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?