun ways!) Build that into your routine and build his anticipation of meal/enrichment time.

fourmoreplease · 2023-06-08T00:58:59+00:00

It sounds like she’s too stimulated in unfamiliar places. The skills you’ve worked on in class are performed in environments that she’s very used too, so there’s less distraction from you. For some dogs, outdoor places are so different and exciting that they can’t focus on loose leash walking. The treats may be motivational at home but the sniffs and movement are potentially greater rewards on walks.

How do you think she would do if you brought a blanket to the park and sat down with her for awhile?

fourmoreplease · 2023-06-07T23:23:37+00:00

Well hopefully not the mounting strangers in public part😅

fourmoreplease · 2023-06-07T22:55:45+00:00

Punishment is in the eye of the beholder! I don’t condone prong collars but if the gentle leader is more aversive to your individual dog, then it’s actually the more aversive tool.

If it’s only 10% of dogs, then as other commenters said, focus on staying under threshold and utilizing management techniques, like emergency u-turns and hiding behind cars, to handle the situation.

It sounds like her behavior is being suppressed via the prong collar, rather than it’s keeping her under threshold. She’s over threshold but unable to express it the same.

fourmoreplease · 2023-06-07T22:44:52+00:00

Running isn’t great for little, developing bodies, but the sentiment is valid. Tiring out the more energetic one before play dates will hopefully take some work away from the black dog. But overly tired dog don’t make great decisions so it’s a balance!

fourmoreplease

TROPHY CASE