Behavioral consult & neuter

[Jess & Stewart]

Stew & I had the behavioral consult yesterday. The trainer is the same woman who was our instructor in puppy class. She said he definitely has some mild separation anxiety, but she thinks it was worse from the confinement in the crate, since I said he barely noticed when I left, when he had room to roam. She suggested trying a DAP collar & some calming natural remedies first. If it doesn't get better, we'll try a Thundershirt before moving to meds, if they're even needed.

I also need to start making the crate the best option for him to lay down on & start making him earn time on the couch & bed. I don't need to make him begin using the crate again, but she suggested working on desensitizing him to going in, until he gets at least comfortable with it if I need to use in emergencies, the vet, the car etc. She suggested getting mats used to deter cats from scratching furniture & putting them on my couch & bed. I could try tethering him in my bedroom so he gets out of the habit of sleeping with me, but I'm afraid of him barking at night again, so I may just keep telling him off until he's conditioned to stay on the floor.

We worked on the guarding. She said he's not at all an aggressive dog & is pretty "soft" but isn't confident because I don't assert myself enough, so he's guarding his resources. We worked on greetings & she said she couldn't believe that after a few repetitions that he started looking around for people walking around & sitting by himself! That's our doodle smarts! She loved that he does high five, right/left paws, sit pretty, bow, among others. She said I've definitely kept up training since the class ended, as he has an impressive sit & down stay. She said he should start the next round of classes for distractions even though it may be too easy for him!!

As for the neuter, I attached the before & after pictures. He even gave me a smile before going in. I think the couch picture is just adorable & could even be a CP (at least to me!) He seems to be saying "I don't even want to look at you because you did this to me". although I think the background could be more interesting & you can't see his other eye well. I'm hoping he heals quickly, as I have a party Saturday & one Sunday for my sister's wedding.

[Deborah Brown]

I'm not surprised he doesn't want the cone on!  Charlie is going to wear his for 4 days and I am not taking it off because I know he will be a monster getting it on again.

When my dogs were neutered, I used a bit t-shirt instead of a cone.  I cut an extra set of holes for the legs and tied it over the tail.  They seemed comfortable with this and never bothered the incision.  I wish I had a picture to show you.

[Jess & Stewart]

I wanted to try underwear but one of the vet techs said since she knows he can't get to the incision with the cone on, that I should just leave it on practically 24/7. Now I know he will definitely not stay still enough for me to put underwear on him. I'm hoping the small amount of licking he did hasn't irritated anything, but I can't get a good look as he growls...

He's laying down now on his dog bed now, tethered next to me. My dad & I are just going to ignore him for most of the day until we can get Benadryl , so we don't give him any chances to whine or try to come after us.

[Anja]

Have you considered getting him a comfy cone? I used it with Fynn and it worked perfectly.  Here is a link to it: http://www.allfourpaws.com/the_comfy_cone.php.

Also you might be surprised on how quickly Stew will learn to adapt to the cone and still be able to drink, eat and chew his bone. You might need to elevate the bowl a little or hold it for him but give it a try. My Filou needed two cones as one was too short and he managed to pull out his stitches,  but the next size up was too big around his neck ( I attached a pic)... Filou learned quickly to eat, drink, chew his bones and scoop up his ball with this cone on.

Good luck. Hope Stew heals quickly and you can get back to your normal routine.

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

I don't know how Benadryl works for all dogs, but I tried it with Yogi recently, he slept for maybe ten minutes, but then he was back to normal.

[Jess & Stewart]

My vet told me I can give Stew 1 25 mg Benadryl tablet twice a day. That seems like a lot if Benadryl to me, do they come in a lower dose tablet? I thought I'd try giving him one tonight as he's antsy

[Jess & Stewart]

Stew seems to have a small amount of fluid buildup this morning. It is not hard, there is no bruising, redness or inflammation of the incision either.,My sister has her dog at my mom's house & they keep trying to play with each other. I freak out every time Stew moves, they think I'm overreacting & that he wouldn't want to be so active if he was in pain.

I don't have his crate here as he hates it, but now I'm kicking myself for not bringing it & just making him stay in it. As he could barely move and couldn't turn around in his crate at my Dad's. Giving Stew Benadryl did absolutely nothing for him & seemed to make him more wired. I have a DAP collar & spray that I'm going to use for the first time today when I need to go to a bridal shower. I almost wish I had just requested a sedative just in case right off the bat on Thursday.

At least for the next week, he'll be at my apt in his crate. Since my sister has her dog here, I don't think it would be a good idea to leave him here this week, since he'll end up stuck in his crate & the other dog won't or vise versa. Although I've had stuff come up at work & was really hoping it have some time off from Stew to spend lunch/longer hours at work this week. She also keeps telling me I should take the cone off & it's ridiculous for him to be wearing it, so I'm nervous about leaving him with her. She's my half sister & is one of the "you're taking away his manhood & he's pissed" individuals. She's also not the sharpest crayon in the box. I could potentially give her money to pay for anything the vet would want to prescribe and have her take him to the vet Monday (she has a car & is closer to the vet than I am) & drop his crate off here, so maybe those combine would keep him calm Monday-Friday morning when I'm at work.

This week has been rough-I'm stressed & may be overthinking things...at least I have DK to come to!

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Hey Jess,
It is tough going through this time with your puppy. Yogi went through it about 2 months ago. It seemed forever waiting for him to get the cone off. Our vet said he didn't need it, but we wanted to play it safe. Just takes a lot more attention, trying to keep them entertained. I was soooo glad when we were through it. Time will pass fast though, it will be behind you soon.
Just go with your gut so you will be comfortable with your decision.
About your sister, I think a lot of people own dogs and just have them around without really thinking about what is best for their dog. I have some people in my life that way, and I feel like there is a little jealousy maybe because we try to do everything right(sounds like you do too) for our dogs. Training, food, etc....

Hang in there

[Jess & Stewart]

Thanks Leslie. This weekend was pretty out of the ordinary so I think Stew was just totally out if sorts. He came right in when we got back to my apt and passed out in my rug. He's probably happy to be home. If I did it again, I'd probably stay home and just have gone out on Saturday & Sunday for the few hours that I needed to be out.

I'm calling the vet first thing tomorrow and getting some stronger pain meds. The incision & fluid look perfectly fine now, but I think it may take the edge off of him in the crate with the cone on. I have a DAP collar & a spray for his bedding. I used both today but he still screamed when I left earlier today. He gets his stitches out Saturday, so I'll play it safe with the meds so he can really heal well.