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.