Training Thor

Thorry for Keeps

2012-01-01T11:41:00.000-08:00

After working with Weimaraner Rescue for several weeks last springs, I became disgusted with their ability to screen for a good home. The best the sent me were...
1) a woman who works 8-10 hours 5 days a week; she has another weimaraner who stays in the basement during her work hours. Her dogs have access to a fenced area in her yard via a doggie door when she is not home. She lives on many acres where she walks her dogs on weekends. She has never done agility but is thinking of taking an agility class if she gets Thorry. She has taken obedience classes with previous dogs.
2) a man who has owned weimaraners in the past; he has put field titles on previous dogs. He is no longer interested in hunting; Thorry would become a pet for his 10-year-old. They live on a city cul-de-sac and plan to install electronic fencing to keep Thorry in.
Nope, I'm not sending Thorry to live in either of those situations.

Summer came and went with an increasing level of disability for me. I purchased a wheelchair when it became impossible for me to leave my house without one. Even with a WC, I left the house for little more than medical appointments. I did have a few "field trips" with family; lessons in frustration as I learned just how limiting WC travel can be. I did take Thorry to one day of summer agility camp where he ran well with a substitute handler. He also did a full height seesaw beautifully, something he had only been doing for a week at home. I then took him to AgileDogs run-throughs on a Friday evening before a trial. There, Thorry was out-of-control. Even with a front-clip harness, he pulled away from me to posture with a German Shepherd Dog. My friend Trisha came over and helped me get Thorry measured; then she took him in the ring and attempted to run him on the course. He paid Trisha no mind. He kept running to the ring gates and barking at the three shepherds now standing nearby. I was annoyed that the shepherd handlers didn't move away; clearly they could see what was going on. Finally, Thorry found a way to escape from the ring. Luckily, he came to me when I called him; I gave him treats while Trisha harnessed him. Then back to the car. I was ready to cry thinking that Thorry would never be able to compete. Nor would he ever be able to work as a service dog. And clearly, I needed something more than a harness if we were ever going to go out of my backyard. The next day, I ordered a head halter.

Meanwhile, I finally found a good physical therapist. After many weeks of PT, I began to notice some improvements. The biggest one was when the swelling in my feet went down enough to put on a pair of sneakers! In late fall, I took both Glitter and Thorry to the AgileDogs/Sugar Bush Farm Holiday Party. I let Thorry have two play sessions in the outdoor agility rings. Then, I attempted to run Glitter on the little Game course that Kathy had set up. Glitter has always stressed at any changes in me. I wasn't thinking. It was the first time I had attemped to play with her using my walker. She would do one obstacle, then go off sniffing and exploring. Very embarrasing! Finally, she jumped the high barrier between courses to provide the comedy of the day.

When most everyone had left, I brought Thorry out. Put him over one jump, treat; 2 jumps, treat; jump, tunnel, treat; jump, tunnel, jump treat. He paid attention and worked well. I was very proud of him! Because he did so well, I signed him up for a Jumping Skills and Drills workshop the next day.

The workshop was designed for dogs at the Intermediate Level and above. Thorry really is a beginner but I got special permission to attend. The abilities and experience of the participating dogs was all over the place. We started with some bounce drills (4 jumps with no strides between). Some dogs had no trouble with this, others had a lot of difficulty. Thorry knocked a bar or ran out at jump 4 initially; but the spacing was too tight for him. Once the spacing was corrected, Thorry ran the drills like a champ. We then did bounces on a tight pinwheel; again, once the spacing was corrected for Thorry's height, he was able to negotiate the jumps as if he'd been doing this for years. Then we worked a box of 4 jumps, sending the dog from the center over a jump, threadling back into the center, send, threadle, send, threadle. At first, Thorry just took a few jumps on his own initiate, not leaving me but not listening either. But once he realized what was expected of him (after I did send, threadle, treat, send, thread, treat, etc) he was able to do it perfectly! The spacing stayed the same for all sizes of dogs, and Thorry was the only one do get it exactly right!

Last exercise was two jumps to a tunnel, slice two jumps, threadle around half the box, send to tunnel. Thorry did it perfectly, with no treats, on our first (and only) attempt! Everyone cheered! The instructor said, "You don't want to do that again, do you? You wouldn't be able to do it any better!" Thorry was the only dog in the group who could send to the tunnels. Needless to say, I was thrilled. Thorry stole the show outperforming dogs with years of competitive experience. Yippee!

In late November, I decided I was going to teach Thorry to weave in two weeks. I've always bragged to students that I can teach any dog to weave in two weeks. But I'd never taught a dog as large as Thor. Two After a week and a half, we got rain and snow that prevented completion in two weeks. But after two and a half weeks, I took Thorry outside again and asked him to weave 6 poles. And he did!! The power of latent learning.

I can wear sneakers. And I can do drills using a walker or two forearm crutches. And Thorry is used to seeing me with mobility aids so he isn't bothered by those. And with a head halter, I can walk him in tight spaces with people and dogs. There is hope. But I still would not be able to run him on a full course. I'll need a power chair to do that.

New Home?

2011-04-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling pressured by my mom and sisters to re-home Thor. It is certainly hard to have people/helpers come into the house while he is here. I crate him, but he is restless and noisy. I have not had enough visitors to help me work on calm behavior. Now that I cannot drive, I cannot go anywhere to continue the work we had started in the fall. Thorry's behavior around new people was much better at the park, and it was my hope to continue training where there is always someone new.

In an attempt to be helpful, Thorry's vet's partner started spreading the word that I needed to find a new home for him. In a lot of ways, it makes sense. And a couple of good possibilities for a new home have arisen. But when I think of losing him, I start to cry. He and I have grown very attached. In addition, giving up Thor would mean giving up agility. Glitter is about to turn ten. And she has never liked competing. Thor was my hope for the future. Today, I am feeling very sorry for myself. And selfish about wanting to keep Thor.

It's a beautiful day outside. The first nice day of spring. I sat outside while Thorry and Glitter played in the yard. The sun felt good on my feet. But as I sat there, my feet grew more discolored. Blame the sun. Heat is well-known to increase MS symptoms.

Came back inside to find an email from my mother. She had been here two days ago to drive me to North Adams for an MRI. While she was here, I asked her to start my car and let it run for a few minutes. Turns out, in her email she tells me, the car wouldn't start! Damn!!! I still have my son's car that was abandoned here over a year ago. And now my car won't start. May just be a dead battery, but there is no way to get another car in to attempt a jump start. So now I have two junk cars sitting in my front yard. Feels like my whole life has turned to trash.

Toes

2011-04-03T13:47:00.000-07:00

One of the first things I heard when Thor came to me was what nice "tight" toes he had! I learned that his feet/toes should remain upright (not splayed) and that the way to ensure this "tightness" was to keep the nails cut short. I'm taking good care of the puppy toes.

And my toes: For several years I've had some purpling on the toes of my right foot. I showed them to my primary care physician who ordered a blood glucose test. When that came back normal, nothing more was done. I also showed them to my neurologist who didn't seem concerned. I interpreted his nonchalance to be that the toes were outside of his area of expertise; he was leaving it to my PCP. Because the purpling was limited to a few spots and was not worsening, I let it go without further ado.

On January 25, 2011, I saw a doctor at the Pain Center in Pittsfield for the first time. For years, I'd been living with peripheral neuropathy and low back pain. In addition to prescribing medication for pain, Dr Lambert sent me for physical therapy. After a fall, my right ankle had begun to hurt. Negative x-rays led to a diagnosis of a sprain. I began PT on January 31. At that point, I was falling an average of once a day (some days not at all, others up to 3 times/day). By my 3rd PT appointment on February 7, the therapist took a look at my left foot and said, "You need to see your doctor." The foot was a deep pink with dark purple on all but the big toe. Right foot was pink but nowhere near the appearance of the left. I arrived home around noon, called my PCP, and was given a 1:00 appointment.

PCP said he had never seen feet like mine. He commented multiple times on how very cold the left foot felt. He also found it hard to find pulses in the left foot and leg. Femoral pulse was weak with worsening weaknesses in lower pulses (knee, ankle, foot). After exam and discussion, MD ruled out diabetes, raynauds, and frostbite as causes. He made a tentative diagnosis of Peripheral Artery Occlusive Disease, prescribed blood pressure medication, and ordered vascular testing. Vascular testing was performed on February 14. Results showed diminished blood flow to 4 toes on the left and 3 on the right. A week later, involvement had spread to all toes.

I was interested in the vascular testing as I've always been intriqued by science. The technician put blood pressure cuffs on my thighs and calves and measured BP. Then pulse and oxigenation was recorded for each of my toes. When the technician left the room, I looked over at the graphs coming out of the machine. Although I didn't know what I was looking at, there were differences between the two feet which didn't look right to me. Test results (several days later) showed diminished blood flow to the 4 small toes on my left foot and toes 1-3 on my right.

Meanwhile, in January and February, I attended two dog agility clinics in Connecticut put on by Divine K-9, presented by Bobbie Bhambrie. I opted to take Glitter since I was walking with two forearm crutches; I thought it would be hard for me to handle Thor in unfamiliar setting with unfamiliar dogs; he would want to play! At both clinics, I was walking with forearm crutches (which I had been for ~8 months). By the 2nd one (Feb 19) I had to sit for a couple of exercises and skip another. Despite the modifications, I fell once during the 2nd clinic and needed assistance to get up. I was extremely impressed with Bobbie (who I had not previously met), her knowledge, her ability to get the very best from our dogs, and her adaptation of the exercises to meet my limitations. By the end of the first afternoon, we were doing restrained recalls through distractions.

Glitterbug's two goals in life are 1) to meet every stranger on the face of the planet and 2) to find every food treat she can. She will leave me/ignore me in pursuit of each of these goals. Needless to say, they have made agility competition with Glitter challenging at best! By the end of the first half-day seminar, I was able to call Glitter through two lines of people who were sitting on the floor; she also had to run over food treats scattered on the floor. On the first two attempts, Glitter snagged a treat or two. But on the third rep, she ran right to me; didn't even look at the people or treats. Miraculous!

The second clinic was "Superstar Seesaw," again with Bobbie Bhambree. Although Glitter has no seesaw issues (following a successful retraining), I knew that I was again in no shape to handle Thor away from home. So Glitter and I went, to learn and bring home lessons for Thor. It was another good workshop although I already knew most of the games we played. Still, a refresher is always good. Thorry is off to a good start after playing lots of tippy board/wobble/board/seesaw games; I now have the finishing touches to teach him a great full-height seesaw performance.

My drive home was nightmarish. I had been accompanied by two friends for the first seminar; they helped with map reading and companionship. I went alone to the second. I missed the exit to take route 8 north and ended up staying on I-84 all the way to Hartford. Then north of 91 to the Mass Pike. Almost from the start of the drive, my feet were in unbearable pain. The traffic was horrible, worse the closer to Hartford I got. So many cars, so much speed, I was scared. I kept saying to myself, "Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry." I knew I had to keep my vision clear or it would be all over. Somehow, I made it home in one piece.

That night, three of the toes on my left foot had taken on a grayish hue. By Sunday, they looked better, and I thought I could wait til Monday morning to check in with my PCP. Calling on Monday, I discovered that the office was closed; then I remembered that it was Presidents' Day, a holiday! Luckily, my own doctor was on call. We agreed that I should head over to the Emergency Room. Although the toe color had returned to pink and purple, after hearing about the greyness of Saturday night, the doctor was worried about the possibility of blood clots. He suggested that the ER should do a sonogram and possibly a CAT scan to look for clots. He told me to have the ER doctor call him to get my history and discuss my case.

Before going to the ER, I emailed Kathy at Sugar Bush Farm to find out if I could bring Thorry up to the farm in the event that I was hospitalized. She and Craig agreed to help if needed. If it came to that, Jeffrey could drive, using my van, to take Thorry to Stephentown. It would be easier to find a temporary home for Glitterbug so I didn't try to pre-arrange that for her, but I had a few possibilities in mind.

My son Jeffrey drove me to the ER. Feet and toes were dark pink with purple mottling of the toes. Again, pulses were weak and hard to find on the left side. Despite talking to my doctor, and my comments that the appearance of my feet did not fit with a diagnosis of Raynauds (which a sister and my father have), the ER doctor sent me home with an information sheet on Raynauds and instructions to follow-up with my PCP. No imaging of any kind was performed.

On Thursday of that week (Feb 24), I had a routine follow-up appointment scheduled with my neurologist, Dr Edwards, in Bennington, VT. I was able to walk (using two forearm crutches) across the parking lot and into the office. I told the nurse that my timed walk would be abnormally slow but that it was not MS-related; rather, the pain in my feet necessitated slowness. I also told her that I would like Dr Edwards to take a look at my feet. Dr Edwards verdict: "That's MS." He went on to say that he sees feet like mine every day. He wrote a note to my PCP telling him that my foot discoloration is due to MS! I was in shock. I've had MS for over 20 years (and done a lot of reading about it) and have never ever heard of vascular symptoms.
I saw my PCP the next day, wearing the fur-lined boots he's suggested I buy. He was relieved to have an answer handed to him saying, "This sure makes my job easier!" I felt relieved and hopeful that, with treatments for MS, my pain would diminish. Dr Edwards had ordered three days of IV Solumedrol to be delivered on March 1, 2, and 3. By this time, I could no longer drive at all nor walk from parking lot to office. I needed a wheelchair. On March 1, I wore my new boots although I needed Mom's help to put them on as my feet had started to swell. By the next day, I could get the right boot on but wore a sock and two plastic grocery bags on the left. And when Pam came to drive me on the 3rd, I was in plastic bags on both feet. Clearly, the solumedrol treatments were not having an immediate effect and, in fact, my feet were worsening. I've been wearing plastic bags every since. Before long, I began calling Dr Edwards office several times a week to see what the next step might be.

Dr Edwards had first mentioned Tysabri a couple of years ago but, at that time, he said I would have to go to Springfield to have it infused. Having been lost in Springfield a couple of times, I didn't like the idea of driving there monthly. Last fall, Dr Edwards had me on monthly Solumedrol infusions in this Bennington office. While there, I learned that someof his patients were getting Tysabri in that location. But when I asked about it, I was told that Medicare won't cover Tysabri in an office setting. In December, Dr Edwards told me that he was working on getting Bennington Hospital to be an approved infusion center and that I'd be able to start getting Tysabri there by the end of February. Turns out, Bennington Hospital never did get approved. In the meantime, Tysabri is no longer available in Springfield. Finally, Dr E decided to send me to UMass Memorial MS Center in Worcester. When they set up the initial appointment, it was for a consult, not treatment. I can understand that, but by this time I was feeling pretty impatient and enduring increasing amounts of pain. The pain had gravitated into my ankles and as a shooting pain up my left shin. I was doing all of the PT exercises I had been given along with "bicycling" on my back and leg lifts... all in an effort to get my blood moving and decrease pain... to no avail.

On March 30, Mom drove me to Worcester. I had high hopes for the appointment feeling that it represented my last chance for pain relief. It was the most thorough neurological exam I have ever had. I was surprised when told that my timed walk was significantly slower than it had been in Bennington in February. Exam showed bilateral weakness, mostly in legs and worse on the left side. This new doctor said that, while the swelling in feet could be MS related, and/or a result of my sedentary days, he was unfamiliar with any vascular effects due to MS. He felt that I probably have vascular disease separate and apart from my MS. He also felt that my MS has entered the secondary progressive phase of the disease which excludes me from receiving Tysabri. He said I might qualify to participate in a study on Tysabri and secondary progressive MS but that would be down the road. Also, except for Solumedrol, the current MS therapies (including Tysabri) are intended to delay further progression of the disease; they do not address or reverse current symptoms. So none of those will help with my pain. He suggested a consideration of one of several chemotherapies although the side effects of those are greater. He also suggested that, based on my history, symptoms, and exam, it is possible that I may have another autoimmune disease in addition to (or even instead of) MS. While all indications point to MS, he said it is highly unusual for MS to be unresponsive to Solumedrol. (I've had it probably a dozen times with never a favorable result.) He was also surprised by my temperature deregulation (night sweats/shivering) and frequent low-grade fevers. He ordered blood tests to rule in or out other diagnoses. (Eight vials of blood!) One of the additional possibilities mentioned was lupus. I forget the others. The doctor was very thorough, very empathic, very open. Overall, a good appointment. In addition to the bloodwork, he ordered an updated MRI scan and a follow-up appointment at the MS Center.
I now have two walkers, one bought by an agility friend, the other (finally) came from Medicare. Unfortunately, they are not much use to me. Weight on my feet is unbearable; additionally, a walker allows me to stand/walk less upright than I do with crutches, not a good thing given my longstanding low back pain, and increasing joint pain throughout by body. Two days ago, I placed an order for a wheelchair. I have been visited by a social worker from Elder Services for PCA services. (I am currently able to shower less than once a week; showering increases my pain, possibly due to a slight increase in body temperature). The agility community has held two fundraisers on my behalf to be used to build a HP ramp (if this winter ever ends!); the lumber is being donated by LP Adams, a local building supply store where another agility friend works. A few local agility angels have brought me groceries. One has been bringing tapes of "Everyone Loves Raymond" for me to enjoy. Jeffrey shovels snow, fetches mail, and has brought his dog over to play with (and tire out?) Thorry. Matthew has repaired my printer, DVD player, and replaced the (broken) doorknob on my back door with help(!) from Zackary. Mom, Pam, and Jen held a cleaning party here last weekend. I have begun looking into possible placements for Thorry. A social worker from Elder Services came to look at my need for PCA assistance; a nurse and occupational therapist will come out for further evaluation in about a week.

I have an appointment on April 6 at the Berkshire Vein Center. I need to get to the bottom of whatever is going on vascularly. I am in tears daily due to the pain. There have to be some better answers.

Winter

2011-03-02T16:17:00.000-08:00

What a winter it has been, and we are still in it! Fifth highest snowfall since recordkeeping started for Albany, NY, an hour away from me. I believe Pittsfield got even more. In a one month stretch, it snowed every day. The biggest storm dropped 2.5 feet. Record cold temperatures as well. Weeks at a time in single digits often below zero during the nights. Wind chills even worse. I think about last winter when I packed down the snow just by walking back and forth while Thor ran. It would be impossible to do that this year. The dogs don't want to be out for more than a few minutes and, even then, Glitter often comes in limping.

Despite the weather, Glitter and I have been participating in the Capital District Agility Fun League where she is having a banner year. Perhaps she knows it will likely be her last? She is consistently getting scores where in past years we either trained (using food which makes it No Score), or going over max course time due to visiting and sniffing, or not getting enough points in games to have our score count (in the team scoring, they drop the lowest score).

I've also attended two seminars with Glitter. One, "Nothin' But Net" (an expression borrowed from basketball) was about getting your dog to ignore distractions, something Glitter desperately needs. I have always attributed Glitter's lack of focus at trials to stress. While that may have been true, Bobbie Bhambree (presenter) of Divine K-9, says that's an excuse that lets the dog off the hook. She believes that agility has not been given enough value (through reinforcements), that reinforcement is being used incorrectly (that once a dog has learned and been proofed on a skill, that skill should rarely be reinforced. By reinforcing an "easy" skill, dogs realize that they don't have to work hard. By the end of this seminar, Bobbie had Glitter doing restrained recalls through two lines of people talking to her AND treats scattered on the floor which she actually had to run over to get to me!! After two unsuccessful attempts (she grabbed a few pieces of food en route), which I did not reinforce but simply returned her to Bobbie, the third attempt was successful! She ran over the food as if were not even there, fast and focused on me! Jackpot, jackpot, jackpot!!!

The second seminar was called "Superstar Seesaw." Although Glitter has an excellent seesaw performance (after tons of noise games, movement games, tippy board play, wobble board, seesaw games while slowly increasing height), I wanted to learn what Bobbie had to teach. I was afraid Thor was not ready for a new environment with new dogs and new people. So took Glitter with the intention of learning the games which I would then bring home to Thorry. Turns out, I knew all the games but one! All the things that I had done with Glitter. Made me feel pretty smart! And gave me greater confidence to work with Thor (who has done a lot of tippy board work and is doing a seesaw close to full height). Although he had no fear of movement or noise, I should not have rushed him until we had played more of the games. I need to build more drive to the seesaw and more comfort crossing narrow boards. Now I know, without uncertainty, what I'll need to do (come spring!) with Thor.

Been too cold and icy, with inadequate sand spread at all training facilities (not to mention early darkness when I should not be driving), for me to continue classes. That, along with the lack of yard exercise and lack of park play, means that Thor has not been getting the exercise that he needs. In the house, we have been working on impulse control, heeling, tug (which he loves!), "get it" and "let go." Thor took some of these skills and invented his own game. I sit in a chair with an armload of (chewed up) bits of soft toys. I wait for Thorry to sit (without telling him to sit); it has to be his idea, his impulse control, his way of saying "please."
When he is sitting (and leaning forward with intensity and focus), I toss one scrap. Thorry leaps up to grab it! At first, he would drop the one he had, sit, and wait for me to throw the next until I was all out of scraps. Then I would go and gather them up again. As we played more, Thor began to return each scrap to me after catching it. Now we can play with just one scrap because I always get it back! I've started adding cue words, "catch" just before I throw it, "let go" when he's about to release it to me, and sometimes "tug. He is equally happy to get his reward by continuing the game or by breaking into a game of Tug. Cool!

Activities of Fall

2011-01-18T11:12:00.000-08:00

During the fall, Thor and I took Beginner and Beyond Beginner Agility. By the time we got into Beyond Beginner, the class had grown to 8-9 dogs! Because a lot of the new teams had not taken Beginner Agility at the farm, they were lacking in basic skills. We spent a lot of time going back over the Beginner lessons. While I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing (review can be helpful), I felt that Thor was bored. As a result, he was more distracted, more likely to leave me, more disruptive in general.

At the same time, we started going to the park almost daily. It's not a busy park; sometimes we were the only ones there, other times there were 1-4 other dogs. When we were there by ourselves, I set up jumps in close configuration (straight line bounces, curving bounces--a bounce is when the dog lands and takes off immediately without taking a stride between jumps). By doing this, I hoped to teach Thor collection, a shortening of stride for turns and weave pole entries, and a rounding of back over jumps. We also worked on sends to jumps from as far away as 30 feet; Thor took these in extension (running fast with long strides and jumping flat). My friend Lisa loaned me her set of training 2x2 weave poles, and Thor started learning the fundamentals of weaving--going between closely spaced poles at speed. With the 2x2 method, the poles are not in a straight line to start so it's very easy for the dog to race through. Over time, the poles are rotated and more poles are added until the finished performance is achieved. At this early stage, no weaving/bending action is required reducing stress on the body of a still-developing young dog.

On days when other dogs were present we did one of two things. If the other dog(s) were in the main field where we were, I let Thor play. He played very well, checking in with me regularly and coming back to me when called. If the dogs were at a distance (in the next field over with a post-and-rail fence between or walking on the road), then I would let Thor wander until he got as far as I wanted him to and then called him back. He always came. Not always as fast as I wanted; often he would loop around in a big circle as he came to me. But even if he was heading directly toward another dog, he would come when called. One day, a dog came through the fence and was running directly towards us. Thor took off in that direction. I called. He came!

Although I always give him a treat when he comes, I have not taught a recall from the beginning baby steps that I would use with most dogs. Thor didn't seem to need that. It is inborn in him to stay close, to want to be near me. That's really the only way I can explain why he learned to come so easily even with distance and distractions.

Neutered, at Last

2010-11-11T12:06:00.000-08:00

Yippee! I stuck to my guns and waited til Thor had passed the 14-month mark. We ended up going to Northampton Veterinary Clinic to a vet who is involved in the agility world and agreed with me that it was right to wait for growth to be complete. On October 18, I took Thor in for pre-neuter blood work and urinalysis. All good. I had been worried about his blood sugar as Thor seems to drink and pee A Lot! Turns out, nothing to worry about. In the message left on my machine, vet tech Jen (my sister) said Thor's blood work was "pristine." I laughed at her use of that word; that anything about Thor would be pristine is too funny! Thor behaved better than I'd expected, walking nicely with Jen into the exam room. And sitting when asked.

After our appointment, we stopped at my mother's house. She has a little gully in back, and I took Thor there. I stood at the bottom and sent Thor running up both sides. My sister (who hadn't known we were coming) saw Thor out the window and thought, at first, he was a deer! She was impressed by his speed and his quick responses to come back to me when I called.

On October 26, I took Thor in at 8:45. We had to wait for about 1/2 an hour for the vet, Leeanne, to see us. Thor was very good, even lying down during the time that we were alone in the exam room. Jen scanned for his microchip which was hard to find. She had to use a second scanner and, it turns out, he has an international chip that is not universally read by all scanners. That news made me irritated with my original vet who had implanted the chip. In the past, they had used Home Again (which all my previous chipped dogs have had) and didn't tell me until AFTER the implant that they had switched to a different brand. And they never did tell me it was an international chip or that some scanners cannot read it!

Leanne commented on how good Thor's coat looked. I think she was also impressed that he sat for her. I was displeased that he kept jumping up on the counter but, I have to admit, there were dog treats up there. Counter surfing is a problem at home, too, probably due to my poor housekeeping!

I asked if I could leave a stuffed toy for Thor to have when he woke up. I expected to be told no. Most vets don't want anything left (often not even a leash or collar!) because they are afraid of losing things. But I was told I could leave the toy, his harness, a collar, his leash. Wow.

Thor was ready for pick-up by 3:30pm. On the Discharge Instruction sheet are two photos of Thor: a head shot taken on arrival and the second in recovery. In the recovery shot, Thor is lying with his head on a large stuffed dog; he's covered by a blanket and his own toy is on the blanket. He looks so sweet!

In addition to neutering Thor, they scaled his teeth, cleaned out his ears, and attempted (no luck) to flush his tear ducts. It turns out that what I had identified as cherry eye is something else. It is an inherited disorder called everted nictitans. Basically, the cartilage inside the third eyelid curls inward. Because the cartilage is encased in the 3rd eyelid which is soft, is causes no damage to the eye and no discomfort. Leanne says she'll do surgery if it worsens but for now she wants to leave it alone. Heartworm and Lyme tests were negative. Thor weighs 59 pounds, my little baby.

Keeping Thor quiet for two weeks was challenging. But it was also a bonding experience. I had mixed feelings about the neutering, wondering if I should have waited longer. Or x-rayed growth plates. Or both. In my self-questioning, I was sympathetic to Thor. And that was a good thing for us.

Agility #5 & #6

2010-11-08T08:19:00.000-08:00

Week #5 coincided with AgileDogs USDAA trial. I was photographer for the event, and Kathy was running her dogs. But still, there was class. I arrived early with Thor to let him run in the fenced pond area. I let him run a second time just before class. Thor loves to run with the other dogs. One of my friends commented that he "runs circles around every other dog." He certainly is fast, and his favorite thing is to run while another dog chases him. No dog can catch him!

Class went well. Because Kathy had to leave to run her dogs, class went longer than usual, and my friend Barb filled in to teach. I love Barb's style, but it is very different from Kathy's. I think some of the other handler's had a hard time adapting. Barb spends a lot of time talking and explaining satisfying my desire for full understanding of the reasons behind the methods. Kathy does more skill practice. Both are important and it can be challenging for instructors to find the right balance. Anyhoo, because the class went long, my legs gave out so I put Thor away. We'd had a good class.

Week #6, Thor had just been neutered five days before so he stayed home and I audited. Kathy was out of town on a judging assignment so Barb was our instructor. Barb, who rightly emphasizes independent obstacle performance, introduced the class to the concept of shaping. Allowing the dog to CHOOSE to perform an obstacle while the handler stands by without giving direction develops problem-solving skills (in the dog) and a dog who fully understands the obstacle. It requires patience and good observation skills on the part of the handler and can be very hard when first attempted. I've done lots of this with Thor using both a tunnel and the tire. As a result, he is very good at finding all angles of entry.

I brought my camera to take pictures while watching and listening. Deb's sheltie, Lucy, LOVES tunnels. She was happy to run back and forth through a straight tunnel ignoring the treats that Deb tossed! Repeating the tunnel was reward enough for Lucy! And she already understood the concept of offering behaviors. Linda's shepherd, Vasso, had a harder time. Although only 11 months old, he has a history of formal obedience and wears a nylon choke collar. So Vasso has been exposed to corrections for making incorrect choices. This is a dog who will have trouble offering behaviors because he is afraid of the consequences of making a mistake. Vasso, who had been doing tunnels when directed, was unable to initiate tunnel behavior on his own. Barb directed Linda to click/treat for looking at the tunnel, looking in the tunnel, putting head in tunnel, stepping one foot into tunnel. Vasso is a smart dog and made really good progress. But to Linda it must have felt like big steps backwards. She was frustrated and close to tears despite Barb (and me) insisting that Vasso had made great strides forward. Bean went next. I know nothing of Bean's history but he is five years old and new to agility. He reacted to the exercise similarly to the way Vasso had. Both did a great job for dogs just being introduced to shaping. Bean's handler was fine with it, Vasso's was not. It made me very sad to realize that Vasso's early training had been with outdated methods.

I ended up with two photos that I like. First, a picture of Roo (Barb's dog) happily demonstrating his "Go To Mat" behavior. Second, a picture of Vasso peaking out of a tunnel and looking very worried. These two photos illustrate the results of different training methods. Roo, who has known only scientific, modern, positive training, and Vasso, who has done traditional obedience training in a choke collar. As if I needed any more convincing...

Agility Class #4

2010-11-04T06:06:00.000-07:00

As we started class, Kathy informed us that a friend of hers might be coming to watch. Okay, that's something Thor and I can handle! BUT, as it turned out, he brought his little dog with him! Not only did he bring a dog, but instead of just watching, he brought his dog out into the ring. While I was working Thor on bottom behavior (2 on-2 off) on a plank, this man and his dog came up very close behind Thor. I said, "Would you please move back just a bit? My dog isn't always reliable." Dog and man didn't move. Luckily, Kathy was paying attention. She came over and explained that Thor is very distractible and needed more space to be able to focus on his task. At that point, dog and man moved back just a bit. I realized then that visitors to classes need to be prepped in advance as to appropriate spectator behavior. I don't think visitors should bring their dog. I think they should be limited to a spectator area outside the ring. Watch and learn, not get in the way! The purpose of visiting a class should be to assess whether or not it's something you might like to do with your own dog. To see if an instructor and his/her methods fit with the way you want to train. No reason to disrupt the class!

Agility Class #3

2010-10-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

Interestingly, a new dog once again joined our class. This was able to happen because the handler has previously trained another dog and had already started this one. But it certainly is disruptive! The handler, who I know from trials, is someone who does not supervise her dogs closely and does not put their best interests first. I say this because she chooses to set up her dogs very close to the agility rings at a trial and then complains when her dogs bark! Several people have spoken to her about this and at the last trial she finally parked further away. So maybe she is learning.

At the beginning of class, I was sitting on the sidelines doing attention work with Thor. The A-frame was set near the spectator area and could, of course, been taken from either side. If I were choosing to do it, I'd have sent my dog so he was moving away from other dogs. But this handler chose to put her dog over the A-frame coming right at Thor. At the bottom, her dog was not 3 feet from us. Naturally, the dogs reacted. I just kept feeding Thor and got his attention back quickly. Throughout the first half of class, I was trying to move around enough to keep Thor away from the oblivious handler. That's really hard for me these days with my impaired mobility.

I've been using forearm crutches in most areas of my life. I don't yet use them with Thor because I really need two hands to control him. But it means that I spend part of each class sitting on the ground! I don't mind that, but would it be asking to much to expect others to steer clear of us? Linda, who is training GSD Vasso, has the dog that interests Thor the most. Yet Linda is very knowledgeable and very aware of her dog and their surroundings. She has done a great job helping me by keeping her distance and asking from time to time if she is in a good place. My friend who has a sheltie, Lucy, is less aware but since Thor has little interest in Lucy that has not been a problem. But this new handler and dog... tough stuff.

About halfway through class, we were working on ramp bottom behavior. Dogwalk planks were placed across a low table with a target at the end. Thor raced to the end but was more interested in Kathy who was standing there than the food on the target. When Kathy stepped in to point out and reposition the food treat, Thor leapt into her face to greet her. This happened several times and I was unable to stop it. I was afraid that Kathy was getting hurt. So I left, put Thor in his crate in the car, and sat in the car to give myself a break.

When Kathy came out, I shared my frustration with trying to control Thor and my frustration with the new handler not keeping better distance between her dog and the others. We talked for a few minutes, and I sent Kathy back to class but not before she suggested I bring Thor in after class to play with him alone. Good idea.

Alone in the building, Thor was a different dog. I was able to send him into tunnels from all angles and work rear crosses with two jumps. Kathy commented on Thor's distance skills! So, we ended on a good/positive note, thanks to Kathy. I think Thor needs more exercise prior to class...

Agility Class # 2

2010-10-11T14:33:00.001-07:00

There was a new dog in class (he'd been getting neutered the week before). Junior is a Brittany who took an extreme interest in Thor. Thor was equally interested, and the two kept trying to get closer to each other. I sat out several exercises in order to work on attention on the sidelines with Thor. He responded well to this, and I will plan to do it again.

After we rejoined the class, Junior managed to get away from his (two) handlers and came right to Thor. Junior growled, Thor play bowed. It was a little bit scary because of the growl. After Junior was corraled, Kathy used the opportunity to explain why a dog should never be corrected for growling. Corrections may remove the growling and you are left with a dog who gives no warning. This can be a very dangerous dog. This is something I understand well. No doubt my Vada was punished for growling. Her attacks (of other dogs) came with no indication of how she was feeling. Eventually, Vada became a home dog and I no longer took her places because of her unpredictability. She was much happier after that.

I told Junior's owners that I saw nothing really alarming in his behavior and that Kathy was right. However, they decided not to return to class. They emailed Kathy and explained that they had moved and it was simply too far to come. I suspect they were surprised at how much difficulty they had controlling Junior and that that played at least some part in their decision. Anyway, I'm glad they won't be back.

Circles

2010-09-17T15:31:00.000-07:00

Thor and I went to Shatford Park, New Lebanon, New York this morning; many agility trials are held there. This morning there was one other car but the park was empty of people and other dogs. Perfect! I let Thor out of the car, no leash. He sniffed, peed, ran around. I started clicking and treating any time he approached me. Sometimes I called if he started roaming too far. He always came back.

After a while, he was tuned in enough to do some flat work. Flat work is foundation work for agility. No obstacles are used, but the dog learns to follow the handler's body language. We worked in circles about 15 feet in diameter; Thor's circles were bigger. I changed direction so he was on both sides but always on the outside. Eventually, he will learn to slow down enough to be on the inside but not yet. In my flat work book, the dog is working in heel position (both sides) right next to the handler. Thor was not right next to me. Since I cannot go faster than a walk, he is obviously much faster. And I want distance in agility, so I allowed Thor to work about 15 feet away from me. He remained focused at that distance and I was very happy. I interrupted each set of circles with free run time to give Thor's brain a break. Thor was off leash throughout. We still need to do some leash work so he learns to walk nicely when leashed. But that's not as much fun!

Agility!

2010-09-12T10:25:00.000-07:00

Thor and I have been playing agility in the backyard for months. On August 7, we attended a pre-novice agility seminar with Abbie Tamber. I was so proud of Thor who showed off some good beginning skills! I learned that he has good impulse control with food (something we had worked on) and very poor impulse control with toys (which we had NOT worked on). So we have been working with toys which has turned out to be much harder. Thor will now sit in the presence of a toy, even if I wave it. He will take it and release it on cue. Hooray! I was very pleased with how well Thor paid attention in the presence of other dogs/distractions.

Yesterday, we had our first formal agility class. It was in the building so the other dogs were closer than they had been outside at the seminar. This was hard for Thor who really wanted to play! In his exuberance, he pulled me to the ground (but only once!). He displayed his love of tunnels and exhibited a bit of zoominess but came back to me very quickly. He had trouble walking straight through the ladder, probably because we have only played 101 Things to Do With a Ladder, where Thor is rewarded for anything he does; there is no criteria. In class, we were asked to walk our dogs from one end to the other. Hard!

After class, our instructor Kathy emailed me with this comment: "You and Thorry did great yesterday, he is a LOT of dog but sooooo responsive to you - great job!!"

I was delighted that Kathy read Thor so well! She is a gifted instructor, and we are lucky to be in her class.

Birddog

2010-06-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

Thor likes anything that flies. Balls, birds, moths. His favorite time of day, I think, is nighttime when my outdoor floodlight attracts all the moths. Thor loves trying to catch them and is surprisingly successful! The other night, he saw lightning for the first time. It was so much fun to watch him leap in the air trying to catch it!

Prejudice & Pride

2010-05-26T07:24:00.000-07:00

What an exciting weekend! New England Border Collie Rescue held their annual reunion for adopters and volunteers. Since I have volunteered at their Dog Daze fundraiser for the last several years, I decided to take Thor for some fun border collie socialization. I expected it to be hard. I had anticipated that my next dog would be a petite female BC mix. Instead, I have Thor.

Over 130 dogs attended the reunion! Early in the day, no one was using the agility rings so I took Thor into the ring to play. He went through a tunnel, curved under the dogwalk, twice successfully. He also went in and backed out a few times. That's okay; I am excited that he did anything in an unfamiliar environment! We then went to each of the down contacts (2 on A-frame, 2 on dogwalk, 1 on seesaw) and shaped for 1RTO. Beautiful! At one point, a dog was being walked very close to the ring. Thor went over to check it out. No barking. Cool! And he came back!

Later in the day, we went into a large fenced area with a pond. There were probably a dozen border collies running, playing, swimming. Thor ran around having a good time and behaving very appropriately! He ran with the dogs a bit but with an air of aloofness. He seemed to be more interested in saying hello to the people. And he never jumped up! Even better, he periodically returned to me to check in! Good boy!

At one point, I walked over to the pond with Thor who had shown no interest in it. I was hoping I might be able to clicker train him to walk into the water. No luck. With his usual enthusiasm, Thor leapt into the water landing about chest deep. He was startled and could not be lured to go near it again.

There were a few puppies from a litter that had been born into rescue. A few days earlier, I had expressed to a friend of mine who is adopting one of the BC pups that that's what I should have had instead of Thor. But on this day, watching the puppies romp and play, I felt no draw to them. Phew!

On Sunday, I went to an agility trial to volunteer and introduce Thor to the environment. I have been working on having him stay in the crate so that I can put on his harness and he doesn't have to wear it for travel. Success! Not easy, but I managed it. With a bit more training, it should become a piece of cake. Thor was somewhat overwhelmed by the crowd and all the activity. I gave him a stuffed toy to carry (his security blanket). Each time he dropped it, I told him "Get your toy" and he did! He politely greeted several of my friends. One commented how nice it is that he doesn't jump! One of the vets who had agreed that I should wait to neuter him was also there. She said that she was glad to see that he was an appropriate size (~25 inches at the shoulder). She told me that she has been seeing lots of oversized weims (28/29"--the breed standard for adult males is 25-27) in her practice.

My friend Kathy had her puppy there, too. Jasper is about the same age as Thor. An aussie mix, he is adorable and reminds me of Peabody. I had had an opportuniy to adopt Jasper's brother a couple of months prior to the arrival of Thunder Thor. At the time, I saw pictures and had to agree they were cute. But I wanted something smaller than an Aussie and without the heavy coat. I also expressed reservations about a docked tail. Kathy told me that these pups had tails! I was tempted. But I was still holding on to I-can't-have-a-puppy-as-long-as-Vada-is-alive.

So Thor came into my life. Turns out, Jasper is much smaller than expected and his coat is medium-length and not thick. But I was so proud of Thor's good behavior and attention to me that I wasn't envious at all! I hope this is the beginning of falling in love with Thor. He deserves that, and he really is so very good. Especially when I think back to the TORNADO that he was!!

Dinner Date

2010-05-26T06:45:00.000-07:00

When I have gone out, Thor is, naturally, very excited to see me on my return home. Tonight, I had a dinner date and was out of the house for over three hours. Letting Thor out of his crate, we went to the back door. I ignored him, my back turned, waiting for him to sit. He did. I praised and he got up. Turned my back and waited. He sat again. I told him to stay while I opened the door. Then I released him to go outside.

He must have needed to pee pretty badly because he squatted right away. I praised and patted while he was peeing. He finished suddenly and popped straight upwards slamming into my nose. It brought tears to my eyes, my initialy thought was that he's broken my nose. Well, it's not broken. But it sure did hurt.

And he wasn't even finished peeing. He squatted again. Damn dog. Too excited.

Time Heals

2010-05-17T08:33:00.000-07:00

After medication adjustments, time, and a weekend of DOCNA agility with Glitterbug, I am feeling much better about Thor and me. Glitter received a qualifying score and first place in the North America Challenge class earning her a bye to Nationals to be held at Sugar Bush Farm in October. I'll wait to decide about entering until I see how our season is going. But there is hope for her yet!

This past Saturday, I drove with Thor to Granby to volunteer at SoBAD's agility trial. Since Glitter was not entered, I though it was a good opportunity to introduce Thor to the trial environment. Turns out, I had the wrong date. Trial is NEXT weekend! Meanwhile, Thor was stressed in the car, chewed up a second EZ Walk harness despite the fact that it had been soaked overnight in Bitter Yuck, drip dried, and squirted in his mouth ahead of time. He also chewed his blanket, something he NEVER does in his crate at home, which is how I know it was stress chewing and not simply opportunity. I think I'll have to work on "stays" in his crate and offering his head through the harness so that he won't need to wear it in the car. Also, need to take him on more short car rides so that he acclimates.

Piles of Poop

2010-05-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

I finally got Thor diet under good control...Artemis Puppy with yogurt added, cheerios and string cheese as training treats. No accidents for several weeks. Yippee! Finally, I'm feeling hopeful about our future.

Then, I get close to the bottom of the bag. Go to the one and only supplier in my area to discover that they are OUT OF ARTEMIS PUPPY! What to do; what to do. Finally, I buy a smaller bag of Artemis Adult and a bag of Nutri-Source to try. For two days, I mix the new foods in with the old. And bingo!! Thor has now pooped in his crate three times in two days. Hells bells.

I am in such turmoil and tizzy that I call the crisis team at the Mental Health center and go in to talk to someone. I am ashamed at how negative I've been feeling. About Thor. About me. The clinician I saw first wanted to admit me but then said that with my cough (present for almost 2 weeks) I couldn't be admitted to the psych ward. Phew! I do not want to have to arrange for dog care! And I do not want to be away from home.    So instead, she called a psychiatrist for a consult. The result is that a recent medication change is known to cause changes in serotonin and frightening thoughts. So, I am under orders to see my PCP for the cough tomorrow, to alter my meds, to schedule a psych appointment to evaluated current meds and how they are impacting my moods/thoughts, check-in calls for the next two days, and follow-up counseling. I never should have let it get to this point. But I feel better now that some concrete steps have been put in place.

Came home and had a lovely training session with Thor. Then, after pooping outside, we came in and he pooped in his crate.

Open my email tonight to find that three of my current meds interact negatively...Rebif, Bupropion, and Sertraline...

"Your May 2010 Safety Report

"Safety Summary: Your medication check has detected interactions involving Sertraline, Bupropion and Rebif, and identified at least one medication with an orange risk rating. This means you may require closer monitoring of these medications in order to reduce your risk of serious side-effects (click on each drug for more details).

Rebif   (!)

Vitamin D

Calcium

Sertraline   (!)

Bupropion   (!)

Multivitamin"

A Dream

2010-05-03T11:50:00.000-07:00

In my dream, I have three dogs. Thor, of course. And 16-year-old Vada. No Glitterbug; instead Morgan, an ancient mixed breed who, in reality, lives with my son and his girlfriend. In the dream, Vada and Morgan are walking down my HP ramp to get to the backyard. Thor keeps barging under the railings to disrupt the old dogs' progress. He keeps knocking them down. I see this as a metaphor for my own frailty and how much Thor enjoys knocking into ME.

In addition, I am sad at the thought that Vada will not be with me much longer. She has been a challenging dog to own and train...overactive and dog aggressive. Much of her training was filled with mistakes of the day...I had yet to discover positive training when I was working with her. Despite that, we did earn the AKC's Canine Good Citizen certificate and Companion Dog (CD) Obedience title. Vada retired after leaving the ring during a show 'n' go to attack a GSD working articles in the next ring. Neither the judge nor I saw it coming. I was practicing with Vada in the Open class on an exercise called Retrieve Over High Jump. With Vada seated at my side, I threw the dumbbell out over the high jump. Then I sent Vada to get it. She cleared the jump easily and went straight to the dumbbell. But, instead of picking it up, Vada turned almost 180 degrees to get to the shepherd. With dozens of people surrounding the two fighting dogs, I couldn't get close to Vada and had to watch and wait. It was horrible. In the end, neither dog was hurt. Neither dog even had saliva on their coat. But it was scary to everyone. And people tried to demand that Vada and I be immediately banned from the grounds.

The judge was wonderful. She found a long line and had me bring Vada back into the ring. She had us perform the broad jump exercise which Vada did beautifully. But it had been an awful day. I cried for most of the three hours that it took to drive home. Vada and I attended a few classes after that, with my friends all insisting that this could be fixed and that I shouldn't give up. But in the end, I did quit. I wasn't willing to risk that some day Vada would hurt another dog and there might be cries for her destruction. So Vada became my backyard dog. We played combined obedience/agility games just for fun, and she loved it. She became more relaxed than she had ever been. It was a good way for her to live out her life.

Now, as Vada as moving toward death, I cannot bear to think of losing her. And, at the same time, I am struggling to fall in love with Thor. He deserves to be loved as much as I've loved Vada. But I am not there yet. I have yet to fall in love again.

Lessons from Abbie

2010-05-02T13:57:00.000-07:00

Abbie Tamber was a 2004 World Agility Team member with her canine partner, a Jack Russell Terrier named Microburst (aka "Mikey"). She owns and operates Dogs on the Run, a training program for all aspects of dog training from agility to behavioral guidance. Glitterbug and I have attended numerous agility seminars with Abbie. I love her approach which includes a variety of tools and a dog's eye view. Abbie is a skilled clicker trainer and has experience with a wide variety of breeds.

On Sunday, April 25, I took Thor to Sugar Bush Farm for a private lesson with Abbie. She was enthusiastic about Thor and gave many specific and helpful suggestions. As a result, I have added the following skills to our training list.

1) Harness Unclip... Abbie suggested that I practice unclipping Thor's harness followed immediately with a treat. This will teach Thor to attend to me when he is unclipped rather than viewing it as an opportunity for freedom and exploration.

2) Back Off... This is an impulse control exercise. I had introduced the game to Thor in his previous home but forgot about it as we struggled with housetraining. Basically, you present the dog with a handful of food. Most dogs will try to get with, some with more persistence than others. Thor was quite persistent initially. Then you wait. As soon as the dog "backs off" (maybe just glances away at first), click treat! With a little reminder, Thor was able to back off into a sit pretty quickly.

3) Collar Tugs... Since I hope to have Thor doing some assistance tasks, Abbie felt that it was important that he learn to love having his collar grabbed and tugged. Similar to my "Gotcha" game, this takes the game a step further. While tugging on the dog's collar, the dog is fed a steady supply of treats. As soon as the tugging stops, the treats disappear. I've used a similar game to change the attitude of dogs who are dog aggressive. Whenever a dog appears, the treatment dog gets fed a steady supply. The new dog disappears (say around a corner), and the treats disappear.

4) Food Toss... In order to discourage jumping up, Abbie suggested that I toss treats to the ground instead of hand delivering them. With his focus downward, Thor should be less inclined to jump. He is funny about this...he does not like his food to have dirt on it!

5) Retrieve... I explained how Thor liked to chase things and that, while he would return to me with the retrieved object (usually a ball) he seemed downright offended when I wanted it back. He would give it to me, but with a look that said, "I wanted that. You can play by yourself now." Abbie suggested I teach him to told and then to retrieve a spoon. She said the metal in his mouth would be something he'd be less interested in keeping. :-)

6) Come-to-Side... As I walked around the agility building, Abbie had me reward Thor when he came up beside me. She suggested I pick one side to reward consistently. Since I am right handed, I would choose my left side as the place for a service animal. However, I'm hesitant to reward one side only as I will want him working on both sides for agility.

7) Come-Go Game... I first learned this game from Abbie several years ago in an agility seminar with Glitter. The purpose of it is to minimize sniffing. The handler tosses a treat which the dog goes to get. As soon as the dog turns back to the handler, a second treat is tossed. The dog learns very quickly that sniffing the ground does not pay off but returning to the handler does.

8) Plank Play... Abbie was impressed with Thor's hind end awareness which we have been working on with plank, box, and tippy board games. She brought out a wobble (Buja) board and, although Thor had never seen one, he was happy to slam it around with his feet and perform a 2-on-2-off on it. We then brought out a PVC ladder which I started to lure Thor through. Abbie stopped me and encouraged me to shape for feet-in-the-ladder instead. Thor caught on to this game very quickly. I have a PVC ladder at home but had not tried it with Thor yet. I'm glad I hadn't because now I know to shape instead of luring. We discussed contact methods (2-on/2-off, 1RTO, 2RTO, 4-on-the-floor). I had been thinking I would teach Thor 1RTO to lessen the stress on his shoulders from a 2-on/2-off. My previous agility dogs have had 2-on/2-off stops, and Abbie and I agreed that I stop will be essential given my mobility limits. She suggested that Thor is too "upright" for a 4-on-the-floor, and I agree.

Definitions for non-agility folks:

Contact Obstacle: There are three contact obstacles in agility, the A-frame, the dogwalk, and the seesaw. Each is painted two colors...the lower parts of the up and down ramps are painted yellow while the "body" is painted a contrasting color. These yellow areas are known as "contact zones." The rules specify that a dog must touch the descending (and in some organizations, the ascending) contact zone with one toe nail (or more) as he passes through. This is a safety rule so that the dog does not leap from high up and risk injury. There are many ways to teach these. Crossing your fingers and hoping is NOT training!

Running Contact: The dog is trained to run smoothly through the yellow contact zone. The training is complex and often involves such tools as hoops and stride regulators. I never considered this method for my dogs as I need the advantage of having a dog who stops at the end of the zone until released.

Two-on/Two off: In this method, the dog stops at the bottom of the plank with his hind feet in contact with the plank and his front feet on the ground (hence the name). The advantage is a dog who follows through in his descent and is unlikely to miss the yellow zone. Another adavantage is that the dog is stopped which allows the handler to get into position for upcoming obstacles. Disadvantages include stress to the dog's shoulders if he has not been taught to rock his weight back during the descent; and lost time (the clock is ticking during that stop)! I taught Glitter to rock back by teaching a lie-down 2-on/2off initially and dropping the lie-down when she was shifting her weight back effectively.

1RTO: This stands for one-rear-toe-on. The dog stops at the bottom of the plank with just one rear foot touching the wood. Because the dog has come a little further than in a 2-on/2-off, his body is parallel to the ground and the stress to the shoulders is lessened. There seemed to be a lot of excitement about this method several years ago, but I have not seen it in use in competition. Not sure why. I asked Abbie if something negative had appeared with it but she didn't think so. She did say that she prefers a 2RTO (two-rear-toes-on). I'm not clear on the difference between this and a 2on-2-off. The 1RTO risks some off-courses as some dogs will, some of the time, come off the ramp and then reach back to make contact. Since they have come off the obstacle, and then back on (with 1 toe!), it gets faulted as an off course. It's a risk I'm willing to take to have a safe performance of the obstacles. It is 1RTO than Thor has been introduced to at home.

Sit-on-the-Board: Some handlers teach their dogs to sit near the end of the yellow contact zone. While this accomplishes a rock back, I think it is nebulous to the dog. It is unclear, in the dog's mind, just where the sit should be placed. As a result, a dog may be likely to creep down the obstacle (or even perch at the top) because he is unsure of himself. This may, in fact, happen with incomplete training of any method if the dog is unsure of the exact criteria for performance.

4-on-the-Floor: The dog runs throught the yellow contact zone and lies down immediately after coming off the obstacle. Because the dog is looking down and thinking down, he is not likely to leap off prematurely. Abbie and I agree that with an upright dog like Thor, this behavior may be too time consuming. Some judges will call this training in the ring and give an elimination. I've seen that happen. Again, it may be a risk some handlers are willing to take.

In addition to the contact position, I need to teach Thor to run quickly up and across a plank. I know that, at his tender age, Thor isn't ready for contact obstacles. Abbie suggested starting with a plank flat on the ground. When that was mastered, I could raise one end by placing it on a low agility table and/or a milk crate. Next would come a dogwalk set on milk crates. Then a higher table. I need to buy or build a big table. My dogs, to date, have used a 16" table. Thor would likely need a 26" one.
9) Tunnels... I had introduced Thor to my chute barrel (no fabric chute attached) and he had been happily chasing a ball through it. When I had tried a squished (shortened) tunnel, however, I failed to secure it well and it wobbled when Thor stepped in it. He quickly decided he could not go all the way through. I told Abbie about my mistake and how he had decided he had to go partway in and back out. I'd given up trying until I could secure the tunnel better and have a helper. Abbie was the perfect helper, of course. Within three minutes, Thor was running back and forth through a 12-foot tunnel! Abbie suggested that in our work at home my goal should be to stand in the center and facing the tunnel while Thor ran back and forth through it. She also explained that to introduce a curved tunnel, I should bend one end, not the middle, just a wee bit. All set to take our show home!

Sticks & Stones

2010-04-18T14:09:00.000-07:00

Thor's love of sticks is second only to his love of balls. Stones run a distant third, and broken bricks are better. I've removed the racquetballs for now; he was starting to chew them open and I was afraid of swallowed pieces. I need to go shopping.

With the balls gone, Thor is carrying sticks. A few days ago, I was sitting at the top of my deck steps watching Thor run. He had a rather large stick in his mouth. Before I had a chance to react, he ran straight toward the steps. There was room next to me for the dog to get by, but not the stick. Dogs only judge their body width...no accomodation for a stick. So my shoulder got slammed into as if I were the bull in a bullfight. And I try so hard to be Ferdinand!

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I have never shared my home with a dog as large or as smelly as Thor. I change his bedding daily, wipe him down with pre-moistened pet wipes, and still it is hard to keep up. Yesterday, I moved his crate to vaccuum and wash the kitchen floor. While I was down on my hands and knees, Thor brought me the toilet brush and then the bathroom sponge; I swear he was trying to help!

The Name Game

2010-04-13T08:41:00.000-07:00

Before playing any of the previously discussed "recall" games, I will play The Name Game. I had suggested this game to Thor's previous owners, and he knew his name well long before he was in my home.

The Name Game:

I start with the dog near me where he cannot/will not wander. I say his name and immediately (within 3 seconds) give a food treat. Repeat, repeat, repeat. I want a dog who, when he hears his name, looks at me and starts moving in my direction. And I want the response to be instantaneous. Dog trainer Leslie McDevitt calls this a "whiplash turn." I like that.

Come!

2010-04-08T16:12:00.000-07:00

"Come" is a critical cue for dogs to understand. In my mind, "come" means stop-whatever-you-are-doing-and-come-to-sit-in front-of-me. I want the dog sitting close so that I can easily reach out and clip on the leash. It's important to note, that "come" can be interrupted midstream. Which means I may interject a second cue before the dog gets to me. An example of this would be the competition obedience exercise Drop on Recall. The handler calls the dog and, when the dog is partway in, cues the dog to lie down. Another example would be in agility when I want the dog to head toward me but then I redirect the dog with an obstacle cue or another directional cue.

To teach my dogs to come, I start with a backchaining technique, that is, I teach the last step first. So many dogs will come "near" when called but then dance around just out of reach. An incomplete come. So I start with a game I call "GOTCHA." With the dog in front of me, I take hold of the collar, say "gotcha," and give the dog a treat. Realizing that in some recall situations, the dog may have faced danger and I may be emotional, I progress from a "take hold" to a "grab." The dog learns that it is FUN to have his collar grabbed!

Next step is to "call" the dog as he happens to already be moving in my direction. This is done without a leash and outside of a formal training session. I notice the dog moving toward me, I say "come," and give the dog a treat when he gets here. The dog is being introduced to the verbal cue and is rewarded for coming in close.

Once the above two have been practiced separately, I start using them together.

More Games to "Come" By:

FIND ME...Without saying anything, I turn slightly away from the dog and wait. I want the dog to come around in front to find my face. Once in front, I give a treat. Using baby steps, I progress to turning my full back on the dog. Then I try moving a few steps away with my back to the dog. My goal with this game is to have a dog who comes to find my face whenever he...
a) isn't sure what to do
b) needs direction
c) feels disconnected from me
d) is anxious or worried

Many agility handlers will chose to always reward their dog when he is at their side (both sides) and never when he is facing them. This game can be easily adapted to a side position. Later, when I'm adding verbal cues, "come" will mean in front facing me, "heel" will mean on my left side, "by me" will mean on my right side.

TOSS AND CALL... Tossing a treat, I get the dog to move away from me. He'll eat the treat, then turn back to me. I reward the look back by tossing another treat in the opposite direction. As the game progresses, I vary the timing of my tosses. Sometimes I will toss for the look back, other times when he gets partway to me, sometimes when he gets all the way to me. I want to reinforce/reward for each part of the process, each piece of this come puzzle. As the dog gets good at this game, I add "Gotcha." I also add a Sit-on-Arrival some of the time. By keeping it varied, and rewarding each piece, I begin to build a reliable come!

COME CLOSE AT HAND... Hands full of treats! Dog is facing me and close enough for me to touch. I say "come" and take 1 step back. Dog will follow. Dog gets treat. I do this both with and without a clicker. Fairly quickly, I add a sit into the equation. Remember, "Come" means sit-in-front unless I redirect.

THE RECALL GAME... Since I mostly train alone, I rarely play this game as it requires two (or more) human players. Each person has lots of treats. We start just a few feet apart. One person calls the dog and treats when he comes. The two take turns calling and treating. To make it harder, I add more distance and/or more people. I always make sure to only increase the difficulty of one thing at a time. Example: If I've been playing at twenty feet, when I add a 3rd person, I'll go back to 5 feet. I've only played this game with Thor once. He played it very well at a distance of about 10 feet (2 people). He never gave me a chance to call! He would go to my friend when she called, get his treat, then turn and rush right back to me. Pretty funny!

RUNAWAY RECALL... I start this game in a safely enclosed area (my fenced backyard). Later, I will take it to the park with a long line. I wait for the dog to be interested in something other than me. Saying "come" in a happy upbeat tone, I turn and run away from the dog. There are few dogs who can resist chasing a running friend! I usually reward at my side as the dog catches up to me. Depending on criteria, some handlers might prefer for the dog to come around to "front" position.

A Better Day

2010-04-06T12:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, when the sun was shining, I was feeling dark and ready to give up on Thor. By the end of the day, he was being so demanding that I started to think he must be in pain. He was drinking large amounts of water and wanting more. I started to think about bloat, but it didn't fit with what I knew about bloat.

I once saw a dog die of bloat. I was at an agility trial that was part of a larger canine fair. There were two agility trials (USDAA & CPE) going on, a flyball competition, demonstrations and exhibits throughout large fairgrounds in New Hampshire. Quite a few people had brought dogs that were not competing. This was one of those dogs. He was a large mixed breed. When I saw him (and offered my cell phone to call a veterinarian), he was lying on his side and breathing heavily. A veterinarian was reached and someone else offered to drive so the owner could ride with the dog. I heard later that the dog had died. I wasn't surprised. He really had looked awful.

No bloat for Thor. Not this time. But knowing that it is a risk in the weimaraner breed is just one more reason that I would not have chosen to own this dog.

Today, grey and rainy, looks much brighter. Thor has seemed happier and calmer. And back to drinking a normal amount.

We had our first successful walk to the mailbox! With a front-clip harness on. I used the Walk-Your-Dog-With-Love Harness because that is the one I had prepared by soaking it overnight in Bitter Apple (thnks Amy! I now have a replacement Easy Walk as well but need to buy more bitter apple). Although Thor walked well with the WYDWL harness, I was not impressed. The leash never tightened; as a result, there was never any pressure on Thor's chest. Instead, the harness seemed to work via its action behind the front legs. I expect I'll be mostly using the Easy Walk. I like the fit and action of the EW better. :-)

Thor and I have been playing lots of Recall and Stay games. Will plan to write about each of those next...

Poop Poop Poop

2010-04-05T12:14:00.000-07:00

Three days ago, Thor pooped in his crate. Two days ago, Thor pooped in his crate. Loose goopy poops. I can't remember the last time he peed in his crate. While I was bleaching his crate two days ago, I thought, "I wish he stop this and go back to peeing in the crate. That was so much easier." Finished cleaning up, put Thor in his crate, within ten minutes he peed in his crate. A mind reader, he. Just trying to please.

Yesterday, I skipped breakfast for Thor. Skipping an occassional meal can be good for dogs. All animals who hunt survive with a large meal followed by perhaps days of no meals or much smaller meals. An elk followed by days of rodents. It's not bad for humans to sometimes miss a meal either. My dogs and I miss about one meal a week by plan. Today, Thor's poops are looking much more "normal," formed and hard, the way they should. He is fully back on Artemis with yogurt added. He gets cottage cheese in his kong.

On Saturday (two days ago), I had a conversation with my friend, Barb, who feeds raw. She doesn't feed a pre-mixed raw. She feeds bones. And raw mea--protein and organ meats. And cottage cheese. And she bleaches her dogs crates after every meal. No way could I do that.

Today, I went for a walk. Ten minutes out, with my camera, on the floodplain behind my house to take pictures. I was using two forearm crutches. Going out was not bad, could have gone halfway without the aids. Found something to shoot. Sat down to rest and to steady the camera for shooting. Damn! No memory card. I had forgotten to check before leaving the house. Walking back took almost three times as long. Left leg dragging, balance off, almost fell several times. Home again, I took Thor and Glitter into the backyard. Thor had never seen my crutches before. He sniffed and tasted one before accepting it.

Also today, Thor traded his ball for a pen. Rewarded by getting the ball back.

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Monday, April 5 6PM

After a half hour outside with few distractions (other dogs inside), Thor came in and promptly pooped in his crate. I'm beginning to fear that it's a habit, that he's more comfortable pooping there than anywhere else. And he doesn't care about getting dirty. Even outside, he is not at all bothered by stepping in poop. I am at my wits end. Anyone want a young weimaraner?

I have researched food allergies, food intolerances, and more online and gotten zero insights.

Feeding Thor

2010-04-02T07:45:00.000-07:00

Thor's breeder sent him to his first new home with a packet put together by the Iams Company and a recommendation to feed Eukanuba. So that is what his novice owners bought. I advised them to switch to a higher quality food and, since their cat eats Wellness, that was my suggestion. When I worked (for 3 years) in an animal shelter, we saw hyper dogs brought in for surrender on a regular basis. Often, they were being fed Eukanuba. There seems to be something in the formula that contributes to overactivity. I also explained to Thor's owners the advantages of a higher quality food in terms of feeding less, smaller stools, longer life. They did a shopping comparison but felt that the higher cost was prohibitive.

When Thor came into my home, I started to transition him from Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy food to Artemis Medium/Large Breed Puppy food. I liked the ingredients list on the Artemis bag and the fact that it was listed on the Whole Dog Journal's recommended foods list for 2010 (and had been for some years).

The following, adapted from the WDJ recommendations, are what I look for in a dog food.

1) First, I look at the food. I want a food that is brown. Multicolored (yellow, orange, red, green) foods contain artificial colorings that I don't want my dogs eating. I also look ( on the ingredients list) for artificial flavors, preservatives, and added sweeteners. My dogs don't need those.

2) Next, I read the ingredients. I want to see two animal proteins in the top three ingredients or three in the top five. I want the exact type of meat specified, i.e. beef, chicken, salmon instead of meat, poultry, fish. "Meal" (chicken meal, etc) is a fine ingredient and ensures plenty of protein in the food.

3) I also want to see whole grains, fruits and vegetables. But these should be a bit lower down on the ingredients list. I like it when ingredients are "organic." Note: corn is a cheap source of protein and often found in lower quality foods; there is some evidence that corn may promote aggression in susceptible dogs. In addition, corn is commonly contaminated with aflatoxin, a mold that can be deadly when ingested. There have been cases of canine deaths due to aflatoxin contamination in dry dog foods.

4) By-products are to be avoided. These may include such things as chicken claws and beaks, cow hooves, organ meets

5) The most important thing about any food is that your dog thrives on it. I am looking for shiny coat, high (but not out-of-control) energy, alertness, digestibility. The last means that stools should be small and well-formed. Thor's have always been a bit loose. Which is why I am exploring alternatives.

While on the mix of Eukanuba and Artemis, Thor's stools were pretty sloppy. I started adding yogurt to his meals which helped a bit. Once the Eukanuba was gone and his diet was only Artemis and yogurt, his stools were better, but still not best. Sherry Holm, owner of No Place Like Holm (in-home boarding for dogs) told me that she feeds her boarders Taste of the Wild. Even with the diet change and stress of boarding, her boarders do not get loose stools. Pretty good recommendation. So I bought a bag (pleased that it is less costly than Artemis). Have been mixing it with Artemis for Thor for several days. His stools are getting goopier and he's having in-crate accidents. Apparently, he is a digestive nightmare. I'll keep looking.

Many people feed raw diets designed to mimic what they might be eating were they living in the wild. I tried raw with three dogs many years ago. Two of my three did not do well on raw. So I am reluctant to try it again. That said, there are now pre-made raw foods that are more readily available than they used to be so the need to prepare one's own foods is eliminated. That certainly makes the option more palatable (to me!). I have also been warned that I should not be handling raw foods because of my illness. Raw foods (and stools from raw-fed dogs) can carry salmonella and other food-borne illnesses. That is not a problem for dogs whose digestive system differs from ours and can handle these contaminants. But it may be problematic for me since my meds lower my immune system. I would have to be ultra-vigilant in preparing a raw food diet for my dogs. Despite this reservation, I am planning to look into Oma's Pride, a prepared and complete raw diet.

Progressing

2010-04-01T10:36:00.000-07:00

Thor has a habit, begun in his previous home, of barking incessantly whenever I am on the phone. I have tried hard to ignore him, but the barking continues. I have discovered that outdoors he is too busy to bark and doesn't care if I am on the phone. But sometimes, I need to make a call from inside. That was the case yesterday when I needed to call my credit card company about a charge I wanted removed from my bill.

I took Thor outside, waiting for him to pee and poop before going back in. Then, I left him loose in the house while I made the call. Success! No barking. But when I got off the phone, I found that Thor had pooped by the back door. Success, you may ask? Yes! He didn't just stop and poop where he happened to be. He didn't seek out his crate as a good place to poop. He pooped as close as he could get to the outdoors showing me that he understands! Hooray!

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My health update:

I saw my neurologist a week ago. He confirmed that my five day headache was, in fact, a migraine. I've had two more since. He also changed my treatment plan to include monthly IV solumedrol infusions. In the past, I've had IV solumedrol for three consecutive days to treat acute attacks. Now, it is hoped that the monthly treatments will slow progression. The doctor also confirmed that I have increased weakness in my legs. He prescribed a muscle relaxant to address painful leg spasms that he feels are interfering with my sleep.

I had a follow-up MRI today. This one was not only my brain but also my cervical spine. I was at the hospital for two hours. The knocking/banging sounds of the MRI machine have always reminded me of the sounds of a train station which reminded me of when I was little; we used to pick up my grandmother at the train station when she came to visit from Washington, D.C. That's always been a good association. Today, as they rolled me into the machine, I thought, "I'm going to be with Nanni." I had the feeling that I was heading into another world, an afterworld.

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Today, April 1, is the first bright sunny day after almost a week of rain during which the Housatonic River behind my house crept out of its banks. On two days, I've enjoyed walking about 30 feet to photograph the floodwaters. I've struggled to walk that far, and I'm feeling that I no longer know who I am and what I can do. Today, I spent two 10-minute periods sitting out in the sunshine. Each time, the vision in my left eye blurred. This is not new and it returns to normal as soon as I get out of the sun. But I wonder if my vision will always normalize. My walking used to normalized after each attack. Now it does not. I am not me.

The first Assistance/Service Dogs were Seeing Eye Dogs. Thor could do that.

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ARGHHHHHHH!!!

I spoke too soon!!!

After feeding supper (4pm), I took Thor and Glitter outside for two and a half hours. When we came in, Thor went into his crate. Within 10 minutes, he had pooped all over the place, gooey, soft poops (not atypical). I put him back outside and set to work cleaning up. By the time I'd cleaned the crate and his bedding, put the scraped off bedding in the washing machine, and washed and vacuumed the floor and carpet where he'd walked from his crate to the backdoor, I was exhausted. Ready for a wheelchair, no exaggeration.

I've done some slow diet changes for Thor as I do think he has a delicate digestive system. Thought I'd settled on a good food but now wonder if it's the cause of these latest accidents. I'll write my thoughts on food next time. Too tired tonight.

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I won't give up...I won't give up...I won't give up...

Sticks

2010-03-29T02:26:00.000-07:00

Thor has been working on two sticks, smoothing them with his teeth so they are like river rocks. Last night, he wanted to go outside five times before bed. Each time, he ran to get one of the sticks. Obsessed with the work those sticks still needed, he couldn't focus on anything else. Hence, every time we came back in, he was still asking to go out. Finally, I took both sticks and tossed them over the fence. He got as close to the fence as he could, pressing his nose against the pickets, and (finally) peed.

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Next morning: After miles of ball chasing and a big morning poop, Thor came inside and pooped in his crate. His punishment? I'm teaching him to do my taxes...next year, he's on his own!

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Thor had a playdate with Sophie this afternoon. Sophie is a lovely little 4-year-old pitbull, very active but also polite. They had a wonderful time running around my backyard.

Creative Athlete

2010-03-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

The back door of my house leads onto a small deck. Three steps descend into the fenced yard. A 180 from the top of the steps brings you across the deck to a handicapped ramp, an alternate route to the yard. Sometimes I sit on the steps to read while the dogs play. Thor likes to race up the ramp and turn to run by me leaping over the steps and onto the grass. Two days ago, he added a variation.

I was sitting on the deck and leaning over to scrape the steps in preparation for spring re-staining. My back must have been fairly flat. Instead of coming up the ramp, Thor approached the steps at a run, leaping onto my back and continuing around to descend the ramp. When I got over my surprise, I thought it was funny as all get out. This pup sure keeps me in stitches!

Forward and Back

2010-03-27T06:34:00.001-07:00

Twenty steps forward, one step back.

After more than two months in my home, Thor pooped in his crate for the first time. I had let my guard down and didn't get him out after his breakfast in a timely fashion. My mistake. But I wish he had been more vocal in expressing his needs! What a mess!!

The Stress of Moving

2010-03-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has ever moved (and who hasn't?) knows how stressful it can be. Thor, in his short life, knew two moves and a hectic middle home. Last night, it occurred to me that those stressors may well have delayed his housetraining. Young puppies moving to their first (hopefully permanent) home are known to be stressed enough that it is recommended to separate the move from any vaccinations due. This is especially true in breeds predisposed to vaccine reaction.

As he settles in, the accidents have become far less. Of course, he is older now, too, and the decrease in urination may well be due to maturity. But he is needing only one trip out during the night lately, and that feels luxurious!

After a treatment with IV Solumedrol on Thursday, I was unable to sleep (a typical side effect) at all Thursday night into Friday. So I had the opportunity to observe Thor's nighttime/sleep habits. Except for getting up to go out once, he never stood up. Even when I walked by, he watched me, but stayed lying down. Nice relaxation.

Working With Words

2010-03-21T11:31:00.000-07:00

Dogs are masters of communication. That does not mean that we always understand them. Misunderstandings are common largely because a dog's natural language is not verbal. In order for them to behave in a human household, most dogs must learn a core of verbal cues. But this does not come easily to them. Dogs communicate with one another through a complex series of postures, tail position, facial expression, ear tilt, and more. People, of course, communicate non-verbally as well. But often we are unaware of our non-verbal communications. Dogs are not. In addition to sending non-verbal messages, dogs are brilliant at reading our non-verbal communications. And every minute that your dog is with you, he is studying you and becoming more skilled at reading you.

While Thor has been studying me and learning my non-verbal language, I have been focused on teaching him verbal cues.  Each behavior is introduced without the verbal cue which is added later. These are the lessons we are presently working on.

1. "Off" has two meanings. I use it to mean Stop Jumping on Someone (I hope he will learn to never jump on people so that this use of "off" will end). "Off" also means Get Off the Furniture. This latter meaning will be continue to be needed as my dogs are allowed, by invitation, to get on the furniture. This is an important point: Dogs must wait to be invited onto furniture and must get off when directed to do so. Those are the Furniture Rules in my household. Thor either learned get "off" the furniture in his former home OR he gets off in response to any verbal from me. I haven't tested it to see which it is but I am pleased when he instantly gets off the bed in response to my verbal cue. (It should be said that he rarely gets on the bed; only when he is excited and Glitter is already up there.) One other thing about Furniture Rules: a dog in my household must earn the right, through good behavior, to be allowed on the furniture at all. Throughout her life, Vada had limited furniture privileges. When allowed on furniture, she became "full of herself" and started being too bossy.   She would sometimes beat up other dogs in the house. So her furniture use was restricted to nil for most of her life.

2. "Business," as in "Do your business" or "Tend to Business" tells my dogs to hurry up and pee! Thor's previous owners introduced this, and I thought that Thor understood it. Until I realized that I was just really good at predicting when he was going to pee and saying it then! He had trained me well! Now, two months later, I do think he knows this word and it's intended meaning. At last.

3. "In your crate" or "Get in your crate" have an obvious meaning. Thor definitely learned this before he came into my home. His understanding has not generalized to all circumstances, however, and is most reliable if I'm preparing food or refilling his water bowl.

4. "Settle" (or "Settle Down") is used to get the dog to relax. When I cue this, I want the dog to lie down and be quiet. I look for other signs of relaxation as well, lack of muscle tension in the body and face, relaxed ear position, lack of panting (unless it is very hot), etc. So far, I have used this with Thor only when he is acting agitated in his crate. I'm really not sure how he learned it, but he is quite good (reliable) at settling when I ask for it. Sometimes his reward is simply (I assume) he feels better; sometimes I then release him from the crate.

5. "Hush" means the dog should stop whatever vocalizations are being made. "Settle" incorporates "hush" but asks for more. "Hush" asks only for quiet.

6. "Sit," "Down," and "Stand" are what I refer to as position cues.
"Sit" means plunk your butt on the ground as soon as I say so. I like my dogs to sit as a default behavior in place of jumping...no cue given. When meeting someone new, I may cue the sit even though I expect it to be automatic; I want to ensure that "Sit" happens! When cued, it is used to gain control. I teach my dogs an automatic sit when walking at heel and I stop. I also use it at the start line in agility. I like it as a stay position in a variety of circumstances. I also use it when needed to work a dog in a small space (to calm him or in warm-ups for sport). I like puppy push-ups ("sit-down-sit-down-sit," etc) and interspersed with targeting (ex. "touch (my hand)-sit-touch").   I like using "sit" in teaching "stay" and other impulse control games.
"Down" means lie down. My goal is that both "sit" and "down" happen quickly and on the first cue. I am less likely to ask the dog to "stay" when lying down. If I've asked for a "stay," I want the dog paying attention to me which I think is less likely from a "down."
"Stand" means get on all four feet and freeze. No foot movement is allowed. Head and tail movements are fine. As mentioned above, I use this only in the obedience ring or on the table for TDAA agility competition. In general, I think the "stand" position invites movement so, unless I am training it as an obedience exercise, I'm highly unlikely to ask for a "stay" in that position. I will, however, be teaching Thor to "stand" and brace himself so that I can use his sturdy body for balance. We've begun that process.

7. "Stay" means maintain the position you are in until released.

8. "Okay" is my casual release word. I define it as permission for the dog to move out of position. I use a different release ("Gee") in agility where it means for the dog to explode forward.

9. "Let go" (or "Leggo") means Release What You Are Holding (into my hand). I teach this by praising every time the dog brings me something and then trading for something of equal or higher value. If it is safe to do so, I like to give the dog back the object he has presented to me. Thor, for example, would much rather give me his ball if I then return the ball to him (NOT by throwing it!) than if I give him a food treat. Balls are much higher value to Thor than food. Unless he is really hungry or I'm using a piece of steak!

10. "Get It!" tells the dog to take in his mouth whatever I am holding, have thrown, or am pointing out. It requires that the dog choose the correct object to "get!" Like every dog owner, I expect a lot!

11. "Heel" indicates that I want the dog to walk nicely on my left. If I am not moving, he should assume a sitting position in line with my left knee/hip. "By Me" asks for the same behavior but on my right side. I have just begun to introduce these words to Thor now that he is more comfortable at my side. And all of his training to date has been without a leash. I use food or a toy to position and reward him.

I once attended a seminar given by the late Patty Ruzzo whose training slogan was, "Got a problem? Put a cookie on it!" She had a room of about 40 dog/handler teams and was teaching heeling in a 20 x 20 foot space. She has us all up on the floor at once with short leads and handfuls of cookies. The cookies were held directly in front of the dog's face, and we were encouraged to let our dogs nibble as we walked. At the time, I had been competing in AKC obedience with Vada and it was Vada who was with me at this seminar.  Vada who, in her younger days, had strong dog-aggressive and possession tendencies. Despite the crowdedness, every dog was heeling beautifully! Even Vada! It was years ago and was one of the things that convinced me to use lots of food treats in training.

Headaches

2010-03-20T17:26:00.000-07:00

I've known for some time that there is a higher incidence of migraine headaches among people who have MS compared to the general population. But I had never had one before this week. I have done little but rest in bed for six days. Poor Thor. He is bouncing off the walls of his crate.

Despite the headache, Thor gave me a good laugh with his new crouch-and-stalk imitation of a border collie! It happened when I was getting ready to toss a ball for him. Funny fellow!

Presentation

2010-03-11T11:16:00.000-08:00

I introduced Thor to my family and friends this past weekend. On Saturday, my mother and two sisters came to take me out to lunch. I exercised the dogs in the backyard prior to my family's arrival and crated them with stuffed kongs. I wanted Thor to make a good impression, not be jumping all over them! I think my mother was surprised at how big he already is. At lunch, she said she felt a little guilty because she had encouraged me to take him in. Which, of course, is nonsense. I took him only because I like him! And because I see potential in him. And I've always had in the back of my mind that if he proves to be too much for me (because of my limitations), that I can provide him with basic training and then place him. But it is fully my intention to keep him.

On Sunday, Glitter and I were scheduled to attend agility run-throughs at Sugar Bush Farm. I brought Thor along in order to have him fitted with a front-clip harness after verifying that the New England Border Collie Rescue rep would be there. I left Thor in a crate in the car for the first part of the day to focus on Glitter. She was not running well, very slow with lots of sniffing. I think she is sore from all her roughhousing with Thor!

When I brought Thor into the building, Barb fitted the harness very quickly. My friend Jody (who has papillions, see photo) was especially taken with my boy, snatching the leash and taking him out for a walk! The harness worked great! Jody suggested keeping a short hold on the leash as Thor wanted to walk out in front of her rather than beside her. Barb showed me a leash with an extra handle up by the collar. Good idea.

Other people were interested in meeting Thor and hearing his story. One woman, in particular, had some helpful advice for me. She said he looked "well-bred" which was nice to hear. She also advised me to keep his nails clipped short so that his feet would stay "nice and tight." She agreed with previous opinions I'd heard about male weimaraners being slow to mature, slow to housetrain. Thor had carried a cloth ball into the building but dropped it once inside. Someone (very smart) said he'd lost interest in it due to stress. I commented that he liked to carry things but that he had not chewed anything up. I thought this unusual for a puppy. I wondered if this might be something that would kick in later in a slow-to-grow-up pup. My friends suggested that it would, indeed, crop up later. A late puppyhood phase. Great.

Home again, I walked the dogs, then crated Thor. I left the harness on him thinking I'd want to walk him one more time and not sure I'd be able to get it on again easily. Thor was unusually quiet in his crate. When I went to get him for one more "practice" walk, I discovered he had chewed the harness! Only the second thing he has chewed, the first was a new camera bag I'd bought and left atop his crate. Destructive phase is kicking in. But both these were my silly mistakes. Second time around, lesson learned. Maybe.

So I'll be picking up another new harness at the farm next weekend. All to benefit New England Border Collie Rescue. Thor knew what he was doing!

Titers

2010-03-08T05:36:00.000-08:00

I'm doing a happy titer dance! The vet just called, and Thor's titer levels are protective!! I'm Soo Glad I stuck to my guns!!

Playful

2010-03-06T15:57:00.000-08:00

Thor loves having things in his mouth. Yet he is gentle and not destructive. They say a soft mouth is a weimaraner trait but I wouldn't have expected it from a puppy. Puppies chew! But not Thor.

When I first met Thor (pictured) at around nine weeks, he had a blast playing with my shoelaces. Last night, he untied my shoe. This bodes well, I think, for teaching him to be an assistance dog.

This afternoon Thor and Glitterbug gave me a big laugh. We went outside, and Thor went over to the ball bin to get a ball. After a bit of running around, both dogs stopped. Thor dropped the ball. Glitter just stood there and barked. Thor pushed the ball with his nose. Glitter barked. Thor picked the ball up again. Glitter kept barking. Thor dropped the ball and batted it around with his front feet. Glitter never made a move for the ball, acting completely oblivious to it. All she wanted to do was bark at Thor.

For about ten minutes Thor kept teasing and trying to get Glitter interested in the ball. Finally, Glitter lost all interest and turned to walk away. Leaving his ball, Thor followed Glitter toward the house, not wanting to take a chance of being left outside. Suddenly, Glitter whipped around, running back to grab the ball! Then she raced around the yard, ball in her mouth, with Thor in hot pursuit. I laughed and laughed. Wished I'd had my camera out for THAT!

"Give Me That Ball!"

A Chip on His Shoulder

2010-03-04T15:54:00.000-08:00

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.

A Possible Service Dog

2010-03-02T14:05:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons I agreed to take Thor was my own increasing disability. In the week before he arrived, I fell three times.

In December 1989, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. For years, I had relapses and remissions. Most of the time I was fine but during a relapse I would have difficulty walking and holding things. During most relapses, with one leg dragging, I was able to run sideways. My little dog Peabody was very adaptable to the changes in me, and we worked very hard to develop distance skills so that we could continue to run agility regardless of my speed. In 2008, my doctor told me that my disease had progressed. It was now classified as secondary progressive MS. That means that I will not have the dramatic relapses of the past, but also that I will not recover from whatever deficits come. I can no longer run. My balance is poor. I drop things. In addition, I have cognitive deficits involving memory, word retrieval, and multi-tasking. Throughout the course of my illness I have had bouts of severe

depression. These are all part and parcel of the damage to the central

nervous system that MS causes.

In thinking about adopting Thor, I knew I would have a big project on my hands. But I also knew that he was going to be a big strong dog who could learn to help me with balance and getting to my feet. I knew also that he could be taught to pick up dropped items. My border collie, Vada, had been a big help to me at home. Due to her unpredictability (aggression) around other dogs, she could never be a full service dog. But at home, she helped to steady me. She learned to pull off my socks. She learned to pick up anything I asked for such as pens and pencils and articles of clothing. She could pick up a quarter off my linoleum kitchen floor.

Since Thor was already friendly, exposed to young children, good with other dogs, the right size and coat type, I thought he'd make an excellent service dog. I was further encouraged the day I took him to the vet. Even though he was awful at walking on a lead, once we got inside he sat quietly in the waiting room. In the exam room, he lay down, completely relaxed. If he was able to do that at five months, he'd certainly be able to as an adult.

One of my next projects will be to introduce him to adaptive equipment. I sometimes use a cane, crutches, or forearm crutches. I expect that my future holds a walker and/or wheelchair.

Show Me a Trick

2010-03-01T06:15:00.000-08:00

Glitterbug, Thor and I played this game for the first time today. It's a great game but one I have never played with my dogs before. Here's the gist: I say, "Show Me a Trick!" Then each dog gets rewarded for any cute/good behavior shown. This morning's reward was string cheese.

Glitter showed me sit, down, spin (both directions), and lots of back ups.

Thor showed me sit, down, bow, and 2 get-in-your-crates.

All tricks were offered, not cued. Each time I saw a "trick," I said, "That's a good trick!" before delivering the treat. What a fun game!

This game gets the dogs thinking (Thor did some jumping up but those "tricks" were ignored). It's fun and silly. Some people require that it be a different trick for each treat. I didn't because we've never played before; I wanted to keep the rate of reinforcement high while establishing a new game. My verbiage meant nothing to the dogs but kept the game silly and fun for me!

Thor's Private Game:

When Thor outgrew the collar he came in, I replaced it with an old one I had. This one is two big and the excess length hangs down about 6 inches. While I was working on my computer, about six feet from Thor's crate, he started to chew and pull on the hanging tab. I must have been really focused on my work because I wasn't aware that Thor's antics pulled the buckle from its hole, and he was collarless. Mission accomplished! He didn't chew on the collar any further. Silly dog!

Those Who Wait

2010-02-28T06:34:00.000-08:00

Thor is learning that "all good things come to those who wait."

When we go outside and again when we come in, I have been having Thor sit while I put on/take off my boots. That's pretty routine now. So I've upped my criteria. He now has to stay sitting while I open the door, waiting for my release. I started by simply putting my hand on the doorknob. If he remained sitting, he got a treat and we went outside. If he got up, we simply tried again. Next step was to open the door while he remained sitting. Just a crack at first. Again, stay sitting, get a treat. Get up, the door closes and we start over. When we progressed to the door opening fully, I slipped my fingers through his collar to ensure success. This morning, he stayed sitting with door fully open and no fingers! His reward for staying put is sometimes a food treat and always a release to go outside. A bonus to this game is that Thor is beginning to understand a verbal release ("okay").

What Thor Knows

2010-02-26T15:31:00.000-08:00

1. Housetraining is coming along well. He has an occasional "pee" accident in his crate but they are few and far between. I can get all bent out of shape over it or I can accept that that is where he is right now. I prefer the latter. Several people have suggested to me that he probably has an immature bladder and will grow out of it. I have been allowing him brief periods of freedom in the house; no accidents! I really think that Thor learned the basic idea/expectation of housetraining in his previous home. He always gets vocal when he needs to go out, and I didn't teach that. And he always tells the truth. When we go out, Thor grabs a stick or a ball, then quickly finds a place to pee. If I want to stay out, so does he. If I want to go in right away (because it is cold and windy and the middle of the night!), then so does he.

2. Thor understands the word "sit." He responds better to the verbal cue than the hand signal. The hand signal seems to be interpreted by Thor as an invitation to jump. So I've dropped it for now. May try to invent a new signal...

During his vet visit, the vet asked Thor to sit 4 or 5 times, and he did every time. It was a big surprise to me to discover that he could transfer that skill to a new person.

I had been frustrated that Thor was rocking backward into his sits. This meant that if he was walking next to me and I stopped and asked him to sit, Thor ended up sitting well behind me. I asked several people who are involved with competitive obedience for ideas to address this. None had any suggestions for me. So here's what I've done. I come to a stop and say "sit." I have food in my right hand, held forward of my body. My left hand slides down Thor's back, no pressure, just a reminder. It's working well and his "sits" are much better!

3. I have not done much with hand targeting simply because it wasn't fun for me. Thor wasn't getting it. (I need to be "clicked!") Early today, I played hand targeting games with Glitter while Thor watched. Tonight, Thor is targeting!! Dogs do learn from other dogs, no question.

4. Lying down was very hard for Thor to learn. For some reason, known only to him, he wasn't comfortable with the idea. So we played click/treat for approximations--head bobs, front foot movement, reaching forward and down. Within the last few days, he quickly and happily lies down on a verbal cue and/or a hand signal. Wow. He actually "pops" down the way my previous dog, Peabody, did. Anybody believe in reincarnation? [grin] At times, he will even offer a default down.

5. Thor goes into his crate on cue, "Get in your crate," another skill he brought with him from this previous home. Now that I am giving him bits of house freedom, I have noticed that if I am near the treat cupboard or fixing dog dinners, Thor will go into his crate. Wishful thinking. Good boy!

Next priorities:

1) Loose-leash walking. I've been researching front clip harnesses; wish I could try one on and play with it before purchase but that's not going to be possible.

2) Change in location. Once we have an appropriate harness, I'll have to plan trips to various parks and parking lots to begin to expose Thor to different places and to generalize his learning.

3) Find a class in basic obedience, manners, tricks, or foundations for agility. Anything just to get Thor out and about.

4) Handling. Thor needs to accept handling of his feet, mouth, tail. He does not like having his nails clipped; it's the only time he puts his mouth (gently) on my hands.

Obedience

2010-02-25T09:32:00.000-08:00

For a long time, I've been uncomfortable with the use of the word "obedience" in regard to dog training. But I haven't been able to come up with an alternative that I like. I recently settled on "cooperation." I prefer the word "teach" to the word "train." Years ago, I discarded the word "command" in favor of "cue" or "cue word." Why does it matter? What difference does semantics make?

Let's look at the definitions (provided by YourDictionary.com) of the following pairs of words.

"Obedience":
1. the state, fact, or an instance of obeying, or a willingness to obey; submission
versus
"Cooperation"
1.the act of cooperating; joint effort or operation

I don't want blind obedience from my dogs, and I don't want submission. I want each dog to be a well-behaved partner and pal. I want my dogs to develop as the thinking creatures that they are. A service dog, for example, should not "obey" if doing so would place his handler in danger (example: handler asks the dog to guide him across the street but dog refuses because a speeding car is coming). An agility dog should not "obey" if doing so would put his own safety in jeopardy (example: dog steps onto a contact obstacle and then does not go up...later it is determined that the obstacle was not properly stabilized). Submissive behavior in dogs is an automatic response. I don't want my dogs on automatic; I want them thinking. In short, I want my dogs to have an attitude of cooperation. I want them to play/work with me because they want to, because it is fun and rewarding to do so, not because they "must."

"Train"
6. to discipline or condition (animals) to perform tricks or obey commands
versus
"Teach"
1.to show or help [someone] to learn...to do something
2.to give lessons, to guide the studies of; instruct

The word "discipline" has developed a connotation of punishment in common usage. In fact, self-discipline is a very positive thing. In the above definition, however, the implication is the the animal is coerced into performing or obeying. Certainly not how I want to teach my dogs. Teaching, as opposed to training, implies gentle guidance toward understanding. I want my dogs to understand their tasks rather than doing them because they "have to."

"Command"
1. (tv) to give an order or orders to; direct with authority
1. (iv) to exercise power or authority; be in control; act as a commander
versus
"Cue"
3. anything serving as a signal to do something

There is a subtle and not-so-subtle difference here. A command requires obedience. A command indicates that one individual has power over the other. There is a militaristic meaning inherent in the word. A command requires compliance. There is an implication that non-compliance is a bad thing and will result in a negative consequence, a punishment if you will. A cue is more forgiving. If my dog does not heed a cue, it is my responsibility to understand why that is so. Does the dog understand the given cue? Does the dog understand the cue in this particular setting? Does the dog understand the cue with distractions? I cannot assume understanding. Because I expect my dogs to live in my world (not a "natural" world for them), I must ensure that they understand the workings of that world. Through my signals, I provide them with direction and understanding. If a dog seems to ignore a cue, I have to examine whether or not it is completely understood. I have to give the dog the benefit of the doubt. No commands, just suggestions. Most of the time, the dog will realize that my suggestions make sense!

Portrait of Thor

2010-02-21T17:09:00.000-08:00

Six months old today!

Goofed Again

2010-02-20T08:48:00.000-08:00

When I took Thor to his vet appointment, he pulled me eagerly into the building and wanted to greet a little bulldog who was just inside the door. Afterwards, he dragged me back outside. I was afraid of falling down he pulled so hard. Note to self: work on loose-leash walking!

The training I do with Thor in the house and in the (fenced) yard is all without a leash. No problem getting him to stay with me. But put a leash on him and he pulls, pulls, pulls. So yesterday I decided to take him with me (on lead) to walk to my mailbox (about 100 feet from my front door). I loaded up my pocket with lots of little bits of cheese and hotdog. I thought that with the food held in front of his nose, Thor would want to stay next to me. Wrong!

A neighbor's dog was tied out and barking, within our sight but 3 houses away. Thor found that very exciting. He pulled, he jumped, he circled me tangling me in the lead and knocking me to the ground. Between Thor's bouncing and pulling, and my weakness, it was several minutes before I was on my feet again. The return trip was equally difficult. When we got to the house, Thor tore up onto the porch slamming my hand into the porch railing. It hurt! After we got inside and Thor was back in his crate, I sat down and cried. My hand hurt, and I kept thinking I was in over my head with this big strong wild dog. Finally, my thoughts became calmer and I went online to find a front-clip harness.

Setbacks (and I Goof)

2010-02-18T08:09:00.000-08:00

After 17 days of a dry crate, Thor peed in his crate once more. I don't think I had changed anything re frequency of trips out. I may have taken his water away a bit later than usual. But I'm puzzled and waxing philosophical. I do believe that for learning to be solidified, backsliding is inevitable. In fact, setbacks are an important part of the learning process. To forget (or seem to forget) and then relearn makes a behavior more reliable. When I was taking piano lessons, my teacher would have me learn a piece well, then put it away and forget about it. Weeks later, she would bring it out again and have me relearn the piece. I think that was a wise way of teaching. So if I can let myself believe that Thor's "accident" will make his housetraining stronger, then that is what I'll believe.

With the schedule for taking Thor outside that I have set up, I am exhausted. Then, when he did his backsliding, I was exhausted, discouraged, a little bit angry. So the next time I was working on his obedience skills, I got a bit rough with him (pushed him into a sit when he didn't sit "fast enough" for me). He was shocked. He froze and didn't want to get up again. Poor Thor. I know better! I need to get some sleep so that I don't slip again into those old training patterns. I am committed to positive training!

For the most part, Thor's obedience skills are coming along very well. He sits when I cue him to sit, he offers a sit when he's unsure of what to do. I've been teaching him to maintain position (sit) until a verbal release (okay) without my having to say "stay." That's the expectation in shutzhund, and I like it. One of the first books I read about drive and allowing the dog to push the training was Shutzhund Obedience: Training in Drive by Sheila Booth with Gottfried Dildei. I later read Sheila's book, Purely Positive Training. These were among my introductions to a better/kinder way of training. I later attended a puppy training workshop presented by Sheila, and we've had several conversations at agility trials. If I could be half the trainer that Sheila is...

Naming Thor

2010-02-17T12:50:00.000-08:00

One of the good things that Thor learned in his previous home was name recognition. He knows his name and runs to me when he hears it.

I've been looking over Thor's AKC registration paper and thinking about giving him a more formal registered name. Since he knows his name and has a good association with it, I don't want to change it. Normally, I make it a policy to change the name of a rescue dog so they get a fresh start. I don't think that's necessary with Thor. I'm thinking of making it Thoreau which has good associations for me because of Walden Pond. My sister says it's too "regal" of a name for a goofy dog. She likes Thornton. I told her that Thor is only goofy because he is a puppy, but he will grow into any name.

The article in Dog World (March 2010), uses the following words in describing weimaraners: aristocratic, courageous, intelligent, elegant. And from the AKC Complete Dog Book: friendly, fearless, alert, and obedient.

I'm thinking "Lakewood Thoreau." Lakewood is the informal name of the neighborhood where I live. I like the connection to nature in keeping with Thoreau. And, of course, Thor was the god of thunder which suits him, too.

I can't let the subject of AKC trip by without a word of criticism. According to the AKC standard for weimaraners, the tail MUST be docked (a non-docked tail is a disqualification in the breed ring) and the dewclaws MUST be removed. I swore to myself years ago that I would not own a dog that was docked or cropped. I think it is outrageous that the AKC requires the maiming of certain breeds. I also think that both tails and dewclaws have specific purposes, especially in a performance dog. I suspect that dogs without them are at a disadvantage when jumping and turning at speed.

It makes me want to cry when I look at Thor's docked tail, hairless where the cut was made. And I wonder if, like human amputees, dogs who are docked and/or cropped feel phantom pain? Has anyone ever looked into this?

The Importance of Balls, Part II

2010-02-15T13:24:00.000-08:00

Since his purchase, Thor has had recurring drippy eyes. When his previous owners brought this concern up with the vet, they felt it was not taken seriously. So, during Thor's vaccination visit last week, I brought it up again. The vet's response was that the tear ducts could be flushed while Thor is anaesthetized for neutering. I informed her that I would be delaying neutering until Thor was around a year old. The vet objected to this, saying that 5 months was the optimal age. Having worked in an animal shelter for three years, I fully understand the problems of pet overpopulation and the importance of canine sterilization. I participated in the euthanasia of hundreds of unwanted animals. The shelter where I worked was a proponent of early-age spay/neuter and had a policy of neutering all animals prior to placement. This meant that puppies and kittens were often being sterilized at 8 weeks of age. I did not come lightly to my decision to hold off on neutering Thor.

Chris Zink is a veterinarian who is well-known and respected for her knowledge of the canine athlete. She has written extensively on canine structure and how it relates to athletic performance in dogs. I own two of her books which are extremely informative. In the packet that was provided by Thor's breeder was an article on the importance of waiting to neuter a weimaraner pup. As it turns out, it is all dogs who probably should be neutered after puberty. There are many deleterious effects of early (pre-pubescent) neutering of both males and females.

The first risk of early neutering is an alteration in the growth rate of certain bones. Apparently, growth plates are reliant on sex hormones to close at the appropriate time. Failure to close leads to abnormal growth which shows up as tall "leggy" dogs whose bones are not in the correct proportions to one another. As a result of this disproportion, dogs neutered prior to the development of adult sex hormones are more likely than those neutered later to develop hip displasia. In addition, one study showed that all neutered animals have a higher incidence of rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament. Both of these conditions may require surgery to repair.

Another study found that a variety of cancers occur at an increased rate in spayed and neutered canines. Those neutered prior to one year of aged had an increased risk of bone cancer. Since cancers are rampant on older dogs, I believe we must pay attention to these studies as one way to curb the incidence.

There are behavioral effects to early neutering as well. Those neutered early exhibited an increase (to my surprise) of sexual behaviors in both males and females. Noise phobias were increased in both genders while females developed more fearful behaviors in general, and males exhibited more aggression. I read long ago that dog aggression is most common between two spayed females.

As a result of my reading, and knowing that Thor will be well supervised and managed, I can only come to one conclusion. It is in the best interests of my dog to wait until one year (or thereabouts) prior to neutering.

Vaccination

2010-02-13T16:40:00.000-08:00

In the hubbub of changing homes and getting Thor settled in here, the date for his third distemper/parvo vaccine came and went. He was about a month late in receiving it when I took him in last Thursday. I had read information provided by the breeder about adverse reactions to vaccines in weimaraners which included the recommendation not to combine vaccines. Armed with that info, I asked if we could separate the distemper and parvo into two shots separated by a week in time. The vet told me that they don't get them that way so it wasn't possible. As long as we weren't doing the DP and rabies together, from what I read, it should be okay. So he had the vaccine. The vet also told me that, because of the delay, he would need to have a fourth shot.

Within a few hours of the injection, Thor had blowout liquid diarrhea. I thought back to hearing he'd been sick with diarrhea and vomiting in his previous home. So I contacted the previous owner to ask about the timing of that illness in relation to his DP vaccine. She verified that he had gotten sick within 48 hours of the injection. Later, I bumped into Thor, and he held his back leg up as if in pain for several moments. Turns out, painful joints and pain-to-touch are among the symptoms of an adverse reaction to vaccine along with diarrhea. Fever and lehargy can also occur. More serious reactions include seizures, muscular atrophy, incoordination and weakness. In the worst cases, death may result. Luckily, Thor did not exibit any of the severe symptoms. Still, the diarrhea was alarming to me in its severity. According to his previous owners, it was the earlier episodes of diarrhea that lead to Thor soiling his crate. No wonder.

Dr. Jean Dodds cites a recommendation to "refrain from vaccinating these animals [those who have had an adverse reaction to vaccine] until at least after puberty."  The rabies vaccine is known to bring on neurological reactions in susceptible animals; the Weimaraner Club of America says that no weimaraner should receive the rabies vaccine prior to 6 month old. Thor was vaccinated at 4 months. His previous owners had presented the vet with the breeder's recommendation to wait another 2 months, but the vet insisted he have it earlier. Thor had a similar reaction (vomiting/diarrhea) to that vaccine.

Dr. Dodds conducted a study of weimaraners in which adverse reactions to vaccination included high fever, cyclic episodes of pain, diarrhea, lethargy, anorexia, enlarged lymph nodes, coughing, pneumonia, depression, seizures, refusal to stand or move. Most cases were in male puppies. Outcome for Dodds' subjects were good for half the group; other puppies died or remained chronically ill as adults.   Going forward, measurement of titres is recommended along with avoidance of unnecessary vaccines and "tailoring a specific minimal vaccination protocol for dogs of breeds...known to be at increased risk for adverse reactions." The puppy series should be started later, at 9-10 weeks, according to Dodds. Avoidance of revaccination in dogs who have already had an adverse reaction is recommended. Needless to say, I called my vet and canceled the appointment for DP #4.

Thirty-six hours after the vaccine, Thor was much improved although he did vomit once beyond that time frame.  During the first day and a half following vaccination, he ate significantly less than usual.  For a puppy who normally doesn't notice pain (he does wipe-outs on the ice in my yard regularly and jumps up to keep on running), he was particularly sensitive to a minor bump. All in all, I wish I had investigated sooner the special needs of weimaraners and vaccination. I certainly will take a protective/proactive role in dealing with any veterinarian who questions the research.

Now two and a half days later, Thor seems to have fully recovered. Keeping my fingers crossed.

The Importance of Balls

2010-02-11T11:40:00.000-08:00

The weimaraner is historically a hunting dog known for his soft mouth. Right from the start, I was amazed at how gentle Thor is when taking treats from my hands.

There is a bin of balls (racquetball & tennis balls) that sits in my backyard. In her youth, Vada would retrieve (after the behavior had been taught with a clicker). Glitterbug will chase balls that I throw but will not bring them back. Both dogs have always ignored the bin unless I initiate a game.

Yesterday, Thor discovered the ball bin! Now, when he goes outside, he goes straight to the bin and gets a ball. He carries the ball proudly around the yard, even while peeing, and likes to shake "kill" it. If I take the ball to throw for him, he will chase it but doesn't want me to take it again. So for now, I am simply praising him for carrying it and, more importantly, allowing him to keep the ball when he comes to me after being called. That's a hard one for him; he hasn't quite learned to trust that he can get near me without losing his precious ball. But he is learning. I do take it away when we come back in the house as I don't want him to chew it up and risk swallowing pieces. He lets go very well but I can tell he is disappointed!

Jumping Up

2010-02-10T12:28:00.000-08:00

I first met Thor when he was about 9 weeks old. At that time, his owners were already complaining that he was jumping up. I was glad they wanted to address this behavior while Thor was still a tiny puppy. We went out into the backyard where I showed them how to ignore all jumping behavior and wait for Thor to sit. As soon as he sat, I said "yes" and fed him a treat. Within just a few reps, Thor had it!

It was a couple of months before I saw Thor again. I was amazed at how much he had grown and by his complete out-of-control behavior. He greeted me by jumping up. I turned my back. Luckily, I was near the wall. Thor pinned me to the wall keeping his front feet on my back. I had instructed his owners to do nothing. I already realized how people focused Thor is and felt that saying anything to him or pushing him off would be reinforcing to him (as it is to most dogs). I waited. And waited. This was the most persistent (and attention-seeking) puppy I had ever met. It was probably a full minute (and it felt a lot longer!) before I felt Thor's feet leave my back. I whipped around and started treating him, lots of little treats one right after another while verbally praising.

Thor never did that to me again. He would still jump on me but it was a gentler jump, less desperate. I reintroduced the Treat for Sit game which, as before, he picked up very quickly. I also introduced him to the Look Away game (aka Doggie Zen) in which the person holds a treat out to the side at arm's length and shoulder height. The dog will naturally look at the treat; you wait for the dog to look away from the treat and toward you. The ultimate goal is for the dog to make and maintain eye contact. Thor got this game right away! He only glanced at the treat and then looked right into my eyes. "Yes," treat! Another confirmation of how much people matter to this dog. Connecting with me was more important than focusing on the treat.

After that day, I started working with Thor once a week, then twice a week, then daily. One of my early frustrations was Thor's resistance to being at my side. I could lure him into position but as soon as I asked for a sit, he'd flip back to being in front. I rewarded that anyway because I felt it was more important to develop our relationship, to establish myself as a provider of treats, and to help him understand this whole training game.

The other frustration I experienced early on was that Thor could not be lured into a lying down position. By the time I introduced the concept of "down," I had introduced Thor to the clicker. So I worked on the position by clicking and treating head bobs and any front foot movement. It took several days of this before he would go all the way down. The first time he did, he got a jackpot of treats! A month later, he still does not like to lie down, and I have to start each session rewarding approximations. As soon as I get a full down, the lesson ends. He gets treats and playtime but no repetition of this behavior that is so hard for him. Baby steps, baby steps...

A-ok

2010-02-09T07:18:00.000-08:00

Urinalysis came back showing nothing. Meanwhile, it has been almost 48 hours since Thor last peed in his crate! We are making progress. Baby steps, baby steps...

Housetraining Update

2010-02-07T08:50:00.000-08:00

I swear Thor understands that he is supposed to pee and poop outside. He always whines (increasing to barking if I'm not quick enough) when he needs to go out. On Friday (two days ago) I was in the shower when he started to whine. I hurried to get out, dry off, and get dressed, but it was too late; Thor had peed in his crate (no bedding). But I am convinced that he did not want to do that; he had TRIED to alert me! I was able to get a urine sample which I dropped off Friday morning. Being the weekend, I won't have results until tomorrow but have my fingers crossed. I'm hoping there IS an infection so that he can go on antibiotics, and I'll be able to finish housetraining him in short order.

Yesterday, Glitter and I went to Albany to play in the Capital District Agility Fun League. I have a couple of friends there who are more familiar with weimaraners than I. One of them brought me the March issue of Dog World which features the breed. Very helpful. I was also told that male weims are slow to mature and, as a result, can be slow to housetrain. Kind of like little (human) boys! So, if there is no infection, I may just have to wait for his bladder to mature. I can deal with that. As long as I know there will come an end to this (almost) constant peeing!

Housetraining & Play

2010-02-04T07:27:00.000-08:00

Thor peed in his crate again. I think he may have had other episodes in the crate but my sense of smell is so impaired that I cannot be sure. I am taking him out every hour, and he almost always pees outside. At this point, I am starting to wonder if there is something amiss. I'm going to try to get a urine sample for testing.

I'm now giving him brief periods of (supervised) freedom in the house. He's doing very well with this. He found an old tennis ball which he likes to carry around. He will release it when asked and chase it when thrown. He'll return to me with the ball but is more reluctant to release it the second time. I haven't asked for a third! I am so thrilled that he likes to play and is including me in his games. I'll probably introduce tugging soon; I wanted to be sure he had a good release first. I'm thinking I'll put the release on cue before we start tugging.

Plant Power

2010-02-02T14:04:00.000-08:00

A funny thing about Thor: he loves plants! When we go outside, he always finds some plant material to pick up, carry, play with, chew. It's funny because he is not a chewer of other things. Of course, adolescence has not hit, and I'm sure he will go through a chewing/destructive phase! I hope that his obsession with plants will translate into my using play to reward him as training progresses.

Eyes are changing color...blue to gold.

Piddle Progress

2010-02-01T08:19:00.000-08:00

No accidents the past two nights. In fact, Thor went about 6 hours each night without needing to pee (despite the fact that I took him out; I'm not taking any chances).

When we go outside, he piddles right away if he needs to. If Glitter is out though, she's too distracting. Thor would rather play than piddle! I've been trying to take him out alone.

Once he has relieved himself, it's exercise time. Because I can't run, here is what we've devised. I walk back and forth in a line about 10-15 feet long. Thor races past me to the edge of the yard where there's a fence. I turn around to walk my little distance and Thor races past me and up the HP ramp to the back door. We repeat this as many times as possible. Until it gets too cold to be out any longer! So Thor is covering about 80 feet to my 12ish. It's a good arrangement and one I'm very glad we were able to develop. I do have to keep walking though. If I stop, Thor comes and sits at my side. A nice thing!

Nights

2010-01-30T11:25:00.000-08:00

Nights and days run into each other as I'm taking Thor out every 1-2 hours during the day, every 2-3 hours at night. Insomnia when I try to sleep. Last night was different. Thor was quiet from 9pm until I got up at 4am. He had urinated in his crate. So...the question is, did he make a ruckus and I, somehow, slept through it? Or did he not say he needed to go out? He's been so good about indicating his needs that it seems unlikely he would have stayed quiet and just peed. On the other hand, am I really soooo tired that I would sleep through his barking. The mystery will remain...

While I was waiting for the bleached crate to dry, I took Thor outside (where he peed again), and we did some training. He is very good at sitting on cue. So I asked him to sit and then took 2 steps. He got up. Two steps was too much. I moved just my upper body. Thor jumped up on me. Still too much. Okay, so I handfed him (in a sit) while moving my upper body. Success! Within 5 minutes, I could move my upper body while he sat and then received his reward. Something to build on. Smart boy.

Ten Good Things About Thor

2010-01-29T10:46:00.000-08:00

1. He's people-focused and very friendly.

2. He makes great eye contact (voluntarily).

3. He takes food from me gently.

4. He's curious.

5. He's playful and likes toys.

6.   He's smart.
7.   He's fearless (almost)*.
8.   He's respectful of my old dog.
9.   Smooth coat (minimal grooming).
10. He's tough (falling/bumping doesn't faze him).

*Last night's wind scared him when we were outside.
He's wary (not scared) when meeting new dogs.

Play Date

2010-01-27T12:34:00.000-08:00

Thor had his first play date! We went to Sugar Bush Farm for some puppy training and play. Most of my work with Thor has been without a leash in a fenced yard so I was curious how he would be on a leash. Because he is so tuned in to me, I thought he'd be pretty good. Wrong! He wanted to pull and, for a 5 month old puppy, boy is he strong! I used food to walk him into the building; it wasn't pretty.

Thor's initial reaction to seeing a strange dog and person was to crouch down and tuck his tail. He was clearly worried. I sat down with him and, while Kathy and I chatted, I fed him treats. When he seemed to feel more relaxed, we introduced the two dogs. Kathy was working an 11 month old border collie who had come into rescue about a week ago. Both dogs were interested in each other but tentative and polite.

Next we played some mat games. Kathy had just introduced Jack to the clicker. I've been using a clicker with Thor but I don't think he understands that "click" means treat. That's undoubtedly my fault because I didn't spend much time charging it. I should have spent longer with click/treat, click/treat, click/treat, etc. in our initial session and continued that until he was looking expectantly for the treat. He's also not all that excited by food. In my backyard, he will play for his regular kibble but I was glad that I had taken plenty of cut-up cheese for our play date.

Thor didn't seem to be aware of the mat. He moved around a lot, trying to alternatively jump on me or offering a sit as I have taught him. I moved around (which incited jumping) just enough to get Thor off the mat so he could get back on. I clicked and treated for any incidental contact with the mat. But Thor never seemed to associate the mat with the click/treat. So I started clicking for Looking at the Mat, thinking that that might bring more awareness. Well, no, it didn't seem to but Thor did seem to finally understand that click=treat! Baby steps...

We then let both dogs off leash to play. They sniffed each other briefly, then ran around briefly, but both dogs seemed more interested in the people than each other. Kathy was great at treating Thor when he approached and before he had a chance to jump. Kathy had expressed some worry that Jack might have food guarding tendencies, but we saw no evidence of that. Kathy was able to feed both dogs simultaneously or sequentially with no difficulty.

After a short play period, I took Thor outside and he peed. Yay!! Then we went back to the mats. Thor still didn't seem to realize that foot on mat means cheese but he was happy to play with me. Both Kathy and I were able to drop the leashes and both pups stayed engaged in their game. Finally, I got one look-at-the-mat-then-step-on-it that looked deliberate to me. So I jackpotted, and we called it a day.

Kathy had some great hand-outs (thanks Amy!) and also let me borrow a puppy training book. I have little experience with puppies. I have almost always gotten a young adult dog from the shelter. Puppies are too much work! People who hire me generally don't call until adolescence hits and they find their dog has become big and hard to control. I have LOTS of experience with adolescents (usually one hour at a time). When I first started working with Thor, he was the wildest, most out-of-control dog I had ever met. Now that he is getting more exercise, he has settled a bit.

I am concerned about socialization with Thor. I don't have many visitors to the house and haven't been able to locate a puppy class that meets at a suitable time. Being winter, we can't just go for walks and bump into people. So I will have to make big efforts. Today was a great start. It's hard to remember that he has been in my house for only 2 days.

Night #2

2010-01-27T05:53:00.001-08:00

Still no accidents! Thor got me up a total of SIX times...I took him out each of those times...He peed on five trips, pooped on the other. I'm glad I listened to him! However, I'm left wondering if he may have a urinary tract infection or something else going on. Water is withheld overnight so it seems odd that he would have to pee that much. If another night is the same, I'll get it vet checked.

All Is Forgotten

2010-01-26T14:47:00.000-08:00

Dogs do not generalize well. The fact that I had trained Thor to sit, come, and keep his feet off me didn't mean he would have those skills when he moved to my house. I hadn't really thought about that. But, lo and behold, when he arrived here, he had returned to a wild man, unable to pay attention or remember anything! That was my theory because it is TRUE that dogs do not generalize well!

Today, Thor will sit on cue. I didn't retrain it. My new theory is that yesterday he was under too much stress to be able to behave the way I wanted. By today, he was feeling more comfortable and, thus, able to focus. I'll need to remember that stress can cause memory loss!

We've had no housetraining accidents. Yippee!

Glitter and Thor are playing together. Racing around the yard (and digging up my poor grass). Thor has a tendency to use his front feet like a boxer, and Glitter doesn't like that. But she lets him know when he's starting to get too rough. Of the two, Glitter actually seems to have more energy!

Thor is very respectful of Vada who will be 16 years old in June. He goes slowly up to her and likes to sniff her, but he is very gentle with her. He knows.

Thank goodness for a January thaw and high temps these few days. I'm dreading the return to cold. We are spending a lot of time outside!

Our First Night

2010-01-26T05:47:00.000-08:00

We made it through the night! No accidents! Thor was crated, of course. Twice he woke up and started to vocalize so I took him out. The first time he peed; second time, nothing. That's okay. He tends to vocalize in his crate when first put in. I'm learning how hard it can be to be a cross-over trainer!

For those who don't know... A cross-over trainer is one who has abandoned the old traditionally-used (and often aversive) training methods to embrace the new scientifically-based methods. This requires ignoring all undesired behavior. In the old days, I would have reacted to barking in the crate by yelling, throwing keys, and/or a squirt of water. None of those worked very well if at all. Now, it is important that I not react at all.

This is so hard! In my head, I am yelling. I'm thinking, "What would it hurt if I squirted him?" And immediately I know that it WOULD hurt. Okay, so a squirt of water may not be physically painful. But would YOU like to squirted in the face? I know I wouldn't; and I no longer do anything to me dogs that would be unpleasant to me. So I'm being completely non-reactive and each time Thor settles down a just a wee bit faster than the time before. I did make a tiny mistake this morning. I glanced at him as he was barking. Now that is not a terrible mistake, but this is a dog who likes eye contact. So a mere glance will be rewarding to him. I don't want to let that happen again. Ignore, ignore, ignore! When he is quiet, he gets verbal praise and, sometimes, a treat.

And I am exhausted!

Success!

2010-01-25T14:28:00.001-08:00

Half and hour after eating, pee and poop! Success!

(Baby steps!)

He's Here!

2010-01-25T14:02:00.000-08:00

Pouring rain today! But at least it's warm. I played with Thor in his backyard for about 20 minutes before loading him into the crate in my car. He whined most of the ride (only about 5 min) and wouldn't take food. That is a good thing to learn about him...he doesn't eat when he's feeling stressed.

Within the first three hours here, I had him outdoors 5 times. He peed once. I fed supper just a bit ago and hope he'll poop the next time out. He's not happy about being crated; I'm ignoring his complaints. But he is having fun exploring the yard. Glitter is happy because she stole his Kong! In general, I think her nose is a little out of joint. Vada doesn't seem to notice. Interesting.

Arrival!

2010-01-25T07:18:00.000-08:00

Thor is expected to arrive at my house today!! I went over this morning and grabbed a stool sample. Now I'm waiting for the vet to not call so I'll know it is clear.

Glitterbug and I had two days of agility over the weekend so I haven't been to see Thor. I'll try to play with him before I bring him here. I hope to keep him tired enough that, in the house, he sleeps!

My first priority will be housetraining. I've set up a smaller crate than he is used to which I'll use until he outgrows it. I'm planning trips outside every half hour for pottying and play.

My second "first" priority is to teach Thor that jumping on people is not acceptable. He loves people (a good thing) but he knocks down small children and doesn't yet understand that he will get more attention if he behaves calmly. I have been ignoring all jumping (not easy to do!) and giving Thor food treats when his feet are on the ground. I have been successful outdoors where he no longer jumps on me but that hasn't translated to indoors or to other people.
I am also rewarding Thor (with food) for choosing to sit instead of jump. He is doing quite well with this concept.
Thor has been introduced to the clicker but it hasn't quite "clicked" for him. I am now using it to mark behaviors I like and hope that he will soon associate the sound with treat delivery.

If you listen carefully, you will hear a bit of dread in my voice! This will be quite an adventure!

Some Background...

2010-01-21T14:40:00.000-08:00

Thor was purchased at 8 weeks from a breeder in Massachusetts. The buyers were given a training book and a purchase agreement that required training classes, neutering, and a return to the breeder should he need rehoming. His new family included a toddler and an infant.

He was taken to the vet twice by his new family. He received follow-up shots and two doses of de-wormer. He has had drippy eyes since his purchase; that was pointed out to the vet who did not seem concerned. Thor was (and still is) underweight; again the vet glossed over the owners' concerns. Thor has been eating Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy food. He is a reluctant eater, often not finishing his meal. He is, however, willing to work/play for food...even his kibble.

Housetraining started out well. Thor was kept in a small crate when not supervised. As he grew, he was moved to a much larger crate. He would occasionally urinate in the crate. He was not defecating in the crate until he got sick with diarrhea. At that point, his housetraining took a step backward, and he now eliminates in his crate regular. This morning he needed a bath.

When loose in the house, Thor knocks over the 2-year-old and tries to "bite the head" of the baby. He is extremely active (due to his breed and lack of exercise) and races around the apartment leaping onto any furniture in his path. He often comes crashing to the ground; that does not seem to faze him. At this point, he is spending a lot of time in the crate.

When his owners realized that a puppy was too much for them, they contacted the breeder who blamed the owners and refused to take him back. After a brief search for a new home for Thor, I decided to try him at my house. He is scheduled to arrive here next week. (I have agility events both Saturday and Sunday; don't want to leave him for a long stretch when he first gets here). I have been working with Thor almost daily for the last week. He's excited to see me, and I am pleased with his progress. Still, he will undoubtedly shake up the quiet environment of my home. I feel both excitement and dread.

Another Romp

2010-01-20T17:00:00.000-08:00

Another day in the snor with Thor. When I first started working with him, he was ALWAYS in front of me. Although I wanted him at my side, I thought it was more important to treat him for something, anything, so that he learned that I was a source of Good Stuff. Next, he was racing past me, granted we were heading in the same direction but he wasn't paying me any heed. No matter, at least he wasn't barging into me or jumping on me anymore! But he got no treats for that, just the joy of running. Today, when I turned my back to walk away from him, he ran up and stopped next to me!!! Treat treat treat! That was repeated multiple times. He also is beginning to target my hand, something I started teaching on day one but it didn't "click" right away.

I've cleared a spot in my kitchen for his Great Big Heavy Huge crate! It will fit!! I expect him to come live with me next week. I wanted to wait because I have agility events both days this upcoming weekend and don't want to leave him for that long yet. I'm excited and also fearful about having Thor in my house...

Playing in the Snow

2010-01-20T07:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Thor and I played in the snow. Whenever he stopped moving around, I turned and walked away to get him running again. Previously, he would have jumped all over me, but now he just keeps running! How I stopped his persistent jumping: Anytime he approached me I would lean forward (to slow him down) and hold treats at face level. So when he arrived, if he didn't jump, he got treats! Even without treats, he rarely jumps on me anymore. This new skill (not jumping up) works with me but has not transferred to other people yet.

When I fell in the snow (fault of the snow and my ankle, not Thor), Thor came over but did not touch me! He just stood nearby while I struggled to get up. Good boy! (Previously, he would have been on top of me.) When he is full grown, I will teach him to help me balance as I'm rising.

Thor Meets Glitter

2010-01-18T18:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I took Glitterbug to meet Thor. Glitter is my 8-year-old Beagle-Sheltie mix, a spayed female. I waited in the backyard with Glitter on lead; Thor came out, also on lead, with his owner. Both dogs got very excited at the sight of one another, straining at their leads. Both looked happy despite their energy/excitement so I said we should take of the leads. The two dogs ran to each other and sniffed muzzles. Thor's tail was tucked which I saw as a good thing. He did not try to jump on Glitter or overwhelm her as I thought he might. After their brief sniff, both dogs ran around the yard for a few seconds, then ignored each other. Glitter went sniffing to explore the yard (where she had never been); Thor was more interested in interacting with the people than another dog. Another good sign!

2010-01-17T06:53:00.000-08:00