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Post by shelle3 on Oct 18, 2011 15:22:12 GMT 1
hello, i'm new to this site and wanted to join to see if anyone could give me a few ideas to help one of my dogs. I have a terrier, and 3 young whippets. They are all happy, well balanced dogs except parsley, he is a gorgeous boy with greeny blue eyes but he hates traffic!! He is the life and soul of the party at home and in the back garden but he really doesn't like going outside! When i get the leads out my other dogs get quietly excited (i try not to let them get over excited when we go out otherwise the start of the walk is mayhem!) i wait until everyone is calm, put leads on then we go outside...this works for everyone but parsley, he tries to drag back inside (won't accept treats when he is feeling like this, not even liver!) so i pick him up, have 3 others in the other hand and we go out, i have to carry him to the fields (he gets incredibly car sick too! Am now at point in his training, where we just sit in car no engine or anything but he still hates it but not sick) when we get to the field he is fine, runs, plays good recall and on the way home it is better, he'll walk a bit then shut down, i pick him up, walk 3 paces, put him down and he'll walk again until he stops (he shakes when cars go past) i tried taking him out on his own but he feels more confident with the others with him. As soon as he knows he's near home he pulls like a steam train to get in! I've tried standing in front garden with him, just to watch the world go by and he waits by door to be let back in. I am taking it very slowly with him and try and go out when the roads are least busy and take it at his pace but just wondered if anyone had any ideas i'm not trying?
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Post by twinsmammy on Oct 18, 2011 15:56:34 GMT 1
Hi, I'd try the Bach flower remedy mimulus. It's for fear fright ect, have a look at www.bachfloweressences.co.uk they have a leaflet for pets on there to.
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Post by shelle3 on Oct 18, 2011 18:14:39 GMT 1
thank you, i'll have a look.
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Post by tigertiger on Oct 19, 2011 7:18:06 GMT 1
For the car sickness, try feeding ginger before he gets in the car. It can really help with the physical symptoms... but it may be that it's not physical any more, and is now a mental thing. My Maddie was like that as a pup – she had a vile incident where our kitten had an accident in their travel box on the way to the vets, and she was incredibly sick every time we went anywhere afterwards. I did the works to get her over it – all the slowly-slowly-catchy-monkey positive stuff, DAP in the car, bach remedies and so on... even got others to do it in case it was my tension about the whole thing that was setting her off, but no joy. In the end, do you know what fixed it? A change of car! Not sure how much help it is, but I'd about given up hope of us getting anywhere apart from on public transport (she was and is fine with trains and buses – capricious little b*gger) when she went to stay with my Mum and Dad whilst I went away for the weekend. My Dad, who can be a bit absent-minded, forgot about Maddie's Car Thing, put her in his car, and drover her off for a lovely long walk... with absolutely no problems at all! She'd learned to associate my car with the horror, and just couldn't get over it, but his was fine. So yes, I changed cars, and ever since, she's been a brilliant traveller. These days car = particularly good walk...
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Post by suegibb on Oct 19, 2011 22:10:44 GMT 1
dorwest herbs do a remedy for car sickness that works on Grace my whipp who's 9 and gets sick without it. Maybe a behaviourist could help with the fear of traffic. My dogs also get canine bowen therapy and it does work, no idea why!
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Post by shelle3 on Oct 20, 2011 13:23:59 GMT 1
well, i have looked around car sickness in dogs sites and most say dogs travel better when not in a crate so i tried it this morning, i put all the seats down (we have a people carrier so lots of space) used a car harness on parsley strapped him in and took him out to the stables (quicker than walking, its only 5mins away by car) he seemed a lot happier being able to see out windscreen and guess what...wasn't sick!! he did eat horse poop at stables and was sick on way home though!! But this is a break through for him because he was sick even before i'd left my road usually. Maybe my pandering to him was making him worse? I know that in the crate he can't see out of the windows so maybe that was making him feel queasy too? so fingers crossed this'll work. Hopefully if he's ok in the car he can get a bit better with traffic now, especially as he can look out of the windows at it
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Post by emmadarby on Oct 20, 2011 13:41:00 GMT 1
Hi. My old whippet was like this. She was sick before the car even moved!! I used a company called canine natural cures. She had a herbal tablet for two weeks and never through up again. Absolutely amazing. Used the same company when I got a rescue border collie with issues. Again, problems resolved thanks to a concoction from canine natural cures. Suggest you ring them. X
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Post by shelle3 on Oct 22, 2011 8:49:34 GMT 1
hi, spoken to behaviourist i know (she helped when i got my first rescue who had issues with the lead) and she says just to take it slowly regarding traffic with parsley (he seems better in the car, still seats down but can go to stables and yesterday wasn't sick until we'd pulled up at home!) i am now putting him in car, driving to top of my road (where it's fairly busy) and now he can see the traffic, only for about 5 mins (don't want him to be sick!) with the windows up and radio on quietly to soften the noise from cars (motorbikes are a different matter, they are so loud!) as he won't accept treats when outside (he will if he's off the lead at the fields tho) i'm to talk softly to him and reassure when he's being good (not if he panics coz it will tell him its ok to panic) then when he's ok with traffic going past in car i have to open windows so he can hear it better but we are not at that point yet and don't want to over whelm the poor love.
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Post by shelle3 on Nov 8, 2011 17:48:10 GMT 1
parsley isn't too bad on the roads now, still not completely happy, but he seems to have aquired a new set of problems (he's still car sick!) he has now taken an instant dislike to any adult (mainly men but sometimes women) that he see's! If they come into the house he'll wet himself and run away. If we see them outside he trys to run but obviously can't because he's on the lead. I have only had parsley just over two months, he was approx 6 months old when i got him and hadn't had any injections etc as he came from a farm (he has since had all jabs, microchip and neutered). This was why i thought he might have a traffic issue but this new fear of people is totally unfounded. My family consists of me, my husband and 3 kids (aged 13,8 and 4), we are a happy family no shouting/arguing etc. My 3 other dogs are all very happy, pleased to meet new people and go to new places. He seems very bonded with me and i think if he was allowed to he would possibly become over bonded. When we have visitors we ask them to ignore the dogs so they don't become over excited and jump up and mug them, they calm down quickly and say a polite hello then go off and do their own thing. I've tried asking them to feed him a small treat so he thinks visitors are great but he's having none of it. He goes and hides, then pops out to see if they've gone if they haven't he'll disapear again. If i shut his crate so he can't hide he'll pace as far away from them as possible. I asked a behaviourist and she said we're not the right family for him!! I asked if i should put a lead on him and make him stay in the room with guests and she said no coz it'll upset him even more. any ideas??
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Post by meggie on Nov 14, 2011 10:21:30 GMT 1
I'm no expert but you sound to be doing all the right things for Parsley. Puzzled by the behaviourist's assessment that you're the wrong family for him!
It does seem that some rescue dogs take a while to show their true colours. It may be that he's always had these problems. Persevere for a while longer. Hopefully as his confidence grows the difficulties will resolve of their own accord.
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Post by shelle3 on Nov 19, 2011 23:43:49 GMT 1
yes, i thought she was a bit quick off the mark with that comment!! I am still persevering with him, he seems to have his good days and not quite so good days. I've arranged it so that we have at least 1 adult visitor a day (i have great neighbours!!) and they just come in, ignore all dogs, sit down and have a quick chat and leave, it seems to be working, parsley actually tried to sit on the sofa next to my friend today! I think parsley will always be a sensitive dog, its just his nature, (he wasn't too bothered by fireworks tho) but he has definately got a home here for life and i think we are the perfect family for him (just taken back a bit, because i always want to do whats best for my dogs and i thought i was!) because we understand his needs and are all working together as a family to help him overcome his problems and are all willing to accept him as he is.
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Post by shelle3 on Nov 19, 2011 23:47:16 GMT 1
oh, forgot to say he is a whole lot better with traffic! Its only big,big lorries with air brakes and motorbikes that he's shy of now!! I just think he needed time! I wanted to get advice because i wanted to do the right things for him. Thanks guys and girls for all your hints and tips
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deb
New Member
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Post by deb on Nov 25, 2011 19:55:51 GMT 1
If he was a farm dog he's probably not been socialised very much,sounds like your doing a good job so far. My whippet Lola was four months old when i got her,i was told she travelled well,what a big fat lie that turned out to be ! On the way home she wet her self on my lap and threw up three times. She used to shake/salivate/drool and throw up either in the van or on the way back to the van on every walk. The herbal stuff didn't work for her so i used to drive her 15 mins to the park and back every day no matter what the weather was like to get her used to it, i think the break through was when we did a two hour motorway trip to the lake district,since then she's been a changed dog and is now first in the van if we are going some where. ( I still have to be a little bit careful on twisty up and down roads)
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lynty
New Member
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Post by lynty on Dec 2, 2011 22:30:06 GMT 1
hi, dorwest herbs are fantastic, the founder is a vet and has whippets of his own, after i phoned for advice he recommended scullcap and valerian along with somthing to calm the tummy. It worked, we can now get in a car even just after eating and it stays in the dog, but we could run the car on the wind that passes out the other end, they enjoy car rides now and getting in the car holds no fear for them.
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