Hounds of Harmonville…by Lisa Harmon November 13, 2009

Kenai waiting for his ‘Boo” so he can unleash the zoomie…22 mo

http://hearingelmo.wordpress.com  is one of my two all time favorite blogs, hands down. The other one is http://smartdog.typepad.com/smart_dog/ with Talos the Great Dane SD candidate. One has Chloe the long graduated hearing SD and the other a pup just learning the ropes.

Dog training seems so simple…until you do it. Then the complexities of  relationships with living creatures make their appearance. I just love reading about dogs in various stages of their training, and how their personalities can make them do the same task in different ways for different rewards. 

I’ve been down with a bad cold, so Kenai’s pretty bored. Except for the sneezing fits, anyway. That gets him all excited. This week will finally be rain free, and warm, so I expect he’ll be outside to play more once the ground dries up. Until then he’s stuck with the boring old wheezy monster.

He did get out to romp Sunday morning, with BB providing the lure for coursing on the other side of the fence. He loved it so much he wouldn’t let me nap very long, mooching to go do it all again. Didn’t work, but yeesh, I would’ve like to’ve slept more than 2 hours. Sleep’s great medicine for colds.

My friend Melba’s still under the weather. She finally made it home from the hospital, with the diagnosis of liver damage. She’s on all kinds of medicine, and very weak. I’ve been cooking meals and Mom’s making sure she gets the right meds at the right times.

Kenai doesn’t know why, but he’s not complaining about the additional chances for a nibble of this or that while I cook. He will occasionally get a taste of what’s on the chopping board, or lick the spoon when it’s on its way to the diswasher. Not often, but once in awhile.

Monday Kenai had a huge, morning long car ride, followed by a huge afternoon long nap with me! I snore when I have a cold, which seems to disturb his young golden self. I wake up fairly often these days with tickly whiskers smelling my nose and crookedy headed boy wrinkles looking at me. “What’s up with that, ma?”

Of all the ways to awaken with a cold, that has to be one of the better ways. It’s followed by smushing the curious boy lips, smooches, velvety jowel molesting, leans and snuggles, and eventually…dozing off again. Warm, soft, sleepy boys are the best.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I really need to throw this cold off. NyQuil and wrestling 15 pounds of frozen bird into the oven don’t mix too well. Not to mention how badly a Christmas tree can lean when combining my Meniere’s lean with a drug induced lean. It’ll look straight to me!

Tuesday was a get-over-Monday day, but we did get a lovely outside time in for the boys. Sunshine and pups mix better than turkeys and cold medicine.

That was as far as I got before the cold overran me big time. Yikes. It’s been a solid week, and took all that time to get my blood oxygen out of the 80% range and back up to normal. The week consisted of feed the dog, go to sleep, take the dog out, go to sleep, eat a bowl of soup, go to sleep…showers optional and who needs groceries anyway? 

Back on my feet, I’ve managed to squeeze Kenai’s accupuncture appt out of my energy reserves, and was thrilled to find out that he is concentrating his urine again–no more going out every 4-6 hours. I’d suspected as much since he makes 8-10 hours overnight now. But yippee!

The second shot of Imizol, the treatment we’re using for Ehrlichia, seemed to start making a bigger difference in how he’s doing. He’s eating well, slowly switching back to a kibble and he just looks better. It took 2 weeks but it seems that the incontinence was indeed due to ehrlichia.

Now we just need to get BB’s incontinence under control. He goes to see Doc Robbertson tommorrow, and we’ll decide what to do about it then. Cross the fingers and paws! This three and four times a day carpet scrubbing is getting old.

Kenai also managed to start getting some play time out of me, once the oxygen returned to my body.

Boxes are almost as much fun as balls,(if ya stretch properly anyway, he he) and this one was even more fun since it was closed. Nothing to get ahold of to rip it apart.

It chased him, he chased it, I flipped it end over end, he sasquatched it (caving in the middle with a paw) and the fun continued. A soda pop bottle finished the play time off just right.

After all his excitements, boy needed a snooze. Or was that me? Whoever was to blame, we both got a few z’s in which has been the routine for a couple weeks now.

We have just a few things to do to finish the week, a trip to Walmart today being the biggest. We might miss the tree cutting man, or might not. There’s a 90 foot dead oak just off the front porch, and with winter’s ice storms and winds coming, it needs to be taken down. Without wiping out the dogwoods near it!

The tree removal should provide plenty of guard puppy opportunities for Kenai, who likes to feel manly letting us know there’s peopleses in our yard. Tell him to hush after the first alarm bark and he gives ya a look like “but must I? It felt so good! I the man, I the man.”

It’ll also initiate BB’s who can sound the most like a bloodhound howling contest when Mom and I go outside without boys. Kenai barks like a big dog (unless he’s just gotten a butt-berry when the pitch goes up to complain), but BB is the hound of Harmonville–owwwoohhh.

Maybe I’ll be on the road to more energy and less wheez next week, and schedule a training time with Lisa. They have so much fun being “trained”, and it’s a ball to watch. Till then…

Sorrowful Saturday and Sweet Time Sunday October 26, 2009

What’s that I hear?…Kenai 22 mo

I put up a pic from Kenai’s last outside playtime, since he’s not going to get one of those today, unless he gets to feeling better. It’s a great shot of his boy wrinkles, there on his head, isn’t it? The best place, THE best place for smoochies is right smack (sorry ’bout the pun) in the middle of those soft rolly wrinkles on the forehead!

His Saturday started off good and went bad when the vet started drawing up the needle. Oh he hates needles, my toffee toodles. And this was a nasty shot too; Imizol burns something feirce. Bless his heart, he stood still for it until almost the end. He cried and tried to crawl under the bench. Aww.

Doc rubbed the devil out of the spot for him, and I rubbed his ears but it hurt, and stung for a solid 20 minutes. And he couldn’t even reach to scratch the site, though I thought he’d get stuck in that position he tried so hard. Nasty shot, nasty, nasty. Poor baby.

And to make matters worse for a little boy, when the stinging stopped, the nausea started. He drooled worse than his brother, which he doesn’t like to do (he’s neat by nature). BB is the worst slobberin dog I’ve ever had, and I met my first Dane when I was 2 days old.

But Kenai isn’t a drooler, even licking his lips clean when he is drooling or cleaning off his own legs. He slobbered buckets for over an hour, didn’t want to lay down for more than a few minutes and then ran to the door. Die in the rears came next.

Kenai’s after shot pooky shot…complete with smushie lips. I wasn’t fast enough to get a shot of the donkey ears, but he surely did give me donkey ears. That’s when they turn backwards and lean slightly towards the neck. It looks like a displeased donkey, hence the name.

I hated to do that to him, but he’s been through 3 rounds of doxacycline for the Ehrlichia, yet is still symptomatic with high titers. At least it’s only 2 shots spread out by 14 days. He’s half done with the nasty. He’ll be on doxy as well for 14 days at least. 14 days sounds better than 112 pills, so that’s what I’m going with.

He was just the saddest pitiful you ever saw, poor little one. Perked up for a 1/2 meal, wanting more, but not until I knew whether or not he would throw up. That would make for a goshes awful trifecta, so it was half meals every 3 hours with carafate in between. Lots of gentle touches and love all the way through, of course.

I do have a potent anti-nausea/vomiting shot from the vet here at home, but of all things, it burns too so we tried everything to not need it. Two nasties in one day would make me cry with him. I could make a grown man cry and tell him to suck it up, but a puppy yelp wimps me out on the spot. Guess that rules out becoming a vet tech?

We finally went down for a nap mid afternoon, once I was sure he wasn’t going to barf or have the smelly kind of “accident”. It was a sorrowful Saturday for my sweet love, happy things like toys and playtime of no interest to him. I stayed up with him all night, so I could get him out if he needed.

Kenai was better Sunday, and we spent our time wisely–snuggles and blankie monster games and a bit of “find me” under the covers. There’s something fun about a camel’s nose under a “tent”! It was a sweet Sunday morning, to make up for the sorrowful Saturday.

I even splurged on making lobster tails for dinner, and gave him a couple tiny tiny little nibbles  after dipping it in butter. Kenai adores lobster. He loves it so much, the nose is after it while it’s frozen, and the nose rests on the microwave door waiting for it cook.

I don’t let him outright mooch, but once he sighs the sigh of resignation I will give him a nibble. If I ever inheirit a fortune from a wayward Great Aunt Marsh we don’t know about, I’ll be sure we have a vacation home in Maine so we can indulge our weakness together more a couple times a year.

Monday’s always start off with a trip to Dr Susan’s for accupuncture, but the rainy raw weather curtailed any fun outside. We just curled up and lazed away the day. Sweet times make it better.

Boy Fun and BB Games…by Lisa Harmon October 21, 2009

There’s my sweetie…Kenai 22 mo

Kenai had a most eventful Monday, starting with his accupuncture session at 8 am. Dr Susan’s place has lots of lady friends, but he really only agrees to go because of the rescued kittens in the boarding window…

He also got to pee in a cup for them–urinalysis showed he’s still not concentrating urine, though the kidneys were not in trouble. We came home for awhile, tucking Mom back into bed after needing nausea medicine, BB at the foot of the bed. We had the house to ourselves almost all morning.

That meant…PLAY time having room to fling and ring his Dino with abandon. We devastated a soda pop carton, too, and got the glorious bubble wrap. Oh that bubble wrap is gobs of boy fun ya know–it pops when the sasquatch paw pins it down, it pops in his lips, and pops louder when I steal it and give a good squeeze. FUN!

After a bit of a break from the toys to rest, it was outside to RUN ‘N PLAY in the sunshine. The weather was lovely, the sun was out, the breeze was down, the ground was just damp enough to be soft. What more could a boy ask for?

 This is how the majority of Kenai’s “action pics” go, showcasing my lack of skill. My spotless cheetah can run faster than the camera can work!

He’s having a ball rip snortin through the two clumps of Johnson’s Grass I’ve allowed to live. From the very beginning, my golden gorrilla had a love affair with high grass and hiding places.

When he found his jolly ball hiding in a clump, he gave it a fling and a thoroughly enthusiastic polar bear pounce, too. Sunshine is contagious…

The see me see you ambush puppy here just waiting for a foot stomp from me to pillage his way around the kennel so I can try to grab his tushie.

All in a day’s FUN…

Then the car ride came, after getting Mom up. Feeling so punky, BB was silly protective of her, and got his worried boy self in some hot water with me, his “crazy aunt”.

He justs gets overwrought sometimes, when Mom isn’t feeling well. He gets all bonkers trying to keep you away from her, bumping and even pulling your clothes.

Kenai just walks away from him, but I’m not going to–I have to get her up and there’s no reason I can’t touch her. I was here first little boy! Beebs settled down a bit, and I got them all situated in the living room so Kenai and I could leave.

The car ride was to our “primary care” vet. Kenai needed his rabies shot, and a check of the tick titers. We’re going to try a drug called Imizol in conjunction with the doxacycline. It just won’t clear up. And I need to pin the vets down on an immune system supplement for him this time.

Tuesday I’d planned on getting my hair cut and coming home, since I wasn’t feeling great. I love hair cuts; they make ya feel all new and shiny. But it didn’t go so simple–Mom came along and the errand list grew as she thought of things to do. Uhg.

But Kenai had himself a 4 hour ride, which he mostly enjoyed. We came home and crashed, snoozing big time. When I woke up, BB was standing there looking at me laying on the bed–what’s ya doing, can I get on the bed too? So I stuck my foot up to tickle his whiskers for him.

One thing led to another, as it does with BB…first he wanted to sniffle the sock, but it wiggled under his lips. Then he wanted to nibble the sock, but it wiggled into his ear. (Butt wags at this point). He got the tip of the sock in his little front nibble teeth and started to pull, but the sock poked a toe in his nose! FUN!

This molestation continued as long as BB could remain calm enough (not long), then it became an all out game of get-the-sock-off. Chase it back it forth, up and down, backwards and forwards. When he finally did get it (slipped it over my heel so it didn’t tear), we had a fine example of the BB prance.

The BB prance is like no other doggie prance in the world–neck arched, ears wrinkled, snorting, and bunny hopping just close enough to tease you. That’s normal, but the bent bottoms does this funny little wiggle walk, like a belly dancer trying to run away!

He pranced for me, he teased his brother, he paraded for Mom. The prance in enhanced, BTW, if you goose his bottoms when he isn’t expecting it, FUNNER…Kenai was sitting there watching all this with a look on his face–”doesn’t he know ya only play steal the sock in the bathroom? Jeez I have to teach him everything…”

Then BB made the innocent mistake of getting up on the couch next to Mom with the sock. Oh, one must watch the grammy when she has that grin. Trusting little BB let her take the sock and put it on his own footie, and oh the goofy came out all over the place.

For some reason, everytime he pulled on the sock, it made his leg jump up too!! Off the couch, bobble about, hike the front leg, pull harder and hike the leg higher. My howling at the silly pup made Kenai decide he needed in on the fun, and he stuffed his huge Dino baby on top of my head.

Peering out from between stuffed Dino legs, BB was still flapping his leg around without knowing why, and making snuffle noises at it. Aggravated puppy is FUNNEST. Beebs has this personality that says–that was terribles, do it again! So we did.

The other sock got tossed to Mom and it went on BB’s other front leg. Anyone that has the imagination to visualize a dog in a one-legged burlap sack race can “watch” the fun we were having at his expense! His already goofy gait was transformed into BB quality hysterics.

Eventually the wiggle worm figured out he could get the sock off if he laid down, and the funnies were over. Mostly. Good thing too, because Kenai had decided I needed some smushing to include him in the Play, so I had a big ol toffee tank laying on top of me. I rumpled his ears and smooched his boy wrinkles.

Wednesday morning Kenai woke me up at 5 am, very too hungry boy. The cooler weather makes a boy hungry. So we boiled up his meat, and mixed in the enzymes. Then he had to wait 30 minutes. Goshes. So we had a little “practice” with a nibble of hamburger, and a very few liver treats.

Then it was get ready and be off in the car. This time I wised up and we went to my doctor’s appt by ourselves. If I decided to make a stop it’d be ’cause I had the legs for it. Well, I did, for one tiny little stop at the puppy store–taking back an unopened bag of kibble. Not to mention a bit of a social visit.

Once we’d spent some time with his lady friends, we headed home for lunch and a nap. With no plans to go anywhere again until Friday or Saturday, I settled in for a bit of much needed rest time.

Yabber Dabber Doo…by Lisa Harmon October 17, 2009

It’s touching me…Kenai 22 mo

The new week started off with an accupuncture session for Kenai, and his weigh in. He always acts nervous when the needles are picked up, but he’s drowsy relaxed 5 minutes after they’re all in. Then the ‘all done’ comes, and he’s perky pup–leanie loves for Dr Susan, trotting out to the lobby, play bowing to the rescued kittens in the boarding window.

So BOY was feeling a little better for a couple days, and had car rides every day but Thursday. He doesn’t like being left in the car much, I don’t like leaving him much, but he’s always happy to hop in and go. We even have a chase me chase you game in the garage.

I try to get at least one stop in where he can get out, even if it’s just getting out in the parking lot to say hello to someone who stopped me to talk about him. He’s been pretty outgoing for a few days, happy to greet new people again. Noises still make him jumpy, but the accupuncture really does give him a boost of confidence.

Talos the Great Dane SD candidate http://smartdog.typepad.com/smart_dog/ is learning to wait, and his puppy raiser made a very interesting and almost counterintuitive point: adding the verbal cue, ie saying “wait”, after he’s mastered the behavior. 

I’m not entirely sure why. I suppose I could guess, and if I was to guess I’d say it was to make certain the word never has a history of not getting the behavior. I’m also guessing that’s part of the technique called “shaping”, where the dog learns to figure out what you want on their own.

Makes sense to think about, but certainly not what most people do. Luckily I’ve about half managed to learn to say a command only once (I fail occasionally). Yabbering a word at a dog that’s ignoring you makes the word useless, really.

The first attempt at working with Kenai when he was little without talking made me acutely aware that we two leggeds are extrordinarily verbal creatures. I had this “well how do I let him know what I want” feeling, and it was pretty strange, lemme tell ya.

After all, he can’t read so post it notes are out of the question.

I found out pretty fast that yes, dogs are acutely aware that we want something from them. Our new desire for something translates into very subtle body language, and even changes in our smell from different hormones/chemicals inside our bodies. Dogs pick up fast on non-verbal communication.

I imagine it would be just as odd a feeling to teach a dog to wait without saying wait the first few times a person tried. Those of us who’ve trained dogs before typically learned in standard classes to teach the dog the action and the word at the same time, using luring. (Nose follow the treat to sit).

The post about Talos inspired me to shape up my non-verbal communication. If dog training had a set of sacred ten commandments, ”thou shalt not yabber” would have to be up for consideration. After awhile I slide back into yabber lady, not so much while training but just going about our day together.

***

Dr Susan has found a supplement for the “management of stress related behaviors” in dogs. Anxiety is actually pretty common in dogs these days–the whys are way beyond me to diagnose, though I have a few amatuer theories.  Whatever the reasons, anxiety behaviors can be difficult to live with, and distressing for a loving owner.

The active ingredient is called Relora, originally a human supplement, and the dog supplement is packaged under the name Harmonese. I’ve started taking the Relora too from a human supplement company–test it out on myself before giving it to the boys.

Relora has almost no sedative/drowsy effect at all, which I really like. Yet it chills BB out. He’s very much still BB, but with less octane to fly off the handle. Many dogs, like BB, have things that just make them bonkers and it’s very hard to watch the pup you love be all freaked out and panicky.

For alot of dogs, reconditioning (changing a fearful situation into a calm one) is a long tough task. I wouldn’t put BB on prescription meds for anxiety, but this supplement doesn’t worry me. It’s been thoroughly tested both in humans and dogs and has no unwanted side effects to speak of.

Exercise and interactive play is also some of the best ways to reduce anxiety and frustration in dogs. Just like for us, huh? The endorphins released, the bonding that makes them feel more secure all can relax a dog, making it easier to face something that makes them nervous.

The relora works a little better for BB than it does me though–Saturday’s trip to Sam’s was bad. To accomodate the weakness of CFS and pain of FMS I have to make several trips on different days before the shopping list is finished. And I never handle crowded places well.

But next week is stacking up in the must-do department, so I went to Sam’s on a Saturday. And Mom doesn’t even start getting dressed before 9 am, 2-3 hours after I wake her up. Her schedule and mine clash like dogs and cats. We left the house at 10 am.

Oh boy, never again. Piled up shopping carts, running kids, and irritable people all cram around you, cut you off and any other rude thing they can do without thinking. Mom goes oblivious to the fact that her parking right there to see this or that trapped me in the worst possible situations.

People need to come out of ailes on both left and right of me, several trying to all at the same time, and the nudge behind me is letting her kids hit my power cart as they run around. Mom’s cart is too close to go around and she’s a few paces off reading some label.

Reminded me of high school dodge ball in PE. I used to like dodge ball, but that’s before looking in another direction too fast made me dizzy, and the toddler screaming was so loud it was physically painful, not to mention leaves my ears ringing for the rest of the day.

Now that the scene is set…Within 30 minutes the first outright anxiety attack in 8 months was in full swing, and Mom wasn’t getting the point; I need to leave doesn’t mean an hour later. By the time I was out of there, I was literally shaking all over and using a rescue inhaler. I was too dizzy from the roaring in my ears to drive. 

Then I had to deal with the way too many groceries Mom kept buying when I got home. She doesn’t realize that buying them means they have to be carried in from the car and put away? Buying in bulk for 2 people means lots of splitting up into serving sizes, at the end of a long painful shopping trip.

The whole experience drove home that no matter how long Mom’s watched me learn to cope with various problems, the reality of them and their absolute limitations don’t really sink in because they aren’t hers. They haven’t altered how she views things, like a shopping trip.

Not that I really think I can expect her to, certainly not demand. But I should have taken into consideration that she doesn’t, maybe cannot, understand what seems simple to her is not for me. And waited for another day to go by myself. Shopping’s full of difficulties and even dangers for me, whereas it’s not for her. 

So I view shopping with the idea of reducing the duration, the tonnage to be hauled around afterwards, and choosing the least crowded/noisy time to do it. My perception of something as run of the mill as grocery shopping is drastically different than a “normal” healthy persons’.

And that’s why I’m rattling on about it–how desperately I wanted Kenai the Calm of way long ago to be standing there full sized and heavy muscled. His presence to calm me, his strength to steady me, his formidable looking profile and dignified aura to snap the inattentive back to awareness.

(I wouldn’t have let him pick out a roast for us, though he’s plenty tall enough to sniff all the way to the back of the rack!)

A grocery run isn’t an necessary annoyance amongst a 10 hour day of running around for me, as it is for busy moms and tired mechanics on the way home after work. It’s the personal equivalent of the war in Iraq, and I so wanted a furry golden hummer with me as protective armor.  

After having to abandon the dream of Kenai the SD, at least until his soundness of body is regained, when I see someone with an SD, going places and doing things because they now can, I feel both a tinge of selfish sadness, but mostly joy for them.

It’s lovely to see, and I never fail to whisper a prayer for the brave person stepping out with trust in a fantastic dog. They live with a gigantic blessing who happens to wag a tail, however small the pup may be!

The horrible trip to Sam’s resulted in a happy thing: a puppy splurge

 The new BB bear baby waiting for Beebs to see. He went gaga for it! It’s impossible to get a pic of him playing–he’s congenitally unable to hold still long enough to get anything but a blur. He flinged and flung and drug it all over creation for the better part of an hour. I could almost hear the “yabba dabba do” from his puppy heart! What a boy, BB is.

Kenai wasn’t left out, getting the green dino baby in the top of the post pic. He loooovvveesss giant babies, almost as much as he does the tiny ones. His Dino got the fling n ring treatment too, followed by hauling it up on the couch to use for a pillow/bottle to suckle on.

 This pic was his Dino wake up call after the nap–touching the tush. The new toys, and ensuing rough n rumpus play put their happy faces on for the entire day Saturday. Kenai was tail wagging and bright eyed, all over content with life.

Boys and their toys...yabba dabba doo!

My yabba dabba do Saturday night was spent eating pain pills and resolving never ever again to go anywhere on weekends, especially with Mom! Poor Kenai, he glued to my hip and just hung out a wee bit closer than normal, even after the anxiety had passed. Love bud, my Kenai.

Then he stuffed his Dino in my lap to play with him. “All over ma, it’s you and me, I love ya”. I love you back sweetie…

Baby Baths and a Bucket Woman…by Lisa Harmon October 12, 2009

Kenai and his blankie games 22 mo

Kenai is enjoying his morning play times, pretending to be Linus with his blankie. He’s been dragging it along while batting around a tennis ball all week, silly guy. And we’ve had a glut of cardboard boxes for him to tear up, which has made his boy heart happy.

With his continuing die in the rears, he isn’t getting bones, and he isn’t getting training treats. I fudged once and felt so bad for the boy when it was potty time. Our play times are foodless, boneless affairs for awhile. Hence, the cardboard boxes and play-as-reward training spells.

He stares up at the top of the tv where his bestest bones sit and wait for him. Oh the pitiful…so he’s got tennis ball times, and Linus blankies, and horsing around in the dirty laundry to keep him entertained. I may have to abandon the laundry games, after finding toothie holes.

Now that the weather is changing to fall, the furnace has replaced the AC, and ’tis the time of the dry skin dander fest. Some people have beer fests, dog owners have dander fests. So I’ve pulled out the Head and Shoulders shampoo/conditioner. It works very well for dander, as well as pretty much any itchy skin problem in dogs–folliculitis, fungal infections, yeast overgrowths etc.

As the boys hate all out lather and rinse bucket baths, I’ve developed a “baby bath” routine for them–a shampoo wetted rag rubbed on every boy part. H&S doesn’t really have to be rinsed off like other shampoos and soaps. In fact, leaving a bit of the sudsy treats the skin (it has zinc in it)

The rag gets rinsed and relathered, rather than the fussy babies, when it’s baby bath time. BB actually thinks it’s great, like some funny smelling massage. Kenai? He puts up with it. When they get really messy, mud from stem to stern, then they have to endure the bucket woman.

I get the donkey ears and droopy faces for a “real” bath, and despite how funny it is, I try to take pity on them. The rag gets them clean most of the time, to their relative satisfaction. Nevermind Kenai’s “I smell like a girl” reaction…

Thursday I hit the Sam’s club, discovering I could buy an 80 lb case of ground beef for just $1.54/lb rather than the family packs at the grocery for $1.99/lb When I get some grocery money, I’ll go back for veggies and non-perishables.

We don’t have tons of pantry space, but we do have 2 chest freezers in the garage, so there’s plenty of room for things that can be frozen. The case of meat should last a couple weeks, so I don’t have to go to the store every few days.

The store runs were wearing me slick. Getting around’s getting harder for me, durn it. To combat the worsening issues, I’ve started a cortisol controlling supplement. It lessens my body’s overreactions to stress and strain. Sometimes it can feel like your body hijacks you, doing what it wants and taking you along for the ride!

That’s just part of the fibromyalgia–the pituitary/hypothalmus/adrenal glands go haywire and these endocrine system problems affect every system in the body, from metabolism to anxiety. The fibro flares set off the autoimmune diseases, then the opportunistic illnesses like chronic Lyme start up when the immune system goes wonky.

It’s a chain reaction, and getting better means you have to climb up each link in the chain again, hand over hand. Claw over claw is more accurate. It can be done, but promise ya it takes longer to feel better than it does to go down. This downturn has been 18 months long and counting.   

BB’s had a rough week, but his playful personality is irrepressible. Beebs is bumping and wiggling and grinning all the same, die in the rears notwithstanding. I almost got them these huge stuffed animals at Sam’s, and may yet go back. They’re big as the boys–can you imagine the flinging?! 

 I was looking forward to Friday’s training time. It’s sort of like a surprise package–I never know what we’re going to work on, or even sure which of the Brothers Grin will have their “time in the sun” until its time to go. They both love “playin with Lisa” time, no clue that they’re actually training.

We’ve had some 10″ of rain so the training session had to be cancelled. It’s rained so hard that even if it had rained cats and dogs, the boys wouldn’t be asking to go out! They zoom out, pee under the nearest tree, and zip back in for their dry off games. It’s the only time they don’t dawdle outside!

Boy I can really tell the seasons are changed–I’m thinking about apple crisp, and added cinnamon and cloves to today’s pinapple upside down cake. Hot chocolate is replacing milkshakes in my don’t-I-wish list, and hot tea is taking over from iced tea.

The fluffy sweaters and layering clothes are out, and the thermostat’s being turned down (gradually, mind you). I love cooler weather, and so do the boys. 45-65 degrees is the ideal temperature span, brisk enough to invigorate, and warm enough not to make puppy slobber-cicles freezing on fences!

I was disappointed for them that we didn’t have our weeking training, but there’s always next week. And with any luck the AT&T truck will go away–everytime I see them at the end of the road, I know I’m in for a frustrating time trying to get online. I have to connect and disconnect until getting 24 kb/second or better, just to get explorer to open. Urg!

A Boy With A Tail’s Tale…by Lisa Harmon October 3, 2009

 

That’s my good good boy!! Kenai, 22 mo

We’re Back!! Got a camera with a working battery and a boy with a tail AND a tale…Kenai had his boy self a big training time this week; Tory the girl doggie came to assist us. (What a lovely girl). She’s a calm and happy sort, Tory is, and was only a bit put off by the overgrown pup’s intense excitement.

Here’s how Kenai’s work-around-distraction lessons started out. He gave “face time”, just not our faces! Remembering how Scooby Doo sideways he went in the obedience class of his puppyhood, all the barking and snapping at him, this was mild.

Gotta love the effects of maturity…not yet lazy bones, but Danes do settle down about 2 years old and it’s showing in the more managable excited moments. Tory’s native calmness helped considerably.

And yes, the gentle leader was needed when Tory was out of the crate. She was free to roam, which upped the ante. Mostly though she liked to sit in a chair and look BOY in the eye. “Ha Ha, Now I’m Tall As You!!”

 My little golden gorilla began to get the idea after a few tries of loose leash in the presence of another doggie. Tory in fact BECAME his reward for a loose leash. But he had to earn it. This here pic to the left just don’t cut it bud.

Uh-oh and move back, start the loose leash walk again is how we got the idea across he has to approach with calmness. He’s determined to walk one shoulder length ahead, but two is an uh-oh.

 

Reward achieved! The first walking up to her took three tries before success. The second attempt Kenai just wouldn’t settle down, and in fact half drug Lisa. Hum. Her shoes left heel marks on the floor.

I stepped in front of him, blocking his access to Tory, and played the heavy–literally. I outweigh him by an unspecified number of pounds, so try that with me little boy and see who wins!

He was in fact, pretty wound up. You know what that’s like: head turned off, prancing and pulling, muscles at full force. He was ramping up in the excitement and just not listening enough to be managable.

The second time he pulled ahead on me I leaned over him, looked him in the eye, and very firmly told him to “settle down”. Just letting him know I really disapprove of using his body to force his way around, to him at least, is a correction. He’s fairly sensitive to “scolding”.

I realize, and should mention, that stern moment’s not really part of “positive” training, but he’d just managed to get what he wanted (sniffing Tory) by hauling Lisa around like freight. Now he was trying it again because it had worked once. That’s self reinforcing, and as big as these guys are…

you cannot ever let a Dane use his body against your wishes and get away with it. His doggie momma would likely have cuffed him ’bout the ears for pushing her around, so I feel like sometimes we do need to have a place for doggie-language correction when dogs get really out of hand.

When and how to let your unhappiness with something be known is a tricky issue, since it can make matters worse if done inappropriately. But the moment settled him, he knew what he was supposed to do, and that he wasn’t going to get off with out of control.

We stood there a short time, facing away from Tory until he refocused. Kenai has a short refocus time, before he gets antsy and more fussy. Then we tried once more, and who should manage a loose leash but the oddly colored bull elephant! 

Next we started the name games–sniff Miss Tory, then “Kenai”! The months and months of name games is paying off–it’s a big game to leap over to me for happy tushie rubs, then get to go back to Tory.

Isn’t she a good girl, chillin there on her throne? Despite being small, she does just fine with the big dogs, even knuckleheads! She just sat there watching Kenai come and go, unconcerned.

Between “lessons”, like the calm approach or the name games/leave it, they got to just sniff and snort and do what doggies do. She would get down and Kenai would play bow. When the sasquatch paws got going though, she was back to the chair. Squishing isn’t fun, appearantly.

We practiced his walking while Tory was in the crate, and when she was out chasing down her treat, tossed to see how Kenai did with her moving. In Kenai’s inimitable style, as long as Tory was still and he could move around, he did much better. Showing off? More likely an outlet for excitement.

Since he just struggled to stay as she got nearer, we worked on some down stays and sit stays in close proximity. No sniff until released. Oh so hard!!

Short duration stays, just enough to really be more like a polite doggie introduction rather than obedience class sit ‘n watch. I was so proud of him–this was the first down stays in public in about 13 months.

He’s been too nervous to do them until now. Talk about a big little victory. Of course, he’s been in this place several times, and has good associations with it. But I know he will do them again, and it’s happy dance motivation.  

Five feet seems to be his space radius when another dog (or person) is approaching. So after a big game of tug, a chase me/chase you to blow off steam, we dusted off a stay when approached practice not used for more than a year.

He hasn’t been inside public places with me for a long time, and he always had the habit of wanting to get up and greet a person showing interest in him. After only a few tries of Lisa walking up to him head on, leaving so he couldn’t sniff if he broke his sit or standing stay, she could get within inches of him.

It was harder for him if Tory was moving around, so Lisa picked her up and held her while walking straight on at Kenai. With about 2 minutes of this, he could hold his stay to within a foot. Then the anticipation overwhelms him. That will take more practice. But my goodness, a foot away is wonderful progress.

He deserved his trotting pats, having worked so hard. Walking loose leash around other dogs, anything around other dogs, is a big deal for him, and I was super proud of him.

We finished the session with about 5 minutes of play time, Lisa horsing around with him, and me moving here to there so he could “find me” and have his smooches. He’s developed a fondness for smooches, which I enjoy!

So that’s a boy with a tail’s tale of Friday morning. The rest of the day he snoozed away, all tuckered out. We had a long happy nap together, made some yummies for him, went outside, then came back to nap some more.

Next week will have vet visits, and a possible visit to endoscopy for one of the boys. The training time is BB’s turn, unless he’s the one who has the endoscopy done. Well, next week is next week, and we’ll deal with it later. Right now it’s time to nap some more again…

Zoo Poo…by Lisa Harmon September 21, 2009

 Why waste a perfectly good bowl of water? I can fit.” Kenai and BB as little tots.  Funny BB was goofy from the get go. One of his big ten rules for puppy life: wait not, want not… 

Thou shalt not waste peanut butter either…

I got such a chuckle fest organizing the boys’ puppy pictures last week! What a pair of characters, different as day and night. The sheer poundage of silly… I needed a laugh, too; spent the past week cleaning up puppy barf and diarrhea. Dane sized stink times 2 round the clock.

Think zoo poo quantity. The internist started them on a special canned food last week to see if there’s a food allergy to some fundamental ingredient in hard kibbles. He was adamant to stay on this food for a month. Appearantly this food is worse…and since our phone calls weren’t returned I made an executive decision:

(___) on the internist that don’t call back, and his  food. I took them to the holistic vet this morning.

As I suspected both boys have SIBO, an overgrowth of anearobic bacteria in the small intestines. BB was much worse off, so he’s still at the vet where he’s getting fluids and meds to stop the bloody stools and vomiting. Poor baby, he cried like an operatic soprano when I left him. Kenai cried louder when we left little bro behind.

BB’s SIBO is much worse, so he’s going to be on metronidazole for awhile. I’m thinking the doxy Kenai’s on for the suddenly up again tick titer was helping him a little. They’ll get a super strength probiotic tomorrow, and hopefully that combined with a grain and starch free diet will tame the belly beasties for Kenai. 

After this “crisis” is over, I’m wanting to ask the vet about this food, Rubicon http://www.healthyplanetrx.com/Great-Life-Rubicon-for-Dogs-p/gl-rubicon-canine.htm. Has anyone out there used it before? 

That all’s why this post took so long to get up. I picked up some the e coli and crew as well from cleaning up behind the boys, having repeated bouts of nausea and die in the rears this weekend my own self. I’ll boost up on the probiotics and take care of myself now that I’ll have a few hours to rest. (The only good part of leaving a sick buddy at the vet).

Needless to say the living room found itself assulted: all the soft furnishings that wouldn’t run away got sprayed down with disinfectant, all the sheets went in the washer on sanitize, the floors were mopped with bleach solution, and I sprayed lysol into the running AC ducts until I couldn’t breath.

Kenai didn’t like the attack of the washer woman, running him off his comfie bed and stinkin up his living room. He’s pouting here in the kitchen, save for leaping up at every sound to see if it’s Grammy bringing his brother home. Littermates. 

He’s moved to his brother’s crate for a nap once the living room was clean and fresh. Poor baby two, all subdued and sorrowful. We’ll have a nice nap together on Grammy’s bed here in awhile, cuddled up and snuggled down. There’ll be less poo but more zoo when BB comes home.

Not to post an all-downer, before the zoo poo started in earnest, BB had himself a really grand time at his training last Friday. I can barely remember that far back, but we spent time on click and play for watching the day care kids across the street, and “back up” when a human sits down.

We made every noise under the sun, and he noticed then ignored all but one: door knocking. So we worked on not barking at that sound. He showed himself to be the bent-bottom-master of down stays, at least once he was tired.

The next training session is Friday, if any of the three of us are up for it. We’ll just take it easy the next few days, rest up and try to get feeling better. I think we’ve earned a rest…

What It’s All About, Alfie…by Lisa Harmon September 15, 2009

Okay, this post is taking longer than expected to get finished too–what’s up with that? Frustrating!

Trainer/breeder Jane Killion is considering writing a “Pigs Fly” puppy book! Raising a piggy pup requires a thoughtful approach from the start if you intent the pup to excel at higher obedience work. Learned that in about a month from Kenai.

“They” say we ruin our first dog as SD owner/trainers, at least that’s what I’ve been told (accused of?) by some of the more professional and slightly condescending SD owner/trainers. Perhaps so, considering how sideways Kenai’s training’s gone. How much his health has affected is hard to tell.

I knew from the start this boy was all over different, and found out fast I didn’t understand how to work with him. Hindsight reveals many a flaw in my early training of Kenai, and massive black holes here and there in my aquired “skill set”.

I’m not sure I’d take it as far as “ruined” though–maybe “they” just weren’t willing to expend the time and effort undoing their earlier mistakes. Granted it can be a pain to undo, but the undoing is very much a learning experience too. That’s what it’s all about Alfie–learning.

To have a Pigs Fly puppy book would make things remarkably easier for folks though, easier than the trial and error, durn that didn’t work method Kenai’s had to put up with. Not all dogs learn the same way, anymore than kids do. Doesn’t mean they don’t have gifts to offer us.

My piggy pup had his training time last Friday, or should I call it, almost training time. With Kenai pretty much out of commission, our training times are more about play than tasks; it’s what he can give me. While I wait for him to get well, I’m hoping to use BB as my guinea pup starting this Friday.

Training focus shifts from teaching the dog to making a trainer out of me. That way I’ll be ready when Kenai is. BB’s time I hope will be Lisa watching and teaching me: timing, body posture, shaping, reinforcement etc.

For Kenai we focus on play, and the foundations for later formal training are being laid that way. Whatever works. Kenai wasn’t terribly enthusiastic last week, being slightly on the blah side, but we did get a few rises out of him!

“It ate my ball!!” Kenai had to walk on the yellow mat to get his ball back, and with the ball under it, it was all shifty and not solid.

Kenai’s a terra firma sort of fellow, with the habit of picking the solid ground for himself, and leaving me with the shifty…not a good idea!

He piddled about with it, refusing two or three times, then having Lisa on one side and me on the other as ‘barriers’ he walked on the shifty mat.

Yay! he did it, got his ball and had a few moments of playtime with it. Then it was do it all again!

 

 

 

 

That earned him a good long game of keep away with Lisa, complete with butt bumping so “you can’t reach” and trotting about all smug and happy with his boy self. 

We also continued his tight space work, this time, making him walk between rows of chairs to come see me, to get his toys, and being the Kenai that he is, he backed out. That was okay for awhile, then we decided to do a turn around between the chairs.

Oh so disquieting “mom”, lemme just back up! But he finally did it, and had his fun games with the “greenie meanie” monster toy (by his back foot in the pic above left). Greenie meanie made it funner, you see. After two more turn arounds, he got a really nifty reward:

Quintessential Kenai, looking out the window. I must have a hundred pictures of him looking out windows! Surveying is part of his doggy duty he thinks. What a boy.

He wasn’t too enthusiastic, sore legs and upset tummy, so we didn’t really push him to do too much. There were some name games, with tushie rubs and chase me’s for his rewards.

He’s remarkably good at the name games, considering he and I haven’t practiced them much recently. He’s a smart boy–he remembers, even if he tried to pretend otherwise.

And I’ve found a way to let him run loose in the field!! If I walk around the garage while he runs, (no critters around of course) then pull the car out, he comes. Guess a car ride is a high enough value reward?

I may be playing with fire, but he misses the room to stretch out his legs as much as I miss seeing him happy being loose. As long as he continues to come to the car, I’ll continue trusting him that much off leash.

Today is BB’s accupuncture appt. He doesn’t seem to get the same relief that his brother does for some reason. Maybe he hurts more? But it does reduce his anxiety-based behavior a little bit. A little bit with BB is a big relief for us!

Well, I’d better get this post up before something else interrupts and postpones it! Yeesh. You’d think the stars were against me or something this month. Too bad, I’m gonna keep the chin up and the clicker clicking anyway.

Toy Times and Learning Sideways…by Lisa Harmon September 12, 2009

Ball? What ball? I don’t see one, do you? Kenai 21 mo

My apologies for getting this post up later than I normally would. It’s been quite the week, running about and none of it for fun, save Kenai’s training time Friday when I got this pic.

I came across a new SD blog, http://servicedogteam.blogspot.com/. I enjoy seeing how other’s lives have been improved by the assistance of a dog. Amazing creatures, dogs, so wholehearted in all they do. This dog’s name is Emma, and it suits her gentle energy.

Kenai had his accupunture treatment Saturday morning, with a twist. Dr Reggiere decided to try an old school technique since he moves about and doesn’t want to be still. Both he and BB move just enough that keeping the needles in long enough can be difficult.

So she injected the points with a small amount of b-12. Not only will he have the effect of the needle (accupuncture), the subcutaneous fluid puts a tiny bit of pressure on the point for a couple of days (accupressure). We’re hoping that prolongs the good effects.

Kenai much prefers this method! Stick, squirt, done. He held perfectly still for it, and quit the whining he did while waiting for her to come in the room. He’s been very whiny, and it’s even getting on my nerves. Insecurity I think, some boredom. Who knows, but it’s starting to grate.

Bless his heart, sometimes he stands at the window and pines away for a long hard run through the field like we did when he was little. He has such a “call of the wild” in him and can’t indulge it, now that he’s taken to chasing and not coming back. The kennel is so small for those long legs.

What I wouldn’t give to have the dough to fence in an acre or so of that field. Then he could run free in a big way, while I sit in the shade. Ah dreams. Maybe when the vet bills die down we could start saving? I’d love that. (So would he)

***

As I was surfing about I discovered the “Smart Dog University” blog, Talos’ blog on my links, is associated with Karen Pryor’s Training Academy! I knew she was a fantastic puppy raiser, and now I know why! No wonder I’ve been so impressed, right?

In my happy haste I shot off an email before surfing long enough to see the requirements for admission at the Acadamy. Crash. Ya have to already be a professional trainer, vet tech etc to apply, which of course, I’m not.

The chronic fatigue bars me from being a full time anything, save for a full time napper. And crowded conventions, big classes etc just aren’t safe for me, setting off a bad case of the wobbles and/or migraines.

That leaves me with read, read, read, which I’m prone to do anyway. I think I’ll pick one or two articles at a time from good training sites, and see what I can do with them.  I’m fairly good at some things, like capturing, but more than rudimentary shaping eludes me.

Mostly because I’m chicken to dive in and get my set-in-his-ways boys stuck in a mistake? Capturing a natural response with a click and treat is much easier! But not everything you want comes naturally to a dog, so it’s “shape up” if you want a certain behavior. 

Partly I have trouble thinking four or more “steps” ahead too, which is the essential part of shaping. Shaping reminds me of another game that can be difficult: chess. You make this move, I make that one, always thinking about the end game.

My consistency could use improving, and I’m terrible about variable reinforcement. Maybe I could start following the boy’s trainer Lisa around? Does she need a free part time assistant? Pretty please, with a milk-bone on top?

Of the two boys, BB is the easiest to see results with. He’s my instant gratification, and the mistakes I make show up quick enough to undo. Once Kenai makes up his mind this is how to do it, he don’t change his mind without an act of Congress or memo from Jesus. BB willingly adjusts–he’s not a pigs fly pup.  

One thing I have started with Kenai is a head pat reconditioning. He’s shy of having his forehead reached for right now, so I’ve taken to pat/click/treat over and over for several repetitions. Once he stops moving his head away from hands, I’ll have to reinforce only occasionally.

That’s built a bit on the name games of “When Pigs Fly” by Jane Killion. Rather than “priming” the clicker, I’m priming the head rub in a way. Head rubs should begin to mean I-likes rather than I-don’t-likes.  I don’t want him too outgoing, but when it’s okay to be petted, at least don’t shy away!

Wednesday morning was a toy time from boy heaven for Kenai. He has no idea that play is “training”, a sideways sort of learning for the both of us. We had a really energetic game of tug, with my big backside on the couch to make it harder for HIM to win.

Then we played hide and seek around the couches, complete with “BOO” and mini zoomies. All to improve his desire to find me when I call his name. Not to mention the great good fun of watching a boy be happy with his puppy self, discovering the hiding “momma”!

We had some major keep away with anything I could steal from him. It goes in the shirt, it hides behind my back, it goes this way and that…I had him dancing, playtime freestyle! Boy wrinkles everywhere while he tried to anticipate my next move. Ha ha, made ya think–variable reinforcement practice for me.

After about 15 min of rest, I introduced him to the joys of plant saucers. Not only do they fly faster than the brown boy streak, they turn upside down and require strategy for a thumbless soul to pick up. There were baskets to peek in, blankets to root under, an empty rice container to chase all over creation…

After much more rest this time, it was wake up Grammy time. Since he’s been blah about his messing with sasquatch games, where he and Mom chatter like noisy jays, a new set of boy wrinkles was in order. A wild tail ball!! It’s a motorized ball that wiggles and wanders, with a fuzzy tail sticking out of one end.

Should’ve had the camera! Hilarious. He’d corner it, or step on its tail, but the moment he picked it up you’d think he’d bit into a lemon. “It wiggles in my mouth, ma!” Spit it out with big eyes, chase it down, pick it up, spit it out, snort and sneeze…I laughed myself silly at him.

Friday I came across one of the best all-positive techniques for putting an end to the ever frustrating drag-your-human-by-the-leash game. http://www.clickertraining.com/node/541 . Not to copy it here, the basic point is to click/reward when the leash is loose, and lure the dog to get (keep) his body position where you want it.

Like most no-correction techniques, the beginning stages are slow going for most dogs. It takes awhile for it to dawn on a dog that pulling gets no reward but not pulling does: the opposite of what they’ve learned. It takes just as long or longer for cross-over trainers like me to get the idea that a slow start results in faster progress later on!

The only thing that I’d add to this article is variable reinforcement, I mentioned earlier. We humans are creatures of habit, so we unthinkingly create patterns. The dog can learn we treat on step 3, 5, and 7 regularly but rarely on 4 or 8. They then learn to loose leash on 3, 5, and 7 but not on other steps because we don’t reward those steps as much.

 The idea is to mix up the step you reward on: 5, 2, 6, 3, 7, 3, 5, 1, 4, 8, 5, etc. deliberately. You build up the numbers as the dog learns, such as step 25, 14, 2, 11, 20, 8, 31 etc. The dog  doesn’t know when you will reward, so they pay attention all the time. And the treat is dropped either slightly behind you if the dog’s gone forward, or at the side of your foot to keep them in position.

***

Kenai’s Thursday puppy puncture was the standard needle only, and he went from (oh my) cowering and shaking in the corner to tail up happy in about 15 minutes. I asked for another tick titer, since he’s doing worse overall, and Dr Reggiere thought it was a good idea.

Oh my boys, get well soon! I worry ’bout you when I’d rather be having fun with you.

This post is a bit too long already to write about the Friday training session with Lisa, so I’ll get that in the next one. And I won’t wait so long to get it up, either!

Lick a Stick and Go Jump…by Lisa Harmon September 5, 2009

Kenai had another accupuncture appt Wednesday, and gave Dr R a glimpse at his panicky puppy mood: he was scared of the not quite shiny floor he’d walked on twice already, scared of the tech he’d been playing smoochies with Friday, and scared of the two kittens in the boarding window.

Kittens? Not like they’re sabre tooth tigers, baby love…

But he dutifully held still, for the most part, and by halfway through his puppypuncture, he was heavy lidded and half asleep on his feet. When we left to go pay he was determined to go back in the room for more! Once he gets used to the proceedure, I’ll be able to get pictures.

The floor, techs, and kittens, btw, weren’t scary anymore, and he was looking for fun.

One thing I need to do is find a way to get him more exercise. He’s getting back into that intense critter chase state again, and I’ve had to return to the gentle leader just to take him out for his after meal business. That is something I could go the rest of my life without.

BB is still spaz pup after his puppy puncture session Tuesday, though he is less uncomfortable. Evidence: he puts more weight on the gimpy leg, and doesn’t worry as much about his back half being messed with.

Thank heavens the weather has turned cool a month early, and oh my does it feel like a lovely fall is about to appear. The cool air makes a girl want to snuggle into a soft sweater and leave the windows open. The sumac is already turning red, and the dogwoods are starting to color too. Yummy.

Our training time with Lisa Friday was buckets of fun. While he’s in this “intensity” state, ya can’t really train or practice in a formal way and expect it to stick. So we did it sideways. All play, yet the groundwork for later public work was being laid all the same.

Lisa pulled out all kinds of new things (she really has cool stuff, he thinks); hula hoops, yoga mats, bright shiny cones, baby gates…Kenai didn’t like the noise the sand in the hula hoops made, so we got him to walk over them on the floor. You would think a dog used to our living room wouldn’t care!

His hesitancy pointed out something else I’d missed in his puppy socialization: walking over and through obstacles. Being somewhat unsteady, I tend to remove things in my walking paths. That or just walk around them.

So he learned to walk around with me. Problem comes when there isn’t room for his big butt and my bigger butt both! When one of us has to navigate an obstacle, he has a tendency to steer clear regardless of where that puts me.

Often times in such a situation, he knows the “behind” word, but that puts his shoulders behind my behind and doesn’t allow me to use them for balance. There’s always going to be times when that’s unavoidable, like the anti-shoplifting tag detectors we have to walk through in stores.

But boy can step over some stuff easier than me. See, he’s not a clutz and I am, at least I am now. Even as a puppy, Kenai was THE most perfectly well co-ordinated Dane puppy I’d ever seen. Not once did he trip over his own feet, and they were, ach-hum, substantial. They all do that, but not him.

He never did the “crooked run” either, where the back end is going sideways while the front end was going forwards, until he could get all the parts working together. He was just like an adult, only smaller in proportion. For a short time anyway.

Kids toys, curbs, and other small stuff he can learn to walk over now that this here gymnast turned balance challenged non-gymnast just stumbles over stuff. It’s not like he’s short and would have to jump. He could walk without picking his feet up much higher than normal.

Latching onto whatever develops and running with it is Lisa’s greatest skill. She just goes with a dog’s flow. She decided to make an obstacle course of her training center, and it’s construction was well supervised.

He loved the kitty tunnels, especially if you played peek through them: that’d get a big slapped-down play bow. I rolled the hula hoops around, and Lisa played peek through them too.

If I’d been thinking, I would’ve suggested rolling the hula hoops while running with them. Anyone remember that game as a kid, running along with a hoop? Not that I’d do it, but I’d suggest it to Lisa…

An empty plastic jar was fun to chase, until it chased him. Wee one ran home to momma and played his own peek: peek around me to see if its safe! Scaredy pup-o-mine. I got up and played keep away with it, then it was a big trophy for him to bat around.

We got him to start walking through tight spaces, working on a bad habit he’d developed about a year ago: refusing elevators and bathroom stalls. Tight spaces don’t bother him here at home, but that’s all his recent lack of comfort in public. They didn’t bother him anywhere when he was little.

Until you’ve had a service dog, or are close to someone who does, it is nearly impossible to think of all the “obstacles” and “pitfalls” to prepare a puppy for.

I’m just amazed at the breadth of an SD program puppy raiser’s awareness. I read in a post about Talos (blog link to the right) getting a chance to play in an agility tunnel, and thought about him the moment we showed Kenai a tunnel.

I’ve read other puppy raisers’ blogs and how they planned outings specifically so that the puppy would walk on concrete, grass, tile, vinyl, stainless steel, sand, gravel, laminate flooring, carpet…every conceivable surface texture. Then every conceivable sound, or person, or animal.

Puppy raisers are amazing, well and beyond. I’ve raised pups all my life, but never for as difficult a working life as an SD, and I’ll tell ya I never once really thought about what surface we were walking on! I’m waxing lyrical, aren’t I? Sorry.

Typically, Kenai wouldn’t take treats so we were forced to be creative. He is ga-ga for butter, so he got to lick a stick. I swear this dog belonged to Paula Dean in a past life.

 Then Lisa discovered the problem I’d been slammin up against all his life: he loses interest in toys and treats quickly. Even the toy on the rope he can chase like a maniac.

What Kenai wants? To sniff, to shred a plastic bag or two, sniff a bit, check in with me if I move, sniff around this and that, play a game of keep away, sniff, get his rump rubs, and sniff some more. The nose. Behold the power of cheese? Not.  

With Kenai not caring about stuff on the floor, we decided to up the ante and make him work for his tailored-to-boy reward. He learned a new command, “go jump”!

Much like herding a horse into a chute, if he could go around he would. But with just a bit of guiding towards it via his collar, or some luring, over he went without a second thought.

He’s a pretty tolerant fellow, once his initial uncertainty is dealt with as a rule. The “go jump” wasn’t his idea of great gobs of fun, but he’d do it if I wanted. The reward part is great gobs of fun, though.

True to form, Kenai didn’t care for a lick of butter after his “jump”, so he got a rump rub instead. He didn’t show Lisa his flamenco puppy dance but she did get a rise out of him.

He-he funny butt!

That was Kenai’s training session this week, and we all enjoyed it. Boy were we bushed when it was over, though, and headed home with the intention of getting a nap.

BB was scheduled for his puppy puncture session, but Mom wasn’t going to take him, I discovered. She has a cold, worse than mine at the moment.

But he really needs the pain relief and relaxation, so I bucked up and put him in the car. To tire out the nascar engine powering him, first stop was the puppy store.

All over he trotted, everything he sniffed, everyone he tried to con into a game of some kind. The best adjective for BB is “irrepressible”. His sense of fun never quits. Neither does his pulling like a sled dog until he’s as lathered as a wore out cutting horse. He’s what you might call greenbroke.

The call came before we left the store: the vet canceled to take her sick child home. Understandable but disappointing. Screaming legs or not, I decided to give Beebs plenty of an outing so he goes home tired. So up in the car he went, and off we go to the park.

Now BB is still deeply disturbed by children, and what should be there but a few toddlers. Oy. Well, I take him out anyway and hurry to the open soccer field to let him indulge the nose awhile. Anytime kids started coming near us, I move on.

This gave him a chance to see them, hear them, watch them but not have to interact. We went to the playground area not being used, and he smelled everything that didn’t fly away. Good boy. Smell the kids scents, and swipe the slobber off with a towel. (BB foams).

He was tired enough after 15 mintes of walking that we actually started getting a loose leash, believe it or not. Good thing too, since I was ready to drop. I don’t trust him enough to let small children pet him yet. He might scare them with his sudden barking.

Older kids he’s better with, but still not the little ones. Associations from my neice. Had it been Kenai, no problem–he’s very good about toddlers and lets them do pretty much anything. Not Beebs. Kids freak him out.

With my legs shaking and losing control over my feet, I decided to take home chinese. Steak in the fridge or not, I wouldn’t be able to stay up long enough to cook. So BB got to wait in the car while I ordered, and we watched all kinds of stuff together while the order was being made.

A man walked right past the car and no growl came. Good boy! See the nice old lady with the walker? What a good boy…its a busy parking lot, and he was too tired to fuss about anything. Yippee! Gotta tell ya, BB is the slobberiest foam slinging dog in creation. Wow. Cujo got nothing on him.

It got bad enough I hit  the AC to turn the car into an icebox. That slows down the slobber manufacturing. When ya have to wipe the inside of the windshield to see where you’re going, ya have to do something different!

Both boys crashed hard, me right along with them. I’ll need the weekend to recover enough to cook those steaks, too. Ouch. Hopefully Mom’s cold will get better soon, and hopefully it won’t wipe me out as well, because BB woke up and wanted to play.