Hind foot knuckling under - HELP - Page 3

It's a little trick I learned when I was a small child...I couldn't swallow pills and of all the medicines I had to chew or choke down, aspirin became my favorite and no, my mom didn't waste money on baby aspirin.  Thank goodness I got over the choke, somewhat.  On occassion I still have problems but rarely.  It's just easier for me on the aspirin as I usually only take it when I get a sore throat and it coats and numbs it somewhat.  I do drink water after so it's not like a completely dry ordeal... that would really make me tough!  LOL!!!

Deb

I'm so happy your pup will be OK! 

(from another aspirin eater, LOL)

Good luck with Echo!  My Zoe had a soft tissue injury (foreleg sprain--her yelps of pain almost brought me to tears) when she was 4 mo old, and the vet prescribed antiinflammatories and a mild pain killer and told us to keep her in her crate and limit her activity for a week.  She healed just fine!  I'm sure Echo will too.  Those crazy puppies!  Amazing what they'll do to themselves in the name of fun, lol. 

Thanks for the kind words luvdemdogs and Mum of Zoe. 

Yes it nearly kills me when Echo cries for any reason and she has bumped and banged herself more than a few times and let me know about it.  The worse thing I ever heard her do was a long mumbling whimper when she was just about 9wks old.  I can't remember what she did wrong but my husband gave her a correction.  They were in the kitchen and I heard him get after her and she whimpered all the way from the kitchen to the living room where I was sitting.  She didn't come to me, just into the same room and leaned against the couch to think about it.  But oh!  That cry almost sounded like she was crying mama and she wasn't talking to me.  It seemed to go on forever. That broke my heart because I felt like her little heart was breaking.  It was a very low, quiet cry as she walked into the room.  I'll never forget that sound.  Thank goodness she doesn't do that anymore or she wouldn't get any discipline. 

She's doing much better this morning and driving me crazy wanting to get out and play.  I see more crate time in her future. LOL!

Deb

I envy you a little for having a puppy that is so sensitive to being corrected!  Zoe is a rather hard dog--she has a mental callous when it comes to taking lumps, bumps and prong collar corrections!  Even our trainer was a little surprised at the force of the correction that he had to give her in order to get a response.  She's wacked her head into just about everything, and even getting a foot stepped on by mom or dad only perturbs her for a second or three, and she's over it before you can say, "Ouch!"  Reminds me of my younger cousin, who was one of those kids that had a hard head and never felt any pain when she'd whack it, lol.

For a more low-key activity, you might work on developing Echo's sense of smells.  I would put Zoe in a sit and let her sniff a smelly treat, then throw it in the grass several feet in front of her, then tell her, "Find!".  When she found the treat she got a "Good girl!" and then I repeated it, throwing it further away so she'd have to really sniff for it in the grass.  Eventually she'd get bored and want to play chase-me with our other dog.  Another trick I'd use would be to put a treat under a cup or bowl, then have 2 other identical bowls next to it.  I'd give her the "Find!" command and she'd sniff it out, lift the bowl up with her nose, and get a tasty treat.  You could also leave scent trails with the treat, by rubbing it on spots on the floor, leading her to find it in a place that she wouldn't normally suspect.  Just some ideas to take the mental hyperactivity edge off of a bored, healing puppy! :D 

Hello Mum of Zoe,

Sensitive to correction...LOL.  That was when she was still a little furball.  She is pretty hard headed now and ignores anything she might consider a suggestion rather than a command.  My husband put an E collar on her because she doesn't listen to him like she does me and he wanted to get her attention.  Well, her ramped it up to 6 before she registered that she felt it and she just flicked an ear and panted a little.  Just looked at us like nothing was going on.  Kinda scary.  We decided if she wasn't fazed by this we might as well forget it.  She is eager to please thank goodness but she is a handful if she decides she wants to ignore you and do something else.  Once we both get healed up proper training can commence. 
I love the treat ideas and we have done the 3 bowl trick...the nose is too good.  Picks it everytime.  Think I'll to the one outside.  That should make her work harder. 

Thanks and have a great day.
Deb

Deb, so glad to hear that your pup is going to ne fine.  Goyya say that it didn't sound so good when you first posted. Do keep us updated.

Lynn
www.spruceviewfarms.com

Hello to all who came to my rescue with kind words and helpful comments!

Echo seems to be back to normal.  We are still going to monitor her rough housing for a few more days but she looks great.  No more knuckling under, no more wobbling in the back end.  Her back is strong and her hocks look straight again.  There for a while she was looking like some of those horrible videos we've all seen but no more!  We now let her out off leash to exercise in the fenced yard and she will run and run but we have hidden all her favorite toys so that she isn't tempted to jump or twist.  We still want to avoid that.  However she has re-discovered her tail and come to think of it, it is just possible she hurt herself chasing it.  I've never seen a dog so obsessed with its own tail. 

Just wanted to update all and thank you again!
Deb

Deb,

It is very important that you interrupt this tail chasing and do it now. It can turn into such a problem you would not believe. Do not reward her, laugh or otherwise give her reason to think you approve. Interrupt it in any way you can. If you want more ideas, let me know, but tail chasing is often a sign of a developing obsessive compulsive disorder. Many dogs do it just a little and soon get distracted and go do something else, but if she is really into this, I would try to stop it now.

I am glad she seems to be much improved health wise.

Good luck.

Hello again Hodie,

Thanks for the input.  We do not laugh or think it's funny that she chases her tail.  I do worry about OCD and we scold her and try to redirect her to something else like her chew rope.  I think it has increased during this period of inactivity simply out of boredom.  We have done different games with her where she has to use her mind instead of her body but I think she just wants to run for the sake of running at this time.  She has recently decided to bring items of mine to me.  One day it was a sock, the next a shoe.  Today she got my sunglass case out of my purse and brought it to me.  I hate to scold her because she is not playing with these items and seems so proud to fetch them.  But I do tell her these are "No-nos" so she doesn't repeat.  I am open to suggestions on the tail chasing as we do want it to stop.  

Keep those suggestions coming!
Thanks!
Deb