sweaty paws???
I took Heart to a Show and Go 2 weeks ago to practice Rally Advanced and Excellent. After we successfully completed "honor", I released her and saw four paw prints on the rubber matting. I know she is a very soft dog. I know she must be handled differently than, say, Pearl, but I am thinking that maybe it is too much for her, even I know it's stress related. As I watched other dogs doing honor, I noticed none of them left paw prints. Even the heavy coated dogs and Harry didn't leave 'em!!! While we were in the ring, with her just walking and after a stay,walk around dog, or a down, I noticed the paw prints. Is this normal for a sheepdog? Due to the dense hair? It wasn't hot in there, she was not panting..so I don't think it was because of her temp going up..I just think she gets so nervous..am I again, humanizing her too much???? . ..OR should I invest in her own roll-on deodorant???????  |
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| No, it is a sign of stress. You need to figure out a way to make her feel comfortable in that particular situation. |
ChSheepdogs wrote: No, it is a sign of stress. You need to figure out a way to make her feel comfortable in that particular situation. uhhhh...ok....HOW????  ((can I ship her off to you for destress training...secretely, I think I am a big part of her stress,,,,,maybe a chillpill for ME before we go into the ring????? )) |
I'll bet anything (if you are like me at all) that you are standing there with her on lead & silently praying that she stays in that nice sit position & doesn't cause any issue. Not that she ever would but you want to cover your bases twice (like me). She's picking up on your mental nervousness (traveling down the lead) & is getting confused. "I'm sitting here nicely why is Mom so worried?" You want to see dogs stress out you should see mine when I start mumbling in the ring  "Mariah, sit. Oh, so you don't want to sit? Fine. That's going to cost us." and I wonder why she looks at me perplexed & swings out to bait like she did for years in the breed ring? "I don't understand all these sentences! Is this what you want? I used to always make you happy when I did this!"So stand there & try to think of something nice & calm. Maybe look over the top of her head. I had to learn to do that with Melody on the long sit & down. If not she locked her vision into mine & it was creepy....like she was trying to read my mind! |
| Does she do it all the time? (leave sweat prints) Have you noticed it before? Chewie always leaves sweat prints, even on frozen pavement. But, he's a hot boy, and high metabolism, so for him it is normal. He leaves sweat prints on mats all the time, everywhere he sits or stands for a minute. |
| No, Dawn..not in our house or outside. I have only noticed them in class or competitive places. I know it's stress..just don't know how to help her or maybe she will just get used to it after a couple more years....  |
| I'd say stress then too. Chewie leaves sweat prints everywhere, and always has. It used to kinda bother me, so I watched to see if there was a pattern or trigger. Nothing really. It happens standing on the cement floored porch at home looking out the window... It's just him. |
got sheep wrote: I'd say stress then too. Chewie leaves sweat prints everywhere, and always has. It used to kinda bother me, so I watched to see if there was a pattern or trigger. Nothing really. It happens standing on the cement floored porch at home looking out the window... It's just him.That is so good you don't have a backet case of a dog like Heart seems to be...SOoooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO what is the remedy...Dr. Dawn???????  |
Like Marilyn said - alter yourself.  Destress - deep breathe, smile, think positive happy thoughts. I stand there and smile at my dogs, mentally tell them you are such a good dog, be in a confident frame of mind - like you would be so incredibly shocked if they moved, instead of praying they make it! And practice, practice, practice in varied crazy environments so you and Heart are both prepared and it turns into just another day of fun getting out together and enjoying each other's company Then you can go out, have fun, expect success and get it. If something goes wrong, you learn and move on. |
got sheep wrote: Then you can go out, have fun, expect success and get it. If something goes wrong, you learn and move on. That sounds SO easy to do I always keep telling myself that but in reality I have a hard time doing it. My instructors always tell us "If your dog screws up, don't blame your dog...........take a look at what cues you gave them". I come out of the ring thinking "Why didn't I say sit & give a hand signal too? I'm allowed to do that!" |
| Rescue remedy???? |
| My male is a "soft" dog also and gets the sweaty paws as well. But we go one step further. At our obedience classes,he gets nervous, poops in the ring, then proceeds to do everything perfectly... I would love to hear ways to destress him....And myself! |
| Ashley...boy!! do I feel for you!!! I am sure there are suggestions to help you, unfortunately, I don't have any since we are in the same boat... ~~~ emerging butterfly::: Rescue Remedy????? For me or Heart???? Years ago I tried it on Millie for storm fears and in my opinion, after reading the ingredients, ((I seem to remember the first one is alcohol)) it made her very dopey. I don't think I can take Heart into the ring loopey!!! After all, remember who we are talking about here.... she is a little odd to begin with..... |
| Ah yes...traditional rescue remedy IS alcohol based....but, they also have rescue remedy for children which is glycerin based. Same product...no alcohol. I'm allergic to alcohol, so I buy the kids brand, and forgot to specify. So, look up the rescue remedy for kids, or request it at a health food store. That's what you want to give your pup...shouldn't cause dopiness...but should reduce anxiety significantly...every 20 minutes prior to stress situations, or if stress is noticed. |
| Another similar product is called Peace and Calming Essential Oils. A friend who is a TTouch practitioner uses it in conjunction w/ her treatments. For dogs it is most often used on the ears. Another friend applied it to a bandana her dog wears. http://www.youngliving.com/essential-oi ... nd-Calming And on the TTouch topic, that is another good choice. It was originated for use with horses by Linda Tellington-Jones; that is where I initially worked with it. Now it is practiced on dogs and cats as well - basically any pet can benefit (people too). I have a friend who is a practioner and teaches classes in it. Check out the attached link if interested to find someone in your area. http://www.lindatellingtonjones.com/ |
As for pooping in the ring................whether it be at a trial or just at class. The 1st rule of the day is NEVER feed your dog before class or a morning trial. If we have a trial to go to that is before noon.....no breakfast. If it is later in the day than that, they get breakfast but I watch to make sure they have pooped before leaving home or if nothing else walk them around the grounds until they do. On training nights my dogs get fed breakfast & then nothing more until they get home from training that night. Sometimes it is as late as 10PM. It makes them more willing to work for their training treats in class too. Of course then I skip the cookies they normally get with their dinner, when we get home. Luckily my dogs are pretty regular on when they do their business. But last Saturday Mariah ate breakfast since I knew our trial time would be later in the afternoon. Couldn't get her to poop here at home before we left for love nor money. And of course it was raining. We got to the trial site & once I was set up I took her out & she went big time! I was proabably as excited about that as qualifying that day  . I need a life! |
Dawn..I have heard of that. Actually one women in our dog scout group who has a poodle, uses it on her bandana. She said it really works. I may try that...but my question is this????..................(just to open another can of worms..  ..)Say, my dog is hyper, which sometimes Heart is. Now I want her to be calmer so I give her Rescue Remedy or Calming Oils. This will alter her normal behavior...this will alter who she is.. Am I sacrificing her natural personality for a calmer dog?????(( Hopefully you can understand what I am trying to say...)) I mean at what price is it worth getting a calm dog, therefore, have more of a chance of getting THE Q????? I don't know if I want her to be different 'that way'.... |
| I've used the new formula for Rescue remedy. There are two choices and indeed, one does NOT contain alcohol. I've used it for fireworks. Not sure if it worked or not. Both dogs were still freightened so I turned on a small fan for background noise and turned up the doggy music CD I have. That worked quite well! The pooping problem doesn't seem much to matter on whether or not he just went. I take him out first thing in the morning and he goes like clock work. We get to class and I walk him around a bit and he may even go again....Without fail, once class begins and we start healing, he does his squat, messes on the mats and proceeds to heal right next to me! Of course I then have to stop and clean it all up with everyone watching and sometimes holding their noses Sheepieshake, I understand what you're saying about "changing the personality"...But I think you are more trying to calm the dog's nerves and de stress more than changing the personality. Hope I make sense! I think the question is...can we have a hyper, excited dog that is also not stressed? Or do we assume the hyper, excited dog equates to a stressed dog? Now Im having a hard time understanding myself!  |
| Well...as far as changing their personality, I think if you look at it in a different format, it might help....for example: I have a son who is bi polar. When he is not taking his medication, he can be found up for days working on an art project...no sleep for DAYS. He is irritable with everyone, sometimes aggressive and super paranoid about his food (thinks his brothers have touched it....etc...) Now, he's a dynamic kid and all...and his medications DO make him less apt to stay up for days creating, they also make him slightly less irritable and less paranoid. The aggression stops. He will sometimes say that he doesn't like that he doesn't get manic anymore...the mania is creative E N E R G Y !!!! But....it sucks, it's not safe, and he's awful when he's like that. So.....medications it will be. I also have a son who is very anxious (likely because of his big brother) and I give him rescue remedy and teach him to meditate. His natural state is to be a little anxious, but he's pretty darned happy to feel calm. I bet your dog feels pretty happy to not be amped up...a natural state is sometimes a distressed state....which is o.k. to alleviate. right? I know if I was all sweaty and nervous and stressed I'd be really happy to have something natural make me feel better. No one...furry or otherwise...likes to feel stressed. |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Both you and Ashely have the same thoughts on this:::: I know what you are saying and it does make sense that she would be happier if she is less anxious....and it would make me feel better too!!! To be honest, I don't know if I am the cause of her stress or SHE is the cause of mine...... Probably a little of both,but to my defense, she starts it by acting up and then the ball begins to roll gathering moss (stress) as we try to deal with judges, the ring, the people..etc..etc.. |
Well, there is of course always that.... I know my pups behaviorist told me that because I am "off kilter" since I lost my babies, Ferdinand felt that he needed to protect me because I wasn't giving off stable energy, hence his attack to Felix whom he perceived to be a threat because of Felix attacking HIM when we first got him and he was starving. Until I had the use of the training collar, which basically gave me the ILLUSION of being in charge, he felt that he had to be in charge to establish safety in the house. Now that he thinks I'm the top dog, because of the control I can establish with the collar, He never really questions that fact, and is much happier all around. They BOTH are so much happier with the collars. But as far as stress goes...yeah...maybe if you are stressed, it gets picked up by your dog. I know that dogs CAN (and are sometimes trained to...) pick up even minor chemical shifts....maybe take some rescue remedy as well as giving it to your sweetie pie. It never hurts to be holistic...  |
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