Pia

My own life turned upside down and that is why I just signed into the boards today In July, while Tucker & I were at a Agility Trial, my S.O. passed away of a massive heart attack. When we came home from the trial, we found him. Needless to say my life has been in turmoil but I would be out of my mind if not for Tucker. Tucker went through depression, even though S.O. was not the one who trained him, he was there always and Tucker Herded him every step of the day. After his death, he would lay in the yard when I came home from work and wait for him to pull in the drive, he thought he was coming back home. Then he would come to the door and bark for me to come outside with him. It was sad, and the only thing I could think of to help him adjust was another dog. Now that sounded like the craziest idea in the world in the midst of a upside down world, but fate had a different idea. One Saturday morning I was on my Facebook page, and a border collie breeder posted a pic of a rescue dog BC/Lab mix, that had been transported from Kentucky to PA. Her pic struck me, her past unknown, as she was a stray that wound up in SPCA there. Well Sunday morning Tucker & I made a trip to the foster moms house to meet her. I took video, brought it home, showed everyone, my friends, vet, trainer, I was worried I was making a crazy move, but they all supported me. Well I have had Allie now for 4 months this coming weekend. She turned Tucker around 360 and he is a happy dog with a playmate. They get along great together, for which I am very happy! She experienced her first snow this weekend, and started her first foundation agility class last week. She is big girl, about 2 years old they figure. She has come a long way in 4 months given the time I have had for training her. She has one issue though, she does not like strangers entering the property. She is fine once she knows the person, but not so fine if not. She is fine with all people & dogs off the property though. Maybe time will help this, I am not sure, but I know that she must greet people very slowly on her own turf. And given all I have learned in the past year, from stories here and people I know, I am grateful her issue is one I can deal with. When I have some time I will post pics of them, but life is so crazy now. Tucker is doing very well in Agility, within a years time, I am so proud of him and I know S.O. would be too. Tucker and I competed in DOCNA championships in October and got 2nd place east coast NAC! We even got a quote in CR, not bad for our first year, neither of us ever competed before. So the little pure breed shelter pup with OCD is my first Agility dog ever! This Saturday will mark a year since our first competion and we are trying CPE for the first time. What fun new games to learn. Our one AKC trial was a riot we did aweful but provided plenty of entertainment for my friends to enjoy! God bless S.O. for making all our Agililty equiptment for the yard, supporting our training and loving us even to our last words that were 'we got two jumpers Q's' Never did I think they would be our last words, he spotted Tucker first at the shelter that day, and knew I would fall in love with the little pup as soon as I saw his face, he was right! What he didn't know was that Tucker would be my strength and comfort when he left this world. Allie has completed our family she has a long way to go but she will learn and be fine with time. Tucker plays big brother and tries to show her by example when ever he can. To all who read this post, Peace be with you, Pia & Tucker & Allie

Hi, Thanks for the kind words, yes I can repost it to it's own thread. And I followed your link and left a message for Pans Mom there, thanks for the update, she is so cute, I am so glad she has a new pup to love. Pia

TO Pansmom, Catching up from other thread, and a kind soul led me here, I am glad you brought another dog into your life. If you read my thread, you will see why I have not been around since July. I really hope things are going well for you, you been through alot this year. I have a new challange also, She is sweet but she needs reassurance she is in her forever home now, she has come along in a few short months. Take care, Pia , Tucker & Allie

Dear Pan's Mom, I realize it was many months ago that you had to deal with the same terrible situation my co-worker went through in May of this year. I know they are still looking for another dog, but the right one and the right time has not yet come. I sure hope you are doing ok and coping, wow the pages in this thread brought tears to my eyes, so many people here know how hard this was for you. In the meantime, my own life turned upside down and that is why I am just now reading your posts. In July, while Tucker & I were at a Agility Trial, my S.O. passed away of a massive heart attack. When we came home from the trial, we found him. Needless to say my life has been in turmoil but I would be out of my mind if not for Tucker. Tucker went through depression, even though S.O. was not the one who trained him, he was there always and Tucker Herded him every step of the day. After his death, he would lay in the yard when I came home from work and wait for him to pull in the drive, he thought he was coming back home. Then he would come to the door and bark for me to come outside with him. It was sad, and the only thing I could think of to help him adjust was another dog. Now that sounded like the craziest idea in the world in the midst of a upside down world, but fate had a different idea. One Saturday morning I was on my Facebook page, and a border collie breeder posted a pic of a rescue dog BC/Lab mix, that had been transported from Kentucky to PA. Her pic struck me, her past unknown, as she was a stray that wound up in SPCA there. Well Sunday morning Tucker & I made a trip to the foster moms house to meet her. While there, I found that the foster mom, who now has a BC from the breeders litter, also experienced the same thing you and my co-worker did with a resue BC. They tried the medication, training, everything they could think of, and found the medication unearthed a more unstable bahaviour, as you found. Wow the things she and her husband said sounded like a repeat of all I know others have been through. All of you made a decision that every dog lover would never want to have to make. Bless you all, God has a special place for you in heaven. Well I have had Allie now for 4 months this coming weekend. She turned Tucker around 360 and he is a happy dog with a playmate. They get along great together, for which I am very happy! She experienced her first snow this weekend, and started her first foundation agility class last week. She is big girl, about 2 years old they figure. She has come a long way in 4 months given the time I have had for training her. She has one issue though, she does not like strangers entering the property. She is fine once she knows the person, but not so fine if not. She is fine with all people & dogs off the property though. Maybe time will help this, I am not sure, but I know that she must greet people very slowly on her own turf. And given all I have learned in the past year, from stories here and people I know, I am grateful her issue is one I can deal with. When I have some time I will post pics of them, but life is so crazy now. Tucker is doing very well in Agility, within a years time, I am so proud of him and I know S.O. would be too. To all who read this post, Peace be with you, Pia, Tucker & Allie

When I lived on the farm my first two SPCA rescues were several years apart, but timed beautifully. The Border/Lab mix was the perfect teacher for my new rescue Shep/Collie, and through example, I showed the new pup just how we "behaved" around here. Moving away from the farm and the seperation issues the Shep/Collie had, I could not get another dog when she was older. I knew this would not be a good thing for her intense need to have her Mom & Dad all to herself. Now, with my BC @ 3 years old, I will get another BC but not for a few more years. I will always remember how much easier it was to train a new pup when the 'doggie voice of experience' helped me along the way. Timing is important, plan your addition to the best of your ability. Good Luck Pia

Pan, Bless you for your story and your great spirit! It may have been possible that the drug you referred to would have helped my friends situation. But it takes work and dedication, not just a drug to see changes like you have experienced. It does my heart good to read this story today. It gives me hope in human kind to make a difference in an animals life, when the odds are very much against it. Thank you for sharing. I myself dread this weekend, I feel so bad for my noise reactive BC. I have drugs from vet to help take the edge off. I know I got plenty of company here so I wish all my BC friends & pups a safe 4th. I hope I don't see anymore sad stories on the board anytime soon, it was hard enough to write one. Oh and did I ever get to mention, Tucker & I have been competing in Agility Trials for 6 months now? My first time ever! I am so proud of my 'Boy', I never thought I could do this! He is awesome on the course he absolutely LOVES AGILITY. There, I ended on a BRIGHT note Pia

Update on subject I brought to this board: I am sorry to say the Sheltie has been PTS, however, not until all efforts to find another home were exhausted. A vet tech offered to take the dog and find it a home, however within 24 hours the dog was returned to my friend as there were several attempted attacks to the vet tech. It appears the dog was suffering from some type of illness, and even blood tests did not make this known. It is suspected the likes of Bipolar disorder is possible. As I am saddened by the outcome, I do realize that sometimes we must make hard decisions in life to protect the people we love. As the vet told the couple, other person waited too long to make the decision and the unfortunate result was 200+ stitches to a person's face. Thank you all posters for taking me to threads that looked deeper into this type of situation and expecially to the dear soul who posted that after they choose this route they, found out all the other litters pups were effected also. We will never know if this pups siblings were also effected. Bless all of you who work with difficult dogs and have success, however, this story was not one of them. (Katz on the other hand, could have been, IMO) Pia

HI, thanks for directing me to other board areas to assess my friends issues. In the process I read some other posts and find that all the things that have gone through my mind are being discussed here. First let me say God Bless Pansmom, and I say a prayer for them! I feel that my friends dog may have heritary issues coming from a local pet store, (first mistake), but we will never know what the issues with the parents were. I did read one poster who had to resort to PTS, and it is very possible that this dog has simuliar issues. Provoked to bite for what seems no reason. The last incident on Sunday was when the couple was sitting in the living room and the wife went to slap a bug on her leg, the dog saw this motion and attacked her hand, of course biting hard enough to draw blood once again. Some of the methods discussed to train this dog have been tried, a blood test was done, and the vet did not find anything abnormal. My friend has made progress with the dog, orginially the dog was biting him too, but is not now, the wife however is another story. It would appear that the wife's disappointment in this puppy from early on, for a reason I totally am in disgust about (why on earth does anyone get a dog to replace a dog who has passed on and think they will behave in the same exact fashion as the departed dog, EVEN IF, it is the same breed???) This I think has put Bad Blood between the dog and wife. I will never know what started the dog to act in this fashion, I believe fear aggression is a major factor. Another thing that has happened is the Alpha factor, human vrs dog, who is in control. It seems that this stuggle started early on. THe dog has some OCD issues I believe, like jumping at the door and biting the door knob when people leave or he sees people or dogs outside. This dog will raise his lips and bare his teeth whenever he is asked to do something he don't want to do. He had possessive issues over food and anything that hit the floor that has improved somewhat. At any rate, I thank the person who gave me the tip on the yahoo aggression group. I will pass it on. I feel that they must make this decision and live with it, and I also feel that alot of us on these boards, me included, would work our tails off not to have to put a dog down. Frankly, maybe the reason I thought of this board and this post about Katz in particular, is I feel the wife will not devote the time needed to fix this problem to spare the dogs life. And true she does have some of her own health problems, but not to the point she could not try to make it work with the right Animal Bahaviourist. Katz was surely wrong to not find a workable solution other then PTS on a farm with so much room and options. We are all not that lucky, you have real people right here, living in towns, who are desperate to make it work. We are not writting books about it to make money we just want a normal life with a normal dog. I thank you all for your input. If I pass on anything that would save this dogs life, I will post back. Pia

Yes I know how you feel, anymore I am afraid to give my BC anything. I was so tempted to buy these treats also, but for some reason decided against it, I didn't even read the label before I decided, I guess just instinct. Whatever you buy these days you have to keep the package, just in case you see a negative reaction from your dog , so you can run to the vet with the 'evidence' if they become ill. Soo sad,, what has this world come to; when no one has control over the food we eat, the food our pets eat, and toys our children play with and so on and so on. Pia

I received this from a dog group site this morning: I was looking at these treats in the store the other week. For easy ID on product see pic of bag below: ok to cross post. Pia This is an e-mail I received from Yorkie Breeders that I know in NY. This is one of their puppies that was sold and the people are letting them know what is happening since the dog has ingested These Chicken Tenders. Please read and feel free to post on other sites - If this helps one person to read the label or question where it came from it will be worth cross posting. PLEASE READ AND SHARE THIS WITH ANYONE WHO HAS DOGS, ESPECIALLY SMALL DOGS Bella, 3 years old, 4 pounds Product - Smoke House Chicken Breast Tenders Treats Bella became suddenly ill ,and now hospitalized with her life threatened due to Smoke House Chicken Tenders.I recently purchased at Pet Smart. It doesn't matter where you purchase them, just don't purchase them. This was the first time I bought the Smoke House treats. Having read the label, it was listed as all natural, no additives, dyes etc. The treats were purchased on or about August 17. She loved them and I was happy because she typically only likes one treat. By August 23 she vomited bile, and again on August 24. Her personality began to change becoming lethargic, wanting to stay in her bed, loss of appetite. excessive drinking, urinating frequently in excessive amounts. urine became orange like in color. By August 28 she was severely dehydrated and lost one of her three pounds. Sugar was found in her urine which would typically indicate diabetes. Bella was put on IV and given an antibiotic to take while tests were being done over Labor Day weekend. Test results showed "irregularity in the lower part of her kidney. Possibly a hole in the kidney because of the malfunction. By today Sept 7, she was no better and very low on energy and interest in being around anyone. I brought the package of Smoke House Chicken Tenders with me to the vet because it was the only thing that was different in her diet. My wonderful vet, a graduate of Cornell University searched the Cornell Veterinarian site where veterinarians report unusual cases which are tracked. The search was done by symptoms. A second search by chicken treats. There were numerous cases on the Cornell University Veterinarian web site, all with the same symptoms, test results and yes, related to chicken tender treats made in China. Never did it cross my mind that this product was made in China. When Dr. didn't find complete listing of i ngredients on the package he called the number listed on the back of the package identifying himself and asked for ingredients to help understand what was happening to my pet. The only thing the person on the phone with a strong Chinese accent was "all natural, all natural". Sure enough looking at the small print on the bottom back of the package is "product of China", the same source of other products that have been killing our pets. I sat beside my vet and read along with him. Following are primary repeated findings; -severe damage to the kidney often resulting in complete renal failure and death -numerous reports in the past four to five weeks, a larger number on the East Coast - chicken and beef treats promoted as all natural -it does not matter what the label is, if it is a product of China -if caught early enough, hospitalized on IV hydrating and flushing the kidney over days with nutrients may help the kidney heal itself and the pet could then live with the damaged kidney -if not caught early complete renal failure is expected -most cases reported are related to small dogs -initial symptoms indicate diabetes -mold is often found when flushing the kidney (found in Bella) I have been in touch with Pet Smart requesting them to help get the ingredients. Time is lost analyzing the food. Today a vet at Cornell purchased a bag after reading the report my Vet posted on Bella. He then contacted my vet to say the bag he bought had mold in it despite an expiration date one year from now. I was asked to look closely at whatever was left in my bag, but saw none. After Bella was admitted to the vet I went directly to Pet Smart in Nanuet NY, told the Manager what happened and asked her to assist getting the ingredients identified. I was met with a hostile attitude. She was only interested in getting my name because she felt I was going to file a complaint. The person at PS headquarters responsible for knowing food ingredients at Pet Smart headquarters is trying to help. The information available to vets on the Cornell web site is not public information. No one seems to be aware of this. Dogs are misdiagnosed PLEASE SEND THIS ON TO YOUR PET LOVING FRIENDS AND SAVE A PET AND LOTS OF HEARTACHE. PLEASE POST THIS INFORMATION ON ANY WEB SITE YOU CAN CONCERNING PETS. Allan and I are hoping and praying. View full sizeSmoke House Chicken Breast Tenders. All but one bag on the shelf which was light in color were the deeper color. The center pieces are from the bag Bella ate from. Because of the difference in color I asked Pet Smart what the difference was. Were there dyes added? The response was "it's all natural chicken so that's why the difference in shades". I pointed out that every single package was the deep color, except the one left from the same batch I bought.

I have done the kitchen with two gates with my last dog shep/collie mix as she would jump them for thunder storms. Tucker on the other hand has never jumped one gate, no need to use two, he has the kitchen with an open crate door. We come home after an 8 to 5 or (6) day and he is fine, no accidents and most of the time is sleeping in his crate or waiting at the door. When Tucker was a puppy i had a neighbor let him out at lunch and graduately build up the time alone to about 3:30 - 4:00PM over the summer months so when she went back to school in the fall he was up to 7 hours & from there he was fine. My dogs have always been alone during the day, the price you pay to make a living, and they get used to it. When I let Tucker have the run of the house I do have to close bathroom door and any room with a waste basket that has no lid. what is it about toilet paper and tissues?? Pia

So the story has a Happy Ending now for PICTURES!!!!!! Pia

Hi Tammy Yes he is a big boy long legs and body and solid, typical boy. I saw a female that could be his sister only she was so petite. I sometimes think his head is too small to fit his body I think they set up the rule for 18 months as a general guideline but determined it on breed so when I told them what he was and how big they did not have any problem starting him at 13 months. Yes we are done with the class he graduated with honors. now we practice there so he continues to improve. For the next class I will wait till next spring. One of the reasons i picked this place first was they have the classes in a fenced in area. This is essential for Tucker to be off leash right now as he is still too much puppy and is still distracted. Here is a better pic of him you can see his size. He is 54 lbs now! Pia

OH PERFECT! Just when you think you know the next episode, AHHA! a new character STEALS the SHOW I wait with Baited (Puppy dog ) breath,,,,, Pia