Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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In the Scentwork program (AKC and the non-AKC Nosework program) these are the scents use
"dogs search for cotton swabs saturated with Birch, Anise, Clove, and Cypress essential oils, and alert their handlers of the scent's location"
Initially the scents are paired with food and then the food is removed and the dogs search for the scent alone (and are immediately rewarded by the handler)
Christine
Very interesting about the scents that are used and how they are changed up.
Love seeing Farley so engaged and so happy! Delightful video and so much gpfun to see him "work"
.Way to represent tripawds Farley👍
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Ohhhh thanks for explaining! I wasn't 100% sure if all scentwork used the same scents so good to know. I agree it's interesting about the scents they have them look for. I was thinking why not search for lavender, or orange, but maybe because they're too commonly found in nature? Can't recall the last time I smelled Anise while walking down a trail.
Good job Farley! I love this game!
I was thinking why not search for lavender, or orange, but maybe because they're too commonly found in nature?
Yes! The four scents are used by AKC. The organization I train and trial under, NACSW uses Anise, Birch and Clove. We actually just had a big discussion about this in Elly's class- why they chose the odors the did, and it is in part because they are not commonly found. For example: our Trials are often in schools where you can find all types of disinfectants, cleaners and sprays scented with lavender or citrus.
My current Tripawd Elly has been doing Nose Work for about 6.5 years. Elly lost her back leg to a car accident when she was 7 months old, she is now 9. Elly has fear and anxiety issues so I was looking for something to build her confidence. Nose Work has been awesome for her and I love it for Tripawds because it is pretty gently on their joints and is a giant brain game. I just started my fairly new quad pup Callie, I've had her for 10 months. We are almost done with the second class where the dogs are introduced to odor by pairing the 'hides' with food. She has been searching for two of the odors, we will introduce the third next week.
Both of my girls are little Pug Mixes, each weighs 15 pounds.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Thanks for the backstory Karen! Makes total sense. EVERYTHING is scented with lavender these days!
I really need to get into this activity with Nellie. Thank you for the nudge (again!). Do you think the starter kits you can get on different websites are a good choice? Or do you really need a class to learn the art of nosework?
Oh by the way Christine, how about starting a new topic somewhere else, maybe in "Anything Goes" or "Shout Outs" about Farley's nosework? Since he's long past his slight setback and all! And we are sooo hoppy about that!
I can do that but I was concerned about those people who don't know Farley's backstory
Oh cool, thanks! They can always click on your avatar to see all posts you've written about him, so it's super easy to catch up.
I really need to get into this activity with Nellie. Thank you for the nudge (again!). Do you think the starter kits you can get on different websites are a good choice? Or do you really need a class to learn the art of nosework?
I'll send you a PM so as to not totally hijack Christine's thread 
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Farley update:
Farley stopped eating on May 5th; he was also hacking and I thought it might be stomach problems due to the carprofen
Xrays done at the vet on the 7th show at least two mets in his right lung and a partially collapsed left lung lobe
He's now down on his bed most of the day, but will get up to follow me when I go to a different room
We had a scare yesterday when he started tilting his head and falling over; I thought it might be time to put him down, and called the vet. She asked me to send her a video and then said this looked like a vestibular episode and it might clear. It did clear and he returned to his previous state
I have been able to hand feed him some chicken and he will drink water but I know our time is limited; I have pulled him from his Nosework classes
Ohhh Christine, this was not the kind of update I was expecting. To have clear xrays in Janiary and now this. So sorry. He has been doing sooooo well and sich a Champ at his nosework!!
I am glad the head tilt has cleared up. Did the Vet give you anything or didmot clear up on it's own? He may have had it for seceraldays without any noticeable symptoms. That can certainly make him feel nauseous. Jist wondering 9f that could possibly, just possibly, have a bearing on him not wanting to eat....maybe moreso than the mets??
Did the Vet prescribe any palliative care such as Prednisone? That can help keep inflammation down arou d the met and make him feel better. The partially collapsed left lung node certainly makes things tougher though.
For now feed him anything he'll eat...cheeseburger, cheese pizza, stinky liverwurst, bologna, bacon and eggs. Maybe you could even hide a treat of bacon so he could do nosework at home on a very limited basis. I know you are already spoiling the heck out of him. Generally meta aren't necessarily painful, just more tiring than anything else. I love that he still gets up to follow you around.....Farley being Farley😊♥️
Continue to make ecery moment count and stay fully present....just like Farley.
We are here woth you and for you and sending our love.
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Ohh sweet Farley. Cancer is so mean, I'm so sorry.
Christine, my heart hurts for you. Please let us know how we can support you. I agree with Sally in the meantime, spoil that boy rotten, and see what can be done about helping his breathing. We were given albuterol to open up Jerry's airways, and that helped for a while, enough to give us time to prepare for his transition.
I hope you have some good days ahead, with lots of ice cream and treats and whatever your superstar, super sniffer boy wants. Please give him lots of love from us and know we are holding you in our hearts.
I was sure we had lost Farley but on Friday, we started him on prednisone. His response was dramatic. By Friday evening he was eating and by the weekend he was pretty much back to his "normal" self before he crashed
He's more active and eating/drinking well
Today, when my husband when took our younger dog for a walk, I did three nosework searches with him (chicken treats); he did well but tired quickly
I'm not sure how long this will last, but we'll enjoy his improvement while it lasts
Christine
I'm so sorry you are at this point in the cancer journey with Farley, I'm glad that you found some relief for him.
I hope he feels better for a long time, treasure every moment.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
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