Paralyzed Dog Started Excessive Licking A Year Ago

Amateur

Amateur

Experienced Member
Love the video ... I can't wait to get my 2 to be that calm and responsive

and Kim ... I love hearing about your little dog -- its something special to hear about.
and being "strange" -- naw that makes you just that more attuned to your babies. We all do it to some degree whether its knowing a dog has to pee or isn't feeling well or just a feeling something isnt right. Learning to read your dog is just good bonding.
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
Kim, my dog never sniffs his own poo or pee. almost never. OTHER DOGS pee or poo, he finds quite fascinating!! but his own, not so much....

still, that is endlessly cute that you do this for your dog!!
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
Kim, have you started jazzing up Hannah's life by teaching her any tricks yet?? Let us know if you need any help getting started! I bet a bullychewstick, that Hannah will LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
So Kim, how is the dog doing now?

did you try teaching the dog some tricks, to see if that distraction and satisfaction could help at all, or, did they discover some food allergy was causing this after all, or what?
 
Kim Abston

Kim Abston

Well-Known Member
IMG_0278.JPGIMG_1019.jpg

Sorry for the slow response--I've been having DBS issues, so my Parkinson's Disease has not been under control. Better now though, so I'm up for talking about Hannah again!

I tried withholding chew bones, but it made no difference to her licking issues. In general, I'd say Hannah is very happy, but the licking goes on... she licks everyone's bowls for a good ten minutes after every meal. The others don't seem to mind and I guess I rather like to see that she is busy doing something she enjoys, so I am not discouraging it anymore.

I really need to work more on teaching her things (I have the perfect opportunity alone with her at night because her sisters sleep together in the kitchen and Hannah sleeps in the bed with us.) My concern is... I'm afraid if I give her lots and lots of treats (even little ones) she'll turn into a roly poly! If she gets fat, she will not fit into her wheelchair. Any suggestions on low calorie treats?

In this second picture, Hannah was dragging herself oner to me cooking in the kitchen when she became tired and stopped for a rest! Her legs look a little crooked, but she is comfortable and fine.

THANK YOU for checking in on her!
Kim
 
Amateur

Amateur

Experienced Member
As for the treating ... can you use her daily kibble as "treats"?
measure out her daily allotment an then just take her training treats from there and feed the rest normally at meal time. That way she gets no extra calories
 
Dogster

Dogster

Honored Member
*like Amateur said*;)
You can reduce her regular meals if you give her a lot of treats. You really don't need low-calorie treats. You can just use tiny pieces (about the size of a raisin, or smaller, if you prefer) Tigerlily has some fantastic treat recipes somewhere....:)
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
Oh, sorry you've not been well, but SO GREAT to see you back again!!!

have you ever ever tried SLOWLY swapping out her dog food to rule out food allergy? See, thing is, if a dog is eating something they are allergic to,
they don't get diarrhea (that's more likely to be an intolerance than allergy)
or runny nose/ puffy eyes like a human does,
the dog gets itchy.
itchy
itchy
itchy.

and dogs can and do develop allergies
to things they were fine with in the past. My last dog did, as a senior dog, he no longer could tolerate eggs, although he was fine with eggs as a younger dog.
What exactly do you feed Hannah, brand name and flavor, etc.

Certainly, Hannah could be just having an obsessive/compulsive behavior, since she is also licking empty bowls, too,
but, it might be easiest to rule out a food allergy is not a factor here, just to be sure.

Yes, it'd be interesting to see IF IF IF some mental stimulation for Hannah could help her feel more content/reduce licking, IF it is an OCD or something like that.
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
Yes, one can make their own low-calorie treats, (store bought treats are usually crapola)
or use kibble for treats,
or reduce evening meal, (i often reduce, or even skip my dog's evening meal, esp if it's hot out). Sara the moderator, once told me that it is not really a natural pattern for a dog to eat twice a day,
every day,
and that skipping a meal now and then perks up metabolism in a dog, and i tried it, and it seems true!!!!
Instead of feeding my dog, i either play with him,
or take him for a walk, and it seems he completely forgets he did not get fed IF i play with him quite a bit or walk him a lot.


Yes, like others above say,
you can use kibble.
You can make your own low calorie treats.
You can reduce or skip Hannah's evening meal on days you use food.
(it is okay to skip a dog's meal now and then, and to reduce the mealsize to compensate for treats)

AND you can use OTHER forms of rewards, some dogs adore tennis balls, and for those dogs, having a tennis ball given to them is huge reward.
some dogs love tuggie toy play.

I have one special toy,
that Buddy never ever gets to play with,
that i CLICK, and pull out special toy, we tug on it,
i say "let go" and take it back,
ask for trick again,
CLICK, pull toy out, we tug a while,
i say "let go" and take it back again, (if a dog does NOT know "let go" ....well, tuggie toy play could be pretty disruptive to tricks training!!:ROFLMAO: )
and so on.
My dog works very hard for a chance to tug on the new toy.;) Zero calories that way.

Buddy seems to think this is huge fun...waiting for that special toy that he has never had a chance to play with be brought out. I can do this with old toys, too,
but, for my dog, a brand new toy is BIG thrill to him.

My dog seems to enjoy it
when i swap up what i use for rewards. OH, and my dog is very conceited,;) and ALSO requires praise....oh does he ever. If he gets no praise after the click, he begins to zone out on me...:rolleyes: but all dogs are unique.


Each dog is different, so you can try different things to discover what YOUR dog thinks is big reward.
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
//"(I have the perfect opportunity alone with her at night because her sisters sleep together in the kitchen and Hannah sleeps in the bed with us.) "//


Well, that is one option,
but again,
for a beginner dog, a five minute lesson is a good start,
we're not talking about an hour. (not yet anyway!)

see?

If it turns out, that bedtime is not best time for Hannah to learn,
and to be able to re-relax after lesson and sleep,
you can try teaching the other two dogs to "stay" or "go to your mat"
(NOT hard to teach)
or, you can put other 2 dogs in another room for five minutes.

and who knows, maybe the other two dogs watching won't be as much of a problem as you are picturing, who knows. Then they could get THEIR quickie trick-lesson, too.
Dogs can also learn, just by WATCHING another dog, so last dog in line might seem "smartest" dog, rofl!:ROFLMAO:
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
also,
almost everyone here uses food treats now and then as clicker rewards,
and yet,
i see very very few if any fat dogs here on DTA. Obviously, your precious Hannah does NOT have the option to run off the extra calories,
but, my point is, it can be done---------giving dogs food rewards, yet, maintaining a healthy trim weight,
which is obviously crucial for your dog.
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
OH!! SHOULD SAY THIS TOO------KEEP TREATS SMALL! ITTY BITTY TEENY WEENIE TREATS!!
I have a 50 lb dog, and i use treats the size of a raisen,
but, for a dog as small as yours, you could go much smaller than i use, like 1/3 size of a raisen!!


Just an itty bitty CRUMB, after each click------is allllllllllll that is needed to reward the dog.

Dogs do NOT care how big a treat is, Kim,
dogs even scour the floor for tiny crumbs.
for "break through" moments, or jackpots-----when dog does VERY well,:D
you click ONCE, and then
give multiple small tiny treats,
one after the other,
while praising the dog. I think that type of a jackpot means more to the dog, than one big treat, imo.
 
Kim Abston

Kim Abston

Well-Known Member
I just LOVE your profile pic! (Reminds me of a guy I dated in college... VERY smart, but a little bookish. :cool:) An update on Hannah's licking: It goes on unabated, but no worse and no better. She seems to be happy and healthy (we've been back and forth with bladder infections again, but she is clear now) and she is in the bed sleeping beside me as I type. :sleep: I am currently munching my way through a book on clicker training. I have ordered a clicker and I am researching soft, itty bitty treats I can give her without oinking her out. When I feel confident I can pull off the clicker training without mucking it up, I plan to try teaching Hannah some hide and seek games to see if that will distract her from the lick, lick, lick, lick, lick, licking!:p
 
Kim Abston

Kim Abston

Well-Known Member
I think you are probably right tigerlily... I trained my puppies to accept a bath by feeding them an endless stream of teeny tiny bits of doggy bacon; they just seemed to LOVE the fact that they got lots of treats during a bath rather than one big treat after. The pieces I gave then were about the size of one of these smiley faces: :)
 
Dogster

Dogster

Honored Member
That's GREAT it's getting better with Hannah!!!!:D I hope things keep improving.... Good luck with clicker training!!! If you have any more questions, just ask!!!:)
 
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