What a difference a week makes

First let me report that the 5K went very well. Unfortunately Jenny had a sore paw and couldn't participate. Zola was my substitution. A pinch runner (walker) if you will. I figured if she got too tired she was small enough to carry. She did just fine. I only carried her when she panted and then it was because I was being paranoid. She only tolerated it for a few minutes at a time then struggled to get put back down. Since we weren't actually running it really wasn't an issue. Here we are with our friends Ashley and Prudence (she wanted nothing to do with the paparazzi as you can see) and Angelica and Leo. The weather for the day was incredible. Sunny and warm but not too hot for the dogs.

After the 5K we went over to the Loyal Biscuit Co. for the book signing for my friend Jen Blood. Here I am looking like a psycho stalker. Somehow very fitting. Why hold a book signing at a dog store you ask? Because the main character shops there for her dog of course.

Now for the other shoe. This weekend I was cuddling with Zola when I noticed a pretty sizable lump on her jaw. So Monday morning she came to work with me to get it checked out. We needed to do x-rays as it was not just a simple abscess like I had hoped. It turns out that it is some sort of mass and she cannot open her mouth as wide as she should be able to. She can only open it about an inch to an inch and a half. The doctor also saw evidence of deterioration in the joint of the jaw. This is a problem for a couple of reasons. One is if the mass is what is interfering how far she can open her mouth, and it keeps growing, she won't be able to eat eventually. She has always been a messy eater but I chalked that up to her being a pug with an extremely short jaw and under bite. Two is that we can't put her under anesthesia properly for any length of time because we can't open her jaw enough to safely intibate her. That coupled with her liver shunt makes anesthesia complicated. The position of the mass is also bad so removal doesn't look possible regardless. It was too firm to do an aspirate on though there wasn't any pitting of the bone that looked like the typical signs of cancer. Her lymph nodes are also swollen and her eye on that side cannot be pushed back into the socket as far as the other one can. (sorry I don't know the technical term for that)
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So my options are limited because I don't have the finances to do anything extraordinary, nor does  it look like there are many things we could do anyway. We will watch and see if the mass grows and how fast it does. She is not painful in any way thankfully and doesn't seem to notice her limitations. She can eat, and bark, and play bitey face with Jack and Jenny with no issues. She even chews on her bones and shreds cardboard whenever she gets a chance. She is happy. I will just be keeping a close eye on her from now on. We might try an anti-inflammatory if I can find one that will be ok to give that won't bother her liver.
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 I am going to post photos I took of her x-rays because I think x-rays are super interesting. Don't get to excited as they aren't the best since I took them with my phone. We did a few views and they vary in angle quite a bit. I wish they were more clear in showing the outline of her flesh so you can see where her nose is supposed to be to give you a point of reference. The mass is on her right side. I'm sorry that I can't remember if some of these rads have been flipped. (I do that because it gives me the illusion I can see better when in fact I can't read x-rays very well.)

This bottom one is with her on her back with her mouth being held open with some gauze.
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So while she has been doing great as far as the liver shunt goes, now there is another thing that is threatening to shorten her life with us. I guess the beauty of being her is that ignorance is bliss. I wish we all could be as lucky.

The weekly roundup

First I'll start with the best news, Brutus has been adopted!! Not just to any home either, he nabbed himself one of the best homes I could think of. I am very pleased. He certainly deserves it.
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Jenny and I have been walking more together because I need the exercise. I've always known she is athletic but wow, I had no idea! Saturday we are walking in a 5K locally with some friends. (Prudence and Leo and their people.) I decided to pre-walk it to challenge myself to see how fast we could do it. Our time was 43 minutes. Not to shabby! Sadly Jenny finished stronger than me which means I need to get in better shape.

The other thing I am doing on Saturday is hitting The Loyal Biscuit, one of my favorite haunts, for a book signing. Jen Blood (http://www.bloodwrites.com) is signing her book All the Blue-Eyed Angels there from 11:00 to 2:00. One of the characters in the book is a dog named Einstein. Check out the model search contest you can enter your own dog in to win some swag: http://jenniferblood.net/wp/einstein-the-dog-photo-contest/  The book is excellent btw. I'm not even normally a mystery reader (aside from Susan Conant) but this book hooked me.

This is how I picture Einstein:

For the record this is a Pumi, a Hungarian herding breed. Very adorable and muppet like looking. How cute is that? It seems most of them bark a lot however which is a deal breaker for me personally.
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The 2 new prison puppies have started. They are super sweet. They are litter-mates believe it or not. Mom was listed as a boxer mix but clearly at least one of the dads had some terrier in him. First there is Joshua.

And here is Justin.

They are super sweet and should be pretty easy to place once they graduate. They just needed to have some one on one time with a handler and learn to be a little more confident. So far so good!
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I hope everyone who celebrates it had a Happy Easter or good Passover.

Drool happens

This georgous boy is Brutus. He is a French Mastiff, also known as a Dogue De Bordeaux. (Remember the dog from the movie Turner and Hooch?) He isn't the best specimen of his breed and we think he came from a back yard breeder based on his records. But that doesn't matter because he is super sweet. His is 6 years old, already neutered and looking for a new home. You can find him at the Humane Society of Knox County in Thomaston Maine. (207-594-2200) He was abandoned in an apartment. My brothers landlord who owned the apartment asked my brother if he could foster him until they found him a place. He of course called me since I have a few dog connections. Sadly mastiff rescue didn't have a place for him either. Luckily I know this great shelter who had some space.
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He has lived with another dog and also a cat. He walks well on a leash once he settles down. He does have some conformational issues in his hing end but it doesn't seem to affect him at the moment. He will need a home that can afford joint supplements down the road however. (he has a massive vet history that shows he was even taken to a specialist to check him out. Thankfully the former owner left his info behind with him.) He also drools, a LOT. Mastiffs do that so a home that can accept that would also be best for him.

"Who wants a kiss?" 

Like I said he is a VERY sweet dog that just needs a second chance. Please pass the info on if you know someone who might be a good match.

(Top photo: me, my brother George and my sister Dee.)

Wordless Wednesday ~ Zolas new bed

Yeah, it's like that.

What I'm watching this week

I love YouTube. I find so much great training stuff on there. (cough cough KikoPup cough) It is also a great place for watching funny videos when you are bored or need a pick me up. This week I have been watching some of the Crufts dog show in England. Specifically the Freestyle videos. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecq_71rymGc&feature=related



And:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=853bJhFBXIQ



Most of the dogs I love don't place well but I don't care. It is a blast to watch regardless. I'm not sure I will ever be at the stage to do a full routine like this but I am having fun teaching Jenny some of the moves for freestyle. It is basically stringing tricks and skills together and adding music. Since she loves to train it is a fun way for us to work together.
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Training tricks is a great way to really hone communication between each other. It requires you to sometimes think outside the box. When I was just starting in training I didn't value tricks very much. Now I try to teach all dogs some tricks. Things like ringing a bell, (can be used for a dog to ask to go out to potty) fetch, (a great way to exercise a dog when a walk isn't possible) and sit pretty (perfect for a shelter dog to grab some attention) all have value beyond the actual trick. It teaches the dog how to work with a person as a team member. It keeps training fun. It looks like fun and games because it is. Try teaching those dogs by using corrections and see what happens. Do you want to show off how smart your dog is? Teach them a cool trick and all your friends will be impressed. For some shelter dogs a trick can be a lifesaver. Tricks aren't just for kids anymore!

Blogger fail! The post where I catch up yet again.

So my co-worker told me the other day I am a blogger failure. She is right. It has been over a month since I have posted! That is a long time between posts, even for me. Ooops! I have been busy working on some personal issues and just got side tracked. (It turns out I was concentrating more on what I feed my dogs than what I was eating. Now I'm trying to make healthier choices which seems to mean more time cooking and such.) I also find it easier to post things to my facebook page when I am busy. So if you come here and I am quiet check things out there instead. http://www.facebook.com/K9SolutionsDogTraining If it makes you feel any better I am behind in my blog reading as well.

This cutie is Frankie. He is being fostered by a friend and will be available for adoption soon through ACDRA. It is believed he may be a Kelpie and not an Australian Cattle Dog however. He needs to learn some manners first. A home without cats may be a better fit for him too. He is about 2 years old and was saved from a kill shelter.

Zola is still doing very well on her meds and diet. She is a very normal puppy. We have even finally turned the corner and she is sleeping through the night now. This is a HUGE improvement for my life! She is also giving me cues when she needs to go outside to potty as well. Another big victory. I wasn't sure that would ever happen given that I don't limit her water intake due to her condition. I admit it got better once I stopped babying her and stopped sleeping on the couch after the middle of the night outings. See, I do know what to do, I was just being too emotional about it. Puppies are sometimes to cute for our own good.

Jenny is having a not so good time with her skin right now. I had to increase her Temeril-P which I hate to use. I swear one of the days we got some snow cover she seemed better. But I don't know if that was wishful thinking or not. It makes me wonder how much of her problem stems from an allergen outside. Of course maybe I am just grasping at straws.

Jack is doing wonderfully. I took him for a do it yourself bath/brush and blowout recently. Wow he sheds a lot! I know this but every so often he impresses even me with the amount of fur I comb out. I got an undercoat rake with slightly longer tines that works really well on him.

The two most current prison puppies are doing great. Rosie, the cattle dog/pit mix has been adopted already. I ran into her new owner today at the Loyal Biscuit during an outing. He was there buying a second crate for his car. It seems she likes to teeth on his interior. Ahhh the joy of puppies! He reports she is doing great. The the other pup Daisy, the red nose pitbull, is going to the shelter daily so potential adopters can meet her. She can be a handful so we are trying to find just the right match for her. You can see them both about 10 minutes into this video: http://vimeo.com/37466423 Or check them out on our official facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/K9Corrections

I am hoping to get some t-shirts with my logo on them ordered soon. I would like to be able to offer them for public sale too but I'm not quite sure if I can manage that. I am pretty small time as a business so I need to look into it more. I am also going to need to get new logos on my car this year. Not only has my logo changed slightly, they are peeling off after having them a few years. Maine winters are not kind to window stickers long term.

Before I go need to answer a readers question that I found in my comments when I (finally) approved them. I cannot give you a comparison between the Freedom No Pull harness and the Sensation harness because I have not used a Sensation harness yet. Sorry I can't be more help with that.

Again, I will try to blog more but no promises. Sometimes you just gotta make time for yourself first  :-)

Happy Birthday Zola!!

Today Zola is 1 year old. I found her birth date when I went looking for her rabies certificate to lisence her. We have only had her for a few months but it feels like it has been longer. Because of her small size and antics it doesn't feel like we missed out on her puppyhood at all. She is joy personified.

No she isn't always this calm!

Sadly some of my best photos showing her fun self are blurry.

Nice ears!

Play with me!!

Is it just me or does that angle and head shape remind you of the movie Alien?

Then (below) and now. (above)

As you can see she's definately filled out a little since we got her. She is up to 12 lbs from her former 10 which seems to suit her better. Hopefully she will continue to maintain on her medications and diet and we will have more birthdays to celebrate with her. Happy Birthday Zola!!

These boots are made for training

I've been taking Jenny to Lowes on Sundays with a friend so we can train out of the cold. I found making time with someone else keeps me on task and less likely to skip it. Skills in dog training are use it or lose it for the dogs after all. Thankfully Lowes is very dog friendly and has plenty of space. I ran into a problem recently I thought I would share in case others had the same issue. It turns out Jenny has a calous on both of her hocks. If I train to long on a hard surface she gets abrasions on them and they get sore. (shown in the middle of the hock in the photo)

I took some vet wrap and 2 make up remover pads to make a padded "hock boot" for her. I use 1 pad per leg because to much padding might not be comfortable either. As it is she hesitates to sit when I first put them on.

As you can see when she sits her hocks touch the ground. Without any padding of her own this becomes a problem when working on any hard surface for to long.

It is a fluke that the vet wrap matches her Fido Fleece coat. I know, very 80's leg warmers right?

For our trial run I took her for a normal walk in Rockland. I realized we have some semi-famous places I could show. This is her in front of antique shop featured on the show "Born Dealers".

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tv/born-dealers/ 

And this is the restaurant featured on the Bobby Flay showdown for all you food show fans out there. http://www.foodnetwork.com/throwdown-with-bobby-flay/lobster-club-sandwich/index.html I prefer their breakfasts but what do I know.

I almost always walk my dogs on Main streets because there usually aren't loose dogs on a main road. We do also have a scenic boardwalk I like. Plus there is always an opportunity for window shoping and seeing what is going to be playing at the local Strand theater. http://www.rocklandstrand.com/ I grew up watching movies at the Strand however it has since been refurbished and is much more amazing then when I was young. The first movie I remember seeing? Lady and the Tramp. Maybe the seeds for my dog obsession were sown there?

I only had some minimum slippage by the end of the walk. I used them again today and didn't have that problem but I put them on a little higher to begin. Anyhow I hope if anyone else has run into the same issue this post is helpful. I might also try knitting a slide on "hock sock" and see it that works too. I'll be sure to post results if I do. Of course I have to find some free time for that first. Not something I've had much of lately.

Jenny and Ryka in a down stay. More photos of them can be seen on my facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/K9SolutionsDogTraining Where do you train on cold or wet days?

Stop talking and communicate!

I noticed something recently that I thought it might be useful to point out. Some people talk to much. Now this isn't exactly news. There are all kinds of people on the planet, some talk alot and some rarely speak at all. What I actually mean is that we talk to our dogs to much. Why is that a problem? Well let me tell you.
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Talking to a dog while they are learning needs to be done with clear communication in mind. Typically we teach them what we want, either by luring (using a treat to get the dog in a specific position) or operant conditioning, (clicker/verbal marker) and then we put a verbal cue of our choosing to it. However if we are always making noise, then how is our dog supposed to figure out which noise means something important? Dogs mainly communicate with each other with body language remember, so tuning all of our "noise" out is easy for them.
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Example: Handler and dog are working on loose leash walking. As the handler walks he is speaking to the dog saying "No don't pull on the leash, lets go over here Fido. Good, nope! Fido come on. Good. No I said let's go here. OK come on. Are you looking at the kitty?" What do you suppose the verbal cue is for this dog? At this point nothing. The dog has no idea what words WE want to be important. How could she? We have had the equivalent of verbal diarrhea. It is like when the grownups speak in the Charlie Brown cartoons. (whaa wha whaa) Can you pick out the important words from that? No because it all sounds the same.
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So what we need to do is use only the words we want the dog to respond to. Either we click (then treat) when the dog moves in the right direction with us, or we verbally praise the dog for moving with us the very moment the dog does it. "Yes!" (verbal marker/treat) "Good dog!" That's it. No running commentary. The exception to this would be if a dog becomes afraid of something when on our walk. I might say "Oh its just a silly garbage can!" in a HAPPY tone of voice as we move away from the scary item. Tone of voice is important however and we don't continue talking aside from marking behavior we want (yes!/treat) or using our verbal cues. (let's go, sit, stay, down, etc.) We teach the dog what we want before we attach a verbal cue to the behavior.
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For simply walking along with a loose leash I use the verbal cue "Let's go". Come means come to me and sit, not come along with me. "Heel" means to walk in a specific spot with me, not to just walk along with a loose leash. It is important to have different verbal cues so we don't confuse the dog. This is one of the more challenging parts of dog training, training ourselves to have specific terms and words for different behaviors.
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When problem solving you need to ask yourself a few questions:
Do I have my dogs attention? If the dog doesn't know you are talking to him/her than the game is already over. This is why focus work is important.
Does my dog know what I am asking for? If they don't know how to sit then asking for it multiple times will not help you accomplish the task.
What is in it for them? Have we established a positive relationship with our dogs and paid them for the work they do? You wouldn't work at your job for free would you? So why should our dogs??
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Finding out what motivates your dog is very important to the equation. This is why many times I can get other peoples dogs to work for me when they are having difficulties. I have learned how to get good focus and I pay them for their work. I am also very clear in my communication so the dog isn't confused. To much talking is counter productive to our task. If you want a sit, say it once and then wait. Be sure to PAY them the moment they do what you ask. (more about using food, and other things as pay can be found in this post: http://k-9solutionsdogtraininginc.blogspot.com/2011/05/bribery-in-dog-training.html )
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So I hope that helps explain why how much you talk to your dog is important. They aren't trying to ignore you or push your buttons. They just don't always know what it is that you want from them. Good luck and happy training!

Wordless Wednesday - Pirate face edition

Happy Birthday Jenny!!

Today is Jenny's 5th birthday. I only know this because it was on her medical papers when we adopted her from Pug Rescue of New England. She was 18 months old when she came to live with us. I jokingly refer to her as our "gateway pug" since she started a bit of an obsession with the breed for me. My son wanted a pug and wouldn't be swayed to another frenchie no matter how hard we tried. Boy am I glad he stuck to his guns! I can't imagine our life without her. She has been a great partner in training due to her extreme LOVE of food. She has made me have to think harder than ever before in some cases to change some of her behaviors, or polish some of her moves. A perfect dog for a trainer to have! She manages to put up with all my silliness including tolerating all the dogs and puppies I have brought home during the time she has been with us. Here are just a few of my favorite photos of her. I threw in a video of her at the end that makes me laugh every time I watch it.

And here is the video.

(and the link in case the video doesn't play through Blogger: http://youtu.be/nwMsLZtGf7A )
Happy Birthday Jenny! Here's to many more years together!!

Are you DINOS friendly?

Do you know what DINOS is? Dinos stands for Dog In Need Of Space. Now a dog can be a DINOS for many reasons. Maybe they are scared of people, or other dogs. Maybe they are aggressive with other dogs because they had a bad experience. Or maybe they have a medical condition that makes it painful for them to be touched. A DINOS dog might need space from other dogs, other animals or even people. It doesn't matter if YOUR dog is friendly and you love dogs. The DINOS dog still doesn't want to be approached by you! So please be respectful and give them their space. Keep your dogs ON leash unless you are in a specific off leash area. Many DINOS can walk politely in public on leash just fine. It is when they are approached that there is a problem. This is also a great example of why you should ask an owner before approaching a dog or letting your dog get to close. They may look friendly because you are not in their space, but that doesn't mean they are if you get closer! Check out the fabulous poster and video about DINOS dogs.

http://youtu.be/BmQW723DBzo (This is the link if the video doesn't embed properly. Blogger is being a pain lately.)

Do you have a DINOS of your own? There is a facebook group just for you!! Here is their website with a link to the fb page: http://notesfromadogwalker.com/

Wordless Wednesday

Reality TV, Animal Style

Today I got caught up on some shows I had taped for later. The first is a show on Animal Planet called "American Stuffers".

American Stuffers is a reality show that takes place in a taxidermy shop. The catch? They also specialize in "Pet Preservation". Here is the info from their Animal Planet site: http://animal.discovery.com/tv/american-stuffers/
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I have to admit on first glance I was kind of horrified. The pet preservation is accomplished through a process of freeze drying. Traditional taxidermy is when the hide of the animal is treated and put over a pre-made form of the animal in question. Think styrofoam shape wearing the animals skin. You can't buy forms for pets as there is to much variety of body shapes involved. I am familiar with taxidermy because my husband co-owns a game processing shop. This means during hunting season he cuts up deer, moose and bear for hunters. Hides and heads sometimes get sent to be mounted. We also have a few trophies on our own wall. (I long for the day we have a house with a den they can go into.) I have even watched a step by step video on how taxidermy is done. So I admit I am not the average viewer for this show.
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I watched the first 2 episodes. Aside from the owner (Daniel) and his staff, (Fred and Joseph ) they also have an intern that is studying to be a veterinarian. (Dixie) I am impressed with the owners demeanor at handling the pets and their owners. He is very respectful and caring about his job. I am surprised at how much they do show of the actual process. (Which might be to graphic for some viewers considering the subject.) They also show Daniel with his family and their home life which seems very normal and sweet. His wife LaDawn is a teacher and they met as high school sweethearts. Aside from the pet preservation they also show other taxidermy projects on the program.
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I will say that I can't imagine that I would never have my pet preserved in this way. If I did I certainly wouldn't chose any other pose than curled up and asleep. Some of the poses just look to creepy for my taste. However on further consideration I suppose grief is different for everyone. If someone needs to have the pet in a more physical form for them to keep then what harm is there? I do wonder if having the pet present like that might make it harder for the owner to move on tho. And is it disrespectful to the pet do you think? To keep the shell of who they were around as a keepsake? In that same vein wouldn't keeping the ashes then also be disrespectful?
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There are dead things everywhere in homes we don't think of as weird. Deer heads, moose heads, deer leg lamps, antler chandeliers, dried starfish, sand dollars and other various sea creatures used as decorations. However we never knew those animals on a personal level so I guess that is what makes it different. (tho when I see a starfish I see a dead creature which I don't think many people do)
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I find the show engaging in a way I didn't expect and I will probably watch more. My biggest complaint is the name of the show. They seriously couldn't come up with a better name? "American Stuffers" just seems , well tacky. What would you call it?
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The other show I watched is "My cat from Hell".

Here is the website info here: http://animal.discovery.com/tv/my-cat-from-hell/
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This show is much more viewer friendly. It is a reality show about a cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy as he helps clients with aggressive cats. I LOVE this show! Not only do the cats get the help they need to keep them in their home, he explains what he is doing and why. This show is a great resource for all cat owners, not just ones with problems. The key to solving behavior problems is to know about the behavior of the species in question first. Environment is also critical to solving some issues. I watched this last season as well. I think all cat owners should watch it.
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What animal shows do you watch and recommend, or dislike, and why?