Monday we had part of the carpet cleaned -- AGAIN! Tandi is a sweetheart, but she's just not getting this whole housebreaking thing. The cleaner told us the scent's probably in the pad now and the only thing to do is pull the carpet back, cut out and replace that part of the pad. But there's no sense doing it until she's housetrained. I asked J-man how he felt about tile. Or Pergo.
In the meantime, the carpet guy said he'd used a dog trainer with his dog, one who came out to the house to work with the dog. He had her call me, and she will come out to the house on Monday to meet Tandi and tell us what she has to offer. The carpet cleaner said he'd paid her $300.00, but I don't know what all she did for that. Of course, we've already paid out >$250.00 since March to clean the carpet, so...
Last Fri. I drove up to DD's in VA to pick up the grandcats. DD is moving from one town to another, now that she's finished grad school, but the new place won't be ready until the end of Aug. As she's taking the month off to visit friends and shake off the last 3 years' stress and studies before starting her new job in Sept., we get custody of the cats.
Meet Eleanor, 3-yr-old (?) rescue kitty:
It's a terrible photo, but she's a little camera shy. She rules the roost at her house, bossing the older male around, smacking him if he looks at her funny. But she's very soft and lovable, and if you sit down, she'll be in your lap in a heartbeat.
Then there's the grumpy old man, Cyrano:
He's also a rescue, having been saved from the pound at 5 months of age. He's been with the family now since 1993, and has been through at least 6 of his nine lives. He's VERY vocal and converses regularly with DD and anyone else who will listen.
After helping DD pack up her kitchen on Saturday, I made the 5 1/2 hour drive back home. Tandi was so excited--Momma brought her some new toys to play with! They're soft like her other stuffies, only these MOVE! Whoopeee! Hide and seek is a fun game, except they never let HER hide. Tag is fun, too, especially when the beige stuffie wheezes!
But then came Thursday -- Tandi's second trip to the groomer since we got her 4 months ago. Just over an hour after dropping her off, the groomer called. "You have to come get your dog. Now."
Seems Tandi went ballistic on them, pooping everywhere, almost strangling herself on the noose, growling, snapping and trying to bite them, lunging at them from the crate. Tandi? My dog who's so timid, she won't come up on the porch if the delivery man has left a box there? Who's so scared of the new flowers on the hostas she has to take a different route to the potty place?
I drove down there right away. Tandi was so frightened, she wouldn't come out of the crate even for me. I had to get down on my knees to pull her out, and she was trembling. The groomer was freaked out, and her husband, who just got out of the hospital, was lifting his shirt to show me where Tandi scratched him. (I didn't see a thing.) On the plus side, they got her bathed and trimmed, though not dried, and the hair was gone from in front of her ears, so I could see the ear infection she had going on. Okay, that might account for a little sensitivity, but not the behavior they described. Does this look like the face of Cujo to you?
So today we made a trip to the vet to rule out any other medical conditions or illnesses that might trigger this behavior. Nothing else is going on, except a tooth that needs cleaning. It's just a part of this whole fear issue she has, and her attempt to protect herself from percieved danger. He recommends much more desensitization, and agreed that some of the herbal remedies or aromatherapy would be worth trying. I already brush her with a lavender spray, and he suggested soaking her collar in something lavenderish before going for a ride (which also frightens her). If all else fails, we might have to resort to doggy Prozac. I think I'm going to have to find another groomer, though.
Poor little thing. Makes me wonder just what her previous owners did to her. At the risk of sounding vindictive, I hope what goes around really does come back around to them.
2 comments:
too sweet!! Poor puppy. If your groomer is making a big deal out of a scratch, I'd find another one regardless!! My cat bit our vet at bath time and their attitude was "occupational hazard." You might see if she'll let you do her grooming. I know that my (psomewhat psycho) kitty would let me take care of her (drops in ears and eyes and pills and such) when no one else could come near her. She's currently sitting on my arms and wrists,...making it hard to type. All of our animals have been rescued too. Good luck with the potty training, Febreeze makes a "smoke and animal odor" strength that really worked on a used car we bought.
Thanks for the suggestion about the febreze--will have to look for that at the store.
Tandi's great at letting me fool with her nails, her ears, putting ointment in her eyes and cleaning or putting solution in her ears. I really think the groomer was just too stressed to give Tandi the time she needs to adjust to new things. I WILL be finding a new one.
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