Hang Time

I've been sleep-deprived and very stressed these past couple of days for obvious reasons. Training has pretty much been nonexistent. Moto doesn't mind but Pinch was getting depressed.
Anyway, what took its place was kind of nice: hangin' with the boyz just doing nothing. It's SO therapeutic.
And as the heat of summer is in full swing it's given birth to a new routine:
We go outside once the sun has set and it's cool enough for a short run. For whatever reason my dogs REALLY celebrate the Picking Up The Poop ritual. They see the poop scooper coming out and you think it was the funnest toy they'd ever seen.
As I walk back and forth on our 1/2 fenced acre, Moto likes to play Raging Bull and the scooper is the cape. I flip it up at the last moment and he thinks that is just so cool.
Pinch likes the flipping up part and loves to leap at it. All dogs know they must NOT put their teeth on the scooper or the shovel part - any knocking over of my hard-won "prize" of poop does not make for a happy Mom.
Blitz doesn't quite get it, but it looks like fun, so he runs circles around everyone, barking as he goes.
Shiloh likes to stand on the deck and get a birds-eye view of all the action and he too barks his approval.
Daisy really REALLY wants to bite the scooper and knows she can't, so she will grab a toy in her mouth and "herd" me as I scoop.
Dusty thinks Pinch's jumping is silly so he follows Pinch around and barks at him.
With the heat being what it is currently, that's about all the exercise they get as I really fear heat stroke. They do get a fair workout with this.
Afterward they take turns in the doggie pool. Daisy and Pinch love the water and sometimes lay in the pool side by side, other times they take turns. Those two had to learn that peeing in the pool is bad manners.
The other dogs just like to drink from it.
I just sit on the steps and watch the sun go down, listen to the birds and panting dogs. I love watching them do their dog stuff after they cool down. Some come to sit with me. Others go off exploring. Sometimes they form their own play groups, with rotating participants. It's very clear this is their favorite part of the day as when the sun goes down they start pestering me to go outside and pick up the poop.
Who would've thought such a yucky job would be such a fun routine?

Dusty is Walking!

What a surprise, 2:00 a.m. this morning, just like the Phoenix, Dusty arose from the bed, walked over to me, and began his traditional face bath. Dusty just doesn't give a few kisses. This is serious business with him and he even bears down when licking. And he makes sure every square inch of your face has been thoroughly washed. Thus his nickname "The Kissing Bandit".
I couldn't have been awakened for a happier reason.
He IS sixteen years old so we're not talking about lively stepping here, but he's getting around again just fine. It's as if nothing ever happened.
Because my mood was much lighter this morning the boys returned to being their obnoxious selves - Pinch and Moto richocheting through the house playing, with Blitz and Daisy being the Fun Police. Shiloh as always is in his own little world.
The vet said it would go away in a few days but I didn't expect such a sudden return to his normal old self.
Whatever it is, it's great.
Today is a good day!

Dogs are Amazing

As expected Shiloh's appointment wasn't a happy one. Because of the Prednisone he is developing Cushing's disease and a very large, fast-growing tumor is growing inside his abdominal wall. This is why his rear leg is moving so oddly, on top of the muscle wasting. My vet feels he doesn't have much time, and said like Hospice all we can really do at this point is make him as comfortable as possible. I am to bring him in when the drugs aren't helping any more.
Got home to let the dogs out, and Dusty couldn't get up. His rear legs kept buckling under him. He can walk on the grass for a few steps but smooth surfaces no longer support his rear. My vet (bless her heart) said it sounds like a mini-embolism that lodged along his spine. It should go away in a few days. If not, I need to bring Dusty back in.
But here is where I am just stunned by my dogs' behavior - do dogs have empathy? From what I saw last night I certainly think so.
Dusty was frightened and upset because his legs weren't working. All night he struggled to get up. I'd help him, he'd go a few steps and back down he would go. I gave him some tramadol and eventually some doggie morphine to help settle him. It seems no matter what I did I could not comfort him. That's where Shiloh came in. Those two have been best friends since the day Shiloh came to live with us. Shiloh simply came over and lay down next to Dusty. That worked and the two slept side by side.
Just as I was dozing off I heard a bark from upstairs (I was downstairs in the living room with Dusty and Shiloh). It was Moto, pawing at the crate door. Thinking he had to pottie - as this was highly unusual behavior for him - I let him out and whisked him in to the back yard. Moto did not go pottie. He just stood by me and leaned into me, looking up ito my face. We went back inside and I lay down on the couch. Moto pressed his body close to the couch and lay down right by me. I was absolutely stunned by these acts of compassion, to each other and for me.
Even though we have difficult days ahead I'm comforted by how my dogs care for each other and for me. Dog shows and training aside, it's moments like these that remind me why we have these wonderful creatures as companions. I continue to learn more from them than I ever could teach.

The Appointment

Today I made an appointment to take Shiloh to the vet. I'm really nervous about it. I decided to write about it as I'm at such a loss as what the right thing is to do. Maybe you're going through the same thing, or maybe you've been there and can share your experience. I need help, and it's time to get my vet's opinion as well.
Shiloh's body overall is experiencing muscle wasting. His rear is weakening and he has difficulty on smooth flooring now. Along with Dusty, Shiloh needs help up the wooden steps. He's losing bowel control and I've discovered a lump on his neck. I don't know if it is a swollen lymph node but it's where a lymph node should be. The tumor on his front foot continues to grow. He walks with a slipping rear and a sore front foot. He cannot run. He has anxiety attacks.
But on the up side, he is still hungrily eating his food and has bright moments. He still adores his teddy bear and is always delighted when I bring it out. He makes eye contact with me and wags his tail.
It's just hard seeing my dog who was always so in the moment, so filled with gusto and energy, has been reduced to this. Everyone has told me he'll let me know when it's time. I'm not getting that, but I'm also not getting that he wants to continue. It seems he's just.....existing.
So today we will see the vet. I think the Prednisone is causing the muscle wasting. Maybe there's a different strength or something different we can try. If not, I need her opinion as to what she would do.
It sort of reminds me of my dad when he had cancer. The deterioration was so slow. We didn't want to remember the dad who had cancer as it slowly stole him away from us. And so it is with Shiloh - I don't want to remember what we are going through now. My heart breaks for him every day.
Please say a prayer for Shiloh and I. I just want to do the right thing.

Still Processing

My sister is more like a twin than a baby sister. I think it is because we are only 15 months apart. We fought like crazy growing up, but that changed when we became teen-agers. Since that time in our lives, we've been extremely close - best friends, inseparable. We talk every single day via email.
With all the sadness lately I noticed another sidebar of our closeness: I can "feel" her, all these miles away. It's enabled me to call her when I know she needs me, and I could fly there at her darkest hour.
The sadness was overwhelming yesterday and is literally crushing me today. I'm a poor record-keeper when it comes to landmark events, but she shared over our email conversations that this is the weekend of their 34th anniversary.
Well no wonder the sadness.
She is off with friends to Pismo beach, God bless them. She does everything right to deal with her grief.
I awoke to the haunting images of Barry's final days and realize that I'm still processing this, too.
The car accident has been dealt with emotionally, and I *think* I've dealt with losing my beloved uncle.
But losing Barry hasn't been fully processed.
It's interesting the way the mind turns things over, like holding a trinket in your hand, turning it over and over, observing every tiny detail with your fingers and your mind until your hand and mind know every single thing about it. Then, and only then, can it be put down.
So it is with Barry's passing.
Maybe it's because I was so busy protecting and helping my sister. But it seems that now I need to deal with my own loss...my brother-in-law of 33 years.
She will be here in a few weeks. I cannot wait. My daughter will join us too. We need to be together.
It will be good to hear for myself, with no agenda or time constraints, how she is doing. And hear how she is processing her loss.
Meantime, prayer and meditation will help me when the night falls.
That is the only way to help me move through this, until she gets here.

Pack Management

Our six-pack is undergoing a transition.
When Pinch arrived, everything was pretty much normal, or as normal as having a dog with Dermatomyocitis and another with Myasthenia Gravis can be.
In other words, no one was critically ill or dying.
While no one is dying, things are changing.
Shiloh is weakening.
Dusty, while very healthy for a 16-year-old, is becoming more frail.
Daisy has been diagnosed with arthritis in her hips.
So the older half of the six pack is frail and needing lots of help and attention.
Amazingly Blitz seems to be enjoying a nice remission from his DM. He's gained weight and is fur has a nice feel to it. While he's always been a happy guy he literally sparkles lately.
Moto is still intact. Shiloh is still intact. Pinch is intact as we await growing him out to see if he'll be eligible for the conformation ring. That's a lot of testosterone.
Pinch is acting like a hormonal teen-ager which means "practicing" on Daisy, which is not appreciated. He's also testing his pack status and trying to move up the ranks.
Moto is coming into his own and is beginning to assert himself too. Daisy used to regularly dominate him and he now flashes his teeth at her to stop it.
Add that to the fact that Dusty, Shiloh and Daisy are becoming more and more frail, we have a powder keg of a situation, as it seems the dogs are vying for a new pack order.
Thank Goodness for early Pack Management on my part. Dogs are fed in the order they arrived here and that never ever changes. They can eat in the same room without any fights breaking out. But now I feel I'm walking a delicate line between letting them work things out and stopping what just isn't right. Example: when I open a door, all dogs must wait until Dusty walks out. This is to avoid him knocking him over. Allowing Moto to stand up for himself is a good thing, but Shiloh pushes that boundary by continuing to try to dominate him and being unable to defend himself.
Plus he still suffers those odd anxiety attacks. When this occurs I need to get him away from the other dogs as they will attack him. Shiloh can never ever be loose with the other dogs without me in the immediate vicinity now because of this.
Dusty is still the Grand Old Dog and I don't know how he does it, but all dogs still continue to treat him with great respect. But he also needs a lot of supervision now as recently he tried to go up the stairs, couldn't support himself and I found him struggling between two steps, trying to get upright. He's a smart guy and usually barks when he wants up or down steps, but I think some times he feels pretty good and thinks he'll just try those steps on his own once and awhile.
So, between keeping Shiloh safe and keeping Dusty from injuring himself, baby gates once again abound in our house.
On a training note it is imperative that the younger dogs respond immediately to my first command, "come" and "sit" must be absolutely and immediately obeyed. It comes in real handy when Shiloh has an attack and the pack is swirling around him. A quick SIT keeps Shiloh out of danger and allows me to get in there quickly to remove him. Speaking of something being amiss in my relationship with Moto, it is he of all the dogs who will challenge this and needs a correction. This lets me know I was correct that I was too soft on him initially and that his respect of me is not where it should be. Dang it anyway, I wish I'd been wrong, but we're working on that now.
I've always known that Come, Sit and Down were the most important things I could teach, and with our new situation it sure has been a good validation.

A Big Dog Transition

If you don't own dogs, you won't get why this is such a big deal.
If you DO have dogs, you know this is HUGE:

I can put the wastebasket on the floor.

What freedom!
Since I've had such bad luck health-wise with my dogs, we've pretty much had a parade of puppies for several years. First Blitz, then Moto and then Pinch.

Little by little the puppy proofing has gone away as each dog has become a young adult. But never, ever in all these years has the wastebasket ever been able to leave its spot on top of the toilet tank. That is, until today. Everyone seems unimpressed with the change, which of course is a good thing. We are now a "regular' dog house. Hooray!
The weather continues to be uncooperative for training outdoors. It's either ridiculously hot, ridiculously windy or a combination of both. I'd like to get moving on the broad jump with Pinch. We are at the point where I still stand beyond the broad jump, but I can now face sideways, the picture he'll get with the finished product. It's time to start working that turn but alas, the nasty weather. Ditto directed jumping. He's getting it - going over the jump with the raised hand - but I need to start moving back toward the center. On the good side, we're working lots of fronts and finishes and I must say so myself they look lovely. Enthusiasm on recalls causes a crooked front which is a great problem to have.
I'm not going to give up on Moto. One one of the obedience e-groups I belong to there has been heated discussion about recalls and relationships. While the problem of the recall is not ours, I do believe I can, painfully, admit the heeling and work ethic problem is a large part due to our relationship. Yeah, it really hurts to say that. While it's not fair to expect Moto to be dazzling in the ring, I know he IS capable of turning in an accurate performance. Not high-scoring mind you, but accurate and well done. Now that the emotional part of our miserable CD title journey is past, I feel I can begin working with him again.
First, I needed to examine our relationship. I realize that while he loves me, we are lacking in the respect category. He is not as soft as originally thought. While he's not tough as nail as his sire, he can take a collar pop and reacts to that better than a physical correction with my hands. That's a first for me - all my other dogs will do anything to avoid a physical correction. With Moto it's the other way around. And with good results. Actually surprisingly good results.
The other transition that I overlooked was making me the cookie over food and toy rewards. This one needs a tremendous amount of work. I never realized how sadly lacking I was in this area with him.
So we've done a lot of backchaining, in almost all aspects of obedience. There's some good solid foundation work that doesn't need revisiting but there's a lot of it that does, most importantly heeling.
New goals have been made: most of my training will be devoted to Pinch. He wants and loves to do this sport, and it's only fair to let him do what he loves best. I have very high Obedience expectations for Pinch. At least for now. What he's showing me is very exciting.
Moto's obedience goals are to eventually get him to Utility. Depending on how that goes will tell me if we go further or retire with just a CDX or UD.
Moto will get most of the herding time. He's not a passioniate herding dog like his dad. But he approaches the stock with a calm demeanor and does some amazing work when he is up to it. I'm not sure how far he will go but if he applies himself, I am hopeful we can get past the Started level with him. I'd really like that. And I hope he will like it, too.
Pinch's herding career is simple: an HT and a PT. He has lots of "want to" but very little natural stock sense. It can be trained into him, but going further will take good handling on my part. I suck as a handler. But we'll give it the old college try and see how far we go.
Hopefully some time I can put both in agility. Moto liked his agility classes. I think it would be a great confidence-builder for him. But alas it's a time and money thing.
But I digress.
It's great to enjoy the small things, like the graduation of a waste basket to the floor.

There's a Snake in My Basement!

Ah, the joys of summer. I'm not one who enjoys summer; winter is my "thing" but this winter was particularly cold and brutal. I find myself enjoying the heat, particularly because when I'm tired of it (and it doesn't take long) I can go into a lovely air-conditioned house. The dogs feel the same way.
During one hot summer day I returned home, went into the basement (where the dogs stay while I'm at work) and opened the sliding glass door to let the dogs out.
It was then I got the surprise of my life.
Apparently a black snake had been enjoying the heat of the cement patio, right next to the door. When the dogs ran out they ran over the snake. This awakened him (do snakes sleep? Anyway, he was still and suddenly he was moving). Mr. Black Snake, startled, quickly slithered into the basement.
I don't like snakes, even "nice" ones like black snakes. So I did what any red-blooded snake fearer would do: I screamed.
Pinch came back in to see what the excitement was about. He saw the slithery creature and went to investigate. I screamed again. Pinch was completely unphased by this and continued to try to sniff and paw at Mr. Snake.
This is where my Momma Bear instincts kicked in: yes I KNOW black snakes aren't poinsonous, but they will bite if they feel cornered. I ran over, picked up Pinch but the scruff and literally pitched him outside and closed the sliding glass door.
Uh-oh.
Now it's just me and the snake. Alone. Together.
Thinking fast, I decided that screaming yet again would help things.
I think Mr. Black Snake was screaming, too, because his little head moved around and he found a good hiding place: the folded up A-Frame leaning against the wall. He wanted as much to do with me as I did with him.
I was NOT going to open that thing up and try to coax him back outside. Since screaming wasn't really helpful I did the next best thing: call my husband who was still at work. He wouldn't be home for another hour. Hopefully the snake would stay put until he made it home.
He didn't.
Erik moved the furniture, upended every possible piece of equipment, went through my piles of PVC pipes and dog equipment, but no snake.
Since it was such a surprise opening a door and having a snake slithering in, I'm not very jumpy when I'm in the basement.
I open the washing machine and expect a snake.
I grab a pile of dog jumps and expect a snake.
It's not really very fun to go in the basement.
Erik got some snake traps, but so for Mr. Black Snake has proved elusive.
Could he have found a way out?
I don't know how he could have done it, but for the sake of both of us, I hope he did so.