Vet appointment results. The good AND the bad.

[angelbears]

I feel you, Kris. I'm sorry if I'm coming off as negative. I just don't like putting anything under and even more so with the deep chested dogs. Hell, every day hundreds of mastiffs are sedated and have no problems at all. I know that with full anesthesia mastiffs in general need less and not all vets are aware of this. I know you have the balls to remind your vet of this and insist that she researches the protocols when sedating a mastiff.

Ruger will be fine and you will laugh your ass off once you get home and watch Ruger coming down from his first "high"

 

[Sadies Mom]

I was a nervous wreck when they sedated Sadie, but it was more so for her safety. Doing an ultrasound might be a little different as the dog has to be in compromising positions. I dropped her of and picked her up a few hours later and she was totally fine. They wanted to keep her for a few hours for observation just to be sure her levels where "normal" (there is nothing normal with my baby girl, lol).

 

[QY10]

The poor guy. I can't imagine how hard this is on the both of you. I would be afraid of sedating, too, but I hope it gives you both peace of mind and the vet can be a less traumatic experience for everyone involved.

Glad to hear that Magnum is a healthy boy. Demodex can be quite the bitch!

 

[Smokeycat]

Kryten had to be sedated each time he needed X-rays as the position needed isn't natural. Add the fact that he just fits on to their X-ray table it was safer to sedate than risk him falling off the table. The first time was the worst for me but it was tempered by the need to know what was wrong. It did get easier after the first time but I never liked it.

 

[Rugers-Kris]

I completely agree with you which is why this is so difficult for me but he has have his check up and blood work so I am going to do it and hope for the best. One of the reasons I am going to do this is the confidence i my vet who does know so much about mastiffs. I just wish Friday would get here so we could get it over with already. Ruger high will no doubt be something to see. LOL

I feel you, Kris. I'm sorry if I'm coming off as negative. I just don't like putting anything under and even more so with the deep chested dogs. Hell, every day hundreds of mastiffs are sedated and have no problems at all. I know that with full anesthesia mastiffs in general need less and not all vets are aware of this. I know you have the balls to remind your vet of this and insist that she researches the protocols when sedating a mastiff.

Ruger will be fine and you will laugh your ass off once you get home and watch Ruger coming down from his first "high"

I am a nervous wreck, too. It is nice to hear stories of those that have been sedated and were just fine after. Poor Sadie....Not normal.

I was a nervous wreck when they sedated Sadie, but it was more so for her safety. Doing an ultrasound might be a little different as the dog has to be in compromising positions. I dropped her of and picked her up a few hours later and she was totally fine. They wanted to keep her for a few hours for observation just to be sure her levels where "normal" (there is nothing normal with my baby girl, lol).

Thank you. Yes, getting rid of the demodex was difficult and very pricey.

The poor guy. I can't imagine how hard this is on the both of you. I would be afraid of sedating, too, but I hope it gives you both peace of mind and the vet can be a less traumatic experience for everyone involved.

Glad to hear that Magnum is a healthy boy. Demodex can be quite the bitch!

Thanks for sharing another "mine did and was fine" story. It does help. I am still a nervous wreck of course but it helps. LOL

Kryten had to be sedated each time he needed X-rays as the position needed isn't natural. Add the fact that he just fits on to their X-ray table it was safer to sedate than risk him falling off the table. The first time was the worst for me but it was tempered by the need to know what was wrong. It did get easier after the first time but I never liked it.

 

[mountainfila]

Just out of curiosity , when at what age did Ruger start showing signs of not liking strangers?

 

[Rugers-Kris]

about 7 - 9 months

Just out of curiosity , when at what age did Ruger start showing signs of not liking strangers?

 

[Rugers-Kris]

Why do you ask? AT 6 or 7 months he started being more aloof and not caring to be bothered by people and it just went from there. By the time he was a year old he had zero tolerance for strangers. He doesn't react to anything...people, dogs, noises...Anything like that and will simply ignore distractions as long as people do not approach us and get in the "zone".

Just out of curiosity , when at what age did Ruger start showing signs of not liking strangers?

 

[mountainfila]

And before the 7-9 months how was his temp/attitude before that? And at the point of him acting aggressive to strangers, what was it that set him off?

 

[Rugers-Kris]

Before that he didn't seek people out but had already bonded with my "group" of people in my life. Nothing really "set him off". He just gradually became less and less accepting of strangers and as I noticed it, I made people respect his space. What sets him off is anything he perceives as a threat. Otherwise you couldn't ask for a better dog. Calm, confident, capable......First dog I have ever owned that doesn't "react" to outside stimulus of any kind. When he was a baby, he had a fear period or two but otherwise I have never had to work with him as far as new surroundings or noises. Of course, he was socialized like crazy since I took him everywhere with me (I still do) but was surprisingly confident in new situations.

And before the 7-9 months how was his temp/attitude before that? And at the point of him acting aggressive to strangers, what was it that set him off?

 

[mountainfila]

So what your saying is you trained the people to stay away from him , so in turn you were enforcing his behaviour to act this way and hes been in that state of mind ever since because you corrected the people instead of the dog. So the conversation you were having with him, was telling him its ok to act this way and you became weak and he took over as the leader. And now that he is close to 200lbs, I bet it makes you very anxious when he has to be in close proximity to people because you already know what his reaction will be, he is reading your body language constantly and he becomes insecure in those situations because you become weak so he feels the need to take charge of the situation.

 

[Rugers-Kris]

Ok, for starters...You are WAY off! WAY OFF!! There was nothing to correct him for. Did you correct your dogs and force them to be touched by people? It isn't a state of mind, it is his temperament. I am not weak, where did you come up with that? He isn't leading anything. I am in charge and always have been. He is well trained, follows commands and know who is boss. He is over 200 pounds and in case you missed my last statement, I take him most everywhere I go and I am not at all anxious about it...Why would I be? He isn't a crazy, lunging lunatic. He is a calm, well behaved dog. I take him (and Magnum) to work with me everyday. I walk both dogs at the same time every evening without issue. I take them to walking parks and get togethers, friends homes, the gun range when I go shooting, my childrens homes and the list goes on.

I am not sure how you came up with your "take" on my dogs but you couldn't be more wrong. I assume you either didn't read what I was saying or chose to ignore and create your own story. Either way, you are completely mistaken. If he were in charge or I were anxious about him, I wouldn't be able to take them with me everywhere. I didn't say we had a single issue with any except that he doesn't tolerate strangers and doesn't want to be touched by them and I don't see where they says anything negative about me or him.

You would have to look hard to find a dog that is as well balanced as Ruger and I can't imagine that is a bad thing.

So, my question is....Do you find his lack of tolerance for strangers unacceptable because he isn't a Fila? Is that what this is all about?

I don't appreciate your insults or your assumptions and can't for the life of me imagine how you came up with all of that silliness to begin with.

 

[mountainfila]

If you feel I insulted you im sorry, that was not my intention, all I was trying to figure out is when and what triggered him to act so aggressive towards people. And to answer your question, yes I do correct my dogs when they act aggressive, im in charge and what I say goes and they trust my lead, they don't like it but they respect me. I take my filas with me everywhere also but it doesn't stop me from being anxious at times, its human nature to have different feelings at different times and unfortunately the dogs pick up on these emotions even if we think we are fine. You even said yourself that you are nervous when you have to take him to the vet, so yes that is you going into a weak state of mind, it doesn't mean your a weak person altogether, so don't think that is what im saying. He may be well trained but it doesn't mean he is balanced, a balanced dog is not an aggressive dog. And it has nothing to do with him not being a fila , if it was his true temp he would be aggressive to all humans, all the time including extended family and friends. When he does act aggressive to people what do you do, how does he respond to you?

 

[Rugers-Kris]

Calling somebody weak is an insult regardless of the topic. If you have read everything I wrote then you already know that I do have control of Ruger and at no time did he lunge at or move toward the person. Also, I previously stated that I CAN and DO control Ruger while at the vet and am confident in doing so. My initial post about giving him something to take the edge off and had nothing to do with my being anxious or weak. It was an attempt to see if anyone had ever done so with their dogs. AGAIN...not because I was anxious or unable to control him but because I was considering it to make it easier for HIM not me. I will be sedating him now because the vet is uncomfortable and as I explained, I understand their point. I am not sure how he is not well balanced because he doesn't tolerate strangers and is good with those that he has bonded with. You will need to explain that to me. I recall you having a visitor (family I believe) in your home and your dogs were fine but they don't tolerate strangers. It is without a doubt, his temperament AND he is well trained in that he knows who is boss and follows commands. I will say again that I am not at all ANXIOUS to take Ruger out and about. I pay attention to what is going on around to be safe but I did that prior to Ruger as that is MY temperament. When he gets aggressive I tell him to stop and he does. In the event that someone reaches out toward me or him, he will respond but I can and do control it. I am aware that dogs pick up on emotions as Ruger is very in tune with me and does pick up on my feelings, however, he is not responding to strangers in accordance to my anxiety as I am not anxious about it. It is who he is and it is just a part of my life that I deal with daily without issue. As for Yesterday at the vet, he responded to my command and added a little extra growling/snarling to be an ass (I am sure your dogs or anyone elses have done the same) and I told him to knock it off and he did...Like yours, He didn't like but he did it because I am in charge.

If you feel I insulted you im sorry, that was not my intention, all I was trying to figure out is when and what triggered him to act so aggressive towards people. And to answer your question, yes I do correct my dogs when they act aggressive, im in charge and what I say goes and they trust my lead, they don't like it but they respect me. I take my filas with me everywhere also but it doesn't stop me from being anxious at times, its human nature to have different feelings at different times and unfortunately the dogs pick up on these emotions even if we think we are fine. You even said yourself that you are nervous when you have to take him to the vet, so yes that is you going into a weak state of mind, it doesn't mean your a weak person altogether, so don't think that is what im saying. He may be well trained but it doesn't mean he is balanced, a balanced dog is not an aggressive dog. And it has nothing to do with him not being a fila , if it was his true temp he would be aggressive to all humans, all the time including extended family and friends. When he does act aggressive to people what do you do, how does he respond to you?

 

[mountainfila]

I just thought I could maybe help you figure out a solution so you didn't have to sedate him just for a check up.

 

[Rugers-Kris]

I really don't think there is no other option, I don't want to change vets since this vet is fantastic and has finally resolved the demodex with Magnum and that has been ongoing. She has lots of knowledge on Mastiff's and has no issue with the boys not being neutered and the truth is that changing vets probably would end in the same result. I can and do have the confidence and ability to control Ruger but it isn't realistic to expect a vet to have enough faith in that and I understand that. We have had his vet appointments before and although he was less than pleased, we got through it with just me holding him but the bigger he gets, the more intimidating he looks and I am not going to find someone that is willing to take the risk. Even muzzled, if he broke loose in that room and I couldn't control him, he could do some serious damage. I know that I wouldn't let that happen but it is quite a leap of faith for someone who sees him once a year. At this point I am trying to look at the positive side (Even though I am so worried about the sedation) because he will be out we can have a very thorough examination rather than just get the blood drawn and get out.

I just thought I could maybe help you figure out a solution so you didn't have to sedate him just for a check up.

 

[Hector]

Here is Dr. Sophia Yin's low stress handling video that is a good watch.


[video=youtube;sppYXbcwdJg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sppYXbcwdJg[/video]

If you want, you can try restraining the dog this way as shown at 2:13 (the hand that goes around the head will be anchored behind your head. the other arm holds the dog behind the elbows to restrain his mov'ts.) The other rear should be stopped with a foot or knee. I can't find the original demonstration by Dr. Sophia Yin. I don't know how effective this will be with a huge huge dog like yours.

[video=youtube;S5d06PtuJCY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5d06PtuJCY[/video]


last two pics

Students and Veterinarians Learn Low Stress Veterinary Handling | Animal Behavior and Medicine Blog | Dr. Sophia Yin, DVM, MS

 

[Rugers-Kris]

As I have already stated several times. I don't have any problem restraining Ruger. He has been to many vet appointments and I have restrained him alone for every one of them by myself without issue. The problem is that He is very big and very intimidating and although I have and can......I am asking outside people to just have faith in that. The reality is that if Ruger were to break loose (even muzzled) he could cause a great deal of damage to people. I KNOW that he won't but I have to be honest and tell you if I was on the outside looking in, I wouldn't want to take my word for it either.

Here is Dr. Sophia Yin's low stress handling video that is a good watch.


[video=youtube;sppYXbcwdJg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sppYXbcwdJg[/video]

If you want, you can try restraining the dog this way as shown at 2:13 (the hand that goes around the head will be anchored behind your head. the other arm holds the dog behind the elbows to restrain his mov'ts.) The other rear should be stopped with a foot or knee. I can't find the original demonstration by Dr. Sophia Yin. I don't know how effective this will be with a huge huge dog like yours.

[video=youtube;S5d06PtuJCY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5d06PtuJCY[/video]


last two pics

Students and Veterinarians Learn Low Stress Veterinary Handling | Animal Behavior and Medicine Blog | Dr. Sophia Yin, DVM, MS

 

[swanguy7]

Lol the last several post were a interesting read RUGERS and MOUNTAINFILA ;-) I can see reading from the outside of your quarrel how things could be taken the wrong way lol I just woke up and having my first coffee when reading your posts . Right or wrong MOUNTAINFILA is not backward in coming fwd lol than his apology was interesting and slightly funny as it than only half still said the same stuff as in the original post lol . Not saying anything bad about mountain just saying he apology wasn't much different than he's original post that got you bit cranky RUGERS. Was just a funny read is all maybe I have a weird sense of humour lol

 

[swanguy7]

Also I understand what your saying ruger and think you handled yourself well ;-) just thought was a interesting read to wake up to lol ;-)