Keeping up appearances.......

Honey_Bear

Dolphin1 wrote: »

Targets for July (and update for first 2 days)...

Good to know someone's keeping going!

1) To have 14 NCDs (we have visitors twice this month for quite a few days but I am going to aim for 14 days anyway because July is quite long) - Suffice to say, with our visitors and a big birthday to celebrate (not mine), no NCDs so far .

Impressive to think anyone can manage one NCD. I can't, so you're a great role model, Dolphin.

2) To walk an average of 10,000 steps per day over each week (so 70,000 total for each week) - Just under 10,000 steps Friday and just over 6,000 steps yesterday. Our visitors can't walk very far so we have been using the car when we would normally walk. I am up to 60,000 so far this week though so won't be far off my target if I can get out for a walk (by myself) today.

Anyone who can look after visitor, use the car and still manage 60,000 steps in a week is going some. *respect*

3) To put my light out by 11pm every night including weekends (I am still struggling to nail this target) - 11.30pm Friday night and 11.50pm Saturday night but I'm blaming my visitors again for this .

Is it still considered rude by most people to go to bed before one's visitors? I'm afraid I've been doing it for years - in the olden days because I was too tiddled to want to stay upright, and now because I'm often too bored by their drunken energy. Staying up late was one of the first casualties of giving up the booze in my case. Jolly helpful on the getting enough sleep front.

Honey_Bear

It's been a bit of a tricky time here. Kelpie's cruciate ligaments have both gone so he's not allowed any exercise, and one of his front legs was already a bit of a mess, so he's not a candidate for surgery. For him no walks is tantamount to living in hell. Coupled with that the house is full of stairs (three floors, seven different levels) and therefore an entirely unsuitable place for him to live, so I thought I'd take him to the chalet where everything indoors is on one level. There's a tiny garden, albeit on two levels, but I built half-stairs with a dozen or so breeze blocks so he could use that to go outside, eat grass and generally be contained.

We coped for a week but he misseed everyone that comes and goes in the house so much in the end I decided he'd be better off back at home. The trouble is, he can't be left downstairs on his own for more than about 30 minutes and that's caused me huge logistical problems. I can sleep in the sitting room with him but I'm not convinced that longterm that solution is even vaguely sensible. If I thought I could train him to be okay in the sitting room overnight on his own I'd be feeling a lot more positive, but he's 10, he lived with his sister for nine years and gets very, very upset being isolated. It all feels very odd.

If I set a target for June it would have to be to create an environment for Kelpie to be happy on his own for at least a couple of hours so we could build on that in the future, but I have absolutely no idea how to make that happen. How does one train an old dog to be emotionally self-sufficient? Answers on a postcard please ....

smallholdingsister

Well done Miss H !

Sorry to hear about the Puss Cat.

Have been known to go to bed before my guests.

Dolphin1

Honey_Bear wrote: »

It's been a bit of a tricky time here. Kelpie's cruciate ligaments have both gone so he's not allowed any exercise, and one of his front legs was already a bit of a mess, so he's not a candidate for surgery. For him no walks is tantamount to living in hell. Coupled with that the house is full of stairs (three floors, seven different levels) and therefore an entirely unsuitable place for him to live, so I thought I'd take him to the chalet where everything indoors is on one level. There's a tiny garden, albeit on two levels, but I built half-stairs with a dozen or so breeze blocks so he could use that to go outside, eat grass and generally be contained.

We coped for a week but he misseed everyone that comes and goes in the house so much in the end I decided he'd be better off back at home. The trouble is, he can't be left downstairs on his own for more than about 30 minutes and that's caused me huge logistical problems. I can sleep in the sitting room with him but I'm not convinced that longterm that solution is even vaguely sensible. If I thought I could train him to be okay in the sitting room overnight on his own I'd be feeling a lot more positive, but he's 10, he lived with his sister for nine years and gets very, very upset being isolated. It all feels very odd.

If I set a target for June it would have to be to create an environment for Kelpie to be happy on his own for at least a couple of hours so we could build on that in the future, but I have absolutely no idea how to make that happen. How does one train an old dog to be emotionally self-sufficient? Answers on a postcard please ....

Awww, poor Kelpie! I have no answers I'm afraid. Perhaps someone will have advice over on the Pets board. Otherwise maybe a consultation with a dog psychologist. Don't laugh, they do exist. One of our neighbours got one in for their dog a few years ago when it did nothing but bark and they figured out what was stressing the poor dog and solved the problem of the barking.

I'll be back later with my update.

Honey_Bear

Thanks, Dolphin, I'm off to the library today to check out some dog training books. Kelpie's not one for playing with toys, he just needs company and is showing recognised signs of stress already, so I need to get on top of this very quickly. I'm hoping hydrotherapy can start soon, but I haven't been able to get hold of the specialist vet yet to organise a referral. With any luck he can have three sessions a week which would be beneficial physically and mentally for him, and could make all the difference.

Good idea about the pet boards, I'll try them.

joeyjimbles

Has he ever shown any interest in a cuddly toy? Something to be with him when he is on his own. When our dog was just a pup he adopted one of the discarded soft toys from the boys - he doesn't pine over it, but if he's very tired or when he was ill, he likes it in his bed and will sleep with his head on it. Its quite a large grey bunny - could never decide if it was just the comfort or whether it smelled of the boys. It gets washed very regularly and he still just takes it back. Hope you get something sorted soon.

HappyNow

Thanks for the good wishes for our cat, but sadly she has died. We knew it was a possibility - likelihood even - but it was still a shock because it was so sudden. She just ate her supper on Saturday, then laid down on the floor and peacefully passed away. She is now buried in one of our fields.

Honey - so sorry to hear about Kelpie. Is it a good prognosis if he gets the hydrotherapy? Hopefully so. Separation anxiety is so sad, and at his age particularly it will be hard to overcome. Does he want to follow you around from floor to floor, and usually sleep in your bedroom? I'm sure you've googled it to death, and as Dolphin says the pet board here might be able to help, but the best dog forum I've every found is on www.champdogs.co.uk. It's used by breeders and canine experts more than pet owners, and they are always happy to make suggestions. Is he too heavy to carry up and down stairs, or maybe have a bum-lift just to help him?

Honey_Bear

joeyjimbles wrote: »

Has he ever shown any interest in a cuddly toy? Something to be with him when he is on his own. When our dog was just a pup he adopted one of the discarded soft toys from the boys - he doesn't pine over it, but if he's very tired or when he was ill, he likes it in his bed and will sleep with his head on it. Its quite a large grey bunny - could never decide if it was just the comfort or whether it smelled of the boys. It gets washed very regularly and he still just takes it back. Hope you get something sorted soon.

Sadly, if there ever was such a toy in his life it got lost when he was given up by his owner. I've tried getting him interested in toys but he's just puzzled by the fact that I get all enthused by them. He loves his basket, fleeces and mat but his real focus is people. Anyone will do which is helpful but because I walk him the most I'm the target of most of his affection. He's a lovely dog and can cope for a couple of hours on his own under normal circumstances as long as it doesn't happen every day (we get 'messages' if it's more frequent) but these aren't normal circumstances. We have a Kelpie Sitting Rota.

Honey_Bear

I'm so, so sorry to hear about your cat, Happy. We always think we're prepared for the inevitable, just not yet, and as it turns out we never are. For her, what a lovely way to go - no need to go back to go back in the basket in the car, no vet's surgery, no more jabs or pills having to be swallowed, nothing scary happening to her in an unfamiliar place, she was where everything was just so, had a full tummy, surrounded by people she loved and just went to sleep. When my time comes, can I go exactly the same way, please? (I promise I won't expect to be buried in one of your fields.)

When I adopted Kelpie I was told he was 100% people-orientated and the fact that he followed me around everywhere was par for the course because the other three oldies I adopted did. There's a part of me that recognises that all older dogs put up for adoption need to be understood as having been abandoned, and in his case it's complicated by the fact that he was separated from his sister at the same time. which I think was the real trauma. I sometimes toy with the idea of getting another dog and then face up to the reality of what that would mean and accept that I can't.

We're coping, working on ideas that will help him, I'm still waiting for a call about hydrotherapy, he's got a couple of kongs, I've posted on the pet board and already had some helpful suggestions, so that was a marvellous start Dolphin, so thank you. I'll check out your website as well, Happy.

The good news is he's on the floor in front of me as I type, and I've been watching his post-walk washing session carefully - the paw washing didn't morph into anything worrying, so that's an immediate improvement on yesterday.

joeyjimbles

So very sorry to hear about your cat, Happy, but I do agree with Honey that it was a very kind way for her to go. And after a long happy life too. I know that you'll miss her dreadfully.

Sorry also that a toy wouldn't work for Kelpie, Honey. Our dog helped himself to grey bunny pretty much the day after he came to us. He doesn't seem to mind going to the kennels or FIL's without it either, but he definitely likes to have it around. I presume you've tried the tv or the radio?