Barking & Barfing

Barking. Sometimes I think Chili loves the sound of her own voice. Bark, bark, bark, bark. What was that? Should I bark? I should bark. What do you mean no? I’m pretty sure I should bark. That’s it, I’m barking. Bark, bark, bark, bark. Then she looks back at you all proud of herself.

Luckily she doesn’t bark at everything and it’s more or less confined to inside the house. She doesn’t bark at the doorbell or someone knocking. She just barks at imaginary sounds and things outside. OK, she probably does hear something that we can’t, but it doesn’t make it any less annoying. She has a very big bark for a little girl, an 80lb little girl. She’ll go for a while where she just ignores everything, then it starts up again. She’ll casually walk over to the French doors and stare out the window. It’s quite amusing, especially since we now know her body language. She looks back and forth, searching for whatever. We know when she’s ready to start because her head starts to jerk, her body stiffens and leans forward. She does look quite remarkable. I really have to get a picture of her in her intense stance.

It’s one thing to be barking in the middle of the day. It’s another when it starts in the middle of the night. That really sucks. Imagine yourself, dead asleep, then being woken up as if you were just shocked. Sometimes being kicked in the head as she jumps up to defend against .... whatever. Not a pretty picture. What could make it even better? Add some barfing.
Yes, barfing. It’s been a tough month for the Chill. We noticed that she had a crack in one of her canines. Now, I like to be proactive about these things so we had to get it dealt with right away. Anyway, a few days before she was supposed to go in to have her tooth fixed, she stopped eating, got diarrhea, and started barfing. Now, instead of waking up in the middle of the night to bark, she was waking up to barf. Poor girly.

Somehow we’ve been able to train her to do her best to go outside if she has to barf. She really does try. Sometimes she doesn’t make it all the way, but at least she makes it to the tile. Once she get sick I don’t really sleep, I just go to bed and stay in this half sleep, half awake state. I know the signs. She starts to pant, and lick her lips, then smack her lips. When she’s ready, she jumps up and off she goes. I want to be there for her when she has to go. I think she likes the moral support. She relies on me. She just has to move the right way and I’m half way down the stairs before I’m completely awake. Right by her side.

She did manage to get better before she was put under anaesthesia, only to be sick again from the anaesthesia. Another couple of nights go by where we’re running outside in the middle of the night. Finally she started to feel better. I was looking forward to getting a good night’s sleep. I did, for a day or two. Then she got sick again. I don’t even know why I bothered going to bed. Again, poor girly.

After a tough month, she’s almost back to normal. Almost. We did find out that she has mild pancreatitis which might explain the occasional barfing. As a result, we’ve switched her food and stopped sharing. The last one has been tough on her and us. We’re all used to the sharing ritual but when it comes to her health, we can be strong. It’s not over, but at least she seems to be feeling better.

I’ll take the barking any day or night, it that means she’s well.

Christmas Presents for the Dog?!

It's the time of year when people talk about the ‘commercialization of Christmas’ that it’s a ‘racket for the retailers to make more money’, or they're just plain old ‘bah humbug’. What’s with the anti-Christmas attitude? Christmas is sparkly, bright, shiny.... an excuse for people to smile more and say ‘Merry Christmas’. The first time you say it sheepishly, almost a little embarrassingly, then as you see the light in the other persons eyes, you do it with a bit more passion, and suddenly people in your path are left smiling and feeling merry. What’s bad about that?

If you’re lucky enough to have a crazy dog in your life at Christmas, then you really have no excuse to feel like the Grinch. By the way, did you ever notice that no matter how Grinchy the Grinch was, his dog was always happy? I think he knew the Grinch had more in him and was just waiting for that moment when it all burst out.

I buy Christmas presents for my dog. There I said it. It’s the only time of year she gets new toys. I even buy her the toys that she really, really loves, stuffed animals; even though I know most of them won’t last the day. She has a stocking hanging above the fireplace too with her name on it in red glitter. You can’t have Christmas without stockings. Brad thinks I’m a little nuts and laughs at me but that’s OK. That’s the point, the laughter and fun that surrounds it.

There is nothing ladylike, refined, or demure about Chili. She’s all wild, free and crazy. If there’s an opportunity for fun, she jumps right in. When it comes to loving life, we could all learn from her. Christmas morning with Chili is great. It doesn’t take her long to get into the present opening mode. It’s funny watching her rip the paper off, then there’s that moment where out of nowhere, she realizes there’s a toy inside. This happens with every gift. When she sees the toy, it’s like she’s a super wound spring ready to let go. She takes her newfound treasure, flings it into the air, and springs after it. Then grabs it in her mouth and gives it a good shake. We have to duck for cover to avoid a black eye from flying stuffed animal limbs. She looks like she’s drunk as she stumbles around shaking her stuffed animal, with limbs everywhere.

As for Brad and I, we’re rolling around laughing and laughing at her. We all take turns opening our presents but we have the most fun when it’s Chili’s turn. Well, actually, we do have fun laughing when one of us gets a bad present. You know those presents that you get but you really don’t get. You have to laugh when you open them because really, what else can you do.

In the end, Chili leaves a path of torn paper, chewed limbs, and slobber. She doesn’t just slobber on her own gifts either. She has to personally inspect each one of ours and since we aren’t completely capable of opening them on our own, she has to help. Yes, it’s not easy sitting in front of the tree trying to open a present with an 80lb dog hovering over you and shoving her head right in your way. It’s not easy, but it’s fun. So much fun that I wish there were more presents for us to open just so we can laugh at Chili.

So in the end, that’s the real gift. Chili. The best gift we could ever have.

Collection... Yeah, You Get It

As dog owners, we have to do some rather unpleasant tasks from time to time. I mean really, walking around with rolls of shit bags in our pockets waiting for the moment. The moment we get to pick up that big hand warmer and carry it around for a while. I guess it’s not so bad if you own a little dog, but a big dog, that’s quite the load. You just have to hope the wind is blowing in the right direction so you don’t pass out. At least most of the bags do what they’re supposed to do and you get through the task without actually having any of the load touch you.

Recently I had to get a pee sample from Chili. It’s not like this was the first time I’ve ever done this but for some reason the ridiculousness of the whole thing hit me. Is this some kind of joke? This is exactly what I was thinking as they handed me this little cup with an opening that was 2” wide. What the hell was I supposed to do with this? Talk about setting me up for failure. Do they all go into the back and laugh after you’re given the cup? There should be a prize for getting through this task successfully. It’s like one of those puzzles where you have to put everything in its exact place before the buzzer goes off. As the vet was telling me that I had to collect Chili’s morning pee I just kept looking from the cup, to her, back to the cup, then to her. I didn’t say anything; I just kept staring and then walked to my truck looking at this little cup.

I was not looking forward to this, so when it was time, I had to will myself to get out of bed. I’m half asleep, but I’m ready for it. Before we go outside I make sure I’m geared up. I tie my hair back, I don’t need anything impairing my vision, I’ve already got enough things working against me. I wear a close fitting jacket so the sleeves won’t get in the way, and no gloves. Now we’re ready and out we go into the yard. Oh hell, that’s right, Chili had diarrhea for a couple of days and I haven’t cleaned it up yet. So now I also have to walk through a maze too. This could be a wii game (get it?).

I’m at the ready, watching her every move and waiting for the moment that she squats. She’s looking at me suspiciously because I’m acting weird. “Come on Chili, just pee”. She stops to sniff and I get ready to go in. I already know this won’t go well. She’s a girl and she squats. How the hell am I going to get this little cup in the right spot when she’s squatted so low to the ground? How do people with teeny little dogs do this? The cup is taller than the dog’s squat clearance.

OK, here she goes. I dive in and shove the cup under her, moving it around. I can’t see unless I kneel or lay on the ground and there’s no way I’m doing that it’s still a little dark. I’m blind holding a cup under my peeing dog. I really hope she doesn’t pee on me. Figures, I just get the cup under her and she shuts off the tap, gives me a dirty look, and walks away. All I got was about a raindrops worth. But hey, at least I didn’t get peed on. I kept following her around, telling her to pee, but she was done. I can only imagine what she was thinking. Psycho Mom.

I know what you’re thinking, “You idiot, why didn’t you just use something bigger and then transfer it into the cup?” Well, I actually did think about it but then I started to overthink it and you know the story from there.

The things we do for our dogs.

So Many Reasons

There seems to be a theme lately with people having problems with their dogs. They’re just bad in general, or going to the bathroom in the house, cranky with other dogs, in-house destruction, etc. Sometimes I’m even hearing the words ‘if it doesn’t stop we’re getting rid of him/her’ or ‘some days the dog’s just not worth it’. Guess what, dogs don’t come with owners manuals. You shouldn’t get to return them for a better model when you think they are defective. Have we forgotten that they think and feel? I don’t care what anyone says, you cannot ever 100% control something that thinks. They are also not human so our rules don’t always apply. When you make the decision to adopt, you make a commitment to a life, and a life should never be taken lightly.

Before Chili was even 3 she already gave me many reasons to doubt our decision:

• The times she walked around the house chewing on everything with a crazy look on her face.
• The times that I sat and cried because I just didn’t know what to do with her anymore.
• The time we thought she was finally house trained and she pooped on our bed.
• The time she chewed a chunk out of the new baseboard.
• The time she dragged me off my feet and through the mud.
• The other time we thought she was house trained and she peed 5 times in a row on the new carpet.
• The time she chewed a hold in the love seat.
• The times she ran through the garden and wrecked a bunch of new plants.
• The time she jumped on the table and spilled coffee on the computer.
• The time she ate the roast off the counter.
• The time she ate a hole in the other love seat.
• The other time she dragged me off my feet onto the sidewalk and I ended up with ripped jeans and bleeding knuckles.
• The time she broke one of the new blinds.
• The time she went right through the screen to get to a squirrel.
• The time she was tied to the truck and knocked her daddy to the ground when she saw another dog.
• The time she ate the stuffing out of her bed.
• The time she ate a hole in her other bed.
• The time she dragged me across a field trying to get a chicken.
• All the times she’s lunged at another dog and caused an altercation between me and the other owner.
• All the times she stomps on me before work.
• And, I could go on, but I’ll stop

Even though the list is long and incomplete, I never once considered getting rid of her. I looked at myself and thought about the things I needed to change. It was work, but it was worth it. Chili is the absolute greatest thing that ever happened to me. She made me change and she made me be stronger and challenge myself. Just because you don’t have an easy dog, doesn’t mean you need to take the ‘poor me’ road. Yes, I’ve felt like that but I’ve always come around. I had no choice. I made the decision to adopt Chili and it’s my responsibility to find the solutions to these problems. Chili, well, she’s just doing what she does. She’s a dog.

So, embrace it. Easier said than done? Yes, in the beginning. But you will learn soooo much about yourself and you will be soooo proud of what you’ve accomplished. The connection that you’ve made with your dog will be kind of surreal. It still makes me say 'wow'. It’s a feeling of accomplishment that you will love. Remember, you don’t have to do it alone, find a good trainer, or connect with someone else who has a challenging dog. It does help to talk to someone who understands.

Most importanly, enjoy it, and have fun!

The Magical Halti

Magic comes in many forms. One dictionary describes it as the use of means (as charms or spells) believed to have supernatural power over natural forces. Well, a cookie seems to have supernatural powers over Chili, who you could describe as a natural force. The other tool that I’ve found to be quite magical over a certain natural force is the Halti.

From what I understand, the Halti is meant to keep your dog from pulling on leash. Chili actually walks pretty well, so what am I doing with a Halti? From the time I started training with Chili I’ve been constantly trying to find a way to get her lunging in hand. It’s been a non-stop quest for me. She’s such a great dog except for the lunging. I’d used many different tools and techniques but hadn’t found the right one yet. So, one day Michele (owner of Connective Training) and I were going out for a walk. I was telling her that I wanted to stay on the trails that were wide because they gave me some room to work with Chili when she started lunging. We decided to walk at Beaver Lake.

When she arrived she had left her dogs at home and came armed with some tools. She had a gentle lead, a Halti, and a leash that was only about a foot and a half long. I knew these were meant for Chili but didn’t know what made her come up with these items. They are meant for dogs that pull, and Chili didn’t pull. She told me that after we spoke these items just popped in her head and she just had to give them a try. OK. Who am I to argue with that logic.

Both of these tools are strapped around the dogs snout and head, not the neck. Because of this, they take the dogs power away since you’re essentially leading them by the nose. The difference is night and day. You must use a short leash to avoid causing harm to the dogs neck and spine. You don’t want their head snapping back at the end of a long leash. You must also avoid doing leash corrections as well for the same reason. Unfortunately, most people who use these tools don’t know this. Fortunately for us, we have Michele.

Chili was not impressed with this new development, but I was. Now, the answer to the question of what am I doing with a Halti. The revelation is, just because something is supposed to be used for one reason, doesn’t mean it can’t be used for another. Of the two pieces that Michele brought, my choice was the Halti. I like how it was loose around her mouth unless she pulled, then it pulled her mouth shut, which gave her something else to focus on. I also like that it connects to her collar so if for some reason it does slip off, she’s not loose, I still have her. Now, in the past when Chili would see another oncoming dog, she would stare it down, then lunge. The Halti gives me the control over her head and nose area which allows me to gently pull her head up and break the stare. Breaking her stare prevents her from building herself up to the point where she wants to lunge.

It took me about a month of using the Halti and practicing moving her head towards me and relaxing before things started working. I was teaching Chili, and me, a new routine. Now, instead of lunging 95% of the time, we have 95% success. The times that she does lunge, since she isn’t being held by her neck, the whole incident loses its power, and so does she. Basically, it’s less dramatic and over very quickly. We’re not perfect yet, but have we ever made leaps in the right direction.

So what’s changing? I’m more relaxed, which makes Chili more relaxed. Since I’m not just focusing on making sure that I’m in the right position to hold her back if she lunges, I’m able to relax, and watch her for the signs that tell me I need to step it up. Chili is learning to walk closer to me when she sees another dog and she is starting to look to me on her own rather than me always averting her stare. We’re working towards the day where we won’t need tools any longer, where when another dog comes our way, she just checks them out and continues moving forward.

Now that would be magic.

The Judgemental Idiot Part 2

To say I was freaked out by this idiot, is an understatement. I was panicking. I didn’t like the fact that this guy took pictures of us. It was creepy. I wasn’t worried about Chili in the pictures, I knew she would be wearing her goofball happy face. By the time I got home I was a wreck. I called Brad and told him about what happened. It took a bit for me to get it out between the tears. I’d never experienced anything like this before and I had no idea how this kind of thing went. I didn’t know if the people at the pound were idiots or reasonable people, this might go bad for Chili. People are people and you just never know who you’re dealing with. It was worse because I had no clue as to what the rules and guidelines were for warnings about your dog. Brad felt that the best plan was for me to call the pound and tell them about what happened. We didn’t have anything to hide from. He was right.

So, I called the pound and told them the story. I had a lump in my throat the whole time. They asked if Chili was off leash. No, she wasn’t. They asked if she had done her business and I didn’t pick it up. No. I had to tell them about the day before, and how Chili sometimes lunges at other dogs when she’s on leash. I didn’t want to tell them, but I had to be up front. I told them the guy said he had already phoned them and started the complaint process. The pound guy asked his colleague if it sounded familiar and he said no. To their knowledge nobody had phoned about us. He did comment that it sounded strange that the guy was walking towards us taking pictures and that it must have made me uncomfortable. It did make me uncomfortable. I kept looking over my shoulder the whole way home. I told them that we felt it was better for them to be able to find us right away if they had to, rather than driving around hunting for us. I gave him my name and phone number and left it at that.

Now, I have very mixed feelings about this. You see, I stopped going for the morning walks. Some have said that he had no right to keep me from walking up that road and if it was them, they would continue walking by his house every morning. Yes, they’re right. He doesn’t own the road. Believe me, I would love to march up and down that road a dozen times a day and see what he has to say. However, this isn’t about me. I need to set my pride and ego aside and do what’s best for Chili. If we had kept walking up that road, it would have enraged a person who is already unreasonable and a bully. It might push him to go further, and Chili would be the victim. If he wants to sit on his couch, all puffed up and proud, about how he bullied that girl with the ‘vicious’ dog and pat himself on the back for how he’s such a hero because he saved his neighbourhood from us, then so be it. I can be proud that I made the choice that was right for my dog.

Interesting how people choose to see the world. How is it that this guy decided we were a menace to society, while an elderly man in a scooter with his little dog would stop, say hi, and give Chili treats.

It’s been over 8 months now since this incident and nothing has come from it. This proves that along with many other things, this man is also a liar. He achieved his goal and now I’m pretty sure he feels more powerful for it. No matter. If Karma is real, he’ll face her one day, and I’m quite certain she has no tolerance for 2 legged creatures who threaten 4 legged ones. He’s all yours girl.

The Judgemental Idiot Part 1

As you know, I have no tolerance for judgemental idiots. I thought I’d already run into my share of them, I was soooo wrong. Chili and I had started doing morning walks. We’d walk around the corner and up a road, which is a very steep hill, and then back to the house. I really enjoyed our morning walks. It was quiet, we got a good workout, we would always watch for the neighbourhood deer, we knew all the neighbourhood dogs. Chili was used to the routine and would simply walk by everything with a bit of interest. It was beautiful.

One Sunday, the three of us were walking the regular morning route. As we were approaching the bottom of the hill, I saw a man with his dog. I recognized the dog from our morning walks because it would usually be out in its yard when we would walk by. There was also someone walking behind us with their dog. At that time, we were still having a problem with Chili lunging. She would do it probably 90% of the time. Of course Chili lunged at the dog. Typically I would walk Chili but if she started to lunge, Brad would grab the lead. Not because I couldn’t manage her, but let’s face it, he’s stronger and can manage her with one hand. We got her under control and kept walking. As we were heading up the hill I turned around and saw both men talking to each other. Other than that, we had a great walk.

On Monday morning, Chili and I set out for our morning walk. It was a beautiful and cool morning. We went to the top of the hill, saw the deer and the morning dogs. On our way back down, I saw a man walking out of his driveway towards me. It looked like he wanted to talk to me, then I saw a camera in his hand. I wasn’t really sure what was happening at first, then I could hear the camera clicking....he was taking pictures of us. Out of nowhere, he launched into a speech about how he’d already phoned the pound and they know all about us. That he’s talked to the whole neighbourhood about how Chili is a vicious dog and nobody wants us around. He kept repeating that she’s vicious. Now, if you know anything about Chili, you’d know that she loves people. So as he was telling me how terrible she was, she was pulling forward, trying to go say hello to him. Since I was holding her back, she was rearing up on her back legs. He proceeded to take more pictures and was telling me, “see, see, she’s vicious, see.” I told him that she wasn’t vicious, she loved people, and simply wanted to go over to him and say hello. He told me that she’s so bad, that it takes two people to hold her back and that she wanted to kill his dog. (He was referring to our walk by yesterday)

It took everything I had to stay calm. You can’t reason with a crazy, self-righteous person on a bullying power trip. I told him that she wasn’t vicious, she gets along fine with other dogs, in fact she’s surrounded by them when she’s at daycare, she’s never been in a fight, she’s never bitten another dog, I’m working hard with her, etc, etc. Every word I would say, he would follow it with, “I doubt that”. He said the pound told him to talk to me and take pictures. (This, is talking to me??) He was then going to submit a formal report against Chili. I asked him why he wanted to make trouble for us, why he’s never just talked to me, why he’s making assumptions when he doesn’t know anything. Of course he didn’t have any answers. I told him to do whatever he felt he needed to do, and I walked away.

I kept looking over my shoulder as we walked home. I was afraid he would follow us. If I saw anyone behind me, I would have walked the other way and called Brad to pick us up. My adrenaline was pumping and I could barely think. All I knew was this guy wanted bad things for Chili, and I wasn’t going to allow it. Now what?

The Mysterious Limp Part 3

It was painful for us to watch Chili being so ‘unchililike’. I can only imagine how she felt. We cut back on her food but she still gained weight. How could she not? She couldn’t do anything. I played with her a little bit in the house but was very careful. I didn’t want to aggravate her leg. Here we were almost 2 months into this Mysterious Limp and we still didn’t have the answer. At what point do you just say, ‘stop’. We didn’t know for certain if it was panosteitis and I’d already put her through 2 sets of Xrays. Poor girly got sick from the sedative both times. Now I was considering another option. The vet suggested that she get an ultrasound on her shoulder. What to do, what to do... I didn’t want to put her through being sedated again, but what if this was the test that would give us the answer. What’s the best decision for Chili?

We decided to get the ultrasound done on her shoulder. As they took her in I wanted to grab her and run out, but I didn’t. Here I was doing something I knew would be tough on her. Sorry Chili. To make it worse, they had to shave a patch on each shoulder. Oh brother, what next. To my surprise I was able to go in and watch them doing the ultrasound. Even when she’s under sedation, Chili still manages to be cute. Every now and then her tail would thump, thump, thump on the table and everyone would smile. So, after all that, the verdict was....nothing. There wasn’t much to see. There was a point that maybe he could see something, maybe not, we’re not quite sure. Now I feel even worse. He took a few images of areas around her shoulder and said he would send them to a specialist to review. Yeah, sure, go ahead, I won’t hold my breath. I don’t really blame the vet for not being able to find anything, that’s just the way it was.

As we waited for the specialist report, I thought about how frustrating this whole process had been. It can be tough owning an animal sometimes, especially when they’re not feeling good. They can’t tell you what’s wrong and most animals will do their best to hide what’s hurting. You have to make your decisions hoping that you’re doing the right thing. Sometimes you’re lucky enough to find the answer right away, but most times, it takes a lot of money, worry, and research.

Ok, so the specialist report is finally here. I had to read it a few times just to absorb what I was reading. Blah blah of the blah blah, what? Mild degenerative joint disease and poor conformation of the coronoid may indicate coronoid process disease. What? Elbow CT or arthroscopy recommended. What? No, she’s 3, I don’t think so. I’m done. Forget it. There will be no more poking and prodding. I’m taking this into my own hands. Nothing has worked so far and I’m not putting her through anything else. We will observe her and see what happens. That’s it.

And observe her we did. It probably took another month or so, but she did get over the limp. It left as it came. It just faded away. In the end, after 2 vets, 6 therapeutic laser treatments, 2 sets of X-rays, 1 ultrasound, and 1 specialist consultation, oh yeah, and a lot of $$$$, it just went away. On its own. Admittedly, it could have been a whole lot worse and in the end Chili was OK and that’s all that’s important. When our animal has a problem we’ll spend almost any amount of time and money on the elusive cure. We do it because we love them, we do it because they depend on us, and we do it because we need them.

The Mysterious Limp Part 2

As you can imagine, Chili was not impressed by this whole situation. Staying at home sucks when you’re used to hanging out with your friends five days a week. It sucked for Brad too since he would drive home every day at lunch to let her out and spend time with her. I felt bad for both of them and had to come up with something to make it easier. I was talking about it with Michele from Connective Training and we came up with the idea of a babysitter. I know, don’t laugh. So, in comes Jas, a friend that I met through Michele. Jas has a beautiful pittie named Cali and I knew she wouldn’t let Chili boss her around. Throughout the month of December, Jas would come in at least twice a week to spend a few hours just hanging out and chillin’ with Chili. It made a difference and Chili loved spending time with her.

I wish I could tell you that the therapeutic laser treatments were working, but it didn’t seem like they were. Although, Chili did enjoy them and would just lay there relaxed unless she heard a noise or a person came in. She had to know everything that was going on. There were days that she walked just fine, and then there were days that by the time we walked the 100ft to the end of the driveway, she would be limping so badly, she could barely walk. She would hold up her leg and look at me then walk back to the house using 3 legs. It was heartbreaking. Other than holding up her leg, you wouldn’t know she had a problem. She never winced, or whined, or showed any other signs of pain. This made it even harder to pinpoint the problem. My little trooper.

Of course, it couldn’t just be a simple thing to go for the laser treatments. Victoria isn’t really known for getting snow but on a couple of her appointment evenings, it had snowed and the roads weren’t that great. Not a problem if you live in a place where you get lots of snow and you change over to snow tires in the winter, but when you live in a place where you don’t get much, and you only use all season tires, it can be difficult. Snow wasn’t the only challenge. During one of her appointments, she was lounging and enjoying her treatment when I looked up and said to the technician, “there’s smoke coming from the laser cord”. He looked at me confused; I think he was trying to soak in what I just said, so I repeated it. By this time I was already laughing and he turned around, saw the smoke and pulled the cord out of the machine. Yes, I was laughing. I didn’t see cause for panic, after all, Chili wasn’t smoking, the cord was. The technician apologized again and again. It wasn’t his fault, no problem. That was the end of that treatment. Sorry Chili.

So what was next for us? At the end of the laser treatment, there was no change. We decided not to continue. At this point it was January, I was done work, and could devote my time to Chili. The next step? I asked for another set of X-Rays. I needed to see if there were any changes in her bones and discuss where to go from here. I know he told me that it wasn’t cancer, and he was confident with that statement, but since she seemed to be getting worse I felt that another set of Xrays would show us something.

So, under she goes again for another set of Xrays. I asked him to Xray her whole leg and shoulder, right down to her toes. He didn’t think it was necessary, but I insisted. If she was going to be put under, I wanted to make it worthwhile. The result, there was no real change. Frustrating. Now what?

The Mysterious Limp Part 1

Chili puts everything into her play time. She’s part Boxer and plays like one. With that, she’s come home from time to time with limps and scratches from playing. It’s just Chili. Typically, it takes a day for her to get over it. No worries. However, one day she had a little limp that wouldn’t go away. Actually, it would go away, then come back, then go away, then come back.

The little limp got worse so I decided to take her to the vet. We went to our usual vet and I was asked to walk her once up and down the street in front of the office. She wasn’t limping so the vet felt her leg, couldn’t find anything, then after talking about Chili’s symptoms, recommended that she be put on Cartrofin, or Metacam. I’m familiar with Metacam and refused it right away. My opinion, it’s nasty stuff. I’m also familiar with Cartrofin but wasn’t convinced. I was afraid to walk away without doing anything for Chili, so I agreed to the Cartrofin. She would get one shot now, and return for a series of shots over the next few weeks.

I went home feeling angry at myself. I wasn’t happy about my decision. You’d think I’d know better than to go against my gut, but when it comes to the vet, I sometimes lose my mind. After our whole experience with Ruby, I could never bring myself to completely trust them again. I couldn’t shake the feeling. The next day, I phoned another vet and made an appointment. The moment I put the phone down, I felt light. In the meantime, we decided to take her out of daycare and leave her at home in the hopes that the rest would help. Not a popular decision with Chili. Besides, she wasn’t even limping at daycare. She had better things to do than worry about a sore leg. She couldn’t be trusted roaming the house so she had to be crated. Brad had to come home on his lunch to hang out with her and let her out. I felt so bad for her. A social girl really shouldn’t be crated and alone, but I didn’t have any other options.

The assessment by the next vet was thorough. He had me walk and run her back and forth numerous times in the parking lot. He flexed and felt every part of her leg after every pass. Of course, Chili didn’t limp once and didn’t give any indications of pain. Figures. We opted to bring her back for X-Rays. The X-Rays were digital so I was able to go in right away to look at them. There was Chili, still out, laying on the floor, with her tongue hanging out. I wish I had my camera. As she came around her tail started thumping every time she heard voices. It doesn’t take much to get her excited. We took a look at the X-Rays and could see dark areas on the bones in her leg. I felt weak. I couldn’t even hear the vet talking. My thoughts went to Ruby, and how devastating it was to lose her to cancer. I could barely speak the words, but I had to ask, was it cancer. He assured me it wasn’t.

Although there was no definitive diagnosis, the vet did think that she might have panosteitis. Panosteitis is most common in large breed dogs between the ages of 6 and 18 months old. Chili was already 2 ½. Panosteitis is a bone disease that is often painful and can last anywhere from 2 months to 18 months. It is characterized by lameness that comes and goes and can go from leg to leg, although with Chili, it was just the one leg. Typically it has to run its course, but once it’s gone, it’s gone, and there are usually no other problems.

He did offer us a possible treatment option, Therapeutic Laser Treatments. He was considering purchasing a laser machine but wanted to test it out first to see if it really did provide results. It wouldn’t cost us anything, and wasn’t invasive, so we agreed. I would keep my fingers crossed that this would help. She had the first treatment right then. We would be in ‘monitor mode’, which wasn’t my favourite, until the end of the treatments.

Give Us a Break

Have you ever been walking your dog and just known that a judgement is being made about you? I’ll be completely honest and admit that I’ve made judgements. I’ll admit that when I look back on them, I was naive and lacked the knowledge to make any kind of judgment. I’ve also been on the judged side. Who hasn’t? Most times it’s a silent judgement, and sometimes it’s been not so silent.

I know that not everyone takes responsibility for managing their dog’s behaviour. I also know that not all people who own dogs, love dogs. They only love their dog. Then there are those who just don’t like any dog. These people and many others are out on the trails every day. I see every trail situation as a training opportunity. You have to look at it that way. If I stuck to the shadows and the back trails, we would never have achieved the progress that we’ve made. I’ve felt so thankful for those dog owners out there who have stopped when they’ve seen me struggling with Chili and asked if I would like to practice the ‘walk by’ again. They recognized that I was doing my best to teach her the right way and they took the time to help. Then there have been those who have screamed at me, yes screamed; or told me to ‘control my dog’, which I was doing; or told me that I should get some training for my dog, which I had done and was continuing to do.

My point, give me a break. You have no idea what I have invested in my dog to make positive changes. You have no idea how far she’s come, and she’s come very far. You have no idea how much I’ve had to assess my own actions, and change. Change is hard. I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved. I take responsibility for me and my dog. I know the good things she does, and I know the bad things she does. For the past few months, she barely lunges anymore. (I’ll tell you how we achieved that in another post.) When we walk and she’s off leash, I always put her back on when I see another dog approaching, or make her walk by my side when we pass people. In regards to the other dogs, I know that Chili sometimes has an ‘in your face’ way of greeting, we’re working on it, so to avoid a bad ‘hello’, I put her on leash. In regards to the people, Chili loves them. She’d love to run up and say hi and lick everyone. However, I know that not everyone wants to be licked by a dog and some people are afraid, so I keep her at my side.

Today, on our walk, a woman with 2 dogs on leash was walking towards us. She stopped, reigned in her dogs, and asked, “Is your dog friendly?” She was far enough from us that she had to holler the question. I didn’t know what to say, I usually don’t. This wasn’t the first time that this whole scenario has presented itself. Chili was on leash and I was asking her to look at me. There was no fuss and I wasn’t stressed. I certainly wasn’t worried about if her dogs were friendly. When I go out onto the trails I have no control over others and worrying about it doesn’t change that. I know I shouldn’t get annoyed by this, but I do. I should’ve asked her why. Although, if I didn’t like the answer we would’ve ended up in a shouting match that would stress both the dogs and us while going absolutely nowhere. So, our response, “She’s on leash, she’ll be fine, you just manage your dogs.” Not the most elegant response, oh well.

Honestly, me and Chili are the least of your worries. I am responsible for my dog. If you’re having issues, they’re yours, please don’t make them mine. If you’re unsure, face your fears, stop and talk to me, or even better, ask to walk with us. Be open, maybe we can learn something from each other.

The Roles We Play

Chili loves life. She’s always smiling and running around in a blissful state with the belief that the world is her cookie. Well, except for when she’s defending the house against a rabbit, squirrel, cat, or deer that happens to dare to cross into her yard. Even then, she’s happily defending her home and doing her job. Those who know her love her. Seriously, they do. She makes people smile. No matter what she does, she’s committed to having the most fun ever. As we walk and she passes by people, I imagine that if she could talk, she would say ‘hi’, ‘how’s it goin’, ‘hello’, ‘what’s up’, ‘wanna play’, to every person that walked by her. I often wonder how such a happy dog could cause us so much trouble.

We all think we know our dogs. Do we really know them, or do we know the story that we’ve created around them? Although Chili has improved incredibly, I know that she lunges at dogs, and I know that I have to facilitate greetings for her with other dogs. After the initial crazy, she’s ready to play. That’s what I know from my history with her. However, the girls at daycare know a different story. They don’t know one of lunging and problems, they know her as pushy but playful, happy and energetic, a big goofball who will play with almost any dog who will play with her. She doesn’t have any lunging or greeting issues. She’s the perfect dog to welcome new dogs into the daycare. So, which is the real Chili?

I find this whole idea fascinating. I like to think that daycare Chili is the real Chili. She’s allowed to be herself. They don’t worry about her and feel like she needs to be monitored. She’s watched just like the rest of the dogs, and when she acts up, she gets in trouble just like the other dogs. It’s all quite simple. Not like at home. I know I worry about her too much, but really, what am I supposed to do? Our story started when we adopted her and it’s been a difficult story to rewrite. Early on when she started lunging, we didn’t know how to manage it, so it went on and on. With consistency, we became more and more stressed and the story we played out was giving each other the heads up when we saw an oncoming dog, preparing to hold her back and riding out the wave. The story for Chili was that every time a dog passed, mom and dad became nervous and stressed so she would lunge. It happened consistently so it became her routine. It was our routine, our story. After a number of repetitions, we all learned our role in the walk.

The whole time, I always knew it could be different. I believed that Chili had it in her to walk by a dog calmly. I didn’t know how to make it happen, but I knew it would. So, we kept playing our parts. We had some success with the E-collar but it was inconsistent. It was great for the recall, but not so great for breaking her focus. As I look back, I’m quite certain I wasn’t doing my part with the collar and that’s why it wasn’t really working. I had to find a way to get her to stop staring at the oncoming dog. I knew the answer would come, I just hoped it would come soon. I had to find a way to change the story and change our roles. Daycare Chili would prevail.

Obedience Classes

As we stood there waiting for the class to begin, I couldn’t help but feel the energy in the room. Everyone was anxiously waiting for things to begin and doing their best to keep their dogs calm. Some were doing it with little effort, and others were putting their complete focus on their dogs to get the job done. That was me, one of the others. Chili wasn’t lunging or anything like that, she was just excited to be there and wanted to check out and smell everything.

Michele started out the class by talking about the ‘wins’ in our dog’s lives. You know...like when they beg for a treat and we obey, they take out their little book and put a notch in the win column. When they bring their toy and bump us in the butt with it because they want to play and we obey...another notch. Then, when we want something from them, they take out their little book and think, “Hmmm, I don’t think so. See all these notches? That tells me I’m the boss. Now... get me a cookie!” Sound familiar? Everyone laughed because we all knew it was true. Damn book!

Chili wasn’t quite calm yet and was pulling on the leash. Emma, Michele’s assistant, came over and suggested that we try the Illusion Collar. I refused and told her that I’ve tried it but it didn’t work. She suggested a harness, but again I refused. I just wanted to use my own gear. As we started moving around the room and practicing different commands, I was still struggling with Chili. She just wouldn’t focus and kept ignoring me. Then Michele walked over and told me she was going to put the Illusion Collar on Chili. I didn’t want to argue so I let her put it on. To my surprise, it was the change that we needed to help Chili to focus and allow me to settle in. I guess Emma was right in the first place. They saw I was struggling and knew that a change would help in our success. I’m glad they didn’t let me push them away. This is what they do after all.

These classes are great and offer so much more than just learning some commands. Working with your dog in this way helps to build a bond between you, a sense of teamwork. If you look around, you’ll also learn something from watching the other people and their dogs. You’re not the only one with issues. (Yes, I mean your issues, not the dogs.) Other people have them too. A lot of times, they’re the same as yours, so when they surface in the class, you get to watch the trainer coach someone else through it. I won’t pretend it was always easy and fun. I had some tough evenings. They were tough because of my own lack of focus. Life was dealing me some stressful days and I couldn’t always push it aside. Chili, being the little opportunist, could tell when I wasn’t ‘on’ and would do her best to bring on her bratty. Dogs know your state of mind and respond accordingly. Don’t take it personally; it’s just what they do. Recognize it, and take is as a sign that you need to get things in order. If you don’t, well, you remember what Einstein said about the definition of insanity don’t you?

Luckily, the classes were about supporting everyone’s success and no one was left behind. Even when one dog, thankfully not Chili, snapped at another dog, Michele handled it in a calm, matter of fact manner. It wasn’t looked at as being a negative thing, it was life, it happens sometimes, and everyone had the opportunity to experience how to handle this type of situation calmly. It was so calm in fact, that if you didn't see it, or if you weren't right beside it, you would never have know it happened.

I’m not going to go into the specifics of each class, I’ll just say, it was worth it. Chili graduated and I walked away with the feeling that I would really like to take this class again. But first, I needed to get rid of what was causing me stress.

Destination Obedience Class

Like us, dogs have their good days and their bad. They go through periods where they’re extra active, or just plain bratty. It was a ‘just plain bratty’ period, lasting a whole week, that made me decide to take Michele’s advice and sign us up for some dog training classes. How many times can one dog give you the finger to your face before you decide it’s time for change. I figured the additional structure was just what we needed. When I called Michele, her response was, “What took you so long?” I knew we would go at some time, I just needed to find the right time. So that was it, we would be starting in the next adult obedience classes.

For the few weeks before classes started I kept telling Chili we were going back to school, it would be different this time, and she was going to be a very good girl. I wanted to set us up for success. I believe in the power of positive energy and thoughts, and how it can shape and influence a situation. It doesn’t work all the time though. Sometimes there are just things or people out there with a different agenda and a greater influence that steer things in a different direction. In the meantime, in my little world, I was doing my part to positively influence our first class. The nice side effect of doing this is that you change the way you do things to help achieve the desired result. I was being much more disciplined with Chili and she was being much more obedient.

As luck would have it, on the night of our first class there had been a few accidents on the road and the usual half hour commute home took an hour and 45 minutes. That left me rushing around the house with just a half hour to feed Chili, get a quick bite for myself, change, grab some treats for class, and fly out the door. As you can imagine, I’m nowhere near calm, and you know that Chili was feeling my anxious energy. I started doing some deep breathing in the truck as we drove to class and told Chili again that we were heading to class and she was going to be a very good girl. Next thing I know, out of the corner of my eye, I see a big paw come down beside me as she attempts to push her way into the front seat. I take another deep breath and calmly tell her to ‘back’. Amazingly enough she listened and settled herself into the back seat.

As we pulled up in front of Connective Training, there were 2 big dogs making their way into the yard. This could set the tone for the whole class. Usually, when Chili is in the truck and sees a dog, she barks and lunges at the windows like a crazed beast. This time, all she did was make a little whimper, I told her to ‘leave it’ and that was it. I did our usual unloading ritual out of the truck. This means that she has to maintain a sit while I open the back hatch and put the lead on her, and then she jumps out when I give the command. We walk into the yard where there are a few other dogs waiting as another class was just ending. Things were going well. Chili stayed calm as the other dogs walked by us out of their class and then we entered.

As soon as we enter the facility, Chili starts getting rambunctious. I’m not surprised; there are a lot of smells from other dogs, people, and treats. She’s likely also anticipating that something is about to happen, which it was. Although I’m certain she was hoping for playtime instead of work time. So this was it, the beginning of being back in class.

The Freedom Tool

Michele and I met at the park again. Holy hell was I nervous. This would be our first E-collar experience. Michele put the collar on Chili. I walked her and she held the collar remote. She wanted to make sure that I was very clear on how to use the collar before she handed the remote to me. The idea was to snap Chili out of her trance before she got to that hind brain state where she started to lunge. It wasn’t about making her screech, it was about breaking her train of thought. That thought being, she must lunge at the oncoming dog. It was working. As Chili would start to tense up, and stare at a dog, Michele would hit the remote and it would break Chili’s concentration. We would tell her to ‘leave it’ at the same time, then ask her to ‘look ’ at me, to redirect her stare. We were making a connection between the collar and the command.

One of the things that I really noticed was the absence of a dramatic incident. In the past when Chili would lunge, it was very stressful. She would be lunging, I would be telling her ‘No’, and giving her corrections on the choke collar, or the pinch collar. She could care less about the corrections so it would prolong the show. It wasn’t pleasant for anyone. I guess the question here would be what is worse, the couple of minutes of struggle, or the zap that takes a second?

Once the connection was made, and after many outings, I started letting Chili off leash more and more. If she didn’t ‘come’ on command, I would use the E-Collar to remind her that she must obey. I would never have thought that she would be free of the leash, but there she was, running and playing and coming when called. I don’t know if this would have been possible without the E-Collar. Thank you Michele.

You might be aksing, “Why does Chili have to come right away when called?” Am I that controlling? The answer to that depends on who you ask, but in this case the answer is safety, of course. Chili thinks she knows what’s best. She is very stubborn and when she gets an idea in her head, it’s difficult to change. This resulted in her being on leash most times and not experiencing life to its fullest. For example, if Chili saw something of interest on the other side of the road, she would just go. Luckily, I always had her on leash. Now, after training with the E-Collar, if she starts to go, I only need to use a voice command to get her back. Another example; Chili loves people. She thinks that everyone loves her, and they want her to run up to them and give them tons of kisses. She doesn’t understand that although she’s a Boxweiler, she looks very much like a Rottweiler and there is a stigma out the there that Rotti’s are mean. So, when she runs up to say hello, it scares people. Not all, but some. After all, some people gather up their children and their dogs, give us a dirty look, and veer away from us when we’re walking. Oh yes, and this is when she’s on leash and just walking along with a happy face. I need to protect Chili from these people creating an incident out of nothing. So, thanks to the E-Collar, I can walk with her off leash, and when I see people coming towards us, I just tell her to come, and she walks off leash at my side and doesn’t go near the other people.

I take my responsibility for Chili very seriously. Everything I do is with her best interest at heart. I’ve learned that there is no easy way, no magical wand, and no fairytale that will make her that perfect storybook dog. We’ve had to work hard for our successes and that makes them sweeter.

The Controversial Collar

While on one of our pack walks, Michele asked me if I ever considered trying an E-Collar on Chili. My immediate reaction was, “NO!” I mean, really?? Isn’t that cruel? I’ve learned through my experiences with Chili that I have to step outside of my comfort zone sometimes. So far, I liked Michele’s style and she is an experienced trainer, so she must have a reason for suggesting this tool. For me though, on this day, that was the end of the discussion. No.

On the next walk, she asked if I’d thought about her suggestion of testing out the E-Collar. I had thought about it. Thought that it was not for me. Why was I so anti-E-Collar? Was it because of my experience? No, I didn’t have any experience at all with this collar. It was because I had already made up my mind without having any facts. The only fact I had was that it would give my dog an electric jolt and that was cruel. Only cruel people use them. Now, if I wanted to be true to that line of thinking, I was already a cruel person. I had used a choke collar on my dog. That “chokes” the dog. Isn’t that cruel? I had used a pinch collar. The pinch, pinches points around the dogs neck when you give it a correction and can do some damage if the prongs are digging into the wrong spot. Isn’t that cruel? I had made up a story in my head about the E-Collar, and people who use it, that wasn’t based on anything. I was doing to them exactly what people do to me and Chili. I think I need to find out some facts first before I make another judgement. Besides, as we all know, you don’t need a tool to be cruel.

So, why did Michele recommend the E-Collar? From her own experience, the E-Collar was the tool that allowed her to give her dogs a better quality of life. Freedom. Better yet, freedom with safety. The E-Collar gave her the power to keep them out of their hind brain and teach them a new reality. To come to her when they feel afraid and stand by her side. She would protect them. They didn’t need to take on that burden any longer.

When it gets to the point where a dog will harm themselves or their owner with their fight or flight instinct, or, when an owner has tried everything else and their lives are being ruled by anxiety because of their dog’s actions. Or, when you dread the walk and you have to build yourself up for it. It’s time for the next step. Although Chili is a great dog, and I never had a worry that she would bite, she would still lunge and make poor decisions for herself because she is so headstrong. She’s a dog, and doesn’t understand that my commands are protecting her and she must listen. Nothing I had tried so far, was working on these issues. This caused me anxiety and kept her from having freedom. Neither one of us deserved that.

Like any other tool, the E-Collar isn’t for every dog. Out of the approximately 4500 dogs that Michele has trained, she’s recommended its use for about 20. As with every other tool, you should get a professional to give you training with it BEFORE you use it. Every tool has the potential for harm if not used wisely.

It was time. After much consideration, I asked Michele if she would show me how to use the E-Collar.

The Pack Walk

After the home visit with Michele from Connective Training I was really looking forward to joining her for a pack walk. I knew it would be good for Chili and I was eager to learn some new techniques. We met at one of the local parks, me with Chili, and Michele with her pack. I will admit that I was somewhat overwhelmed and a little intimidated. After all, she is a trainer, and her dogs were all running off leash, and there I was holding on tightly to Chili trying to show that I had some type of control, which I did. I had worked hard to gain a solid foundation in her training and now it was time to learn something new. Although we’d already come a long way, the one thing that I couldn’t seem to work out was her lunging at other dogs while on leash.

I felt bad for Chili, having to watch the other dogs run free while she had to be walked on her leash. She had pretty good recall but I couldn’t always guarantee that she would come when called if there was something that really interested her. There was also her generally poor greeting style to consider. The pack was well behaved and I was impressed by the control Michele had while at the same time allowing them their freedom to be dogs. Chili didn’t do too badly either. She did lunge some but I think she was also taking in this new situation of being with a pack of dogs, and having someone practice different techniques with her. Michele has a very calming way of coaching you and the dogs and it works. That doesn’t mean she can be pushed around. She stands her ground without being angry, and I respect that.

As we walked and talked it was very clear that not only was Chili going to benefit from gaining a great trainer, I would also benefit by gaining a great friend. She suggested that we enrol in one of her classes. Although we already knew most of the commands she teaches, we both thought it might be good for Chili to work around other dogs. Also, it never hurts to do some structured training with your dog. It builds teamwork and strengthens their obedience.

This was the first of many pack walks. Chili absolutely loves them. Guess what! She doesn’t even try to be the leader. She quickly slides into the pack as if she’d been there forever. She is completely in her element running and playing and taking her place. She’s happy to just be a follower and do as she’s told. I was surprised myself, but there she was, being put in her place by a little dog that weighs about as much as her dinner. Who knew?

Yes, eventually Chili did get her freedom and was allowed to run free with the pack, but it didn’t come easy. It came after a lot of agonizing on my part. There I was, again, being challenged to move outside of my box and my beliefs to consider a new training tool to help give Chili her freedom. It never ends, the challenges I mean.

Albert Einstein once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” It was time for change, and working with Michele was the start. After all, I owed it to Chili not to live the definition.

Volunteering at a Rescue

I’ve had the pleasure of volunteering at Angels Under our Wings Cocker Spaniel Rescue for the past few weeks. My friend Michele from Connective Training told me that Lisa from Angels could use some help and since I wasn’t working, and she knew that I’d been considering doing some volunteering with dogs, she thought it would be a great opportunity for me. So, I called Lisa and before I knew it I was helping out 4 days a week teaching the dogs how to walk, sit, stay, and just playing with them and giving them lots of love. I quickly became engrossed in the dogs lives. I couldn’t stop coming up with plans and ideas of how to help them become easier to adopt. What a feeling to know that the work you’re doing is going to benefit a little life. I loved it. Now that I’m back to work, I’m hoping that I can find the time to continue helping out.

These dogs are so special. They weren’t born into a gifted life. Somehow they survived and were rescued from death row. They are the chosen ones. They got that second chance that so many others miss out on. They get to live, while the others....don’t. It’s a stressful time but once they reach the rescue, they finally start to know what a dog’s life is all about when they are loved and cared for and taught how to live with people. Some might look at these rescues and blame them for the ones who were lost, but they should be thankful for the ones that were saved. This isn’t a simple or easy process. I applaud the people who run rescues, their volunteers, and the foster parents who take care of the dogs and have them living with them while they are waiting for their forever homes.

Alex

I’ve had this dream that one day I could have a rescue for senior and special needs animals. I won’t say that the dream was completely unrealistic in its picture but I will say that I certainly had my eyes opened by working at the Cocker Rescue. The dedication, time and money it takes to run a rescue is immense. The shear responsibility of deciding if a home is the right one for each individual dog is overwhelming to me. Are you being too strict and depriving them of a home, or did you make the right choice by setting them off into the world with their new family? I think this would give me nightmares.

Ashley

One of the benefits for me was that volunteering almost became training for the trainer for me. Not that I’m a dog trainer but I became even better with Chili. How do I explain this? Since I had to be ‘on’ at all times with the Cockers, it made it even more natural to be ‘on’ with my own dog. You’re probably thinking that after 2 ½ years with Chili, I would already be a natural. As you know, it’s tough to be ‘on’ 24/7 with your own dog. However, this experience somehow made me appreciate my own dog even more. She’s a rescue too and a very special girl to me. Rescues aren’t always easy, they challenge you and force you to work harder. It’s the most worthwhile experience you will ever have, as long as you do it right. The bond you develop when you have to go beyond your average ‘new dog’ experience is like no other. If you’re looking for one of the most rewarding experiences of your life, adopt a rescue. 

Jemma

For those of you in the Victoria BC area, I recommend checking out  Angels Under Our Wings Cocker Spaniel Rescue, and Victoria Adoptables. Two amazing rescue organizations.

By the way, at this time, Alex, Ashley, and Jemma are waiting for their forever homes.



And the Doggie Gods Smile Again

Working with the right trainer really does make an incredibly huge difference in your life. I’ve personally seen both sides now. I chose the wrong trainer in the beginning but was smiled upon by the doggie gods when my friend Carol offered to help us out. Now that I had taken the plunge and decided to try another trainer, the questions was, ‘would they smile upon me again’?

So, there I was, waiting for Michele from Connective Training to arrive. Now that I had calmed myself down, I was hopeful about the visit. This was going to work out. When I heard her pull up I prepared to keep Chili from jumping all over her. Chili was persistent and greeted Michele in her usual Chili way. Paws, body checks, and tongue. Isn’t that a proper greeting? Just what everyone wants, a bossy little girl throwing her weight around and slobbering all over you. Welcome to our home! I apologized to Michele and acknowledged that this was on the ‘to do’ list for training. What was interesting was that Michele kept Chili back by walking into her and using her body to take away Chili’s space. She handled the situation without being rude or making me feel like I’d done something wrong. This was a great start.

We chatted about Chili for a bit then took her for a short walk. At one point Chili was being her bratty little self and not paying attention so Michele gave her a ‘touch’ correction. Chili ignored her. I told her that Chili is a very strong girl, both mentally and physically, and doesn’t really respond to touch corrections, or choke chains, or pinch collars. It depends on her mood. So Michele shifted her strategy. That’s what I like, a trainer who doesn’t play by just one set of rules. She started using her own body to get Chili’s attention by walking into her, bumping her, and blocking her. Basically she was acting like Chili, but without the slobber. Chili responded.

Back at the house we reviewed the visit so far. We didn’t just talk about Chili, but we also talked about me. What was my state of mind? What was I thinking when Chili and I were out walking and I saw another dog approaching? How did I feel about where Chili and I have gotten so far, and where we wanted to be? She recommended that I come to one of her classes and just observe. She also invited me to take Chili for a pack walk with her and her dogs. Wow, looks like the doggie gods were smiling on me again.

As we were talking, Chili took it upon herself to lay on the couch. I told Michele that I had been trying for a while to keep her off the couch with no luck. I would be firm and tell her ‘off’, nothing, and then I would grab her collar and drag her off the couch. Chili loved this game and would just jump right back on the couch. Michele’s remedy, ‘sit on her’. Sit on her? She then proceeded to sit on Chili until she moved off the couch. Chili’s whole body language changed. She didn’t like this game. Michele said to just put enough weight on her to make her uncomfortable. Over the next week I only had to sit on Chili 3 times then she gave up trying to get on the couch altogether.

It was as if I had spent a couple of hours with a friend. Another friend who was knowledgeable about dogs. I would definitely be calling her soon to join her for a pack walk, and maybe even a coffee.

Time to Test another Trainer

There comes a time in every training regime where you need to look at other options. We’d come a VERY long way from the wild, untamed beast that we started with and through consistent training she was slowly getting to be easier to live with. A lot easier actually. We had some setbacks but it’s hard to be ‘on’ every moment of every day. Sometimes you just want to enjoy your dog and the stupid moments that come with them. A couple of things were still challenging us and we weren’t getting further ahead. One, was her lunging at other dogs when she was on leash. I consider this to be coupled with her poor greetings as well. I knew in my heart that some day we would find the solution to this problem. The other was her tendency to just bolt when she saw a rabbit or squirrel or anything she considers prey. She would try this in the house too if she saw something through the window. The blinds have one too many nail scratches in them now from her trying to get through them. My biggest concern from both was her safety. It was time to try another trainer.

I don’t take this decision lightly, and I’m not really that happy about it. We’ve already had a bad experience with a trainer and I will not have that repeated. I needed to choose wisely. OK, who do I choose? Wow, there are a lot of trainers. Were they handing out dog training businesses at the ferries one day or what? I can’t believe I’m doing this again. I started by checking out some websites and seeing who I vibe with. After about 2 weeks of looking I kept going back to the same one, Connective Training. There just seemed to be something about her philosophy that was a little different from the rest. I needed different, so I called and left a message. Actually, I hung up the first time, then thought about my decision again, then called and left a message.

Michele, the owner of Connective Training, called me back. She sounded good on the phone. Seemed to listen, didn’t sound condescending like she knew it all, and kind of sounded like she wanted to help. Hmmm. At this point I’m still suspicious but felt good enough about the conversation to set up a home visit. Now, between the time I hung up and the time that she actually came to our house for the home visit, I had concocted a number of scenarios in my head to make sure that she wouldn’t screw us and take our money. I was going to be prepared this time. It’s going to be my way. This time, I’m going with my gut.

Time seemed to pass sooo slowly as I waited for her arrival. You have to understand how important this visit was for me. I didn’t have the money to waste. I didn’t have the time to waste. I didn’t have the patience to listen to any bullshit about my dog. I needed someone who would take the time to understand Chili and give me the tools we needed. It’s my responsibility to ensure that Chili gets the best training possible to live a balanced and healthy life. I can’t make the same mistake twice. I have to get this right.

Trust yourself, is all I can say. I felt confident enough to set up this appointment and have her come to our home. I went with my gut. This did feel good. Wait, am I just hoping this will work out or do I really feel this will work out. I think I do feel this will work out. That’s why she’s coming. So throw away all the negative scenarios, take a deep breath, and start visualizing how great this is going to be. Yes, I’m actually getting nervous excited at the possibilities.

A Very Special Visit

Do you believe in ghosts? Or more to the point, do you believe that our animals can come back to give us a message or say hello? I do. Of course, things are how we interpret them and sometimes we want to believe so badly that we grasp at any little thing to confirm our desires. Or, we know what we saw or felt beyond a shadow of a doubt and those around us dismiss our story so we lose the pleasure of the experience. Sometimes we just have to sit back and enjoy the moment, forget what anyone else says and have the strength to believe. 

If you’ve read any of the previous blogs, or my bio, you would have read about our dog Ruby who we had lost to cancer. She was a beautiful girl and we still miss her. When she died, we had her cremated. We put her ashes, blanket, collar, and dish in my husbands closet on a shelf that is about 3 ½ feet high. We thought that one day we would spread her ashes in the ocean, where she loved to just swim and swim, but we never could let her go completely. It’s almost a comforting feeling knowing that she’s there whenever I feel like talking to her.

Chili had been in and out of that closet numerous times sniffing around and exploring. One evening, she was doing her usual, my husband was in bed and I was getting out of the shower. Chili went into the closet and started whimpering. She wouldn’t come out when she was called. This was new. So we went into the closet and there she was, with her front paws up on the shelf, sniffing at Ruby’s blanket. She would whimper, then look at us, then sniff the blanket and whimper again. This was very unlike Chili. She was more the kind of girl who would just grab the blanket off the shelf, drag it around, and chew a hole into it. We had to take her paws off the shelf and take her out of the closet. A few minutes later, she was doing it again. Not very Chililike.

What exactly happened there? It could be explained that Chili just noticed the blanket for the first time. But why did she whimper and not do the usual Chili destructive thing? It was as if she knew that she shouldn’t touch Ruby’s stuff. I like to believe that Ruby visited Chili that day. Just to check in with her. Maybe tell her to give us a break. That we’ll always be there for her and she’ll never have to worry about anything again. We’ll never really know for sure. The whole thing was so out of character for Chili that there had to be more to it.

We ended up moving Ruby’s ashes and her things to a higher shelf. We didn’t want anything accidentally spilling in case Chili did decide to grab something. That would be an awkward position. How do you get ashes off the carpet without vacuuming them up? Seems like a very undignified thing to do to Ruby. That was the first and so far the last time that Chili went near Ruby’s stuff. Reflecting back on that day makes me smile. I like knowing that Ruby comes around now and again.

So.....do you believe?

Time to Reflect

I think it’s time to reflect on where we were and how far we had come. It did seem that we would never progress beyond full-time crazy, but there we were, only part-time crazy. That’s progress. We were walking in a somewhat civilized manner, she was responding better to verbal commands, I actually found time to breathe, and daycare was working out great. We did still have a couple of problems. First, was her high prey drive which caused her to go nuts and launch herself at the windows when she saw a squirrel or rabbit in the yard or even when we were just out, and second were her lunging and overall poor manners when greeting other dogs. These were problems that just didn’t seem to want to go away. Now and again they would start to improve, only to reappear as if they just went on vacation or something.

I must admit that I was confused. Chili loves other dogs. At daycare she plays and plays and plays. She’s popular, doesn’t discriminate as she plays with any dog that will play with her, and has a ton of fun. When we’re at the dog park and she has been properly greeted to another dog, again she just plays and plays. However, walk her down the street, and she lunges at every oncoming dog. What the...??? I don’t get it. Yes, I do admit that since this had been an ongoing problem that I would tense up when I saw another dog. It was hard not to. I had control but it wasn’t pretty and most other dog owners wouldn’t make it easier. Most would look at us as if I was allowing, or fostering the behaviour. Sometimes I felt like not even leaving the house for a walk but what would that accomplish? Nothing. The only way to progress was to go out into the world and try everything I could to make things work out.

Then there was the high prey drive. We could be casually doing anything and having a calm and wonderful time when suddenly she’d just bolt and try dragging me behind her. Even though she thought she had the element of surprise, she was wrong. I’d say that most times, I was prepared. I knew that she had the tendency to just fly at a moment’s notice so I guess I was never really at ease. The bolting was hard on my body. Something in me would always have the strength to hold onto the lead and not let go, no matter what. I think it’s just an instinct because I knew that as long as I held on, she couldn’t get into too much trouble, even though it was hard on me.

Now, her greetings with other dogs were the equivalent of a human saying hello by running up to someone and body checking them. She would run full-on up to the dogs face and then stop short, or body check them from the side. Not a greeting that was typically appreciated by the other dogs. To avoid this I would facilitate the greeting with the first dog. I would keep her on leash and let the other dog approach us. Then guide her to not get nose to nose but to sniff bums. Then I would just watch and assess the situation. If everything seemed OK, I would let them play. After the first dog greeting, usually the rest of them went fine. It was like she needed the first greeting as an ice breaker.

So that’s where we were. I would estimate that at this point we had her for over a year. Even though there were still issues, we had taken great leaps forward. Patience was key and when it comes to Chili, I have a lot. She’s a loveable goofball, not so elegant, with a touch of crazy, and when she looks at us with her happy face, we can’t help but melt. It may take an unknown amount of years to go by before we’ve solved the mysteries of Chili but I’ll wait. She’s worth it.

Training at the Dog Park

If you really want to see how far you’re coming along with your training, you need to get out of your nice safe training place and see how you fare against real life. We chose the dog park. Your dog may be an angel at your usual training spot but once you get them to a high distraction area (one that has dogs playing, balls rolling, water splashing, and bunnies hopping) you really don’t know just how trained they are. Will she remember anything, or just be so focused on everything else going on around her that it feels like we’re back at step one? I don’t know if I could take that. Reverting back to the beginning. On second thought, I know I can't take it.

We would bring her long line so we could throw the ball for her a short distance and give her a bit of freedom. There were usually dogs around the field but we were able to keep her attention most of the time. In the beginning, she did make a couple of escape attempts when she saw other dogs. Have you ever had a nylon leash rush through your hands as you desperately grip it? It doesn’t feel good, at all. Quick lesson. If you’re using a long line and you don’t want to end up with major rope burns, knot your line ever few feet so your hands have something to grip. Oh, and another lesson. Have you ever been told to stand on the dogs leash so they can’t get away? Well, that might work when you have a mini dog or if you have a big dog but you weigh a lot more than they do. However, if you have a strong and fast dog, and you weigh less than double their weight, I wouldn’t recommend it. Yes, I was quickly sent straight to the ground and directly into the mud. Of course people saw it. This type of thing never happens when there’s no audience.

Although there were a few glitches, training at the dog park was a great experience. Chili would constantly surprise me with her obedience. She made some dog friends and they became part of the training as well. We would let her play with her friends for a bit, then do a bit of obedience. She didn't like stopping to train but it wasn't her choice. One of her friends was a Mastiff/Great Dane cross. A beautiful dog with a great personality. Picture this. Chili and I walking side by side as she pranced and looked up at me with her happy face. Then, a big Mastiff/Great Dane cross bounds up to us and starts bouncing around me trying desperately to get a treat. Chili barely flinched. She just kept up her focus the whole time. It was beautiful. This is the best kind of training, real world.

Even though Chili was showing me that she was progressing I still couldn’t let her loose. I just would not let go of the end of that leash or long line. Even when she was playing. Actually, I did try trusting her a couple of times but she ignored me if she was with her friends and I would tell her to come. So there I was, trailing behind her holding onto the leash as she ran around playing. As I think back, I must’ve looked like a complete nut job. Just another crazy dog lady. What was I thinking? I was thinking that I didn’t want to lose her and the only way to prevent that was to be attached. I also knew that she didn’t have the best greeting manners and was afraid that she would end up disrespecting the wrong dog and end up in a fight. I had to protect her. It was and always will be my job. I take my role seriously. Sometimes too seriously and I let my fears take control. All that does is slow down the progress. It’s great to be aware but letting fear rule will get you nowhere. That's a lesson that took me a long time to learn.

The Great Doggie Daycare Search: Part 3

The last daycare sounded very promising on the phone. It was a home daycare and the woman sounded like she knew what she was doing. She talked the talk at least. To top it all off, it was $5 cheaper per day than the other daycares. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “if it sounds too good to be true, then it is?” Right.
We arrived at her home at the predetermined time, or so I thought. She didn’t seem to know why we were there and after a few minutes of discussion she informed us that we were there on the wrong day. Hmmm, Ok, so...... Fortunately we were able to still check it out and not have to come back later. Fortunately???

I was getting a bad feeling about how this was going to turn out and as we entered the backyard my feelings were starting to be confirmed. There were a couple of dogs in the yard and a young girl who was picking up teddy bear stuffing. There was stuffing everywhere. I guess she would sometimes give the dogs cheap teddy bears to play with and this was the aftermath. Isn’t she worried that one or more of the dogs would swallow the stuffing? There was also a small barn in the yard where she would keep dogs that got out of hand. I wasn’t impressed. Since this was a home daycare, I wondered how she spent her day. I asked if she was outside with the dogs all day. She wasn’t. She did have a pop bottle filled with coins that she would come out and shake when the dogs started making noise. That was something (insert sarcasm here). Then there was the great kennel space. Translation, a dark, smelly basement with a bunch of couches.

I struggled to come to terms with how someone would choose to leave their dog at this place. Did the dogs look unhappy? No. At least I don’t think so. Anyway, this was definitely not the place for Chili. We couldn’t get out of there quick enough.

In order to make a final decision we revisited the first daycare again. We both felt that this was the best place for Chili and we were confident that she would be taken care of and that she would have fun. It turned out to be the right decision. The staff at Pet Pampering has been great and Chili loves it. She’s excited to arrive and she’s equally happy to see us at the end of the day when we pick her up. The girls let us know when she’s been bratty and when she’s not feeling her best. They also seem genuine about their love of dogs and I’ve learned even more about Chili from listening to their stories.

Although I’m happy with taking Chili to daycare, as I look back there was one habit that we fell into that wasn’t good. Chili would play all day, then come home and eat, then sleep. She was too tired to spend time with us and we were tired from working all day so were happy that she didn’t need any further exercise. Even though I would train with her, on the off nights I should have been taking her for at least a 20 minute walk to provide consistent daily structure. Daycares certainly do get the job done and fill the need when your dog is too energetic to spend their days at home alone. Just remember that your dog also needs your attention, leadership and structure.

Chili is a very social girl and gets along great at daycare. Not all dogs have the temperament for it. Ask questions and listen to the feedback that the daycare staff is giving you. Your dog may not be a good candidate for daycare. Don’t force your dog to endure something that puts them in a state of anxiety or makes them uneasy just because it’s convenient for you. You may have to consider other options. If you’re having doubts, talk to a professional who is open and can guide you in supporting your dog and finding the best solutions for them while you’re at work. We like working with Michele at Connective Training in Victoria for our training needs. A good trainer can make all the difference in the relationship between you and your dog.

The Great Doggie Daycare Search: Part 2

With a successful beginning to our search I was feeling pretty good about things. Of course there were concerns, but I was going with my gut and I felt that daycare was the right place for Chili. Now it was off to check out the second place. This daycare was located further away than the first one but looked good on first impression. The whole property was the daycare. It was beautiful with lots of trees and space. Again, I could see Chili having a good time there. There were only about 3 dogs on the property when we visited but I believe they had up to a dozen during the days. It was clean and the couple seemed very nice. My biggest concern here was that the dogs weren’t always watched. If the people were on one side of the property, the dogs could be on the other side, doing whatever they pleased. One thing that I know about Chili, she can’t be left to her own devices. That would spell trouble. Also, it wasn’t located in a convenient place for dropping her off in the morning. Again, Chili was pretty good. She seemed more comfortable at the first daycare we visited but she did OK at this one.

Not everyone thinks that doggie daycares are good places. There is definitely a huge element of trust that comes with leaving your dog in someone else’s care, especially when you add a bunch of other dogs to the mix. Some of the questions I was asked by people were:

Do they allow Pit Bulls at the daycares?
Now, I would be lying if I said I had absolutely no reservations about Pit Bulls. At that point I had never known a Pit Bull and there are a lot of people and stories out there to keep you fearful of them. But, I love animals and it just doesn’t seem right that EVERY Pit Bull was bad. They can’t be. The first daycare allowed them, but the second didn’t. I would not let this be a deciding factor.

How is it possible for them to watch so many dogs?
The first daycare had staff and there was always someone out in the field monitoring the dogs, armed with a hose. I like that someone is watching them at all times. Do they see every little thing that every dog does, probably not. Let’s be realistic, at least they are always being monitored. At the second daycare the dogs weren’t monitored at all times. Problems can only be dealt with if you know they’re there, and you have to be watching to know.

Isn’t it inevitable that Chili will get bitten or that she’ll end up in a fight?
Maybe. She could get bitten or get into a fight on a walk or at the dog park. At least in a daycare, the staff knows each of the dogs and learn how to recognize problems before they arise. I won’t be naive and say it never happens, but hopefully it won’t be Chili.

Do you think you should have them keep her on her own?
Then what’s the point of bringing her to daycare? So she can watch the other dogs have fun while she sits alone? I don’t think so.

Maybe she’d be safer if you left her at a kennel?
That would defeat the purpose of having her energy drained. Why pay someone to kennel her when she has a kennel at home. That’s no life for Chili. She’s a very social girl.

No matter what, I get to choose. It’s my decision. So far, I’m leaning towards the first daycare but we still have one more place to see. I think that taking Chili to daycare is going to be great for her. She’ll get to play all day with other dogs and be Chili. She’ll get exposure to other breeds, sizes, ages, and temperaments and will help to get her better socialized. It’ll also be good for me. She hasn’t left my side since we got her and there has to be balance in life. I need time for me as well.

So, what’s next? A visit to the last daycare and then a decision.