Tail docking

Okay, this is a hot one people but it is a topic of discussion on one of my groups so I thought I'd throw it out there for everyone to ponder on. This is my opinion and mine alone and you are completely entitled to have and voice your own opinion on the subject. I am completely against docking and cropping; but this specific blog is about docking.

Docking is typically done between the age of 2-5 days and without anesthesia. If you've ever witnessed the procedure; yikes. There are several sites on the web that show step by step how it is done from start to finish. Only look if you have a strong stomach.

As a lover of dogs, all dogs whether purebred or mix I think that docking now belongs in the history books. I just know that our Grandchildren will look back and shudder when they see what we did to dogs for fashion. Being that I have a docked breed I have had many a heated discussion on the subject and balance seems to be one of the important factors in docking today. "The dog looks more balanced." More balanced?

I don't understand how people justify our human eye more than the natural length of a tail. Dogs like wolves are born with tails for a reason; all physical. They use them for communication purposes and to aid in agility. Watch a dogs tail when they swim, do agility, frisbee or any other active type sport. That tail is turning back and forth in the opposite direction of the body like a rudder.

From a behavior perspective a dog with a tail has much superior communication capabilities than that of a dog with a shortened or completely docked tail. It is simple logics to see that they cannot throw signals as easily nor can other dogs read them as freely.

As a trainer I much prefer dogs with tails as it let's me know much more comprehensively of what is going on in that little head. Tails are not the only thing used for communication but they are a huge factor.

Many breeders state that the reason they do it is because the standard says so. Hey, isn't there a saying that says "rules are made to be broken?" If everyone just stopped, no more docking and everyone banded together the standards would change, bottom line. The Europeans are way ahead of us in this department.

The other reason many stand by docking is for injury reason. It is stated by many that a working dogs tail can be damaged leading to later amputation. Yes well accidents happen and I know many, many dog breeds that are not docked that are amazing working field dogs. Labs, Goldens and English pointers all have their tails.

And the last reason and most historic is that of the guarding breeds that looked just too darn cute with their ears and tails. They were taken off to create a more menacing appearance and to eliminate the grab ability of the would be criminals. Most police dogs nowadays; German Shepherds, Dutch Shepherd, Tervuren and the Malanois have tails. And from where I stand they are pretty scarey, seems like the criminals on the news think so too.

Check it out:

Cool site

Kids and dogs

Good morning; I had a great day yesterday with my two daughters, we headed down to the beach for the afternoon. With the temps in the high 80s it seemed almost unimaginable that Christmas was just a couple of weeks ago. We first stopped at the Montage which is where I had my most recent poodle walk. It was glorious but there were not many dogs out; I think because of the heat. It makes me happy when people consider their dogs in the heat. We did see a man playing with his dogs in the surf, they were having a great time.

Both my daughters are huge dog lovers; but they weren't always interested in dogs. When they were small they pretty much considered our dogs to be pieces of furniture and it was not until the arrival of my son that the dogs ever really intereacted with kids. My son was different than my girls, as soon as he was mobile he made a b-line to the dogs. I remember the growling and the look on poor Clyde's face. As a Mother a growling dog is not something you want to hear but from Clyde's point of view he did not want to see a smelly small human crawling his way.

So with work and time Clyde and my son got use to each other and learned how to appropriately interact. This is one of the most important things you can teach your dog and your child. Often when I am called in to work with a "problem" between children and dogs it is simply a lack of supervision and boundaries created by the parent.

I don't know how many times I've heard a parent say "the dog is going to bite you." If you think a dog is going to bite your child; whether it is your dog or someone elses dog then you should stop your child. It should never, ever be left to the dog to discipline your child; which is a very dangerous situation. It takes time for dogs to become accustom to children, especially small crawling children.

But even older kids can freak dogs out, it amazes me how dogs can tell the difference between a teenager age human and an adult. Luke grew up with teenage kids and after a couple of years my sons friends look very much like grown men; at least in their size. But Luke could always tell the difference, he loved this age kids but grown men he wasn't really fond of. He acted differently and more guarding when a grown man would come in the house vs. a teenage boy.

It is of the utmost importance to socialize dogs with children and if you can do it when they are puppies; all the better. Kids can freak dogs out and dogs can freak kids out causing them to act silly and not dog friendly. Babies, toddler, kids and teenages smell different than grown humans. And they act very different at every age; to expect a dog to be okay with each you must socialize them with each.

And never leave the disciplining of the kids to the dog, NEVER.

Up early

I had to get up at 5am this morning to let Tilley out. Not that she herself needed out, I had to let her out so that by the time we got to the vets for her Urine Analysis at 9 her bladder would be partially full again. I'm not use to waking to the alarm; my husband gets up and turns it off every morning so I usually sleep through it. Funny how if you have to get up you hear the alarm though.

So bleary eyed I stumbled down to the kitchen; let her out and then got her some food. She had salmon and oatmeal soup sort of. She is not a big drinker so I filled her bowl with water; she didn't seem to mind and scarfed it down. Now she cannot go out again, not easy. She may have to poop but that's too bad she can't. I hate doing this and this is when I do wish my vet was just around the corner.

So here we sit in my bedroom waiting; waiting until I have to leave which will be earlier than I had thought. The earlier the better at this point so I can get her in and get her back home. She will be a quivering mass by the time we get there; I always know what to expect when I lift the back hatch. As I've said before she knows that she is going to the vets when she goes in the car alone.

Pour girl; she is getting a needle through her stomach and into her bladder. She's had this done often and doesn't even flinch, what a trooper. Dogs are amazing aren't they?

A rainbow of colors

Many breeds come in an array of colors and patterns; others come in a one size fits all color. But whatever the color it is the dog inside that counts. I am often asked to assist in finding dogs for families. I have a questionnaire that when filled out helps me to know what the people are looking for. If they aren't sure of what breed they want it is these questions we visit first.

Although there are no question of color on my sheet; they tell me anyway. "We would like a white dog, or we would like a red dog." We quickly move on to what do you want in a dog and what are you willing to do for a dog. Let's say pure white is the most important factor for you so far. Okay, the samoyed, bull terrier, poodle, bichon. havanese and many other breeds that now come in white that aren't suppose to. Many of these breeds who now show up in white deal with deaf and blindness which is another topic all together. So there you have a handful of white dogs; not much in common with these dogs is there? Hmmmmmm.

Being that standard poodles are my breed we have a rainbow to choose from. People always contact me saying I want a blue, or a white or a red. What do I tell them? "Go color blind." That's right, forget the color and look for the dog. And I can guarantee whatever color you end up with will be your new favorite color.

There are still people who choose puppies because of the way they look, a cute spot on their tail, the soft blonde one or the jet black puppy with the white patch over their eye. But that tells you absolutely nothing about the dog inside. Sometimes puppies come out the wrong color and this may be a disqualification. Wrong color???? That's right, all standards have color requirements. It has absolutely nothing to do with the dog inside but for some reason they are pushed aside. Breeders often "got rid" of these puppies; which is not so common now adays. More often these "mismarks" are placed in loving family homes and not for show.

So when you are looking for a dog; where should you start? Characteristics, whether that be in a purebred or a mix. You can search for characteristics that you would like in a dog or view characteristics in a particular dog. If you want a couch potato type dog and are set on a black and white dog then best to focus on the couch potato issue. Because border collies are b/w and you aren't going to be happy with one of those.

It comes down to basics; like most things in life. Look beyond the exterior.

Dealing with emotions

As humans we are an emotional bunch; sure there are those who are hard as stone, the tough guys. Do dogs have emotions? I think yes; but they are not like ours. A dogs emotion is true, clear and uncluttered. The dog emotion relies more on core temperament more than our "feelings" type emotion.

Today we were out for several hours; when I came into the house Tilley was on the new leather couch. I naturally told her to "GET OFF." She knows it is off limits and also knows that she can get on it when we are not home. And she does tend to like the comforts of it when she is unusually tired which would be today. She went for a long walk so at nearly 12 she was tired. But; because I have three dogs, one of which likes to fluff anything he lays on I must enforce this "no furniture" rule.

What is Tilley's response? She immediately albeit slowly gets off of the couch. She comes to me squinting and sits before me in respect, she will be blinky for a while now. This is not an emotional response but a hierarchy response and a smart one at that. Tilley is more a sensitive dog but not so emotional; Luke is my emotional dog. He wakes up with an array of emotions each day and until you speak to him you really don't know what type of mood he is in.

The females in my house seem to be much more level with their emotions, not as demonstrative as Luke. Luke definitely has more fluctuations with his emotions. He is easily upset and worries about nearly everything. He can wake in a good mood, a smile and wagging tail or he can wake-up not wanting to talk to anyone.

Where I see emotions in dogs generally is when they are ignored or feeling as they are being ignored. Or when they are scolded unexpectedly. For instance; if Luke or Tilley is getting alot of attention, I will see Jessie's face change. She doesn't do anything about it but her posture changes. And she may even drag her little body to a pillow and plunk down depression style. Funny.

If Luke get's in trouble, and it is only ever vocal he sulks. He is obviously upset and not just reacting to my action. The action/reaction is immediate and over quickly. Even once I have forgiven him with a change of posture he will keep eye contact me for hours, he does not like to get into trouble. Whereas the girls react to my negative action in a typical submissive body posture. Once forgiven by my change of mood and posture they usually go about their business and all is over.

It is very difficult to describe a dog emotion; we are constantly accused of anthropomophism. But to infuse human emotions on canine behavior enables us to better understand a dogs behavior. Yes their emotions are vastly different from ours but there are definte emotions behind those eyes.

They are all different, but I do believe they have emotions. It is not all action/reaction.

Vomitus

It's Friday yet again; weeks literally fly by don't they? The poodles and I had a great walk yesterday; always nice to find a new place to walk. Although Luke decided to pull a new one on me; he was acting out of the ordinary and vomited twice, pure white foam. I have only seen this type of substance come out of a dog when I have induced vomiting with peroxide (in Jessie) and never out of Luke.

So for most of the walk I had a question mark coming out of my head. I fed him early and a regular breakfast, nothing our of the norm. What I am thinking though is that he got himself into a state of excitement. This was a new place to walk but it was very similar to another place we walk, Salt Creek. And it is at Salt Creek that he becomes out of control with excitement over squirrels. He was diving into the bushes alot during our walk and it wasn't until the end of our walk that I thought about the similarities.

His first upchuck was out of the way on the grass, still it turned a few stomachs. But the second one as luck would have it was just two feet infront of a nice older couple sitting on a park bench enjoying the oceanview. I tried to rush Luke past the couple but he had planted his feet and was in puke posture. Gggraaaaacccchhhhhhh; out it came, a monumentous amount of white foam vomitus. Nice.

I was in the process of apologizing when the lady told me to watch that his leash didn't get into the mass. "How nice" I thought to myself. So much to the disgust of anyone within visual range I attempted to clean it up, not an easy task. I did my best and we were on our way. We finished up our walk which was very enjoyable. Our little poodle group always cause quite a stir and we are regularly photographed by people who enjoy the poodle parade.

Once home Luke had a snack and then later ate his dinner like a champ, no upset, nothing. He is fine this morning and sleeping curled up at the end of the bed. He along with the girls has had his morning snack and has gone back to bed.

Time for me to get going, lot's to do. Have a great Friday.

Art dogs

Being a dog lover and a photographer I see "a shot" in dogs on a daily basis. Like anyone else who has dogs; your camera is never in your hand when you want it. Last fall I finally bought myself a small palm camera; the Canon Powershot (I'm a Canon gal). It's dark brown; although several people have said "what a cute purple camera," so I guess it is more plum color. Anyhow, I love it.

It allows me to get shots that I wouldn't normally get because I try to keep it on me always. As much as I love it, it is still just a point and shoot so it often frustrates me as I'm use to my big camera and big lense. My big lenses let me get in, really close. I never have to look far or wait long during a shoot to get "the shot."

I see dogs as art to start with, their expression, posture and coat all lend themselves to great photos. I'm sure many of the people in my photo groups have seen more than enough dog shots from me; I never grow tired of looking at them. I do grow bored of looking at other type images, say people for instance. It is all in where your passion lies.

My passion is dogs, it always has been and always will be. When I am out with dogs; whether they are mine or not I can often be heard making audible groans sounds. This is the sound of a missed shot; I hate it. There are always shots that you'd love to get; patience is a virtue. On Monday I got just one of those "wait for shots," during my litter shoot.

I have maybe a dozen images in my files that I classify as "special." I keep these shots for use somewhere down the road. They are all natural dog shots; I like candids. I am not a set up pose photographer although I have had to pose dogs sometimes I much prefer the end result from a natural shot.

Dogs are naturally art to me, there is no need to change a thing.

Collars yet again.

I'm going back to collars again this morning. It is a major issue I have and one that is constantly on my mind. I often wonder how people can put choke chains or slip collars on their dog and not flinch when their dog is pulling them down the street near choking to death.

The other day when I had to take Tilley to the vet; there was just such a scenario there. We were sitting nice and quiet; of course we were it was Tilley. When a man came in with his yellow lab; nice dog but pulling like crazy. The kind of pulling where only the dogs feet are moving forward while he is choking and coughing.

The dog had on a chain choke collar; weird how the name describes the collar and yet people never stop to think about this. Some of the more sly trainers these days have changed the name of the collar to a "training collar." I've used choke collars; way back when I was young and didn't know any better and yep they choked.

What caused me to do a complete 360 was Tilley; she came to me with a very sensitive esophagus. Any pressure on it at all and she coughs; obviously bothered by the collar pressure on her throat. I had stopped using choke collars long before Tilley but collar width now became an issue; I switched to body harnesses.

The worst yet is when people use choke collars and extension leashes. The pressure never goes away; it is a constant that many dogs become accustom to. Overtime this can cause a great amount of damage to a dogs neck and throat. There is alot of information out there about the dangers of choke collars; just search the web and you will find a plethora to read.

I do not think that collars are a wonderful thing; but if you take great care not to yank on them they do what they were meant to do, keep out dogs attached to us. I have looked for year and years for nice wide collars; they type the sight hound folks use for when I do put a collar on my dogs. I finally found a lady to makes wonderful collars in 2" width and in a large array of styles.

www.dogsinstyle.com

If you put the smallest amount of pressure on the front of your neck you will see what a delicate area it is. Great care should be taken when choosing and using a collar and yanking is something that should never be done. But as humans we tend to just do and think later. How many times have you seen people yanking their dog down the street? Don't like what the dog is doing? Yank!!

Although dogs have very muscular necks, some resembling The Hulk they are still just necks. They are prone to all sorts of injuries from whiplash to esophogus damage. Take care of their neck like you would yours.

Oodles of Poodles

Yesterday was amazing; I had the great pleasure of spending much of the day with a pile of poodles. There was a litter of 8 week olds and older ones from 6 months and up. I was in poodle heaven so to speak ;) I do temperament testing all the time but having the chance to watch a litter interact over a long period of time is different.

I love canine behavior and could watch it for hours; dissecting all the interactions between the dogs. Watching these tiny versions of dogs to come is immensely interesting and entertaining. Watching how the puppies interact with the adults of a pack; the differences in behavior depending on the status of each adult. Each puppy has their own status already within their tiny pack, but isolated all on their own that varies their behavior tremendously.

All of my dogs are and have been the dogs that I met when they were just tiny puppies. That core temperament in a puppy remains all the years through their lives. But depending on where each dog ends up will relate to how their life and behavior develops.

The amount of hardwired behaviors shown by 8 week old puppies is truly amazing. They react and display many adult behaviors; that is without the benefit of life experience. Many of their behavior displays come from that lack of experience but still gives you a window to see each dog in their raw self.

The difference between each puppy is immense; although at first glance they look like a great mass of tiny clones. It is the subtle difference that must be recognized when placing a puppy. That is one reason that buying a puppy from a photo on the internet is such a bad idea; the other of course being that it is probably a miller.

Each puppy in a litter deals, reacts and displays in their own very individual way. And not all will mesh with your way, your family or your pack. No matter what the breed; puppies are all adorable, I have yet to meet an ugly one. But they are just tiny versions of what they will be, and if you listen to a good breeder and watch carefully there are signs; perhaps subtle but they are there.

Back at it

Ahhhhh, 5 am came way too early this morning. Over the holidays we tend to sleep until the natural wake up time; around 7 so I'm not happy about this 5 wake up call. The world gets back at it today, right? Everything swings into gear and we are off on another year.

The dogs are sleeping, they don't do 5 in the morning anymore. Jessie stirred only long enough to rearrange her little cave bed and dove quickly back in. They will all sleep as long as I allow them, which will not be long this morning. I have to get up and get cooking, I've got a pile of gizzard to get into the oven this morning and then much after Holiday clean up to do.

Yesterday we enjoyed the last day of the holidays. We went off roading in my xterra around 10 and then spent the rest of the day undecorating. Only Jessie accompanied us off roading, it's a rough ride and the poodles find it difficult to keep their footing, understandably. Jessie was kept wrapped tightly in a dog throw in the passengers arms. Even in her safe cacoon she is still flying around. The passenger was my hubby on the way in and me on the way out. But what a blast and now my truck is filthy, nice.

The rest of the day was out back where we were decked to the nines. Funny how all the dogs are so different; Luke is right there no matter what I am doing. He follows me from place to place and just stands and waits. Often he sticks his nose into whatever I'm doing trying to be very much a part of each activity. Tilley is off watching shadows and jessie is curled up in a beam of sunshine by the door.

Once I head into the kitchen to make dinner everyone takes up their usual spot. Jessie and Tilley lay on the bed in the kitchen and Luke is either in the livingroom around the corner or outside on the double chaise where he can see me through the kitchen window. He started this several months ago. Pretty much everyday now when I start to make dinner he goes outside and lays on the lounge. He really is a creature of habit.

After dinner we head downstairs, the dogs wait by the stairs not knowing if I'm going up or down. Once we head down Jessie and Tilley find a spot and curl up; Luke wanders. He gets out a couple of toys, then stands and stares at Tilley for a while. He'd like the spot she chose; but she quickly let's him know it's taken. What he'd really like to do it to come on the couch and curl up with me, being in the same room is not enough for my constant shadow.

The couch is off limits mostly; and this is because of Luke. He is a digger; a constant comfort seeking dog who not only does 27 spins before laying down, he must also fluff. I am constantly stopping his fluffing process, he has put several holes in many of the dog beds. And he doesn't stop there, he attempts to fluff the carpet and my bed. So if I came home one day and he has fluffed the couch enough to make a hole in it? Well, it wouldn't be good for anyone.

Have a great start back to the New Year and give all of your dog/dogs and big hug and kiss for me.

The breeds we choose

Ever wonder what makes us choose the dogs we choose? I wonder when I look at people with a breed that I'm not fond of, or when I hear people raving over a breed that might be the last on my list of dogs to choose. Then there are the people who just plain love dogs; big, small, smooth coat, long and fluffy, whatever.

I have to say that I love just about all dogs; I love the big ones, small, smooth, rough and everything in between. I love that I get to meet so many dogs as well; often I meet a breed that I have yet to meet in person and love getting to know the breed personally. Each breed has certain traits that makes them desirable or undesirable to some.

Obviously it is the inside of the dog that matters most but it is the outside that we see first, isn't it. And like any other human you can like or dislike the look of a dog. Looks are not a big factor for me and I truly go for what's inside. Strange that I have poodles; they are probably one of the most misunderstood breeds that there is. Ask anyone and they roll their eyes; "oh you have poodles."

Yes lots of people have poodles or get a poodle because of the "poodle" look. That pom pom, majestic looking creature that looks like they should be walking down a runway. This also turns many people off of poodles; but if you've never actually met a poodle you are truly missing out. You can continue to roll your eyes if you like now, if you are not a poodle person.

The breed that started it all for me was a Doberman, love the breed. When I was small my absolute favorite was the Irish Setter and just the other day I passed a lady walking a Gordon Setter and an English Setter which you don't see around often. I adore the personality filled Bulldogs, love the gentleness of an Irish, Wolfhound, I have come to really like German Shepherds and I love to meet great mixed breeds.

I met a Saint bernard mix several years back that was by far one of the coolest dogs I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. So for me it's much more about what's inside. Sort of like meeting guys, often you meet a hotty and the minute they open their mouth they go down many notches. But meet an average looking guy who has an amazing personality and they now surpass the other guy leaps and bounds on the hot meter.

We are obviously attracted to exterior first, but to know a dog truly you must look past that and focus on what's inside. Many secrets lie waiting to be discovered beyond a great exterior.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone; how fast does a year actually go? It has been a trying year an I am looking at this one to be a better one. I don't have any resolutions; I think they actually set you up for failure. Instead I set a couple of goals but even those are not set in stone; they are things I would like to accomplish but I don't get nuts about it.

What I do try to do is to be the best person I can be each and every year. That means Mom of human kids and furkids, wife, trainer, writer, photographer etc. I try very hard to improve myself in every factor of my life; it sure can't hurt. But to out and out say I'm changing this or that? That's tough, changing can be hard and it make take a slow evolution to get to where you want to be.

There are a few canine related things that I hope will change in this New Year and that is regulation of Millers (puppy millers) who in my mind are some of the worst criminals out there. Below link is tough to watch, but maybe if more people opened their eyes it might stop sometime in the near future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdcNl5FqcKY

So my New Year will be to be the best I can be in all aspects of my life. Here's to your life in 2009

The dangers of Rimadyl

First I want to say I am not a vet so this is in no way medical advice. I am a canine guardian and as such I do extensive research on new products, diseases or anything that I haven't heard about having to do with dogs. Rimadyl is one such item that I have done alot of reasearch on and feel the need to pass on the info I have found.

These are only a few of the articles found.

http://www.srdogs.com/Pages/rimadylfr.html
-----------------------
http://www.k9obedience.co.uk/doghealth/treatment/rimadylandmetacam.html
-----------------------
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_rimadyl.html

I recommend researching any new medication or product extensively before considering giving it to your dog.

A mucky mess

The dogs went for a New Years run this morning. Having thought long and hard about the conditions in the canyon we agreed that it must be dried up by now. We haven't had rain since Christmas day; that's a whole week of dry weather. My husband gathered all three; slipped Jessie's harness on, clipped on Tilley's collar and rounded up Luke to get his Easy Walk harness on and off they went.

They were gone a longtime when I heard the charging around the corner into the backyard. As soon as I saw their feet I realized that the canyon had not dried completely. We immediately got out the foot bucket; the dog foot washing bucket that is. With the bucket filled with warm sudsy water Jessie is the first in. She fits nicely with all four in at once. There is a little bit of a struggle and she's done.

After the dogs have their feet washed, they get a second dunking into the rinse bucket. Luckily my husband was handling the washing today; it's a back killer and I was on rinse duty. For some reason my perfect in every way Tilley is not so perfect about having her feet washed; she hates it and struggles like a WWF Wrestler, so once she is washed I get her rinsed before she knows what hit her.

Luke is last and so well behaved with the whole feet washing. He is by far the dirtiest as well because he runs with such gusto; the dirt flies everywhere. This is part of life with dogs. Dogs = dirt and that is the way it should be if they are allowed to have the kind of fun that they deserve.

Having a dirt busting partner to help with the foot bathing makes it that much easier. Dirty dogs make me smile; just like dirty kids.

Vet visit

Yesterday Tilley went to the vet; she does indeed have some type of infection of her bladder. She is on antibiotics which already started working and I had a goodnight sleep as did she. She infact is still sleeping sound right below me in her bed. She was an angel of course; although her level of trembling was off the charts when we first got there.

She get's the tip off as soon as she is the only one in the car. I have tried to change this behavior by taking her fun places alone but she just seems to have it figured out somehow. So when I open up the back hatch of my Xterra she is a quivering mass. Once in it takes a longtime for her to lower the trembling level and she never completely stops until we leave.

She had a couple of her growths checked out. A needle was put into them to draw what was inside; one drew nothing, the other a white substance that has been sent off to the labs. She is so good; they can do anything to her and she doesn't flinch; sort of the complete opposite of Luke.

On the way home we made a quick stop at The Lazy Dog Cafe to meet my husband for lunch. Of course Tilley was a perfect angel again; never left her mat that I brought for her and enjoyed my hummus appetizer. The waitress brought her a bowl of water that she didn't touch (she never drinks away from home). She had many admirers "look at the beautiful poodle". She is looking very poodley right now as she just got her face clipped and is in fuller coat with the cooler weather.

Tilley has one of the most beautiful faces, I have to say. Not that I am her Mom or anything; she is simply gorgeous and because of this I like to keep her face shaved more than furface Luke who looks adorable with a teddybear face. Tilley will be going back for a needle in the bladder test after she finishes these meds to make sure that it has killed everything. She's had it done often and is a trooper. I tell ya if someone stuck a needle into my stomach with no freezing; I'd probably rip their arm off.

May your last day of 2008 bring hope for a wonderful 2009. :)

Liver Biscotti sprinkles

I'm still laughing; funny how things seem quite normal until you see it through someone else's eyes. Lastnight as I was preparing supper for the dogs; sweet potato, ground turkey, ground beef, brown rice, apple and cucumber my husband was sitting at the table. We were talking during the preparation and feeding process. As usual Luke decided to only have a couple of bites.

I thought long and hard "what can I put on it?" I then remembered the Biscotti, Liver Biscotti sprinkles to be exact. Some smart person decided to collect all the crumbs from the liver Biscotti and sell them in sprinkle form. Smart, smart. So I asked Luke if he wanted me to put some Liver Biscotti sprinkles on his food? He followed me over and before I hit the bowl; my husband said "YOU HAVE LIVER BISCOTTI SPRINKLES?" The tone that the question came out with was that of unbelieving.

I thought about it and laughed; I guess that sounds pretty weird if you're a normal person. For me it is just another ingredient in my arsenal of "how to get Luke to eat."

Finding your vet

It's taken me until now to find my vet; the search can seem daunting at times. But like your own physician you want a vet that you feel comfortable with, a vet you trust. There are lots of good vets out there but finding one that you really click with can be tough. I've left alot of vets; some just because we didn't quite hit it off; others for good reasons.

I remember my very first vet telling me that there was no difference in generic grocery store dog food vs. the premium more expensive stuff. He didn't see why you should pay the extra money. But it was the day I brought my airedale in for a particular ailment that I left him. He wouldn't look at something else on her that was troubling at that same appointment; I had to make another appointment for the other problem with her. Same dog, just a different question about her.

There was the vet that I brought Tilley to when we first moved here; the one that let a vet tech take her out back and let her go. She was panicked and running across busy streets, finally ending up in our backyard somehow after only living here 2 weeks. The vet I saw that day never called me, never apologized but the vet who owned the facility called and sent me a coupon for my next visit..............Uh not likely.

I left one vets because I simply couldn't afford them. A simple visit for a regular check up, no tests, no shots was up near 500.00. The facility was new and improved, very high tech but too high tech for regular visits and my wallet.

Then there was the one I visited from a recommendation; they were great. Small and personal; I liked the main vet who owned the place alot. But alas; as luck would have it he was retiring. The new vets and I didn't mesh quite as well and one of them asked me what I was going to do about my fat poodle? Tilley was in full coat at the time and looks rather round but he had just taken her weight at 47lbs and given her a physical examine; but for some reason couldn't get past the full coat chubby look. He also gave her a clean bill of health after a urine analysis I had asked for because she had blood in her urine. Which lead us to the next vet.

Again a recommendation; they found that Tilley indeed had a severe infection, more crystals than they had ever seen in a dog and was put on several rounds of antibiotics. But it was the lack of personal touch, no connection that bothered me. And the fact that after dealing with Tilley's huge mystery gapping wound on her tail; a couple of months before they had no memory or her or I. Both vets had told me they had never seen anything like this before; we were there alot and the vet had wanted to amputate her tail. Don't you think you would remember that? Even after attempting to jog his memory; nothing. That gave me a weird feeling.

All this was leading to the fact that Tilley is off to the vet this morning. I don't stress about it like I do with Luke. Tilley is an angel; yes she gets upset and tries to crawl inside my body but she will let anyone do anything to her. She definitely has something going on with her bladder again, hopefully it will be fixed soon so that I can get a goodnights sleep. I'm exhausted.

Another seizure

I knew I shouldn't have been thinking it; but I couldn't help it. It has been a very longtime since Luke has had a seizure. And I think it was just lastnight that the thought entered my mind; "it's been a while." I try to never think it; at least out loud, because it always seems to predict a seizure in the not too distant future.

I don't know what caused the seizure; I was pretty involved with working up some photos when he came to tell me. I felt a nudge; thinking it was Tilley I turned to see what she needed. It was Luke with his tell-tale "I'm going to have a seizure" panic look on his face. He had waited a little bit too long to tell me and we were quickly on the ground and in it.

Luckily I had just picked up so we had a good open space to go through it. I held his weight as he slid to the ground and made myself as comfortable as I could. Before I knew it Luke was stiff; but still with me. His seizures are always the same; they consist of two very clear parts with a small break in the middle. This was the first part; the part where Luke is still with me.

He did some motioning with his legs but it's not the bad part. He started to relax in my arms and turned his head to make sure I was still there with him when he quickly slipped away from me. Physically he was still in my arms but my boy Luke was gone. With his eyes fixed in a horrified stare I held him tight to me. His body twists and contorts into positions that are not normal for a dog. I am very aware of his feet and try to stay clear of his face and teeth.

Luke has never bit during a seizure; which is something that can and does happen. But he has nailed me with his feet when they stiffen like boards and his claws grasp anything they can find. His rear legs come up way past his head and his breathing is strong and heavy. I do not let go; I hold him safely in my arms so that he doesn't hurt himself.

Within minutes I can feel him coming back; it takes a long time. In all it is almost 20 minutes before it starts to stop. If you have never seen a dogs face when they seize; it is very scarey and disturbing. Their eyes are fixed open wide enough that the white is showing. The first blink lets me know that he is starting the coming out process. His body relaxes but convulses from the tension it has been through.

This is a very dangerous stage for Luke; as soon as he starts to come out he wants to get up and wander but he is very wobbly and must be kept down. I try to keep him calm by talking to him until he surrenders and lays still. In all it takes up to 1/2 hour for him to be himself again. But even after that he will not let me out of his sight.

This is when I usually turn on the tv and get comfy. With Luke curled up next to me he relaxes and recovers from whatever hit him. He spends many hours afterwards looking for the invisible enemy. He sniffs the air; smells the spot where he drooled all over the carpet, stares at the ceiling in attempts to get a glimpse of the elusive demon that attacks him every so often.

I know he doesn't know what has happened to him when he has a seizure; but he definitely knows when he is going to have one. He always comes to get me; and if I am not around he will go to whoever is home with him. I think he has only ever had one seizure when no one was home; and this is a tough thing for me to even consider. I can't imagine him coming out alone.

I have successfully minimized several seizures by talking soothingly to him throughout the ordeal. If I can keep him with me and not let him slip into the "gone" zone I'm happy. When he goes into the "gone" zone it get's bad, real bad. Several years ago I thought I'd give keeping him with me a try by constantly talking to him and it has worked off and on.

Having switched the dogs to a completely homemade diet for over 2 years now Luke rarely seizes. When he does; we get through it the best we can and I always hope that I'm here when it happens.

Opening presents

Never was there a more enthusiastic gift opener.

A dogs vocabulary

How many words can a dog learn? Have you ever consider what your dog understands as far as human terminology? If you know your dog really well you should be able to see when they understand a word. All of my dogs respond to many, many human words each with their own little visual recognition twist. Luke is again the easiest to read; his responses are more demonstrative making it easier to see if he understands.

All the dogs know everyone's name in the family. I can tell each one to go and see someone and they will; Jessie is not as reliable with this. I try to teach them new words all the time, even as seniors their learning capacity is large and they are more than willing to give it a try.

When you teach your dog the meaning of our human words it opens up the ability to communicate more readily with them. Take a crazed barking pack; my dogs often go off when someone comes in the door. If I tell them it is just Nicole (one of my daughters) then the barking changes dramatically from guarding to excitement barking. Which is much more tolerable.

If Luke won't eat his meal I will tell him that I put butter in it. He will then go and check out his meal, what a guy. I don't really know how large their vocabulary is but I know they understand alot and I am always teaching them new meanings of words.

Some newer ones are airplane, your grass (I planted a special pot for their eating enjoyment), bird, ice and beach. Each time we do something I explain to them what is going on. "We are going in the car to the park." "Go have a drink of water," "anyone hungry? I'm going to feed the dogs" I constantly talk to the dogs and I am very aware that repetition is the secret to creating an understanding of words that they hear on a regular basis.

Because my dogs understand so many words it can be difficult to tag a new behavior with an associated term as it may mean other things to them already. I have actually gone days before putting a verbal meaning on a behavior because I've had a difficult time finding a word that is new. That or finding a word that I will remember; I really forget easily so it has to be something that will stick in my head as well.

It is nice seeing how much a dog can understand. Talk to your dog; they are listening.