tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47380868841482958402024-02-18T19:22:52.969-08:00Life With Big Dogs!These are just my ramblings about my life with my great danes!Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.comBlogger834125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-56432563986321483862018-12-23T18:01:00.001-08:002018-12-23T18:01:53.421-08:00Surprise!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5rGiWH_7tzfCPG6-6chUNoZJhSQ51oNn0zsAlKm1kvkVnuRRefID0CxRVsZ9c8yEtlYOVSluV7G4OAiqM-iUyh_M_3Wb8iOjdBaK58lTkyTJrZqJERf1h4iAuq4dQ5oiS7N0pRkrfmuH/s1600/IMG_3733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5rGiWH_7tzfCPG6-6chUNoZJhSQ51oNn0zsAlKm1kvkVnuRRefID0CxRVsZ9c8yEtlYOVSluV7G4OAiqM-iUyh_M_3Wb8iOjdBaK58lTkyTJrZqJERf1h4iAuq4dQ5oiS7N0pRkrfmuH/s320/IMG_3733.JPG" width="179" /></a></div>
<br />
Dom had his surgery a week early and is doing great. The clinic called me on Tuesday, the 18th, and said that they had a spot open up for this surgery on Wednesday, the 19th. They knew that I was eager to get this surgery done (they originally thought they'd be able to fit him in on the 17th, but the correct sized equipment for Dom wouldn't be resterilized in time) and wanted to offer us the spot. Naturally, I took it. I wanted to do the damn thing (can I get a woop woop from my Bachelorette watchers?!) and get the 8 week recovery phase under way. I said yes and they reminded me of the pre-op things that I needed to do for Dom. After hanging up, I then wanted to vomit. Yes I had already made the decision to do the surgery and set the date, but at that point I had then had less than 24 hours to mentally prepare for dropping off my dog and start rearranging our schedule for the next week, which had been under the assumption of a non-operated on dog.<br />
<br />
After updating my friend Megan and Dom's breeder, I was feeling a little better. Dom made it through the surgery with complications and nothing unexpected found. When I chatted with the surgeon the morning that I dropped him off (also, trazadone is a WONDERFUL thing pre-op; for the dog, but probably also for the owner.....) I got a little more thorough explanation of what was going to happen, which put me a little more at ease. The bone fragment was going to be removed and the abnormal bone spur-ish growths within the joint were going to be deburred, along with generally cleaning the arthritic gunk out of the joint. Cool beans. Prognosis post op was good with a hopeful return to normal activities. I specifically asked about hiking and was told that this was quite likely after his recovery period. SILENT HELLS YES!!!<br />
<br />
I got an update on Dom post op that he was doing well and happily drugged up. After the surgeon was done with surgeries for the day, I got a call from his as well where he told me everything went well and he removed the largest bone fragment he's ever removed from this type of issue. When I picked Dom up the next afternoon I saw just exactly what he was talking about.....<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkUs9-gXwIuZknOrIzFfsvsTRCktpWnPGGQFSXOkbhIZ_WBobVxlDowHMpKe_gV2dyoM-FJ1kSF7Brf66YFnPJEO7VlqYPj4Skpu_kgH-BLi2ypG-zUrlkYlSYYR617JiYW1NLdPlXqr6S/s1600/IMG_3721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkUs9-gXwIuZknOrIzFfsvsTRCktpWnPGGQFSXOkbhIZ_WBobVxlDowHMpKe_gV2dyoM-FJ1kSF7Brf66YFnPJEO7VlqYPj4Skpu_kgH-BLi2ypG-zUrlkYlSYYR617JiYW1NLdPlXqr6S/s320/IMG_3721.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Do you see the size of that thing??? I believe my exact words were "holy mother of god." Followed by "can I take a picture of this?" To which he replied that I was welcome to keep it. I politely declined. This bone fragment is a piece of bone that should have fused to the rest of the bone as Dom was growing up. For whatever reason, it didn't and has been sort of floating around in his elbow creating quiet havoc.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxE_hsbOxYwcLRp23Rc_2R5GbcB6urKxQGIOIRb8iW5FlCzE6ijPUB_r3rRYA-0pLo_qR-HVxN7x4xbMlDrbsg31Vgmn6CF3nF2CbluWBqDlioiguBWFI0nONkhFgdQEvWRF2HcUnExvr/s1600/IMG_3728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxE_hsbOxYwcLRp23Rc_2R5GbcB6urKxQGIOIRb8iW5FlCzE6ijPUB_r3rRYA-0pLo_qR-HVxN7x4xbMlDrbsg31Vgmn6CF3nF2CbluWBqDlioiguBWFI0nONkhFgdQEvWRF2HcUnExvr/s320/IMG_3728.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Dom stayed at the clinic over night and I picked him up the next afternoon. I was shocked to learn that he was fully weight bearing on the leg and they gave me a bunch of typed out instructions as well as going over his various medications with me. I brought my ramp (while realizing that I had only practiced using the ramp inside the garage and not into and out of the minivan....) and Dom was super great about calmly (drugged) walking into the van. Our ride home was uneventful and I basically spent the rest of the night staring at my very doped up dog. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_KwtPYr1MUjb8OzerygQQiEXEzm8OXtXq1Y2NiynrYgI-Z-0WqaQUw8Vv0rs83bbvd3o3r6U9iItJ8TmSwN45pSCrFCzE2njmnLzXEIchVnhPclZcushWtPcIr97lAd1kIwh1kFc4s9C/s1600/IMG_3739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_KwtPYr1MUjb8OzerygQQiEXEzm8OXtXq1Y2NiynrYgI-Z-0WqaQUw8Vv0rs83bbvd3o3r6U9iItJ8TmSwN45pSCrFCzE2njmnLzXEIchVnhPclZcushWtPcIr97lAd1kIwh1kFc4s9C/s320/IMG_3739.JPG" width="256" /></a></div>
<br />
His recovery has gone really well and I am already at the point (a mere 4 days post op) where I am fondly looking back on the first 24 hours home. At this point, Dom acts as though he is totally recovered and should be able to go back to business as usual around the house. However, for these first two weeks, he is only allowed to walk around when he is going out to potty. He is otherwise to be restricted on his movements with minimal walking, no running, no jumping and no real playing. Have I mentioned that they prescribed trazadone? ;)<br />
<br />
We have already devised ways of keeping Dom from attempting to hop up onto the couch or bed when he is passing near them. X-pens and baby gates are my best friends. We have four dog beds sprinkled throughout the house so that we don't have to lug anything as we move from one room to another. And I am learning just how much it sucks to be a dog who has to go out into the elements in the back yard to use the facilities, because he HAS to be on a leash whenever he goes outside to maintain that activity restriction. Overall, he's been a champ. We've only had to use the inflatable elizabethan collar for the very brief times that he has been alone in his recovery room. So far that has been enough to keep him from licking his sutures. Otherwise Tanner and I have taken shifts when we've needed to leave the house or even just for us to go to the bathroom, and one of stays with Dom and we therefore don't have to use any collar on him. Tomorrow, the 24th, starts up a normal work day for Tanner and I both, so that will be the first day that Dom will be left home alone for a few hours.<br />
<br />
His incision sites are healing up nicely. The edema in his feet was gone by day 2 post-op. He's eating normally. Drinking is a little hit or miss and we've been giving him spritzes out of the spray bottle at regular intervals to make sure he stays hydrated. Which reminds me to mention why it's not a great idea to use a spray bottle as a punisher. A lot of conformation people already use it to keep their dogs hydrated during warmer weather at dog shows to keep them from panting or to cool them down, so you obviously don't want a dog who sees the spray bottle as punishment. But I've had enough instances where it has come incredibly handy to have a dog be able to drink out of a spray bottle, that it seems like you're eliminating a possible positive tool from your bag of keeping your dog in good health. When Miley was no longer weight bearing on the leg affected by osteosarcoma, the only way I was getting water into her was via the spray bottle. She wouldn't get up on her own to get water out of a dish. And now with Dom, he seems to be afraid of the fountain in the crating area that he has previously loved. So we're utilizing our friend the spray bottle to maximize his water intake. <br />
<br />
But in general, Dom is doing great. Which makes me happy on so many fronts, but apprehensive on the exercise restriction front. We aren't even one week post op and trying to get him to WALK from one room to the other requires a hand on his collar at all times. Don't even get me started on how he longingly looks at the couch and bed...<br />
<br />
I also realized that I hadn't done my monthly podcasts! For the month of December my dog/training related podcast that I HIGHLY suggest you give a listen to is the <a href="https://www.animaltrainingacademy.com/podcast/">Animal Training Academy</a>. Ryan interviews a variety of guests with a varied background in the species that they've worked with. I find it fascinating to hear how trainers working with other species go about approaching training plans and decisions. Especially how they figure out reinforcers and enrichment items. I recommend you head on over and give him a listen.<br />
<br />
My non-dog/training related podcast that I recommend is absolutely holiday themed. Check out the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/christmas-old-time-radio/id344546010?mt=2">Christmas Old Time Radio</a> podcast! This time of year in particular I enjoy listening to the stories that used to get broadcast over the radio. The thinking several decades ago was a little different, but the heartwarming, holiday sentiments are still the same. It's a little something holiday themed to brighten up your drive if you need a little break from some of the overly repeated songs on the radio. ;)<br />
<br />
And with that, I hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas!Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-7202080771751901052018-12-16T20:24:00.001-08:002018-12-16T20:24:26.740-08:00Dominic Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZd1V1Bfo4ZIoUskSlkt0M3Z-s8aOmeq0vrlnhskLJI5bnl9q-mdMUmRVRzUfVveLOtX9_tZd7qFnokJbN2vegDPJEauH3Kb6cphpkKUhcpChi4yLYxrDk_9lkqB_efE4N7Ox3vSX-xqs-/s1600/Elbow+Comparison.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZd1V1Bfo4ZIoUskSlkt0M3Z-s8aOmeq0vrlnhskLJI5bnl9q-mdMUmRVRzUfVveLOtX9_tZd7qFnokJbN2vegDPJEauH3Kb6cphpkKUhcpChi4yLYxrDk_9lkqB_efE4N7Ox3vSX-xqs-/s320/Elbow+Comparison.PNG" width="179" /></a></div>
<br />
I give you the state of Dominic's elbow. The right elbow on the bottom is how his elbow should look, but when you compare them side by side you can see that the left elbow is missing a little something that the right elbow has. Things have flowed a little something like this:<br />
<br />
Sunday night I heard a more thorough explanation of Dominic's x-rays. Dominic has elbow dysplasia. It's a very broad term that generally encompasses abnormalities of the elbow joint. I got two solid recommendations for orthopedic specialists to talk to and not the best outlook for Dom. Basically he was going to have to be a couch potato for the rest of his life. No hiking, limited walks, and a lot of the work on the unstable surfaces. This was a little crushing. The vet also prepped me for the price tag that was likely to come along with the necessary surgery to get Dominic comfortable again. It was a lot to digest and she recommended that I have a glass of wine that night.<br />
<br />
Monday I set about setting up a consult appointment for Dom. I have decided to go to the Veterinary Surgical Center of Portland for Dominic's surgery. They're relatively close to my house, they came highly recommended and conveniently enough, Heffner and Bess have both been seen by vets there. Heffner for his iliopsoas strain and Bess for her spay and gastropexy. Dominic's consult was set for Thursday morning. <br />
<br />
As the week progressed, I kept Dom on the meloxicam and tramadol and restricted activities and he got a lot better. On Sunday he could only stand up for about 5 min. before he didn't want to be weight bearing. By Monday night, there was no limping. He has continued to act like isn't feeling any discomfort and I have been slowly decreasing the amount of tramadol that I have him on. I'm hoping this is a good sign, which you'll understand more in my description of the consult.<br />
<br />
On Thursday we went in to see the surgeon. He showed me the areas of concern and diagnosed Dom with an ununited anconeal process. Something most commonly seen in young german shepherd dogs. There is also some abnormal growth/arthritis in his medial coronoid process that the surgeon thinks may be what's causing Dom the discomfort. The plan is to go in and arthroscopically clean the arthritis and abnormality out of the joint and hope that the gunk in the medial cornoid process is what was causing him the discomfort and with it gone, that he'll do much better.<br />
<br />
The surgery is set for December 26th. There are three likely outcomes of the surgery. The first is the worst case scenario. In this case the surgery wouldn't do anything for Dom. He'd still be intermittently lam post op, the arthritis would come back quickly and at a more advanced rate. It would be pain and exercise management for him from there until a quality of life decision was made. Option number two is that the surgery doesn't do much for him. He's not lame post op, the arthritis comes back a bit later and a slower rate and we monitor for pain and manage accordingly with exercise restrictions from there on out. Option number three is the one that we really want. In this scenario, removing the abnormal growth is the "fix." In this scenario Dominic is in better shape post op than he was pre op. The arthritis will eventually come back, but much further down the road and at a slower rate. We would medicate for pain as needed, but I'm not totally sure what his exercise restrictions would be. <br />
<br />
The surgeon found it promising that Dom has not been lame until the weekend that I took him to the emergency clinic. Normally dogs in Dom's position are at least painful enough to be limping most of the time. We don't know what triggered it, but Dom was only lame starting two Friday nights ago. <br />
<br />
We are also going to do an injection into the joint of plasma rich platelets two weeks post op to aid in healing. I did discuss medication options with the surgeon for further down the road as well as supplements and utilizing other modalities to aid in healing. So I feel that we are ready for this surgery. Thankfully Dom hasn't been climbing the walls and I have been doing some modified training with him at this point. It's just pretty limited or modified in the position that I have him in, which is mostly in a down. We've emphasized reintroducing the ramp. My house is thankfully one story, but there is a rather large step down into the garage in order for him to get outside to potty. So this week I do actually have a couple of training videos that are centered around getting him comfortable with the ramp so that he's good to use it when he will actually need it.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 27</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rxtNX99ITf0/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rxtNX99ITf0?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 27 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: We are no longer going to be doing consecutive days, but we'll keep chugging along with this as long as we are able. As I've mentioned, Dom is pretty restricted on his activity level and we've needed to stop doing most of what we were previously working on. He does have a surgery on the affected elbow coming up likely next week. While my house is thankfully only one level, there is one fairly large step into the garage in order to get out into the yard for him to potty. I know from experience that this one step is incredibly daunting when you are not fully able. I do thankfully have a ramp, it's just been probably close to two years since I've had Dominic walk on it. Many things have changed in that time and I would rather make sure that he's comfortable with the ramp NOW while he's more functional than wait until it's go time and becomes terrifying for him. Thankfully I did so as he was hesitant initially to walk on the ramp. I'm starting him out by just walking him on it while it's flat on the ground. Super simple. We'll increase the difficulty in future sessions.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 28</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/V6OPvYThToQ/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V6OPvYThToQ?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 28 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: Today we elevated the ramp. This one step down into the garage in order to get outside is the one step that I will have to be really careful about with Dom. Conveniently right now, that means that's as high as we need to get him comfortable with. I started him out in the garage walking UP the ramp. He is less intimidated by going up something than going down, as you can see in the video. He has less hesitation going up, but definitely is more hesitant going down. He's doing really well and we'll keep working on this.Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-67394517620614980222018-12-09T17:23:00.002-08:002018-12-09T17:23:29.807-08:00Of Bones And Things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8bsrMNTtxnxPyLtg2L04Z_F9j5XGRjMwp9mbBvb-osop1HJ2WCj0mrLNtLS-uMtvS_V_kv4u-MDTup7z95CMLytRu-Vr3BUtbm3_quEffgVxidfH8n7kHORJTRttwP0ybasATQ5tj-zLG/s1600/IMG_3679.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8bsrMNTtxnxPyLtg2L04Z_F9j5XGRjMwp9mbBvb-osop1HJ2WCj0mrLNtLS-uMtvS_V_kv4u-MDTup7z95CMLytRu-Vr3BUtbm3_quEffgVxidfH8n7kHORJTRttwP0ybasATQ5tj-zLG/s320/IMG_3679.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Dominic has splintered a piece of bone in his left elbow. How it happened, we have no idea. Tanner went to the gym on Friday and Dom was fine. He came home from the gym and Dom wasn't weight bearing. I thought that maybe with some rest it would go away, but it didn't. So I took him in to the emergency vet yesterday (Saturday) to figure out what was going on as he wasn't wanting to bear much weight on the leg. Naturally, I freaked out and thought it was osteosarcoma. X-rays thankfully showed otherwise. Two other vets are going to review his x-rays tonight and see what they think about it. The orthopedic specialist that I want to take him to is closed on the weekends, so come Monday morning I'll have a better idea of what we're in store for. I didn't see the radiographs so I don't know how large the piece is or where exactly it's located, I'm just assuming that surgical removal is the only option. As we're currently doing just pain management until I can get him in to see a specialist, I really don't see any other option. I'm REALLY hoping that I can get him in for surgery this week as its hard on him to be hobbling around and all I can really do is just keeps pain meds on board and restrict his movement.<br />
<br />
Understandably, our training has been a little curtailed. Once I know the scheduling for the course of action for him, then we can continue on a modified training schedule, but we're taking a little bit of a break at the moment. I will post the videos that we got done before he got injured, though. <br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 23</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UMp9sZ3CDQc/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UMp9sZ3CDQc?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 23 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: I am feeling the rush of this month. I filled out my calendar at home so that I stay aware of all of my committments. I'm calmer this year. I knew this month would be ridiculous. But still. I love it, but December needs to be the length of two months because this is getting ridiculous. Again, I love it, I just need more time to be able to really enjoy it.<br />
<br />
With the being said, you'll have to bear with me as some of these videos are going to be of where we're at with a particular exercise or piece of equipment. I'm staying committed to doing this challenge. Working with Dom is a priority and I do enjoy the daily training. I just feel like sometimes the video content is a little flat. <br />
<br />
<br />
But here we are. I've continued working with Dom on the donut. His confidence is slowly increasing. The video of his first time working with the donut is back on Day 14 for reference. He has definitely increased his level of comfort putting his front feet on it. We're still working up against the wall for added stability as I want to reinforce his confidence to work on the equipment. He's a little less confident putting his rear feet on it than during one of our sessions last week. He actually got both rear feet up on it then. And I did push the session a little too far and Dom definitely said that he was done. So we ended there. It's great to end on a good note, but not great to keep pushing until you can find that "good note" when things have started going in a less desireable direction.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 24</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5sRw5ciXwGE/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5sRw5ciXwGE?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 24 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: On Day 18 I posted a video of the start of teaching Dominic to nose bump a ball to me from a down. So he has the beginning understanding of what we're going for. For this behavior, I want to teach him to nose bump the ball hard enough to roll it a ways. Specifically nose bumping and not pawing with his foot. When he's standing, the pawing is his go to move, so I needed to focus on nose bumps. <br />
<br />
<br />
He has no problem touching the ball with his nose, but he only gives it a good bump twice in this session. I did jackpot him for those, but he hasn't quite made the connection yet. I THINK what I need to do to encourage the stronger nose bump is to add a little bit of movement to the ball prior to him bumping it. It seemed like that may have helped. I try that during our next session.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 25</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AyCUKgOG2UY/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AyCUKgOG2UY?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 25 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: We're a quarter of the way through!!!<br />
<br />
My desired end goal behavior is that I can use this target to get Dominic to close a door with his nose. For that, I used the lid from a large yoghurt container. The first part of the video shows him on our first day where I just had him nose targeting the lid. I started out in the open and then moved it towards the wall, until it was right up against the wall. Because Dominic already knows a hand target, I figured this wouldn't be difficult for him and it wasn't.<br />
<br />
From there I put tape on the back of the lid and had him start nose bumping a closed door. While he was starting to learn this I wanted him nose targeting something that didn't move. I wanted his confidence in the nose target high in the off chance that nose bumping an open door might weird him out. So confidence was high and I started opening the door. No problems with any door movements. <br />
<br />
<br />
Where we're at right now is that he has no problem touching the target with his nose. He's just not hitting it hard enough to do much to the door. I tried adding a little bit of excitement or movement to the door to see if I could get a more forceful nose bump, but that didn't really happen. Doesn't mean it won't, but this time around it didn't. Maybe once I figure out how to encourage a nose bump on the ball with more force, I can put a cue to that and transfer it to the door. In the meantime, we'll just keep plugging away at this.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 26</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Gpy-pv2z8Bw/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Gpy-pv2z8Bw?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 26 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: Today we brough out one of the large paw pods. I can't remember what they're actually called, but I think of them as large paw pods, so that's what I'm going to call them.<br />
<br />
<br />
I warmed Dom up with both sets of the small paw pods first (that video is posted before I started the 100 Days), then we worked on just the one large pod and then on to one large pod and one set of paw pods. The large pod is definitely less stable than the paw pods and trickier for him to manage between the two, but he's doing well.Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-6729292534296822952018-12-02T20:49:00.001-08:002018-12-02T20:49:27.795-08:00Here Comes December!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4dgnTbg6u-wz3UQAdikMeNAAROBt0GRlmnMnbGIhnc_MpAqDGifYSKSylEcTFrnbBUTbie68NCK_2BOWhzRhstdlkyVsqRJhRjRTrfi5WVWxWM9SMnY2GJLnWRcO_Q48JA-E5fWO30_Rf/s1600/IMG_3497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4dgnTbg6u-wz3UQAdikMeNAAROBt0GRlmnMnbGIhnc_MpAqDGifYSKSylEcTFrnbBUTbie68NCK_2BOWhzRhstdlkyVsqRJhRjRTrfi5WVWxWM9SMnY2GJLnWRcO_Q48JA-E5fWO30_Rf/s320/IMG_3497.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
I am so excited that December is here!! (ornament by Sally's Bits of Clay on Etsy) And we are officially a two Christmas tree household! Due to being sick and time constraints, we did get a real tree this year, but we got it from Home Depot. Since we already have the fake Christmas tree, I decided to do the fake tree as the dog tree and the real tree will be the main one in the living room. And I am LOVING it! The dog tree has all of my Scooby Doo and dog related ornaments on it. I eventually would like to get a dog tree topper, but a regular gold star will do for now. I did take some video of us (basically all Tanner while Dom and I hung out) putting up the tree. Dom was pretty cute. He also decided it was a good time to start barking at the Rudolph statue that has been out for almost a week now...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZvfldTT6oIo/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZvfldTT6oIo?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />
Now on to the #100DaysofDogTraining!<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day16</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pnkYaN13BIk/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pnkYaN13BIk?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 16 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: Two paw pods and a partridge in a pear tree....<br />
<br />
<br />
I posted the video previously of Dom working forwards and backwards with one set of paw pods and the FitBone. Today we added in the other set of paw pods. Outside of this video I did warm Dom up with the paw pods by themselves and with the one set of paw pods and the FitBone (I feel like I'm saying paw pods a ridiculous number of times). His confidence is definitely increasing and I like how he's thinking about placement with those back feet.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 17</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Fmxr_35ZVyc/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Fmxr_35ZVyc?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 17 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: This, is a behavior that we have been working on for several weeks. The goal behavior is for a him to do a tuck sit while maintaining his front feet on the FitBone. After that, I'd like him to go from a stand to a sit and back. <br />
<br />
I'm glad that I took video during our very first session so I have a pretty good comparison of how he's progressed. Again, rear end movements take a little extra concentration for him and aren't the simplest thing. Tucking in that rear end for a sit is work. <br />
<br />
The first half of the video is of our very first session. During this session, there is a longer latency between some of the cues and attempting the behavior. I could tell that he understood what I was asking and that he was trying. So the first few sessions involved rewarding for effor and rewarding for his approximations of my desired end result.<br />
<br />
<br />
The second half of the video is from today. This week I have been really happy with his ability to maneuver that rear end. I WISH that I had videoed our sits on the platform as he is really coming along in those tuck sits! Because of that, I decided to video his progression to now. He is SO close! I did put the FitBone up against the wall as he had started to really swing his rear out and I thought he could probably use a little help keeping it straight. He is definitely tuckin that rear in more. He doesn't QUITE have the understanding to keep his front feet on the FitBone though. But we are seriously close and I am so proud of him! I did push it one repitition too far during this session. Again, something for me to work on.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 18</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/76tQqfz53gU/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/76tQqfz53gU?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 18 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: The end goal of this behavior is for Dom and I to sit in these positions and roll a ball back and forth between us. This was the very first session of that. I'm starting by rewarding nose touches to the ball. Eventually I'll get to rewarding nose touches with more force, but this is a good place to start. I did decide to test out a smaller size ball to see what I thought of it, but I prefer the larger ball. I'm also hoping that starting this behavior from a down will get him to focus on his nose touches and not throw in paw touches. I'd like to use this behavior for other tricks, so I think this will help us to lay (no pun intended ;) ) a more solid foundation.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 19</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/exz1FmP1nXQ/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/exz1FmP1nXQ?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 19 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: apologies for the coughing and sniffling. It's now my turn to catch the gunk that's going around. Today we worked on balancing on the FitBones in different configurations. I warmed him up with other exercises before working on this. Then I eased him into the balance work with the easiest configuration first. And we ended with the most challenging.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 20</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6TctVWYXlQQ/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6TctVWYXlQQ?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 20 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: Or as I am calling it today, Day 2 of The Plague. This sucks. I did a little bit of training with Dom tonight and that is the full extent of his activity today. Thankfully he's a very good little dude to just hang out on the bed with. Because we've been doing a lot of that.<br />
<br />
Today's video is of a shaped chin rest behavior. My end goal was that he would come up, at the cue for "chin," he'd rest his chin on the towel. The video is a compilation of our very first session, third and today, which is either our seventh or eighth session. <br />
<br />
At the very beginning I started by clicking for steps towards me and the towel. And why, you may be asking, am I using a towel? By now you've seen the froth this boy produces. I love him, but I'm not a huge fan of having a froth filled lap, so we use a towel. After he got the moving towards me down, I started clicking for head dips towards the towel. Towards the end of the first session I was also getting some consistent front right foot movements with the head dips, but I was pretty sure those would go away once he figured out that I wanted him to put his chin on the towel. That first session he was just figuring everything out.<br />
<br />
In our third session you can see that he very clearly understands to chin bump the towel. <br />
<br />
<br />
In between our third and today's session, I worked on adding a cue to the behavior and then started on duration. This behavior is basically where I want it, but it needs a longer history of reinforcement so that it becomes more reliable. Eventually I want to use this behavior for husbandry related tasks like cleaning ears and brushing teeth. Actually, the reason I started training this behavior is because I decided that I wanted to start brushing Dominic's teeth. What I realized is that he doesn't like having his mouth messed with. He doesn't have a dramatic reaction, he just very clearly moves away from my hand when I try to do anything with his mouth. I've decided to tackle this in two ways. The first is teaching him the chin rest and everytually working up to using the chin rest as a precursor to ear and teeth cleaning. The second is that I'm working on desensitizing him to my hand coming towards his mouth and eventually touching his mouth and hopefully being able to look into his mouth without the need for a chin rest. THAT has been taking a while. I periodically video where we're at with the desensitizing, so I have some pretty good examples of him saying "no thank you." And I also have a list of ways I've tried to go about it. I think I've figured out a manner that he is currently comfortable with, it's just going to take a bit. I may post a video of where we're at compared to our "failures" along the way.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 21</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yFtSeoWnLpM/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yFtSeoWnLpM?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 21 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: Following after yesterday's video of why I was working on a chin rest behavior with Dom, here is the video of the desensitization work that we're doing with my hand going towards his mouth. The beginning of the videos are clips of the "nopes" from our previous sessions. As you can see, I tried slightly different techniques and I've tried with him in a down and standing. With this behavior, I think it's just something that is going to take time. <br />
<br />
<br />
The end goal behavior is for him to let me lift up his lips and brush his teeth. We've got a ways to go to get there, but he is definitely making progress.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 22</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lHOG0DGBoaA/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lHOG0DGBoaA?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 22 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: Today's behavior is really just for fun. I decided to shape Dom walking through the hula hoop. Why the hula hoop? Because it's a random object that I've had sitting in my garage for quite some time and it was about to get donated to Goodwill, so why not do something with it?<br />
<br />
<br />
This video shows Dom during our first session and then today. I shaped him initially for approaching the hoop, then putting his head towards the center, then through it and eventually for putting a foot on the other side. This did require some coordination on my part and it took me a couple sessions to figure out exactly what to do with my hands depending on what side he was on. I did find out that I needed the treat hand to be the one on the side of the hoop that I wanted him to end up on. I only recently started adding the verbal cue "through" to the behavior. I think I'll continue building up the reinforcement history for this and I may add the hula hoop in with some other equipment. Who knows! Now that we've done this I kind of feel like we need to actually do something else with it.Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-11584656526525371522018-11-25T18:28:00.005-08:002018-11-25T18:29:11.974-08:00Happy T-Day!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT47QKsCFcrpOoy9eAC7S51eF0WGq720Mry9_JDB-aIiIrUA4hoOMHXUQuttnlDwpaI1AcntQc5VCRhMKul3VU7vNYRKn5jRZ2HzA6wTvwo6ZJL4sFWzXLEHzMkAqrElMuQp9bFMuU4fON/s1600/Thanksgiving.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT47QKsCFcrpOoy9eAC7S51eF0WGq720Mry9_JDB-aIiIrUA4hoOMHXUQuttnlDwpaI1AcntQc5VCRhMKul3VU7vNYRKn5jRZ2HzA6wTvwo6ZJL4sFWzXLEHzMkAqrElMuQp9bFMuU4fON/s320/Thanksgiving.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Happy belated Thanksgiving to any US readers! We have had a pretty wonderful break getting to hang out with family, eat a whole lotta great food AND we got out for morning hikes ALL FOUR DAYS!!! I may be a little low on sleep, but I'm really happy with how this break has treated us.<br />
<br />
Naturally, Dom and I have kept up with our training schedule. And in keeping with my monthly goal of talking about a couple of podcasts that I'm listening to, let's get after it! In the dog training realm, I am a HUGE fan of Hannah Branigan's <a href="https://wonderpupstraining.com/dog-training-podcast/">Drinking From The Toilet</a>! I love how minutely she breaks a behavior down. Right down to which muscle contractions and body movements will indicate a desired tuck sit. To her sense of humor, which is so up my alley. I think I've even heard her say a "that's what she said" joke! I enjoy the way she delivers information and her self deprecating manner. Her podcasts have plenty of useful training information in them, but they're also just enjoyable to listen to. If you haven't already, I highly encourage you to go check it out.<br />
<br />
The non-dog related podcast that I'd like draw your attention to this month is <a href="https://www.thresholdpodcast.org/">Threshold</a>. This podcast takes one topic and explores it from multiple angles. Digging into areas that may not seem directly related to the topic. Season 1 focused on the bison and Season 2 is about the negative environmental effects that are impacting the arctic. Amy Martin has an easy voice to listen to and I enjoy hearing the many sides of one topic. If you're looking for something a little different to listen to, I encourage you to check it out.<br />
<br />
And now on to the #100DaysofDogTraining!<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 9</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/STwTWMj1rnA/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/STwTWMj1rnA?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 9 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: We've been working on crawl using a food lure, which you can see in the video. And that works totally fine when I'm just wanting him to do the exercise. But I wanted to spice things up a little and also get him thinking about the movement a little differently. I decided that I wanted to try and sort of shape him crawling towards me. This is the second time that we've done it.<br />
<br />
I like how he's coming along overall. It's a movement that takes more control from him and has helped to get him to pay a little more attention to how he lays down. He used to lay down in a nice sphynx position, but then he got into the habit of rolling onto one hip. Which is totally fine if I have him in a down where he's going to be waiting for a bit. I prefer the sphynx down position while we're working.<br />
<br />
<br />
I also should have ended sooner than I did. That last jackpot that came after the movement I was looking for should have been the end, but I pushed it further. I'll work on that.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 10</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/m-ZxIZUyipQ/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/m-ZxIZUyipQ?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 10 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: Today we spiced up the platform pivot. I still warmed him up with pivots in both directions at all three levels (not included in the video). Since I'm increasing the difficulty of the pivot, I took it back down to the lowest level to start with. Though I don't think that I will increase the height.<br />
<br />
My aim for this exercise is to continue encouraging Dom to pay attention to his back legs and increase the strength. He is quite proficient at the regular pivots, so I added a FitBone on one side of the platform. Initially I put the FitBone perpendicular to the platform. I changed the position to be parallel to the platform as I started thinking that maybe the perpendicular position was too difficult for him, but the parallel position is definitely more work for him. In subsequent training sessions I plan on going back to having the FitBone perpendicular to the platform until he's more confident in his movments. Then I'll work more on the parallel position.<br />
<br />
<br />
This exercise definitely was working those muscles.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 11</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1jlpOQ0DYeI/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1jlpOQ0DYeI?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 11 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: I gotta say, today I am feeling like a badass! I was able to leave work early and I feel like I've gotten a ridiculous amount accomplished. For crying out loud, I've gotten a full training session in with Dom and am able to post the video before 9:30pm! Excuse my while I pat my productive self on the back. ;)<br />
<br />
I'm continuing with the spicing up our standard exercises theme and today we added a FitBone in to the mix with the paw pods. I warmed Dom up on the two sets of paw pods first, which I didn't include in this video as it's already part of another. Then I swapped out one set of paw pods for the FitBone. Adding the FitBone actually decreased the difficulty for Dom while moving in one direction. But I decided ot take it a step further and have him come forward and then back up to the FitBone. This is something I haven't had him do before. He already knows how to rear foot target and back up, but I haven't had him do something like this. You can see that initially he's not sure. Occasionally I'll use a little physical pressure by leaning towards him to get him to adjust where he's distributing his weight, but he's not used to me asking him to actually move backwards for these exercises.<br />
<br />
<br />
After the first time, he totally got it. When I reset him and had him do it again, he totally knew what to do. And props to me for quitting while I was ahead instead of continuing for more gratification with more reps. ;)<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 12</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BtYH5JK5x-o/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BtYH5JK5x-o?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 12 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: Today we spiced up our core disc work. I did warm Dom up with some front and rear foot targeting on the disc and we attempted a sit, but that wasn't happening today.<br />
<br />
I have one end of the platform propped on the core disc so that it now has a little bit of instability to it. Now simple movements have increased difficulty. Dom has done the first part of the exercise before and is very comfortable walking forward onto the platform. I had forgotten which type of a dismount I've had him do, but I figured it out after the first one was definitely ideal.<br />
<br />
<br />
After working on forward movement on the platform, I introduced rear foot targetting and moving backwards on it. This is something that IS new to Dom. He obviously understands that if front foot targetting isn't getting reinforced then I'm likely looking for rear foot targeting and he offers that. As he's never moved backwards up the platform, I used physical pressure along with his cue to move backwards. He got the idea and showed improvements after the first time.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 13</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OgvRPl-U8sE/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OgvRPl-U8sE?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 13 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: Today we did our simple rear foot targetting using the platform. Dom has been doing this since he was little, so he's got this down pat. We start out at the lowest height and work our way up to the highest height. He's done this enough that I realized we haven't worked on stimulus control at all. Towards the end I started having him do his watch cue so that he would wait until I gave him his rear foot targetting cue. This is the base behavior that we use to transfer to other objects.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 14</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9c0OIxZp50c/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9c0OIxZp50c?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 14 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: Today I picked to reintroduce Dom to the donut. It's been well over a year since he last saw this and I don't think that I really did all that much with him other than having him place his front paws on it.<br />
<br />
As you can see, he's initially not entirely sure about it, but his confidence increases. I move the donut a little and have him approach it from different directions so that he doesn't become comfortable interacting with it from only one position.<br />
<br />
<br />
I then propped it between the crate and the wall and had him start rear foot targetting it. He's pretty unsure about this, so I reward for just putting one rear foot on it and we leave it there for this session.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 15</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yrIQto6lgbs/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yrIQto6lgbs?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 15 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: Today I decided to start tackling my plan to use the platform as a station. Or what ended up translating into "hey, you don't have stimulus control or correct cuing for this!"<br />
<br />
Going into today's training session I had already realized that I don't have going onto the platform under stimulus control. Most of the equipment that I use for conditioning with Dom, I don't have stimulus control over. I also realized that I don't really have a clear cue for how I want him to get on the euipment. Or at least sort of.<br />
<br />
Dom does understand that "touch" means to put his front feet on something (which has meant that I needed to redo my cue for a nose touch, as I also had the same cue for that). And he knows that "back feet" means to put his back feet on something (I try to stick with cues that obvious to ME so that I don't bugger them while training them). What I don't have is a cue that means to put all four feet on something. I decided to go with "up" as the cue for all four feet.<br />
<br />
And as I mentioned, I also don't have stimulus control over this behavior. Dom has the general understanding that when a piece of equipment is on the ground, that means to put at least one paw on it. What he doens't understand is that I need him to wait until he's cued to do so.<br />
<br />
So today we worked on developing a cue, "up," to mean get all four feet on the object, the beginnings of waiting until cued to get on the equipment and starting to develop an understanding that he shouldn't always just position himself based off of my body positioning.<br />
<br />
I guess that's an additional realization that I had, is just how much cuing he takes from my body position. It's understandable as that has really been the largest cue he's had for how to interact with the equipment. And from a conditioning stand point, that's totally fine. Our end goal for this behavior is that I want to be able to send him to the platform from a distance and have him station there until released. We've got a little work to do. ;)<br />
<br />
These beginning stages aren't always the most entertaining, but I have a picture in my head of how I want the final behavior to look and it'll be nice to have this beginning stage to compare to.Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-57768651489161371022018-11-18T12:10:00.003-08:002018-11-18T12:10:54.237-08:00We Made It....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhraA3iycIlm41FwkFnNW-Uo_nHmFFs6s1jqB0QaUqgc-jbMOKO7JoG2lDLbl_Z7soqds_x-NlGNvqbhbc9TYpEnTIvMrXxJMIC5UeaMW4DI1ukkeAJ8Z-Zx1zTXxd5-XRtKAlvHrfeelPc/s1600/IMG_3584.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhraA3iycIlm41FwkFnNW-Uo_nHmFFs6s1jqB0QaUqgc-jbMOKO7JoG2lDLbl_Z7soqds_x-NlGNvqbhbc9TYpEnTIvMrXxJMIC5UeaMW4DI1ukkeAJ8Z-Zx1zTXxd5-XRtKAlvHrfeelPc/s320/IMG_3584.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
....Through the first week of the #100DaysofDogTraining!! I am finding more and more that if I plan things out in advance and put them in a readily visible and therefore easily reminded location, that I am MUCH better at keeping to a schedule. Granted, sometimes my day will get away from me a little and my scheduling doesn't line up as well with real life, but having as many things as possible scheduled out helps to keep the feeling of being overwhelmed, a little at bay. And considering that we are full on into the holiday season and my weekends are now booked up, advanced scheduling is my best friend. I love this time of year, but I have to say that I'm looking forward to a little more breathing room come January.<br />
<br />
This will be my first daily training videos recap post and I think it's going to be a little lengthy. I did notice that my video descriptions started off not super brief, but as the week continued on (and I got lower on sleep) I started getting a little more concise. It helps that these videos are more descriptive of the beginning stages of things. Once I do videos of similar exercises with increasing difficulty, my descriptions won't need the discussion on how I got to that point. I can just refer to previous videos. ;) Without further ado, here are this past week's videos:<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 2</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZkW0ZaC8Wz4/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZkW0ZaC8Wz4?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 2 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: Dom has some minor mobility issues that require him to put more thought into his rear leg movements and make some things a little more challenging for him. He is still fully capable, it just requires understanding that he may not get a particular movement on the first training session. Sometimes it takes a few training sessions if the particular movement requires a lot of control over the rear end. Regardless, I like exercises that build and maintain rear muscle mass. That is key.<br />
<br />
For this exercise, I'm utilizing a platform in the form of an aerobic step. I have the platform up against the wall to give Dom added security while he figures out how to move his body in a controlled manner for a sit. If he gets to a point where he easily and rapidly does a tuck sit, then I will increase the difficulty by moving the platform away from the wall. We practice the sit from both directions to try an balance out the muscles. He does have one side that is weaker than the other and you can see it in the video when he swings his rear completely off of the platform. <br />
<br />
<br />
When I first started doing this exercise (I really should have done a comparison video. Maybe I will further along) I would stand next to him on the open side and use my body as a guide to help keep him on the platform. Gradually we've worked up to a point where I am standing in front of him except for some days when he swings his butt out. Then I'll step a little out to the side to help guide him. As always, I reward him for effort. He's trying and that's what counts.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 3</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mWPDa-JM06g/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mWPDa-JM06g?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 3 of #100DaysofDogTraining: Today's video is of Dom doing some pivots on the aerobic step that I use as a platform. As long as I'm keeping track, I do one full revolution in each direction at each of the three levels. Pivoting on an item is one of the first behaviors that I train my dogs for, so he's got that down pat and is very responsive to slight weight shifts from me to cue which direction he should be moving. I am moving slowly because I want him to move intentionally on and off the platform and I want him really paying attention to what he's doing with his rear. If I move too quickly, he is more than happy to keep pace, but doesn't move as intentionally as I would like.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 4</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vAuOB9ZPH4Q/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vAuOB9ZPH4Q?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 4 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: I've already posted the video of Dom doing the paw pods outside of this training "challenge," but I do add the paw pods to different pieces of equipment to change things up a bit. Some of these exercises I do some warm up moves him to get him paying attention to his feet and to make sure that he is physically doing well to keep proceeding. <br />
<br />
As you can see, I start with just the one set of paw pods and then work up to both. From there, I bring out the aerobic step. Targeting his front feet on the paw pods is the easiest for him to do, so I start with that. Then we move on to putting the back feet on the paw pods.<br />
<br />
Also wonderfully captured was a little sliming session. Dominic gets really frothy when he's taking treats. And he just happened to shake his head and fling some froth on me. This is why I keep towels in the training area....<br />
<br />
In the process of cleaning myself up, I managed to knock the mini hood off my betta tank. Which was of concern to Dom. When I started to get him back on the platform, he was doing some ear movements that indicated he was still concerned about the area. So I took him back over there, we did some hand targets in the specific directions that he was concerned about, he got to get a good look at things and then he was fine to keep working.<br />
<br />
It's been brought up by other trainers that a lot of people post videos that show only the successful segments of the training session or the segments that make things look like they are always perfect. We all know that this isn't the case. Though I do understand why people more heavily edit a video when they are trying to keep the clip rather brief. This video is almost six minutes long, so clearly I'm not trying to keep it brief.<br />
<br />
<br />
But here is Dom and I working on this exercise today. Bumps, slime and all.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 5</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xvhanJpqTQQ/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xvhanJpqTQQ?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 5 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: Today I videoed a little of our core disc work. My goal with this exercise is to get him targetting with his front and rear feet separately and to eventually sit on the disc. I have the disc up against the wall to help as a guide for him. He was sitting on it earlier this week, but today it wasn't happening. I try to go with what he feels capable of doing each day and that definitely varies. I'm sure that if I kept detailed records of his activities each day I would be able to figure out what activities caused increased muscle tiredness the next day, but I'm not at that level of obsessiveness. Yet. ;)<br />
<br />
<br />
I am happy with how he's targetting with his rear feet from the middle of the room. It's probably not a bad idea for us to brush up on that a little bit.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 6</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WRGxxM9Kwvc/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WRGxxM9Kwvc?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 6 of #100DaysofDogTraining: This currently is the most fun exercise that we are working on. Clearly Dominic enjoys it and I CANNOT help but crack up at his antics! <br />
<br />
I decided that I wanted to be able to release him to a tug as a reinforcer for some exercises that I would like to do. He understands taking the tug while I'm holding it, but he doesn't have any experience being released to a tug. I have a couple scenarios in my mind where I would like to use this. One is with the tug placed behind him and me releasing him backwards toward it. And the other is having the tug in the middle of the room while I work him on something and then release him to the tug. Both scenarios require gradually building up to those points and this is the start of our work towards that.<br />
<br />
I've combined our very first session, where I just release him to the tug straight in front of him. And then our third session (today), where I have started moving the tug off to the side of him so that he does have to turn to go for it.<br />
<br />
<br />
You can also see that I need to work on his out cue.....<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 7</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hNB0KcVE9BA/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hNB0KcVE9BA?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 7 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: Today we were tight on time, but I'm trying to stick witht the goal of consecutive daily videos of our training sessions. So I went for dumbbell work. The beginning of the video are a couple short clips of where Dominic was with regards to a shaped dumbbell hold in January of 2017. The rest of the clip was from today. We've taken a few months off from doing anything with the dumbbell, but we're basically in the same spot that we were. He will mouth the dumbbell, but we haven't progressed on the hold. I've tried added movement on my part to entice him to grab for the dumbbell so that I can hopefully capture a longer hold on the dumbbell, but that hasn't happened. I've brought out both the wooden dumbbell and the leather article to see if maybe he has a preference, but that hasn't changed anything. <br />
<br />
<br />
So this is where we're at. Admittedly, if I do show him in obedience at all, it will not be at a level that requires dumbbell work, so my motivation is low for this behavior. However, the fact that he is the only dog I have not gotten an actual hold on does tend to keep me going back and wanting to figure out how to communicate to HIM what I'm wanting. So I'll keep periodically plugging away at this and probalby trying different things. We'll see. For now, we're at a plateau of just mouthing it.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Day 8</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/b3ymh-soT5U/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b3ymh-soT5U?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Day 8 of the #100DaysofDogTraining: Dominic has a pretty decent recall when he's off leash, but it could definitely use a little actual work. As you can see from the one incomplete recall that we had. At one point I was being really good and bringing treats for him and Miley and focusing on random recalls on our weekly outings. I have been less diligent about that over the past few months and now seems like a great time to pick back up working on that. The longer his reinforcement history for off leash recalls, the more automatic his response potentially becomes. Continuing to build up this history under low to moderate levels of distraction puts us in a better position for when high levels of distraction crop up. Like deer or elk.<br />
<br />
I don't do a ton of recalls on these weekly hikes because I do want him to enjoy himself and get some good exercise and sniffing in. Now that it's getting colder, I'm also going to switch to a different method of treat distribution because my hands get really cold really fast when I have to take them out of my gloves to hand him a treat. I have one of those treat tubes and I'll definitely start using that instead. <br />
<br />
<br />
I also reward Dom for his periodic check ins. I don't reward every single one of these with food, as I don't want him just hanging out next to me for the whole hike. So for check ins I switch between a food reward and physical play.Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-14707070535415330742018-11-11T19:03:00.000-08:002018-11-11T19:03:28.137-08:00100 Days of Dog Training<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOXWP1NMlHQr4zMTCLdhYVQEHh64k4xn1-r3m-v5ndsdpVfcR48Bnkhr38JyEaTm5s2ybICDaPdcK2ngAgVZPRd7pariJQtzMUPUaw4BM8mQJpAezVy-j1E0hEVOmWUrUEoSxNaWmc2jAU/s1600/IMG_3492.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOXWP1NMlHQr4zMTCLdhYVQEHh64k4xn1-r3m-v5ndsdpVfcR48Bnkhr38JyEaTm5s2ybICDaPdcK2ngAgVZPRd7pariJQtzMUPUaw4BM8mQJpAezVy-j1E0hEVOmWUrUEoSxNaWmc2jAU/s320/IMG_3492.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I decided that I'm going to go for it and shoot for completing the 100 days of training! It's started some fun thoughts in my head for little behaviors that I could train Dom to do. Things that I wouldn't otherwise have a reason to try out, but wanting to keep having something new to post will, I think, help keep those creative juices flowing. And Dom loves training, so it's really a win-win.<br />
<br />
From my general search on Facebook, the 100 days of dog training challenge is to do a daily post about a trick, behavior or exercise that you're working on. A nice broad area. I will post daily on the Facebook page, but I think I'm going to still stick with weekly blog posts that involve a wrap up the videos that I've posted. We'll see how it works out.<br />
<br />
Our first submission is around the counter conditioning I'm doing with Dom in the hallway outside of my bedroom. I either didn't realize or it didn't manifest until after Miley's passing, but Dom is pretty uncomfortable walking past the baby gate in the hallway. Previously, Miley was the one who wasn't comfortable and I focused on her and Dom seemed to be fine. After Miley passed, it became readily apparent that he wasn't comfortable moving around the gate.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UACLA1SkoGo/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UACLA1SkoGo?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
Dom's nose touch to my hand is a strong behavior that has a solid reinforcement history. It's a fall back behavior that I can use to assess his comfort level. It's also a behavior that he feels very confident performing. Having him do a behavior that he is confident in around something that he is less comfortable with has helped to counter condition his response to something that he's not completely comfortable with. I also worked him both directions in the hallway on alternating days so that he didn't become okay passing the baby gate in only one direction. Though I only apparently recorded on days where he was moving out of the bedroom.<br />
<br />
Initially I focused on rewarding for the nose touch, but I changed up the location of my hand based on which direction he was showing some discomfort in. If he eye balled the baby gate in between nose touches or cocked an ear towards it, I would place my hand in the direction of the baby gate. This allowed him to do the behavior that he was confident in while being able to keep a solid visual on the thing that he was less comfortable with. After a couple of strong nose bumps, I'd move my hand elsewhere. I'd do the same thing if he was starting to give the bathroom the hairy eye. <br />
<br />
Gradually I would take a step backwards so that he had to also gradually move further out into the hallway. I would stop taking steps backwards once the "pull" from him was too great. Basically, once I felt that he wouldn't voluntarily move forward any further without me actually luring and essentially taking him beyond the point where he was most comfortable.<br />
<br />
Progress was slow, but he was ending each session just a smidge further into the hallway than the previous session. We finally hit a point where I felt that we had plateaued and we weren't gaining any ground. I decided to change the picture a little and add an additional element. I've trained him previously to touch an item with his feet and it's been a pretty solid behavior. I would warm him up with nose touches to my hand and then add in the foot target. Initially he wasn't entirely sure about the set up. I started by rewarding him for effort. He may not have been hitting the foot target every single time, but he was definitely trying. It was just a matter of increasing his confidence in doing this behavior in this setting.<br />
<br />
I also started adding in jackpots for steps forward, which was the ultimate behavior that I was aiming for. Any time that Dom took a step forward with any foot (which did require me paying attention to the back feet that I couldn't always see super well) I would jackpot the foot movement, regardless of whether I had asked for any other behavior. That saw a larger improvement in willingness to move down the hallway with a happy attitude. Happy attitude I based off of ear placement and how he was taking the treats. Ears up and faced towards me was the desirable position. Taking treats neither too hard or too hesitantly also indicated that he was comfortable with the position that he was in.<br />
<br />
He is now comfortably working down the hallway and the number of glances towards the baby gate has decreased. Even though I have hit the desired "end behavior," I will continue working on the counter conditioning for a couple of reasons. One is that I don't know for how long of a period of time he has been uncomfortable moving past the baby gate. Miley was obviously uncomfortable and he may very well have been flying under the radar. So he quite possibly has a longer history of being uncomfortable than comfortable, that I would like to counter balance. And two, it's and easy and fun way to warm up to a training session of other behaviors. I can also continue to add in other behaviors with a longer reinforcement history to spice things up and keep it fun and interesting.Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-36073325164142418682018-11-04T18:20:00.002-08:002018-11-04T18:20:38.735-08:00What's Next?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF_v17I0GYUuKeX6Ugcz5gtiqqrNUtPaA_2AkT4EjmRS0cbAE4fmrYDYRzBElq8K6-VYVpU6ifUnPIhKuq9d8M09HlZZxM9IFFGUWaoTLvbymzEXUiIC21ioJO0o0tfL_vpsnNgnkrIs-i/s1600/IMG_3436.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF_v17I0GYUuKeX6Ugcz5gtiqqrNUtPaA_2AkT4EjmRS0cbAE4fmrYDYRzBElq8K6-VYVpU6ifUnPIhKuq9d8M09HlZZxM9IFFGUWaoTLvbymzEXUiIC21ioJO0o0tfL_vpsnNgnkrIs-i/s320/IMG_3436.JPG" width="179" /></a></div>
<br />
So what's next? Three words that have been plaguing me in so many areas of late. This short little sentence has been bouncing around in my head and every time I think I've answered it in one area, it attaches to another. <br />
<br />
At work, it frequently has to do with training plans. What behaviors are we training for next? How are we moving forward from one stage of the behavior to the next? What equipment do I need to work on next to keep things moving forward? Got everything under control withe colony, great, what projects are you tackling next?<br />
<br />
At home, it centers around Dominic. He's an only child, but we don't plan to keep it that way. So what's next? Getting on a puppy waiting list! It's a happy thought to look forward to and not being in a hurry is the best position to be in. Breedings are never a for sure thing, so I don't plan on saying much about the upcoming puppy until I have my greedy little hands on her. ;) But yes, we are going with another great dane and we are going for a little girl. I love great danes and having the next puppy in the house NOT be one just didn't seem possible. Maybe eventually we'll add a non-dane to the household, but that's still a ways down the road.<br />
<br />
So what's next for Dominic in competition? That is an answer that will be constantly evolving. Currently, Dominic is officially retired from the conformation ring. We're 99% sure that Dominic has wobblers. He's seen a neurologist and she's pretty certain, but he needs to have an MRI done to officially diagnose him. He thankfully isn't very symptomatic. Most of the signs I doubt other people would notice, I'm just so used to what is off with him, that it seems blatant to me. The most obvious symptom that he has is a slight tremor in his back legs while he's standing still. Of late it's become more frequent. He has no major mobility issues otherwise, just a slight tremor while standing still. At the moment I'm doing strengthening exercises at home to try and help him keep up the muscles to support himself. I periodically video the exercises so that I can later assess if he's declining. I'll start incorporating more descriptions and explanations about how we work with his abilities and challenges, in future posts. In the mean time, the short answer for Dominic's competition career is that I'm still figuring out what that will look like for him. There are plenty of sports that he can still do, but there are others that are not in the picture for him.<br />
<br />
What's next for training Dom? Excellent question! I'm afraid that I'm going to jinx myself by saying this, but I seem to have managed to set and stick to an actual freaking training schedule with Dom! And we're even getting walks included in that! (insert wide eyed amazement emoji here ;) ) The only downside to actually being consistent with our training sessions is that I'm getting a little bored with the way that I've set it up. I have two training plans that each involve five behaviors/exercises to work on. I alternate each day so that we don't do the same training plan two days in a row. Great! Except that now I'm a little bored with the monotony of it and I'm wanting to add in a little something to keep Dom and I both jazzed to train. With no set thoughts on competition in the near future (dude, it's the holiday season and there is no derailing my focus on that!), I've been mulling over what to do to keep things interesting and to keep me consistently training. I am currently toying with the idea of the 100 days of training challenge. I just am not sure quite how interesting that would be. I started an Excel file (because I freaking love excel) just so I could start generating a list and see what I'm working with, and I think I can make it interesting. So stay tuned!<br />
<br />
I've also had the thought of what's next for this blog? I have to admit that I pretty regularly wonder if I should keep the blog going. I do enjoy it, but I wonder if my time and efforts would be better focused elsewhere. I have the Facebook page for the dogs now. Admittedly, I let that page falter and haven't done a ton with it, but I am getting back into that as well. This blog seems like a good place for my dog related ramblings, but that's kind of what the Facebook page could become as well. I'm just not really sure on that. That's an area that I'll shelf for the moment, but will keep coming back to. I also keep wondering if blogging is going to be one of those media forms that sort of fades into the distance. I LOVE podcasts and would listen to podcasts over reading blog posts. But there are several blogs that I still read, I just get them sent to my email to make it easier for me to stay up on. I'm also not entirely sure that what I have "to offer" is enough to keep the blog going. When I first started, I was soooooo enthusiastic about this blog. I dove into it and the dog blogging world in general. My life has changed a bit and my time commitments have most definitely changed. And I've been wondering if keeping up the blog is one of those things that will change as well. Who knows.<br />
<br />
Changes are a commin'. Mostly exciting. I'm sure there will be enough of them that I couldn't anticipate, but I am looking forward to the ones in the works. :)Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-41428795364339065952018-10-28T18:36:00.002-07:002018-10-28T18:36:49.657-07:00Continuing Education<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgjXSyc0UFElEEX3eNo4HmJ5wMavx5HkL1vYDLmsipPqD4mx-oZln8sJEaJjehduKF9EMcxsvOCzsZ4Q1n9huw6CQUuENRCbOrtNfxevuUyuwaGqht7rIPxfCY-uTstwE2lyVEGltlJqn7/s1600/IMG_3184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgjXSyc0UFElEEX3eNo4HmJ5wMavx5HkL1vYDLmsipPqD4mx-oZln8sJEaJjehduKF9EMcxsvOCzsZ4Q1n9huw6CQUuENRCbOrtNfxevuUyuwaGqht7rIPxfCY-uTstwE2lyVEGltlJqn7/s320/IMG_3184.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
The froth is strong with this one. Now picture that, while training. Only add more froth...<br />
<br />
Carrying on with my plan to have a monthly continuing education post, this month I'd like to bring attention to Alexandra Kurland's <a href="https://www.equiosity.com/">Equiosity</a> podcast. Alexandra is likely best known for her book "Clicker Training for Your Horse." While her podcast does focus primarily on horses, the principles and methods that she discusses can be applied to any species. Her attention to small body movements, animal stance and her ability to split behaviors into ever smaller sections are beneficial to anyone interested in training. I enjoy listening to trainers of species I don't normally work with because they often have a slightly different way of approaching something or may use equipment or the environment in ways that I hadn't thought of before. It allows me to broaden my horizons and learn to start looking at the animal I'm working with and the space I'm working in, in a more perceptive (I hope) manner.<br />
<br />
The Equiosity website also offers webinars with leaders in the field of animal behavior and training. Last month I took the Dr. Susan Friedman webinar and loved it! The webinar itself was two and a half hours long and well worth the price. You can also purchase the webinars after they've aired at a slightly higher rate. And as always, I love the fact that the webinar gets saved so that I can view it at my convenience. With the added benefit of being able to replay any section that I want while I'm taking notes. This was my first time taking an Equiosity webinar and I definitely recommend it.<br />
<br />
On a less education based note, I have thoroughly enjoyed <a href="https://www.gimletmedia.com/the-habitat">The Habitat</a> podcast. This podcast is based around the lives of a group of people who volunteer for a one year project to synthesize what astronauts will have to deal with on Mars. The group stays mostly contained within a habitat on a Hawaiian island and they chronicle what it is like as they emulate situations that astronauts will be dealing with on the eventual manned trip to Mars. I didn't anticipate being super into it, but I really enjoyed it. It's not as nerdy as it might sound. Think of a less dramatic reality show about fake astronauts. :)Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-36069900322772642402018-10-14T20:30:00.000-07:002018-10-14T20:30:19.853-07:00Paw Pods<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZICeJ5xij7Pu65jdSNDXU3V6nI7fWPaZxBaE74gKBd_UssXpmN5O-_qTyNzqdjGq3iJ2mHaraL44AdHZ35diWaoWb1Sw97p26PF70c6jYlQFrd_fCXNQesqHMriS2_l4ruoH8TS25UUj/s1600/thumbnail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZICeJ5xij7Pu65jdSNDXU3V6nI7fWPaZxBaE74gKBd_UssXpmN5O-_qTyNzqdjGq3iJ2mHaraL44AdHZ35diWaoWb1Sw97p26PF70c6jYlQFrd_fCXNQesqHMriS2_l4ruoH8TS25UUj/s320/thumbnail.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Dominic is working his way through his Halloween attire. The coat is more than a little big. I made it for Heffner as one of my <a href="http://lifewithbigdogs.blogspot.com/2009/12/product-of-month.html">first attempts</a> at making less expensive, holiday themed dog coats. I was going for a longer cut on Heff and it was even a bit big on him. So Dom basically has a Halloween themed cape. It works.<br />
<br />
I can't believe I'm able to say this, but I've been keeping up with a regular training schedule. It's the weirdest damn thing. It does involve protecting that time on a week night. And I have implemented some things to help get me better organized. Things like <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Self-Adhesive-Whiteboard-Wall-Sticker/dp/B077H5N1S6/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1539572876&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=dry+erase+sticker&psc=1">this</a> awesome dry erase wall sticker! I'm better organized when I have notes that I can look at as to what my game plan for training is that day. I put the sticker up on the side of my kitchen cabinets facing into the area of the house that I usually train in, so it's very easy for me to glance up and remind myself of what the goal and exercise is. I'm a fan.<br />
<br />
I'm also toying with trying out a training challenge at the end of the month. I just need to get a little more organized to ensure that I'll be able to accomplish it all and not overload myself. When I write out a plan, I'm finding that it's helping knock down the feeling of being overwhelmed. At least a little. <br />
<br />
And I'm happy to say that I actually have a training video! I got Dom up on all four paw pods. I'm mostly sure that I haven't used the paw pods with him and really sure that I haven't had him do all four paw pods. He does have a lengthy reinforcement history for putting his front feet on things, which helps a lot in training this. And I've also worked with him on rear foot targeting, though he doesn't have the depth of history with that as the front feet.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4g3UthzP0AM/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4g3UthzP0AM?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />
I did decide to use the flatter disc as an intermediate step prior to introducing the rear foot pods. Dominic's confidence has been a little lower with Miley's passing and I want to really make sure that I set him up for success. Plus, it's not like I have a deadline of when I need to have this behavior "finished" by, so why not break it down a little more?<br />
<br />
In the process of looking back through old videos to see if I have anything of Dom on the paw pods (I didn't), I did find this video of Miley and Heff. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bnayC4Ecxpw/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bnayC4Ecxpw?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />
That, made me very nostalgic. <br />
<br />Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-4126078427966257462018-10-07T16:46:00.000-07:002018-10-07T16:46:17.876-07:00Language Matters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0FQtY4dUNWk0C6cHgropX3UQIi0UyO7CW1gk3n_Q8G0ZH4NROB2ORukR02wKYygtbaPxAaEqNB2c83YwGHNgRsmaitTUiCHKo6a7CSrnR8AqMohFawCn7rhZ6WbPlfa2MtADnFiUBbXCO/s1600/thumbnail+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0FQtY4dUNWk0C6cHgropX3UQIi0UyO7CW1gk3n_Q8G0ZH4NROB2ORukR02wKYygtbaPxAaEqNB2c83YwGHNgRsmaitTUiCHKo6a7CSrnR8AqMohFawCn7rhZ6WbPlfa2MtADnFiUBbXCO/s320/thumbnail+%25281%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Whether we like it or not, the language that we use matters. Specific terminology helps to keep everyone at the same level of understanding and theoretically helps to avoid confusion. It's when one or more parties use a word incorrectly, that things can go astray. This is a fact that I seem to keep running into.<br />
<br />
Case in point was a talk at a conference I went to this year. For work, I will occasionally need an animal to ingest a bitter or displeasing compound. A task that can be rather daunting if I am limited with the amount or type of food item(s) I am allowed to disguise said compound in. When there was a presenter at the conference giving a talk about training for just such a circumstance, I was very excited to hear what his shaping plan was. I was more than a little disappointed, however, when it became apparent that what he did was exactly what I usually do, and that was disguising the flavor in a treat. What he described as training was really desensitizing the animals to taking a food item from his hand. For me, that's a very important distinction. <br />
<br />
To me, training an animal to ingest a bitter compound means that I present them with said compound in whatever vehicle it's made up in, and regardless of how much of that displeasing flavor is there, they will ingest it in it's entirety. In this case, this involves teaching the animal to over come the aversive flavor in order to gain a positive reinforcer. I'm not sure why, but training an animal to voluntarily, and often repeatedly, consume something that tastes terrible is more challenging than training them to present a leg for a voluntary injection. Both involve aversives, but for some reason the aversive in the mouth is more challenging to get past than the aversive of a needle poke. Something that I'm sure anyone who has tried to pill an uncooperative pet can start to understand.<br />
<br />
In the case of the presenter, there was no training to take something that the animal had clearly indicated was distasteful. Instead, they disguised the flavor. No training involved. Well, maybe the training of the handlers who had to figure out how to mix the food items up. But generally speaking, it wasn't training that he was describing in his talk. It was desensitization that he was describing.<br />
<br />
Via Wikipedia, desensitization is defined as the diminished emotional responsiveness to a negative, aversive or positive stimulus after repeated exposure to it. Initially the animals had a negative emotional response to his presence and were reluctant to take a regular treat from his hand. After continued positive interactions with the animals, they all got to the point where they would take a treat from his hand. He had built up a bank of positive associations and was then successful at administering the compound. He then proclaimed that positive reinforcement training works. Which is a great outcome all around, but the language needs work.<br />
<br />
Fast forward to more recently, but again surrounding discussions of training animals to voluntarily ingest something bitter. This time the mode of desired administration is via a large syringe that the animal can drink from. A lot of non-pet animals will build up negative associations with syringes. A syringe frequently means that they are going to be sedated or have an injectable medication administered. Both of which can be undesirable outcomes for the animal, which leads to building up a negative emotional response to syringes. Getting them to overcome this negative emotional response and voluntarily drink from a syringe would fall under the category of desensitization. Technically you could also lump it under training, as long as you were specific about your outcome. If all you're wanting is for that animal to drink a liquid that it finds appealing from the syringe, that's not so complicated. If you want them to drink an unappealing liquid from that syringe, you now have a process that requires desensitization AND training and you really better be specific about the outcome.<br />
<br />
In addition to specific word choice, how we communicate our definitions is also important. Frequently everything gets lumped under the word training. Which is not entirely incorrect when you're being very general. It's when you get specific that the waters start to get muddied. Lets take this syringe drinking for example. Lets say you have one party who is requesting the training of an animal and you have another party who is providing the training of the animal. Both parties use the word training as the descriptor in their communications. Lets say that the requester knows that the whole reason they want their animals trained to drink from a syringe is because they will eventually be ingesting something very aversive tasting from it. Maybe this lighting gets brought up in the conversation, but the emphasis is always placed on training for drinking from a syringe. And lets say that the person providing the training generally knows the reason behind wanting this behavior. But both parties keep using the same phrase, training to drink from a syringe. This is where using the correct language would greatly help when the trainer does not end up producing the actual desired outcome of the requester.<br />
<br />
The trainer desensitizes the animals to drinking from a syringe and they will happily drink appealing liquids from said syringe. Given an aversive liquid, the animals will not. The requester is disappointed because they have not gained the desired outcome that they need. If both parties had been specific in their language, confusion could have been avoided. The person providing the training, having more experience with the specific terminology, should have also explained that what they were capable of providing were animals who were desensitized and should have explained the difference between the two terms in this particular case.<br />
<br />
I catch myself starting to say that it's annoying that we have to be specific, but really it's not. Being specific helps us all understand each other better. It helps us try to avoid confusion and misunderstandings. It helps us to be honest and to be seen as honest in what we are trying to convey. Yes, it may take a little effort initially, but it really is worth it. Just like when you start training for the very first time. It takes effort to learn the mechanics and the language, but it's so incredibly worth it. Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-20295964797709812402018-09-30T20:40:00.001-07:002018-09-30T20:40:45.160-07:00Random Thoughts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTmwG9fSJmUPKrqfCxMyTfRvODEvcd3ifmfjU8iK9IwyE3koxgfMGw-hn75PsYOPhov_Uqqx0HmZH_Wgt9vSM_z_hEtYFv5_HGx66OMzgScbTnhDQ_6Jn0h9ZZDnzcL5nWBGrRIEvPtnhZ/s1600/IMG_2671.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTmwG9fSJmUPKrqfCxMyTfRvODEvcd3ifmfjU8iK9IwyE3koxgfMGw-hn75PsYOPhov_Uqqx0HmZH_Wgt9vSM_z_hEtYFv5_HGx66OMzgScbTnhDQ_6Jn0h9ZZDnzcL5nWBGrRIEvPtnhZ/s320/IMG_2671.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
This post is going to be a hodge podge of thoughts that have been tumbling around inside my head. I've been trying to come up with a specific focus, but I don't have anything that's actually ready. I have training video clips, but they are better utilized once we're further along and I can explain why we're working on the exercises that we are. So no videos to put together. We've continued doing our closer to home light hikes, but I feel like those are really a wash, rinse, repeat. So nothing super exciting there. I suppose that I could say that things are going well as I have nothing terrible to report. That's always a plus. Now on to random thoughts!<br />
<br />
Nutrition. I LOVE canine nutrition. I feed a raw, or species appropriate, diet, which has me taking a very direct role in the food that my dogs eat. I did a fair bit of research before switching Heffner and Bess and I've continued to read more about what people are doing, the science behind it and of course, listening to podcasts that talk about it. Taking a more involved role in what my dogs are eating has me feeling good about what's going into them and maintaining their overall health. With that being said, I have a more heightened sense of striving for a high quality of life with some longevity to it. In that vein, I've been diving more deeply into supplements. As much as possible, you want your pets to get their vital nutrients in their whole form from the foods that they eat. However, different health conditions, different activities and different environments that you take your dog into can have deleterious effects on your dog. Sometimes their diet can use some additional help. And sometimes I get hooked on a topic and get a little bit obsessive about it and trying to keep my dogs around as long as possible. So I'm making some tweaks to the supplements that Dominic is receiving. I'll share more as it progresses, but I like doing what I can to help keep him happy and healthy for as long as possible. <br />
<br />
Obviously my concern with longevity has a more recent emphasis with losing Miley at the age of 4. Losing her at such a young age has spawned so many thoughts in my head. As I'm in the process of working through all of this, Facebook pops up a memory of Heffner and Bess from 9 years ago. 9. Years. It's nuts. I think back to the mental space I was in with those guys and it's such a different reality than what I have now. I knew that I would out live them. I knew that their lifespan would never be long enough. But I had been through so much with them both and they were both so vibrant and influential in my life, that I couldn't fathom what it would be like to be without them. I knew that they would die, but at the same time, that fact seemed very unreal. They were this constant in my life that influenced everything for me. They tackled so many things with me and made it through various hurdles that without realizing it, I unconsciously started to believe that they would just always be there. Losing those two rocked my world view. Being involved in the dane community, I knew plenty of people who had lost their dogs. And being involved in the conformation arena, I knew many breeders whose reality was that they would have many danes in their lives. It was a fact that was interwoven in all that they did. Yes each loss hurt, but they had accepted that to continue with the breed meant that they would know and love many in their own lifespan. That fact didn't sink in fully until I lost Heffner and Bess. Losing Miley cemented it. This is my reality with this breed. If I continue to choose to have great danes in my life, the truth is that there will be several. I have no illusions that any of my dogs will just always be there. Losing them young is unfair, but there's also no age that I can think of where I would just shrug my shoulders and say "yeah, that was enough." It makes me think of the comment my dad made when I got Heffner paw print tattooed on my back. He asked me "are you going to get a tattoo of EVERY dog you have?" At the time I thought why not? Thinking about it now, that's potentially quite the back piece. It's just such a weird thing to think about. And I don't know how much time I should give to thinking about it. I don't want to intentionally stop myself from that thought process as I already know that "method" of working through grief tends to not be positively productive. But I also don't want to dwell on it. I don't know. It's a process. And it sucks. I just keep coming back to my most recent thought process of just missing Miley.<br />
<br />
<br />Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-51708862818292382742018-09-23T16:47:00.000-07:002018-09-23T16:47:29.582-07:00Hiking Is The Best<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6eKdN-OVM3edU46MN_bj_3rxRg7gFwxYfnBkNh4ddG6llpV5-rNRqBXa69nwS1_U3NQLRkS7LJAgUEsRAUqfUeSq4MLmmg2yeQ3YFhR9WItDXBtpXzFyfiHlnA0mzbyWni_3cEU9ufnZ/s1600/IMG_2740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1495" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6eKdN-OVM3edU46MN_bj_3rxRg7gFwxYfnBkNh4ddG6llpV5-rNRqBXa69nwS1_U3NQLRkS7LJAgUEsRAUqfUeSq4MLmmg2yeQ3YFhR9WItDXBtpXzFyfiHlnA0mzbyWni_3cEU9ufnZ/s320/IMG_2740.JPG" width="299" /></a></div>
<br />
Before I get into the actual topic of this post, I would just like to point out that the Cleveland Browns won their game this past Thursday night!! I have been a Browns fan for several years now and last season was a rough one. The Browns joined the ranks of the Detroit Lions with a win less regular season. As I am not a bandwagon follower *cough*Ducks Fans*cough*, I have stuck with them regardless of what they're record is. With that being said, it feels really good for your team to win a game after such a rough season. <br />
<br />
And now back to our regularly scheduled blog post.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzhjJ6c3qHLHtBFhnQdBm-SDd7vBt6yX6nyUlpm4rM8HmmSDd7rRtqNE94HMqq75qmSBqTtvULKNJgVtnu1LIZlcdnHi8t36RySymBSZFiCn0280rksTVnulqhIZy91-VGK61_dqr-ZAl/s1600/IMG_2831.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzhjJ6c3qHLHtBFhnQdBm-SDd7vBt6yX6nyUlpm4rM8HmmSDd7rRtqNE94HMqq75qmSBqTtvULKNJgVtnu1LIZlcdnHi8t36RySymBSZFiCn0280rksTVnulqhIZy91-VGK61_dqr-ZAl/s320/IMG_2831.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Hiking really is the best. It's good for the soul and it's good for the body. I have read other dog bloggers who have stated the many benefits of getting out into nature and I've also heard a podcast recently extolling the benefits of grounding for your pets. For me, personally, I need it to feel more balanced. I'd love it if I could go on a hike every morning, but drive time and work are not currently compatible with this.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtDOx97GdyWwaVoZRCVoGAj0Vm5rpxpwb4-P0Pj75wtDjNDT3s77mPW-W4aWgdWXYOHycG396cAkOc2Mj5VIYpE9F50BG62aEE5SBWQhl1s16_dH6Z2yObHgHi5nvBt5PZOPlB5fv8-gJH/s1600/IMG_2803.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtDOx97GdyWwaVoZRCVoGAj0Vm5rpxpwb4-P0Pj75wtDjNDT3s77mPW-W4aWgdWXYOHycG396cAkOc2Mj5VIYpE9F50BG62aEE5SBWQhl1s16_dH6Z2yObHgHi5nvBt5PZOPlB5fv8-gJH/s320/IMG_2803.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Yesterday Tanner, Dom and I went hiking with a few friends and their adorable dog Ginger. Much enjoyment was had and areas that Dom could use some confidence boosting on became abundantly clear to me. Bridges are not Dom's best friend. There were a couple of bridges that you would expect on a hiking trail and Dom was not a super fan of them. He got over them, but there was much encouragement and it definitely wasn't a quick process. It's been kind of a recurring theme since Miley passed that his confidence level has gone down a fair bit. At times when Dom was feeling uncertain, he would literally lean on Miley.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZLCMnfOili6RiQ26cgrNyltoO8Hrk04XLuLGspL8Awe5eQEYtL-BLqJHngji88fEwj2veR94ZOwz0IrHToMQE7q1jSvH2qbj1UIxb77JN_cuMhi5wsqk-ViwTpvq8U7h-a83ZZmuac5T9/s1600/IMG_0163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZLCMnfOili6RiQ26cgrNyltoO8Hrk04XLuLGspL8Awe5eQEYtL-BLqJHngji88fEwj2veR94ZOwz0IrHToMQE7q1jSvH2qbj1UIxb77JN_cuMhi5wsqk-ViwTpvq8U7h-a83ZZmuac5T9/s320/IMG_0163.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Without the physical support of Miley, Dom is now having to find his way and is floundering a little bit with it. Some areas I feel better equipped to help him through and others I'm figuring it out as we go along. And I'll be honest, there are times where it's frustrating for me. There are moments where I can't stop the thought of "he was fine with this when Miley was around." I can't fault him, but that doesn't mean that it's always easy.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim5Nr27Vax6fxpRHv9wkgbIA1lMmhFQkCW-UPDX5hlegWkZEc5xP96rf9TnZVXRttOEOcXYSC5OTPP1ckzYIhaAzVNq4NWoqAWKorVRRM_oRxh2lDKgiUb0e2l74ief1yJIfDjIkwSkMKB/s1600/IMG_2801.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim5Nr27Vax6fxpRHv9wkgbIA1lMmhFQkCW-UPDX5hlegWkZEc5xP96rf9TnZVXRttOEOcXYSC5OTPP1ckzYIhaAzVNq4NWoqAWKorVRRM_oRxh2lDKgiUb0e2l74ief1yJIfDjIkwSkMKB/s320/IMG_2801.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
I'll continue to try to be mindful of the hikes that I take him on and work on the areas that aren't as easy for him. It's great physical and mental exercise for him and it's something that I can't live without. I just need to remind myself that he's not Miley and what he brings to the table is different and unique.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/g8wGAvw3jeI/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g8wGAvw3jeI?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-16689594694515908402018-09-16T17:26:00.003-07:002018-09-16T17:26:52.518-07:00Education<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPPPnWsPtzSXMkoTjl8YxSZr85WN1_HT6vQ61NuZB5UyGub8e-0EmngSlAChbXTaSX93wwBjwAKCE75Q1-SqFPThytXxfhznjakZkM8RAPxI8Kd-gTJUjzPqeyKJ9xcXKleRkRRFhO_BJ/s1600/IMG_2601.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPPPnWsPtzSXMkoTjl8YxSZr85WN1_HT6vQ61NuZB5UyGub8e-0EmngSlAChbXTaSX93wwBjwAKCE75Q1-SqFPThytXxfhznjakZkM8RAPxI8Kd-gTJUjzPqeyKJ9xcXKleRkRRFhO_BJ/s320/IMG_2601.PNG" width="179" /></a></div>
I have been putting more effort into continuing to expand my training related knowledge. It's an area that I really enjoy reading and hearing more about. The problem I come up against, as with everything else, is not enough time. Making time in my schedule to go to a regularly occurring class is definitely outside of the realm of feasible at the moment. So I gave an online class a try through the <a href="https://fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php">Fenzi Dog Sports Academy</a>. I've done online classes before and I definitely loved them, but my current schedule and time commitments have changed a lot, so I opted to start with a gentler class. And then my project load and schedule at work kind of blew up. No mental space for a continually progressing class. I lasted a couple weeks before it became abundantly clear that I just didn't have the mental space or energy for it. Okay, so even online classes right now aren't working for me. It was a little disappointing, but I have found some things that DO work with my often fluctuating schedule.<br />
<br />
I don't know how other people are, but I have a really hard time with every day tasks that don't feel productive. Tasks like driving. Depending on how traffic is, it can really put a dent in my productivity level. And when I feel like I already don't have enough time in the day to fit in everything I'd like to, that gets a little frustrating. So I started listening to podcasts. I know, I'm late to the party, but podcasts are GREAT! I feel like I'm using this "down" time to actually learn something and stay up on the latest in whatever realm I so choose at that moment. No more feeling stagnant and like I'm not continuing to grow. Plus it has the added benefit of engaging the more logical part of my brain while I'm driving to tamp down that road ragey part a little. ;) I thought that maybe as a recurring part of this blog I'd share one of the podcasts that I currently listen to. For this month, not surprisingly, one of the podcasts I listen to is the <a href="http://www.fenzidogsports.libsyn.com/">Fenzi Dog Sports podcast</a>. It's a weekly podcast that interviews one of the trainers teaching a class or webinar through FDSA. It's a good way to hear a little more about a topic that you may be interested in, but aren't quite sure if the class is for you. One thing I will say, while I was not successful at taking the class the bronze level makes the "commitment" less scary. It's inexpensive enough that I didn't mind doing that little experiment and gives me plenty of access to the discussion forums and being able to see the gold level students' videos. It was a good experience.<br />
<br />
Continuing in the FDSA theme, I also decided to test the waters with a webinar this month. There are weekly webinars that cover a wide variety of topics. And at $20, it's hard to beat. I now know that a class, whether online or in a physical location, won't currently work for me, I was hoping that a webinar would. There are some really great webinars coming up from a few different groups and it just sounds so ideal. It's a one time experience that you can either join in for the live presentation, or view the recorded session at your convenience. PERFECT!! And it worked out great!! This week I watched Michele Pouliot's Platform Training-Beyond the Basics. The webinar occurred on Thursday and I watched it on Saturday. Tanner was working on work for a class that he's taking (not dog related) and I was watching my webinar. It was a perfectly kick back and nerdy night at home. :)<br />
<br />
That's what's currently working for me and keeping me happy. I feel like I'm continuing to learn more AND I feel like I'm maximizing the less useful chunks of time in my day. Win-win! <br />
<br />
I did want to add that not all of the podcasts that I listen to are specifically training related. The more I think to search, the more interesting shows I come across. I thought it would be fun to also include a non-dog or training specific podcast in these posts. This month I picked <a href="http://dirtbagdiaries.com/">The Dirtbag Diaries</a>. This show has been around since 2007, so I'm REALLY late the game with this one, but I'm a fan of the outdoor adventure stories and the storytelling skills of the various authors. The most recent episode, Hootin' & Hollerin', really hit home with me. It was the recovery story of a climber who had an accident while climbing that shattered his pelvis and broke his back. His recounting of his time in the hospital and the recovery process hit home so hard with me. So many of the thoughts that he verbalized were thoughts that had gone through my head. And I totally agree with him that sometimes to get through tough spots like that, you need a healthy dose of denial to push through and get to where you CAN do things. Listening to that story, I definitely wanted to include that in this post. If you enjoy the outdoors and hearing about other people's adventures, you'll enjoy this podcast.<br />
<br />
And with that, I'm off to start preparing myself for an involved week at work. Cheers everyone!Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-76805131438609650002018-09-09T18:40:00.002-07:002018-09-09T18:40:36.175-07:00Doodle Work<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQT-JpN98jXpYroBKkjVnVv8Vu0w2oCtaOZt9Fo_CNvyCerQJ844kWLSf7s2gpV6waZt4X7bIuL22q62vZbZBwYWGajHO5rs3wTk29eXqwpuXm-KVYdAne1Zvq3nKnsDOJBOPR3b6tkLLs/s1600/IMG_2581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQT-JpN98jXpYroBKkjVnVv8Vu0w2oCtaOZt9Fo_CNvyCerQJ844kWLSf7s2gpV6waZt4X7bIuL22q62vZbZBwYWGajHO5rs3wTk29eXqwpuXm-KVYdAne1Zvq3nKnsDOJBOPR3b6tkLLs/s320/IMG_2581.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I don't remember exactly how it came about, but somehow Dominic gained the nickname Doodle. It's not his only nickname, but probably the most frequently used. He is also frequently referred to as The Doodle. It's cute and it tends to work with his personality, but in no way has any reference to the doodle fad. Anyhow, Dom has been getting some obviously focused work since he is now an only child.<br />
<br />
With Miley's passing, it has either become noticeable or he has developed some mild discomfort for certain objects and situations. He's never been a super confident dog and I think that no longer having his big sister to lean on has dealt more of a blow to that confidence level. There are things around the house that Miley wasn't super thrilled about and I thought it was just her. Either Dom also had a low level of discomfort with them or he now finds the scarier without Miley around. Regardless of which it is, we've been tackling them. I've sort of taken it as my first order of business to get myself back on my feet and back into a more regular training schedule. Baby steps.<br />
<br />
We started with the spray bottle. I'm not sure how this developed, but Dom has HATED the spray bottle. Which is incredibly inconvenient at dog shows when I'm wanting to cool him down a little and keep him hydrated. Miley LOVED the spray bottle, so I'm really not sure where his fear of it came from. I definitely don't use it as a punishment, especially since I want them to have positive associations with it. So we've been working on desensitizing and reconditioning it as a positive thing. I'm happy to report that it's working and was really simple. I started by just treating him for nose touching the bottle itself. After that I started spritzing a little bit out, which got him interested. And gradually we worked up to full sprays that he was happily lapping straight from the sprayer. I knew this wouldn't be all that challenging. He likes drinking and he really likes drinking from moving water sources, so the spray bottle was producing the reward. I just had to encourage him to get past his initial fear of approaching the bottle and things moved quickly from there.<br />
<br />
After the spray bottle came the baby gates that I have in a couple locations in my house. He has no problem with x-pens, but is uncomfortable passing by the baby gates in close quarters like the hallway leading to my bedroom. I never noticed that he was uncomfortable with these, most likely because Miley's level of discomfort was pretty obvious. I was not great at being consistent working with her, and she never really got past an alright level. I always thought that Dom was fine. But as it turns out, he is also a bit uncomfortable. I can't think of a time where he's knocked the gates over or had a negative experience, but maybe Miley's dislike of them was enough to condition him to dislike them without knowing why. So we've been working on that. I do want to grab some video of him working on it and I wish that I had taken video from the get go to visually record his progress, but so it goes. It's a work in progress and I'm happy with how it's going.<br />
<br />
The other thing we're working on is his comfort level in tight spaces. This gets a little challenging because of his ever exuberant tail. The more happy or the more uncomfortable and unsure he gets, the more forcefully his tail swings. This can be problematic in certain tight spaces where he potentially knocks things over. Places like that, I will just generally avoid working on as he doesn't really need to be in those locations in my house. Tanner and I did do some cleaning up and rearranging of the office so that there is now more space for Dom to comfortably move around in there. Dom is slowly building up his comfort level and getting better about entering that room. We're getting there.<br />
<br />
And other areas that we've been working on are building up hind end strength and the dumbbell hold. I will have a separate post about Dom's dumbbell work, because unsurprisingly, I am needing to do things a little differently with him than any of the other three. Naturally. ;) But it's been fun trying different routes with him.<br />
<br />
This post hasn't been exactly the most stimulating, but I am TRYING to get myself into a schedule of posting. Which means getting myself back into a mind set of specific content for posts. I hesitate to say that I think I am starting to find a more manageable balance of everything in my life and will be able to not only carve out the time for regular training, but also allotting time for the blog and making some videos, which I really enjoy. So here's to finding balance and trying not to berate yourself too much when it's bloody well elusive.Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-88752082981692333872018-09-02T19:20:00.002-07:002018-09-02T19:20:36.393-07:00Miley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3hUh2zt0p-eYnmCU3j2mAQTWTMZfvKTnScuOULia7uVPo8zUsZKujW4jABwyfN1wzjMiDZDrjBRCYaalHV0JdAVI4XNQFVaCeAFxi3Q-PUkK3reSOPdieqvNFIZclvCs6LPTlTl18Sae5/s1600/IMG_2283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3hUh2zt0p-eYnmCU3j2mAQTWTMZfvKTnScuOULia7uVPo8zUsZKujW4jABwyfN1wzjMiDZDrjBRCYaalHV0JdAVI4XNQFVaCeAFxi3Q-PUkK3reSOPdieqvNFIZclvCs6LPTlTl18Sae5/s320/IMG_2283.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I lost Miley to osteosarcoma on Monday August 6th. I've been through this before. Unfortunately, this exact same thing. It just progressed differently with Miley. I've been meaning to write this post for a bit, figuring that it would help in the grieving process. I've gone through that process twice before, but that doesn't make it less raw or at all the same.<br />
<br />
Here's a twist to the knife. Miley developed the tell tale tumor on the same exact leg, in the same exact location as Bess. Only her tumor appeared basically in front of my eyes, while we were at the vet's office. I fucking hate cancer.<br />
<br />
I took Miley in to see her vet due to a slight limp that just wasn't going away. After a week of me being out of town and her brother staying with other people, she should have been able to rest up enough to signify that this slight limp meant something else was going on. I thought it was something to do with her shoulder. So we went to the vet. She did flex tests on her, she had me gait her, she poked and prodded her to see if she could get a pain response in a specific location or feel heat in a particular area. Nothing. Her recommendation was that she was going to send me home with antiinflamatories, rest her for a week and see what happens. I felt like something was up and I still felt like it was the shoulder, so I asked her if she'd x-ray her shoulders. She was more than fine taking the x-rays at my request. Shoulder x-rays came back clear. We'd already had a conversation about her first guess given Miley's breed was osteosarcoma, and since she wasn't the same vet that Bess had, I explained the process with Bess. As she was showing me Miley's clear shoulder x-rays, she said that she didn't do any scans of the rest of her legs since nothing warranted it. Well....<br />
<br />
After she brought Miley back to the waiting room she gave me the option of hanging out in the room until the receptionist was ready to ring me up, or I could wait out in the waiting room. Thankfully I opted to wait in the waiting room. As I was sitting there, I was looking at Miley's front legs and I could SWEAR that her left front was now swollen in that tell tale region. Which seemed impossible. The vet and I had been all over that area. How could either of us have possibly missed that. Clearly i was something that had already been seen. But I couldn't stop staring at it. Finally I just decided that if I didn't get it x-rayed right then, it was going to drive me crazy and I'd just be bringing her back in the next day. So I grabbed a vet tech, who grabbed the vet. She came in and was shocked that she hadn't seen it. Then said that as we were talking she could almost swear that it was increasing in size. Back off for x-rays Miley went. The vet came back and told me that she was about to be my least favorite person. They could get a biopsy to confirm, but Miley's x-ray looked just like Bess'.<br />
<br />
From there, Miley's progression was very different than Bess'. Bess was only on meloxicam until the end. Miley was on meloxicam, tramadol at an increasing dose and gabapentin at the end. By the evening of the 5th she was no longer weight bearing on the leg. Despite all the meds that she was on, she was still herself at times. She just couldn't play as much. Then finally she stopped putting weight on the leg. It took both Tanner and I to gently lift her out of the house so that she could potty. <br />
<br />
A friend of mine who's a vet came on the morning of the 6th to put her down. Even then Miley was excited to see her and was bouncing around to the best of her ability so that she could say hi. Which had me glad that she had asked if I preferred a light sedative prior to the injection. <br />
<br />
This is just hard. I keep thinking about great Miley was during my recovery process. How incredibly happy she was to see me when I finally came home from the hospital. She never wanted to leave my side. Those two months while I was wheelchair bound and basically stuck inside my house, she only wanted to be next me. She moderated her play around me throughout the entire process. This is beyond unfair. She was only four. And she was significant to me. Part of the loss is knowing how amazing she was. How much time we should have still had together and all the things we should have still been able to do. I will never hear her fake grumble at night when I glom on to her. I will never see her punching the garage door handle because I'm clearly too dense to understand that she wants outside. I will never get another chance to tell her she's got too much sass in that ass. It's just not okay. <br />
<br />
I am glad that I have so many pictures and so many videos of her. Looking back at those does reaffirm for me that I did give her a good life. She did know that she was loved. And I have so many amazing memories with her. I put together a video of some of the snippets. Nothing will feel like enough, but this helps.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3IU7pfgDqn0/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3IU7pfgDqn0?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-25960824430421363052018-04-08T15:55:00.002-07:002018-04-08T15:55:47.221-07:00Work In Progress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzARvYpcE3jqNrWEHp9z3ek7YHnbX2C4ieNfacH__6LQdRgJEM871fIYSDs0feAtFHoimJILIEmw1S9xpeJfaS41GYGtsJo566khR2GNsy0uz9AOrBUHlZK0JvMOor1TyKPzELHcd9X1Yl/s1600/IMG_0190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzARvYpcE3jqNrWEHp9z3ek7YHnbX2C4ieNfacH__6LQdRgJEM871fIYSDs0feAtFHoimJILIEmw1S9xpeJfaS41GYGtsJo566khR2GNsy0uz9AOrBUHlZK0JvMOor1TyKPzELHcd9X1Yl/s320/IMG_0190.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
I read a recent post by Patricia McConnell titled "<a href="http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/what-is-enough-for-our-dogs?utm_source=The+Other+End+of+the+Leash&utm_campaign=5f98d22086-BLOG+Update+Emails&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_28cc1bbe4e-5f98d22086-81725465">Are We Doing Enough For Our Dogs?</a>" As I was reading it, all I could think was AH-FREAKING-MEN!! This is an area that I feel like I have constantly struggled with. I never feel like I'm doing enough or measuring up to what is expected. Add to that taking a year "off," and I am rife with guilt over not doing enough for my dogs.<br />
<br />
Side bar on the word guilt. I have assigned the feeling of guilt to many situations, but when the actual definition of the word was pointed out to me, it has helped me dissect the feeling and tackle the situation in a more constructive manner. Guilt is "the fact of having committed a specified or implied offense or crime." In a nutshell, guilt is when you have done something wrong. I feel guilty for not fitting in training time last Wednesday with either dog. Did I actually do something wrong or commit a crime? No. Assigning that feeling the name guilt is incorrect. I feel bad that I didn't fit in training time with either dog. But just breaking it down and making the situation relatively black and white with that one question, has helped me handle those uncomfortable feelings. The bad feeling doesn't linger. And instead of wallowing unproductively in it, I make a promise or a plan to remedy this instance. For me, it makes the situation more manageable and alleviates the mental anguish. Sometimes words have too much power. This is one way that I'm trying to tackle that in a more constructive way.<br />
<br />
McConnell goes on to discuss where this question comes from. If you are in a position where you are able to ask this question, then you are in a position of privilege. If you can ask this question, then you are able to meet all the basic needs of your survival. You are not focused on where your next meal is going to come from. You're not concerned about having a roof over your head. If you are able to ask this question with regards to a non-human being under your care, you're doing pretty well compared to a lot of areas in the world. As she points out, this is a first world problem.<br />
<br />
For good or for ill, realizing that makes me feel less bad. I have a job, I have a house, regardless of the past year, I have good health. My basic needs are not in danger of not being met. This gives me the luxury of caring about my dogs. <br />
<br />
Life moves ahead at what seems like an ever increasing rate. The expectations are higher. There are things that you need and have to do, things that you should do and then there are things that you want to do. We have the varied expectations and duties of work, which enable us to put food in our bellies, a roof over our heads and enjoy the dogs in our lives. Through work life and dog life, we meet other people. We form bonds with those people. Interactions with those people can take place just in the professional or dog related setting, or we find (sometimes struggle to) time to connect with people outside of either of those venues. The more people you know, the more pulls on your time you have. The more expectations you may feel the pressure to meet. I don't mean this in a negative way, but it is a pull on our physical time as well as a potential pull on your psyche. If you're an introvert, then you REALLY get this. We are a social species. No matter how introverted you are, you need that contact with at least one other person and this can create turmoil within. <br />
<br />
On the home front, you can get inundated with information. Information on what you should feed your dog and how you should feed it. How often, what types, durrations and in what contexts you should exercise your dog. How often and what types of mental stimulation your dog needs. What activities you should and should not participate in. The list goes on and on and surely if you do not follow the golden rule your dog will be ruined forever! <br />
<br />
All of that and so much more is what I'm struggling with. It boils down to struggling with the idea that I am not doing enough for my dogs. The past year of their lives has been the most sedate and boring year of their for them. My schedule has been constantly evolving. My ability, both physically and mentally, to work with my dogs has been gradually coming back. But for some reason, this feeling of dread that I am not doing enough for my dogs freezes me in my tracks and has been a road block for getting back after it. Acknowledging it doesn't always help me either. I've had to make the effort to work at it. I've had to start doing things that I know will succeed to get my rear in gear. I'm having to put a lot more effort into my training plan than I'm used to. I have to really think about what I want to work on with both dogs and where each dog is at. Whereas before I could work on the same things multiple days in a row, that kind of a schedule demotivates me for training and I'm more likely to prioritize one of the many other things on my list of things that need looking at. So my training plan has had to evolve.<br />
<br />
I now have to schedule a chunk of time each week to work out my training plan for the week ahead, day by day. I need to take into account project load at work that might have me staying there longer or might have me mentally or physically worn out or both. I need to take into account any week day evening plans that I have and I've also had to start limiting the number of week day plans that I make. It got way too easy to let that get out of control if I didn't set limitations and that was doing nothing but causing me to feel more frazzled. I also needed to freshen up my training. I've been working on some of the same things with my past dogs as well as the current. While each dog has something different to bring to the table and I know that it all builds to the individual goals that I have for them, I'm at a point right now where I need to freshen things up a little to get ME more interested and to positively reinforce ME to keep going. <br />
<br />
I've also had to think about my time management. There are a million papers, books, blog posts and articles that I want to read. But again, making time for that reading is challenging. So I've managed to find a happy medium that makes me feel like I'm maximizing my time. I listen to a lot of podcasts. Yeah, I'm late to the game, but I'm finally there. I have a wide variety of interests and listening to various podcasts lets me continue to learn and stay up on a variety of topics so that I feel like I'm continuing to increase my knowledge without that time being taken away from other things. I listen to podcasts while I'm doing tasks that need doing, but don't require my rapt attention. I listen to them while I'm driving, which has had the added bonus of decreasing my road rage by engaging my frontal cortex and keeping my head in a more logical space. I listen while I'm cleaning and cooking at home. These are all tasks that I HAVE to do, so I might as well maximize the time and get something more out of it. It has made for a happier and more informed me.<br />
<br />
And as I mentioned in my last post, I decided to sign up for an online dog training course to spice up my training regimen. I'm just getting back into the swing of things and I don't want to go so balls to the wall that I burn myself out immediately and defeat the purpose. So I chose the Relationship Walks class at the bronze level. As I mentioned, it meets the criteria I had set forth for myself. So far so good. This past week had a lot going on and I fell behind, in a manner of speaking. But I was able to "catch up" today. So I think I have found what will currently work for me. <br />
<br />
Everything is a work in progress. I'm getting there. I'm trying to do enough for my dogs, whatever that feels like at the moment. But I'm also keeping in mind that I need to take care of myself first. My dogs depend on me. If I'm not taking care of myself, then I surely won't be able to take care of them to the level that I think they should be. That reminder helps. As McConnell said in her post, "put the oxygen mask on yourself first."Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-86448851327748514922018-04-05T22:52:00.001-07:002018-04-05T22:52:31.057-07:00The Week In Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVUxNvvpRoIQ2J7rirxAlmd9YXyT-rzzoaceA-WJ5bGJpxAFWhEgFfy8S2K5IfP9nfdtvy3P838vBBkqph-uRFuaN0G-WMrvwgrDjq_d0R-EWw_qCrVn5CfzohCsC1fX0QBChlYls8TiA2/s1600/IMG_0706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVUxNvvpRoIQ2J7rirxAlmd9YXyT-rzzoaceA-WJ5bGJpxAFWhEgFfy8S2K5IfP9nfdtvy3P838vBBkqph-uRFuaN0G-WMrvwgrDjq_d0R-EWw_qCrVn5CfzohCsC1fX0QBChlYls8TiA2/s320/IMG_0706.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Despite how that picture looks, Dominic hates bath. :) It took some cookies and some patience, but he got into the bathtub all on his own. And in case you're wondering, yes those are whiskers on his face and yes those whiskers stayed put. As I was attempting to shave him the night before the specialty, I realized this was not the time and this was a "battle" that he should win. What I should have done was what I do when I'm getting the dogs used to the dremmel. One toe nail at a time with lots of treats and lots of consistency over the course of several weeks. I just plum forgot and fell back on what I usually do, which is shave the dog the night before the dog show. Only Dom has never had his whiskers shaved (as a puppy who needed ring experience, whiskers were the least of my concerns). So really, I shouldn't have even tried doing it. In the end, I tried a little. He made it clear that he was not having it. So we moved along to the bath, which by comparison was much less terrible.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesXPtFWMlGA8OMmgnHnF7FFygQu4qWPJwPOKZ8JvB3mxj9tmaUW7gLebkTeQtaPn9gCSCJU16wZK8af2zBUXIDR0btvlIQefpOhUYZVsI-YYWmo-oXZkY_7coCPB7lKXGvUwkjofHvFnh/s1600/IMG_0709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesXPtFWMlGA8OMmgnHnF7FFygQu4qWPJwPOKZ8JvB3mxj9tmaUW7gLebkTeQtaPn9gCSCJU16wZK8af2zBUXIDR0btvlIQefpOhUYZVsI-YYWmo-oXZkY_7coCPB7lKXGvUwkjofHvFnh/s320/IMG_0709.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Last Friday was the <a href="https://www.wvgdc.org/">Willamette Valley Great Dane Club</a>'s annual double specialty. This was my first time back in the conformation ring in a year. This was a big deal. I wasn't aiming to be competitive for the points. I just wanted to prove to myself that I could handle it and that this part of my life was back under my control. Dominic was the only one in his class, so we got all the wonderful swag that the club offers for winning the class. It was pretty sweet! But best of all was how freaking supportive and amazing the group of dane people are who were at this show! I had the very awesome pleasure to be cheered on around the ring by the other exhibitors. They were genuinely happy to see me back in the ring and wanted me to know it. I can't adequately explain what that means to me. These people are amazing. :)<br />
<br />
Dominic did well enough considering that he's had a year off with not a lot of work. We have things to work on and I have a plan for how to go about that. But we had a pretty good time in the ring and I was happy to be there. This was also my boyfriend Tanner's very first dog show. I kind of broke him in a little hard. ;) But he was a great sport and even won a couple of collars for the dogs in the most excellent raffle that the club had!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDIRkMeO4Gtwk9-Th-jiYQbzI4Opj6YuQjBxN48zzLUfdVh-3pHO5mZrnMGSfgpTQF0FQPykcnoo5nejPkuROAlrCs3HvwDKoAOJTZS9KFN19-xxEP3ood0rOiN_dQZ9WxN0_7PUar8Crf/s1600/IMG_0725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDIRkMeO4Gtwk9-Th-jiYQbzI4Opj6YuQjBxN48zzLUfdVh-3pHO5mZrnMGSfgpTQF0FQPykcnoo5nejPkuROAlrCs3HvwDKoAOJTZS9KFN19-xxEP3ood0rOiN_dQZ9WxN0_7PUar8Crf/s320/IMG_0725.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
Saturday was Miley's 4th birthday and seeing as how her brother had us to himself the day before, I felt it only fitting that she get a special outing for her birthday. We went to a local park that is relatively new that I hadn't been to before. Part of the park is a protected natural area and dogs aren't allowed on those trails, but there were enough interesting things to see and certainly the novelty of the location. The focal point were these giant vine heads. Miley wasn't terribly impressed.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ9TmaDka7uuMqOptJjtMa2nmkNzC2a9klDUJ1db3tKplaSiGomefbFChVjlFc6ZpJgMmA4Sy2JkIYvSkV0juCeQ3swYmtQazfFQKNFcOqpZI5DMAelFOVbt38sPUDO1ufpYVpZChN2Tnw/s1600/IMG_0729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ9TmaDka7uuMqOptJjtMa2nmkNzC2a9klDUJ1db3tKplaSiGomefbFChVjlFc6ZpJgMmA4Sy2JkIYvSkV0juCeQ3swYmtQazfFQKNFcOqpZI5DMAelFOVbt38sPUDO1ufpYVpZChN2Tnw/s320/IMG_0729.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
I tried getting her to take a picture with me inside the heads, but it's her party and she won't cooperate if she doesn't want to. Naturally, it wasn't like I was going to let that stop me from getting other pictures.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YAO_RzzM2zVJmuPd1e8YRzhNZJFDen7CJvEAsRxJuEun91nA2VKKEQhq2izjDj-tkLViEzGFoji9WyXDGEqDpAGK0OLCxVnIdmydk3qWudKVvmrQYVw-M2BpOQoka3uF-iYc4nnWhC2H/s1600/IMG_0749.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YAO_RzzM2zVJmuPd1e8YRzhNZJFDen7CJvEAsRxJuEun91nA2VKKEQhq2izjDj-tkLViEzGFoji9WyXDGEqDpAGK0OLCxVnIdmydk3qWudKVvmrQYVw-M2BpOQoka3uF-iYc4nnWhC2H/s320/IMG_0749.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5ns-XLNpLxY5or4_9koedCkVLH8mdalBUeLiGYxqilOLj5atVw9guKs3rAIShJwxcjgl2xYdgZIfeW4xUTcxgQW0Mv3Jih2TJ6CPnrYYspwKtusOoOn0lkQlWz9xSfqxsohfb8Sdp6JN/s1600/IMG_0751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5ns-XLNpLxY5or4_9koedCkVLH8mdalBUeLiGYxqilOLj5atVw9guKs3rAIShJwxcjgl2xYdgZIfeW4xUTcxgQW0Mv3Jih2TJ6CPnrYYspwKtusOoOn0lkQlWz9xSfqxsohfb8Sdp6JN/s320/IMG_0751.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
Sunday was Easter. And April Fool's day. The dogs thought it'd be cool to play a fun little April Fool's day prank on me where they found their prey drive. I have mentioned to other people previously about how great both dogs are out on hikes when they see deer or elk. They might look at or be somewhat interested in them, but they don't chase. Wellllllllll, I can say that no longer. Sunday morning, as we're sauntering along, a lone cow elk crosses our path and trots off into the forest. The dogs had their backs turned at the moment so were late to the chase. Given the thicker underbrush, they didn't really go far into the forest, but did very excitedly go check out the cow's path. Huh, I thought. That was way more interest than they've shown previously. And we moved on. Until a small herd of about 12 elk crossed our path. And the dogs both took off after them. I was both shocked that this herd popped out of "no where" and that the dogs were acting pretty reminiscent of Heffner and Bess. Thankfully both dogs only chased after the herd a short distance into the forest and then came running back. Clearly elated at the excitement of being "wild dogs." Tanner was initially very concerned as this was the first time he has been around dogs chasing after elk. After calling the dogs' names once and them not responding, I knew it wasn't worth continuing to do so until they were ready to break off on their own. Which they did and quite happily came running back to us. All is well now. I just have some recall work to do on hikes under what are now very high level distractions.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-gO__lds4KgyOC56O89S7MUt6v0GORRK4oyKKIyuLQ_7EZm1a_2mhrUB_O5D1u0_FiqjHfQrx4V4cVjN4k3YfDIU4CLzjQcaete9SDh5AxKcGyQn6sDOhBCcw2wmN9FDhlx2maQGnI9q/s1600/IMG_0774.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-gO__lds4KgyOC56O89S7MUt6v0GORRK4oyKKIyuLQ_7EZm1a_2mhrUB_O5D1u0_FiqjHfQrx4V4cVjN4k3YfDIU4CLzjQcaete9SDh5AxKcGyQn6sDOhBCcw2wmN9FDhlx2maQGnI9q/s320/IMG_0774.JPG" width="259" /></a></div>
<br />
The rest of this week has been trying to keep up on house chores, dog chores, a <a href="http://www.sherwooddtc.org/">Sherwood Dog Training Club</a> meeting and baking <a href="https://joyfoodsunshine.com/healthy-peanut-butter-blondies/">gluten free, vegan peanut butter blondies</a> for the bake off at work tomorrow. And bucking with the usual tradition of buying the dogs a physical item for their birthdays, this year for Miley I decided I would get her a gift that would also kick my butt into training gear (that is a post by itself). But hopefully in a way that wouldn't have me overly stressed out trying to fit yet one more thing into a schedule that occasionally has me hyperventilating. I decided to enroll in a class through the <a href="https://fenzidogsportsacademy.com/">Fenzi Dog Sports Academy</a>! We're taking the Relationship Walks class. It meets the criteria for what I can handle right now. It's online, so I don't have to actually schedule it as well as factor in travel time. I'm enrolled at the bronze level, so the price works for me. And I get to go through the course at my pace without having the self appointed or otherwise, pressure of having to submit videos by a certain time. I also have less guilt if I have a day where training is just not going to happen. At the bronze level, I feel like I will be able to capitalize on what I've paid for. Trying to get a handle on juggling everything has proven to be quite the challenge for me and I'm hoping this will help to ease me back into the swing of things. Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-30204705971747296022018-03-29T18:14:00.000-07:002018-03-29T18:14:12.515-07:00Getting Back To Normal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiklVpE8r-3YBWXKuvLdKQZhgeN8exExxgK3999QGIzQS8YjwSQephScmfCuKuRSfds0_DdQtRMXkUg1ctuFqLEMsuEmEcSh4yYiE-JODiwKYFTy9XMEgdfX7NoIZQiZevUE4xwYYE6KECV/s1600/IMG_0100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiklVpE8r-3YBWXKuvLdKQZhgeN8exExxgK3999QGIzQS8YjwSQephScmfCuKuRSfds0_DdQtRMXkUg1ctuFqLEMsuEmEcSh4yYiE-JODiwKYFTy9XMEgdfX7NoIZQiZevUE4xwYYE6KECV/s320/IMG_0100.JPG" width="179" /></a></div>
<br />
Slowly but surely, things are getting back to normal. It's taken longer than I would have thought. But I'm also an impatient person who enjoyed living in a world where I thought that it would be no big deal to start walking again after breaking both legs and spending two months in a wheelchair. Ahhhh, denial. Sometimes it's a beautiful thing!<br />
<br />
Next month marks the one year post accident time point and I'm trying (at least some of the time) to be kind to myself on my progress. I'm trying to keep in mind that everything will come as it will and it's certainly not like the dogs are judging me. Well, Miley is a little, but whatever. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_EXELz2N5CVCOnJmTnctE5QZzJYmtSyjmX_xjTut_dmXVPtWFoKTntgPcBw_VQucu_p8Y0FqgnskGCtVYyEbfpNcL8TxR-qx2zeX6olUOUUseWaBr1M0_E0yxI2H8O2SDZ4itO8quMe7b/s1600/IMG_9734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_EXELz2N5CVCOnJmTnctE5QZzJYmtSyjmX_xjTut_dmXVPtWFoKTntgPcBw_VQucu_p8Y0FqgnskGCtVYyEbfpNcL8TxR-qx2zeX6olUOUUseWaBr1M0_E0yxI2H8O2SDZ4itO8quMe7b/s320/IMG_9734.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Throughout this process of relearning how to walk, I have refused to do really any sort of heeling with the dogs. Even on a good day, my gait was uneven and walking a straight line for very long was beyond me. I LOVE heeling. Having this hiccup make a mockery of that was incredibly unappealing. Not to mention, it just felt counterproductive for the dogs to have me periodically bumping into them through no fault of their own. So heeling was on hold. Fine, we'll start smaller-ish.<br />
<br />
The physical therapy team that I have had throughout this process has been phenomenal! They've kept my at home and at the gym routines constantly evolving. And they were always trying new things during my sessions. They basically didn't allow me to get board. Which, in the lengthy process that I had ahead of me, that was pretty key to keeping me plugging away.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVPmrAdbBZhnMrk5alZbIlUAGa8PmHV6rc6UkC1BrhpWZkwZ_G2Wvm-yg0iDXV2P391fPeOA_e4UX8nTCYtmLfF3RXmUrJOQwOlrpV4DVFVwYOyrRsuuc8zHsbTjQq7kFfFZcp0tQZY6b/s1600/IMG_9953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVPmrAdbBZhnMrk5alZbIlUAGa8PmHV6rc6UkC1BrhpWZkwZ_G2Wvm-yg0iDXV2P391fPeOA_e4UX8nTCYtmLfF3RXmUrJOQwOlrpV4DVFVwYOyrRsuuc8zHsbTjQq7kFfFZcp0tQZY6b/s320/IMG_9953.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Earlier this year, my primary PT asked me what kind of physical goals I had for the year. I touched on a few different areas of interest where I felt I could set tangible goals that would give me something to look forward to. One of those areas was getting back into the conformation ring with Dominic. My PT didn't show dogs, so she wasn't entirely sure what would be entailed in this. I gave her a general run down and she started thinking out loud. It might be beneficial to have me bring Dom in to the clinic so that she could see me work with him and get an idea of 1) how I move when I've got him on the other end of the lead and 2) what I need to be able to work up to. She ended up getting approval from the director of the clinic and they verified that the patients who would be over lapping with me weren't allergic to dogs, and we were off! <br />
<br />
It was one of the BEST sessions I had had! Hitting specific measurement milestones were huge, but knowing that I was REALLY working towards getting back ALL aspects of my life was beyond words! Part of me was a little worried that she was going to recommend against me taking Dom into the ring, but after our session with him, I got the green light!!<br />
<br />
Fast forward to now. :) After many weeks of plugging away, being persistent and consistent regardless of how awkward I felt, tomorrow Dom and I will be getting back into the conformation ring! We're only entered tomorrow for the double specialty, but I'm really excited to get back into the ring with him. It's going to be awkward and I know that I'm going to be self conscious about it, but it's working those bits of normalcy back into my life that I need. And it's also about damn time.<br />
<br />
So here's to getting back into the conformation ring and here's to making an effort to blog semi-regularly again!Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-42183582983693893902018-03-22T19:17:00.001-07:002018-03-22T19:17:17.109-07:00And ThingsYeah, wagon, falling off....but hey, at least I didn't end up in the hospital again. ;) Recovering from this accident has been a thing. Many things actually. I wrote my last post last August with the intent of the blog posts helping me to work through everything and using the blog as the outlet that it frequently has been. It still is, but jeez, the accident and subsequent recovery have been such an involved and lengthy process, that getting "caught up" on everything has happened would be quite the task. And life got busy and involved with me getting back to work and life slowly picking up speed. Oh yeah, and appointments. Dear god there were so many appointments! I'll attempt to summarize, so that this aspect of my life can get more back to "normal."<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
After the hospital, I spent two months in a wheelchair and was completely non weight bearing on either leg. As in absolutely, no-go, not happening, even if I had wanted to try cheating, that shit was NOT gonna happen. While you're in a wheelchair, you realize just how un-differently abled the world is. And quite frankly, just how inconsiderate the general population is. By all means, even though I'm the one in the wheelchair that really can't go onto the grass, yes, let ME get out of YOUR way on the sidewalk so as to not inconvenience your day. Until you're in a situation where you experience these things first hand, you don't realize how crappy situations can be or just how crappy those situations and people's responses can make a person feel. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But I digress, two months in a wheelchair basically hanging out at home. Basically all of my muscles had atrophied, so even if I had wanted to attempt going out of my house, I have a slanted drive way and was not strong enough (I know, I tried, under supervision) to halt my wheelchair from skidding down the drive way into the street, let alone wheeling my way back up that previously insignificant seeming incline. Not being able to leave the house unsupervised wasn't the worst thing. I had a LOT of healing to do. And because I'd had a couple bouts of my appetite and ability to eat going out the window while I was in the hospital (head trauma is a serious bitch), I hadn't been really fueling my body as much as it needed for the crazy amount of all over trauma it experienced. So small activities, even just having conversations, wore me completely out. I could interact with people for a MAX of two hours before I was basically falling asleep where ever I was. My endurance for focusing my eyes and my brain on reading or typing anything was also shot. The physical therapist in the hospital actually had me doing eye exercises. In a nut shell, I was easily exhausted and spent a lot of time sleeping and generally recovering. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
During this time, Miley was my constant companion. We started nicknaming her Nurse Miley. Because I wasn't very strong and my legs were so sensitive and not mobile, we had to be really careful about how close she got to me. Any of her previous rough housing or even some of the snuggling that she would do with me were out of the question. She had a hard time initially, but she adjusted and she was content to be as close to me as she could. She was also a HUGE fan of the fact that my bathroom door had to be taken completely off in order for my wheel chair to fit in there. Miley LOVES to creep on me while I'm in the bathroom. She'll nose punch the door handle multiple times. And if that doesn't work, she very loudly inhales along the edges of the door. With the door no longer in her way, she was able to see everything that happened in the bathroom and basically keep a constant eye on me. She would even lay down in front of the bathroom door while I showered. It was all very sweet and through the whole process she was very careful to modify any of her physical interactions with me. She was incredibly gentle and calm. Now, of course, she's completely back to her normal crazy self. :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Throughout the wheelchair period, I understandably couldn't wait to be weight bearing and walking again. I had a this INCREDIBLY unrealistic thought process that once I was weight bearing, I would just start walking and within a month everything would be back to normal. Yeah. That was cute. Though I will admit that this wonderful ignorance is likely what kept me in a much more forward thinking mindset than I would have otherwise been in. I basically had to learn to use everything from the waist down all over again. In some cases I had to form new neuro-muscular pathways for the different ways that my legs were now moving. Plus there was a whole lot of muscle imbalances. And atrophy. And hardware in both legs. And my favorite, limited range of motion in my right knee (almost a year later and there is still 20 degrees that I don't have). Relearning to walk is hard and painfully slow. You know how long it takes kids to go from crawling to walking and walking fluidly? I know very much understand that struggle.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As I mentioned, we're creeping up on the one year anniversary of my accident and I'm at a point where I can look back and be pretty proud of what I've accomplished and everything that I've had to push through and deal with. It has been a crap load of work and there have definitely been chunks of time where I was having a hard time dealing with everything. But I'm proud of the progress that I've made, I have a plan for continuing to move forward, and now I can say that I wrassled a car and it didn't beat me. ;) This life event will definitely continue to color things moving forward, but life is getting back to normal and I'm looking forward to getting back to everything with my dogs.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I hope anyone still reading these posts is doing well!</div>
Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-78113134325813228652017-08-01T18:14:00.001-07:002017-08-01T18:14:31.620-07:00So This Happened....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZLyqaKdq4Yw0SuAkiFqrY1MADuI9k8CI4PoWbjahZSyVE1vJ4TjhdHygUbxlfkEdFRRMMzjxLg11SJwSNKI3O9R6Pyh3kyhGZMKwykTH3W02ugGQ2Xq5li2fkGIJux7wj8Z04zy-H3oo/s1600/IMG_8422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZLyqaKdq4Yw0SuAkiFqrY1MADuI9k8CI4PoWbjahZSyVE1vJ4TjhdHygUbxlfkEdFRRMMzjxLg11SJwSNKI3O9R6Pyh3kyhGZMKwykTH3W02ugGQ2Xq5li2fkGIJux7wj8Z04zy-H3oo/s320/IMG_8422.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
You were probably thinking I was going to announce that I brought home a new puppy. I REALLY wish that was the update I had to share. I mean, I'm not crazy enough yet to ACTUALLY want a puppy right now, but I would seriously much rather be dealing with the trials of bringing up another puppy and figuring out how to juggle three dogs versus the current situation. But I digress.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZX6F3u_fK-X1RzmaLy0_UvvGZNcVdl4B39TJhv33Rekc0cQs9vKnKlWWong1PNMK3rvZGzHMWSo3qZ46Qnio4hFPFkYjzTI5tAPAd12XB6Ti5bgTI10UwqZG3Dq18UWn-LByAojJhwhsr/s1600/IMG_8465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZX6F3u_fK-X1RzmaLy0_UvvGZNcVdl4B39TJhv33Rekc0cQs9vKnKlWWong1PNMK3rvZGzHMWSo3qZ46Qnio4hFPFkYjzTI5tAPAd12XB6Ti5bgTI10UwqZG3Dq18UWn-LByAojJhwhsr/s320/IMG_8465.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Mid April I was out for a run on my normal route, at my normal time, doing normal things. While I was crossing one of the intersections I normally cross, I was hit by a car. The driver was found to be completely responsible, because he completely was. The light was red. Two other cars coming the opposite direction had stopped for the light. He did not and hit me at 40 mph, sending me 30 feet. I suffered a concussion, head lacerations, some minor facial lacerations that needed suturing, a fractured nose, fractured T6 vertebrae, broken left femur (from the x-rays, definitely the most impressive break out of everything), broken left heel and broken right tib-fib plateau. I spent three weeks in the trauma unit with a few different hiccups along the way and four surgeries. I now have a titanium rod in my left femur and other hardware in my heel and tibia. I spent two months in a wheel chair after being released from the hospital and am more recently weight bearing on both legs with the aid of crutches. I hesitated on including this whole ordeal in the blog, but if I want to continue with the blog, there's really no way around it. This accident has very dramatically impacted my life and will continue to do so for some time to come. If I want to continue with this blog, there is no avoiding this topic. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1yLRMbmAl5ybvIQkYMz4hiDRwq45j0u4OCKAi9-gi5_4S-nT1LyKSnnWlklfyEP5R8tNKQHn16PaXbmpFU9jrg9F8M_p-UjUsS6zYZqt9l83Cku3mfn5POIsduIHMsqcCPX79kSkLaKOL/s1600/IMG_8497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1yLRMbmAl5ybvIQkYMz4hiDRwq45j0u4OCKAi9-gi5_4S-nT1LyKSnnWlklfyEP5R8tNKQHn16PaXbmpFU9jrg9F8M_p-UjUsS6zYZqt9l83Cku3mfn5POIsduIHMsqcCPX79kSkLaKOL/s320/IMG_8497.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
As you can probably imagine, there's a whole lot that has gone on throughout this whole process. However, the focus of this blog is the dogs. I feel like I could have a completely separate blog going into things just about the accident and everything that has happened since that day, but I'm going to stick to that pertaining to the dogs. <br />
<br />
First and foremost, neither of my dogs was with me on my run that morning. I have taken my dogs running in the past, but due to a hamstring annoyance last year, it was easier on me to run without Miley. And I have never been more thankful that I left her at home. I remember very little of the accident itself. I have a memory of interacting with at least one of the emergency personnel after they had secured. I remember realizing that something was going on, but not exactly what. I thankfully don't remember being in any pain at that moment, but I was trying to get from them what had happened. It was kind of like waking up from a dream and realizing that something was very off and I had not really been sleeping. Someone did tell me that I had been hit by a car and my first, that I could remember, reaction to that was to make two requests. The first was that someone had to go to my house because my dogs hadn't been fed yet. I gave them my home address and stressed that it was very important that my dogs were taken care of. At this point, I remember thinking that I wanted them to give my roommate a heads up so that he could feed the dogs breakfast and I would worry about them once things were taken care of at the hospital. My thought was that this was just common procedure and they were required to take me to a hospital to get checked out as sort of a liability thing. Again, I don't remember feeling any pain, so there wasn't anything that was actually cluing me in to how bad things were. I thought I would get checked over, maybe they'd take some x-rays and then I'd arrange for someone to drive me home. No biggie. Insert HUGE eye roll.<br />
<br />
The other request I made was that they contact my work to let them know that I wouldn't be in that day. Again, I thought this was just a minor incident, but I wanted people at work to not be wondering where I was. So I prattled off my work number and they did call the lab to give them a brief update as to what was going on. This seems like a minor request right now, but it does come to play a bigger role with regards to the care of my dogs. And the people I work with are seriously some of the most amazing people. Which was only further emphasized throughout this whole "experience."<br />
<br />
So the police stopped at my house and roughly filled my roommate in, though they wouldn't given him too many details since he wasn't family. He then found my parents' home phone number and called them to let them know what was going on. And yes, he fed the dogs their breakfast. :)<br />
<br />
The crew at work were contacted by my mom after she and my dad got to the hospital. Which started the immediate task of figuring out how to take care of my dogs while I was at the hospital for a duration of time that no one knew. I seriously cannot stress enough how AMAZING the people I work with are!! Everyone in the group is an animal lover. Everyone knows how important my dogs are to me and they all stepped up to figure out how to cover their care for as long as I needed. One of the ladies in the lab was the point person on coordinating the dog care. She has two dogs of her own and a full house and wouldn't have been able to take in either dog. So she coordinated which dog went with who and the picking up of their food from the house or the store. No simple task since I feed raw and was actually going to be picking up a three month supply of food for Miley that week. My roommate was able to watch Miley during the week, but was out of town on the weekends, so different people from where I work stepped up and took Miley in on the weekends. Dominic went and stayed with the couple that he has stayed with every time I'm out of town and they were willing to watch him long term. With that aspect of things out of the way I could focus on dealing with what I needed to while I was in the hospital and focus on getting well enough to leave.<br />
<br />
There were occasional offers of maybe bringing one of the dogs in to visit me, but I thought it would be more confusing for either of the dogs to see me in this very strange place and not in great shape. This stay away from the dogs was unlike any other separation I've had from them. Obviously it was very unexpected. When I'm going out of town, there's a pattern to the way that I prep myself and them for me leaving. This case had none of that preparation for what was to come. I thought it would be best to wait to see them until I was home and we could start the process of establishing our new normal. Plus I wasn't exactly sure how either of my dogs were going to get into my room unnoticed. ;)<br />
<br />
So that was the hospital stay. Three weeks of thankfully awesome people making sure that my dogs were well taken care of and that I didn't have to worry about them. The next phase of this process was coming home and being in a wheelchair for two months. But I'll leave that for the next post. :)Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-45316707687218751262017-01-19T17:57:00.002-08:002017-01-19T17:57:45.064-08:00Rose City Classic, Day 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6fUtLFSoh8S3OKU7L09NfORWh8hUglLskWuiqCSzQoH8b885I17zcRS9ur13se1nbPf_rVAGK3LH299EzgY-jTlaoAEFosSp-fLmYk4zJOKnCCVtmKGWigCPN_K86qn-j3j2GS_UbeI6/s1600/IMG_7112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6fUtLFSoh8S3OKU7L09NfORWh8hUglLskWuiqCSzQoH8b885I17zcRS9ur13se1nbPf_rVAGK3LH299EzgY-jTlaoAEFosSp-fLmYk4zJOKnCCVtmKGWigCPN_K86qn-j3j2GS_UbeI6/s320/IMG_7112.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I had this whole grand plan of doing all this videoing today of the process of getting to the show and all the neat things at the show. But that went completely out the window when I had to deal with unanticipated, stupid traffic. It took me an hour and a half to go 24 miles. This isn't LA people! I budgeted for an hour, which I felt was generous given that I was hitting the road at 6:00 am. I wanted to make sure that Dominic had a solid hour to acclimate to the show grounds and all the hubbub. That didn't happen at all. We got there so "late" that I was debating even setting up his crate. But it was still good practice for him and I did want to be able to watch as much of the rest of the danes as I could. So we worked with what we had.<br />
<br />
Dominic is still really great in his crate. He is also less distracted outside of the ring. There is still general squirreliness and distraction while inside the ring, but that'll get better with more handling classes. And that's the key for him. He needs the distraction and commotion of a handling class in order to learn how to work regardless of it. Last week I was hoping to go to two different handling classes with him, but both were understandably cancelled due to the weather. This week I wanted to stay at home in the evenings because Miley got spayed and gastropexied on Monday and I wanted to keep an eye on her (she's recovering like a freaking champ!). So my plans for added preparation for Dom were a bit foiled. But it's four days of shows and I'll be sure to leave extra early tomorrow morning. <br />
<br />
I did video a little bit of my traffic frustration, some of the best of breed ring for danes and then Dom and I burning off some energy after the show. The numbers at the show today are definitely down. With some highways still closed, many people are struggling to get here. Today was probably the quietest day at the show and the chaos will only increase. Thankfully we show at 8am all four days and, particularly on the weekend, we can show and get out of there before it gets to be too crazy. <br />
<br />
Without further ado, here are the video clips that I did manage to get:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-a3HfQFKfRA/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-a3HfQFKfRA?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-23545528636847654982017-01-16T10:58:00.000-08:002017-01-16T10:58:03.932-08:00Dominic - Learning the RampAnd now for Dominic. I go through the same process with him. Starting off with the ramp flat on the carpet. Then I add a little height by using the aerobic step to rest it on. <br />
<br />
He's never really had the opportunity to use the ramp, so he doesn't have any negative associations with it like Miley seems to have. The only thing he knows is that she is hesitant around it, which I think has given him some confusion as to what he's supposed to do with it. Otherwise he handles it pretty well.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QJgqncA7e5g/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QJgqncA7e5g?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
A couple of "fun facts" from these two videos. I actually watched myself this time and realized that I'm wearing the exact same outfit in both videos, even though they were shot on different days. Scandalous, I know! I have a habit of just throwing a hoodie on over whatever I'm wearing when I get home. This video is a perfect case in point. ;)<br />
<br />
The other little caveat is that the carpet is not the first location that I tried putting the ramp on. Initially I put it on the kitchen floor. I chose that surface initially for a couple of reasons. One, the ramp has been sitting in the garage and was otherwise used in outdoor locations. So it's not super clean and it has some cobwebs and such on it. It's much simpler to just sweep up anything that comes off as opposed to vacuuming up. And secondly, it allowed for a little more space. I thought the kitchen floor had enough texture to keep the ramp in place, but it didn't. Dominic's first time on it he came excitedly up and pounced his front feet on it and sent it scooting across the kitchen. Which, of course, also unnerved Miley, who was holding a down stay on the carpet behind us. So yeah, I recommend REALLY testing out the soundness of the surface that you're practicing on.Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-84081643120822518092017-01-14T15:00:00.003-08:002017-01-14T15:00:42.093-08:00Miley - Relearning the RampI don't know how it happened, but Miley became afraid of using the ramp to get into and out of my vehicle. She'd been using it since she was a puppy and had no issues. She definitely hasn't taken a spill off of it and I can't think of any negative incidents that would cause her to dislike it. The only timing I can come up with that somehow ties in, is the passing of Heffner. It wasn't until after he was gone that she started disliking using the ramp.<br />
<br />
At the time, with only one dog, it was just easiest to load her up in the cab of truck, and later the minivan, than work on actually getting her back to being comfortable with the ramp. It's lazy, I know. But sometimes it takes me getting irritated with something or mentioning it a few times before I realize, oh yeah, I could train that. <br />
<br />
With the host of winter events that we've had and me going back to relying on the truck to get around, I came to the realization that I need to get on it and get the dogs used to the ramp so that I can take them out to run around in areas that are only accessible by the truck.<br />
<br />
For Miley, I had to REALLY break things down with the ramp. Initially (unfortunately I didn't record these sessions to show where we started at) I had to just put treats on it and get her comfortable just being near it and taking treats off of it. That's how bad her aversion to the ramp was. I finally got her up to the point where she was okay walking on it flat on the carpet. In the clip below, you can see her gradually getting more comfortable as the session goes on. That's a pretty regular occurence for each of her sessions with the ramp. She starts off hesitant, but gets more confident as the session progresses. <br />
<br />
The clip after that is of her first session on the ramp where I added some height. I used my aerobic step as a nice solid base to add just enough height to give the ramp a little of the bounce it will normally have, while keeping it at a low enough height that neither dog should feel uncomfortable. Here's the video:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0zNRNbQfXv8/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0zNRNbQfXv8?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738086884148295840.post-23487188394769415242017-01-12T19:09:00.001-08:002017-01-12T19:09:32.731-08:00Snowpocalypse 2017 - Or Enough Of This Already!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ3iMgBDbqDZIfDDXuup2ra9umlKjzcnkS-FOgy7ymZ7bGvb2XgwXeF4ZZquBDrm5Fpt0c2ZLM1FDd9lI5Q-aiNe42_ZQxCQFfNuNswiyhjltylcahb6Ie7bNZNnnZ4NKiiN_pWohhBnaK/s1600/IMG_6755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ3iMgBDbqDZIfDDXuup2ra9umlKjzcnkS-FOgy7ymZ7bGvb2XgwXeF4ZZquBDrm5Fpt0c2ZLM1FDd9lI5Q-aiNe42_ZQxCQFfNuNswiyhjltylcahb6Ie7bNZNnnZ4NKiiN_pWohhBnaK/s320/IMG_6755.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
I'm looking at the last few things I've posted about and for crying out loud, the damn snow is in all of them! Enough already! Can we please stop with the bloody Game Of Thrones (props to you if you actually read that series before it was ever made into the show and subseqently became popular. And if you did, lets chat about other authors, such as Robert Jordan, who are much better.) "winter is coming" reference already?!?! Enough is enough!<br />
<br />
But seriously guys. We got a lot of snow. I realize I was complaining about how the city shuts down with one inch. And then there was the freezing rain incident. But this was serious snow. Depending on where you measured in my yard, I had between 6-8". There were 10" at work. And other areas saw a foot or more. All of that happened in less than 24 hours. Actually, it all happened in slightly more than 12 hours. It was nuts. For that I will agree that the city shutting down was appropriate. Actually, I feel like there was less chaos this time around than there was for the last major winter "incident" that resulted in people having 5+ hour commutes. So props to that. I'm also still really pleased with how my city handles the snow and actually plows/sands the major roads. That was much appreciated.<br />
<br />
But I digress. ENOUGH WITH THE WINTER IS COMING JOKES!!! It's already flipping here and a lot of us are tired of dealing with it! <br />
<br />
In order to calm my rage at something that is not substantial enough to kick in the proverbial gonads, I took pictures. And video. I put together a little video of snippets of Miley and Dominic's Snowpocalypse 2017 fun. And I truly hope that this is the last time I use the term snowpocalypse or snowmageddon for at least the rest of this year.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DvuaOxqb0Ys/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DvuaOxqb0Ys?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563249254172457715noreply@blogger.com0