Dog Forum banner
21 - 40 of 42 Posts
Discussion starter · #21 ·
Oh, a caring vet is super-important. I have rabbits, which are very fragile. If they get ill it can be caused by food changes or stress or noise, or literally nothing. You get a lot of judgemental rabbit experts demanding to know what you’ve done to cause it, when in reality, it’s just happened. You need a vet which brings that passion for animals’ health and safety with a lack of that judgement for an anxious owner!

(On another topic, is there any tidy alternative for a dog who adores tearing up paper and tissues and scattering them about? I may have asked this before. I wonder if there are any Velcro toys that she could tear to pieces in a similar manner.)
 
(On another topic, is there any tidy alternative for a dog who adores tearing up paper and tissues and scattering them about? I may have asked this before. I wonder if there are any Velcro toys that she could tear to pieces in a similar manner.)
My young dog was hell of any kind of tissues or paper towels etc. when he was a puppy. He has completely grown out of it, so quite possibly Nina will also. I just handled it by being extremely diligent to keep all such things out of reach, and I think that also helped him to grow out of it. Any habit like that is most easily broken by making it 100% unavailable for long enough that the mind and body forget about it.
 
Discussion starter · #23 ·
My young dog was hell of any kind of tissues or paper towels etc. when he was a puppy. He has completely grown out of it, so quite possibly Nina will also. I just handled it by being extremely diligent to keep all such things out of reach, and I think that also helped him to grow out of it. Any habit like that is most easily broken by making it 100% unavailable for long enough that the mind and body forget about it.
Ahhh, ok, this is where being a rabbit owner is a disadvantage. Because rabbits can’t be trained in the same way, with them, I had to accept that it was an instinct, they needed stuff to chew up and destroy, and that it was my responsibility to give them those opportunities, more or less. Soooo, I haven’t really been stopping Nina at all! I just treated it like an irremediable instinct! On occasion, when she got hold of one of my pattern pieces, I took it back and replaced it with scrap paper i didn’t care about.

Whoops. I’d best start changing my habits and being more careful then…
 
Discussion starter · #29 ·
Once other hand, tearing up paper is the best fun and it can be quite enriching, particularly if your dog has to have exercise restricted.

It's a bit of a nuisance at Christmas though ...
Maybe if I only give her the paper at moments when I know I’ll have time to clear it up, then. And maybe I should start doing that loo roll/tissue paper game with treats. So she has a bit of a structure to it and doesn’t just steal all my papers.
 
Discussion starter · #30 ·
Maybe if I only give her the paper at moments when I know I’ll have time to clear it up, then. And maybe I should start doing that loo roll/tissue paper game with treats. So she has a bit of a structure to it and doesn’t just steal all my papers.
Also, I think you’re in the UK, and I was going to defend myself by saying I bought her four new Nina Ottosson puzzles to help her through this difficult time of low-exercise. TK Maxx online, each less than half price. You may already have them or not need them, but they were an absolute bargain.
 
I wouldn't attempt to dissuade her tearing up paper at all! It is instinctive and helps to satisfy an innate 'need' (prey drive) that is part of every dog to some degree. Just make sure your papers are safely out of reach!

My adult dogs still love to tear up paper - boxes, tissue rolls - the joy on their faces and sparkle in their eyes is worth every second it might take to clean up after them!
 
  • Like
Reactions: BKayHol2 and lulu05
And maybe I should start doing that loo roll/tissue paper game with treats. So she has a bit of a structure to it and doesn’t just steal all my papers.
I think it's a big ask to try and get a dog to understand that some paper is for tearing, and other paper isn't.

It does make you quite obsessively tidy though!
 
Discussion starter · #33 ·
I think it's a big ask to try and get a dog to understand that some paper is for tearing, and other paper isn't.

It does make you quite obsessively tidy though!
This is the thing! I can’t be tidy to save my life! Still, I tend to wrap gifts in fabric (I sew and I always have scrap fabric, or cheap sparkly polyester), so as long as I keep my work papers out of the way…
 
I agree that it is way too much to ask a dog not to tear up things that are important if you let them tear up any paper at all. And it's too much of a risk to take, for me anyway, that I could forget and leave something important within reach because I was distracted. Anyone could do that. Really, not a good idea to let a dog tear up paper for fun.

Now, I think it might be possible to let a dog teat up paper bags or cardboard boxes.....because they are different and you would only give those to the dog and you would supervise. But I would never recommend this to anyone whose dog already tears up paper because -- again -- too much to ask the dog to know the difference.

Now, I have had a cat who tore up newspaper. He never once tore up anything else, only newspaper. He'd grasp it in two of his teeth delicately and tear it into very neat 1" strips. So all I had to do was be careful that only the newspaper I had read was within his reach, and then I let him tear it to his heart's content!
 
Discussion starter · #35 ·
Poor Nina has had a suture reaction leading to infection. I don’t fully understand this as you can hardly get an allergic infection but I guess the vets know what they’re talking about. But she only has antibiotics, which I would imagine won’t do anything much for the allergic inflammation.

Anyway, she has another follow up on Thursday. Can anyone recommend a chicken soup for dogs? I know you do boiled chicken and rice for tummy upsets, but is there anything else that makes your dogs feel better when sick?
 
Once other hand, tearing up paper is the best fun and it can be quite enriching, particularly if your dog has to have exercise restricted.

It's a bit of a nuisance at Christmas though ...
Perhaps; but my Golden was a toilet paper destructress when she was a puppy.........NO FUN DURING THE PANDEMIC, WHEN YOU COULDN'T FIND TP! :ROFLMAO:
 
Poor Nina has had a suture reaction leading to infection. I don’t fully understand this as you can hardly get an allergic infection but I guess the vets know what they’re talking about. But she only has antibiotics, which I would imagine won’t do anything much for the allergic inflammation.

Anyway, she has another follow up on Thursday. Can anyone recommend a chicken soup for dogs? I know you do boiled chicken and rice for tummy upsets, but is there anything else that makes your dogs feel better when sick?
Is she not eating well? or... why do you think she needs "chicken soup"? If she's feeling poorly because of the infection you can certainly do some boiled chicken & rice, or use some chicken as a topper to help entice her to eat.

My Beckett had suture related issues. One time he injured himself very badly & had to have lots of stitches internally, as well as staples on the surface skin. His body didn't dissolve the internal ones well, so he would develop raised, infected looking areas as his body tried to push them out. I didn't have to give him antibiotics, but I did have to do warm, moist compresses on the area a few times a day to help work the suture material out. (Do NOT do this without checking with your vet first to see if it would be a good idea. If the incision isn't healed enough, it might be necessary to keep it dry, not get it wet.) But I just wanted to reassure you that Nina isn't the only dog who reacted poorly to suture material. Hope she's all healed up in short order!
 
Discussion starter · #38 ·
Is she not eating well? or... why do you think she needs "chicken soup"? If she's feeling poorly because of the infection you can certainly do some boiled chicken & rice, or use some chicken as a topper to help entice her to eat.

My Beckett had suture related issues. One time he injured himself very badly & had to have lots of stitches internally, as well as staples on the surface skin. His body didn't dissolve the internal ones well, so he would develop raised, infected looking areas as his body tried to push them out. I didn't have to give him antibiotics, but I did have to do warm, moist compresses on the area a few times a day to help work the suture material out. (Do NOT do this without checking with your vet first to see if it would be a good idea. If the incision isn't healed enough, it might be necessary to keep it dry, not get it wet.) But I just wanted to reassure you that Nina isn't the only dog who reacted poorly to suture material. Hope she's all healed up in short order!
Nah, she’s eating fine, she just has a temperature and I guess it was my facetious way of asking if there are any good, non-medical ways to give her a bit of extra comfort. So far I’m going with cuddles, but open to other ideas.

Glad it’s not just Nina! And no, I’m not going to quack her - will just keep my fingers crossed for an improvement on Thursday.
 
Nah, she’s eating fine, she just has a temperature and I guess it was my facetious way of asking if there are any good, non-medical ways to give her a bit of extra comfort. So far I’m going with cuddles, but open to other ideas.

Glad it’s not just Nina! And no, I’m not going to quack her - will just keep my fingers crossed for an improvement on Thursday.
That's good! (that she's eating well, not that she's running a fever!) Just keep lovin' on her and she'll be back to her old self before you know it! (Oh, and my dogs say that extra snacks are always a fine idea.... ;) )
 
Discussion starter · #40 ·
That's good! (that she's eating well, not that she's running a fever!) Just keep lovin' on her and she'll be back to her old self before you know it! (Oh, and my dogs say that extra snacks are always a fine idea.... ;) )
And isn’t it feed a fever, starve a cold? 😉
(It isn’t, but just for today, let’s say it is.)
 
21 - 40 of 42 Posts