Baxter's visit to the Vet
Baxter has NEVER exhibited any aggressive behavior when with other dogs, and NEVER toward a person. Other than an occasional snit with Baley- he has always been well behaved when with other dogs. Two years ago at Sheepiepalooza he totally enjoyed himself and played well and interacted with the other sheepies. So I did not expect that he would try to hump and growl at this Sheepiepalooza...but he did. The vet checked him thoroughly today and other than being overweight (which we are working on) he physically checked out fine. We discussed Baxter's behavior this past weekend and he thought it would be a good idea to explore several things. Today he took blood to send off for a testosterone evaluation. Baxter was neutered at 9 months old and he is now 6 years old but he felt that this was a good place to start as possibly the testosterone levels and hormone levels are off. He gave me a couple of reasons that would cause this to happen. He said that there could be testicular tissue that was missed in the neuter --or that the adrenal glads could be the culprit. He said that if there is a tumor on the adrenal gland that sometimes it causes abnormal hormone levels to occur. So we have begun the process to try to determine if there is a problem with hormones. It takes 5 to 7 days to get the results of the test and at that time based on the results--we will take the next steps. The hard part now is waiting for the results. The word 'tumor' really scares me. He was a total 'angel' at the vet today. Interacted with the other dogs that were waiting and sat nicely for his turn. He went about his business of charming the girls in the office and cooperating totally with the vet. He likes going there and never seems to mind when they poke and prod.  I thought it might help if the Doc saw some of the behavior that I was telling him about --but no go--he was on his best behavior. Does anyone have any experience with an adrenal gland tumor? That is my worry. Keeping fingers crossed that we do not have a serious medical problem-but I know something is off!.  |
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| We spent since last January finally getting to the root of Rosie's symptons...she definitely has Cushing disease with small tumors in her pitutary gland...tumors can be in the adrilene gland or pituatary...the docs at Univ of TN vet school were worried she had a large massive tumor but after a MRI we were happy to know she didn't as the medication for Cushings wouldn't work with large tumor...she has been 10 days on meds now and is doing well with it...tomorrow is her first testing to see if medication is stopping the bad steriods that cause so much damage to organs...fingers crossed...she may need higher dosage. The sad part is Cushings will kill her eventually and she is 11...tibetan terriers can live to 19-20 yrs...some have lived as much as 4-5 yrs on meds...I also have to face the fact that the avg lifespan with Cushings is 18 months. The symptons for Cushings is large...high liver enzymes, drinking more water, hypertension, she has a dip in her back and swollen stomach, restless sleeping habits, etc...both glands are affected...we have to be very careful to get the right medication dosage as the medicine could also make it worse if it's not right...if you have medical problems I highly recommend UT's vet school in Knoxville...they were outstanding and every specialist saw Rosie in one morning and the cost was very low compared to if I had to schedule appts with specialist vets for eyes, neurology, cushings etc...she had the teaching vets, the interns, the students all fussing over her and they truly were wonderful explaining everything and worked great with my local vet to treat Rosie. I am now enjoying each day with her and hoping for the best...just wish I had gone to UT last January...instead we went from one test, medicine to the next until Cushings became obvious by eliminating other things. I really felt bad because I would get angry at her for over reacting to the grandaughter or anything for that matter...hypertension created this and she really couldn't help herself. |
| Oh I hope it is nothing serious. Maybe just overwhelmed this trip. Gigi was not herself Saturday and Sunday. Friday she was fine with Mady all day and all the others at night. Saturday she was not very friendly towards many of the dogs. She too is a sweaty and gets along with all pups here. Baxter was great with Gigi and bogey and us! Was there a full moon? Let us know what the tests reveal |
I hope it turns out to be nothing but "grumpy old man" syndrome with Baxter I thought Baxter was fine until Zeke left, I think he found Zeke's presence very *ahem* comforting  |
| Karen, I hope you didn't bring Baxter to the vet just because he was humping Zeke. Hell, every dog humps Zeke.  When I had him, Brick was always humping him. Maybe other dogs just sense how meek & passive Zeke is. And fill me in on what happened after we left (refering to David's post that Baxter was fine until Zeke left). I hope it wasn't anything my boys did. And for what it's worth, Brick wasn't really himself, either. He was pretty quiet and introverted the whole weekend. Look at his tail in some of the pics; it's tucked up tight under his butt. He seemed to be tense & nervous most of the weekend. Heck, he was only pooping once a day. In any event, I hope all is OK with Baxter. Fingers & paws crossed for him. |
| If the testosterone testing comes back fine, which odds are it will, consider thyroid. Or it could have just been group dynamics. Just like kids, they don't all get along the same all the time. They're dogs. And some times what we take for aggression is just a more confident and now mature dog not liking the dynamics and deciding to do something about it. I still remember the day I finished the Perfect Dog's CD. She passed her TDI test the same day. I HAD to find an OES person to share this with, just had to. A Canadian breeder was out walking the two OES she had at the show. Belle took one look at her young male, who was kind of whining, wanting to meet her so badly, and TOLD HIM OFF IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS. I was mortified. Fortunately the breeder was a breeder and could read the situation and knew that my bitch - who was perfectly fine with her bitch - was just picking up on signals for rude, exhuberant boy dog and acted accordingly and had not, as I feared, been overcome by a case of rabies on the walk from the ring to the potty area.   You're wise to check, you'll feel better for having done so, and yet chances are good it's nothing truly major and it might just be dogs being dogs. Kristine |
| Mark--no no it was NOTHING that your dogs did to cause any problem. Baxter humping Zeke and a few others was not the worst that he did. I can handle a little humping now and then and Baxter does occasionally do that to Baley when he is playing. What bothered me the most was that there were several occasions that he would begin a low growl and then jump and nash his teeth when dogs went by him. He only did this when he was on leash--he was fine and did not do it at all off-leash. He has NEVER before done that even on leash around other dogs. Once he started with it--he would continue to do it periodically without any warning--then he would calm down and be just fine. Baxter is not the most well trained dog--but for the most part he is very well behaved and we can take him anywhere comfortably and have never worried about any aggression at all. That is why I felt that we would start with a Vet visit just to make sure that we cover the medical issue base and go from there. If it is a behavior issue then we will work with that. Then again maybe they were just a little stressed from the travel and the activities--but that did not seem to bother him the last time. Like David said--maybe just 'grumpy old man' syndrome but he is only six--so he shouldn't be showing that yet! And I think he was just joking about Zeke leaving--as I KNOW Zeke was not the problem--Baxter was certainly interested in playing and hanging with him! And nothing any worse happened after Zeke left--except Baxter couldn't hump him- I am just a little alarmed with his behavior and want to make sure that we catch anything that might be going on. The vet that he saw this morning has seen him several times before and knows him fairly well. He agreed that it was unusual behavior for him and felt it was worth evaluating the testosterone levels based on what I told him to place this weekend--the humping and lashing out--not normal behavior for him. We enjoyed both Brick and Zeke--both very good sweet dogs! I will update when we get the results and as I said hoping that it is nothing serious like a tumor on the adrenal glands etc. Just starting with medical and will go from there and see if it happens again. Both Baley and Bax have been couch potatoes since we got home--so they are getting plenty of rest! |
Mad Dog wrote: If the testosterone testing comes back fine, which odds are it will, consider thyroid. Or it could have just been group dynamics. Just like kids, they don't all get along the same all the time. They're dogs. And some times what we take for aggression is just a more confident and now mature dog not liking the dynamics and deciding to do something about it. I still remember the day I finished the Perfect Dog's CD. She passed her TDI test the same day. I HAD to find an OES person to share this with, just had to. A Canadian breeder was out walking the two OES she had at the show. Belle took one look at her young male, who was kind of whining, wanting to meet her so badly, and TOLD HIM OFF IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS. I was mortified. Fortunately the breeder was a breeder and could read the situation and knew that my bitch - who was perfectly fine with her bitch - was just picking up on signals for rude, exhuberant boy dog and acted accordingly and had not, as I feared, been overcome by a case of rabies on the walk from the ring to the potty area. You're wise to check, you'll feel better for having done so, and yet chances are good it's nothing truly major and it might just be dogs being dogs. Kristine Thanks Kristine--the vet said much the same this morning but felt it was better to check things out. Because of his weight gain over the winter we ran a thyroid test in April and everything came back normal. So he just did not get enough exercise this winter and ate too much! We are working on getting it off. It definitely could have been the group dynamics but it was such unusual behavior for him I just want to make sure there is not a medical issue. |
| I hope that it all turns out well. I found Mady's behaviour to be more subdued, almost shy, than she genearally is when we were at Sheepiepalooza. She is normally much sillier and more playful. She did great when we were out with just Gigi and Bogey, and had fun with Chewie, Simon and Garfunkel, but I found that the more dogs there were, the more shy she became. And this is a dog that is at a busy dog park here in Ottawa nearly every day! I thought about it, though, and she was in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar dogs, not getting the sleep she usually gets, and then, of course, she is seeing us socialize with new people so she picked up on our 'shyness' too. Maybe it was the same with Baxter, but instead of getting shy he just got grumpy? I know that I get a bit snappy if I am tired and a bit over stimulated. I hope that it is something easily sorted, maybe he just needed to nap a bit more? I know that I needed to nap more... |
| Karen, Thanks for letting me know it was nothing my boys did. I was nervous that they may have acted inappropriately. I'm tending to agree with Kristine and the others on this one. The dogs were out of their comfort areas, in a new location, seeing a bunch of new dogs, out of their routine, with all the travel & hectic schedule, new (and unfamilliar) sights, sounds, and smells. I'm sure that's all it is. Like David said, grumpy old man syndrome.  As Brick gets older, he still gets excited to go places, but after a half hour to an hour, he's ready to go home. He'll walk to the gate at the dog park and just sit there and give me a look that says, "OK dad. I'm ready to go." Please let us know what the vet says. |
CamVal1 wrote: Karen, Thanks for letting me know it was nothing my boys did. I was nervous that they may have acted inappropriately. I'm tending to agree with Kristine and the others on this one. The dogs were out of their comfort areas, in a new location, seeing a bunch of new dogs, out of their routine, with all the travel & hectic schedule, new (and unfamilliar) sights, sounds, and smells. I'm sure that's all it is. Like David said, grumpy old man syndrome. As Brick gets older, he still gets excited to go places, but after a half hour to an hour, he's ready to go home. He'll walk to the gate at the dog park and just sit there and give me a look that says, "OK dad. I'm ready to go." Please let us know what the vet says. Mark I will update when the results are in. I feel better as I have read the comments--and hopefully that is all it is--just over tired and getting older and out of their normal routine. It just worries me--as you can see Baley is one laid back dude--nothing ruffles him and he just goes with the flow and is happy wherever we are as long as we are all together. I guess my expectations are that Baxter should be the same way and I KNOW the are very different! Rest assured your guys were great! They did nothing to contribute to his snarky behavior! And Kim--thanks--I guess maybe I am over reacting however snapping has never been something I have dealt with --with this guy! I really appreciate all the comments and reassurance! |
| Poor Baxter. Keeping my fingers crossed that there is nothing seriously wrong. Maybe he doesn't like St. Louis as much as he thought he would.  |
CamVal1 wrote: Karen, I hope you didn't bring Baxter to the vet just because he was humping Zeke. Hell, every dog humps Zeke. When I had him, Brick was always humping him. Maybe other dogs just sense how meek & passive Zeke is. And fill me in on what happened after we left (refering to David's post that Baxter was fine until Zeke left). I hope it wasn't anything my boys did. And for what it's worth, Brick wasn't really himself, either. He was pretty quiet and introverted the whole weekend. Look at his tail in some of the pics; it's tucked up tight under his butt. He seemed to be tense & nervous most of the weekend. Heck, he was only pooping once a day. In any event, I hope all is OK with Baxter. Fingers & paws crossed for him. Sorry that was my little joke, Baxter seemed grumpier after Zeke had left, I think he missed Zeke. I still suspect it was just a lot of dogs, most of whom didn't know each other, together for a long time. I didn't see any dog be aggressive with each other. An occasional snap and bark is not aggression in my book. |
| Kim brought up good points. These guys travelled (some18 hours) in cars, sleep schedule was off, eating schedule off, lots of new dogs in sometimes close quarters, tummies could have been upset or the lack of sleep can cause stress and crankiness or shyness We expected a lot from our furkids. They did great! Baxter was a good boy with us and our boy and girl. Hoping all tests are ok |
| Thanks you all! Kim and Carol you are so nice! You have made me feel MUCH better! I am probably expecting too much--you are right! Baley just spoils me --he is such a good boy! Bax usually keeps me in smiles! He just surprised me this weekend! |
SheepieMommy wrote: Poor Baxter. Keeping my fingers crossed that there is nothing seriously wrong. Maybe he doesn't like St. Louis as much as he thought he would. Thanks Judi--I will update! I do think he loves St. Louis as much as we do! |
Part of me hopes you find something out, but part of me hopes you don't!  Best wishes for Baxter  |
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