Christmas

Can this go on forever?

Bella had a wonderful Christmas. Tons of people, her dog sister, chews, toys, wrapping paper and commotion. Oh!—and did I mention the option to lick fingers greasy with turkey juice? Her tail never stopped wagging until she got home and collapsed on her bed. She slept solidly until 6:30AM. Unheard of!

New Buddy Has Med Problems Too!

My friend was disappointed to learn her new little buddy, Boone, has chronic superficial keratitis. I guess this is a life-long issue, but treatable. She noticed both of his eyes were a little milky and was concerned it might be cataracts. Her vet had a pharmacist mix up a 2% cyclosporin solution which is a transplant rejection medication  proven to be useful for this condition.  She said it takes 48 hours to prepare. Hope the little guy takes his daily meds well.

On our home front, Bella's raw red nose is glistening with Neosporin.

Demodectic Mange

In the picture, you can see her pink nose where the vet
scraped it for a skin sample. Above her eye, in the top
of the picture is a small white patch. This is the
remains of the infection.

Shortly after Bella's experience at the doggie day care I noticed a spot on her head in front of her right ear with three tiny scabs. Because she often bashes through bushes in search of her tennis ball, I attributed the scratches to a tangle with blackberries. However, a week later, I noticed the three tiny spots had coalesced into one big spot and she was losing fur in the area. I am uncertain if she sustained the wound playing at day care or sticking her head in brambles. A few days later, the spot—and fur loss—was even greater. There was also a barely discernible little white patch on top of her muzzle.

I took her to the vet who gave me an antibiotic ointment to clear up the spot by her ear. After ten days, the spot looked better, but was by no means healed. Ten more days of the cream, Entederm, finally seemed to get a handle on it. However, the spot on her nose became more noticeable and there was increasing fur loss there also. The little white patch, though not very big was more prominent and now looked like gray, scaly skin.

Back to the vet. Today's diagnosis is demodectic mange. Non-contagious and usually something you only see on puppies. In fact, my vet said most dogs have these mites on them at all times, but their immune systems keep them in check. Could Bella's system have been compromised because of the infection by her ear? Possibly. My vet felt it was not connected to the day care, merely coincidental.

She suggested putting a little dab of non-cortisonal neosporin on her muzzle twice a day until it clears. I'm hoping while she is with her sister, my in-laws will keep up the care. I hate to leave town with any medical issues, however slight, on the plate.

Electrocution from Light Pole

This article appeared in the paper a couple of weeks ago and naturally has urban dog owners on edge. Walking in the city, a woman's dog was electrocuted by "contact voltage" when it passed by a light pole. Shortly after it, more stories appeared in the paper siting other poles that seemed to have the same grounding issue. Although this is a rare occurrence, it does make one leery about how close to get to a pole. I've never trusted walking by flickering street lights anyway; the noise they emit sounds dangerous.

Our neighborhood, an unincorporated part of the county, has few lights and even fewer sidewalks, so walkers tend to stay in the middle of the road if there is no traffic. Be wary if your pup shys away from a pole!

Here's a follow-up on this story. Glad the city is having all the light poles checked! Haven't your ears been listening for that electrical buzz? Mine have!

New Buddy!

Meet Boone, the new member of our community
dog pack!

My friend, who had the bad adoption experience this past summer, is in the "mood" again. She sent me several links of pups she was thinking about. And now, she just called and is bringing Boone home! Yay! Isn't he beautiful? (He reminds me of Tucker!) He's 5 years old and she said absolutely sweet. Let's hope it works out well for them both!

Cardboard Makes the World Go 'Round

When Bella is bored, there are are two things we can count on her doing. If socks are out, she'll steal one and dash around the house. Several very hearty shakes and air tosses makes sure the sock is thoroughly dead. (She has yet to destroy a sock. She seems to be able to kill it without eating it.)

If there are no socks, and the basement door is open, the recycling container is fair game. There always seems to be a supply of cardboard to be had. Where would a puppy be without a good piece of cardboard to ripe up?

Since I am in the midst of Christmas baking (dog biscuits for her and cookies for us), she found both an egg carton and a butter box. Oh joy!

PS: The dog biscuit recipe is from King Arthur flour. It smells great and I'm sure will taste fabulous.

A Wonderful Place

One of the blogs I regularly read is from a place called Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary. The couple who run this non-profit take in (and often re-home) disabled cats, dogs and horses. The couple, Steve Smith and Alayne Marker, are really remarkable in the beautiful care and home they provide these animals who otherwise would be euthanized. This recent entry really touched me. Here is a pup who would not be here if not for them. The post is clear about the difficulties this dog faces, yet being a dog—my take—is that they always have a joyful heart. They can suffer through so much yet a warm bed, a full tummy, kind words and tender pats are all they ask for. This post brings tears to my eyes. What a sweet old hound.

Fabulous Marketing & Customer Appreciation

This shows all the treats included in the bag. Wow!

Quite a while ago while shopping for books at my favorite book store, Island Books, I discovered a new outlet of pet food store I'd shopped at nearly 25 years ago in a different location. The store, All the Best, is really the best—at least this store certainly is. I drive quite a ways to shop there, but then have the benefit of frequenting my bookstore across the street too!

The minute you walk in the door, you're greeted with a "Hello!" by an employee whether they are busy with another customer or not. The employees' dogs are at the store and they greet each dog who comes in. Free samples of treats are the norm, and there's a play area where you can let your dog try certain toys. The staff is knowledgeable and helpful about the products they carry. Best yet, not only is the store locally owned, but their prices are comparable with other "healthy pet food" stores.

In minutes, Bella eviscerated a soft toy that
was included in the gift bag.

Last week I got a postcard in the mail and was about to toss it when I noticed the 'All the Best' logo. It was a customer appreciation card and stated if you came into the store, you'd receive a "thanks for being our customer" gift bag. Who can resist that? Needing more dog food (Bella now rotates through Great Life), I went in. We're one bag of food, some treats, a toy and a gift bag richer.

Busy Week, Odds and Ends

Not much happening dog-wise, but because of the beeline to Christmas, my life has been overly busy. Luckily my husband is able to occupy Bella during the day while I work. He's taken her biking on urban trails a couple of times this past week. One of the locations was around a local lake—big learning lesson for him. Bella is completely overwhelmed in new situations. It takes a while for her to remember her manners and recompose herself into a well-trained dog. Plus, anything to do with water (right up there with balls) sends her over the top. When they got home, my husband complained how much she was pulling on her leash.

Whereas my walks with Lucy were limited because of proximity to other dogs, my walks with Bella are limited to little or no water view. She just can't control her excitement and weeps and weeps. What I've found is a little bit of time by a lake is good training for us both. For me, it requires leash work and consistency. For Bella, it's a good reminder that she's still attached! If it isn't too cold, I'll let her swim or we'll play fetch with a stick, but this isn't always possible.

I'm going to make some dog biscuits today. Instead of buying all five of the family dogs Christmas treats, I thought I'd try my hand at baking them something. Much better, I think, with knowing the ingredients in the homemade cookies than the junk in some of the things you buy. I searched the web for recipes and will try the first one today.

Baja and Dogs

We have talked, and sometimes, more than talked, about bringing Bella to Baja with us. We successfully journeyed there with Lucy, so you'd think I wouldn't be hesitant. Yet more knowledge has made me infinitely more wary. My initial resistance was flying her home with me. I have never flown a dog and read horror stories I don't want to experience. I know people fly dogs all the time, but they aren't me and their dog isn't mine.

The second conundrum is managing her there. Many of the Mexican dogs run loose and rarely are spade or neutered. Many are feral. Shots are not the norm, so disease and infections are common.  The local dogs pack up creating dog "gangs." Although Bella has great doggie communication skills, can she speak "Baja Dog?" I don't know and I'd hate to find out that she couldn't. If she was attacked, although Bella has shots, I don't know what other diseases the local dogs may have that she could contract. Dealing with a Mexican vet, if I could find one, would be difficult with my limited Spanish.

Because the locals don't like the feral dogs scrounging around their property, they lay out poison. Bella eats anything and everything. Even if she's on a leash, she can grab and swallow something faster than I can say, "Out!" and expect her to drop it.

A friend, who spends his winters in Baja, called this morning to let us know he'd arrived safely and then proceeded to tell us there was a dead dog in front of their house when they arrived. The dog was a victim of poisoning. The owner couldn't get there until later in the day which meant the dog lay in the sun (there are no trees in this area) until he arrived. When he finally appeared, he attached a rope from his truck to the dog and dragged the dog off. That was it. I had to get off the phone.

If I brought Bella with us, I would be a nervous wreck. I could never let her off leash. I'd constantly be fretting about her safety. I doubt she'll ever make it south of the border.

Cautionary Tale

I know this story all to well, yet I'm writing to tell you I was the one who fell down the rabbit hole. I have warned my husband for the past 26 years that you cannot trust your beloved dog to always perform at 100%. I fell into the same trap to which too many dog owners succumb—expecting your dog's behavior to be consistent.

I was returning from a walk with Bella today. My car was parked at Petsmart from earlier shopping in which she was not included. (In fact, I rarely bring her in there.) I had Bella on a SIT by the car and was about to slip her seat harness over her head when she bolted. She has never done this before; never expressed any interest in doing this. "Bella, come!" failed.

She dashed past parked cars and was nearly hit by a car passing in front of the store. Bella was totally oblivious to anything but her desire to get in the store (almost amusing now after the fact). As she was jetting into Petsmart, a woman caught her collar. The driver, other shoppers, everyone was great. Everyone stopped to see if she was okay. Another woman followed me back to my car to make sure Bella was okay and told me a similar tale with her dog except her dog was hit. Awful!

I mention this story because I was so shocked by what she did. I have been lulled by the fact that she always waits patiently by the door to have her seat harness put on. So please, don't fall into my trap. Your dog may do something unexpected when you least anticipate it. Error on the side of caution. I will always keep a hand on her collar in that situation.

Bella's First Snow

Who said a frisky puppy can't get friskier? We were hit by snow and below freezing temperatures at the beginning of this week and though we haven't had new snow, temperatures haven't risen and nothing has melted. I've learned Bella is not a burrower but a sproinger. (Lucy, ever the nose dog, what look up from tunneling with a mountain of snow on her snout. It was very endearing.) I wish I'd been able to capture Bella's behavior, but am cursed by being a bad photographer. You're lucky to get picture of her standing in the snow.

Bella making fresh tracks.

Her only frustration is that we lost a tennis ball in the snow and haven't played ball since then. The tennis ball she has in the back yard (one is buried under a mound of shoveled snow) has turned into a green ice cube. She's thrilled by it, but there is no bounce.

Keep-Aways or Another Name for Poison

A friend recently went through a scare with her dog. She was entertaining and a child fed their dog some grapes. It wasn't until later that evening that the dog became horribly ill and they needed to rush him to the emergency vet. After discussion with the vet to discern what the dog might have ingested, they realized what happened when the husband recalled seeing the little girl "sharing" grapes. (He didn't know they could be toxic.) Their dog is fine, thank heavens, but the outcome could have gone the other way.

As we approach the holidays, our homes are often filled with friends, family, different food and plants. Please pay attention to where your pup is. You never know if someone is unwittingly sharing food with your pet. To keep your pet safe and you sane, post the number to your local 24-hour emergency vet (or the National Pet Poison Control Hotline: 888-426-4435) on your fridge.

Here are some links regarding pets and poison:
Humane Society
AAHA
ASPCA

Graduation Day

Today was the last session of our Noseworks class. I must admit I'm glad my Saturday mornings will be my own again, although I really have enjoyed the classes. Diana taught this class and her enthusiasm was contagious. She makes learning fun for the owner despite the fact that the owner's dog is quite noisy! (Ahem! Quiet Bella!) Actually today there were several noisy dogs, so I wasn't nearly as embarrassed!

We had an overly full class so too many dogs—six, as a matter of fact. The room in which we work is tiny and six enthusiastic dogs was not only raucous, but didn't allow very many turns, nor many sessions within a turn. However, it was fun to see how the new dogs (doing a make-up session) worked.

At the end of class we did a run on scent which is going to be the focus if we go on (which both Shari and I will do after the holidays). Instead of using various sized open boxes and placing a kibble in the box or along the wall somewhere, Diana put out five pizza boxes with holes punched in the lid. The kibbles were inside (we haven't yet worked with more difficult scents like birch) and the dog had to indicate which box held the odor. Sounds simple, but even the stellar nose dogs had a hard time with this.

For the first time, the owners did not know which box held the scent, so we had to key into our dog to know when they'd found something. On some occasions it was obvious—Bella tried to walk off with the box—but usually it was really subtle. Because the dog couldn't see the food or get to it, they might smell it, but often walked on.

When Level II begins, it will be interesting to see how alert the owners are to their dogs picking up the scent. I think it will still be lots of fun, but much more difficult.

On a last note, I talked with my vet yesterday about the class. She's taking her very old lab through the program. Her dog is deaf and nearly blind and was becoming increasingly more reclusive. Since the dog has been doing the class, she said the dog is much more lively even at home and now searches for toys in the dog box. Very sweet.

Let Them Think

I just read a great article by Victoria Stilwell on letting your dog think itself through a situation. Because I've been spending more time on training recently, this post was beautifully timed.

I am working with Bella to loose leash walk on a buckle collar. I want her to decide for herself that walking next to me is preferable.Today, with clicker in hand, we set out. I can't say one way or the other whether I think she "got it," but I can say I did see her "think" and choose a more appropriate spot (by my leg) for which I clicked and treated. At this point, my chow-hound is lobbying for food, so clicking and treating was only when she picked the proper position, not for any signals from me. A video I watched recently also shows some training techniques for using the clicker while training your dog to choose this position. I have a harness that I may try on her, but haven't dug it out as of yet.

Another blog post I read compares gaming (development of computer games) principles to dog training. There were several comments in there that I felt apropos. One of the best was:

Complex games give us a way to measure our progress.  When we play a game we want to feel like we’re getting somewhere. That we’re accomplishing something. And a good game gives us a way (or better yet, several ways) to measure that. This innate need to feel that one is making progress is one of the reasons why it’s important to break a training exercise down into discrete steps and give your dog meaningful input at each one of those steps rather than just at the end of a task.

The author makes several other really great points. (Read it over and see what you think.) Yesterday in my Noseworks class the instructor is teaching us (the owners) to allow the dog to do its job—sniff out the treat—and to not confuse things by getting between the dog and the smell. He said we need to be careful when we're working on Noseworks at home, to break increased complexities of the "find" into small, successful-for-the-dog steps. In other words, avoid the "let's see if she can figure this one out" syndrome. For example, he said put a loose kibble 6 feet down the wall. The next time, put it 12 feet, then 18 feet. Build the "find" in small increments so the dog is always successful and learns how to structure the hunt.

Doggie Day Care

Bella's 1st Report card

I decided Bella could benefit from some doggie play time. Taking her to the dog park doesn't work as invariably someone is playing Chuck-It with their dog. If there is a ball anywhere at the park, there is Bella. So although she could have time to interact with other pups, she's actually oblivious to them. Amber, her best buddy, is a mature 8-year old and though tolerant of Bella's exuberance, she doesn't want to play with her.

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that Bella's social calendar is a concern, but in defense, we take her everywhere and she needs to be "socially acceptable." What I've noticed is if she sees another dog she is beside herself with excitement. When she does play, she's a little rough. This may be her style or she may need to play with other dogs and learn some doggie etiquette. There is only one other dog she knows who is young and energetic, but she rarely gets to play with her as Cherry's owners have quite a different schedule than ours.

I scoped out two facilities and chose Riverdog where she's taken a class. My vet takes her dog there and that seemed a mark in their favor. Another place I looked at had something amiss. What bothered me—though it was closer to home and less cost—was there was only one person to oversee the office and 20 dogs. I know how quickly a fight can break out and if the person was in the office, how quickly could she get to the fight? And wonder if there were two fights or a fight that involved multiple dogs? At Riverdog, there may be 10-15 dogs together with only one person overseeing, but the facility has four rooms and the dogs are matched according to style. If you had a quiet, older dog, for example, it would be in a different room than one with rambunctious puppies. Plus, their office is staffed by people who do not have to oversee the dogs. Multiple staff members mean that multiple people can help if warranted. I liked that.

At the end of our first visit (four hours), they gave me a little report card. Too cute! On the back they wrote: "A little shy and unsure at first, but came around after a while. Good ball player!" That's my girl—four paws up!

Relearning, Relearning, Relearning

I admit it. I am to blame. I know it. The buck stops here. When Bella acts up and cannot stop or control herself, it is because I have not done my job. So as of yesterday we've stepped backwards several paces. Time for the owner to relearn.

I took off her prong collar and do not allow surging, lagging or sideways lunges. Walking on a leash, no matter how normal (or not) the environment, requires Bella to pay attention to me. I am doing lots of stopping, backing up and going in the opposite direction.

In a day and half, she's doing much better, so I've obviously done something correctly, but it also indicates she's a smart, observant girl. This afternoon there was a yappy, ill-behaved puggle straining at the end of its leash towards Bella. My girl, though very eager to check it out and with only a very minor "Na!" from me, stayed at my side. That was fantastic—I was very proud of her.

I am also re-working stay. She's great at home and questionable everywhere else. On walks, I'm putting her on a sit stay and walking around her and dancing, albeit quietly and not very energetically. Initially, she broke her stay the minute I did any aberrant moves. Today she's holding it longer, but I'm also not pushing the limit. I want to keep it short, sweet and successful.

The other thing I need to do is devise a word (settle?) that she recognizes to mean lay down, be quiet and stay. In our Noseworks class, she is absolutely distraught when my friend,Shari, and Bella's friend, Amber get up to run their paces. She howls, low woofs and is anxious. So "settle" will be important. What I am presently doing with her in class is putting a tiny treat on her front paws and making her wait until I release her. That is working, but it is a known trick. "Settle" sans food–or self-control–will be the end goal.

Have you worked your pup with that? What did you do?

One Dog, One Owner

One bored puppy looking for action!

My husband has the wonderful opportunity to crew on a trimaran in a rally down the west coast of Baja. This is the 17th year for the Baja Ha-Ha event. There are 196 boats—mono-hulls, catamarans and tris—participating. What an event! There is a software application that pinpoints the boat regularly in the Pacific, so I can track where they are. For a worry-wart, this is the best thing since sliced bread.

For the puppy, this is really, really boring. I go off to work and there's no one to play with during the day which means our sweet girl is sequestered in the kitchen. She's fine with that as this has been her routine since she was a baby. However, it doesn't make it interesting. I'm finding myself busy in the evenings too because of various obligations. Poor Bella! This is not what an active, smart puppy signed up for. She's still getting two long walks plus her "chuck-it" time. Additionally, I'm trying to do inside things (as our weather is so terrible right now) to keep her entertained, but I know in two days, her patience will be tried, she'll push the envelope, she'll be put into the "nothing in life is free" training phase and then, thank heavens, a Noseworks class will occur. Whew!

I Love My Puppy

Sometimes I'm just overwhelmed how much I love Bella. She's not "perfect," but she's close to that in my book. For 11 years I was on "high alert" for any loose dogs while walking Lucy. My walks were limited by safe routes where I knew there probably wasn't going to be an issue. I couldn't go hiking with new friends who had dogs she hadn't met, yet I didn't feel I could not take her, so I wouldn't go.

After 16 months of living with Bella, a loose dog still puts me en garde—unfortunately! I am getting better about squelching that reaction and can imagine how hard it is for returning soldiers to stifle the knee-jerk reaction to loud bangs. Yesterday, Shari and Amber joined us on a couple of fun treks. There were loose dogs and barking, fenced dogs. Bella was oblivious to them. No reaction. She's diffused a stiff-legged, hackles-up Akita and enticed an unneutered, full-of-himself pit bull to play.

Bella is teaching me to relax. I feel like my years of vigilance with Lucy are being rewarded with smart, funny, friendly Bella.

Noseworks

Noseworks. You may have heard of this class which is for all dogs of all abilities. It seems to have hit this area recently with a bang. The media has been busy promoting it and many training centers are now offering it. Everybody with a dog is talking about it. And we're finally taking it!

My friend, Shari, and I have talked about taking dog classes together and this one in particular. When we finally found a class nearby and fit both of our schedules, we decided to go for it. She got in, I didn't. My email got bounced by a spam filter. Big frown. But the great people who teach this class at Seattle Agility Center bent over backwards to fit us in.

Diana, one of the owners of the center, offered to give us a private, introductory session so that we could join a class that had already started without being behind. What an opportunity! So Shari and her dog, Amber, and Bella and I had our first class last night. What a hoot! This is going to be really, really fun.

Diana warned us that even though the class is only an hour and our "nosework" sessions will be divided among 5 dogs, we'd return home with a tuckered puppy. Bella crashed the minute she walked in the door. It was great. Plus with our weather turning rainy, this will be a wonderful inside game that allows Bella to do exactly what she wants to do (sniff and eat!) and always, always win. No leash or verbal corrections. This is a fantastic dog game. I only wish it had been around for the old, nose hound, Lucy.