Aroha Springers

Sticky Nose Target

2012-01-23T21:26:00.000-06:00

Bailey has a sticky chin target. It's a very strong behavior and I use it multiple times per week. It is incredibly useful and I'm so happy I taught it.

Buzz had a "lick-bop-slurp-bop-???" behavior from when I attempted to teach a sticky nose (yes-nose, not-chin) target. I took video of trying to "clean it up" without any kind of definitive marker. I am amazed at how people can train without a marker! I got some really nice solid nose touches but they were rarely repeated because of the lag time between behavior and reward. It was entertaining and ridiculous!

I did a session with him tonight using the light as a marker again. I got a lot of the same crazy not-desirable behaviors but I also got a lot of really nice nose touches with duration. He was clearly getting the point!

And this is the most recent session tonight (#3 overall).

A few more sessions and I'll have a real sticky nose target behavior!

Relaxation Protocol-Day 1 (kitchen)

2012-01-17T19:52:00.000-06:00

This is what Bailey and I did tonight.

Sit for 5 seconds

Sit for 10 seconds

Sit while you take 1 step back and return

Sit while you take 2 steps back and return

Sit for 10 seconds

Sit while you take 1 step to the right and return

Sit while you take 1 step to the left and return

Sit for 10 seconds

Sit while you take 2 steps back and return

Sit while you take 2 steps to the right and return

Sit for 15 seconds

Sit while you take 2 steps to the left and return

Sit while you clap your hands softly once

Sit while you take 3 steps back and return

Sit while you count out loud to 10

Sit while you clap your hands softly once

Sit while you count out loud to 20

Sit while you take 3 steps to the right and return

Sit while you clap your hands softly twice

Sit for 3 seconds

Sit for 5 seconds

Sit while you take 1 step back and return

Sit for 3 seconds

Sit for 10 seconds

Sit for 5 seconds

Sit for 3 seconds

At least, I hope that's what we did... I'm still not sure if I'm doing it right!

We also worked on "It's your choice" with a few modifications.

Surprisingly, it wasn't too incredibly boring the first night. Motivation, I have it!

Contentment

2012-01-11T17:56:00.000-06:00

content (kənˈtɛnt)

— *adj*
1.	mentally or emotionally satisfied with things as they are

Tonight, the dogs are content. In fact, all dogs in the house appear to be content.

I took my dogs to the "park" near our house we've recently discovered. It's not a dog park, it's not completely fenced in, and we're probably breaking some law by having the dogs drag leashes, but it provided the dogs with an opportunity to stretch their legs! Bailey was SO happy to run around while we played recall games and she was incredibly responsive to her sticky target/recall cue nose touch. As soon as she saw my hand, she was on the move back toward me!

And Buzz was mighty responsive today as well. I was pretty proud of the elderly boy! We definitely need to find a real dog park and use it at the odd hours, but for now... this will work!

We're now all hanging out on the couch watching CSI waiting for dinner to be ready.

Content dogs make me content.

Reactive Dog Class/THE BIG MOVE

2012-01-10T21:07:00.000-06:00

On January 2, 2012, the dogs and I moved to a house in Saint Paul, MN. Since that day, we've been doing our best to keep on going about life as it was before!

In an effort to help us all adjust better, I signed Bailey and I up for Reactive Dog Class. This is only the second type of class she's ever taken in her almost 12 years of life! (The reason for that is worth at least another blog post...)

I keep telling myself "I'm going to be a good student, that's the only way she'll get better and we'll make any progress, right?!" Truth be told, I've not been a very good student so far. I am still walking the dogs together in the morning and often-times in the afternoon as well. Before I can walk them separately, I need to work on each one being left in the bedroom while I take the other out without protest barking. I haven't found a way to safely feed out of a food toy yet (we live with another dog, Bailey guards ALL THE FOOD THINGS and things related to her crate) so they've only had a trachea one day and a frozen kong another. Kibble has been served in bowls like a bad owner! However, I AM carrying treats with me EVERYWHERE. I'm reinforcing our canine housemate for lots of appreciated behaviors, I'm reinforcing my dogs for good leash walking, responding to cues in a timely manner, and the three of them practice eating treats in an orderly fashion. A goal of mine and of the class is to be out working the dogs in public, under thresh-hold at least a couple times a week. Last night the dogs went for a car ride. I never took them out of the car so I suppose that outing doesn't count. However, tonight we went on a real outing!

Lauren and I took the dogs to Urbanimal to explore and walked around outside the store a bit. Bailey and I worked on loose leash walking, our "there's another dog" retreat (cue is a rear end tap), and sit/relax in new environments. The Saint Paul Urbanimal is TINY and there's a dog daycare attached so we didn't stay long as there were DOGS in close proximity and she still managed to keep her brain about her and work under thresh-hold. Chuck and Don's was the next stop on the list! While there she willingly worked on sit/relax in a corner of the store with very few distractions. My rate of reinforcement was high but we accomplished the task.

Tomorrow we will find a place to RUN as I know that physical exercise will help us out. My poor Bailey was used to running off leash 2-3 times a day for 10-30 minutes at a time before we moved. Now she gets some yard time, leash walk time, and sometimes we even go on a field trip. She's severely lacking in the physical activity department!

I even brushed their teeth tonight! We're getting back on track and establishing a new routine.

City Musings

2011-12-11T10:35:00.000-06:00

Bailey wore her thundershirt at Crystal's last night. I set up her crate, put her blanket, dinner, and trachea-chew in there. She never made a peep. She was crated in an unfamiliar room behind a closed door, at the other end of the house from where the people were. The only outburst/reaction we had was while packing up to leave. I didn't close the door to the room completely and as Bailey was exiting her crate Maisy walked in. Bailey backed up into her crate, just so she could guard it, from the inside! It was some noise and lunging from within, then Maisy left the room and we carried on as if nothing had happened.

This morning, I asked her for left side loose leash walking (a behavior that's far from fluent I realized) and removed her thundershirt before going on said walk. She was hypervigilent for most of the walk until I put her on my right side. She calmed visibly and walked alongside me with variable reinforcement. When I asked for left side, my rate of reinforcement was every 2-3 steps (incredibly high, and I was still getting frequent hits to the end of the leash) but on the right side it was every 10-15 (with appropriate response to the infrequent tight leashes that occured). That's a huge difference! She also reorients more frequently while on my right side I noticed.

We saw other dogs and squirrels while out walking. She never lunged or vocalized but I saw her rise up on her tippy toes and she started taking food like a shark until we were passed them.

My dog is still reactive, and always will be.
I found areas of our training that need work.
I should probably time the putting on/taking off of her thundershirt better!
Higher value reinforcers will help me succeed faster (I had kibble).

When we got back to the house, I let her loose in the (fenced) backyard. She took the opportunity to explore and investigate but I didn't see any classical signs of "de-stressing" after a stressful event. I think that's a good thing, too!

Calling Dogs Off

2011-11-30T19:49:00.000-06:00

I had a discussion with a friend the other day. His dogs are hunt-test trained (or in training) retrievers. Despite our differences regarding training methods and choice of dog sport, we have discussions about end-result-behaviors pretty successfully. Most recently, he gave me some wonderful advice on Bailey's directed retrieve problem using a common hunt-test drill. I applied it a bit differently than he'd advised, but the basis was the same.

One of our last discussions has still got me a bit confused though. The topic was calling dogs off a chase.

I said I can call Bailey off chasing live animals. She used to run the 80 acre farm at whim and thus had zero impulse control, because I'd never asked her for it. My friend looked at me like I had twelve eyes and said "of course you should be able to call your dogs off a chase." When I began working on the call off, I was new to clicker training and still had that knee-jerk collar correction habit. Bailey and I weren't communicating very effectively, but I'll be darned if I was going to give up and use any kind of physical pressure to get this end result!

I happened upon a post by someone on the original SitStay forum (the cause of my online dog community obsession) suggesting the use of a whistle as my recall cue, because it's not something the dog hears daily and can be loud enough to break through to the brain when a dog is focused on chasing. I don't remember all the details of my training plan (and I'm sure it changed almost daily) but in the end, I could call her off prey (with a whistle) when she gave chase. She also developed impulse control to the point where she was able to see a running animal and NOT give chase.

I never used an e-collar on her. I never attached a long line so she would hit the end and "learn her lesson." I never (intentionally) set her up to fail.

So why shouldn't I have been ecstatic I achieved this end result without inflicting pain? Apparently this is impossible without using force. I don't know about you, but I do know that at least one person has trained his dogs to do far more amazing things without the use of force and pain.

Play

2011-11-27T17:34:00.000-06:00

The photos below were part of this discussion. I can see bad play, I can even see poor play sometimes, but I get very confused when trying to evaluate play from dogs without previous 'good play history.'

Amber is a submissive, under-confident Labrador Retriever puppy. She's resilient but very soft. She's got good dog-dog skills and responds well to cues from others. As a puppy, she interacted with other Retrievers near daily. She learned some good and poor play habits there.

Frodo is a dog-reactive, middle-aged Pembroke Welsh Corgi. (If he were my dog, I would do a better job of labeling and describing him here.) He was also attacked by another dog while on a walk with his owner a week ago. He doesn't typically like other dogs and gets very few chances to play with others (as his owner's friends' dogs aren't ideal candidates either).

As Kristen and I discussed, "the play was not good, but it was very impressive" for Frodo.

I think Amber was relieved that another dog actually interacted with her at my house! My two usually ignore her completely.

Next time I'll remember to take video when I want to discuss play, Kristen!

Silly Photos

2011-11-23T20:21:00.001-06:00

House Guest #1

2011-11-23T19:46:00.000-06:00

We have our "regular" Labrador Retriever house guest over thanksgiving. She just turned a year old and she's still as cute and silly as ever!

(It's a darn good thing she loves Kongs. I was prepared and stuffed ALL the Kongs!)

She just found the (empty) tug a jug and brought it out into the living room. She learned about food toys the first time she stayed here and doesn't seem to have forgotten! There are far worse things for her to be looking for!

Happy Dogs

2011-11-15T20:45:00.000-06:00

I have happy dogs tonight. It certainly isn't due to exercise (as they barely got walked today), it's not because their brains are tired (I trained absolutely nothing today), so what's left?!

CHEWIES!

There are days I say life without chewies is a sad life indeed! Bailey and I had to return some car parts near the pet food store in town today. Of course this means we had to stop in at the store and of course that means she got to pick something out. I may have influenced her decision a little but I don't think she was upset.

Beef Tracheas!
(Or Moo Tubes)
(Or Windies)

I really need to place a stock up order rather than buying them one at a time! I'd save so much money (in theory...)!

But for tonight, I have happy dogs!

Stress

2011-11-14T20:35:00.000-06:00

I don't post over half of the pictures I take because the subject appears stressed.

Those are her 'please don't pet me' ears.

I refrain from commenting on pictures and videos where the subject (typically a dog) is showing signs of stress.

I wonder if the person posting these things notices and doesn't care, or doesn't even know what the signs of stress are.

Stryker's head is low, her eyes are darting, and she's lip licking.

Stress happens, I realize that. As my good friend Elizabeth says (and I'm paraphrasing because I don't typically record our conversations) "if my dog can deal with this level of stress and continue to work, then I'm okay with it. However, if my dog shuts down, then it's too much."

Stryker is eating food. Bailey is avoiding eye contact and turning away.

We strive to make the lives of our dogs as stress free as possible, right? If not, we should!

Stressed dog pictures make me uncomfortable and most are deleted when I sort through the first time. Our good friend Crystal explains stress well if you search for body language or stress.

So, to all the forumers and bloggers out here; this is the reason why I rarely comment on pictures. I can't bring myself to say something nice about sharing a picture of a clearly stressed dog.

Here's more pictures of stressed dogs, without caption. Do you know why I consider the dog stressed?

If you can identify this adorable baby-dog... you win a prize!

Buzz and I

2011-11-13T20:43:00.000-06:00

Buzz and I went for a walk this afternoon. Just the two of us. While he was gone last week, Bailey and I had a lot of one-on-one outings, just by default. In the dead of winter I usually wimp out and take both dogs walking together since we have to pack up and drive somewhere. Today I took advantage of the opportunity to hike, just the two of us.

We visited one of our usual winter stomping grounds complete with a coffee shop that allows dogs! Buzz had a grand old time and I snapped a couple pictures of him with my phone. I enjoy posing him on things and he doesn't seem to mind, so that's usually what I end up with.

We were out for at least an hour and a half so by the end he was a little tired, but I'd say he's still doing pretty darn well for being 13.5 years old!

Interesting Comments

2011-11-12T15:03:00.001-06:00

Bailey and I traveled into the city again yesterday. I had a few things to take care of so she stayed in the car for a bit, when I was done I found a coffee shop with wifi so I could get some internetting (yes, it's totally a verb) accomplished. That coffee shop was smack dab in the middle of a shopping center. I figured "what better place to train my dog at?!"

When I got her out of the car, and got her gear on, she wasn't very interested in working. We've encountered this problem before, many, many times. This is where I've established a checklist with follow through.

I check to make sure my treats are high value (zukes salmon, she only gets them when working in public)
I check to make sure there aren't other dogs around (these can cause her to become stressed even when she was previously working well)
I check my mental functioning level: Am I giving her my full attention?

If all of those are 'checkable' then we take a short break and I ask her to work again. Stationary behaviors have never been her strongest so I always ask for LLW first. I had to use a high rate of reinforcement as well as directional changes, but she did start working. The key with this is that when she does begin to work I reward heavily and then only work for a short while. Her release to go sniff seems to be a bigger reward in situations like this. We walked the length of the complex before she was reliably working for an extended period of time. On our second pass she was giving me wonderful heeling past people, complete with beautiful pivots. She even responded to cues for sit and down readily.

Along the way, we stopped to greet a couple people and got some very interesting comments!

As we heeled towards an elderly lady, she motioned for me to stop. She said she'd been watching us and was so impressed (why, thank you) but then proceeded to tell me that she has "a little Pomeranian and then got a big black and white dog that would have eaten the Pom if they hadn't trained it not to. It just happens with that breed." I curiously asked her what breed the big black and white dog is, she wasn't sure; just that it would have eaten the little one without training!

Another was from what appeared to be a mother and her son who were pushing groceries down the walkway. The mother asked if she could pet Bailey, to which I replied sure. Bailey wasn't so interested in being pet so she sat and faced me. This lady then asked Bailey to sit. Bailey didn't respond. She asked again. Bailey didn't respond. Rather than let the lady get frustrated, I cued sit with a signal. Bailey sat and the lady says "I knew you could do it! Now, can you shake?!" I just said no...

A third interaction involved two young men. They had watched her pivot while heeling so one says "hey, my dog can do that!" Before I can say anything, his friend bursts out laughing and is laughing so hard he can barely breathe. Then they just kept on walking, so I did too!

I've been good about working her in completely new places where I would have left her in the car previously! Training DOES work, I guess!

taking my dog for granted

2011-11-10T22:28:00.000-06:00

Bailey's a really easy dog to live with, for the most part. I can take her pretty much anywhere (heck, she travels everywhere with me lately and I don't stress about it, neither does she) and she's able to chill out and relax. She's also quite easily motivated for training, and always has been. I didn't (and still don't) have to put forth a ton of effort to reward her. She has a lot of behaviors, some are on cue, some are offered, and a select few are on stimulus control. I definitely take her for granted.

I have worked with her and taught her many behaviors in the last couple years, even if we act like I haven't sometimes. Most of the time I just forget the cue I put it on (Robin, I promise I'm trying to be better about that!) so I wait for it to be offered, heavily reinforce, then wait for it to be offered again. Not very effective training, I know!

The point of this post is that a couple friends and I got together to watch a Silvia Trkman video on Tuesday night. Part of the video was teaching heeling and part of teaching heeling is pivoting. Bailey has pretty heeling, she has better-than-decent pivoting (thanks to Kristen VanNess for helping me teach that a couple years ago), and she's quite animated while doing it! I definitely got some good (new) information from the video, but it also made me train my dog a little bit (practicing already competent behaviors is still training). It also made me realize how much I really take my dog for granted. She's quite a talented little dog, if I remember how to cue her!

Now... should I go teach something new, or work on older behaviors that still aren't on cue? :-)

adventures of an "only dog"

2011-11-06T21:54:00.000-06:00

My mom had surgery on her neck last Wednesday. In order to make life easier right now, Buzz's most favorite Auntie Elizabeth is watching him while we get through the first week post surgery.

Buzz Photo Fail

This is because I'm having to take all potentially-annoying beasts with me or confine them while I'm gone during the day. While I can bring both dogs to work and crate them while I work, Buzz is pretty sure that's some kind of inhumane dog treatment. Every time I bring him to work he BARKS and WHINES and is generally a VERY UNHAPPY dog. It makes me sad. If I try to take Buzz to work more than 2 days in a row he hides when I get his car gear out.

However, Bailey is quite good at this whole hang out at work thing. She comes to work with me sometimes even when she doesn't have to. She has "her" crate at work in a location that's pretty uneventful and she mostly naps while I work, comes out at lunch, and naps while I work some more.

Bailey Photo Fail

Unnecessary back-story? Probably.

Bailey's pretty sure this only dog stuff is AWESOMESAUCE. She goes everywhere with me. We stayed at Tim's Friday and Saturday night. She's got this city-dog-life figured out. We travel in the car a lot. Every time I leave the house she goes with me.

I fear for her reality check when she doesn't go everywhere with me. For now though, she's having a blast.

(I need to get out and take pictures with my own dogs again, after they've been groomed... which will happen. Someday, soon?)

Photos

2011-11-02T15:39:00.000-05:00

Country Dog

Grey Dog

Happy Dog

Swamp Dog

Training Tuesday

2011-11-01T20:07:00.000-05:00

With the puppy gone, I have MUCH MORE TIME to dedicate to training my own dogs again.

Sure, they're elderly. Nope, they're not going to be competing seriously. Of course they still love to train!

Tonight Bailey worked on some hat box sits, pivots, and dumbell retrieves (I need to rebuild a much more solid hold with a more defined release). She worked for most of her dinner and the rest was fed out of a food toy.

Buzz worked on bows, backing up, and letting me work on his shoulder. He also worked on being really, really adorable while begging for more food.

I need another Buzz.
His name is Max.

https://www.facebook.com/ESRAUpperMidwest

I would call him Rex.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Toy_Story_characters#Rex

Spaniels in Boots

2011-10-25T20:51:00.000-05:00

The dogs got new winter boots.

We are very excited for cold weather and SNOW!

That puppy blog...

2011-10-22T23:03:00.000-05:00

Lightning Stryke

Adventures of our first foster, my first experience with a German Shepherd, and the first puppy to 'live' in this house in over 11 years.

A wild ride for sure, but it's been fun!

Buzz is bored...

2011-10-18T20:57:00.000-05:00

Buzz says tonight is boring.

All of my blogging time has been devoted to the foster puppy's blog. However... the spaniels are going to an AGILITY TRIAL on October 30th! We'll be running NADAC at a local trial site. I'm excited to see my friends again and run the dogs, it's been way too long!

Rascal agrees tonight is boring, but he's mostly okay with that...

We've Been Missing You!

2011-07-31T22:45:00.000-05:00

Life is busy. We like busy, or at least I think we do. If there isn't time to think, that's okay, right?

My blog has been neglected, but I can assure you that the dogs haven't been. I even have photographic evidence of it... that may get posted in a month or two.

I attended a seminar a couple weeks ago that has rejuvenated my spirit regarding obedience training. I have loved obedience for a while now but it's a whole different ball game with aging dogs. We got some excellent suggestions that I've been implementing and getting the desired results. I need to be dedicated to training so I figured if I make my training plans known, I'll have to stick with it, right?

I'll work on those training plans and finishing all the blog posts I started in the last few months, sometime soon.

Whose dog IS that?!

2011-05-02T20:26:00.000-05:00

Bailey came to work with me today, spent the morning in her crate in the car, had a bath, sat in front of a dryer, was pulled out of her crate, stuffed back into the car and away we went. If she was just a smidge stressed... I think I know why. The problem is that... there was no problem. The receptionist hovered over her at the scale, so she didn't want to stand on it. We backed up, I sent her again and she did a very nice "scale" behavior-sit included. That's my girl.

We got into the exam room, she explored a little while I answered questions from the tech. No stress panting, no clingy behaviors, she was very relaxed. The tech left to get the doctor so we played some shaping games with a highlighter (it was the only prop I had) and I started shaping a nudge.

Bailey adores yet another doctor. Dr. Arnesen went slow, kept her voice low, her body calm, and let Bailey get to know her. They brought in a blanket and Bailey demonstrated her mat behavior.

*tech puts mat on floor*

Bailey: *lays on mat looking at me*

Dr. Arnesen: "did you cue that"

Me: "nope, that's her mat behavior"

They both thought that was pretty cool.

My little dog had acupuncture for the first time and had her chiropractic adjustment with very few complaints. I really couldn't be more proud of her, or happier with our supplemental chiropractor.

All in all, a very relaxing experience. We will definitely be returning.

(And now we have two professionals thinking she WILL get better, she WILL...)

A Rehab Change

2011-05-01T19:23:00.000-05:00

There's no question how much we love TC Rehab, but with my work load increasing, it's more and more difficult to see Dr. Julia when we need to. On the recommendation of a couple friends and the okay from Dr. Julia, Bailey is going to see her "secondary chiropractor" tomorrow. We found a regular veterinary clinic with a specialist on staff in Stillwater, MN. We've already visited the clinic, had the full tour, and met Bailey's new doctor.

I haven't updated the blog in quite some time, but I did add a page for each dog (at the top), and I'll post an update about our visit with Dr. Arnesen.

Shoulder target for backwards pivoting.

Tuck sit practice on a... natural... pedestal!

We Are Country Dogs

2011-04-20T20:49:00.000-05:00

(no photos were edited... maybe someday when I have time again, I'll edit photos again)

Problem Solving

2011-04-19T20:44:00.000-05:00

As a dedicated SMART trainer, it's amazing how stumped I can be by simple problems at times. I normally call on a friend or two or three or four for advice, but I was bound and determined to solve this one on my own today.

Bailey's newest rehab exercise is backing up, and then backing up around an object. The end goal is backing up in a figure 8. We could heel backwards in that pattern, but then she's really turning her head to the side. We don't want that. I tried to have her back up around an object on the floor but she just kept offering a 2on 2off behavior, because it has such a high history of reinforcement. I tried using our duration chin target behavior and adding in a backing up part. We got the packing up part, not the turning while backing up part.

So I discussed it with my boss today, who trains field dogs. His advice? Use a stake in the ground.

I put a stick in the ground weave pole out with the intention of clicking my dog for backing up to it. Check.
Then I wanted to click for moving out of the way. No check. So I tried to "guide" her with my body pressure. No check. Then she hit it with her shoulder, CLICK!

Tonight I shaped Bailey to offer a shoulder target to a stick in the ground weave pole. I moved around it like we do with the pivot box and she moved around it too. Head sufficiently low enough for me to not be concerned about throwing her whole body out of whack. Shoulder very solidly on the stick. She thought that was a pretty cool game.

Next task, work the other side. She was using her left shoulder tonight. Tomorrow is time for the right shoulder!

Videos Make Me Happy

2011-04-16T19:53:00.000-05:00

Someone asked about UKC rally on a forum, so I posted a video. Then I started watching videos of my Buzz-dog running agility.

It makes me happy!

Trial Preparations

2011-04-15T20:46:00.000-05:00

As I work with (I'm working with technology tonight, that, in itself, is impressive) the printer to finish course maps and armbands and other such necessary things for the APDT trial tomorrow... I actually have time to think about other things relating to trialling.

I still seem to pack the same amount of "stuff" and use the same packing list.
-water
-bowl
-crate & pad & cover
-treats (many different kinds)
-clean up bags

I still prepare the same way.
-bathe dog
-trim nails
-clean ears

Except these days, the dogs are usually along for the ride. We may enter the ring once or twice, but nothing like we used to (up to 6 runs/day). In fact, Bailey can't play this weekend, but she'll be along. Buzz is entered, if he feels like playing in the ring with me we will. If not, then he'll schmooze the crowd like he always does.

So I pack a few extras. I've got some stuffed Kongs for first thing in the morning. Biscuits to jam in the Kongs later in the day. Beef ribs for chewing on throughout the day. I'll probably pack a food toy or two as well. And since they both seem to get pretty thirsty with all that chewing, I'll dig out the water buckets for inside crates. If the Treat and Train didn't make so much noise, I'd bring that along too.

Oh, and the big difference is now I bring the BIG crates along. A bonus of being the trial secretary is that I get to set up my crates the night before. We've got prime crating space near where I'll be working and there was enough room for "leisure crates" rather than the skimpy trial crates we used to bring along.

Now, speaking of clean dogs... I should go finish that task!

If anyone's looking for excitement tomorrow, come on out to the trials!

Excessively Excessive

2011-04-10T19:42:00.000-05:00

The dogs and I had a very busy day today. We love busy days and this is two Sundays in a row that have been long, busy, happy days.

We went to shaping class/training group in the morning, visited Robin at work, and then went on a walk with Frodo (and his humans... we convinced Ryan to walk Buzz because then everyone had a dog). The dogs and I left about 9 this morning and returned about 7:15pm. I expected all of us to be exhausted due to the excessively long day but... we're all just kinda sufficiently tired. Actually, that's a lie. Buzz has shown no signs of being tired, he handled the whole day with ease and never actually tripped over himself on the walk. (I've been monitoring him (excessively) to see when/why/how he manages to trip and hurt himself. I expect it to be when he's fatigued, but it never happened on our walk. The difference-we spent 85% of our walk on grass. We normally walk on asphalt or sidewalks.) Anyway, I'm finishing up some things for work, Bailey is zonked out and... Buzz is chewing on a bone. He didn't even really sleep on the way home. His energy level is excessive for a nearly 13 year old, and I love it!

The Ears

2011-04-06T22:28:00.000-05:00

I have an insane amount of pictures of Fritz from this angle. And I love each and every one of them. His ears intrigue me a lot. They're quite mobile, and quite large, but never really look that large in pictures.

I love his ears!

Take Too Many Pictures

2011-04-04T20:58:00.000-05:00

Kayak!

Chew!

Sightsee!

Laugh!

Live.

A Wonderful Sunday

2011-04-03T20:05:00.000-05:00

The dogs and I went to training class today. I made a promise to my fellow training buddies that I would actually train my dogs today... not talk and distract! I stuck to that promise!

I even took both of them! It took some strategic planning, but we made it work. Poor Buzz didn't have much space to lay down on the way to training because I had to put Bailey in the (large) blue crate (couldn't harness her due to where her sutures are), but he had more space on the way home because we picked the midget crate up from Robin!

I got there in enough time to walk each dog separately for about five minutes. Buzz went first then I traded for Bailey and Buzz relaxed in the crate in the car. Days like today are the only days I wish my car could hold two crates. The weather was beautiful so I left the car door open for a while and dogs got to enjoy the weather too!

I had goals for today and I worked on the majority of them! It worked wonderfully to bring both dogs today because I'd work one for 5-10 minutes, take a water and walk break and bring the other out. Dogs got sufficient work and rest to work wonderfully for me!

Bailey
When we started rehab, Bailey's sits were atrocious. All over the place with legs and body and just silliness! So we practiced sits on a hat box and they got a lot, lot, lot, better. The problem was that she couldn't bring her rear up to meet front legs and do a tuck sit. She would do a 2on/2off position and bring her front feet up. While maintaining the same position worked those muscles, it did nothing for muscle memory of getting into the position. A couple weeks ago I had my brother cut me a long and narrow piece of plywood. Today at training class we used the same thing and practiced stepping onto it then doing a tuck sit. I made some mistakes (reinforcing curling around by reinforcing with the wrong hand and a few others that don't need to be mentioned), but I got some beautifully tight tuck sits from her on my left and right side.

I have this lofty goal of doing the Dog Days 5k with her. I haven't lost all my marbles, I promise. Today our good friends Elizabeth and Beckett did parallel walking in the training building with us. We chose to use a dog she knows and gets along with for the first time. Beckett could care less about a dog ignoring him so it gave me the time to figure out this whole parallel walking thing people talk about! I had to stop and think or ask questions a lot, but I think we have a workable plan now... provided my dog is able to participate.

Our sticky-target behavior is really coming along nicely. I'm really impressed by my desire to make this a solid behavior and thus, dedication to actually working on the behavior. At home we've been making it increasingly more difficult by adding in some challenging elements. I've been asking for each foot individually while maintaining the nose target and I've been working on examining her ears. Today Robin and I worked on some different aspects of this behavior. We started with gentle touch by a person in her line of sight. The touch was on her hips and I clicked when Robin made contact. That went quite smoothly so we moved to a different body part, the ears. At first I was clicking when Robin touched her ear, but then Bailey's ear flicking became quite noticeable, so I started clicking before the touch (on Robin's advice!). Robin was then able to touch her ear with no/minimal flicking. We ended the session by clicking just after contact happened and feeding throughout contact. Our session was ended by Bailey. She did a full body shake to indicate she'd had enough contact for a while.
--Interesting notes from this session--
*The more we worked, the harder she pushed her chin/nose into my palm. Very desirable!
*She was alternating chin and nose. I'm not sure that I really care which it is, but I'm thinking back to Ken Ramirez talking about non-specific criteria possibly being easier for us, but requiring more work for the animal. The less clear I am with my criteria, the more I'm asking her for. I need to decide and reinforce appropriately.
*Building duration for exam behaviors. She can hold the sticky target for quite a while at this point. Definitely long enough for the doctor to put hands all over her body, without actually thoroughly examining the body parts. She still isn't keen on actually being examined. Light touching all over her body doesn't bother her. Me asking for her feet doesn't bother her. An ear exam with the otoscope will bother her at this point. How do I prepare her for this?

Her final training session today involved directional cues. She was a really, really fun dog to run in agility. Very in tune with my body cues, very fun to run silently. At one point in time, I taught her directional cues and realized those are things we can still practice and work on, without actually doing agility. I experimented (aka, tested) the cues I have for directions today. I really wish I'd had this on video because it was both exciting and kinda frustrating to see her responses. We used a pole as our "go out around" obstacle and worked "spin-go out" first which means I want her to turn away from me to her right and go out around the obstacle. I was not a good trainer, and I didn't take actual numbers but if I had to guess, I'd say she's about 97% accurate with that directional. "Twist-go out" indicates turn left and go out around the obstacle, and that had a much lower success rate. All of these were done with verbal and visual cues. Robin challenged me to use verbal only... that went very poorly. 100% fail rate! In my defense, we've never relied on verbal only cues in agility, and I likely never will. It is a training skill we can work on though, just for fun I suppose!

Buzz
Oh Buzz! Buzz worked on Beckett's obstacle course designed to teach dogs to pick up feet appropriately. He thought that was great fun and did a nice job, I think. We'll have to ask Elizabeth how "good job" is determined. I kept his sessions very, very short. We always ended before he got tired and took rest/treat breaks in between.

We also worked some 4 jump cavalettis. I set the jumps at 8" and about 24" apart. They needed some tweaking but he did 6 reps total and only knocked 1 or 2 bars. His last one was beautiful--he bounced them with a grin on his face and raced me to the end! It made me decide to enter him in the upcoming NADAC trial. We'll design our own (short) course in Jumpers and Tunnelers. I think the silly boy will have a great time.

As is part of Training Group tradition, Buzz and I took a nice walk around the inside and outside of the building just exploring and eating treats. If I had to guess, I really think this activity would be his favorite part. It's so simple and easy for me to do and he enjoys the exploring so much. After one of his work sessions we took a walk down to the impound lot with Elizabeth and Beckett. I certainly didn't let him sniff everything, but he got to check the pee mail quite thoroughly.

If training group wasn't wonderful enough, five of the humans and five of the dogs went for a walk at a nearby park. Everyone, and I mean, everyone, did a great job. We encountered some bicyclists, other dogs, walkers, runners, cars, ducks, etc and it was just a great way to spend the day! Someone (ahem, Ryan...) took pictures!

Wordless... Thursday?

2011-03-31T21:22:00.000-05:00

They should be fat.

2011-03-30T18:39:00.000-05:00

My dogs are garbage disposals. I give them left-over everything. Tonight, dinner was served in peanut butter containers. I finally had two and now they're happily eating peanut butter coated kibbles. They eat a lot of what I might make for myself and then just don't want or don't like.

They really should weigh a lot more than they do. But I still don't understand how some dogs get so fat. I cut back on their daily ration and increase exercise if there's a couple days in a row of more than normal extras.

Bailey weighed in at 40 pounds a week ago. She's got a little extra because she hasn't done anything in forever, but she's far from fat.

Buzz usually weighs in around 52 pounds and I'd guess he's about right there.

I certainly don't do a good job of controlling what I eat as well as I control theirs!

Bailey

2011-03-28T20:25:00.000-05:00

I've waited to write this until I've gathered my thoughts and this post would have a point. My little girlie dog gave me the scare of a lifetime on Thursday. She was scheduled for three lump removals. All just lipomas, but I wanted them removed before removal became a huge ordeal due to size and location. One is on her back, one on her chest, and then the returning lump in her right foreleg (near elbow, in the muscle).

If I didn't work at the clinic, this post would just say that Bailey's heart rate dropped during surgery. They repositioned her and gave a medication to bring her heart rate back up. The catheter gave her doctor a direct port to administer the medication quickly and effectively. It worked, but there are cautions about anesthesia in the future.

sutures from removal of lump along spine on back

Since I do work at the clinic and have an understanding of what happened, as well as a point, there's a longer version. We induced with Propoflo via IV catheter. Propoflo is one of the fastest acting (and out of her system) induction agents available and at her age, I want her system to have the least stress possible. Surgery proceeded normally and I started to surgically shave then sterile scrub the first lump, on her back. SurgiVet "yelled at me" and I checked to see what it didn't like, but my co-worker was already acting. Bailey's heart rate had dropped way too low. She hovered right around 50bpm, most dogs stay between 100bpm and 140bpm when under anesthesia. The doctor gave Atropine 1.0cc at a time through her catheter line, 3.0cc later her heart rate was back up to 100bpm and appeared to stabilize. Still not sure what caused the heart rate drop, but we're trying to figure it out.

sutures from lump removal on chest (with significant bruising)

At the clinic I work, IV catheter and fluid therapy are optional services for most procedures. It is always encouraged, but it isn't required. The IV catheter gave Bailey's doctor a way to quickly administer the necessary medication in order to help her. It confirmed my beliefs that catheters are necessary. None of my pets have been operated on without an IV catheter and fluids for years, and likely won't ever be again.

The reason for this post: elect IV catheter and fluids during surgical procedures--I won't go so far as to say it saved Bailey's life, but it sure did help her out. If it's ever an option, choose it! If your vet doesn't offer, ask!

Buzz

2011-03-27T20:20:00.000-05:00

Acana Pacifica

2011-03-27T11:40:00.000-05:00

is doggy crack. My dogs will do anything for it. Client dogs at work will do anything for it. The clinic cats will do anything for it. Acana Pacifica is seriously (expensive), doggy crack.

We've been practicing our "sit pretty" that Katie talks about in her Chris Zink's 5 Minutes a Day post. None of my other "training kibbles" get even close to the same effort. It's ridiculously crazy!

Nail Trims

2011-03-23T12:03:00.000-05:00

We do a lot of nail trims at work. Some are sedated as about 98% of our surgery pets have a nail trim, but most are very awake! In two of my morning appointments, we discussed nail trims extensively. The owners wanted to learn how to trim the nails but were afraid. I always say "that's a very good fear to have!" If the owner is nervous, the dog will be nervous, and without practice, there may be good reason for being nervous! I talk a lot about positioning and restraint with all owners wanting to learn how to do nail trims. I always ask if the dog is more comfortable sitting/standing/laying down. From my experience, most dogs do really well sitting for front feet and standing for rears.

That's how we did the Labrador Retriever this morning. She readily gave me her front feet one at a time and I trimmed all the nails with no fuss. We gave her a short break and my co-worker supported her midsection while I trimmed the rears. No protesting, although she did pull her foot away and whine once. I took that opportunity to tell the owner to "listen to her" because I'd gotten pretty close to the quick.

The second one today we tried to do sitting for front feet but the dog was quite uncomfortable with that. I asked the owner to let her lay down and rub her belly. That worked like a charm! Never once did she pull her foot away or whine, or try to get up. She was in belly-rub-world!

When I first started working at the clinic, it seemed like I only did nails on a dog laying on it's side. That is definitely easier for me to trim, but it isn't always easier for the dog. We always want procedures to be as low stress as possible, but especially for something so simple as nail trim. Let the dog decide where is comfortable, take a reasonable amount of time, and take breaks when needed. Everyone will be happier.

Don't underestimate the power of a belly rub either!

puppy Fritz

TRACKING!

2011-03-22T21:55:00.000-05:00

Nope, not today. I'm currently listening to the sound of ice hitting windows. Definitely not tracking weather. I just came across some tracking pictures that I like. Motivation. Yes, motivation in the form of pictures.

Sticky Nose Target (video)

2011-03-20T22:44:00.000-05:00

I'm finally taking videos, kinda/sorta/maybe/if I have to. In this post, I said I'm going to teach Bailey and Rascal a functional duration nose target (sometimes called a sticky nose target, thanks to Kristen) to help physical exams go smoother. I'll try to get video of Rascal later this week. For now, here's Bailey!

The last piece you see, is what I'm looking for as far as contact. Nose firmly in my palm and all four feet still. It was difficult for us to add in motion (I started that long before the conference) and I haven't worked much with it since. I do want her to be able to maintain the behavior while moving, so that will still be part of the criteria.

Reinforcer: Acana Pacifica
Marker: Premier clik-r (I got it at the MVC, I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.)
Location: hallway

Attire Woe

2011-03-20T20:23:00.001-05:00

Bailey's never been fond of things touching her. A friend with a Belgian Shepherd (of the Malinois variety) once called her dog "non-tactile" and I immediately started using that word to describe Bailey. It's like she gets the heebie jeebies when she is touched by anything she's not solicited.

Wearing a diaper in heat? GET THIS THING OFF ME NOW!
A jacket when it is freezing cold? I CANNOT POSSIBLY MOVE!
A collar? OH DEAR DOG EW!

No, really, she was crazy bad about having things put on her, or being touched by someone she didn't know. It's gotten better over the years, I think, and it's not because I actually did anything about it. 11 years of coping with having things put on and taken off should make some changes.

A while back I tried to pair putting collars/leashes/harnesses on with REALLY GREAT FOOD! This did not go well. She started refusing food. I talked with Kathy Sdao about this at the Midwest Veterinary Conference after one of her sessions where she said "Don't backward condition, it can create a trigger. Don't feed to prevent problems." She said this more about reactive dogs and the advice of some to feed-feed-feed in the presence of a trigger in hopes of using classical conditioning to change the dog's viewpoint, but it really relates to Bailey's problem too. By pairing an undesirable (having "things" touch her) with a high value reinforcer, I did not make the problem better. I made her start to avoid that food in all settings. Kathy was right on when she asked if the food was now a punisher for Bailey.

At Kristen's prompting, I took a video of putting on and taking off all collars/harnesses "with meaning."

Car harness and collar with tags means we're going out. This one specifically has gotten a lot better in general. I used to have to make sure I had a hold of her before trying to put the harness on, or she would run away. Despite trying to teach her to put her head through the opening, she would actively avoid me and the harness. I demonstrated this for another trainer one day and her comment was "she knows it means going on the car, so it should be a happy time" but it clearly isn't. In the video she did NOT try to leave, but she sinks down, her tail stops wagging, and her ears go back. She even does some lip smacking/licking. There is significant lip licking when I present the collar. She stands absolutely still and puts her ears up/forward when I place it on her neck. As she walks away, her tail is up. That is a classic "Bailey sign" of discomfort. If she's relaxed, her tail is down. If she's stressed or otherwise bothered, her tail is up. After she shook off, her tail came down and started wagging. She "shakes off" every time I put "going out gear" on her.

X-back harness means wonderful, wonderful, wonderful events will happen. It means bikejouring, it means going running, her two most favorite things in the world. She normally howls with excitement when she sees it and then demonstrates a lot of conflict behavior. She'll dash up to me present her head then duck away at the last second. She absolutely hates having it put on. You can see her just squish down and she really didn't appreciate me touching her after it was on. Her tail went up and she kept going to the door. She really, really, wanted to go outside. It normally means really great things. She shakes after it's removed.

THE tracking harness means slightly less wonderful things but is still very exciting. She approached me happily then crouched down when I slid it over her head. This piece of equipment seems to have the least negative connotations associated. I can't explain why, other than it is the most recently introduced. I know I harness her after I've laid a track, and she knows that so I wonder if the prospect of tracking overpowers?

Slip leads aren't a big deal going over her head because there is so much room! The problem with slip leads is when it tightens. I need to get a video of that, for another day. Taking it off, I do tend to scratch her neck before removing it 98% of the time. I'm not sure why I do with that and not other things.

Slip collars tend to be a big ordeal. It is generally tighter fitting, meaning it touches more of her head when it's put on. No problems once it's on though, vastly different from leaving harnesses on her. (I've never done a hand target for removing collars, so I shouldn't have done it in the video, but it worked REALLY well.)

Walking harness (H-style) is something we've been using since her rehab started. It's a harness she doesn't pull on and hopefully distributes weight more evenly along her back than pressure on a collar if she does hit the end of it and pull before I stop her. It means slow, controlled, walks. I don't know if it's the sensation, or what it means that causes the avoidance she shows (or if she just smelled something really good outside). The foot presenting behavior is something we've worked on, and something I expect when putting this harness on. The delay isn't always predictable, but it does happen fairly frequently. I was surprised that she didn't sink down when I buckled this one. Really surprised.

Not shown: gentle leader. Last January I put a gentle leader on her and she hit the floor whining and crying. Plastered herself. I had absolutely no idea why. It scared both of us. This summer I found a lump at the base of her skull, right where a correctly fitted gentle leader would sit. I would guess it put pressure on an already sensitive area and that sent her over the edge. She's normally a very stoic dog, so it shocked me when she cried out. Thankfully the lump is just a lipoma, but she doesn't wear gentle leaders anymore.

Doing What I Say

2011-03-19T22:03:00.000-05:00

I tell clients at work all the time to brush their dog's or cat's teeth. We discuss it in routine appointments, we discuss it after dental cleanings, and I talk about it with new puppy owners. I get decent interest from puppy owners and a lot of motivated owners after dental procedures but I've never once been able to say "my dog's gingivitis improved dramatically after only a month of brushing" or "my dog's teeth are sparkly white and she hasn't had a dental in 4 years."

Bailey's teeth--staining, build-up, and gingivitis. I'm embarrassed.

Bailey's teeth get nasty after a month if she doesn't get enough chewies (she has had two dentals and I almost scheduled her for another). I noticed how gross her teeth were today and decided I need to do what I say.

Buzz's teeth--minor staining, minor build-up, and minor gingivitis.

Buzz, on the other hand, has never had a dental and really has pretty great teeth. He gets chewies on pretty much the same schedule Bailey does but has dramatically less tartar build up.

I do have a dog toothbrush and toothpaste. I bought it at least two years ago and it hasn't ever touched a dog's mouth. I used it on Baby's teeth twice, if that. Today I brushed the teeth of both dogs after breakfast and before dinner. I don't expect it to remove the tartar build up... that's what bones are for, but I do expect it to help with the gingivitis.

I didn't teach my dogs to "help" me with teeth brushing. I have taught them to be okay with mouth handling though, and Bailey opens her mouth when I put my hands on it and say "open." Neither dog appreciated having the canines or incisors brushed very much, but were pretty good for the molars.

I know Crystal has started to brush Maisy's teeth. Does anyone else actually brush their pet's teeth? (I tried to do Rascal's and he told me that was not in his plans for today, or tomorrow, or ever, really.)

(It is really, really challenging to get good pictures, in focus, of dog teeth if I have to hold the lips back too. Maybe I'll recruit a helper tomorrow. The difference between Buzz and Bailey's teeth is pretty dramatic, especially on the canine teeth and premolars.)

Accomplishments

2011-03-16T19:40:00.000-05:00

"What did you do tonight?"

Dude, I accomplished a lot of stuff!

Walked all three dogs---Fritz separately, Buzz & Bailey together.
Buzz did all his exercises.

Front leg lifts, 3 reps of 20 seconds each leg
Nose touch to hip/treat stretches
Bows!

Bailey did hers too!

Stand on the peanut for 30 seconds (she's turning around on the ball again, I need to ask if that's allowable or not).
Quad stretch

Dremel nails!

Rascal
Bailey
Rasza (only front feet so far)
Fritz--he's getting better but still tries to get up multiple times
Buzz has not been done yet and I may not do his tonight, he's got super hairy feet... don't want to pull his hair out!

Fritz is getting up on the peanut now. I started him the same way I started Bailey. Launch off it!
Buzz & Bailey have Kongs for dinner. Behold the power of food toys!

I think that's enough for tonight! What did you do?

Exercise Companion

2011-03-14T20:42:00.000-05:00

While my two are laid up, on boring restricted activity, I get to play with Fritz! Today we went for a walk in the woods after work and he kept doing his famous "stop and stare" act! I got a couple good pictures and a couple that were way, way, way, out of focus. I'll keep on practicing!

One of the out-of-focus pictures, but he looks so adorable frapping!

He's here until Friday, so I hope to get a couple more of him! He's such a giant dork, but man does he make me laugh!

Injuries

2011-03-07T22:02:00.000-06:00

I don't know if I'm being overly sensitive or if I'm seeing what I want to see, but the more dog sport videos I watch, the more I get concerned. The lack of speed and precision isn't necessarily due to poor training, could it be due to injury?

When I look at how Bailey used to run agility and how she was running in the last couple trials before I pulled her, there was a dramatic difference. When she couldn't heel during obedience at the specialty, her whole gait was off. Due to the injuries my dogs have sustained, am I "giving the dog (really, the handler) the benefit of the doubt" more than I should? Or are there dogs with significant physical issues that aren't being addressed because a regular veterinarian can't diagnose and treat those problems?

I need to ask Dr. Julia what she thinks, though she probably won't have an opinion.

annual heartworm test

2011-03-07T21:49:00.000-06:00

This is a hot topic at work right now. It's comping up on "heartworm season" so we recommend an annual heartworm or 4DX test for all dogs in addition to using a heartworm preventative either year-round or thaw to freeze. We all have different opinions on the importance of vaccines and bloodwork, which is something I, and the other technicians at work, understand.

Our clinic recommends an annual DHPP combo vaccine, and we follow the WI state law of three year rabies vaccines after the initial one year. Those two (Rabies and DHPP) are considered the "core" vaccinations (communicable/zoonotic and life threatening). If I were in need of compromise in order to save on cost. I would likely let the DHPP go another year and run a heartworm test instead. At the clinic I work, a DHPP and heartworm test are only cents difference. As a technician, it is my job to "present the facts" to the owner and let each one decide. I've discussed with one of the veterinarians I work with about compromise, and how do we present the information as unbiasedly as possible. I clearly have a bias, but I try not to let it interfere.

How does your veterinarian present heartworm and vaccine information? Do you run a yearly heartworm test, do you give annual vaccines? Does your dog have risk factors that affect your decisions?

Truthfully, I run a 4DX on both of my dogs every spring. They are on every 3 years for DHPP and Rabies, alternating years. I haven't given a Lyme vaccine in years and the 4DX hasn't shown Lyme positive for either one. Though, the Lyme vaccine is giving me a lot of headache this year. I just cannot decide!

In the Name of Training

2011-03-06T20:18:00.000-06:00

Bailey has an aversion to the kitchen. More specifically, she has an aversion to the oven. It is a gas oven. If you reach for the drawer at the bottom she runs to hide. I've discussed what she does with many friends and professionals, the consensus seems to be a fear of the gas itself. I've half heartedly attempted to condition her associations and she will walk past the kitchen after the oven/stove has been turned on, but wants nothing to do with the kitchen itself.

Gas oven at far left.

Today, in the name of training, I made more waffles, and cooked food in the oven.

I had a Kong stuffed with frozen, raw food. A towel for her to lay on. And I made waffles. And other things in the oven. And then I took pictures. And she ignored me.

And she stayed, mostly... with her kong. She left twice when I reached for the bottom drawer. When I did actually open the drawer a little later, she looked at me and continued eating.

Wait. Did I just reinforce her fear of the oven?

No, it is not possible to reinforce fear. I did, however, reinforce her for remaining calm, on her towel, and in the vicinity of the scary things. I used my "lazy trainer card" and let the kong do the reinforcing.

Fun with Friends

2011-03-06T12:13:00.000-06:00

Lance (and blurr of Vito)

Handsome Vito!

Beckett!

Lance!

Maisy... or part of her at least

Can you find the Greyhound?

Beckett

Not pictured: Dobby the MN White Toed Chipmunk Dog. Buzz and Bailey had to stay inside. Oh, there were humans too!

Duration Nose Target

2011-03-04T11:42:00.002-06:00

During one of Ken's talks, we saw a video of a marine mammal doing a front appendage and nose target on the wall for an exam. It made me start thinking about how nice that behavior would be for pet animals to have. Especially the wiggly puppies or nervous dogs. If we can give them a behavior to do and build the reincorcement history, would exams go more smoothly?

I started using Bailey's sticky nose target the day I got home. We've been working on proofing the behavior of "keep your nose in my palm until told otherwise." So far I can kick my legs all around and someone can poke her. She has to see the person first for it to be okay, but she allows it all with tail wagging.

I'd like to be able to use this behavior for future physical exams. It'll be something she knows how to do and it should give the examiner a better way of examining. Instead of a puddle on the floor, there will be a dog standing straight.

I wasn't sure if I should admit this, but I've started working with Rascal too. Can I teach my cat a sticky nose target well enough to use it in a stressful environment? I guess we'll see.

Major Woe

2011-03-01T19:18:00.000-06:00

I guess I should have gone to more of the physical rehabilitation talks at the conference. I taught little kiddos this morning, got my teeth cleaned, and then the dogs and I visited Dr. Julia. I knew going in they were likely to be chiropractic messes. Bailey was toe touching with a right hind before I left for the conference, but it seemed a little better (or she got better at hiding it). Buzz had trouble with stairs at Elizabeth's house, he was having trouble at home too, now that I think about it more. We just didn't use them a whole lot before I left because it had been nice out.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
We'll start with the old man.
*Sore over sacrum, tilted right.
*Pain on right hip extension, better after adjustment.
She adjusted 8 areas and had to bring out the vibration device in order for his adjustments to hold for more than a couple seconds. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
Discharge: No exercises apart from treat stretches and bows. Leash walks for 20 minutes twice daily.
No other activity, no stairs if possible.

Then it was Bailey's turn.
*Pain over right proximal quads, improved after adjustment.
*Knees feel okay.
*Sore at thoracolumbar junction and in midthoracic spine.
She adjusted 8 areas on Bailey too.
Discharge: No exercises apart from right quad stretch, hold 10 seconds after walks. Leash walks 20 minutes twice daily. Restricted activity.

Recheck one week for both.

Good news: they still love her and going there. They looked a lot better on our walk after the adjustments and seemed to move freer.

More good news: I can definitely tell where she's hurting when she is. Too bad I don't know how to fix it!

So, anyone have extra springer sized bubbles they're not currently using? I could really use two right about now. Crate rest, low key activity in the house while people are home, leash walks outside. Lots and lots and lots of food toys I guess.

Hrmph

Midwest Veterinary Conference-Intro

2011-02-28T20:11:00.002-06:00

No way, no how, will everything fit in one blog post, but I've got to start somewhere. My flight adventures are memorable and highly amusing now that I'm safely home. Not quite so fun as I was running as fast as I could from gate G20 to H6 at Chicago O'Hare airport this morning. My flight to Chicago was "early" so we sat on the Tarmac for long enough that I had 5 minutes to get from one point to the other. I was the last one on the plane, then they say we're waiting for our pilot! Apparently his connecting flight was late too! I called Kristen after I could breathe again and I think my body tried to kill itself between recovering from that run and laughing so hard. The poor guy sitting next to me heard me hacking and laughing so much, he probably thought I was nuts!

Tired Griffin... he helped pick me up at the airport in Ohio!

You people are pushy, and waiting for seminar notes aren't you? A couple of Kathy's key phrases deserve more attention than I will likely give them, but they all deserve a chance!

"Leader vs Feeder"
Don't get overly concerned about maintaining leadership in commanding ways. Being able to provide reinforcement for desirable behaviors causes the dog to look to you for information about life. Food is a powerful tool, and a primary reinforcer. One of Kathy's favorite lines seems to be "every dog is food motivated" if it is alive. We can use that to reinforce behaviors we like, use management to prevent undesirable behaviors, and co-exist peacefully with our furry, four-legged friends.

"The power is in reinforcing good behavior."
Follows the same model of thinking that the above quote does. We can use fancy and impressive-sounding terminology like "leader" too. We just may lead with a different motive, and through different means. Controlling resources and being able to provide primary reinforcers gives us a lot of power. The key is to not abuse that power and use it wisely.

Buzz enjoying his vacation while I enjoyed mine!
(photo courtesy of Crystal)

"SMART-See, Mark, And Reward Training"
Rather than calling it "clicker training" or "positive reinforcement training," Kathy has started using "SMART" to define the kind of training she does. I think this is ingenious. There are so many trainers out there using terminology incorrectly that it can be difficult for potential students to identify the instructors true philosophy on training. She addresses the key aspects of competent, positive focused, operant conditioning trainer will use. See the behavior. Mark the behavior (with a clicker, whistle, verbal, visual, etc). Reward the behavior and don't forget that the reward must be rewarding for the dog.

Gina and Abigail... after we made waffles!

"Men have clearer, louder voices that are easier to understand."
This does not mean she thinks only men should be dog trainers, though it would have been funny to hear her say that. Many people tend to think men have better control of the dog because of a commanding/authoritarian voice. Men tend to use their voice in the same way every time. Women tend to alter their voice to the occasion. We, as trainers, need to be more aware of how much our voice can change. It is often difficult for us to understand people from a different part of the country than us. The person may still speak American-English, but due to an accent, there is trouble with effective communication. When I try to cue Luna "around" apparently I say my "ou" funny, and she doesn't respond.

Bailey can't wait for ball season! That's after winter, and after mud season.

You'll have to forgive the lack of seminar notes tonight. I did school work every day while in Ohio except last night. My classes officially end on Friday, so look for scattered information until then and hopefully I'll be able to share real information after that (if I can still remember it and read my notes). I used this blog as a reinforcer. Work on the paper, get to write in blog, work on paper, get to write in blog. Maybe I'll actually multi-task successfully in the process of motivating and rewarding myself for doing my school work.

"I have no reason not to be sleeping right now"

2011-02-21T22:22:00.000-06:00

Seriously. I have absolutely no reason not to be sleeping right now.

Lance has this awesome foot crossing trick on the cue of Laura's feet. I've admired it for a long time and never really gotten around to teaching it. Tonight we started working on it. I'm not sure how Laura taught the behavior, but I started with a target because we love foot targets! My goal was to place my target and click for the motion of moving the foot toward it. I was NOT expecting her to be so quick while laying down! She made contact with my hand pretty often. Re-evaluation time!

In the end she was actively offering foot "things" which is pretty normal. I got a couple really nice crosses, but they weren't very deliberate. I need to video sessions again now that we have video capabilities. I bet my timing was off just enough to be shaping a different part of the planned trick. I'm not sure what kind of cue I'll put it on. The two people I know who have this trick on cue use different cues.

One thing she offered that was utterly adorable was laying on her side and crossing her paws. I rewarded it, how could I not? In fact, I debated THAT being our trick instead.

I really should be sleeping, we really should be working on scent articles, I really should be packing, I really should be doing homework, I really should be blogging about important things. I shouldn't say how many blog posts I have started over the last week and... left in drafts!

Bailey and I are going to bed. Where we'll dream of foot target behaviors.

School

2011-02-08T20:49:00.001-06:00

Nope, not school for the dogs. School for me. Yay, more school!

It really helps my ability to be productive when I
A) Enjoy the topic of study
B) Am sufficiently physically exercised
C) Sufficiently rested
D) Sufficiently fed
E) Enjoy the topic of study
F) Ensure the creatures are sufficiently exercised

Tonight's study session was HOURS long with only school-related interruptions. I'm sure there's something I can apply from this to dog training, but instead I'm heading back to do more homework.

Fun fact of the night: "girls with Asperger's syndrome may be more difficult to recognize and diagnose due to coping and camouflaging mechanisms" (Tony Attwood, The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome 2007).

It also helps when you have a friend interested in the same field, in a different light, to discuss information with. It's like having classmates who are smart and interesting, at my fingertips! He also had a professor who is quoted in this book frequently, so that part is kinda-really-fun too!

School is also a reason for the decrease in blog post frequency, though not directly I suppose.

Tromping Through the Snow

2011-02-05T16:44:00.000-06:00

Group Photo Fail #1

Group Photo Fail #2

This is what everyone looked like by the end; success!

Rascal Update

2011-02-04T21:40:00.002-06:00

Tentative diagnosis of 'idiopathic cystitis' due to his urinalysis not showing signs of an infection or crystals, his xray not showing signs of stones, his health profile not showing signs of internal problems, and his apparent "recovery" in such a short period of time. Last night he urinated large amounts in his litter box. YAY Rascal!

What's changing?
**He's getting more Cosequin.
"Some veterinarians also recommend Cosequin to help support urinary bladder health. The inner lining of the bladder wall is protected by a layer, which contains some of the same compounds as are found in cartilage. This layer prevents urine and the waste products contained within it from seeping into and damaging the lining. Since the low molecular weight chondroitin sulfate found in Cosequin is available to more than just cartilage cells, the bladder may use it to help support this protective layer."

**He's going to practice being crated more frequently. I don't know if it was stress of being crated because he hadn't been in so long, or a stressful event that happened in the house that I didn't notice. Regardless, I want his crate to be a happy place again. Meals are being fed in it. He'll spend multiple days and/or nights in it for the next couple weeks. It has a litterbox and a bed. It is in a warm part of the house and in an area the dogs can't get to. He used to be crated for every meal because otherwise he would steal from Rasza!

A suspicious timing of food change has also prompted feeding Fromm again. He's eaten Fromm most often since transitioning off of urinary diets. He was eating Eagle Holistic for the last 1-2 months. Coincidence? Probably. Am I concerned, yes. Simple solution is just to go back to the food they both did well on. I will also be better about feeding frequent canned and raw meals.

Crucial points from the article linked above (courtesy of the Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital):

Just as water is primary therapy for prevention of urinary stone recurrence, we think that environmental enrichment is primary therapy for prevention of recurrence of elimination disorders, including FIC.

Behavioral and ethologic research suggest that cats prefer to eat

individually in a quiet location, where they are not startled by other

animals, sudden movement, or activity of an air duct or appliance that may

begin operation unexpectedly.

He spent the day outside of his crate while I was at work. Tonight he'll be crated again so I can monitor urine output. He's currently sprawled out on the dog-air bed.

A Request

2011-02-01T21:24:00.000-06:00

I know this is a dog blog, but our resident black and white feline is having urinary problems... again (he blocked the summer of 2006). We visited the veterinarian today after I noticed him urinating on the carpeting and in a suitcase. Thankfully his bladder wasn't full, he is still able to urinate, but it is definitely in small amounts.

Tomorrow we visit the veterinarian again. Good thoughts for my little monster please? We're really hoping we caught it early enough to avoid sedation/physically unblocking, but we'll know more tomorrow.

He rules the roost, and knows it.

He's in a kennel at home tonight so I can monitor input and output until we head into work tomorrow. Of course he enjoyed his dinner of canned Hills c/d, which hopefully won't be a long term thing again. I have thoughts on this urinary problem, but they'll have to wait for tomorrow.

TDX Preparations

2011-01-28T12:31:00.000-06:00

My dog and I are capable of a TDX, she's got a brilliant nose, a good foundation, and we both adore the sport of tracking. Therefore, I am going to prepare her for the TDX test on Sunday, May 8. It is a local test, we will probably be wait-listed, but we are going to be ready to run.

This means I need to be out working her as often as I can be. There's a lot of snow right now, but the temperatures are rising, so we can be getting out to track in the very near future.

I am committing. We will be ready to run!

Leaving the Ring

2011-01-25T21:41:00.000-06:00

I was taught early on in my "dog education" by Annelise Allan that there are many things more important in life than titles, than ribbons, than qualifying, and even than finishing a course. The important one today is the partnership that allows for competing in these dog sports.

I decided to enter Buzz in the MMBC's UKC Rally and Obedience trial last weekend. We showed up on Sunday, we warmed up, and then I forgot how to cue one of the behavior's we'd need. This is a recurring theme for me since Buzz has gone deaf. I've had to get creative with my cues because there is only so much I can do with my hands. Thankfully, I normally teach the behaviors well enough to be reliable so I run through the cues I think it may be until I get the desired response. It only took three tries on Sunday (I know, I know... write them down, write them down, but this is so much more entertaining) to figure out how to cue the running call front (which is actually "you have permission to leave your sit/stay and chase me"). So I get over that hurdle, put him away for little while since we were the second to last dog to run and watched the other teams. As it is with any trial, there were some excellent teams marked by the excellent handling and relationship evident from outside the ring. I'm always awestruck by these teams and want to congratulate each and every one. Often times I do approach and express my genuine appreciation for their dedication after they've exited the ring and thoroughly rewarded their dog!

Buzz and I had a beautiful entrance into the ring, beautiful set up, and he was working brilliantly for me.
Start
360 right
Halt
Left Turn--a little bit of an almost collision, but nothing major
Slow Pace
Normal Pace
Halt, 90 degree pivot right, Halt--he worked this one so nicely
Halt, Leave, Call dog front while running, Finish Right, Halt

And that's where we ran into trouble. I'd kinda forgotten his fronts were semi-broken. I hadn't been able to figure out if it was a training issue or a pain issue. He has seemed reluctant to do a tuck-sit and thus has been doing a back-up sit which is not part of front position criteria. He seemed to stall for a bit when he was supposed to front, so I cued sit and he did a back-up sit, quite a ways from me. I told him how silly he is and cued a right finish-which he did correctly.

270 Left
Halt, 1, 2, 3 Steps Forward

More problems. Too many sits. I got a slow sit on the initial halt. A no sit after 1 step and some dancing feet. He wanted to perform, but for some reason he just couldn't.

I have to say that I love this judge and would show to her again in a heartbeat. I simply told her that we're done and Buzz and I made our way to the exit. He can still heel well and likes to move, so we weaved through the cones on our way out. After we exited, the judge said "I'll just mark him as sick, he was ill." I smiled as Buzz and I made our way to our crate. I fed him as many treats as he wanted, gave him water and just loved him up. The same thing I do after every run we have, regardless of the outcome.

I approached the judge after the class was over and thanked her again for letting us leave so easily. She made a comment about teams falling apart and "pushing onward." She complimented me on my choice to leave the ring. I figured it was a good time to tell her that he's nearly 13 years old, probably completely deaf, and gets to make the choices these days... not that it would have changed my decision had the situation been different.

I know there are many people who disagree with leaving the ring, for whatever reason that may be. My own feelings on the matter are that I have to be my dog's own advocate, I need to pay attention and respect them. If they're uncomfortable for whatever reason and I don't suspect staying in the ring will improve the situation, then I will make the choice to leave. I've made a lot of mistakes in training and trialling my dogs, but this is something I feel strongly about and the more I've practiced it, the easier it's become. I'll be honest and say the first time I left the ring it was less than graceful. In addition to that, leaving the agility ring is typically far more acceptable these days. Leaving an obedience or rally ring can be a challenge due to the nature of the sport. I've left an obedience ring exactly twice and a rally ring probably the same. It has gotten easier to make the right choice every time I commit to it.

I arrived at the trial with a sound, happy, cooperative partner. I left with the same dog, in the same state. He still trusted me to make decisions on his behalf, and he trusted me to listen to him.

Thank you Annelise, for instilling in me the importance of chicken parties-even if I've deviated from the original intent.

Pain In My Arse

2011-01-23T22:40:00.000-06:00

Indoor agility, we did it!

I've been more sentimental in the last few years, but I still don't get overly sentimental about much, with a few exceptions. My girlie dog is one of those exceptions.

I got her for Christmas/my birthday in 2000. I was desperate for a "new dog" because I figured I had already failed with Buzz. My perfect little puppy came home and was well... perfect. Hence her "middle name" being Angel. She was the easiest puppy to raise, to live with, and to train. Absolutely perfect. Until she had to meet new people, or new dogs, or new surroundings, or go somewhere without Buzz. So I had the perfect dog at home, if no strangers appeared. And the rest of the story can be found in bits and pieces on this blog.

8 weeks old

She'll always, always, always be my baby-dog, I don't care how old she gets! She's definitely my Novice A, Do-It-All dog, and as much as I wanted to sell her a couple times... I wouldn't have the training skills I do today without her.

Conformation

Good grief, she actually looks groomed!

She even made her \\second// playmate-friend this year!

My mud princess, with dirt on her tongue. Typical.

I do hope to upload some new photos of her soon, that just means I have to get my camera out and use it... I'll work on that!

AROOOOOO!

Happy (almost) Eleventh Birthday kiddo, I hope you have many more years to be a bumper stealing, water loving, mud bathing princess.

Thanks for the wild ride Girlie.

Lunch Date Training

2011-01-18T19:45:00.000-06:00

I guess that's what I've decided to call it, lunch date training. It fits.
(Excuse the cell-phone quality pictures.)

Not sleeping, but leaning and relaxing.

Today was a mixed bag of results. She wasn't eating right away and she almost seemed afraid of the clicker (which isn't completely new but still surprised me). I put my hand in my pocket to muffle it, and she started acting normally again. A good portion of today was spent relaxing. I had a few things to take care of and she never seems to mind (in fact, I think it's actually her favorite part) laying on the couch, just hanging out.

I never thought I'd see her eyes closed.

1) Offered nose to hand targeting excitedly!
2) Offered standing on the step stool!
3) Nose targeted the groomer's hand.
4) Lay down and closed her eyes on the couch.
5) Allowed multiple people to touch her.

There were some not-so-great events today too that I'm processing before I post about. Although, it may be moot point because there's a rumor she gets to go home tomorrow. For everyone's sake, I really, really, hope it's true!

Memories of Past Snow

2011-01-14T17:05:00.001-06:00

To Infinity And Beyond!

2011-01-14T16:33:00.000-06:00

His favorite toy has lasted since puppyhood, nearly 13 years ago!

Buzz has a love affair with the newest doctor on his care team. She feeds him dried liver, loves him up, and makes him feel like jumping for joy after every visit. She even lets him lay down if he wants to.

After a visit to the cardiologist at the U of MN that resulted in an answer of "we did not perform an echo-cardiogram, but based on our evaluation today, we see no reason for heart problems to be causing Buzz's symptoms" or something to that effect, I was less distraught but still needed an answer. So while I gave a HUGE sigh of relief, I didn't know what to do next! The cardiologist suggested a referral to the Internal Medicine Specialist but he wasn't all that certain we'd find anything there either.

The only reason he retrieves is for food.

I thanked him (profusely, I just may have kissed that man if it wouldn't have been unprofessional) for his time and headed home. I pondered our options and decided to pursue the avenue our regular veterinarian initially thought was the case, pain.

Foot target to hand for leg raises.

I certainly wasn't keen on driving into Burnsville, MN even more frequently, but such is life when you find someone as remarkable as Dr. Julia Tomlinson. Her assessment was "Buzz has a lot of stiffness in his lumbar spine and some evidence of nerve pinching (pain and loss of proprioception, right sided weakness). I am surprised that his lumbosacral area does not seem to be bothering him much at this time. I think the pain on right hip extension is probably due to right paraspinal muscle pain. We need to manage pain and restore mobility before we think about strengthening. GOALS: To restore mobility, manage pain, strengthen."

Taken from the front page of the Twin Cities Animal Rehabilitation website

Our mission statement:

"To alleviate pain and restore our patients to maximal function,

improving their quality of life."

And so began Buzz's rehab. His has gone much more smoothly than Bailey's has and he is progressing at what I think of as a normal rate. At this point in time, he's receiving Adequan injections once a month and takes two oral medications every other day. He's still on a joint supplement and fish oil. He's able, willing, and ASKS to go for walks again, even in the snow and cold! We can go for over half an hour at this point, and that is off leash exercise which is far more strenuous than town walking! When we do go town walking, he's able to go-go-go until I'm ready to stop. He's still lacking muscle in his rear but he can do stairs by himself now!

Beef ribs are a staple in this house!

Just this morning he took off at a dead run (seriously, he RAN) for the fields where we go walking. It was a good 300 yard stretch that he RAN. When he stopped it wasn't because he was hurting or panting... he wanted to sniff something! Rather than trotting painfully and then walking, he's cantering around with joy now.

Grey is just distinguished, right?

I was honestly thinking about the dreaded E word this spring when we could NOT figure out what was going on with him. To say I'm happy about his current state is a complete understatement. I'm relieved, happy, and all sorts of excited about his progress. I even entered him in a rally trial, with two runs in a single day. He's going to be SO happy to get out and play again, and I'll be the smiling dork holding onto his leash.

Waiting for WAFFLES with Beckett!

I feel incredibly fortunate to have the resources I do. Not only have I learned an immense amount from this experience, but my dogs are living better lives because of it. I certainly didn't think I would be this "into" canine rehabilitation, but there's really no way around it after the results I've witnessed. More specifically, the rehabilitation plans for both dogs has consisted of regular chiropractic care, strengthening exercises, stretching exercises, pain control when needed, and a lot of carefully controlled exercise. None of it has been easy, I am human and forget to do their exercises sometimes, but the progress they've made is what keeps us going. (And being able to show off Bailey's new-found ability to hold a stack on the tile floors at work today... yeah, that was pretty darn exciting.)

Chris wanted Buzz in the photo.
Buzz did not want to be in the photo.
I promise he is not actually being choked.

Snow!

2011-01-14T13:06:00.000-06:00

We've gotten a lot more snow this winter than in the last five years I think! The dogs and I are enjoying it quite a bit especially since I take them outside to frolic while I do outside chores. This morning Bailey assisted me in shoveling the walkway in the dog yard and hauling in wood for the stove. She was so helpful, barking at the rodents under the snow, burying her head in the snow, and wagging her tail so fast I thought it may fall off! Definitely comic relief while I was doing typically boring chores!

When it was time to shovel the front walkway, I took both dogs with me and they frolicked in the front yard chasing bunny trails. Then they got some silly idea it was woods walking time. Despite the fact that we do not go woods walking in the winter. The snow is JUST TOO DEEP for all of us! I tried to appease them with more digging in the snow and belly rubs while rolling around crazily. Both were agreeable to coming inside after that.

The amount of snow has also made for great snowmobiling conditions. Buzz, especially, loves riding on the snowmobile. Bailey knows how but prefers to run instead.

Do your canine friends assist with snow removal activities?

My Lunch Date

2011-01-12T22:05:00.000-06:00

Is chocolate, but not edible.

Is an expert snuggler on the couch.

She's an absolute sweetheart. We also play training games (of course) for her lunch ration!

Walking Dogs

2011-01-11T21:30:00.000-06:00

I stress out about having to walk Bailey in public, on a leash, with other dogs potentially around. To the point that I never used to walk her in town. We didn't attend fun events because I knew she couldn't handle it. While understanding current limitations is a good thing, it was definitely a crutch I used a lot more than I should have.

When I moved back from college, the dogs and I started learning how to walk on leash in town. I know most of you will just laugh at us, but growing up on a farm and just not using leashes led to poor leash behavior and every. single. little. thing. being exciting while trying to walk. It is discouraging and aggravating, for sure!

A normal walk... even if it is in Ohio!

So we started slow. One dog at a time, with management tools, in the evening, and with a dinner ration. Bailey always wore a Gentle Leader. For at least a year when I was walking both dogs, Buzz even wore a Gentle Leader. I was not comfortable being put into a situation where I wouldn't have complete control, so I made absolutely certain I would never be faced with a situation like that. I'm being honest when I say that our early town walks were fast, 15-20 minutes at a brisk pace, less time to sniff things and misbehave!

When Buzz started receiving acupuncture treatments and I needed to be able to assess how he was progressing, we started walking in town on a schedule. I chose a town that had one path, was well lit, and allowed for as much walking as we needed. It was also generally deserted after 7pm, which was ideal.

Running and sniffing at high speeds is fun!

We've since progressed to walking on trails on leash, as well as visiting other towns and we even brave the city during the day sometimes now. This post was prompted by our walk last night and the conversation after it. I'd never thought about the benefits of off property leash walks until the last couple of years. For "country dogs" who don't encounter other people on a regular basis, are rarely walked on a leash, and don't experience the sights/sounds/smells of city life, it can be incredibly overwhelming to walk in a town during the day.

Take time to enjoy the smells!

A standard evening walk now consists of Bailey on her x-back with a tug line and me holding her leash (as opposed to running with her and me wearing my belt). Buzz wears a leash attached to his car harness. This allows both to move freely around me and sniff/explore/do whatever dogs want to be doing. We typically go at Bailey's pace (fast) for the first 2/3 of the walk then we slow down to a Buzz pace and Bailey practices her loose leash walking skills.

I love having the luxury of not having to work on loose leash walking skills, the dogs wearing harnesses allows them to "be dogs" and allows me to relax a little. (Last night I even listened to music while walking, a really-huge-first!) If we're walking in town during the day they're both still wearing harnesses but on 4 foot leashes and still wearing collars I can grab hold of, or attach the leash to if need be.

Key to our success?

Setting up for success! Assess goals for the walk and plan appropriately. We walk for mental and physical exercise, not to practice training. Therefore harnesses are part of our walking gear. Pull, pull, pull all you want. Sniff, sniff, sniff until I get tired of standing around. Buzz's memo is: you do NOT get to pee on everything that another dog has peed on--NO marking of light posts or street signs. I do my best to walk where we will not encounter loose dogs, but I'm not afraid to tell the loose dog to get lost if I have to.

I have no pictures of this walking business because I don't have an extra hand. That's another thing, pictures are a lot easier to get when the dog is much further away. If I could get a picture of us walking, it would be dog rear ends and who wants to look at those?!

My spoiled country dogs really like walking in the city, but I think we all enjoy walks at home much, much more.

Buzz's Day

2011-01-09T22:03:00.000-06:00

I never really know what to work on with Buzz when I take him to shaping class. I went in with a plan to work on "set ups" (I really, really hate that word, but it's the most concise way to say what I mean) which we did. Then I was stuck.

I was standing around asking for simple behaviors and casually mentioned that I tend to just 'stand around' and feed him when he comes to training day. It makes me feel like a failure of a trainer.

Does he care that he's not learning intricate behaviors that'll be used for competition behaviors? Of course not! He's just happy to be out! Robin commented on that... he's 12.5 years old and has earned the right to stand around eating food, being pet, and playing with Nina Ottosson toys if that's what he wants. And she's right.

Today Buzz played games with Ryan, ate a lot of treats, was pet by almost everyone, got to sniff around outside, interact with Via at his leisure (she was leashed), and hang out with some of the coolest people and dogs on the planet. He had a great day... he even got to stay at Maisy's house (and be a PITA... sorry Brian!!) raiding her food toy basket and playing shaping games with Brian!

I take Buzz to shaping class so he gets out and uses his brain and body. Mission accomplished.

(Oh, we did work on go-outs around a post... he thought that was a pretty cool game, so I may just continue that behavior.)

Trialing

2011-01-09T19:23:00.000-06:00

Buzz and I entered one run at the MMBC APDT trial in August. Before that Bailey and I ran in the MMBC NADAC trial in March.

I think I'm scared to enter a trial. My dogs are capable of entering some things at this point... yet I can't seem to send the entries in! Yes, I'm saving money (on gas, I have enough vouchers to cover all expenses) and I'm protecting my dogs but... I really think I'm hiding! I love going to trials to socialize with friends. It's been a LONG time since I've had to worry about a time frame at a trial.

How silly does that sound?

If I get up the courage, I'll enter Buzz in the MMBC UKC Rally trial the end of this month. I even printed out a pre-filled entry so I'd just have to mail it in. I don't know what's come over me! It was hard to stop trialling, now it's hard to start again?! Who would have thought that?!

2011-01-05T07:25:00.000-06:00

"I guess you don't really own a dog, you rent them, and you have to be thankful that you had a long lease." --Joe Garagiola

An agility friend lost her beloved Bull Terrier, Lefty this fall. An amazingly talented photographer who regularly captures images for us at trials put together a beautiful memorial for him. The quote above was posted along with it.

How very true.

Sunday Shaping

2011-01-02T21:36:00.000-06:00

I don't think I actually shaped anything today, but we did a lot of great work!

Go-Out
Session 1
Send to target on the floor.
Helper placed food when she arrived. Nose touch desired.
No sit/stay, I held her collar and released. Excellent responses, speed increased each time.

Session 2
Marking an object in the distance.
Ask for mark, click and throw food forward. Again, great responses. Solid sit/stay while waiting for release. Varied amounts of time waiting for release. Solid every single time.

Session 3
Set up for go out.
She set up beautifully and maintained eye contact until asked to mark the first time then she promptly flew out to the target that was dropped after she was released. The next time she left for the spot where the target was before even setting up. I put her on leash and tried it again. She again tried to leave so I stood and waited. She did reorient nicely, c/t until I had her full attention. 360 right and ask for another set up. Slow but correct response. Third time was a charm and she was rewarded with food and a chance to go-out.

Four correct responses with great set ups, solid wait for release and drive toward the spot.

I like successful training days.

Goals, I Think?

2011-01-02T14:10:00.000-06:00

It's a good idea to set goals. Everyone will tell you that. The problem lies in setting goals that can be accomplished in a timely manner to make one feel, accomplished.

I try to set goals for myself because otherwise I tend to putter along happily enough until I think about what I need to do in "real life." Then I get intimidated. Setting goals for "dog stuff" is much easier for me than setting personal goals, I would assume because of the fact that I've been practicing it for years and years.

This time, goals are about me.

Health
I set a goal for myself this fall. I said that I would not turn into a lazy lump on a log (okay, as lazy as I get). So, I joined a gym. I never thought I would join a gym, I am against organized things like that... but I'm enjoying it a lot. I committed to 3 days a week and have been going reliably (aside from the shoulder injury and the sickness). In the new year, it's time to increase that to 4 days a week. Tentative schedule is to add in Thursdays, Monday/Wednesday/Friday I can go to a class in the morning before work. Thursdays would be in the morning before work by myself... on a date with the elliptical machine!

Eating/drinking better. I've done really well with this one so far. It can only get better in the coming year. I drink pop infrequently, I opt for water or juice the majority of the time. Energy drinks definitely less than once a week. I succeeded in reducing the amount of caffeinated/carbonated beverages by allowing myself to have 1-2, rather than cutting it out completely. A gradual reduction and I definitely don't crave it. I'm drinking water when going out to eat, happily (okay, so I may steal a few sips of someone's Mountain Dew...).

Focusing on health for myself has really helped me focus on health for the dogs too. We go for walks to get out and explore. I don't hesitate to bring Buzz to a trial just to be a spectator. I'm focusing on physical and mental well-being for everyone, and it's working out well. Saturday I had the luxury of lounging around until after noon. It was quite an enjoyable experience.

Friends
In the past I've been good at making friends, but failed utterly at keeping them. I tend to get busy and fall off the face of the earth. I hate it when people do that to me, so why would I expect friends to accept it? I shouldn't. I made a lot of new friends this year who are invaluable and irreplaceable, I'm lucky to have these people in my life. Yes, the majority are "dog people" and thus "dog friends" but we definitely have a lot more in common than just dogs.

This year I will not fall off the face of the earth when life gets hectic. I love my friends and will continue to enjoy their company.

Education
I still don't know what I want to do with my life. So while I figure that out, I'm continuing to pursue both avenues and see where it takes me. I attended a TAGteach seminar last summer. It was brilliantly wonderful (I really need to work on my level 1 project). I took an introductory class for my Autism Certificate from Hamline University. I plan to take two more classes in the coming spring.

I'm going to the Midwest Veterinary Conference because Ken Ramirez and Kathy Sdao are both speaking. I signed up for an assortment of behavior classes and rehabilitation classes. I know I'm going to have a great time there!

Me, Me, Me
I've never, ever, been afraid to live my life for me... or so I thought. I had a lot of experiences this year that stick out as "I learned something valuable." Despite them coming from some incredibly stressful and trying times, I really have learned quite a bit. It's acceptable to say "no" to people. I don't have to do things just because someone will make me feel guilty if I don't. I shouldn't sacrifice my happiness for someone else's convenience. I'm learning how to be direct.

I am not afraid to live my life with goals, ambitions, and dreams, that I will make come true.
I will get what I want.

2010-The Year of Rehabilitation and Realizations

2010-12-31T09:41:00.012-06:00

The year started off pretty well for us and then I had a mini (ok, it was probably major, I'll just pretend it wasn't) crisis about not being able to train my dog to meet criteria. Normally when I put in effort, develop a training plan, and take private lessons the goal gets accomplished. With the move of Agile Canines Training School into a new (old) building, I knew Bailey wouldn't be working on actual skills for a while, especially not in a group class. Yet, my training goal for this year was to get real running contacts. Thus we started working with Annelise privately to get a good base for said running contacts.

I knew my dog was aging, and that she likely wouldn't ever have the speed I'd really like, but I was really confused (okay, stressed) by the fact that she was NOT improving, and actually seemed to be getting worse! Her contact behavior had deteriorated so much that I couldn't even get a maintained canter across the dog walk, much less over the a-frame.

Then we met Dr. Julia Tomlinson of Twin Cities Animal Rehabilitation Clinic who is worth her weight (times a billion) in gold. Bailey had a physical injury that most humans wouldn't be able to work through. Yet, she was still running around and acting like a normal dog at home but when asked for tight turns or increased speed on challenging surfaces, she was unable. Dr. Julia made a tentative diagnosis of "injured right quadricep muscle" and we started on a rehab plan.

It was not all flowers and roses, in fact I remember saying to Bailey that if she doesn't stop being a jerk on a leash she can sit in her crate for hours and hours and hours on end. Yes, she was put on strict crate rest with short leash walks (required to be loose leash with no harness or gentle leader because of the way both contort her body). I thought we were all going to die, I am not kidding. I tried to sell her to many people and pawn her off on co-workers A. Lot. We used a lot of stuffed kongs, bully sticks, and beef ribs in the first couple of months.

Then I thought about what a real trainer would do when faced with this problem; teach my ten and a half year old dog to walk on a leash. I know, I know... most people have this realization when their dog is about 4 months old. We're just a little behind the times. I did a lot of things wrong (think the worst about walking management tools) when she was a wee pup and into adulthood so I've never, ever, been successful at teaching her real loose leash walking skills. Walks were either a) off leash, b) on an x-back harness, c) wearing an easy walk or d) on a gentle leader. I could probably count on two hands how many times she'd been walked on a 4 foot leash attached to her collar for more than a trip to and from the car.

Enter the Loose Leash Walking Project. My dog can casually walk on a loose leash at home for a decent distance. I still need a very high ROR when in public but hey, WE CAN DO IT!

And that brings us to today. We had a visit with Dr. Julia on Wednesday. For the last couple months, we've been going to see her every 3-4 weeks for an adjustment and to check on progress. I think we're both still hopeful she'll make a full recovery, but the last appointment was really about how far she has come. I was getting so, so, so distressed about the fact that Bailey wasn't holding her adjustments in the beginning. Her sacrum was constantly shifted because of a lack of muscle to hold it in properly. She was very sore, very often. There were days where I wanted to give up. There were weeks where I didn't do any stretches with her because it just was not going well. We got into a major rut. Then our Ohioan Training Buddy helped me develop a TAGteach style plan of action. Since then I've been reliably doing her stretches at least once a day and actually at least 85% each week.

Progress has been slow, but it's there. Her sacrum hasn't shifted in months. She's gaining strength in adductor muscles. Best of all though, my happy little girlie is back. She's moving freely, she's using her leg completely (absolutely no toe-touching, ever), and we're having a blast doing her rehab exercises these days. Since she's been unable to train for competitive behaviors that are strenuous (agility) or one sided (heeling) or could otherwise compromise her leg, I made her stretches into a training game. She will readily offer a bow, a nose touch to hip, or a leg lift. She's even doing leg lifts on the ball by herself now. She "assumes the position" for her theraband exercises and stands like a statue for vibration therapy.

I learned something vitally important this year. My training plan wasn't ineffective. My dog was hurting, I just couldn't see it. Don't ever underestimate or rule out a pain response if training isn't going as it should.

Realistically she may never compete again, and I think I'm okay with that.

Holiday Gifts

2010-12-25T20:06:00.000-06:00

The dogs got beef ribs and some canned food for Kong stuffing, and a stuff-less skunk toy.

The cats got new comfy beds for on the furniture (dual purpose cat sleeper and hair containment).

I got some pretty awesome things from the family. Best gift? Retired bridle leather with turquoise beads bracelet from Montana!

Also got the Dansko shoes I've been coveting. Mom was sneaky and I love, love, love them.

Brother gave me an ipod shuffle! I'm so excited to use it while I'm working out now!

Despite all the stress of having the holiday at The Farm, it was absolutely great to see everyone.

Declaw Alternatives

2010-12-24T10:24:00.001-06:00

Yes, a cat post. I'd say (without looking at actual numbers) that we do about 50% of our cat spays/neuters with a front declaw, 10% is probably a 4 paw declaw, and the remaining 40% are only spay/neuter. Surprisingly (to me) maybe 45% of those initially not declawed come back in later for a front declaw.

I've never been a fan of declawing. Working at the clinic has made me even less of a fan. I live with one front declawed cat (done at an older age, but definitely not old) and one who has kept all of his claws for his 13 years of life thus far.

Why do people feel that declawing is necessary right away? I will say that I stand by the fact I would rather see a cat declaws and living inside safely, than the alternatives (becoming an outdoor cat or dead). Of course, of course, of course! I just feel like we're missing out on a key element of pet education if we're seeing so many (standard) declaw procedures.

Alternatives?
1) Nail trims. I've been experimenting lately with my own cats. I've got both of my cats accustomed to the dremel. I trim the tip with a clippers (if I let them get that long) and then dremel it back, like I would a dog's nail, until there is no point to the nail. This means that he can't be using the nail to scratch things. I ran my fingers over the nails when I finished this morning and it doesn't appear to be sharp in any way. We have leather furniture, so scratches happen pretty easily. He doesn't actively scratch things, but if I let his nails get too long they tend to do the damage all on their own.

2) Soft Paws. I've heard very little good about the product, most of the negative relating to the glue used. I bought some a while back and haven't used them yet. I've been told to expect to have to order new glue to use as the tube in my kit is likely dried up, despite it not being opened. The reason I haven't tried them is I'd have to let the nail grow out for them to fit. I simply haven't seen the point yet.

3) Appropriate scratching surfaces. I don't have any cat trees. I really, really, need to build one. Not only as an appropriate scratching surface, but I'm sure the cats would love to have a place the dogs absolutely could not get to. Most scratching surfaces bought at local big box stores are too short for the majority of the cat population. It does no good if the kitty doesn't like it!

4) Enrichment. Cats are more likely to find inappropriate scratching surfaces if they are bored. Keep your indoor feline occupied.

5) Health. As always, if there are sudden changes to your cat's behavior, a vet visit may be in order.

Developing A Training Plan

2010-12-19T21:26:00.000-06:00

We have a new "clinic cat" at work. She's a little kitten that was found out and about in the winter weather. A kind citizen brought her in. My boss promised her a home before the holidays and since nobody has come forward, she's become the newest addition!

Which means she needs vaccines and sterilization and other fun things clinic cats get. I've wanted a new pupil for a while now and what's better than a food motivated, silly little kitten?!

I've never been good about creating a training plan and actually using it. Since I would like this to be as effective as possible and accomplished in the shortest amount of time possible, I'm going to create, and stick to, a training plan.

I won't share my loftiest goal, but I will share what I hope to accomplish along the way.

1) Relaxed blood draw behavior
2) Kennel on cue
3) Go to mat

The plan is to ask tomorrow if I can work with the adorable kitten, if my voice will cooperate. It is currently on vacation without me.

"The Golden Years"

2010-12-19T18:57:00.000-06:00

Buzz will be 13 in May. I've tried to make sure he's still getting physical and mental stimulation as he likes, because who wants to be forgotten in their golden years? Last night we had a "meeting of the minds" with some good friends and a sleepover (I can count on one hand how many times Buzz and I have had a sleep over)! He interacted with Beckett, Via, and Elvis as well as the myriad of people around all night long, he had a blast! So much fun in fact, that I had to crate him to get him to sleep last night!

Watching waffles being made!

We then went to training group this morning where he worked for a good portion of the hour. It was evident he'd been to a sleep over, but was happy to be there and to be working!

Beckett has learned how to use the pivot box!

I've been taking him to work with me to see people and use the treadmill since it has been WAY too cold for outdoor activities. When it does warm up again, I hope to resume at least once weekly walking in town.

I've not been good about using food toys, but I plan to start doing that again. I can take Bailey for her walk in the morning before work and leave the tug a jug out for Buzz (yay for multi-tasking)!

What do you do in the winter to keep your dog mentally and physically stimulated?

I'm looking for Bailey specific activities too. She doesn't like coming to work and isn't generally satisfied with town walks. She does like going to Tractor Supply to go shopping, but there's so few things we need from there that it's realistic about once a month. I do alternate dogs when going to training group, but then she's only getting out every other week at best.

Rehab-Modified!

2010-12-13T20:16:00.000-06:00

We've been doing our stretches and ball work dutifully. We are failing at exercising (well, the dogs and I are... I am not, for once, whee). It is SO COLD outside that even with boots and jackets and activity, we are limited to the driveway and while it's pretty long, it gets boring after a couple passes. This morning Buzz went out to pee, walked to the shed and stopped. He looked at me and walked back to the front door. He made that pretty clear.

I keep saying I should just bring him to work and put him on the treadmill, so that's what I'll do tomorrow. We'll go to work and he'll exercise on my lunch hour while I eat lunch and/or read a book. Hahahaha, oh yes, I'll be laughing at him.

If I remember, I'll bring my camera. He's never been on the treadmill at work before, but I doubt he'll have any problems with it.

Bring it on Midwest Winter, bring it on! We can work around you!

Snow-(tsu)nami!

2010-12-12T22:49:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the poor quality. I was just happy my camera complied long enough to get a couple pictures before it said "I AM TOO COLD!"

Snow dogs were happy with snow, only when in complete winter gear.

Buzz knows how to stay warm. It involves 2 jackets and some boots.

I emailed Muttlucks again to ask about buying a single boot and no response... so we have 3 Muttlucks and a reandom, red, cheap boot.

Spoiled!

2010-12-11T22:15:00.003-06:00

More Poking and Prodding

2010-12-09T19:47:00.001-06:00

Buzz2
Originally uploaded by Keen on Mangoes

Buzz was poked in the bladder (still "stuff that shouldn't be" on his urinalysis but... we're going to wait and run another urinalysis in 2 weeks), poked in the jugular (his general health profile was straight black, right down the middle, awesomely good), and poked in the armpit (yay, another lipoma). He says he wants to stay home from now on.

All in all, a pretty darn good report.

A Very Special Setter

2010-12-07T17:18:00.000-06:00

He wasn't mine, I never saw him for more than a couple hours at a time, and yet this is one of the most challenging euthanasias I've been through.

He touched a place in my heart that hasn't been used in a while. He was special from that first time he walked through the clinic door. He and his owners came to us just a couple months ago because their other clinic was closing and the boy needed a reliable doctor to fight for him. We've been trying our damndest to provide him with relief from seizures, but nothing has worked. He'd start a new drug, have no seizures for days at a time then he would start to have grand mal cluster seizures again. One of his owners would call in tears asking if there's anything we can do, and we'd eventually find a new drug, a new supplement, a new something...

Today he came in for that final visit. I stepped in to the room to say my good-byes and the big blue boy shoved his head into my face. I told him what a good boy he is, how brave he's been, and that he's the most beautiful setter I've ever met. He obliged me for a couple seconds and then began pacing again. Watching him so clearly uncomfortable with... everything... made it almost bearable. I told his owners how damn sorry I am, how badly I feel that we couldn't help him. They'd done everything anyone's ever suggested that *just might* have helped. They'd exhausted all options. This was the last gift they could give him.

Rest well beautiful blue boy. You've given everyone you met something to remember--Don't dwell on the past, don't worry about the future--just live in the now. I'm sorry your body failed you, and I'm sorry we couldn't help you. I'll remember you forever, as the bravest dog I've ever met.

Crazy Red Adolescent Boy Dog

2010-12-04T18:37:00.000-06:00

I affectionately refer to Fritz with many crazy-like names. I don't use his name much (habit that deserves a post of its' own...) so I find other things to call him. Today he was red beast, crazy red boy, and goofy red kid... I think.

Our training today was great in many ways.

He never stopped taking food. He started showing signs of being disinterested, so I stopped before he stopped.
He remembered hand targeting after only a couple sessions. He hasn't worked on it since he was at my house in September.
His Gentle Leader behavior was functional. He'll still put his nose through the loop and allow it to be buckled without bucking-bronco tactics.
The Tug-A-Jug is still exciting. As is the Kong Genius.
He was able to reorient at the door and I was proactive and held his collar to prevent leaping off the deck (he likes to launch from deck to sidewalk, completely skipping the 3 steps and hauling the person on the other end of the leash with).
He didn't pee on my shoes in greeting...

September... we definitely have snow now!

I brought an assortment of kibbles I have at home (TOTW High Prairie, Fromm Salmon, Fromm Duck, Kirkland Chicken and Rice) and some Old Mother Hubbard assorted mini-biscuits. We also used treats from his house--peanut butter biscuits, dried chicken jerky, and soft beef treats. He was very alert and in tune when we encountered another dog (a good distance away). I was able to get him to reorient and sufficiently reinforce/keep his attention every time but one. He did wuff! a couple times but no leaping dog behavior, just a lot of "stop and stare" that was fairly easy for me to reengage him from. Very little Gentle Leader frustration behavior (he perfectly demonstrated the difference between thick and thin nose loop preference that I'd tried to explain previously), and incredibly responsive to the slightest pressure.

Not-so-successful.

He was still launching at me pretty regularly. It decreases significantly each time I see him, but he's still doing it. He's huge and it hurts. It frustrates him when he doesn't get my attention that way, so then he gets mouthy. I was sorta able to redirect to a toy and sorta able to engage him in training... sometimes. I know he needs a better way to greet me, but if I get down on his level I get pee on my shoes. If I engage with him upon first arrival, I get pee on my shoes/pants/whatever is nearby. (He's a huge submissive peer...)
Nail trim. When he stayed with me I trimmed his nails almost every day. By the time he left, he'd lay on his side and let me trim all four feet without mouthing me. He was relentless today. I actually needed another hand, which I haven't needed with him in quite a while. A toy in his mouth was not sufficiently engaging, he wanted to mouth ME.

I'm not sure if mouthy was just a "thing" today or what's going on with that. He's always been a mouth-oriented dog, he samples everything, but I can't remember it being this significant before. Is this something that needs to be addressed, or will it go away?

Greetings clearly need help, but I'm not sure how. Crating hasn't helped in the past. He gets all wiggly and pees as I unlatch the door. I've thought about crating + dropping food in without eye contact, but I doubt he'd eat it, so... ineffective.

And my biggest struggling point ever--teaching the owner leash handling techniques with a Gentle Leader on. Kristen and I have talked about it extensively and not come to any real conclusions... anyone else have suggestions other than go ride a horse (seriously... people who ride/have ridden have excellent leash handling skills)?

Rehab continued

2010-12-03T16:40:00.000-06:00

We visited with the fabulous Dr. Julia on Wednesday evening and while the appointment went well:

Bailey's sacrum is still staying where it needs to!
Buzz is definitely more mobile

We still aren't seeing enough results with Bailey's leg. More ball work (correctly... since I'd misunderstood before) for both dogs.

Bailey is to do single front leg lifts while on the ball
Buzz is just to stand on it for 30 seconds

And, we're using resistance bands on Bailey's legs now.

Trust

2010-11-30T18:40:00.000-06:00

We have a generic herding dog mix who comes into work. He's a rescue, from an unknown situation, and he's a dog I would truly call "unpredictable." He has to be muzzled for all encounters because his warning signs are so slight and his threshold is so low. In the months since I've worked at the clinic, I take this appointment every time I'm available. He can be so sweet and he really seems to be "misunderstood" among other things. We get along okay and I think we've reached an understanding. (I have to preface this with... I do what I can at work, there are things I would do differently--like not pushing him over threshold, but I have to do my job in the best way I can.) The understanding is: he lets me muzzle him without any fuss and he can growl the whole darn time if he wants. When we're done, I take the muzzle off with as little fur pulling as possible and then he gets a treat.

I'm sure I could fill up pages upon pages based on my interactions with him, but one from yesterday deserves to be documented.

I got kisses, and I wasn't scared of him when he did it. We played "the muzzle game" in front of his owner (who has a healthy fear of him, and can't safely muzzle him herself) and he got SO DARNED EXCITED that he bopped me on the chin. His eyes lit up, he danced around, and he was so darned excited. He adores the muzzle game. I would classify my encounters with him previously as either neutral, or negative. Definitely not positive. Yesterday's encounter ended positively. I've never been more thrilled to see a dog put his ears up and look expectantly at me. He learned how to earn treats. Not that I would have allowed the kisses if he hadn't been acting the way he was. I don't know how to adequately describe it, but that boy was just... relieved, maybe?

Good boy. What a good boy he was.

Down

2010-11-23T20:30:00.000-06:00

My female boss teaches puppy classes at the veterinary hospital. Occasionally we have discussions about "challenging" puppies and the like. Lately she's had a little mix puppy who seems to be the bane of her existence in regards to teaching down. She asked for ideas about three weeks ago, after all of her usual methods didn't yield results. I relayed the different ways I would go about it, minus shaping... until the very end. She'd tried all of my other suggestions for luring the behavior and for a couple weeks no more comments, so I assumed things had been going well and they'd found a trick.

Today while I was finishing up some surgical charts she came in and showed me this little bundle of fluff that could not be lured into a down and very rarely offered a down. Since most puppies learn how to be lured quite well, I first tried to lure the puppy into simple positions. Environment was too stimulating so I had to keep reengaging the puppy (not something I would normally do... but I had limited time). After about a minute I had the puppy licking/following the food reward in simple circles, in a straight line, and into a sit. From there I "shaped" (yes, using the term very loosely, but there's really not another way to describe it) the puppy to down. Each time the head followed the food I let her have a nibble. Even if it was a tiny movement, nibble on food. My end goal was to have her blindly following the food. I never did work on the down portion, but something happened in that session and my boss was able to get five lured downs from the puppy later!

I can't call it shaping, because I wasn't waiting for offered behaviors really. I was just luring, but the puppy wouldn't lure well, so I had to shape a lure, I think?

Anyway, I'm happy the puppy is "learning down" and the family/boss are happy about it. But what do I/can I call that?

Semi-Permanent Retirement?

2010-11-21T22:03:00.000-06:00

Bailey has been going to see a rehabilitation specialist since June. We went because she was in pain, definitely, but I really had hopes she could recover and return to performance events, even if not seriously. We've been given the go-ahead for Tracking... but I have not been good about getting out to TRACK with it getting dark so quickly now. I need to stick to my goals and actually work her. Tuesday and Thursday mornings, I have time and daylight to lay tracks for her. (Just not this week, as it's deer hunting/gun season and we live in the boonies with stupid people. I don't even walk the dogs around here this week. We stay in the fenced yard.)

She is making progress, but I just don't think that with her age and those muscles having 10.5 years of muscle memory... I'm going to convince her body that it's supposed to work differently and carry her differently. She's holding her adjustments, and seems to be far more comfortable in general, but.

We have an appointment on Wednesday with Dr. Julia again. I plan to ask her if it's realistic to hope for a return to agility or not. If it's fair to ask that of Bailey's body. I will not compromise my dog's body anymore. I did it unknowingly for years, but now I know better, and I know my dog better.

We've been working on obedience with relative regularity, so I'm going to focus on that throughout the winter. And this is why I've been posting about things not relating to training, or trialling... because the more I think about it, the worse the situation seems. Therefore, I start to think about my other favorite topic of breeding/health/etc. *smile*

If I post about health and breeding too much though, remind me to TRAIN MY DOG. Obedience is something we can do, and can practice, and can prepare to take our first ever obedience class when we're given the okay. Dumbell holding sits on the hatbox are coming along beautifully, now I need to progress to working on that behavior without the hatbox--in front and heel position!

Registering "Pet" Dogs

2010-11-21T18:26:00.000-06:00

Sparked by a conversation at work... (these are always good, I swear).

Both of my dogs were registered because at some point in time, we had planned to breed. Also, it's "just something you do" according to my dad. His reasons are different than a responsible breeders' might be, but it gets the same job done; puppies registered and accounted for.

One co-worker has 3 purebred, registerable dogs. None are registered because they're all pets, and speutered. Another has 2 dogs, both registered; one was going to be bred but developed allergies, another was a rescue who came with her registration.

Many of the breeders I know ask that all puppies are registered, but don't necessarily ensure it happens. A couple register all puppies and send the paperwork in before leaving for new homes.

Is it really as beneficial as I'm thinking, and as necessary? I feel like it's a mixed bag. As long as the breeder knows what was produced in the litter, and keeps tabs on the pups as they grow, then the AKC doesn't really need to know, I suppose. On the other hand, how many people develop an interest in dog sports later on and then end up doing an ILP/the like which can just be confusing for everyone.

1) Is your dog registered?
2) Is your dog neutered/spayed?
3) Did you complete the paperwork, or did the breeder?
4) Do you compete in AKC and/or UKC events?

*1-yes, both are
*2-yes, both are
*3-we completed paperwork for both
*4-Buzz is registered with the AKC and UKC, Bailey just AKC

NO TUMOR!

2010-11-18T18:21:00.000-06:00

That is all... ok, somewhat all. We finally got him sedated and xrayed about 5pm and there is NO evidence of a tumor!

More details later... off to cuddle my dog again... because I can.

NO TUMOR!

Buzz says...

2010-11-17T18:32:00.000-06:00

QUIT poking my bladder!

Saturday Buzz had some orange-ish urine at the end... when he was mostly empty. I made a mental note and said I'd keep an eye on it. Nothing else until Monday morning, last pee before work and the end is bright red. No mistaking that for orange or yellow.

I loaded him up and away to work we went. Doctor #3 gave him a full physical exam (including rectal... Buzz wasn't so sure she REALLY needed to go up there but being the most excellent boy he is, he held very still) and she was able to palpate "something" up near the top of his bladder. Urinalysis showed signs of infection, but the problem is, boy dogs don't just get UTIs. Then we took an xray (or two...) and compared it to an xray taken in July. There is a definite opacity difference up near the top of the bladder, suspicious of a tumor. I went home Monday with some antibiotics to treat the bladder infection and a lot to think over.

Each doctor made a handful of suggestions about further diagnostics, treatment options, etc. and today we did an ultrasound to more accurately determine the location of the mass (and, essentially, to prove it really is there). It showed up on the ultrasound screen as at the top, in the trigone area of the bladder.

Tomorrow we do a cystogram (human site, but essentially the same) to hopefully find out more information.

Any extra vibes, good thoughts, prayers, whatever you may have will be appreciated tomorrow.

Throughout all, my sweet boy has remained so. He doesn't act like there's anything bothering him and keeps wondering why people are poking around his abdomen so much!

Reinforcement

2010-11-13T09:19:00.000-06:00

I was reinforced for poor training tonight.

My dog is on the ball, err... peanut! Let the rehab continue!

Submitting Abnormal Results

2010-11-11T07:31:00.001-06:00

I had a post typed out and then decided it's really not about that.

Based on something that happened at work yesterday, I'm curious about not just releasing (the third part)... but the second part of this, submitting abnormal test results regarding your dog. (Testing is the first part of all this.)

Case in point: a client wanted us to do a patellar luxation OFA form for her dog. It's a common problem in the breed but the attending veterinarian hadn't ever filled out a form for it before. He noted that there is no way to grade each patella individually. You can make notes about each patella, but then each patella is given the same grading, from "Normal" up to "Grade 4." He then made a comment that people wouldn't submit abnormal results anyways.

Would you submit abnormal results and just not release, to provide beneficial data for your chosen breed. Or would you withhold results completely?
--The attending veterinarian commented on the money factor. It costs money to send the form in when the results are already known.

Training Notes

2010-11-10T19:19:00.000-06:00

1) UNintentional test of Bailey's article indication went really well. She circled me to find the track again and indicated her line. It was both wonderful and confusing. Nope, it was just wonderful. Scent, line, plop. "Mom, I found an article!"

2) Holding a dumbell and keeping her feet in like we've been working on is too much work. Tonight Bailey learned holding objects in her mouth while sitting on her pivot... hat box. And then we worked on splendidly close front position while holding a dumbell, on the pivot box. Yes, my dog is that awesomely amazing. It's fun to have a dog whose nose is at belly button level and literally puts the dumbell into your hands then.

3) Buzz thinks the FitPAWS peanut is actually kinda weird. I plopped him on the ball, thinking nothing of it because he's my unflappable boy and he went "WHOA! mom-lady, what IS this thing?!" So then I braced it even better and took his cone off and he happily balanced on the ball. Win! Hopefully he'll be able to balance it himself someday, but I'm not holding my breath.

4) Bored dogs are SO HAPPY TO TRAIN. We went for a walk as soon as I got home from work, just on our road, came inside and started training. They were so keyed up, it was cute. Then I felt bad because it's been a while (we won't mention how long it's really been) since they've been worked.

Tomorrow:
More magnificent dumbell work.
Short grass tracks for both dogs with no corners.

happy is what you make it

2010-11-03T16:31:00.000-05:00

the smell of fall
chocolate
laughter with friends
meaningful hugs
new life
the wind blowing
hot cocoa
new socks

what makes you happy

CERF

2010-11-02T22:00:00.000-05:00

Eye exams are important, not just for breeding pets but also for our sport (or semi-retired, sport) dogs. The ultimate goal is to keep our pets running for as long as possible, so with that comes preventative health care and gathering as much information as possible to make informed decisions.

Bailey had a "puppy CERF" which is standard practice. It gives the breeder feedback and provides the owner with a baseline. I never sent her CERF form in, but I still have it. It was clear, so no worries there.

We got started doing CERF exams in 2007 when the TCVESSA held a PRA blood draw in conjunction with their annual CERF clinic. There was a discount on the price of PRA testing for dogs with current CERF exams, so I figured why not! Both dogs had clear exams and I sent their forms in. Test results came in a couple months later with Buzz being normal/clear and Bailey being affected (but not yet afflicted, per her CERF exam).

Since then I've learned a lot about inherited eye problems as well as some specifics of the form of PRA springers can be affected with. At eye exams in 2008, both dogs were once again clear and Dr. Schoster didn't find it odd Bailey still had no signs of being afflicted with PRA. She's been on some sort of eye vitamin (typically Ocuvite, sometimes Bilberry with Lutein) since the "diagnosis" and well... I just expected her to be normal. I've kind of forgotten about the whole thing because so many dogs were unafflicted for years and years and years.

This eye exam went a bit differently than expected. Buzz played brave boy and went first. No concerns, only notation was his tarsal gland ademonas. Still completely sighted at over 12 years old, and I couldn't be happier. I let Dr. Larocca examine Bailey without any history because I've learned that professionals don't want to be given any kind of feedback that could sway their exam findings. He told me she would be receiving a clear CERF which is when I chose to tell him she is genetically affected with PRA. He looked at me, looked at her... and said "I don't believe that, your test is wrong!"

I had to hold in a laugh because he said it so emphatically. I wouldn't have been laughing at the notion of it, but merely his... enthusiastic response! I let him explain himself, "no dog still sighted at 10.5 years old can be affected with PRA, we would be seeing degenerative changes." I casually mentioned she's been on an eye supplement since "diagnosis" in 2007, had a clear CERF in 2008 and did not have a CERF in 2009. He was adamant the test is wrong!

Her sire is deceased, with no banked blood. Her dam is deceased, with no banked blood. She has a half sister on either side, neither of which has had the PRA test run, as far as I know. She has full siblings, but I don't know of any, and I doubt her breeder has contact with any. This is information I told him because he asked me how many affected offspring she's produced...

...

...

...

I promise I did not laugh when saying "she has produced zero offspring," though it was another pretty close slip.

He said we have to re-run the test. I said there is only one laboratory currently doing ESS PRA tests. He tried to find me another place to send blood... but there aren't any. If I ever have money to spare, I'll ask if we can run Sarah and Addy blood, to see if it provides us with any kind of information. If either tested normal/clear, then we would know somebody's test is wrong but the problem lies in them testing carrier or affected not giving us any valuable feedback. As much as I would love to know "for sure," it really doesn't matter. She has no offspring and all I care about is that she's still sighted. The PRA test is what got me started doing regular(ish) CERF exams, so I don't regret doing it. I just like definitive answers, especially when a professional doubts another professional's diagnosis.

To prove that I'm just a wee bit crazy... I seriously loved this appointment. It amuses me to no end when something or someone is challenged. It keeps everyone on alert and engaged.

I'd visit him again any day. Informational entertainment with some seriously fun learning. Yes please!

The Awaited Return...

2010-10-31T18:39:00.001-05:00

Bailey finally got to track today. I've either been too busy or it's been dark since we were given clearance to track that the poor dog had to wait until today to track for the first time since June. Part of me was terrified to take her, for fear she'd be a complete nut job... and part of me was so darn excited to be able to work my dog again.

First surprise. She offered loose leash walking, despite wearing her tracking harness. I rewarded that heavily with hot dogs (hot dogs are not a common treat around here, so they're like... better than cheese).

Second surprise. When I switched her lead from collar to harness, she didn't immediately lurch forward like I expected. She was interested and started checking the ground out but there was no distinct "WHEE!" behavior I'm accustomed to.

Third surprise. She indicated and STAYED while I picked up the first article (see, we all have our faults, I've not trained that piece of the chain very well... I'm lazy and normally wing it).

Her track was aged 3.5 hours, had 2 ninety degree corners, and 4 articles. It started on short grass then went into tall grass and on into a wooded area. I sent her over some downed trees and her first corner was just past a pine tree with no low hanging branches. From there we headed onto a hayed path and into a hay field. Here she really shocked me by turning to check in (she NEVER does that) and then getting off the track and finding deer poop to eat. I was seriously peeved because I've worked so hard (in the past) to keep her ON the track and not allow extraneous sniffing and crittering. After we had a discussion (that was more aimed at me about laying shorter tracks to start back with... duh), she moved into the final leg where we had a lot of fun.

The track exited the hay field, into a lightly wooded ditch, across the driveway, back up a lightly wooded ditch on the other side, and her end article was about 15 yards in the field.

She worked the exit from the field nicely. Checked both ways before committing to heading down, moved quickly across the road (head down, YAY), then checked left and right before heading up the other side. She was rewarded with her final article not far in.

I was really surprised by her relaxed working style. I'm not overly concerned about today's session. She hasn't done much of anything in over 3 months, so I'm sure there's a lot of other factors playing into this. I do plan on laying tracks at least once a week though, and hoping for twice. My biggest stumbling area is aging them. I don't have a lot of daylight now and I'm not fond of tracking in a field in the dark... Hopefully I can set aside some time one day of the weekend though and we can prepare for a TDX test in the spring!

TCOTC's Fall TD Test

2010-10-31T18:20:00.000-05:00

I used my weekend wisely and laid tracks for TCOTC's Fall Tracking Test. I always have another motive for attending events as a spectator and this was no exception. I love hearing the feedback from experienced judges and I love watching handlers work with their dogs.

This time though, the best conversations were had outside of the field.

1} Article Indications
I don't pretend to know everything about tracking, my dog has only passed a TD so far. Her indication is accurate (she places the article between her front feet), easy to read (lies down), and is incredibly solid (she has not indicated articles twice in her two years of tracking). From the conversation today, very few people think it's important... yet it's essential to passing a test! Most are taught by experienced professionals that the dog will just learn to indicate as they progress. Yet, the handlers I was talking with all said they wish the indication was stronger... they just weren't sure how to do that.

Suggestions:
A) Use a behavior the dog does easily... I usually ask "what is your dog likely to do" when discussing article indications.
-Bailey does a down--she will lie down in/on just about anything... she likes wet and gross.
-Buzz does a pick up and stand--I started asking him for a down but he just does not like laying in wet grass and he gets cold easily. It changed into a stand then I added in the pick up so I can have exact feedback when he stops.
One handler today said he was going to try a paw target because his dog likes to use his feet... great!

B) Train the behavior away from the track. You can still track while training the indication, but DO create a training plan for how to get that desired result.

C) When you start asking for the indication on a track, use a familiar article on a very short track. Let the dog work it out. Most make the connection very quickly. If not, go back to doing indications.

2} Long Walk Ins
One handler let his dog run down the road to the place of their walk in. They then walked for about 400 yards to the actual start flag. By the time he and his dog reached the start flag, his dog was flying so high that he never really settled into his track. The dog almost completed the track, but per the handler, he was difficult to handle.

I've experimented with this one a little bit. I was so lucky that Bailey's TD track had a VERY short walk in. I knew if we had a long walk in, I hadn't appropriately trained her for that, and we would have a much slimmer chance of passing. It's something I've worked on a little since then. Since the beginning, I've tried to make a distinction and ordeal about switching her lead from collar to harness. This is a big clue to her that she's supposed to lean into her harness and track. Sample training sessions included rewarding with treats for checking in while attached to collar and letting her move quickly when the lead was changed to harness. I have not switched back and forth when approaching a start flag, though it's something I plan to do.
Example: today we got the last dog out of the car and "ready" too early. The dog was headed toward it's start and needed to come back and wait. If I asked Bailey to do that currently, I may have trouble getting her to settle and wait. I plan to help her understand that we may not always get to approach the flag and it's not something she did to cause that.

Some people attach the lead to harness and let the dog work the whole walk in. If your dog is physically and mentally able to do that, then go for it. I know mine is not and it's not something I will do, nor suggest very often. Even if my dog was two years old and physically able, I'd be afraid of mentally tiring at that point. I like to stack the deck in my favor, so I want the dog at peak working ability when it comes time for the judging to start.

Tracking is definitely my favorite sport. It's so much fun to watch the dogs work, and when you see a team that's just on, it's awe inspiring. It's also not as easy as people tend to think. I know some get by on sheer luck and dog ability, but it does require some training complete with training plans, to prepare each team to the best of their abilities, as with any competitive sport.

Tomorrow is Special

2010-10-27T22:34:00.000-05:00

Bailey gets to go tracking. I don't think she understands exactly what's in store for her. She's going to be thrilled.

YAY rehab. YAY Bailey.

That's about all I have energy for. Bedtime, more exciting details tomorrow and hopefully pictures of the happy event.

Bettering Me

2010-10-24T19:10:00.000-05:00

I've had so much stress and stuff on the brain lately that I've neglected to train my dogs mostly. I've also neglected their stretching quite a bit. This is not smart, I know this but... it is what it is.

I'm creating a calendar with a checklist for each day, right now (or, I will when I think about how to do this... maybe a checklist will be better?). Three goals for each category should help me be successful.

Dog Goals:
Walk for at least 45 minutes on leash, off property, three times weekly.
Stretches twice daily, as directed.
Food toys at least 5 times weekly. (Stuffed Kongs count as food toys.)

Me Goals:
30 minutes of cardio 3-5 times each week
Eat a real breakfast and pack lunch the night before (so I'm not tempted to just "grab food from the store")
Be a better and more understanding friend (TAG people, I know that's so vague and unclear but... it's all I've got right now, I need to think about ways to BE better and this is a start)

Walks

2010-10-18T20:36:00.001-05:00

I had big plans for tonight. HUGE plans in fact. It involved a lot of sleeping. I had specifically hoped for about 12 hours. The dogs did not think that was a good idea when I got home. Bailey rooooed at me. Buzz nosed me and I gave in pretty quickly.

We have a "normal" route in town used frequently in the winter and/or at night. Today I decided to branch out and use part of the Ice Age Trail to bring us there.

Overlooking the St. Croix River Valley

We had some nice hills and trees and leaves and scents to enjoy before hitting "town" and sidewalks. It was about a half hour-long and enough for them to get the sillies out. Then we hit up our normal sidewalk path with a twist! Since it was still light out, we detoured through the state park and then headed towards a favorite coffee shop (they allow dogs inside... that is truly what makes the awesomeness that is). I got the usual Mocha and tried to take a rest. They were not interested. So off we headed for the car.

We walked by a football game and a "scary guy" that Bailey only looked at. He emerged from the dark and had a very low voice, but I have to give him major kudos!! He approached slowly and talked the whole time. She just glanced at him and kept walking... yay girlie!

By the time we got back to the car, nearly two hours had elapsed and we were READY to be headed home.

The problem though is that now I'm quite awake. They're full and sleeping. Lazy dogs!

Scent Articles

2010-10-17T19:59:00.001-05:00

They will be the death of me. Today Bailey reverted to doing a tracking indication (again) and bringing me every article, except the one I scented.

Less petting, more tracking food-mom-lady!

My dog loves tracking. She's good at tracking. She wants to know why I keep screwing with her brain. I clearly don't understand this game.

I give up.

The end.

"Too Patterned"

2010-10-11T21:11:00.000-05:00

Tonight I was accused of being "too patterned." I wasn't quite sure what to say to that, so I asked for clarification first.
1) "you walk your dogs in the same place, at the same time"
--That's something I really don't do. I do tend to walk my dogs in a certain city on Mondays, but that has more to do with Eric working Mondays than anything. There are days I walk them as soon as I get home from work and days I don't actually get them out for a walk. Maybe I need to keep better notes, to see if I really follow a pattern more than I think.

2) "you follow the same schedule all the time"
--This one's a stretch. I have the same basic morning routine, but doesn't everyone? My "night routine" is completely non-existent. Monday and Tuesday I have to be to work at 7:30, so I get up about 6am. Wednesday and Thursday I have to be there at 8, so I get up about 6:45. Some days I shower in the morning, some days I don't. Some days I eat breakfast at home, some days I don't.

I don't even have a set schedule for feeding the animals. It's a "when I feel like it" schedule.

Maybe all this defensive-ness means I AM too patterned though. Argh! And I really thought I had escaped that tendency!

Shaping Workshop

2010-10-10T20:18:00.000-05:00

We had "training group" today and it's really a get together for us friendly dog-friend/nerds to socialize and kinda train our dogs. I ended up bringing Buzz today and he was oh-so-happy to go!

Elizabeth and Beckett were there, Brian brought the adorable Ms. Maisy Jane, Jane brought Finn, and Robin had her NEW PUPPY Via!

Buzz and I have been working on crating more than half-heartedly lately, trying to determine if his poor crate behavior is due to a lack of training, or possible cognitive issues. The last two nights he has settled nicely after a walk and some down-time before bed time. When we arrived at training group this morning, we took a short walk with Beckett and then he crated up nicely at the training center. Very few barks and only in one instance. I'm trying to keep better records of his behavior in general, so this is definitely something I need to pay attention to. When, why, and for how long does he bark.

After crating adult dogs so we could PLAY WITH THE PUPPY, we actually got to work.

Robin had us do a warm up heeling/loose leash walking on both sides activity. Three dogs milled around with their handlers and nobody had a collision. That impressed me. I thought for sure I'd hit a pole or a dog or someone else, but nope! (Confession time: I've never been in a group obedience class...) Buzz had quite a few no-sits and I was trying to work on my clicker mechanics (don't reach for the treat until after clicking) so then we stopped movement exercises and worked on semi-stationary exercises so I could focus on less. Robin tagged me for remembering to click THEN treat. Mannn was that challenging for me! It's something I should work on at home a lot more and just... don't!

Scent Articles
--where we ran into the problem I always have. How to mark a deaf dog from a distance! I utilized Robin's expertise and extra hands to try solving this problem. Buzz was working the "pile" (2 leather, 2 metal, plus my scented leather) nicely but not committing to the correct article, so I wanted to mark when he indicated. The lights I brought with did not have the distance or direct-ness (I'm sure there's a better word I can't think of right now) it needs. Robin's going to bring a laser light next week to see if we don't get better results. I do have to admit to telling him how adorably wrong he was when he got confused one time and just started picking up articles and throwing them at me. I never know how to handle it when he does that, so I normally call him away and just start over. I have yet to find a way of preventing the pick up of the wrong article... ideas?

Elizabeth and I traded dogs. She worked with Buzz on muzzling while Beck and I worked on head turns and paw lifts.

It was grand fun and I'm very sad I missed out on the first session. I'm going to bring Buzz again next week, and I may actually bring both and trade out--I haven't done THAT in forever either!

Buzz and I miss camp. Not that this picture has anything to do with dog training, other than it was taken at camp.

Oh, dog training fun... I just wish we could get together more often, then I'd actually have well trained dogs.