again, thanks to Sled-Dog_Hotel for the text below.

_____________________________________________
POTENTIAL SEIZURE TRIGGERS

Most seizures seem to occur spontaneously; however, we've found certain chemicals & emotional
stress-factors can trigger a seizure. Any kind of stress to your dog is a potential seizure trigger.

The Guardian Angels have put together a list of things that may trigger seizures in some epis*.
Remember, not all triggers will apply to all epis. In order for something to be considered a seizure trigger,
the time between trigger & seizure is within 30-hours except in the case of vaccinations, which can be
up to 45-days [post-vax].

To reduce seizures, please pay attention to the list below and see if you can avoid a seizure.


Stress Factors:
* Changes in routine -
construction, visitors, new family members, etc; return to school after summer, holidays, vacation,
weddings, adoptions/ births/ deaths, redecorating, Daylight-savings Time...
* Being left alone
* Car Rides
* Visits to the vet
* Thunderstorms
* Changes in barometric-pressure - up or down
* Extreme cold weather
* Flashing lights [TV, camera, Xmas trees, neon, decorative lights, lightning during storms]
* Angry voices
* Loud arguments between people (angry environs are the worst kind of stress)
* Fatigue
* Nervousness
* Anxiety
* Too-long between meals
* Prolonged excitement
* Any changes, sudden, subtle, radical, etc. (food, environment,...)


Medications:
* Vaccinations
* Heartworm - preventives or treatments
* Flea &/or Tick preventives
* Some prescription medications


Yard & Garden:
* Lawn Treatments: fungicide, herbicide, pesticide...
* Fertilizers
* Herbicides
* Insecticides
* Bee, Wasp, Snake or Spider venom
* Toad poisoning
* Cedar shavings (check dog beds or pocket-pet bedding)


Household factors:
* Scented candles
* Perfume
* Loud music
* Cigarette smoke
[EDIT: potpourri, incense, oil-painting hobby?, ANY strong odors]


Household Products:
* Pine-Sol or other cleaners with pine-oil or scent.
* Kerosene for lamps
* Camphor
* Eucalyptus
* Borax or Boric Acid (sometimes used to treat fleas or kill roaches)
* Deck & wall stains
* Polyurethane fumes
* Paint fumes

Foods and Spices:
* Turkey (for some dogs)
* Caffeine
* Walnuts
* Moldy cheese
* Rosemary Oil
* Saffron
* Sage
* Foods with Ethoxyquin, BHA or BHT
* Treats with Ethoxyquin, BHA or BHT
* Rawhide Treats
* Pigs feet
* MSG (sometimes labeled natural flavoring, smoke flavoring, etc)

* Changes in dietary chloride (salt-content) intake -
(a change in food, treats or water) for dogs on Potassium Bromide
_______________________________

'epis': slang abbreviation for epileptic-seizure sufferers.
'Leptos' is another slang-abbrev, AKA epileptics.

Tug of Peace -
go DEADWEIGHT: hang yer whole arm off the dog's jaw like a flour-sack. Don't say anything or look at the dog,
look ===> away or Down; WAIT. Sooner or later, even the most-intense dog loses interest in a one-sided game
with a sack.
each time the dog drops it, promptly Re-present it excitingly for another round - over time, raise the intensity:
lift the dog using the tugee, shake or swing the tugee [and dog], etc.
over time, the dog DROPs on less & less obvious a 'deadweight' cue, until just a second's pause = Drop.
adding a LOOK-AWAY to the pause is even better - look -At- the dog's eyes while tugging, glance off to 'drop'.

add the LABEL 'drop' as the dog does it at least a dozen times, before even attempting to use it
before the dog does it, as a cue - Always combine it with deadweight as a tactile clue;
remember Not to engage with a challenging eye-to-eye stare while expecting her/him to drop the tug.

like everything else, the dog should perform the DROP 4 times of 5 before the label 'drop' is applied,
& it cannot be considered a cue for an action until the verbal alone gets the dog to drop, 4 times of 5.


80% compliance is the gauge for raise criteria, add a label, use a cue, proofing stages, & so on.



Super-Tug -
for a portable emergency distraction, visible RECALL object/cue, or other focus exercises:
find a toy that will become the dog's obsession; choose something long-enuf to keep their teeth off Ur hand,
and large-enuf to be visible from a fair distance if waved overhead or shaken invitingly at arm's-length.
a ball on a rope, a knotted rope, a firehose bumper, a FLAT soft-toy [un-stuffed bunny, other critter],
a rubber figure-8, a small rubber tire on a rope... it must be sturdy, NOT hard like a bone but grippable.
[we don't want chipped, cracked, or broken teeth].

begin by playing with the future-SUPER-tug alone. yes, U read it right:
toss it in the air, shake it, laugh out-loud, talk to Urself... don't be shy, really get into how wonderful this toy is.
then put it away in an inacessible, special place - this toy will never be left out for self-play, chewing, tug between dogs...
it is always & forever for tug between a dog & human only, & very very special.

U can start with just a few seconds, & build to 10 or 15-seconds of playing ALONE with this marvelous toy.
this takes a few days - 2 or 3 - & by now the dog should be twitching with excitement when U approach the door,
drawer, high hook or shelf, etc, where this fantastic toy lives - sadly out of reach of all dogs; their eyes should spark
when they see U reach for it, U can name the toy - "ooh, let's get the Killer-Rabbit down, shall we?..." etc.

then comes the AWESOME day when the dog is allowed to play tug with it!
ooh, how exciting!... make it short n sweet, put it away again. Take it out for a few seconds & play alone, Etc.
within a week or 2, alternating play WITH the dog & play selfishly alone, with lots of Oscar-worthy acting thrills,
the dog should be near-manic about this toy. Start carrying it on walks - if U slip it in a pocket & the rope dangles,
teach the dog that mugging it, even sniffing it, sends the toy back home; this happens BEFORE U take it along.

cautionary tale -
a fellow-trainer damn-near had her pants ripped clean off by an over-excited AmBull who glommed onto a super-tug
in her back-pocket & refused to OUT - this looked funny to onlookers, but she got pretty bruised & hurt her arm,
trying to reach behind herself & get the tug out while being yanked all over like a ragdoll, so DO proof - walk with the toy
dangling in a belt-loop, hanging in a holster, & so on, inside the house, in the garden/yard, etc, before 'on the road'.

OK - U have an obsessed dog at home; now build an obsessed dog AWAY from home: call from mild distractions,
reward with a wild game [teach Tug-of-Peace first so U never have to argue for possession - remember
no Eye-To-Eye challenging stares over the OUT], get the thrills going, lift & swing or shake the dog's forehand,
just a few seconds... back in the pocket / fanny-pack / holster / belt-loop, send the dog off to sniff & play.
use a long-line if their recall is shaky; U can attach a name to the object or the game, Yell TUG & shake
the toy animatedly overhead or out to the side [shake it in front of U & the dog can't pick it out from background],
or just say the dog's Sacred Name & display the Super-Tug invitingly.

build the intensity of distractions slowly, til the dog's Name & the sight or sound of the tug shaken or squeaked
can call the dog off a deer that's in full-flight, wig-wagging a white tail excitingly, or away from mild play
with a well-known buddy - SEND THE DOG BACK to play / sniff always in the early stages, don't sour the response
by leashing the dog when they come in: or play tug BEFORE leashing them up, or leash the dog AND THEN play tug,
AND THEN release the dog... Don't make coming in for the Super-Tug a sign the fun is over.

U now have a visible CUE which when waved about or squeaked can bring Ur dog flying across a soccer-pitch
or 50-yards down a woodland path toward U, with ease. this is power - don't abuse it.

__________________
terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

Dogs In Canada Magazine -- » Colour commentary 1: What

Dogs In Canada Magazine -- » Colour Commentary 2: Does good health and temperament have a coat colour?

Dogs In Canada Magazine -- » Colour Commentary 3: DNA testing for coat colour



Donaldson - Dogs In Canada Magazine -- » Coat colour and behaviour



Dogs In Canada Magazine -- » Coat colours

Public-Service Announcement -
YouTube - ‪Dog Bite Prevention PSA I drsophiayin.com‬‏


Article:
Dog Bite Prevention | Animal Behavior and Medicine Blog | Dr. Sophia Yin, DVM, MS


a free k9 body-language poster of fear & stress in dogs -
Dog Bite Prevention | Animal Behavior and Medicine Blog | Dr. Sophia Yin, DVM, MS


article:
Sophia Yin: Dog Bite Prevention Week: A Time to Take Responsibility for Dog Bites


why kids are bitten more-often...
Why Dogs Bite Children: A Lesson in Preventing Dog Bites in Kids*|*Victoria Stilwell Positively


article -
How to Greet a Dog | Animal Behavior and Medicine Blog | Dr. Sophia Yin, DVM, MS

actually, no - U don't. Dogs are perfectly capable of hearing over their own or others' barking.
additionally, by yelling it seems as tho U're joining in, & it adds more excitement,
not less; it's certainly not a calming influence, at any rate.

rather than yell, whisper - literally. most dogs, just like most people, will listen intently
in order to hear what U are whispering. I often use 'psst...' as if i'm trying to get someone's attention
in a crowded theatre, or if they know the meaning [it does have to be taught], i'll whisper, 'shhhh...'

one sound that i often use as a conditioned interruptor for barking-dogs is the loud crinkle of a chips-bag;
i teach it BEFORE i use it. I wait till the dogs are in another room, or i go to another room,
& rustle the bag; i do nothing else, if they don't respond, i let it go & try again in a few moments.
eventually they'll come investigate, if only out of curiosity or sheer boredom. crinkle the bag,
feed each dog a treat in the approx order of arrival - the only really important one is the Last Dog In,
who has to watch everyone else get treated first.
give them 5-mins to think about that... & do it again.

TIP:
i use an empty snack-size chips-bag, & i put the treats to be given inside it.
the treats are extremely-good, & no bigger than a pea - often half a pea.

in just a couple of days, the crinkle of a chips-bag will bring instant silence & eager jostling to be first,
they can hear it over or thru ANYthing, including a massive thunderstorm - i've used it to break the anxiety
& tension over that next startling BOOM!

__________________
terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

Hands Off My Bone! : The Thoughtful Animal

a study of growls & their social meaning.
that's a 360 growl sample, spread over 3-dozen dogs. Then they played the recordings to one dog
with no other dog present to see how the listening dog reacted to each type of growl.
clearly, the dogs are communicating something more than 'just a growl'.
it carries emotion & intentionality.

try the audio-samples & see if U can hear a difference between the RG-growl & suspicious-stranger growl.



3 more articles on growls -
Dealing With a Growling Dog

Understanding Dog Growling - Why Dogs Growl

Dog Training for Dog Growling - Dealing With A Growling Dog

Great ! its really informative Some info are new for me .....

Hi,

I ready a book by Brenda Aloff called Canine Body Language and would really recommend it. I have spoken with Brenda Aloff since via email and she is always willing to answer questions, which is always a good thing!

These links were great I was worried about this too with my dog. I went to dog training classes on a six week course and we covered body language which was great. It was really helpful in developing my relationship with my dog!! It's definitely an important part of bonding with your dog and helping with their development , and I think so many people just don't seem to take it into account. As well as looking online and reading books, I would recommend classes in your area if you can get any cause they really helped in my case!...I'm from Croydon and this is where I went: Dog School
Good luck with your dogs everyone!!