Spay/False Pregnancy...help!!

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jason
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Re: Spay/False Pregnancy...help!!

Post by jason »

A&J wrote:
no point in stressing her out by removing the toys.
We have not removed any toys and have stopped our daughter from removing any, even when she is very upset.
good, i never said you did...just offerring suggestions.
i also notice that you say its not affecting you one day and less than 24 hours you mention that it has become a problem
Actually, my exact words were that it isn't affecting us other than we don't know how to help her too well, and the fact that occasionally my 2-year-old gets upset about her stuffed animals being taken.

I'm sorry if it's hard to understand why we might be a little upset that the situation is turning this way.
not hard to understand in the slightest. im sorry you dont understand that im offering suggestions, not trying to tell you what your doing wrong.
i gather from this that you might need to exercise some more patience
I have an unlimited amount of patience and never implied or said that I was at the end of my rope with her or that I had run out of patience. On the contrary, I asked for solutions in this situation.

I don't understand why it's not okay to say that her behavior is not what we had expected nor hoped for and we would like to rectify the situation. It is becoming increasingly more difficult to interact with her every day
good lord, im just reading your posts....i'll move back to the cats, meow.
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E's
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Re: Spay/False Pregnancy...help!!

Post by E's »

Let me go back to the basic situation, if I may: I am in agreement with the premise that this is a hormonal problem and have the impression the DVM(s) treating your dog think time will take care of this.

The only parallel I have seen had to do with a cat and was just amusing and vaguely irritating back in those unenlightened days: My family and I got a tiny black kitten from a neighbor who happened to be an MD. We named her Skoshi (Japanese for 'little bit') because she was the runt - so much smaller and different in appearance from her sibs that she didn't seem to be from the same litter... The doctor had noticed this and assured us Skoshi was healthy. Thus neither he nor we were surprised when it turned out there was no need to have the cat spayed, as she was apparently barren... But at times throughout her life, she would steal socks out of a clean laundry basket... which annoyed my husband and son especially, even as they laughed, because Skoshi preferred mens' dark-colored socks :) ... She found a way to open the louvered door of a linen closet in the upstairs hall, and made a nest at the back of a shelf, where she would sleep curled around a stolen sock. So it got to be a family joke and catch phrase: when husband or son would miss one of a favorite pair of socks, we'd say, "Go look in Skoshi's closet!"

Seriously, I don't know enough about veterinary medicine to understand why, if hormone treatment is now available for female canines, this hormane treatment would not be used immediately for your dog (but no doubt there are valid reasons... dangers of side effects, cost, etc.) You might consider - and get medical and/or behavioral opinions on - the idea of either 1. Boarding the dog for a few days at a vet's or in a good kennel where individual attention is given, or 2. Isolating her - separating her - in a room away from the rest of the household for a few days, at the same time making sure to give her lots of attention - voice praise, walks, treats she likes... allowing her to keep some of the toys with her, but keeping as much of such distractions as possible out of sight when she is reintroduced into the family's living areas. Good luck and please keep posting.

Dot B
A&J
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Re: Spay/False Pregnancy...help!!

Post by A&J »

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.

Jason, I'm sorry I came off rudely and I don't want you to go back to the cats LOL I was in a frustrated mood this morning about many things, not just the dog, and I was taking it out on you and your response. I apologize.

I think the first thing I will do is get her in to our vet and see what he thinks. If he agrees that time is what she needs, then she can have all the time in the world because we plan on having her for the rest of her days, and we're hoping she has a lot of those left.

The only 2 things that really even bother us about the situation is that #1, she's taken a shining to my daughter's Neopet and for some reason that is the one that she just will not give up, no matter what I give her to replace it. My daughter is not yet 2½ and doesn't really understand why Shiloh has it and why she can't have it. However, Shiloh has really attached herself to this particular animal and I have not and will not take it away from her. My daughter has plenty of other animals she can play with. It just periodically gets frustrating when my daughter throws a fit about it and I can't make her understand. Secondly, and more importantly, she is not interacting well with any of us or the cats and I'm worried about how her transition into our home is going. I don't want this to develop the precedent by which she behaves in the home.

Thanks again for the advice and information. I will give the vet a call and see about getting her in for a second opinion and go from there.
A&J
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Re: Spay/False Pregnancy...help!!

Post by A&J »

Okay we have an appointment for Saturday morning at 9:15. I'll let you know what our vet has to say. I also asked about the tick we found on her yesterday and they told me to bring that in as well. Thanks again!
jason
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Re: Spay/False Pregnancy...help!!

Post by jason »

thanks for clearing everything up.

i'd suspect that when she gets off her hormone trip she might take a better liking to others in the home, might just be the motherly insticts kicking in right now...focusing her attention on those stuffed animals.
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