Walter's new trainer...

[Chunky White]

Good luck with the trainer and I hate that Walter is acting out. I feel I am too lenient with Chunky a lot of times and it then turns into him being mad at me for not letting him get his way and me him for not listening. He is great 90% of the time though.

I also grew up in a house where most of the dogs we were my moms and she allowed them to do anything. I will do all I can to not let that happen with Chunky because I don't want a ruined house or the stress it would give me to not have control

 

[2BullyMama]

so good to see your found a great trainer.... try not to stress it and just listen to what her observations then focus on the correct - whether it be with the humans or Wally.

Sending lots of positive thoughts, hugs and prayers to help you along

 

[ddnene]

Good luck with the trainer and I hate that Walter is acting out. I feel I am too lenient with Chunky a lot of times and it then turns into him being mad at me for not letting him get his way and me him for not listening. He is great 90% of the time though.

I also grew up in a house where most of the dogs we were my moms and she allowed them to do anything. I will do all I can to not let that happen with Chunky because I don't want a ruined house or the stress it would give me to not have control

You know I think it sort of creeps up on us… we let them sleep on the couch because they are little and cute. We let them play w/things they shouldn't because we exude it as "puppy play" and THEN they turn into these 50 pound BULLIES!!! Lol It's time to reign in the Wallygator

 

[Manydogs]

Tracey [MENTION=9157]ddnene[/MENTION] Just thought of something. I could have let you borrow my trainer.
Her name is Maude, and she has trained me completely-I do most whatever she wants!!!

 

[ddnene]

Tracey @ddnene Just thought of something. I could have let you borrow my trainer.
Her name is Maude, and she has trained me completely-I do most whatever she wants!!!

Maude may be exactly what Wallygator needs… Lol

 

[dieMuttivonBifi]

Tracey @ddnene Just thought of something. I could have let you borrow my trainer.
Her name is Maude, and she has trained me completely-I do most whatever she wants!!!

Hahahaha well, she comes highly recommended and i bet she would work for treats!

 

[Opie CHL]

You know I think it sort of creeps up on us… we let them sleep on the couch because they are little and cute. We let them play w/things they shouldn't because we exude it as "puppy play" and THEN they turn into these 50 pound BULLIES!!! Lol It's time to reign in the Wallygator

thats exactly what happened around here. I understand how you feel having someone coming in to observe not only Wally but you too. If that ever happened here i am sure the observer would think the owners are bat **** crazy for what they let the dogs do!
Chum knows who runs the show around here...funny but not really funny.
Good luck! I hope you get to the root of the problem here!

 

[ddnene]

thats exactly what happened around here. I understand how you feel having someone coming in to observe not only Wally but you too. If that ever happened here i am sure the observer would think the owners are bat **** crazy for what they let the dogs do!
Chum knows who runs the show around here...funny but not really funny.
Good luck! I hope you get to the root of the problem here!

Oh you are cracking me up…

 

[ddnene]

Well we had our first visit last night… Nikki was here for over 2 hours!!! She was extremely nice, and VERY thorough… we went over Walter's history, I showed her some videos of what has been going on, and she observed his behavior. I hadn't given him his varsity ball, SO he decided to bark at the soccer goal for long periods of time (10-15 min) while she was here

Nikki said that these types of cases are like a puzzle, and there are MANY pieces in Wally's case that she needs to find. My first assignments is to take care of the medical issues that she believes may be contributing...

1. He needs to be neutered… she believes that his issues w/Ray could definitely be testosterone related.
2. A FULL thyroid blood panel test to completely rule out the thyroid.
3. A good hip x-ray while he is under for his surgery, she wants to make sure those hips are cleared.
4. She also noticed the stiffness of his right leg, so she want's that checked out completely.
5. An eye exam… she want's to make sure that he is seeing things clearly. She noted some odd behavior as if he was looking at something that wasn't there, and this could explain some of his OCD regarding certain objects such as a new box in the house, etc...

Nikki went over nutrition, and she was extremely pleased at our food choices and supplements (Thank YOU EBN) she wanted me to find out the copper content of the Fromm's. I guess that too much copper can play a role in aggression in dogs?!!

Initially this could be several different things, or it could be related to one thing specifically...

1. Pain from his backend area… anals, leg or hip pain.
2. Too much testosterone…
3. Poor eyesight…
4. Thyroid issues…
5. Lack of self control… hence the OCD regarding foreign objects, and his reactions to being touched in those back areas.

Neurological issues can NOT be ruled out of course, she did mention rage syndrome which I have never looked up before. She said that his reactions after these episodes have happened indicates that he seems to NOT remember what has happened, so until these other issues are addressed that could indicate a problem. She wants me to video tape and keep a record of all of his episodes, how long they last etc…

ALSO she wants me to get between him and whatever inanimate object seems to be fixating on (the soccer net for instance) she had to do it about 3 times, and he finally got the hint to leave it alone. She basically walked between him and the net and said very quietly "that's enough" to get him to walk away from it. This is the area where she feels he has lost the ability to control himself, and not over obsess about these objects.

I have to admit I was fascinated to hear her insight regarding Walter, and she took the videos that I had and went over frame by frame what was going on in Walter's mind. I feel confident that she will find out what is going on, but of course a part of me worries that this could be neurological. I'm going to try and stay positive… hopefully this is just a medical issue that we just haven't been able to resolve. We scheduled another visit in May, and thankfully Ray will be home so now just to contact the vet and get his medical issues dealt with.

 

[2BullyMama]

Well we had our first visit last night… Nikki was here for over 2 hours!!! She was extremely nice, and VERY thorough… we went over Walter's history, I showed her some videos of what has been going on, and she observed his behavior. I hadn't given him his varsity ball, SO he decided to bark at the soccer goal for long periods of time (10-15 min) while she was here

Nikki said that these types of cases are like a puzzle, and there are MANY pieces in Wally's case that she needs to find. My first assignments is to take care of the medical issues that she believes may be contributing...

1. He needs to be neutered… she believes that his issues w/Ray could definitely be testosterone related.
2. A FULL thyroid blood panel test to completely rule out the thyroid.
3. A good hip x-ray while he is under for his surgery, she wants to make sure those hips are cleared.
4. She also noticed the stiffness of his right leg, so she want's that checked out completely.
5. An eye exam… she want's to make sure that he is seeing things clearly. She noted some odd behavior as if he was looking at something that wasn't there, and this could explain some of his OCD regarding certain objects such as a new box in the house, etc...

Nikki went over nutrition, and she was extremely pleased at our food choices and supplements (Thank YOU EBN) she wanted me to find out the copper content of the Fromm's. I guess that too much copper can play a role in aggression in dogs?!!

Initially this could be several different things, or it could be related to one thing specifically...

1. Pain from his backend area… anals, leg or hip pain.
2. Too much testosterone…
3. Poor eyesight…
4. Thyroid issues…
5. Lack of self control… hence the OCD regarding foreign objects, and his reactions to being touched in those back areas.

Neurological issues can NOT be ruled out of course, she did mention rage syndrome which I have never looked up before. She said that his reactions after these episodes have happened indicates that he seems to NOT remember what has happened, so until these other issues are addressed that could indicate a problem. She wants me to video tape and keep a record of all of his episodes, how long they last etc…

ALSO she wants me to get between him and whatever inanimate object seems to be fixating on (the soccer net for instance) she had to do it about 3 times, and he finally got the hint to leave it alone. She basically walked between him and the net and said very quietly "that's enough" to get him to walk away from it. This is the area where she feels he has lost the ability to control himself, and not over obsess about these objects.

I have to admit I was fascinated to hear her insight regarding Walter, and she took the videos that I had and went over frame by frame what was going on in Walter's mind. I feel confident that she will find out what is going on, but of course a part of me worries that this could be neurological. I'm going to try and stay positive… hopefully this is just a medical issue that we just haven't been able to resolve. We scheduled another visit in May, and thankfully Ray will be home so now just to contact the vet and get his medical issues dealt with.

Fantastic information..... it is a heck of a process, but in the end when you have the answers, it will be so worth it for you all. Never heard about cooper contributing to aggression... have to look that up too

 

[JennieS]

Very interesting information! I can't wait to hear more because even just that little bit gave me some insight into brutus and his obsessive behavior.

Stay positive! you are doing the best thing for Walter!

 

[Manydogs]

Tracey-glad that you had the trainer come over, and it sounds like she is a true and honest dog "person".. I am sorry that you have a Walter problem-but now you are on the yellow brick road, and will find the answers, and I wish you all the best!If anyone can solve this,with the help of the trainer-it is you! You are an amazing person!

 

[rjisaterp]

Many of you on here know about our issues w/Walter in the last couple of months… he had a horrible anal gland infection, and that has somehow turned him into a different dog. He has growled and snapped at us on occasion… mostly at my husband, but he has snapped at me and the kids (not Marcus thankfully). After the first episode I had our trainer Leah do a home visit, and she got him to go to his "place" when he gets into one of his moods. On his last vet visit a couple of weeks ago we put him thru the ringer w/labs, x-rays, and a total physical exam to make sure that he wasn't in physical pain. He snapped at the hubby, and the vet saw the entire episode… she advised me to contact Nikki Ivey from DogSpeak to come for a home visit. She feels that this is more than just anal gland pain, and she said that Nikki was the best in her opinion. All his labs and x-rays were clean… he is in perfect health.

Nikki will be here this week to do a home visit, and apparently she also gives us "homework" to work on during the week. After talking to some dog experts in my area, Nikki is highly praised as the BEST and she also has written books and has videos.

https://www.youtube.com/user/DogSpeak102

I'm looking forward to her visit, and what she thinks about Walter… I'm also kinda nervous I have a feeling that she is going to change how we handle the dogs such as allowing them on the furniture and other issues. I have battled the hubby on some of these (especially the furniture) because I almost feel like Walter thinks he is the Alpha in our home. He doesn't pull that w/me, but I have noticed he tries to pull rank w/the hubby. We had initially wanted Walter to be neutered, but the vet wanted us to wait till Nikki did her initial assessment so YES that could be an issue for him as well. BUT to clarify he had started this behavior before Willow was brought into the home, so I don't think that he is showing out because now we have a female. It could be anything, so I'm letting the expert handle it… I will let you know how things go, and I hope that we can get Wallygator under control soon

Hi there. I can say one thing...Walter in under a lot of stress lately because he has been getting static from his publisher on getting the first draft of, "How To Make My Mommy Crazy!" out the door. Maybe all this acting out will be included in the chapter "Nip, Nip, Tug, and Run...How To Really Make My Mommy and Daddy Crazy." Maybe some lavender will calm him down...a massage maybe....a full spa experience....a puppy pedicure, a facial with close attention to his nose rope....Nothing could be finer fro my buddy Walter.


On a more serious note. We are going through similar issues with our Bentley who has been acting out with my better half trying to pull rank that he is number two and she is not. Nipping and pulling on her shirt. I saw this the for the first time last evening when I got home from work. Of course I am the Big Dawg in our house and I immediately intervened saying no...sit....watch me. So I would like to be kept posted on what is being done for Walter my buddy...Landscaper Extraordinaire. --rj

 

[cefe13]

[MENTION=9157]ddnene[/MENTION] Thank you so much for this thorough report - very interesting reading! Even though we don't see that kind of behaviour here I find being made aware of what to look for in different situations very informative! Best of luck and we're looking forward to following Wally's training!

 

[ddnene]

Just scheduled Walter's neuter and hip x-ray for Tues May 3rd. Ray will be home by then… I took him in this past Tues for another anal check (his anals were a 2 out of 5 being the worst case) and I had the vet go ahead and do the thyroid blood tests. She agreed on the behaviorists plan of action, I'm taking note of his episodes and taking videos as I can. She really believes that this is NOT related to his anal pain, but I guess we will see...

Of course I'm nervous about his scheduled surgery… he has been under twice for his eyes, nares and elongated palate. He was fine, I was an absolute mess… Lol I could use ANY and all prayers that his surgery goes smoothly and hopefully we can get some answers to whatever is going on w/him. Thank you guys SO much for your unending support…