A Chip on His Shoulder

Thor now has a microchip ID implanted between his shoulder blades.

After our last vet visit, I had called and told them that I would not be doing another distemper/parvo vaccine but that I would keep the appointment in order to have Thor microchipped.  He is the fifth dog that I have had chipped, and I am a firm believer. 

Having not yet obtained a front-clip harness (yeah, I know, I'm a procrastinator), I used a make-shift method of attaching the leash that I had learned some years ago from trainer Leah Foran.  Leah currently teaches classes at my vet's office.  She also does private in-home training and is certified by the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.  So, with Thor attached per Leah's instructions, we made our way successfully inside.  When The vet tech appeared to call us into the exam room, she commented that the leash was tangled around him. I explained what I had done to which she replied, "That's dangerous."  I told her that it would be even more dangerous if I couldn't control him and got pulled down. 

Once in the room, I undid the leash and took hold of Thor's collar.  He immediately twisted around, the collar tightening on my finger.  I cried out, the vet helped untangle me and got me a bandaid.  (One finger was bleeding, another alarmingly indented.  And all because I was intimidated by the vet tech into undoing the leash.) 

The vet then told me that without a fourth distemper/parvo shot, Thor was unprotected against disease.  I reminded her that he had had three.  She replied that the last two had not been close enough together (even though what he had had fit Dr. Dodd's protocol).  Finally, she let it go when I said I was willing to titer him.  Titers measure the level of antibodies to specific diseases and thus measure a dog's level of protection.   Results will be back in a week.

The vet also told me that Thor needed a Gentle Leader head halter to control him.  I said that I intended to purchase a front-clip harness.  She responded that they had wrapped the leash around his nose while he was out back and that it had calmed him down.  A gentle leader, she said, would do the same.  Well, the leash was still around his nose when Thor was brought back to me, and he has doing his best to remove it.  Calmer? Maybe, but mostly just focused on a task. 

After putting Thor in his crate in the car, I went into their store to look for a front-clip harness.  They had them but not in the right size.  I purchased prescription food for Vada which a receptionist carried out for me.  I asked her about the harnesses, whether or not they'd be getting more in.  She told me that she had used a prong collar successfully on her dog.  Sorry.  I'm not going that route.  Told her I'd known them to cause puncture wounds.  She replied, "Oh, I know, but it worked with my dog."

I won't use any product that has the potential to hurt my dog.  I also won't use a product that has the potential to have a negative impact on my relationship with my dog.  Once home again, I went online and ordered a front-clip harness from "Walk Your Dog With Love."  Later, I put a leash on Thor, and we practiced heeling in a small square on the back deck.  All's well.