Simon, good that you noticed his odd behavior.

OK, so cut back to half rations today, no added goodies like tuna. Probably not a bad idea to skip his morning meal.

It could be the increased volume of food that triggered it, or the addition of tuna (fat source), or a combo of both.

How's he doing now, Simon? Are you giving his riled-up gut a bit of a fast (but plenty of water, baited if necessary)?

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

How's he doing now, Simon? Are you giving his riled-up gut a bit of a fast (but plenty of water, baited if necessary)?

He had another bout of diarrhea (not as watery as earlier) at 8am (my wife took him out) and didn't have to poop at 11:30am (we decided to take him out every 3 hours or as necessary until his diarrhea gets better.. which looks like it might be). Tried feeding him just dry kibble with some soup after his 8am poop/walk and he didn't eat any. I agree that the fish should be kept out for now. He has access to plenty of water. We've noticed that he drinks waters in spurts (always been like this)... like when he drinks he goes for like 30 seconds (literally not exaggerating). Not sure if that means anything. How do you bait a dog to drink water?

Thank you folks for your inputs and concern. Can't express how appreciative I am of this community.

You poach (or boil) some chicken or any meat and then cool that water down for him to drink. I highly recommend it; you don't want him even slightly dehydrated.

If it's not skinless chicken, then chill the resulting water and lift off and discard the hardened fat (because of the diarrhea).

I'd let him go 12 hours with no food and then when he is back to normal poops, give him smaller-than-usual meals for a day or so. Some of that poached meat and a little of the baited water added in will probably make it more enticing.

 Quote: simon tai

... I guess I take a more leisurely stroll when I'm walking Louie as opposed to a purposeful walk... definitely not striding briskly. ... I've done minimal marker training with him thus far (just charging the mark a handful of times and the not to successful sit training I mentioned before once). Haven't done anything regarding focus. When he's in flight mode I can't get him to focus. He won't even eat a treat, much less participate in marker training. Just briskly looking around paranoid and being jumpy. ... What do you suggest I do with building focus?

I'm a fan of a brisk pace for a dog who is prone to examining his surroundings apprehensively or anxiously.

I give plenty of releases, when the dog has the length of the leash to do what he wants.

For me, the loose-leash walk is "let's go" and the release to sniff, pee, examine a fire hydrant, etc., is "OK." When it's time to go again, I say "let's go" again. It just means "walk along beside me, nothing fancy, but no pulling."

I stand still during a release so I don't inadvertently get into a situation of the dog leading me. So I don't walk when the dog is on a break.

Kind of related to this is not allowing myself to be pulled. I just stop. Every time the dog pulls and you keep walking, he is rewarded for pulling. If you simply stop, then pulling gives the dog the opposite of what he wants.




Building focus isn't started "on the road." In fact, I don't start any kind of training where there are distractions. Distractions (including venue changes) are introduced gradually. When this bout of diarrhea is over, I'd start with eye contact in a distraction-free room, indoors. It's pretty easy to teach, because you're not even asking for a movement or position. It might help to show you the importance of timing in giving your marker, too.

Eye contact is also one of those things where you can do a kind of lure (or maybe it's actually just placement of the reward) if the eye contact doesn't just happen spontaneously; that is, you can have a thrilling treat up between your eyes to bring the dog's eyes to the right area. The instant the eye contact happens, you mark and reward. Even a second of eye contact is marked and rewarded (duration coming later), so it requires some patience and attentiveness on your part.

Oh, and I'd probably go back to charging the marker for a few more times. Maybe I'm mixing your efforts up with someone else's, but I think I read something that made me picture too much distance between you and the dog for charging your marker.

You will get more suggestions, too, on the walk, the focus, the pulling, etc. -- Sunday is the quietist day on this board (big dog-training day ).

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

You poach (or boil) some chicken or any meat and then cool that water down for him to drink. I highly recommend it; you don't want him even slightly dehydrated.

If it's not skinless chicken, then chill the resulting water and lift off and discard the hardened fat (because of the diarrhea).

I'd let him go 12 hours with no food and then when he is back to normal poops, give him smaller-than-usual meals for a day or so. Some of that poached meat and a little of the baited water added in will probably make it more enticing.

Thanks for the water idea!

The diarrhea has stopped (as of last night) and he's back on just kibbles w/ some chicken broth. Ate 6oz yesterday and 4oz today so far today. I guess we'll save the fat introduction for another time.

When you re-introduce fat, start small, I started at 1/2 tsp and worked up from there.

If you want to do fish again, you could put a small spoonful in the broth then mix it in with the kibble. Just enough to flavor it.

 Quote: connie sutherland

I'm a fan of a brisk pace for a dog who is prone to examining his surroundings apprehensively or anxiously.

I give plenty of releases, when the dog has the length of the leash to do what he wants.

For me, the loose-leash walk is "let's go" and the release to sniff, pee, examine a fire hydrant, etc., is "OK." When it's time to go again, I say "let's go" again. It just means "walk along beside me, nothing fancy, but no pulling."

I stand still during a release so I don't inadvertently get into a situation of the dog leading me. So I don't walk when the dog is on a break.

Kind of related to this is not allowing myself to be pulled. I just stop. Every time the dog pulls and you keep walking, he is rewarded for pulling. If you simply stop, then pulling gives the dog the opposite of what he wants.




Building focus isn't started "on the road." In fact, I don't start any kind of training where there are distractions. Distractions (including venue changes) are introduced gradually. When this bout of diarrhea is over, I'd start with eye contact in a distraction-free room, indoors. It's pretty easy to teach, because you're not even asking for a movement or position. It might help to show you the importance of timing in giving your marker, too.

Eye contact is also one of those things where you can do a kind of lure (or maybe it's actually just placement of the reward) if the eye contact doesn't just happen spontaneously; that is, you can have a thrilling treat up between your eyes to bring the dog's eyes to the right area. The instant the eye contact happens, you mark and reward. Even a second of eye contact is marked and rewarded (duration coming later), so it requires some patience and attentiveness on your part.

I will try the walking system you suggested. Up to now I've been giving him pop corrections when he pulls on the leash. Your system of just stopping seems like a better way without actively correcting. When you walk loose leashed, do you use a 6 ft leash or something else?

This morning after our walk, we got out of the elevator to go back into the apt and he was in a weird mood. He went to a down position (usually just sits) and seemed really frightened. He continued acting that way (cowering) through the usual paw wiping and bolted back into his crate once I unhooked his leash. There wasn't anything from the walk that I can point to that triggered this behavior, but I'm thinking he was scared of something (or even me)? Thoughts?

And thanks for the focus tips. I will do some more charging the marker before I start on the eye contact focus training.

 Quote: Jennifer Lee

When you re-introduce fat, start small, I started at 1/2 tsp and worked up from there.

If you want to do fish again, you could put a small spoonful in the broth then mix it in with the kibble. Just enough to flavor it.

Good idea. Will try that once he's back to normal normal. Thanks!