A new vet and the end of options for thunderstorms

I know, it's been forever...the C-R-A-Z-Y journey of my life has taken over and while trying to keep up with it, the luxury of having time and brain space to blog has fallen by the wayside.  Eva has weathered the many adjustments we've thrown her the last few months beautifully and we are all looking forward to the biggest adjustment of all in just 6 weeks. 

In Eva's world, the big news is we've gone to a new vet.  What a nerve racking experience - I did alot of research and felt that this office offered what I was looking for (holistic approach, willingness to do titers instead of pushing vaccines, etc).  More importantly, I wanted Eva to like it and for them to like her...at my old vet, I didn't always get the 'holistic' support I wanted, BUT Eva loved going there and they were always so happy to see her - that element is priceless. 

I've always thought that if she became ill and needed treatment in a crisis, I would need the feeling that my vet wanted her to get well as much as I did. 

So, it wasn't love at first sight.  We walked in and Eva put her tail down and pulled for the door .  When the vet tech called us back, though, things changed.  She made a big deal over Eva and gave her lots of attention - the ever communicative tail was back up and wagging .

The first question the tech asked me when going over Eva's health and history was what brand of food I feed and what the first 5 ingredients of it were - amazing to find a place that actually understands the importance of good quality food.  There was NO Science Diet in sight .  They sell WELLNESS brand food instead. 

They spent a good deal of time with me, were very thorough, answered my many questions, got the 'terrier' thing...the vet herself has a specialization in acupuncture, which is good to know should we ever need it.  I've always been against kenneling Eva, but I actually think I would board her there if I had to.  They have a variety of options depending on how 'social' your dog is - including a 'condo' for rent by the day, a nice carpeted room with couch, which overlooks the back area where they do paperwork and procedures.  I'm saying it again, they got the terrier thing!

I explained Eva's thunderstorm anxiety and asked if there was anything I haven't done that they could recommend.  Most of the alternative suggestions I have already tried - thundershirt, composure treats, pheromones, lavender drops, melatonin, etc. 

Unfortunately, I have pretty much exhausted all possibilities if I continue to resist medicating her.  They did say I could try Benedryl (which I probably will) or Alprozolam (doggie Xanax).  Beyond that, my only other option would be Clomicalm, which is a medication she would be on daily during storm season.  I am curious to know if anyone that still might be reading here has ever tried this? 

This blog did a series of posts recently about making the decision to medicate your dog that were quite informative and insightful - I'd definitely be going back to them if I got to the point of making this decision.  For now, the season for thunderstorms is ending, so I expect we'll continue to manage for now.  If we do have another storm or two, I am thinking of earplugs for myself and a mop to clean up the drool.

Here's to an experience with our new vet that went above and beyond my expectations!  And to a healthy, happy dog - all bloodwork and tests came back normal for another year. 

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A sibling for Eva

No, we are not getting another dog!!!  If you have read this blog AT ALL, you will know that Eva is the kind of dog that likes being an only.  But, we are thrilled to annouce we are expecting a baby (of the human variety) in November of this year. 

We are beyond excited to be adding to our family.  I anticipate that Eva will make the adjustment pretty well.  She has never met a person (young or old) that she has not loved.  We do plan on doing some reading up on preparing dogs for living with an infant.  I do feel as though I have a pretty good training foundation with her, so that any issues that arise can be addressed. 

Here is one post that I already had filed away for this time in our lives.  It contains some good suggestions, although I am not sure I will be carrying a doll around?!  I admit to being a crazy dog person, but there is a limit to what I'll do :) 

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The end of an era

We have given up Agility.  I couldn't be happier with this decision. I really took a hard look at it.  I was the one who wanted to have an agility dog and improve my handling skills and compete and all that!  Eva was giving me all the signals that it just wasn't her thing.  Her behavior became increasingly stressed...and even though she humored me for two years and was pretty good at it when she wanted it to be, the experience was stressful for her.  I realize that now.  The biggest thing that pushed me to this ah-ha moment was watching her do therapy.  Eva's certification with TDI was the best thing I have done for her.  When she is on visits, I see a totally different dog emerge.  She is relaxed, she is happy, she is well behaved - she even puts up with other dogs being near her.  She just basks in the attention and she gives so much back - to kids, seniors, anyone she meets.  When I compare her anxiety doing agility vs. her attitude of relaxation during therapy --why didn't I see it sooner?!

I have been talking a lot on this blog about what I have taught Eva, but I want to start thinking more about what she is teaching me.  From this whole Agility-or-Not thought process, I have learned that you get so much more back in return when you embrace your dogs strenghts.  Making them into something they are not only frustrates both of you.

So, we are beginning the new year again and instead of trying to train, train, train...I intend to listen to my dog.

(who is telling me she wants to sleep all day long on this rainy Friday)

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Leash = Transition

From Control Unleashed,

Your dog should differentiate between working and not working based on your interaction with him, not based on whether or not he is leashed.

When I read this statement in my new favorite book, I didn't even realize how badly I needed to hear it.  Eva is a dog that is leashed more than many, in my opinion.  We do not have a fenced yard, so every potty break (yes, that is 4-6 times a day plus a walk) I grab the leash and we together find a spot for her business.  I never trust her off leash outside and rarely out of our house.  I do not do dog parks (why? just read this). 

I have started to observe and think about how Eva views her leash and I have decided that for her it is something that means transition.  It takes her from inside to out, from one activity to another.  She comes running when she hears it, because she knows it means she's going somewhere or a different activity is coming up.  When it comes off, she transitions from whatever we were doing to doing her own thing.  There are times when I require her to do things when she's not wearing it, but chances are if she's not wearing it, I am not likely to be requiring anything of her.  If she is wearing it, there is not much chance I will be ignoring her.  She is so in tune with it - because its presence or lack tells her what mode she is in.  All things that she should be understanding from my interaction with her, not a leash!!!

I tested my theory tonight by putting her on a sit stay, with her leash on.  As soon as she hears the buckle click, she is ready to get up (and go away from me)...and I wonder why agility class was going so poorly!?  As soon as she was 'loose' she ran away and sniffed --well, for 4 years, taking her leash off has meant, time to go do my own thing.  DUH!!!

Then, I tried putting her on a sit stay and putting the leash on...she gets up then too, but she pays attention to me a little more.  Back to a stay, if I drop the leash, she notices when I pick it up  As soon as she feels the tension on the leash, she breaks the stay.

So, tonight we worked staying, with the leash going on and off, while I picked it up and dropped it, while I pulled on it and didn't.  Problem is, will my working on this during 'training time' really make a difference?  I have a 4 year habit to break!  And one that I am unable to really stop, all together.  Unless someone donates a fenced yard to us, the leash is going to continue to signify transition. My thought is that I will put it on and wait around 5 minutes before going out? Or let her drag it in the house? or make her wait for my release even after I have taken it off?  hmm....

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Observations & Recommendations

I've been working on the default down and I have observed something - Eva already has a default sit.  When I wait for her to offer me the correct behavior, she sits.  When she wants a treat or a toy, she sits.  When I ask her to go on her pillow (after a barking reaction), she sits.  Now, she is doing a lot better with 'down' now that I have been working on it so much, but she only really does it on command, it is far from default.  She gets frustrated when I wait for the down and she is already sitting, and since I don't want her to think that sitting is wrong or undo any progress I have made unknowingly at training a default sit, I've decided to continue to work on down, but I am willing to accept the default sit.

I started a 6 week basic obedience class for review last weekend. The first recommendation the teacher made was that I am relying too heavily on verbal commands/chatter for motivation. By chatter, I mean that when she asked me to do a heel/about turn with Eva the following came out of my mouth in about 3 seconds, Let's go, with me, come on, Eva, look, look, with me, let's go, Eva, come, come...  Yeah, I know...I wonder why my dog has reactivity/anxiety!  She suggested (and I agree) that it is only adding to Eva's stimulation and on top of it, causing her to tune me out. 

I think that I was encouraged to do this in agility to 'keep her interested in me' and prevent her from running off and sniffing, but the more I did it, the worse she became.  It is a theory that really makes sense.

In addition to working the down this week, I have also done quite a bit of heeling with Eva without saying a word except for an occasional YES, or Good Girl.  We start with a sit (which she usually offers at my side when we are stopped) and I start walking, stepping out with the foot closer to her, as a signal.  The trainer suggested if you want your dog to stay, you can give the hand signal and step away with the other foot.  They will learn the difference.  The quieter I am, the more Eva pays attention - I can see her face searching and watching for non verbal cues of what I want her to do. 

I am happy with the results although breaking the habit of constantly talking to her is hard.  Goal for this week -- Just shut up!

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Remember Brody?

I wrote about him here.  He got adopted this week!

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Default Down

Ok, I am almost totally through my first read of Control Unleashed and the first only concept that I can really wrap my head around at the moment is training a default behvaior.  I see the value in this, teaching your dog something they can rely on in a stressful situation.  Something they will hopefully start doing without even thinking, offering 'on default'.

In Eva's case, I am going to try to teach a down.  She has a solid sit, but has never been great with the down.  Maybe my signal has been unclear in the past, but I was never really able to get any distance with the 'down' command.  The reason I chose down rather than sit is that I feel a down is a more relaxed posture and if she can learn to do it without even thinking it might help her to relax in stressful situations.

I started this morning with requiring her to do a down before she got her breakfast and again, before we went out to go potty.  She's been exiting the door regularly now with a reaction, so her arousal is very high and the down before going outside was difficult.  She broke it several times just seeing the door open.  Once I gave her the 'okay' release, she bolted out barking and lunging (UGH!) but then I asked her to down several more times right outside the door. 

When I have more time, I want to start going back in and making her redo her entry into the outside world until she can do it more calmly.  That or going out the garage or basement doors?!  Not giving her the chance all together.  At is is now, she is going out every day, expecting to see something to react to...this morning it was a kid walking to the bus stop.  She loves people, but I just think it could have been anyone/anything.  Once she did a down for me and we got on our way for the morning potty break, I did reward her with "YES" for looking at the kid and tried to get it in there before she barked and she whirled around and looked at me for a treat, which I had ready.  This is something else I am reading about in Control Unleashed (maybe more of it is seeping into my brain than I realize)...counter conditioning by asking your dog to look at the stimuli, clicking (in my case YESing) and then treating once the dog reorients to you, which they do when they hear the marker expecting a treat. 

Anyway, the default down it is for the next couple of days.  Going to try to get some distance on the down command as well.  I want to also start the reward for calming behaviors like blinking, although I have to read more about it first.

Oh, and I did a little Reiki with her this morning!  Thanks, Jen, for the reminder.

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New Year, New Plan

Anxious, hyper vigilant, fixated, reactive ...this is how I just described Eva's 'issues' on a training class form and truth be told, this is exactly how I am feeling about her behavior.

Which I find to be very interesting.

I absolutely believe that dogs are smart and sensitive and that Eva is able to detect a range of emotions. I am not sure if it was her or I that started this cycle, but I am certain that we are feeding off of each other now. Agility class being a prime example, it has now translated into more and more areas. Just this morning, she was looking peaceful enough but then went into hysterically barking for 10-15 minutes when she heard the sound of my dropping something on the bathroom tiles.

I am discouraged, overwhelmed and need help! My reading Control Unleashed might be making it worse?! I myself resonating with the book on almost every page with the issues we are dealing with, but it’s not entirely clear by way of presenting a plan. For example, it explains an exercise but then refers to something that hasn’t been covered yet as a part of it. I hope if I can get through it once and then re-read it, I will get a better grasp of where to start and what to do. I need a plan spelled out for me and right now I don’t have one and it is causing me stress…which is causing Eva stress…lather, rinse, repeat.

I want more than anything to break this cycle for both of us in 2011.

So far, the only thing I have really done to break the cycle was to make the decision to stop attending agility class. I am confident that this was a good decision for us both. Honestly, right now, I don’t care if we ever go back or participate in agility again – the relief is that great!

The other thing I have tried (and failed at, thus far) is to find a marker, something to use in place of a clicker. As I read Control Unleashed, I see the value in using a clicker, but Eva is terrified of the sound and I am unable to get her to even eat when she hears it. I noticed that she is not affected when we pull out a pen and click it open, so I thought, why not try that? She didn’t notice it at all the first time she heard it and then she ate cheese right up for the first 3 clicks…then, she started getting worried and by 5 clicks, she had her tail tucked and was running away from me?!?! HUH?! Maybe she figured out what game I was trying to play and associated the sound with the bad clicker experiences she’s had. Other than using the word “YES” which I can’t say has been very effective thus far, I am out of ideas.

My goal for 2011 (and for Eva’s 5th year – she turned 4 on January 3rd) is to have a relaxed dog. I know Eva and I are capable of this, because I have seen it…when we go on Therapy visits she turns into a happy and relaxed dog!

Ideas I have to start achieving my goal:
1. Finish reading Control Unleashed.
2. Audit Control Unleashed seminar in March to learn more about ideas in book.
3. Take a basic obedience class with no expectations on performance, but the intent on making it a positive experience for both of us.
4.  Go on more Therapy Visits (weekly if possible).
5. Learn more about TTouch / massage.
6. Plan time with Eva at least 3 times a week, where I am conciously training or working with her on relaxing.
7.  Solve the marker question, maybe simply by being aware of saying YES every time she does what I am asking of her, as much as I would use a clicker.

Oh and another thing...I want to blog more….so stay tuned, I hope I’ll have some readers taking this journey with me.

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