Dog Community

How to calm/occupy a doggie

Posted : 4/17/2006 1:08:30 PM

I posted a related thread in the "my dog is sick" forum, but I thought I'd spread the wealth and see about getting some ideas, here.

One of my dogs who is a rescue from Katrina, and also somewhat uneasy with his crate (although much better than he used to be) was just diagnosed Heartworm Positive. He goes in for his first treatment on Friday and will have to be on lockdown for about 3 - 4 months. He is most likely a 15 month old mix between whippet and pit bull who has an excessive amount of energy and loves to run and wrestle with our other dog. Obviously, he cannot do this.

I'd like some ideas on how to occupy him and make him 'okay' as far as his crate goes. He can stay in it for longer periods of time now (we're working him up to it) but he ends up whimpering and dancing in the crate when someone comes home or when it's time to go potty or eat his dinner.

So, any ideas on what to do with my little guy would be mostly appreciated. It's very important for the next several months that he be absolutely quiet and calm so that he doesn't have complications while the worm segments pass through his system.

Thanks so much,

Samantha

(attached - picture of him back in late September at between 6 - 9 months old when we first got him)

Paulo

Posted : 4/17/2006 1:32:54 PM

I stuff a kong with treats that I know takes him longer than 2 minutes to get out to keep him entertained. Also I'll spread peanut butter inside a hollow bone and he'll usually work at that for a while. Hard toys for him to chew on are good as well.

Samantha

Posted : 4/17/2006 3:26:14 PM

Yeah, we have kongs and are going to try freezing things in kongs, too, so that they take longer to finish. Peanut butter in hollow bones - we do that, too

Thanks for the suggestions!

Paulo

Posted : 4/17/2006 3:29:36 PM

Another suggestion is to get him tired before crating him. Taking him for a walk to playing with him will generally allow them to exerte enough energy to tire themselves out and end up sleeping while in the crate.
I've also seen some "challenging" toys out there for dogs that might help them keep occupied. One is a ball that you put treats in it and the only way to get them out is the dog has to roll it around for the treats to come out.

angelamarie

Posted : 4/17/2006 3:35:50 PM

Blessings on you for rescuing this guy, he looks simply adorable. I read somewhere that about 80 percent of the dogs rescued from Katrina were heartworm positive. The people who were their owners were living in too much poverty to be able to provide heartworm medication. Sad for everyone involved.

I don't really have any advice, but rather a question. Why does a dog who is heartworm positive have to be on "lockdown" for such a long period of time? Luckily, I do not have any experience with heartworm treatment and am curious about it.

Best wishes.

Samantha

Posted : 4/17/2006 3:38:58 PM

Normally, yes, but we cannot take him for walks while he is having his heartworm treatment and for the following 3 - 4 months, otherwise he could pass worm segments too quickly, clot, and have problems. We have to keep him calm and relaxed and sedentary because it's a health issue.

Samantha

Posted : 4/17/2006 3:43:26 PM

Thank you for those blessings! Yes, a lot of the rescued dogs had/have heartworm. Out of however many dogs this rescue foundation rescued, we know that now 33 of them have tested HW positive. I'm almost sure there will be more. Hogan wasn't fixed when we got him and he probably had never had hw preventative medicine.

The reason for his lockdown is as such:

Day 1, he gets the first injection of medicine.
Day 28, he gets the second injection and stays overnight at the vet.
Day 29, he gets the third injection.
Day 42 - recheck
Day 120 - final heartworm test.

When the worms die, the segments basically are released in the bloodstream. This can cause clotting and other issues. (I know I'm not explaining this well - Callie is awesome with her explanation!) Basically, you don't want the dog's heart racing - no running, no excitement, no excessive barking, no wrestling, no jumping... because the heart can race and release the segments at too quick a pace and it can cause a clot in the lungs, or elsewhere and be a very bad scene.

So, that's why.

The good news is that out of the 32 treated for Heartworm, only 1 of the dogs has retested positive after the treatment. Hogan is the 33rd dog to have Heartworm out of the rescues (that we know of).

Samantha

mudpuppy

Posted : 4/17/2006 4:02:11 PM

can you take gentle, slow on-leash walks where you can control the level of activity? the one time we had to "restrict" the exercise of a dog due to an injury we decided controlled walks on leash were much safer than the antics she managed to engage in due to overwhelming energy despite confinement, fun things like spinning wildly in circles while howling or leaping up and down like a pogo stick.

Samantha

Posted : 4/17/2006 5:23:30 PM

Unfortunately, that, I don't think is an option. The most walk he can do is outside to go potty in our backyard, on leash.

angelamarie

Posted : 4/18/2006 7:26:09 AM

Thank for your the education on heartworm treatment, I never realized what it was like. I give heartworm med year round here in New England, that's what MY vet recommends, others tell patients to skip the winter. I think all pet owners knew what the treatment entails, they wouldn't take a chance at skipping the winter months (which are sometimes quite mild here and there).

Good luck with this, you have certainly been presented a challenge.

Blessings.

Samantha

Posted : 4/18/2006 7:34:33 AM

Thanks

Normally we give during the spring/summer/fall, but from now on Emma (our black lab) will be on it all year round, and once Hogan is better, he will be, too.

Samantha

mudpuppy

Posted : 4/18/2006 8:25:32 AM

it's carried by mosquitoes. There aren't any mosquitoes around after the first frost are there? even if winter is fairly mild the new crop doesn't come out until late spring. Or so I always thought.

Samantha

Posted : 4/18/2006 9:39:26 AM

Yes, it is carried by mosquitos. There aren't really many mosquitos around after the first frost, however, Hogan will require heartworm preventative for the rest of his life, per the doctor, and we'd rather be 'safe' with Emma - especially if we take trips somewhere down south (like we sometimes do in the winter) where there are mosquitos year-round.

Also, being that the heartworm preventative that we'll be using handles worms such as hooks and whips, this will have protection/cure each month and it's also easier to remember to do something on a monthly schedule.

huskymom

Posted : 4/18/2006 10:21:36 AM

Mental stimulation can tire a dog out just as well as physical exercise. Work on obedience. Try clicker training if you don't already. You could even teach your dog the alphabet with target training. That will keep him busy for the whole 4 months unless he's part human. My friend does it with the letters pinned to trees in the yard so she can make her dogs run around. But you could tack them to the cupboards in the kitchen or place them around the floor even.

dogslyfe

Posted : 4/18/2006 10:34:54 AM

Unfortunately, the dog can NOT be moving around during this treatment, even on leash walks (except to potty) or in the house. When they say total crate rest for a dog on hw treatment, they mean total crate rest. To do otherwise may kill the dog.

It may benefit you to check out the DAP diffusers and sprays, to maybe help just a little with anxiety. The problem you're going to have is that the dog REALLY needs to be crated, so taking him out to do stuff is a no-go, and getting in the crate yourself is a no-go as well. It may be helpful to have crates in your most used areas. When Ginger went on total crate rest for her arthitis, we kept crates in the dog room, living room, and our bedroom.

You may be able to teach the dog some toy recognition type stuff, but only as long as he'll do it lying down, and only touch it with his nose.