Your dog adores you. She follows you around and wants to be near you all the time. And that’s wonderful – until you must go away. Then your dog howls or barks or chews on things until you return. This is called separation anxiety. Unless you can stay home 24/7 or take the dog with you everywhere you go, you must deal with this issue (or replace a lot of shoes and furniture and endure the wrath of neighbors). To make things worse, sometimes this condition is your fault. I know: I’m guilty too.
I was getting ready to go out in the yard and do some work. Marie was resting on the sofa. I informed Marie I was going outside and asked if she needed anything before I left. She said, “Just take Blondie with you: she goes spastic every time you leave the house.”
Blondie has a mild separation anxiety issue. When I leave, she paces through the house peering out all the windows to see where I’ve gone.
Blondie is needy. She spent most of her life in an extremely neglectful situation and was totally withdrawn when she was rescued. We fostered her and helped her come out of her shell. We fell in love with the affectionate, silly girl she became and adopted her. Gun fire and thunder make her very nervous and she comes to me for comforting. I stroke her head to ease her anxiety. That’s the wrong thing to do, but I’ve done it.
We spend all of almost every day together. Blondie follows me around like a golden shadow. Sometimes she comes and asks for skritchies, and I’ll give them for a short time. She is accustomed to my being here, when I leave she gets anxious. But she’s a good girl: never misbehaves, she just runs around looking for me. I’m lucky: many people have dogs that do bad things when they are left alone. If yours is one of them, here’s what this is and how to deal with it.
In part 1, we discussed how to introduce your adult dog to a new dog. This time I want to discuss the importance of socialization between your dog and other people.
Socialization of Dogs and People
Dogs are social creatures. By their nature, they usually get along well with people: unless they have reason not to. Any animal that is abused by a person can learn to mistrust, avoid, and fear people. That’s a blanket statement, so it is true only in the most general terms. If a dog knows only its abuser, then she will most likely fear all people. If a dog is abused by a man, but his wife is kind to her, she may well fear only men. An abusive teenager with kind and gentle (though not very attentive) parents may instill a socialization age bias.
Puppies
Socialization of a puppy is pretty simple: once he’s had all his shots and the vet gives you the OK, simply expose the puppy to other people in a positive way. Rarely will a puppy pick up a disease from a person, but if these people also have a dog, this is a danger to your puppy. Begin this socialization as early as you can, so the pup doesn’t become fixated on you. Normally, puppies are very friendly and gregarious; socializing with people should not be an issue. Making interaction with other people a regular part of their life will keep them that way.
Last Thursday Marie completed a project she had begun some time ago: making some cushy pads for dog beds or dog houses for the outside dogs. These are two sided with batting in between like a quilt, but not quilted. She used normal fabric for the coverings, which may not last long. But she said, if they get some enjoyment out of them for a while it will be worth the effort.
When I set up Faith’s dog house I put the blankets she had in there already on top of the new pad for extra cush, and to protect the thin fabric of the new pad. I think she liked it.
Later, Marie went to visit with Fredia Haley, owner of Foothills of the Smoky’s Quilt Shop. Marie and Fredia had been talking dog beds for a while and Fredia donated to Piney Mountain Foster a bolt of sturdy upholstery fabric that will make many, dog pads that will stand up to use better. It’s even a great color for us!
Thank you Fredia!
Fredia saves fabric scraps for us to use as bed stuffing, but someone in her shop keeps throwing them out. (pout) But we appreciate Fredia just the same.
I put one in Rosco’s dog house too, but no sooner did I get his kennel door closed than he was in there shredding it. So his lasted maybe 40 seconds. Faith’s went several days before she started chewing the corners, and I suspect that was because she keeps her chew toys gathered in her dog house since I started putting blankets in there. She was probably chewing a toy and the pad got in the way. Once fiberfill peeks out dogs tend to find it great fun to pull that stuff out. She unstuffed a handful of it. I cleaned that up and wrapped the white blanket around the damaged end of the pad and she’s left it alone since.
Major’s pad has one small hole in because he plays with it a little, but he has not tried to unstuff it. Major seems the most civilized of the whole lot: keeping his kennel pristine and taking care of his comforts and toys. He was pleased to get it too (see the video above).
I’m sure Marie will be putting that bolt of fabric to good use, especially as the weather turns colder and having an insulated pad to sit on will feel great for them.
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Dogs are by nature, social creatures. Even in the wild, they exist in packs: social units that allow for sharing resources, mutual protection and companionship. For domesticated dogs there are two types of socialization: getting along with other dogs, and getting along with people.
There would be a third type if you want to include dogs getting along with other species of animals. However, taking a dog that has grown up thinking that cats, hamsters chickies, rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs, birds, (whatever you have) are food and teaching it to see them as a friend is beyond my scope or ability.
The most common socialization problem we see here at Piney Mountain Foster Care is dogs who were neglected. Sometimes this is a dog that was chained in the yard, given enough food and water to survive, but that’s about it. No love, no personal care. Blondie was one such dog. When taken in by the Dr. Carol Hood Memorial Animal Shelter, she was so withdrawn and depressed she acted as though she were autistic. More often the problem is a family that decided having a puppy would be fun, but they had no idea how to train it. So the bouncy, happy-go-lucky ball of fur turns into a bouncy, happy-go-lucky dog weighing 30 to 60 pounds and hasn’t got a clue how to behave any way other than what has always done: just being its happy-go-lucky self. This proves inconvenient for the family, so they take it to the shelter to be rid or it — or abandon it somewhere to become someone else’s problem.
In October of 2017 we started working with a dog named Roscoe at Newport Animal Control. Roscoe is your stereotypical “pitbull”: big blocky build, bulging with muscles, square head, and a heart of gold. Roscoe lacked training of any kind, so he was enthusiastic in his bids for attention. This could be terrifying to the uninitiated, so it was doubtful that Roscoe would ever get adopted by a good home as he was.
Roscoe came to Piney Mountain Foster for day camp sessions so I could work with him for a new program NAC had become part of called Universal K9, which trained shelter dogs, specifically “pitbulls” to be police dogs. To qualify, the dog needed to perform a series of tasks on video. Universal K9 would review the video and decide if the dog qualifies for their training. Sadly, Roscoe did not qualify. But we could not let this big handsome boy languish at Animal Control, so we took him in for fostering and began searching for a breed specific rescue that might help him find a home. While we did that we taught him some manners, house broke him, and he became part of our pack.
Another dog rescuer, I’ll call her Grandma – she will not like that but I’ll do it anyway – had visited here and fell in love with Roscoe. She has several pits of her own and loves the breed. Her daughter and son-in law were looking for a dog, and Grandma thought Roscoe would be just what they need. These young people, I’ll call them Mommy and Daddy, were about to have a child: Little One. Daddy’s work kept him away from home a lot and he wanted a watch dog to look after Mommy. Mommy wanted a companion animal. Roscoe fit both bills. They came and met him several times, then took him home. He quickly became a family member and Mommy’s protector.
When Little One was born, Grandma took the blanket that the nurses had wrapped her in after birth home and gave it to Roscoe. He was fascinated with this new scent and kept it close. When Little One came home, Roscoe already knew her and was instantly bonded to this little pink people-puppy. He instinctively knew to be gentle with her, and he became her guardian too.
I have heard several touching stories about these two and how protective and attentive Roscoe is of Little One, but I want to relate to you their latest adventure. First, you must understand that these two are inseparable. Best Buds. Little One recently learned to walk. On this particular day, Little One scampered down the hall to her room and shoved the door closed before Roscoe came in. Realizing that they were separated, and she was trapped inside, Little One began to scream. Roscoe began battering the door with his head, causing a noise that resounded through the house. Mommy came running to see what was happening. When she opened the door, Roscoe rushed in, sniffed Little One thoroughly, then checked the room. Finding all in order, he left the room leaving Mommy to deal with Little One.
Later, Little One repeated her stunt, began screaming after the door slammed, but Roscoe stayed where he was, lifted his head to look at Mommy as though to say, “She’s your kid, you deal with it this time.”
He is a devoted protector of both Mommy and Little One, but no fool.
Roscoe is huge. He is a pitbull’s pitbull, and he looks formidable. But, as is typical of this breed, Roscoe is as devoted and loving of his family, and especially Little One, as can be.
9/22/20, 1:26 PM
Lori sent September 22, 2020
I wanted to tell you what Dozier”AKA Roscoe did. Little one as you eloquently put it learned to open the front door and escaped while mom was in the kitchen. Dozier started crying and banging his head on the glass which of course alerted Mommy. He saved her yet again. I cannot thank you enough for this wonderful boy.
2/23/21, 8:00 PM
Lori sent Today at 8:00 PM
I wanted to thank you for Roscoe aka Dozier on 2 occasion’s he has saved Little One. Mommy woke up this morning just before 7 to Dozier raising a ruckus. My very smart and mischievous grand daughter had opened the gate to the kitchen and then the outside door. Little One was standing in the front yard in her little gown and he couldn’t get to her. This precious boy got Mommy up and let her know where Little One was. I couldn’t ask for a better guardian for my 2 year old granddaughter. Thank you for saving this beautiful boy.
A Little History
In the mid to late 1800’s Staffordshire Bull Terriers (the proper name for what is typically known as a pitbull) were known as The Nanny Dog because of their devotion to their family and especially the children. It is a true shame that greedy humans engaging in blood-sports for profit have ruined the reputation of this amazing breed of dog. Roscoe is a perfect example of what a Staffy is actually like. And we are so grateful that he was adopted into a loving family who let him fill the roll he was created to fill.
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This silly Snoozer is obviously comfortable with his crate.
When used properly, crate training provides you and your dog with multiple benefits. For you it provides a simple, effective means of restricting your dog when you cannot provide close supervision. If your dog is an explorer, he may get into things that will harm him. If she’s a chewer, your home may suffer from allowing her to roam unsupervised. Crating also helps with housebreaking because a dog has a natural aversion to soiling its own sleeping space.
For your dog crate training offers a safe haven, a room or space of his own. It is a familiar place. Whether you go on the road or just move around a large home, having a place of his own brings your dog a feeling of safety. If your dog is ill or just been spayed or neutered, a familiar crate is quite comforting. A crate is effective in combating separation anxiety or fear of a thunderstorm because of the snug, safe feeling an enclosed crate can provide.
Canine Hypothyroidism is the reduced function (hypo) of the thyroid gland. The thyroid is a butterfly shaped gland in the neck, on the trachea, and makes a hormone called thyroxine that controls metabolism. When the gland doesn’t make enough thyroxine, the dogs metabolism slows abnormally.
It’s a common disease in dogs that can affect all breeds, but it is most often found in medium to large breeds like Golden Retrievers, Doberman Pinchers, Irish Setters, Dachshunds, Boxers, Cocker Spaniels — and bulldogs. It usually occurs in middle-aged dogs (ages 4 to 10) and neutered males and spayed females are at a higher risk, though experts are not sure why. In most cases hypothyroidism is caused by your dog’s own immune system attacking his thyroid gland!
Bristol has canine pneumonia. He started coughing on Sunday, by Monday morning it was a continuous thing if he got active at all. A deep, rattly cough that ended with an ejection of phlegm. No blood (thankfully), so an embolism is not indicated. I contacted our Vet Tech, Alicia.
Because he is ill, Bristol has lost his seat on this weekend’s Rolling Rescue run. Hopefully he will be well again by the Rescue run in two weeks.
Parasitic pneumonia in dogs is often caused by lungworms directly or from the migration of other worms (e.g. heartworms) through the lung. 9 out of every 69 dogs (13%) treated for heartworm also develop pneumonia. At this stage (he’s just finishing his recovery period), I do not think the pneumonia was caused by heartworm migration, because they should all be long dead. However, the dead worm tissue in his lungs may have opened a path for a bacterial infection that resulted in pneumonia. Heart disease or heart failure can lead to pneumonia; perhaps this is aftermath of his heartworm infestation and damage to his heart. The heart damage should heal in time. His lungs may have been irritated by the couple of cold, damp nights we had.
Symptoms of Canine Pneumonia
The hallmark symptom shown by dogs suffering from pneumonia is coughing (although of course not all coughing dogs have pneumonia). In addition, watch out for these symptoms:
This is a foster dog diary post about Rosco. New information will be added to the end of this post so all info on this dog is kept in one place and in chronological order. If you subscribe for updates, a short note will be sent when updates are posted. If you don’t subscribe, check back periodically to see what’s been added.
Last Updated: Nov. 15
Rosco Steele is one of several siblings who were rescued from a hoarding situation and have been in foster care. His sister, Sable, was staying with us until just recently. I can definitely see the family traits.
In chronological order, newest at the bottom. Some pictures are linked to a more detailed Doggy Tale about that update, click those to open the related story.
Gallery
Sept 21
Rosco is definitely Sable’s brother! Their mannerisms are so much alike its spooky. Like Sable, he is affection starved, like Sable he is really rowdy, like Sable he has no clue how to properly interact with people. But these things are why he is here at Piney Mountain: we will teach him these and he will become a good pet for someone. Like Sable, he will always be an active dog, suited for a family that likes a lot of activity, not a family that wants a couch potato.
So far he is getting along great with his kennel-neighbors, Major and Faith. He does not stir up trouble. His most annoying habit is to “yip, yip, yip” all night long if I leave him outside with the others. To combat that I take him inside the bunkhouse and crate him. He’s not fond of that, but Faith and Major get jealous because they both want very much to be House Dogs and try to get through the gate to the bunkhouse when I let them out for their late night potty runs if I take Rosco inside first. Once everything settles down, Rosco does too and he seems to sleep all night. So far he has not torn up the blanket in his crate either.
Sept 23
This morning was the first time he left me alone to clean his kennel and went off to explore the play yard. Before this he tended to be with me, underfoot and in the way as he demanded attention, while I worked. My neighbor was out watering her garden and Rosco decided she needed barking at, so that helped to draw him away for a while. He also peed in the yard for the first time I praised him lavishly for that, hopefully it will encourage him to do that more often.
He is also sleeping through the night once I crate him in the bunkhouse. I get him out again as soon as possible in the morning and he has not messed up his crate.
Sept 29
For the past three nights Rosco has been sleeping outside with his foster friends instead of being herded inside the bunkhouse to be crated so he doesn’t keep the whole mountain awake with his shrill (and LOUD) barking. He seems to have learned that being well behaved means he gets to stay out with his friends.
Last night he did get into a session of howling between 2:30 and 3:30, but it was a soft “wooo, wooo, wooo” and it was intermittent. I doubt it disturbed anyone. I probably would not have heard it had I not been awake anyway.
Oct 4
Yesterday Marie got home late because she stopped for groceries on the way. Feeding time for all of us was later than normal as a result.
I was out feeding the foster dogs and Rosco started growling, snarling, and barking viciously: his back was up and teeth showing. But he was facing the back of the kennels. “What in the world is going on here?” I wondered, and I began looking to see what he was so upset about.
Then I realized: the setting sun was casting my shadow on the back wall of the kennels and he was trying to defend us all from this dark intruder.
Rosco is a knucklehead sometimes, but quite devoted.
Oct. 11
Not much progress this week. He’s a little better at leash walking, but I have to keep him of a really short lead or he runs circles around me and binds my legs. He also still has the bad habit of refusing to pee in the yard, but waiting until he’s back in his room, then squatting like a girl and flooding his room again.
There was another dog that a rescue wanted to pull from Animal Control, and wanted me to foster for a few weeks. But I didn’t have room since none of my current fosters are ready to be in-house dogs. SO I decided to build another kennel. A temporary job, but secure and comfy. Given Rosco’s propensity to pee all over, I decided to move him into the temp-kennel and let Ford have Kennel #2 — once I’d power washed and sanitized it really well.
Well, Ford got pulled by another agency the day before I finished this kennel. I had to make a door from scratch, that took longer than I’d thought. But Rosco seems to actually be happier where he is than he ever was in the “good” kennel. Probably because he’d been on dirt since he was born, and that’s what he’s used to. He’s drinking less water, peeing less, and is willing to use the yard. Go figure!
Nov 12
The past month has seen slow improvement in Rosco’s behavior. He has come to the realization that he gets more affection when he is not a whirling dervish trying to demand my attention by nipping at my hands and tripping me. He is much better at walking on a leash. And he is doing more solo-play (exploration) in the yard, instead of being always running tight circles around my legs.
He is energetic. He will ALWAYS be energetic. His thought processes are frantic, so his attention levels are low. He is still food-centric, so training with treats is counterproductive. Using petting works better.
Nov. 15
We said our “farewell”s to Rosco yesterday as he boarded the rescue bus to New Jersey. He did us proud. Earlier in the day he had blood drawn for a heartworm test, he sat still and didn’t even flinch at teh needle stick.
He was talkative (yippy) as we drove hither and yon, but wasn’t thrashing around in his crate.
When we got to the transport site he walked calmly to the staging area and was timid but controlled as other people greeted him. He let me lift him into his crate and entered willingly.
In short: he behaved like a normal dog, which has been our goal all along. Good boy, Rosco, and happy tails to you!
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Faith went to Cedarwood Veterinary Hospital yesterday. The intent was for them to sedate her and do a thorough examination of her teeth and gums to see why they were bleeding a few days ago.
I had gone into her kennel and found blood on the floor and her chew toy was bloody. I removed the toy and gave her a rope chew instead. Then I messaged Doctor Sandra. She said to bring Faith in for an exam.
I was concerned by this development because when I worked at the Humane Society of Jefferson County I’d seen several rescue deals get aborted when it was discovered the dog had bad teeth. Repairing that is expensive, an expense many rescues are not willing or able to take on. I feared that if this was the case with Faith, her deal with A.R.N.N.E. would get nixed.
Before she came here, Faith had spent some time at Cedarwood. Dr. Sandra pulled her from Animal Control out of fear that they were about to euthanize her. Dr. Sandra asked if I could foster Faith while they looked for an adoptive home. At that time I was full, but an opening would happen in a few days. So Faith was boarded at Cedarwood until I had an open kennel. The Cedarwood staff became fond of Faith during her stay there.
When Faith and I arrived, the office manager had me fill out the standard permissions form that authorized them to do lab work, administer sedation, and perform various (incrementally more expensive) monitoring during “surgery”. I did not authorize the high end stuff (triple digit expenses) since this was supposed to be a dental exam not major surgery. Still, the lab work and sedation would run a couple hundred dollars, not counting any work to be done, if it was needed.
I asked that I be called if work needed to be done. This would be an expense I would have to bear because Animal Control could not and would not, and A.R.N.N.E. would probably either back out of the rescue offer or prefer the work be done by their own vet partner, to control costs. Then I went home and waited.
At 4:30 I had received no call and decided I’d better go pick her up before they close at 5:00.
Rebecca came out and explained that Faith had allowed them to examine her teeth without being sedated (I’m not sure how they did that since she wouldn’t let me get more than a peek in there – just enough to know she was bleeding) and they found some abrasions that had healed but the teeth and gums are in fine shape. Even having just a level 2 tartar: which is low, especially for a 6 to 7 year old dog. They even clipped her nails for me.
That was wonderful news! I was afraid that bad teeth would kill the interest that A.R.N.N.E. had in her. Now I can report that her teeth are great!
“How much do I owe you?” I asked, pulling out my wallet.
“Rebecca shrugged, “We didn’t do anything worth charging you for. Besides, it’s Faith. We love her.”
I DO love Cedarwood!
So I took her home and updated Christine, my contact at A.R.N.N.E., that everything was fine and we are still on track for a Nov 11th departure. It’s all good!
Your dog adores you. She follows you around and wants to be near you all the time. And that’s wonderful – until you must go away. Then your dog howls or barks or chews on things until you return. This is called separation anxiety. Unless you can stay home 24/7 or take the dog with you everywhere you go, you must deal with this issue (or replace a lot of shoes and furniture and endure the wrath of neighbors). To make things worse, sometimes this condition is your fault. I know: I’m guilty too.
