Yoshi and Trek
Training Diary - 2014
By Ellen
Clary (Copyright 2004-2014)
(reverse
date order)
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2014
Tue Dec 30
A very blustery day today.
Yoshi's morning walk was fine but cold.
Trek's was not as cold but windier and she mostly wanted to sniff. I
didn't want to walk down the route with a lot of trees right then so we
went up and down the street.
Mon Dec 29
Nice walks for both dogs.
Trek's pack came in. I haven't put her in it, but it will fit her (and me.)
Sun Dec 28
We all went to Wilton for duck herding. Yahoo! What was shocking is that
both dogs did really well. three mellow runner cross ducks in a round
pen with both dogs working on a long line. Yoshi still needs work on
stop, but Trek had no trouble and even did a long pause in order to let
the ducks regroup (she was crowding them some and that broke the group
up. I'm going to have to come up with a lighter long line for Trek
(maybe just some cord as it tires her out faster. Each did two fairly
short runs.
Thu Dec 25
Dogs went with us to Lake Wildwood for Xmas. We put them in crates
in the back and let them out at particular times. When it gets more
chaotic it's one at a time and on leash.
Wed Dec 24
Trek is hobbling more so I'm resuming her PT. Next appt is Jan 3rd.
Tue Dec 23
Yoshi barked at a dog four houses away and across the street. He's been
cooped up for too long clearly. He was standing on his property which
seems to make a big difference
Mon Dec 22
Yoshi morning walk. Foggy, but not raining, A fair bit of successful dog watching and dodging.
Trek noon walk. She's getting a little more wobbly so I wanted her to do
some walking on grass. Took her over to the school and it was simple
enough to have her just walk on the grass that's outside of the fence.
After a fair bit of tha tI had her walk briskly on the concrete which
was simple enough for her.
Sun Dec 21
I've decided to cancel Trek's entry to the mission Bell Cluster. She's
still hobbling and would likely get excused and it would be kissing
$153.00 away for little reason. I can better use that for training.
[Very rainy this week - got out here and there.]
Tue Dec 16
Morning walk for Yoshi. Noon walk for Trek. Didn't get too wet this time.
Trek's walking doesn't really show much change but it's hard to tell.
Mon Dec 15
Yoshi morning walk. I actually offered the walk to Trek because it was raining some but she didn't want to go and Yoshi did.
Trek got a careful dusk/evening walk. those times are less than ideal
because, I dislike how careful I have to be around the cars and the
uneven footing that I can't see well.
This is Trek first day on Rimadyl, she seems to be moving easily enough.
Seemed to tolerate tooth brushing a little more. she has nerve issues
so it's entirely possible that an anti-inflammatory will do nothing for
her (it doesn't fix the limp at all) but I'm wondering if it will help
her with pain and weird sensations. More Gabapentin should help with
that, but it's compromising her rear end stability some. If she has DM
it's very subtle right now and less Gaba helps the stability which is
tricky as Gaba is what helps her front leg.
Sun Dec 14
Both dogs got late evening walks which are not my preference as they don't get much training then.
Trek's lower left jaw continues to bother her. She has been clenching her jaw when I brush her teeth for some time now.
I've decided I want to try giving her Rymadyl for three days to see if
it makes a difference. If it doesn't then I'd like to try three days of
Tramadol. (I try to keep both on hand.)
If neither of those have any effect (or if they do), she's going back to Park Centre.
Sat Dec 13
Bayfarm for Yoshi. He saw one dog about 15' away and was doing quite
well, and then lost it and started barking at the other dog. I just
held onto his collar and made a pointless show of eating the cheese he
was going to get. So for the next three dog encounters I picked him up
and he was fine though he didn't like that one dog was off leash and far
from his person but he turned for home when the woman asked him to (I
had asked her to call her dog, she apologized and said he was almost
home. But even with that Yoshi growled a little, but held it together
and with the two other leashed dogs he was perfect about. He must feel
dramatically safer in my arms. It will be interesting to try him in
Trek's backpack and see it it's my arms or height that's the factor.
Trek and I met Sterling (a woman) and her two Shelties Buddy and Harley (sp?)
Trek's walking is still iffy and not improving. She sees Ziji next Wed
and we can talk about it. I don't know if the water treadmill was
continuing to help her. Maybe.
I wonder if swimming would help her at all.
Fri Dec 12
Dogs were happy to get out.
Thu Dec 11
Major storm no walks for dogs though I did see two different people
walking their raincoated dogs. Hopefully things will light up by
tomorrow this has been raining all day and into the night.
Yoshi sulks about the rain and he'll sit on the back landing. Until a squirrel appears then he's out there barking.
Trek doesn't care and if I was willing to she would have been fine with going out in it.
Wed Dec 10
Yoshi morning walk. Did a long one as we have a major storm coming
and no one is getting walked tomorrow. At a corner there was a dog and
person running towards us but still a half block off. I let them
approach a little closer and then we crossed and watched them run by. He
did this very well, but was definitely more excited and was walking
faster pulling more.
Trek walk. Full length and she didn't limp too much. Saw the same
reactive dog but I had Trek and just carried her which changes the view
significantly and the owner was partially hiding behind a parked car.
Tue Dec 9
Trek morning walk. It was already 7:30 and the crossing guards were
active so rather than having Trek negotiate lots of kids with me short
on time we did an out and back.
Yoshi noon walk. Wound up following a dog that is usually reactive but nothing at all happened.
Sat Dec 6
Long walk for Yoshi steered around two dogs no problem. Both times we crossed the street and let the other dog walk by.
Trek went down High St for a little while and then back down Santa Clara to Gibbons.
Fri Dec 5
Played dash around the raindrops and both dogs got decent walks.
Thu Dec 4
Yoshi walk. No rain. No dogs. Worked on Stop (over and over). Spent a
little time talking to the school crossing guards. They know not to
blow whistles around dogs which is handy.
Wed Dec 3
Yoshi morning walk. Very similar scenario with a dog walking by
right as we were exiting but no response at all from him. It was
completely weird. The dog was smaller small to medium size brown dog
moving a little slower but still it's a type he's reacted to before.
Don't know.
Trek noon walk around Santa Clara. She's moving ok but not great. Her front leg should be better and she still limps on it.
Tue Dec 2
It was raining in the morning so Trek got a shortened morning walk.
At noon there was a break, so I-don't-like-rain Yoshi got a walk too.
During rain breaks I either see no dogs or one or two doing the same
thing I am. Today right out of the door a Malamute walked by across the
street and Yoshi went into full charge. All I had time to do was just
hold him up partially - just keeping his front feet off the ground while
he yelled at the dog. I then made him wait on the sidewalk while the
dog retreated some. Once he calmed down I fed him to refocus him which
sort of worked but he was way distracted, but would respond to his name
and recalls and he eventually settled down. What's distressing is he
would have charged across the street as all he saw was the dog.
Mon Dec 1
Back to the Winter morning walking. Yoshi saw about three dogs and
handled it well but while he behaviorally does great, his walking speeds
way up and he's pulling on the leash. I call him back and practice some
heeling which works but he's still amped up.
Another study reinvents the Classical Conditioning wheel. We as humans are really slow about learning some things.
"A new study shows that counter-conditioning (pairing an aversive
stimulus with food) to decrease on-leash dog aggression is effective,
generalizable, and easy to implement for an owner."
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10888705.2014.977383#.VHyyIMkXIXY
Sun Nov 30
Regular dog walks for both dogs took Trek a different direction
hoping to go around the school but someone was bouncing a ball in the
playground so I let her take a left turn and go around a few blocks that
way.
Sat Nov 29
We headed home which took most of the afternoon with the traffic. Trek is home and happy after sulking for the past two days.
Yoshi just enjoyed the trip. The most telling was a potty break at Dixon
were Trek peed and wanted to go right back to the car and Yoshi was
very much: "you can go and come back, I'll be ok for a while" (it was
nice and cool and cloudy but there was a break in the rain.
Fri Nov 28
I went on a hike up at Castle Peak but Terri too each dog on short walks.
Thu Nov 27
So we all piled in the car and went up to Terri's Mom's in Lake Wildwood for Thanksgiving.
Lake Wildwood should be a dog paradise but it was a golf community and
is remarkably dog hostile (dog can't even be in the grassy areas and
have to walk beside the road on on one dirt trail) though I hear that's
changing with the number of dogs who live there.
Yoshi loves all the smells and the sights Trek likes the smells but is a homebody and just wants to go home.
Wed Nov 26
Yoshi walk - almost no one around - pretty eerie.
Trek's walk was during the early evening because I had to run errands at
noon. She walks well in the cool evening though still has a significant
head dip.
Tue Nov 25
Yoshi morning walk. It's trash pickup day which means all sorts of
things to steer around as well as a couple of dogs including one that
was off leash in his yard, but when right up to his porch with his owner
(Labrador). We went on a longer version and it was all remarkably
successful.
Trek walk. She's limping some today so went on a shorter walk and I
actually carried her the last 1/2 block home which was fine for about 3
houses then got very tiring as holding 20 pounds in front of you is
awkward.
Mon Nov 24
Smooth walks for both dogs
Sun Nov 23
Trek morning walk. She was in good spirits and we actually did a
full length walk without issue. Did some nice rally work. She can now
back up smoothly, and her left pivot is looking great.
Yoshi Washington Park. He can watch dogs at a distance with no problem.
Ironically it was in his driveway where he barked at a dog.
Sat Nov 22
Yoshi walk to Lincoln Park, had to steer around 4 dogs but no real issues about it.
A girl came and spent time petting him he did well but kept a watch out.
Trek walk around to Santa Clara. Her walking is brisk after doing some
nice rally work. when she's walking in front of me I can see her right
rear leg working fine, but once in a while her left rear leg would slid
out to the side but only very quickly.
Fri Nov 21
Yoshi morning walk. Watched a medium sized fluffy white dog walk by
twice. Yoshi was fine but his excitement grew over time so even watching
a dog walk past is exciting.
Trek walk. Lots of rally work. She is limping. We sat an watched a
different white dog walk by who was completely disappointed that Trek
didn't care at all.
Thu Nov 20
Raining. Basic Yoshi walk. Nothing going on.
Trek PT and consult.
[fill in]
Tue Nov 18
Yoshi morning walk. Trash day lots of activity but he's so mellow around such chaos.
But right in the driveway a dog walked by and we stopped for him to stop
barking enough to reconnect to me. Crossed the street for another dog
that just disappeared.
Sat for people to pass - no issues there at all
Trek noon walk. She still limping but in good spirits. We'll see how Rally class goes tonight.
Mon Nov 17
Yoshi walk. More excitement this time. Two houses down he's pulling
around growling. There's not a dog in sight. I keep looking around until
I finally bend down and follow his vision. It's my neighbor's cat under
a car close by an staring. I pick Yoshi up and the cat runs to her
house.
Moving on I pause to pull out more of his fur as the cooling weather is
still forcing out the old coat. Then as we walk on and then he takes a
sudden right turn trying to charge down the street. It's the Greater
Swiss Mountain dog again this time on Johnson. We hustle across and they
follow us. This is a larger dog so we cross the street to watch them go
by and they do without much incident. Yoshi is growling but holding
steady and then settles.
Later we watch a couple of dogs across the street - no tension.
Researchers are discovering the dog brains are much like our own. This
means that one incident that causes tension which will leave residual
tension that can affect future events, which I think was an effect.
Trek walk. She's having bouts of limping so I'm putting her back on Gabapentin for the mornings.
I sent her PT people this email:
Greetings,
Bad news first.
Trek is limping more on her left front leg.
It's almost as if she stepped on something to the point I'll check her foot.
Three steps of Ow! ow! ow!, and then she's fine.
I think a nerve is sending buzzing sensations.
I'm now going to put her back on Gabapentin for the morning.
The good news.
She's not wobbling anymore in her rear, and when she's limping, the nail
drag sound completely disappears, so it's entirely the front foot that's
dragging.
Sun Nov 16
Basic Yoshi walk
I had class today, so Trek got a night walk with a headlamp. We're fine
walking at night but I can't really see how well she is or isn't moving
so it's not advantageous.
Sat Nov 15
Trek had PT today. She's getting more tired in the water and I'm trying
to decide whether to be concerned or not. It might be an unrelated issue
but she has not other symptoms besides getting tired easy.
Yoshi got to go have a lovely walk in Washington Park with all the great
sights and smells. He does so well being in a place where we can move
laterally. A dog would approach and we would just moved 50 feet off to
the side and let the dog pass and he got to eat treats during it. Make
everything so much smoother.
Fri Nov 14
Morning walk with Yoshi
I pause at Santa Clara to make sure a person who was stopped on the
other side of the street talking on the phone didn't have a dog. I
didn't see one so we crossed and walking across I notice that Yoshi is
starting and then I see that the person actually does have something
like a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog with them. So when we got across I had
Yoshi sit at let him look at the dog and eat treats until the dog
started to move and we went on.
On Central, we watched some people dressed in highly contrasting colors
that seemed to catch Yoshi's eye and the he sat to let a student walk
past and then we were followed by some younger students with rolling
book bags. Yoshi has mistaken the rolling bags for dogs before so he
always seems to have to double check.
Thu Nov 13
It's raining and I took Trek for a walk instead of Mr-I-don't-like-rain.
I kept it to the shorter version as she's moving a little stiffly.
Noon Yoshi walk. More activity, but the only dogs we saw were two (GSD
and a Collie) just walking down Central and I asked him to look at them
and after a careful evaluation he looked back to me. Good boy.
Wed Nov 12
Morning walk for Yoshi. I extended it to Pearl St. Not a canine in
sight. We haven't seen a dog in the morning for long enough that one day
one of them is going to blast right up to us and leave me completely
flat footed and trying to remember what to do.
Noon walk for Trek. I shortened it because she is going to be seeing
Ziji. Terri reminds me that I forgot to do a spine jiggling exercise
that she wanted me to do on Trek, but I am bringing a video and a laptop
to show her progress.
Trek front leg is gradually getting better and I'm not seeing as much of a rear end wobble though I'm going to let Ziji decide.
Trek's Ziji Appt is at 5:15pm at Sharon's.
Tue Nov 11
Morning walk for Yoshi. Also slightly extended. Things are so quiet in the morning it's difficult for me to remember I did it.
Noon walk for Trek. No Gabapentin. She is stumbling a little and it took
her a while to warm up but then she seemed to walk ok. It might rain
and the barometric pressure change might be having an effect. I did take
a video camera and did film her walking some.
She is going to Rally Class tonight at 7:30.
Rally Class. She did ok the first run and didn't want to do the second
one so we sat that out, but it turned out we had time for a 3rd run and
she did fine with that one though I put the jumps to zero height. So the
key appears to give her enough time in between to rest.
There were only three of us there so we were able to control the noise
so she was able to not be as stressed as she usually is there. Someone
bought some of the lighter quieter jumps which helped a lot.
Debra set up a Send to Jump and we went over the rules and practiced it.
It's way easier if your dog has had some agility training.
Mon Nov 10
Morning walk for Yoshi. Slightly extended. No dogs no drama.
Noon walk for Trek. She was raring to go so I took her on a full length
walk and she didn't start to limp until the last block. I didn't see a
rear end wobble at all and when I got back Terri told me she hadn't
given her Gabapentin at all this morning, so we might try not giving it
to her at all of just a little in the evening.
I started a Facebook group for reactive dogs called Reactive Dogs San
Francisco. Seems to be well received, but we'll seem if it takes off.
Sun Nov 9
I was finishing the gate and then had to dash off to an afternoon
writing class, so Yoshi got walked at late dusk and Trek got a walk in
the dark.
It was fun to let them out into the side area. Yoshi found some
questionable things to eat of course. I'm surprised it was him and not
Trek.
Sat Nov 8
I spent the day making a gate so the dogs could use the side yard.
As a result Yoshi got a walk just as it was getting dark. Didn't see any
dogs at all.
Fri Nov 7
Yoshi morning walk. Was looking like it was going to be completely
boring and right at Johnson, Yoshi stiffened, so I stopped and then a
man and his two medium sized dogs appeared. I've seen him before and he
wisely stopped while I picked Yoshi up and walked across the street
carrying him. Yoshi was growling, but he didn't have a barking meltdown.
To add to the excitement a third set of person and dog were across the
street but walked away from all of us.
Noon Trek walk. Mostly full length.. It's hard for me to figure out if she needs more or less exercise, but she did ok today.
Thu Nov 6
More activity. Morning walks have been quiet all week.
One dog caught his attention as he exited his house and went the other
direction but no reaction from Mr Y who I had sit down to watch.
We worked on Rally exercises down one block and he was very engaged
Wound up parallel walking with a smaller black lab down Central.
Wed Nov 5
Yoshi is very active in the morning so I'm lengthening his walk over to Versailles or Pearl.
We see a lot of humans but not that many dogs.
Trek had her teeth cleaned this morning. No extractions. Dr Wydner says
she has the teeth of a five year old, and all they needed was a
cleaning. For the past few months, Trek hasn't been letting me fully
brush the left side of her teeth. She clinches her jaw. I think it's
been very sensitive post injury.
Tue Nov 4
Yoshi morning walk. We saw a dog for the first time this week.
Coming right at us so we steered down a side street to let them go by. I
didn't go far away so he did growl but not seriously. However at a
different corner two dogs ran up to the corner across from us and then
ran across the street going away from us which made him object. That
seemed an excessive reaction so I made him sit and cool off a second.
Trek noon walk. Shorter Santa Clara Ave. version as she has class tonight.
Trek Rally class. First time back at ODTC in months. She did great
though with the usual pouting whenever a jump was moved. I crated her
while we set the course up. The first run was a little rocky, but she
was able to mostly focus. She was able to do two more runs. She wasn't
limping which was really cool. I had them set up the figure 8 with
distractions that so bent her brain last Sunday and with a lot of
practice we go through it ok.
It's too late to enter her in Turlock or Stockton so I'll have to look at later trials.
Mon Nov 3
With the time change, I get up half an hour earlier and walk him then.
Very quiet. No dogs and few people.
At the end he pulled hard on the leash. He didn't want to go in. I had
time, so I took him down a couple of blocks and turned around and he
turned around again. Er, ok so we did a shortened second loop. By
now people were coming out but still no dogs. I think he really likes
the cool air.
Sun Nov 2
Trek's first post injury Rally Fun Match (in Fairfield hosted by Vallejo DTC).
Two runs, both Excellent level. Nice challenging course done by Joan Constantine.
Fortunately, it was on the baseball infield dirt and not grass.
Run 1- No discernible limp! Completely distracted and sniffing, but
better when I put the leash on for a short while, attention completely
stolen by the "distraction" food bowls on the figure 8. Her Stand from a
sit or from a heel is great, jumping didn't seem to
bother her.
Run 2 - More tired now. Better attention, better heeling, but a slight
limp. Still distracted by the food bowls, so going to have to work on
that.
Surprising nice things are:
- Stand from a stop or heeling.
Judge is like "She can do a standing stop just by saying Stop?" I say "Yes, with a hand signal too. She does herding."
- Trek can pivot for real now, sliding her butt. She used to stand back up.
Trek does tire easily though and I'm trying to figure out if more rest or more exercise will help.
Yoshi long walk in Washington Park He loved it. We ran around a lot and
he did a lot of sniffing a rolling. The park is right on the water and
the smells are very nice indeed (to him).
Sat Nov 1
Trek is going to a Rally Fun match tomorrow so I'm trying not to tire her out too much.
Emily was asking if Trek gets tired more easily now, I didn't know but Terri said "Yes, she does."
Fri Oct 31
It's Halloween and 200-300 children come visiting. (Yes, we counted one year).
It's like a 3 hour flash mob.
Dogs will likely be crated in the back.
5:00pm Did a quick walk with Yoshi amongst the youngest ghouls. Right
out of the door he was barking at a costumed group right outside, but he
got used to everything once he figured out they were people. He's
amazingly good around chaos when he doesn't feel threatened.
[after]
They survived. Sometimes I bring Trek out but the numbers are getting to be a bit overwhelming for a dog.
Thu Oct 30
Uneventful noontime walk for Yoshi.
Water treadmill session for Trek. She finally is getting it, but she
isn't really enjoying it. PT is hard. Walking in water is hard. AND
she's doing better which is really encouraging giving she was hobbling
yesterday, but she was walking mostly fine. Emily doesn't think her
funny walk reads as a limp, but wants to defer to someone else. I might
have Wendy Wallace take a look at her since Wendy does obedience
competition too.
Wed Oct 29
Noon time. Dogs charged all around the yard, so when I took Trek on a
walk she was hobbling after two blocks and I turned around.
Yoshi evening walk. He dragged me down the sidewalk running for the
first block, so we went over to the park and ran the length of it once
but he was mostly walking by the return bit. Then on Santa Clara we
nearly ran smack into four dogs at a corner. Fortunately I saw them
before he did and 180'ed. With Yoshi trying to angle his head to see
what he missed. By the time he saw them we we 1/2 a house away and he
didn't react (neither did the other dogs fortunately.)
Tue Oct 28
Noon time walk for Trek, Again full length. No whistle drama from Tara
the crossing guard so Trek is ok with walking past that corner. I can
tell she's not ready to start competing but she'll go to class at
Fremont tonight.
Yoshi walk. On our street he saw an American Eskimo. He's been doing so
well I decided to up the ante. I told him to sit and with effort got him
seated facing away from the dog who was being a little reactive. It
finally worked and he held the sit. then on Santa Clara there was a Lab
sniffing around and I had him sit until the Lab was ready to move on.
This part worked great and we followed them without incident.
Trek went to Rally class in Fremont. We're a little rusty after 10
months and it was our first time there, but she did ok in the building
(no one put up any noisy jumps though she didn't like the crate that
someone put a dog in). We got two runs on the course and the second one
was much better than the first. Did both runs on leash. Only four other
dogs in the class this time. This training place is only 30 minutes away
without traffic - with traffic it's more like 45 min.
Mon Oct 27
Full length walk for Trek. She's ready to start training if not quite yet ready for competing.
Yoshi walk. We wound up parallel walking down our street with a Bernese
Mountain Dog. some bristling of both dogs then they all chilled out.
Sun Oct 26
We went over to Washington Park in Alameda so Trek could work on
walking in sand. We did that and then formerly injured doggy dragged me
around the park with me running behind to keep up. No more shortened
walks for her. Maybe she needs the bike, but the running is good for me.
Yoshi regular walk. Went a bit longer and had to steer around a smooth
coated, curly tailed terrier thing but other wise uneventful.
Sat Oct 25
Got Trek out in the yard with the jump. She gets tired after about
6-8 jumps with heeling, but she loves it and isn't having any trouble
with footing and this in my uneven backyard. If I stick to just indoors
then she should be ok footing wise though she won't like the noise
level. BUT she doesn't have to do a long stay.
Yoshi walk over at Krusi Park. He loves that park. He's more comfortable
there than anywhere else big wide sight lines. Did two circuits around
it had a dog semi approaching us and it didn't bother him at all. Got
him back to the house and he was immediately tense and scanning and
barking at nothing.
Trek walk over at Bay Farm. she wanted to go down to the water (it was
low tide), so we found a way down the sea wall and let her stand in the
water. Of course then I had to carry her up it which was a little bit of
a challenge but it worked out ok. Did some rally work up on the path
too.
Fri Oct 24
Yoshi got the morning walk today. Mornings are kind of fun as there
is a lot of activity but it's mostly human. We didn't see any dogs which
is a little unusual. Met Tara the crossing guard and I explained to her
that Trek didn't like the whistle. She said just wave to her and she
won't blow it as there are other dogs that don't like it either.
Trek did a longer walk today (more like the normal walk length.) She is
ready to start training again though I think she might keep the head
bob.
Thu Oct 23
Trek got a morning walk as a practice for after the time changes.
What's fun about the morning is completely different things are going
on. They're changing the light bulbs in our historic street lamps which
requires a medium sized truck with a cherry picker lift. We were able to
slip by before it starting doing anything terribly unusual but it was
lifting someone and Trek coped ok.
Yoshi walk. Since I didn't have to walk Trek we had a little more time.
Went over to Lincoln Park and did some Rally heeling for a while in
front. The front is more distracting for him which made it a good
challenge. He still is a swivel head, but not dramatically so. His
heeling is mostly fine and his sits and backing up. He doesn't quite get
the pivot, but we haven't worked on it much. Then we walked to the back
and looked at several dogs of various sizes wandering by. No outbursts
though I did move behind the chainlink fence that divides the park from a
small parking lot which gave us a little more lateral space.
Wed Oct 22
Yoshi walk. We wound up parallel walking with a Bernese Mountain Dog
down our street. Usually he's at his worst right out of the house but I
put a little tension on the leash and he growled and then focused back
on me. I rewarded him. He (and other other dog stayed on higher alert
for the half block), but it was generally successful.
Trek walk. Mostly average.
Tue Oct 21
Yoshi walk. I put on the waist belt and put that leash on his
harness and took him over to Lincoln Park and ran him some. He got tired
pretty quick but it was good exercise for him.
Normal Trek walk around on Santa Clara. I don't think she's going to get PT this week because of my work schedule.
Need to teach her to raise a back foot in the air.
Mon Oct 20
Basic walks for both dogs. In the next two weeks I really have to
hustle to get both dogs walked by sundown. The time changes Nov 2nd and
then I switch to morning/noon walks.
Sun Oct 19
Cathy and I are going down to the last day of USDAA Nationals to watch the finals. Terri will be back so she can watch doggies.
Sat Oct 18
I was doing an electrical project so I had the dogs out in the yard
for a lot of the day which they liked but wanted to come in to get a
proper afternoon nap.
Longer walk for Yoshi. Avoided one dog on Lincoln by hiding behind a
parked car. He saw a dog on Central that I didn't see till later. I
didn't know there was a dog there except for him looking at me for a
reward.
Trek got a longer walk too because I forgot to turn off for her shorter
walk, but she was enthusiastic and didn't mind going longer.
She's tripping more in the house which is a concern but she was outside
for so much of the day and that might have been a factor.
I'm supposed to teach Trek to raise her back leg. Tried once and got nowhere.
Fri Oct 17
Trek saw Dr. Friedman her eye doctor. Trek's tear rate has improved for the first time in years (well it was ok last visit too).
The value was 15 for that eye and that's right around low normal.
Their compounding pharmacy will send us more doxycycline - it's so inexpensive from them - $45.
I then went down to Morgan Hill to watch USDAA Nationals. It was fun to
see, but you needed to have a wristband to get back into the competitor
area. I finally crashed the gate on the end and now I hear that someone
with a wristband can get people in.
Spent time talking about agility to spectators and met Gigi and Jema a
Caveler. Gigi is a student of Anne Platt's in San Diego/Escondido.
Jammed in a walk for Yoshi when I got back.
Wed Oct 15
Trek sees Ziji today at 7pm at Sharon's. Yoshi's walk will have to be quick before that as I have to leave around 5:45-6pm.
Tue Oct 14
Yoshi walk through the Fernside. This neighborhood is in such
contrast with the lively bustle of other other blocks that teem with
life (while not being crowded). The Fernside is like either being in a
dollhouse model or a diarama - I can't decide. But it makes for peaceful
walks.
Trek usual to Santa Clara. On the way back I was trying to see if I could see any rear end wobbling but I can't from behind.
Mon Oct 13
Days are getting shorter so I have to hustle to get the dogs walked
if I don't leave work right on time. Fairly peaceful day for both dogs.
Sun Oct 12
Terri was nice enough to walk the dogs today since I was busy cooking and doing some yardwork.
Yoshi had a small explosion just down the street that I walked down to
try to help with, but she had it mostly contained. No cars to hide
behind and a dog barking at him across out street near his house. She
said the rest of the walk was fine.
Trek walk. I was working in the driveway and Trek didn't want to leave
on a walk with me there. Terri got her to go about a block but she was
just looking for things to eat, so they came back.
Fri Oct 10
Linda and I and my coworker Ron (who will be translating) will be
taking herding instructor/competitor Jean-Michel Jolly and his wife
Laurence to Monterey on a day trip tomorrow, so no dog walks.
[Later] It was a fun trip and Terri was nice enough to give the dogs a quick walk.
Thu Oct 9
Yoshi walk. We went a house width down a side street while we
waiting to figure out which way a small dog was going to walk. They
actually turned down the same street but on the other side so we were
able to walk back to where we were going without incident.
Trek walk. On Santa Clara we did some rally and the I started
working on her side step left. Tried doing side step right but it's
harder when I'm pulling away from her and I wasn't mentally with it
enough to put her on my right side. Ah well, next time.
Wed Oct 8
Krusi Park for Yoshi. Steered around a couple of dogs, but he paid no attention. Smells are tooo good.
Trek to the school playground to do some much wanted Rally work. She did
mostly ok, lots of tripping since we worked a lot on the counter
clockwise circle that makes her use her bad leg pretty
intensively. Then a walk around the perimeter.
Tue Oct 7
Basic walks for both dogs. Minor dog sightings, but that's it.
Trek is bugging me to do more Rally. We did some but we should go over to the school and work on the playground.
Trek's DM test kit hasn't come in yet.
Mon Oct 7
It was getting dark so a quick walk down and back up our long block.
Crossed the street for a beagle and partially hid behind a trashcan to
let them go by.
Sun Oct 6
Today was the Jean-Michel Jolly herding clinic
He's an excellent herding handler and I actually with I had brought
Yoshi and I'm sure he would have gotten through Yoshi's thick skull
about stopping.
Both Jean-Michel and his wife Laurence were there and I was not completely lost.
Laurence later asked me if I had a dog and I was able to say
Ma chienne est un Corgi
Elle n’aime pas les moutons
and then I muttered something and then said canards.
i should have said Elle aime les canards.
The best part was getting more goats out and shouting “Combien?” across
the arena to Christine who answered (in English) four more. I never
shout in French as I’m concentrating too much.
Dogs had a relaxing day with Terri.
Sat Oct 4
Yoshi bike ride in Washington Park. It was hot today so he mostly wanted
to sniff and roll but I got him to run along some and get tired. We
were stopped on a path and I wasn't looking and he charged at a Shiba
Inu, but I dragged him back once I untangled myself and the Shiba walked
by without further incident.
Now back in the cool house he's bouncing around again. He didn't get a walk yesterday and I'm paying for it I think.
I asked Trek if she wanted to spend the day at the herding clinic with four Beaucerons and she said no.
Fri Oct 3
Trek is going for her 3rd water treadmill PT session today.
She did better than last time but still is struggling some. Her second
neurologist noticed a very slight slowness in her fixing her right rear
leg and it shows up in the water with her butt angled off to the right.
It doesn't show up on the ground. After some discussion I decided to be
brave an get her genetically tested for DM vulnerability.
I ordered her test from OFFA this evening.
Thu Oct 2
This is an excellent video that traces the human thinking on dominance
theory. Sophia Yin and many others is featured in it. the dominance
theory is a gigantic mistake that really shouldn't have been published.
There is really no such thing as a Alpha Dog.
http://youtu.be/OIjMBfhyNDE
Quiet walks for both dogs because it's what I needed.
For Yoshi we just hid behind a parked car twice while another dog walked
by going the other way. It was fortunate as one of the dogs was
reactive. Two others were in the distance and didn't really matter.
Wed Oct 1
Krusi Park for Yoshi. The ball fields are really nice for rally
exercises. there were some other dogs running around, but they didn't
seem to bother him much.
Short stroll for Trek
Tue Sep 30
This was a terrible day for the dog community. Dr. Sophia Yin
passed away yesterday and we're now getting more details. Google her
name to learn more. I am shocked and pretty devastated. I never did pay
the $350 for a consult with her as I was pretty dog/Yoshi fluent at the
time. She did so much to promote humane handling of dogs at the vet and
at other places. Her legacy will not be forgotten. Google her name. She has over 100 videos on You Tube.
I couldn't deal with Yoshi so Trek and I went on a nice long walk by the
water at Bay Farm. She took in some great smells and the dirt walk way
is very flat and ideal for her walking, and we got to watch the ferry
come in and leave.
Mon Sep 29
Yoshi starting barking and growling right away at the Border Collie
who was walking by past our house. I shook him and told him to knock it
off since it was completely unjustified. It only sort of worked.
Ironically he did well with some other encounters including one where
two barky dogs emerged out their front door and their owner hadn't
appeared yet. I could tell they were on leash but experience tells me
that he doesn't see leashes or understand them unless they're attached
to him so i was kind of shocked when he kept walking by them without a
reaction and them barking at him the whole time.
Trek short walk on Johnson to deliver some misdelivered mail. She was hesitant to climb the stairs of the other house.
Sun Sep 28
Yoshi walk in Washington Park. Lots of great smells and we weaved
around a lot of parties and some with dogs but no drama at all. We
walked past te dog park and he watched dogs run by and then looked to me
for a reward.
Trek walk around on Santa Clara. She's walking well but having some trouble walking in the house.
Sat Sep 27
Yoshi walk to Lincoln Park, there was a lot of activity there and he did fine. Basic walk for Trek.
Fri Sep 26
It's our anniversary and the tough are going zip-lining through the
redwoods, and Jen will be letting the dogs out at noonish. Later Jen
says they did great.
Thu Sep 25
It's raining! This is excellent news for drought encompassed
California. Metrosexual Yoshi with the beautiful plush coat hates the
rain. We tease him that he can't tell it's raining except for his wet
toes and nose.
Rain cleared out and regular walks for both dogs.
Wed Sept 24
Usual walks this time Yoshi had to stop to wait for a dog to pass. I
don't think he'll ever do that on his own, he needed the light leash
tighten cue. His impulse it to charge up to make something weird or
scary go away
Trek walk, we had a small to medium size white reactive dog walk towards
us, so we walked a short way up a driveway and Trek sat facing away
from the sideway (a calming signal for a clued in dog) while the other
dog went by with his owner dragging him and scolding him in a language
that I fortunately didn't know.
Tue Sep 23
Yoshi different walk through the Fernside. Trek went with me to
deliver an errant piece of mail then we wandered up to Central and then
back around.
Mon Sep 22
Yoshi to Bay Farm for a nice bluff walk. Basic walk for Trek.
It's funny, if I get Yoshi on a street walk further away from his usual
haunts all he wants to do it sniff. Further afield or on his usual walk
he'll just walk more.
Trek on the other hand only want to sniff on her usual walks for the first half of it.
Sun Sep 21
Basic walks for both dogs. Yoshi went through the Fernside along the Woods streets.
Sat Sep 20
Walk for Yoshi along the Marina village Marina and then we went to a
boat show. His first time on a floating dock and he did great.
Trek to Krusi park where she rolled and rolled and we ran some
Fri Sep 19
Today is Trek's first water treadmill PT day. She often doesn't
appreciate the situations I drag her into and this isn't going to help
her thinking even if she gets lots of cheese.
She did surprisingly fine I took video and it was good to be able to watch her walk in the water.
Thu Sep 18
Took Yoshi on a longer walk to try to get him more exercise but in
the area where he usually doesn't go all he wanted to do was take in all
the new smells which seemed counter productive.
Trek just went on a usual walk
Did some living room rally work as PT for Trek.
Also started to teach her roll over with a clicker. She sort of knows it which means that we've done this before.
Wed Sep 17
Basic walks for both dogs.
Mon Sep 15
Met Steve who was walking Max the Pembroke. Max has gained so much
weight I didn't recognize him. Max was happy to see me. The Corgis in
the area like my property probably because it smells right to them.
Slightly longer walk for Yoshi. Some distant dog sightings but nothing
too challenging and then I nearly walked us into an approaching dog.
U-turned immediately and Yoshi didn't react probably because he hadn't
quite registered that what was 1/2 a house away was an approaching dog
on a leash.
Trek walk. She's begging to do more rally. We did some just on the walk,
but we should go over to the school and work on the blacktop.
Weighed the dogs. Yoshi at 22 pounds is a pound over and Trek at 21 pounds is 1/2 pound under.
Sun Sep 14
Walk for Yoshi, Some distant passing dogs - no issues and he did
great. And he got a lot of practice stepping off the side walk to let
people pass.
Trek walk. Round Santa Clara. Here limp seems a little better.
Sat Sep 13
Krusi Park for Yoshi. We steered around one dog that he never saw
and walked past a Collie that was running past us in the other direction
about fifty feet away. I did tighten the leash to give him a signal to
look back at me and it worked fine. With out the signal he would have
likely barked at the dog but probably not in a hostile way.
Walk for Trek around Santa Clara which is probably a good distance for her.
Put some tape on her good foot to get her to use the injured one more.
It worked sort of ok briefly then she got used to the tape.
I think one way to work on it is to thread a leash from her collar to
underneath her good leg which will make her lift that leg up more.
Fri Sep 12
Basic walk for Yoshi. He was happy to get out. No dogs at all.
Since Trek had to be tired from yesterday we just went down and up 3 blocks of our street.
Thu Sep 11
I worked a little late today, and I wanted to give Trek a longer walk so no walk for Yoshi and he seems fine about it.
Took Trek to the small dog park to give her some practice on uneven
surfaces. She didn't like the dogs trying to get in her face (and there
were only three but one was insistant. I would up picking her up to get
her away from one persistent little white fluffy dog. After one circuit
in mostly sand she'd had enough so we exited the park and walked a fair
ways over to the water. I assumed that I was going to be carrying her
part of the way back but she did ok but now this evening she's pretty
tired. She does best on ground that is slightly hard packed which
Washington Park definitely has sections of.
Wed Sep 10
Both dogs got walked around the school separately. I specifically
brought Trek there, so that a hesitant young girl could say hello to
her. Both dogs love the smells in the grass there and they didn't find
anything bad for them either.
Trek continues to bug me to do more Rally training.
Tue Sep 9
Advantix and Heartguard today.
No walk for Yoshi, but Trek go to go see Ziji at Sharon's.
Ziji says that Trek is doing on but now needs specific exercises to make
her use her foot.
Mon Sep 8
Yoshi and I went a slightly different way. The Border Collie crossed our path and he barked at him/her
(without much rankor) and the owner which seemed unfair as the dog
wasn't looking at him or going towards him. We were within one house
length.
Trek is campaigning big time to get more Rally training, so we did some.
Sun Sep 7
Yoshi to Krusi park. We did one circuit of the baseball fields and
the tennis courts, but didn't do another as there was a couple of off
leash dogs. We then did a look through a couple of the neighborhood
blocks as it's a quiet neighborhood. He walked right past a dog putting
his nose completely under the fence, but it was obvious that was as far
as he was going and Yoshi didn't react.
Trek walk. I had intended for us to go over to the school, but when we
got over there it was a little noisy, so I let her turn off in the other
direction and we did a loop around some of the blocks.
I did both dogs nails. I have another Dremel on order that will come in Mon or Tues.
I need to do heartguard and advantage for them for this month.
Sat Sep 6
I took Yoshi on a sort of park tour. We first stopped at
Rittler Park which is beside Wood Middle School on Otis and Grand and we
watched soccer for a little while. I'm noticing that he doesn't pay
attention to things that are more than 150 feet away. I don't know if
this is new or not. He scans for things that are closer than that. So we
went over to Washington Park thinking that we'd watch stuff going on at
the top of the park but wound up parking beside the dog park so we
walked around half of that. He will watch a running dog 120+ feet away,
but further than that he doesn't much pay attention to. He very much has
a range where he cares and past that it's not a worry.
Trek went over to Krusi Park for the first time. We walked a circuit of
the baseball fields then over to the tennis courts and then we came
back. She was ok on the grass for a while, but then kept wanting to walk
on the hardscape. She is ok on asphalt which is better than it was when
she had to be on a side walk.
Fri Sep 5
I worked late so jammed a walk in for both dogs at dusk. With Yoshi I
chose to avoid dog sightings entirely by hiding behind cars until the
other dog had passed and then on Central we U-turned entirely from an
approaching dog and headed back home.
Thu Sep 4
I had to work late and also get my hair cut, so walk time was much
shorter. Yoshi just went down our long 3 blocks and back. Trek got to
rest.
Wed Sep 3
Yoshi walk into Lincoln Park, no real demands and he enjoyed the great smells.
Crossing the street another dog appeared on the other side of the street
and we angled out of the crosswalk. Yoshi growled and barked but it was
nothing compared to the other dog so he was a relatively good boy.
Trek short walk down and around Santa Clara.
Tue Sep 2
Basic walk for Yoshi, shortened walk for Trek.
Trek needs to start PT again.
Mon Sep 1
Yoshi and I went to Krusi Park which he loves.
Trek is hobbling, so we just walked down the block and back.
Sun Aug 31
This time it was Yoshi's turn to walk around the school. Twice we
stopped early to let some smaller dogs cross our page. No incidents.
This is the one thing I don't think I'll be able to teach him. To
disengage as a way to stop his stress. He wants to charge in to make
something go away.
Longer walk for Trek. She did a full length walk and at the end was
hobbling more, but she was hungry and wanting dinner, so still dragged
me home. I need to remember to have her wear the harness for these.
Sat Aug 30
I drove down to Prunedale to watch the West Coast Regional. It was
fun to watch Steeplechase. International course handling has made the
blind cross more popular.
Trek got a longer walk this time. We went around the school as their
sidewalks are nice and smooth. Trek is supposed to be working on uneven
surfaces but she gets tired more quickly so this makes for a nice
variety.
Yoshi walk. While standing on the drive way two dogs went by which upset
him. We backed off and I told him he was being silly but it didn't help
that one of the obviously very friendly dogs wanted to walk up the
driveway. Yoshi didn't like this idea at all and the owner quickly
encouraged Bowser to walk on. On Central he successfully watched a small
dog walk by with us playing a cued version of Look At That which is the
way that the game's creator does it. She tells doggy to look at
something and then doggy looks back to her for a reward. Yoshi was able
to do this flawlessly this time.
Fri Aug 29
Yoshi walk. Nearly ran into Maverick the golden but we stopped a
house before his house. Yoshi barked so we backed off just a little more
and he was fine. Mav went in his house and we moved on only to have the
hound dog that we've seen before walk by on the other side of the
street. This one was no problem at all. Good boy Yoshi.
Thu Aug 28
Walk through the Fernside for Yoshi. It's so quiet over there that's
it's almost unsettling. It must be the curving streets that makes the
traffic all go away but there is a lack of children playing and people
just walking around.
Trek walk went fine. I should consider walking her in other places now.
Wed Aug 27
Took Yoshi to the school and did some obedience work on the playground.
Ran across the very pale yellow (essentially white), very friendly lab that walks slowly around with his owner.
I always assumed the dog was 12-14, but he's only 9 but overweight and probably has a joint issue.
He came over and Yoshi objected so I just picked Yoshi up while he
barked and I would occasionally blow on him telling him he was being
silly and that the dog was obviously friendly. Dummy, if a slow
human can tell a dog is friendly then he should be able to.
Trek walk. She's doing ok.
Tue Aug 26
Yoshi to Krusi Park. He really likes the long sightlines of the ball
practice field. There are 4 baseball/softball fields and tennis courts
and a kids playground, and really good smells. He really likes it. I
should take him there at least once a week.
Trek walk - struggling a little but ok.
Mon Aug 25
Basic walks for both dogs.
Sun Aug 24
They're still really tire from "camp." Gave the dogs the day off.
Sat Aug 23
Michaelle brought the dogs back from being boarded at her place in a
truck which I call their limo. It was nice that she could just drop them
off on the way to her daughter's gymnastics tournaments in Rancho
Cordova. She said they had a great time and ran around and around and
around in Pescadero.
They must have completely thrashed themselves as they have been flat all
day long. This is the first time they've been boarded together and they
seem completely happy. Not that cheap, but such a difference. It's like they've been at camp.
Thu Aug 14
Yoshi walk. He did very well parallel walking with a Beagle across
the street that we had chased down. They even stopped and crossed the
street coming towards us, but across the street. No issue at all though
he watched the dog.
So I didn't worry too much when I saw a familiar Border Collie coming
towards us right at us. I just stepped on to a neighbor's lawn to let
the dog pass, but I hadn't taken great pains to be very far away since
he usually is fine with Border Collies, so we were more like ten feet.
Apparently that is where Yoshi's bubble is for an approaching unknown
dog. Yoshi barked excitedly, the other dog thinking play time started to
bounce. Yoshi started to try to lunge barking and mildly swearing and I
picked him up by the harness which he wears for these exact situations
as it's a lot more secure to grab a harness than a collar even though
his leash is actually connected to his collar. The BC bounced on by and
Yoshi got carried for a while until he chilled out.
In hindsight, if I had gotten another 5-10' away it likely would have been ok. I have to remember that while he's highly aware that
a dog behind a fence or window can't get to him, he doesn't really see
leashes. I think he just sees a loose dog walking with a person.
Trek walk. About the same I think.
Wed Aug 13
Trek to Ziji
Ziji showed me some pressure releases I can do on her neck.
Tue Aug 12
Trek to UC Davis. I will post a much longer report.
Mon Aug 11
Basic walks for both dogs.
Sun Aug 10
Basic walks for both dogs.
Fri Aug 8
I went by myself to help Linda move equipment over to Vicky's place
which is very nice and hopefully we'll be able to work ducks there once
they figure out logistics.
Thu Aug 7
Yoshi walk. We went to Krusi Park and wandered around steered around
some dogs. Watched humans play tennis and softball and another dog play
fetch. He had a nice time. At first he didn't like the off-leash
fetching dog, but they were running right at us. We we moved to watching
them from the side and on the other side of a fence he was much
better. I'd love to take him on the walking path beside the Point
Isabel dog park because it's separated off by a fence, but there is
usually one or two dogs walking along it and there's no where to go
laterally - I would have to pick him up.
Trek walk. Went down Gibbons the other way, but she mostly wanted to
sniff and I had to encourage her to walk some, that said her limp is
better.
Wed Aug 6
Stood on his lawn and barked at a slow moving dog across the street.
I told him to stop if and he sort of did. I think it was because he was
on his lawn. Later one we moved onto a side street waiting for a dog to
pass and they turned the corner and headed straight towards us but we
were able to cross the stree without incident. This was a very small
brown dog and I think this has happened before. Crossed the street and
passed somethng that was the size of a Boston Terrier but had a pointier
muzzle. No reaction from Yoshi.
Trek walk. We went the other way this time which involved less sniffing of fertilizer.
Tue Aug 5
It rained a little on us which was nice.
Took Yoshi on a slightly different way than the ways we usually go, which had smells he appreciated. No dogs at all.
Trek usual walk. She's being very sniffy at some fertilizer, so I might vary the route now.
Mon Aug 4
Basic walks for both dogs. No drama at all.
Just found out that Linda isn't going to be continuing herding at
Woodside so I'll go down on Friday to help with loading stock and say
good bye. I think once she gets more ducks that we'll be either in
Pacifica or Paicines. I could continue to talk Yoshi to Woodside to
practice but I had decided that I wanted him to retire to ducks so he
doesn't get into any more goat arguments.
Sun Aug 3
Yoshi walk. We went over to the school looking for dogs. Did a
little obedience work on the school grounds then sat and watched three
different dogs go by without incident. He's really turned a corner in
this. Look at the dog. Look back to me for a treat. It's almost easy for
him now.
Trek's walk started off way slow and all she wanted to do was sniff
so I switched the lead from her harness to her collar and she came right
along. On the last block before the house I switched it back over to
the harness so she could pull some.
Wendy wants Trek to learn to do a high five with her paw. Sound like a clicker job to me.
Sat Aug 2
Dog walks. No dogs at all which was unusual. Massaging Trek's
leg before we start seems to help prevent the initial limping.
Fri Aug 1
Yoshi walk. Uneventul until we were nearly home. Then a Boxer mix who
lives on my street was walking on the other side of the street. he was
able to watch a Boxer mix slowly
walk by on the other side of the street. He would look at the dog
and then look back to me, sometimes I'd give him a treat, and
repeat. He was great.
Yoshi is much
less reactive these days and I think I only get part of the credit.
Getting him out of the obedience and agility environment where there
is so much bustle to watch and over to herding where there is much
less activity has made a difference, years of look and a dog and
then look back at me to get a reward certainly help, but age has to
be a factor too though he still loves screaming at passing dogs in
the front window if I let him up there.
Trek usual 1/2 mile walk. She's hobbling more so she needs more massage on that leg.
Thu Jul 31
I
asked Trek's breeder Kathleen what the DM status of her (Trek's) parents
was. Both were Carriers (one bad gene, one good one), so that means
there's a 75% chance that Trek is not At Risk. Eventually, I'll have her
tested. Still waiting for OFA to send me Yoshi's test kit.
[fill in]
Wed Jul 30
Yoshi walk through the Fernside which usually has few dogs. This time I
nearly walked right into a Rottie being slowly walked. Fortunately there
were no cars around so we could easily cross the street. Then down High
St there were two instances of a approaching dog with no where for me
to go except to pick up up and walk up a driveway but in both cases the
approaching dog and people turned off before getting to us. So
remarkably no drama.
Earlier today Trek went to see Wendy Wallace who worked a fair bit on
her leg and back. She says that she is still seeing improvement, but
there is still some atrophy in her left shoulder (it's a dent) but the
leg and the head are much better. She said that if the nerve was cut
there would be no muscle in the shoulder and there is still some there
so Trek is still improving but it takes a long time.
I didn't realize it but Four Seasons also has 24 hour emergency care which makes it closer than Sage.
Bavs is the closest though.
Trek had a short walk later and was ok.
[behind - catching up]
Thu Jul 24
Went down some of the Fernside streets we don't usually go to which was
fun for me and fine for him. Lots of little dogs barking from their
houses and yards which doesn't bother him at all. I find it remarkable
that he can tell that a dog barking from behind a fence or inside a
house is no threat, but he can't tell that a dog on a leash is ok. I
don't think he sees the leash.
Trek walk. She's walking better today I think it's partially because I
spent some time trying to loosen up her shoulder and elbow.
The muscle on her leg has returned but she still needs more shoulder muscle as she's not holding her leg straight.
She's going to see Wendy Wallace on Wed July 30 and Ziji Wed Aug 13 which is the day after she goes to UC Davis on Aug 12.
Wed Jul 23
Yoshi walk. We went over to the front part of the park and walked around
and he enjoyed all the smells and we did a little obedience work. He
would actually be ok in obedience class right now but I don't think he'd
enjoy it. Back on the street a smallish scruffy dog went by with no
objection from Yoshi.
Trek walk. I think we're now going to stick to the reverse basic walk
for now as I can see her progress with the same walk each day boring as
it is. She really hobbles the first few blocks then hits a stride, but
gets tired near the end. I might try shortening it more as she's pretty
tired right now. She's in the living room listening to Cirque du Soleil
all by herself. I have it on, she comes in, I eventually leave (but
leave it playing) and she stays there. Maybe I should play it instead of
KFOG. Though I'd have to leave the computer on as there isn't a cd
changer in the back or I could unplug the computer speakers and just
plug in the ipod but I like having one with me during the day. These
high tech dogs.
Sage is assembling Trek's CT Scan and X-ray and will print out her stack
of records for me to bring to UC Davis. I actually have the CT and the
MRI somewhere but don't have the MRI or the records so I will go get
them at Concord when it's ready.
They called later to say they're ready. I'll see if I can pick them up on Sunday.
Looking more carefully at Trek's leg I see that it's turned inward
again. I spent sometime to see if I could get it looser. She's not
entirely happy when I rotate her leg, but it seems better.
Tue Jul 22
Yoshi walk. This time we went over to the school but didn't go around
but instead cut back through the Fernside. A longer walk would take us
over to High St. but we just looped back this time after some wandering
and avoiding one dog being walked by a kid over on Northwood. We also
watched a small to medium dog run by with his family. they were only about 25 feet away so it was a challenge but he did it.
Trek walk. We went the way I usually go. She usually wants to go in the
reverse direction but it's all the same except that the hard uneven
street is at the end which is a little harder for her. She limped the
whole way this time so I think she needs to see a chiropracter and Ziji
is out this month so I'll take her to Dr. Carpenter in Walnut Creek. I
need to massage her more too.
Called
UC Davis and after a lengthy conversation with coordinator Christy
Chessman scheduled an appt for her for Tues afternoon Aug 12 at 2pm. She
is going to make sure all the necessary nerve conduction testing toys
will be there. She is going to contact Sage for her records. I warned
her they were around 50 pages now.
Mon Jul 21
Yoshi basic walk but we had a German Shepherd and a small-med brown Lab dog
pass us on the other side and he sat and watched them go by. Good
boy.
Trek walk. She struggled for the first part of the walk but I'm
realizing that she improves as she goes so we went the full length. She
was never perfect but loosened up as she went.
I have to decide whether to put her back into PT right now - might wait
till Terri is back. Trek could at least see their chiropractor as Ziji
is on the East Coast for July. I'm thinking it might be time for the
underwater treadmill. I might also consult with Scout's House depending
on how much it is. If it's too much I'll just put it into treadmill
sessions which are just over $50 a shot.
Sun Jul 20
Yoshi walk through the Fernside. On High St we waited for a couple of
dogs to approach and then turn down the street between us. It was far
enough away that Yoshi didn't stress about it.
Average length walk for Trek.
Sat Jul 19
Yoshi walk. I'm crossing the busier streets so we went on a longer walk.
Crossed a quiet street for a fast approaching American Eskimo Dog. No
issues.
Trek walk. I'm back to just doing normal walks for her and she's coping
ok. She gets better the further we go (up to a point), so I'm just going
to try to do regular walks from now one and try to treat her like a
normal dog.
She's been turned back to PT and I have to decide what is best for her. I'm not sure.
Fri Jul 18
Regular walk for Yoshi. Dogs across the street are becoming no
issue. A young happy lab didn't get a reaction at all and in the past it
would have.
Trek walk. Went down Fountain for variety, her walking is better.
Thu Jul 17
Trek's Gabapentin has kicked in and she charged around the yard at 5pm with Yoshi, pouncing on him from time to time.
Facebook status:
We
put Trek back on Gabapentin after the consult with Dr. Vitale on Tues
pm. It's Thur pm and Trek is gleefully *charging* around yard with Yoshi
using her 3 and 3/4 legs in whatever way works.
I (and everyone else) don't know what it does for her, but the difference is so dramatic and I've seen it twice now.
Trek has no obvious pain response in her leg when the neuro tests it, but something about the
nerve feels weird to her (pins and needles, other sensations) and the
Gabapentin damps that down.
-----------
Took Yoshi on a different walk. We went across High St which we almost
never do because of traffic but there was a nice break and we went down
Garfield and then back through the park and back home. Remarkably we saw
no dogs at all and it was a nice walk.
Trek, of course, completely over did it in the yard and is hobbling
around. We went down to the corner and turned around, tried to go the
other way past the house and gave up. She'll probably be fine tomorrow.
Wed Jul 16
Regular walks for the dogs. Just a couple of dogs across the street that didn't cause any issue at all.
Tue Jul 15
Appt with Dr. Vitale at Sage Campbell.
Well no rock solid answers, of course, but it was good to go through the
reexam. Trek does not have an FCE as that definitely shows up in
the MRIs, she could have had a small stroke and that would only be
detectable with an ultrasound to view bloodflow and maybe not now as the
clot could have already dissolved.
Trek does not appear to have a tumor (brain or otherwise) as she is not
getting worse and appears to be getting better. The nerves that control
her eye blink are still affected so there are still two different issues
but her eye blink has been a problem for most of her life so that might
be a separate issue though the eye blink itself has been getting worse
as opposed to just her eye tears. The trigeminal nerve in her
head is what controls the facial muscles. Given that she not longer
shows facial asymmetry that injury appears to have recovered.
"She is also showing a decreased ability
to blink the left eye, which is a function that is controlled by a
different nerve, it is called the facial nerve. This could also be due
to an idiopathic syndrome or possibly a stroke/clot. Whenever we see
abnormal function of a cranial nerve in an older
dog we do worry about a nerve or brain tumor, but the fact that Trek's
signs have not worsened does make this much less likely (still cannot
rule out without an MRI)."
Also low thyroid function has been associated with cranial
nerve deficits. Trek does
not show any of the classic clinical signs for this metabolic
condition, but it is easy to rule out and very treatable so we did test
for this today.
The leg muscle is improving but her motor control of it is still not
good. Further PT may be of help, but nerves grow a millimeter a day so
it's likely regrown as much as it's going to, but other nerves might
take over. She is deferring to Dr. Troy as for the details of the PT.
It's fine to put her back on Gabapetin as it's a safe medication to use
long term. On examination, Trek does not appear to be in pain, yet the
Gabapentin does appear to help her (it is useful with nerve pain), but
she might be getting other sensations pin and needles sensations and
Gabapentin would help with that.
I have emailed Dr. Vitale to see if she thinks if doing an ultrasound of
her upper leg would help at all. It's not invasive and doesn't require
sedation, but it would mean a shaved upper leg which would look pretty
sad.
She replied:
An ultrasound is definitely noninvasive, however I think that this far out the odds that we would still see remnants of a clot are probably slim (maybe less than 25%). I would definitely have a board certified radiologist do it (they are the best at looking for these). The cost of doing this through our hospital is about $550.
Yoshi walk. We went to Krusi Park which is becoming clear that he really
enjoys. Very long sight lines, the dogs there don't bother him and
great smells. We even walked past some off leash dogs playing and he
didn't have any issues. Eventually a dog will come up to him but we're
far enough away that I would have time to pick him up.
Trek. From now on unless she's really beat she's going to be doing full length walks, and this one was fine.
We started her back on Gabapentin. 100mg 2x/day
Mon Jul 14
Basic walk for Yoshi. Very short walk for Trek as I didn't want to tire her out too much for her exam tomorrow.
Sun Jul 13
Terri stayed home with the dogs and had a quiet day, I later walked
Yoshi. We only saw one small short brown fur dog at the corner with his
family. We waited about a long house width away for them to cross the
street. That dog saw us and started to bark (with his family trying to
shoosh him), but wasn't trying to get to us. Yoshi didn't even growl
just watched them go by. Good boy.
Tonight Yoshi was a complete angel to my sister. It was either the good walk or it being day 3 with her.
Sat Jul 12
Again we're gone for the day and Jen is coming by. She says they did fine.
Fri Jul 11
Today we're going to be gone for the day and the pet sitter will be
coming by a couple of times. Yoshi's been reactive to my sister
when she moves, I hope he does ok with the pet sitter who is under
instructions to give him a lot of treats. Some of her clients have
snotty small dogs so she'll probably be ok.
[later] The sitter said he was fine. I think confidence makes a difference.
Thu Jul 10
Yoshi walk in the morning did fine.
Bringing my sister back from the airport there were two stray dogs
standing on my front yard. We managed to catch the larger one but the
Pomeranian ran off down the street. After some waiting to see if someone
would drive slowly by looking for the dogs we took the dog to Park
Centre who found a spot for him for the night and will transfer him to
the animal shelter tomorrow. Our animal shelter is run by an
organization now so while it's not strictly no kill it's close. Doggy
has a chip from Oakland Animal Shelter from 2007, but no current
information. Argh.
Trek and I walked down the path that the other dog went to see if I
could find them. No luck. Actually a slightly longer walk for Trek.
Later on my sister and I went around 3 blocks with a cell phone photo of
the dog and eventually found out that the dogs lived over on Fountain. I
left them the contact information for Park Centre and tried to explain
that you have to register your information with Home Again for it to
really work. The dog we took to Park Centre was arthritic and could
hardly walk. If he could he would have taken us to his house. If you
find a dog, put them on a leash and follow them around and see if they
take you somewhere.
Wed Jul 9
Yoshi walk - Decided not to go down Gibbons to skip Brandon the
Bulldog. Nevertheless we were threading out way through dogs a couple of
times.
At Santa Clara we were waiting to cross and two dogs approached us from
either side. I went ahead and crossed deciding that the oncoming car was
far enough away. The other option would have been to back track and let
the two dogs pass.
On our street close to home there was an approaching dog across the
street that we slowed down for to watch pass. What I hadn't realized was
that there was a second dog across the street who wanted to cross to
right were we were so they crossed the street diagonally in front of us.
That was kind of hard for Yoshi but he did ok.
Average walk for Trek. She's off of Gabapentin and seems about the same.
Tue Jul 8
Yoshi walk through the Fernside.
Shorter Trek walk today.
Mon Jul 7
Yoshi walk. The sweet little bulldog was outside with his owner talking
on the front steps to someone. I kept a careful eye on him as we walked
past and just as we were past and in the clear he broke away to come up
to Yoshi, and I scooped him up. He whined some as Tristan/Brandon (I think) came
up and I explained that my dog doesn't like other dogs, and then I
talked to Yoshi asking him what his issue was when the other dog was
clearly a sweet marshmellow.
Trek walk - full length - slow.
Sun Jul 6
We went a slightly different way and a cat
named Dash on Southwood came striding right up out of the hedges, meowing, to a
completely shocked Yoshi and rubbed his head against his face. I put a
hand on Yoshi's harness to steady him while I petted the cat and asked
for permission to pass which we were eventually granted. While
he is walked using a leash and collar, he wears the harness, so I have
something completely safe to grab if I need to pick him up in a hurry.
I think I'll bring Trek and a camera by sometime. Trek does not always appreciate the adventures I drag her into.
Trek walk. I almost shortened it, but she seemed ok enough so I made it a
slow regular length one. We will be taking her off of Gabapentin this
Tues so the neuro can see her next Tues unmedicated.
Sat Jul 5
Yoshi to Krusi Park which we both like. Gives him nice smells and lots
of space around us and plenty of activity to watch. there was a dog
playing fetch and we watched them for a while and then went around the
other way. Then in a narrow space a Weimeramer-type dog walked past and
things were fine.
Trek walk. Did a slow full length version and she seems ok about it.
Fri Jul 4
Quick walks in before fireworks start.
I actually dragged Yoshi who was slightly medicated out to my neighbors
who had fireworks and said "This dog is afraid of fireworks."
and the three daughters all at once said "Awwww" and descended on
him and the fireworks were forgotten (with Dad stalking off with
said fireworks). Mom had already been saying we shouldn't be doing
this (fireworks are illegal in Alameda) and my dog's appearance
put the issue to rest (perhaps permanently.) She told one of her
daughters "All dogs are afraid of fireworks." which may not be
true (I have one of each), but it certainly is a perfectly
workable mistruth.
Even with the Oakland hills erupting things were much calmer this year. The other end of the island was less so I hear.
Thu Jul 3
Trek's walking looks better
I need to think of someplace different to walk Yoshi as I'm getting bore
and we're not doing herding right now with Trek having health issues.
Yoshi Bay Farm walk. It was a little windy but lovely. He watch a Shiba
walk by ate a carrot and then snarked as the Shiba looks at him. Yoshi
was in a harness, so I yanked him up into my arms which completely
surprised him. Rest of the walk was uneventful though we narrowly missed
an off-leash dog. I found out later that Yoshi hadn't had a Prozac
today, though Prozac has a long half life so it shouldn't be that
dramatic, but it can have some effects.
Trek walk. She's starting to bug me to DO something so we worked on some
heeling. Her heeling is going to be sort of a 45 degree crab walk but
she's happy.
I
think she had a spinal stroke (FCE) there is no cure, but she is
recovering and probably will be able to go back to competing if I choose
to pursue it. so I of course write to Linda asking her what do herding
judges think of dogs with permanent limps? It’s encouraging to see
Trek's enthusiasm. It does mean that we’re going to have to get used to
being excused some of the time. It also means we should only show
indoors when doing obedience.
Wed Jul 2
Basic walk for Yoshi and a shorter walk for Trek as her limping is looking worse.
I did have her do the obstacles after her walk.
Trek and I went to Oakland DTC to pick up a skateboard I had loaned out
and we watched the end of the Utility Skills class. Kathy M. was there
with her Cardi Quimby. She's from the South Bay and says with traffic it
takes two hours to get here.
That's dedicated.
Tue Jul 1
Slightly longer walk for Yoshi. No drama.
Trek walk. We went the other way down Gibbons. I can take Trek in
narrower places that I don't like to walk Yoshi, so it was slightly
different territory.
Trek is knuckling over more. I may be tiring her out too much.
Mon Jun 30
Yoshi walk over to and around the school. Two dogs that he's seen before
where socializing just outside the fence. We crossed the street and
passed by without incident.
Trek regular length walk.
We've decided that we'll keep Trek on Gabapentin until Jul 8 then take
her off of it for the week before her neuro appt on the 15th.
VPI phone call.
Talking with "Lucky"
"Soft Tissue trauma" has reach it's benefit maximum of $95.00.
Neuritis max is $132.00
What's weird is that they've paid us above that.
Their fax number for medical record resubmission is 800-704-7002
Claims do not expire.
Label it "Treatment records"
Sun Jun 29
Yoshi walk. This time we went to College of Alameda and walked around
the outside of the baseball field to let him sniff the great smells and
for me to pointlessly look for balls to later give away. Zero dogs around so no issue.
So then we went over to the dog park to get rid of one of the balls that
I found. I was walking by the small dog park and a Corgi person stopped
me to talk (more on that later).
Standing outside the fence Yoshi had a complete meltdown. He was ok with
the Corgi's coming up to say hi but didn't like the other dogs and one
of the Corgi's wasn't neutered, I usually take him away from the
situation, but I was in the middle of an important conversation, so I
just held onto him (I had put a harness on him to make hanging on to him
while he's struggling much easier) and told him to calm down and he
actually got through his screaming tantrum and was ok afterward.
Hmmm. We actually then walked all the way around the outside of the dog
park with out any further issue.
Had a rather pointless discussion with someone
about why they shouldn't breed their (obviously backyard bred) Corgi,
and why the marking in the house will go away if you neuter them [Duh]. I
said that you needed to show your dog and have them
tested for DM and hip displaysia, but I don't think I got anywhere. I
need a patient breeder to talk newbies out of this backyard breeding
thing.
A friend says that she asked the wannabe backyard breeder why her dog is
worth breeding what would be gained. If the response is my dog is cute
and people say they want me to breed him, she responds that thousands of
great dogs are killed each year because there aren't enough homes for
them.
Trek walk. I did another full length walk with her and she seems fine with it.
Sat Jun 28
I was at Cathy's wedding for much of the day but squeezed in completely
uneventful walks for Yoshi and a full length one for Trek. If Trek did
have an FCE then more exercise isn't going to hurt her as relapses are
uncommon.
Email to Dr Walls
-------
Hi Dr walls,
I will be talking to Dr Vitale about this, but I'm wondering if an FCE
fits Trek's symptoms the best as opposed to an injury to her radial
nerve. Would an FCE be able to affect both her left leg and her head?
The EMG shows abnormality in both the head and the leg though the head
atrophy has almost completely recovered.
Also so many treatments had no effect (pred, rimadyl), the only med that
seems to be helping a little is Gabapentin, and I have no indication if
the cold laser is helping. Does that point more to FCE?
Trek injured herself pretty much right in front of me and nothing dramatic happened.
--------
Email to the PT folks
--------
Subject: Would the underwater treadmill help Trek?
Hi Emily and Dr. Troy,
Trek will get a second neurological opinion on July 15th from Christina
Vitale at Sage Campbell.
I have asked Dr Walls if an FCE fits Trek's symptoms better than a
radial nerve injury since she had symptoms in both her shoulder and her
head (the head is improving), and her injury was sudden, but not
dramatic since she was in front of me the whole time. I also know her
breed has a low FCE risk, but this whole injury hasn't lined up with
anything yet.
I know that FCEs usually show up in recent MRIs and nothing showed.
I am reading here
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/06/03/fibrocartilaginous-embolism.aspx
And it says that underwater treadmills can help. Do you think it would
benefit her or would it be too much? I have no way of telling if the
cold laser therapies (or anything really save for the chiropractic) are
helping or not.
Terri is wondering how long Trek should stay on Gabapentin. I know from
my own experience that it's a pretty safe medication, so as long as it
helps her, it's fine with me to leave her on it.
I am extending her walks to full length to see how she does.
Ziji is out of town in July so Trek will likely see Dr. Carpenter during
that time.
--------
Fri Jun 27
Yoshi walk. Three dog encounters all good.
- Medium sized, short brown fur, overweight dog moving slowly down the
street. We crossed the street and let them go by as I fed him carrots.
- Husky/Golden mix moving more quickly but not bouncing. We watched them go by carrots as treats (which he loves).
- Turned around when we had a Bully Breed in front of us approaching.
Went down to the next cross street and a bit down to watch them cross,
but at the corner they instead crossed the street and went down the side
street we were on moving the other way, and we just watched them go.
Thu Jun 26
Yoshi to Krusi Park. Some practice going on. A dog in the distance, and
his favorite was the fabulous smells. We went around twice. Didn't find
any tennis balls outside the tennis court but there was one on the
street near the car.
Trek walk. We went over to the school to walk on the wide sidewalk and came back.
Wed Jun 25
Yoshi walk. Saw a dog right out of the door and was barking/growling. We
weren't anywhere near the side walk. I would tell him to stop in and
he's focus back on me and then after a bit he's go back to growling.
Then we crossed the street for another small white dog and did the whole
thing over again. I made a show of not giving him a treat but I don't
think that makes an impression on him. (It would Trek).
Trek walk. Was being a pill about trying to eat everything until I
started treating her for walking nicely and then she was fine.
Tue Jun 24
Yoshi vet appt. He had a couple of bumps we wanted Dr. Wydner to have a
look at. One wasn't really a bump and completely normal. The other
turned out to be a fatty tumor that we just need to keep an eye on. He
also got his rabies shot and is due for DHPP in a couple of weeks. We
also talked about Trek for a bit. She patiently described [again] the
process for taking a grass burr out of the nose and that the sedation is
an IV which should be a shaved spot on one of the legs. I don't
remember where her shaved spot was but it definitely wasn't on her
injured leg as the day after we were going over every inch of that leg.
She brought up "Could it have been a stroke?" No one has ever suggested
that before, but it would fit with sudden onset and very gradual
improvement and no knowing how to fully work her leg.
BUT dogs get spinal strokes called FCEs and she was checked carefully
for that. I double checked with Dr. Walls and he said that FCEs do
usually show up on imaging.
I have made an appt with Sage neurologist Christina Vitale in Campbell
for a second opinion. This is for Tues July 15th at 11:30am.
After that, we're looking at Davis which is pretty much guaranteed to be
overwhelming and I just know that sweet little Trek is going to want to
bite someone after the 10th vet student pokes at her.
Yoshi walk. This time I put a harness on him to give me something extra
to grab onto (the leash is still attached to his collar.) Wound up
following a largish white dog for a bit but the interesting part was
when we were at Santa Clara and Gibbons we were just about to cross when
a different largish bully breed showed up catty corner to us. I stopped
and kneeled down beside Yoshi with my hand on the harness and we
watched that dog head down the other side of Gibbons. After we
crossed we easily caught up to them (they were very slow moving) and
passed them completely without incident. Slow moving is an obvious plus.
Trek walk. Much the same. Moving decently
Mon Jun 23
Yoshi walk. we were watching a dog across the street and they came
across right at us. I started to cross the street and he started to
react so I picked him up and then was able to say "Stop it" and blow on
him. I did this twice and he stopped.
Trek walk around to Santa Clara. Her limp is getting better.
Sun Jun 22
dog to the horse park to watch jumping.
Fri Jun 20
Yoshi walk. We went down to Crown Beach and walked just along the
outside of the fence away from the bike path but not technically on the
beach. Great smells he said and we had a nice conversation with a kite
boarder who was folding up his kite. The big downside was that Yoshi was
covered in foxtails and it took me 20 min to remove them and then at
home I spent another 20 min double checking. Perhaps a different time of
year for this walk but there were bushes we could hide behind when dogs
went by which was fabulous.
Trek walk around on Santa Clara. She is looking better.
Thu Jun 19
Yoshi walk. We crossed the street to let the two German Shepherds walk
by. I have showed him the treat and it was pretty occupied begging for
it them lost it and started barking at the GSDs who barked back. I made
sure he saw me putting the treat away, but I'm not sure that makes any
impression on him at all. He just doesn't seem to put it together in his
mind. We then walked through the Fernside without further
incident.
Trek walk around to Santa Clara. Fine, but she's tired from her PT visit that she had today at Walnut Creek.
Wed Jun 18
Trek to see Ziji
Ziji thinks Trek is improving but keep encouraging her to use her foot/leg and keep working on the leg massage and mobility.
Yoshi walk - No dogs or drama.
Trek. Very short walk since she just saw Ziji.
Tue Jun 17
Did the same walks again. Going this direction we see more people than
we do in the Fernside and it's closer than going over to the school. Met
some nice folks, had one slight scare as when we cautiously passed a
park truck in the driveway a dog started to bark and a person was there
and a kid was riding his bike around. A lot of things could have
happened (car door open, dog dashes out) and didn't.
Trek seems to be adjusting to the full dose of Gabapentin.
Mon Jun 16
Basic Walks. No real issues but I was glad when I saw Amy to let her
know we were approaching as her reactive Golden Maverick was out with
her and not visible to me.
Trek may be walking better now that we've increased her Gabapentin can't really tell yet.
Trek has an appt with Ziji Wed at 12:30pm and Canine Rehab Thu at 5:15,
Ziji isn't here in July so I'm going to put off Trek's appt with Wendy
until then. Trek's insurance is running out unless we can find
another diagnosis or I can get them some records to look at. I'll get
some from Canine Rehab on Thu but I need to ask Four Seasons for some
also.
Sun Jun 15
Walk for Yoshi around Krusi park. It was very calm as the softball
season had just ended - I was actually hoping we could watch some, but
we did a slow circuit around the park and then we wend over to Wood
school for some more sniffing. It was a nice relaxing day out with lots
of rolling. One dog at a great distance, didn't bother him at all.
Trek walk down by the school because it's a nice flat sidewalk and she's
having some trouble walking today. And older small hound dog was just
dying to say hello to Trek. I told the owner that every dog loves Trek
and she just doesn't care, but Trek sat and looked at me and the
quivering hound sniffed at her butt. The owner apologized for the dog's
enthusiasm and I said "You know that's not too bad, he went right for
the butt. You see a lot of rude dog behavior and that was fine."
Sat Jun 14
Yoshi through the Fernside
Trek around on Santa Clara
Thu Jun 12
Yoshi walk. He was a twit right out the door and I was so curious
watching him that I didn't interrupt him which I probably should have
but I get tired of being his conscious/superego. A man was running
towards us across the street. What I didn't see right away is that there
was a medium sized black poodle running along with him. Yoshi barked
and was going to charge across the street in that unpleasant Get That
Dog way that he relapses into. I pulled him back and lifted him roughly
by the scruff and dropped him back to where he was. He still barked and I
told him to stop it.
Then he successfully watched one dog walk by but the next dog he reacted
to (it was mutual) I had had it and got one his case but he didn't get
it and even tried to charge a dog in a house which he never tries to do.
After that correct he seemed a little better but it was a pretty off
walk altogether.
His head just wasn't with me this time.
Trek walk. She seems to be feeling better though by the end of the walk
she seemed tired. I had her do some obstacles in the backyard (slatted
board and cavalettis on the ground) and that tired her out even more.
Wed Jun 11
Yoshi walk
Twice on Central at Mound we wend down on Mound to watch a dog walk by. He did ok - mostly.
Trek to Santa Clara
She's still bouncing around from Gabapentin which we increased to 2x/day for 5-7 days with the goal being 3x/day.
Tue Jun 10
Trek is off to PT. She's been crashing around out of enthusiasm, so the Gabapentin must be having an effect.
They were amazed at the difference. They've never seen her as a happy,
bouncy dog. The tech Emily went and got Dr. Erin Troy just so she could
see it. She can now have 2 a day.
Yoshi walk. We did some slightly complicated Berner and Lab avoidance
maneuvers. We crossed the street so we could get a better view of the
approaching Berner and they turned down the street where we had been
previously standing. So we didn't have to suddenly charge across
the street.
Trel encountered the three noisy dogs as I call them. I tried to allow
the big one to sniff her butt while I held her in my arms, but he was
too pushy so I gave up. I pointlessly encouraged her to walk them
separately.
I gave the Pembroke Welsh Corgi breeder site (http://goldengatecorgis.org) to someone who was asking for her friend.
David across the street gave me this most awesome Corgi shirt. The
Mightly Thorgi complete with hammer with a dog bone shaped hammer head.
Mon Jun 9
Yoshi walk
To the park we went
We walked through the park without incident and found ourselves beside
the baseball field in the area beside the fence that serves as a bullpen
(though it's not a real bullpen)
We watched two dogs walk by separately. A senior Lab and a small dog. No issue.
Then we walked down Fountain and a loose small dog approached us through
an open gate. I picked Yoshi up and yelled for the owner who showed up
eventually. Yoshi is grumbling a bit but he's mostly ok but squirming
since I am agitated (wonder what would happen if I just picked him up
and didn't yell - might be just fine). The woman's son Kekoa spent a
fair bit of time petting Yoshi (we went across the street so her dogs
could move about while she put the trash bins out.)
Sun Jun 8
I'm back and dogs and Terri seem fine. Trek has started Gabapentin and is a little subdued but ok.
Yoshi walk. Maverick barked at him from behind a door and Yoshi just
looked to me for a reward. Then at Central we backed up to let a very
small dachshund walk by and he at one treat and then growled so I made
sure he saw me putting the treat away. Then later on he did perfect for a
larger dog across the street coming towards us and bouncing. the
Dachsund was on our side of the street about half a house away.
Trek walk. Might be a little improvement, but I can't tell.
Thu Jun 5
I am off to Mt. Shasta and Terri has the dogs.
Wed Jun 4
Walk through the Fernside with Yoshi - no dogs.
Trek seemed tired so just did an out and back with her.
I had given her a tramadol for pain and revideos her walking over a
cavaletti to see if pain was causative of her funny walk. No change at
all in her walk. Send a link to the video to Canine Rehab.
Tue Jun 3
Pretty straightforward walks for dogs.
Trek's appt was accupuncture (which she is getting tired of) and cold
laser (which she doesn't mind). We should be seeing more progress than
we are. I did show Emily Trek's leg going off to the side. They're
discussing Gabapentin for her.
Mon Jun 2
Yoshi walk. We went the reverse way because the wind is better that
way sometimes. Had to cross Central for a different dog this time that
was approaching. Yoshi was perfect this time.
Trek walk. Again around Santa Clara.
I let Trek do her obstacles without a leash. She was too fast, but so
happy to be doing them I just couldn't tell her no. I could stand there
and say "Walk" and "Slow" (which sometimes worked.) When she got to the
end I'd tell her "Go" to to straight ahead and leave the obstacle
and then "Round" to turn around and then do it again.
Sun Jun 1
Yoshi and I went down Fountain which is usually nutso dog alley, but
this time was quiet. On Central, we crossed the street to pass a dog
whose person was stopped to chat with someone, and they wound up
parallel walking with us for a couple blocks and we wound up following
them down Gibbons. Yoshi didn't make a peep the entire time, but he was
pretty excited while the dog was in view. I think only at herding have I
successfully gotten him to relax around other dogs that are moving.
Trek walk. Switched to her collar this time and just went down Santa Clara since the longer walk tired her.
I filmed her walking over a cavaletti and as we looked at the video
closely. She raises her leg to clear it and it would have, but then she
waves the leg far over towards the other leg and then way over extends
it. It's like she has no idea where the leg is in the air. Though when
walking at speed she seems ok, but she is using speed to compensate.
I took screenshots and they're here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10202937225004285.1073741872.1013097814&type=1&l=3d25341e3d
Sat May 31
Regular walk for Yoshi. On Central we approached the house of two
reactive small white dogs. They and their owners were outside talking to
friends and as we approached the more reactive one got taken inside.
the other one stayed in the husband's arms and deciding things were fine
we walked right by them (I've never tried this before). That dog did
growl and bark, but though Yoshi stiffened he looked to me instead. Good
boy. Things could have gone wrong if the dog had gotten away from him
but I'm trying not to worry about that.
Another full length walk for Trek, but she's pretty tired after it so no obstacle course for her this time.
Fri May 30
Straightforward walks for both dogs. Trek seemed to have energy, so
she got a full length walk and some time on her obstacle course.
Thu May 29
I had an event to attend, so no walks for dogs, but I had Trek walk her obstacle course a few times when we got back.
Wed May 28
Yoshi walk around the school. Crossed the street for a tallish black
dog that Yoshi thought about barking at but opted for a reward
instead. Good boy.
Trek walk around to Santa Clara in reverse.
I took the old baby A-frame I made years ago and laid it out on the
ground for Trek and had her walk a few times on it and then videoed it.
She does ok on it, but, of course, wants to rush through it.
Tue May 27
Trek PT at Canine Rehab.
Working with Emily. Emily is wondering if Trek has full sensation on her
foot or it it's more like pins and needles. This would explain a lot as
she has a lot more strength in that leg, but still doesn't want to use
it fully.
Mon May 26
Memorial Day
Yoshi. We avoided a couple of dogs but no drama. Spent time saying hi to Amy down the street.
Trek. Also said hi to Amy's daughter Audrey and then on Court to two other girls. Did the now usual walk around to Santa Clara.
Sun May 25
Basic walk for Yoshi. Trek walk around Santa Clara. We stopped to
say hi to Amy and her husband and her daughter Audrey. Audrey is wanting
a small dog to go along with their Golden Retriever.
Sat May 24
Terri and I went on a bike ride in Tilden and ignored the dogs.
Fri May 23
Yoshi herding. He did pretty well, but tore his right pad so, in the
future, is going to have to wear booties with vet wrap. Trek and Terri
went along. Linda came in at one point, so I didn't have to put so much
pressure on him to keep him further back off the goats. I have video.
Thu May 22
Yoshi walk over to Lincoln Park and back. We passed three dogs
on the street being walked by one unsteady person. I had already
crossed the street and they all started barking at once. Yoshi wanted to
react but I tightened the leash just a little and look at him and he
decided to look to me for a reward instead. Good boy. In the park
there was a Rottie tied to the fence while his family played volleyball
so I decided to walk down the field on the other side which was good
because further down on the same side as the Rottie was a dog off-leash
playing fetch. We were further enough away that we did some Rally
exercises. I learned from the Obedience Corgi's list that he could stay
in Novice B Rally if I wanted to keep showing him in it (I could have
looked that up, but didn't even think to do so.) It might be good for
him though I don't know how much he'd like it. He's kind of a pain at
trials as I have to crate him for the walk through and even covered and
isolated he still manages to find something to bark at.
Dr Troy would like us to build an on-leash obstacle could for Trek.
Most people make them inside but I'm thinking of making one outside as
she won't slip on the floor, though I have ordered three more yoga mats
for the house to bring it to seven mats (e-gad).
Have to decide whether to take Yoshi herding tomorrow. Linda will be out of town the week after so I'm thinking yes.
Trek walk. She's about back to where she was so I'm lengthening her
walks to what we had been doing so we went down to Santa Clara. Had her
try heeling but I get the three legged dog heeling style so I stopped.
Wed May 21
Trek to see Dr. Ziji with the magic hands. Ziji is the one who
first figured out that her injured leg was locked inward and she freed
it up. Nothing nearly as dramatic this time, but she showed Terri
and I places to keep an eye on for her leg and neck, because that leg
does tend to get stiff.
No walk for Yoshi today.
Tue May 20
Trek PT at 5pm in Walnut Creek at Canine Rehab Center.
Yoshi walk. No drama.
I'm
thinking that it's time to start considering that the dogs are pretty
much done with their herding "careers" save for the occasional
recreation stuff.
Mon May 19
Yoshi walk. Crossed street for one dog but that was it. We usually
stop to the side of the sidewalk to let people pass and a woman said
"What an obedient dog." I said "Sometimes."
Trek walk. Went around on Johnson.
Zjij has an opening tomorrow at 8:30pm - hooray.
Sun May 18
Yoshi passed 5 dogs being walked by two people and no dog made a noise. Amazing.
Trek walk. She does better after half a block. Went down Gibbons to Santa Clara and turned around.
Sat May 17
Yoshi walk around the old navy base in the large grassy area. The
sight lines are so perfect and the only dog was saw was a family bulldog
at a picnic who barked at us, but not seriously.
Trek walk. I took her over to Lincoln Park and we walked through a lot
of chaos that she wasn't happy about especially since it was her dinner
time. The cheese I gave her only helped a little.
Came up with an exercise variation where she is standing, I put her left
paw in my hand and I raise the right foot up. I can make the hand that
holds the left foot move around a little for instability. She'll
put up with this for about three reps then needs a treat and a brief
break.
Fri May 16
Herding with Yoshi. It was hot and the stock and he were slow so it
was actually a good session once we got rid of snotty dotty. I have very
boring video.
Trek walk out to Santa Clara and back and then some disc balancing.
Thu May 15
Yoshi walk. Narrowly avoided the medium size curly white dog in the
same exactly place again. Again that dog was staring at Yoshi and
thinking of going into a barking tear but didn't. Yoshi growled once but
that was it. Did some basic Rally work with him.
Trek walk. Her foot sore is improving but we only went to Johnson and turned around.
Did some more disc work at noon and in the evening. She loves it.
Wed May 14
Set up some cavalettis for Trek. She didn't know what they were at
first, but when I started hand targeting and rewarding her she was all
over it. I set two up and she jumped over them. Set up for of them and
made her slow down. I will have to video tape her to see if she's doing
it right. She'll also hop up on the wobbly disc even with all four feet
which is not the point but amusing to see.
Yoshi walk. Today was about stopping to let another dog walk by
which worked great because I saw the other dog in time. A German
Shepherd and a medium size brown dog.
Trek walk. about 4 houses down and back.
Did a video of Trek on the cavalettis and the inflated disc. She's not
that thrilled with the cavalettis but she loves that disc. Likes to get
up with all four feet which is good exercise if I can get her to use the
bad foot.
Tue May 13
Trek to Canine Rehab Center to meet with Erin Troy and her staff.
It went very well and Trek wasn't happy to be messed around with, but
was happy to eat treats and appreciated that there were no needles,
knives or other pointy things. She did think being balanced on an
inflated peanut was weird. I haven't told her that we have one of those
too. She didn't mind the wobbly disc as much so I bought one of those
too.
I took a lot of video and will be reviewing it. She's going to be doing
home exercises that she showed me (I bought an exercise wobbly disk),
and will visit once a week for cold laser treatments. She also would
like us to continue to see Wendy Wallace once a month for acupuncture.
She wants to hold off on the water treadmill. She is also suggesting
putting yoga matting everywhere to avoid slips, and would like us to work on cavalettis spaced a foot apart.
Mon May 12
Trek is still hobbling. I sent the PT folks her timeline and a range
of videos showing that she had been better than what they'll see
tomorrow.
Her appt is at 8am tomorrow.
http://www.thek9rehabcenter.com/canine-rehabilitation-team/
Yoshi walk. We went to the park. On the way we watched Amy and her Golden Retriever walk by. No problem.
At the park watched a small dog and later an older dog walk by. We later walked past the senior dog at about 25' away.
Then at the crosswalk while waiting to cross, we wound up taking evasive
action as another dog approached and the light was still red so we just
went over to the other side of the street (it was just side walk there
as it's a T intersection.) Then we were able to cross without incident.
Walking Yoshi is all about maintaining distance to keep him comfortable
but now that he trusts we'll do that he's pretty comfortable with dogs
around.
Trek very short half block walk stopped to talk to Michelle and then
turned around. Trek is really hobbling and I'm wondering what she did to
herself.
Sun May 11
Filmed Trek walking. Her limp is pretty bad. I took the toe grips off
her left (bad) foot, a little better. Took her for a walk down the
street three houses down she stopped. I took off the right foot ones.
Got a little further. Turned around and after a while had so-so walking,
but she didn't want to keep going once we got back to the house.
This might be possibly because of squirrel enhanced excitement which
resulted in charging around the yard with Yoshi. Morning walk of 1 block
total.
Removed the Toe Grips since they don’t help her if she isn’t placing her
foot. Gave her an afternoon 1/2 Rimadyl. Tried another walk with same
result (1/2 block down and back).
Yoshi walk. Went around the school nice and relaxing. On the way back,
we saw a beagle and a smaller dog across the street. We just stopped and
watched them for a bit. Small dog got away for a little bit which was a
concern but didn't show any interest in coming across the street (Yoshi
just asked for another carrot bit) and he was recaptured in short
order.
Sat May 10
Yoshi walk fine
I've decided to teach him to run to the fence
Trek's left forearm muscle is improving.
Evening
Trek is limping worse. I repositioned the toe grips.
Played a game in the kitchen sending her to a mat and coming back slow. I made a video of it.
Her walking is better inside, but much worse outside and that matters to
me.
Fri May 9
Yoshi herding, Trek tourist.
Yoshi did very well for most of it. Worked a lot on outruns and he
did great was good about stopped after the outrun and getting rewarded.
Theodore the goat was being a bit of a dweb and he reared at Yoshi which
Yoshi took personally and although I tried to intervene but Yosh still
changed in and nipped his side. Theo took off yelling with Yoshi after
him and I finally got my hands on the long line. Calmed things down and
we have a good last few moments. Terri was nice enough to get all this
on film.
Thu May 8
Yoshi walk. Backed off of Central to let a medium white fluffy dog
pass by, then also on Central a brown small dog went by completely
without issue or prompting from me. He was out in front a ways and
didn't react at all to the dog.
Trek walk. We went over to the school and walked on the school grass
briefly. Hard work for her, but she seems to be getting stronger. We
walked all the way around the school and then headed back.
Bobbie sent us some toe grips that were a left over donation. Trek is,
of course, in between sizes but they are helping her so it's going to be
work some effort to get them to work. I just orders the larger green
size which might have to be glued on we'll have to see. She is walking
around the house better without the rugs.
Tue May 6
Yoshi walk. We stopped to let a Lab go by in the distance, but the
real challenge was as we approached and were about to turn onto Central a
much smaller corgi height short hair dog approached. We backed off half
a house to watch them go by. No issues even though the other dog was
getting excited and the owner was ineffectively telling doggy to calm
down.
Trek walk. I don't like how much she's still hobbling around, but she's
walking mostly okish. We went over to the school and its wide sidewalk.
She can actually heel ok on my left and no so great on my right.
Mon May 5
Yoshi walked through the Fernside. Uneventful.
Trek walk. Met Glenn, Carolyn and their son Arlo again. Arlo was less afraid of Trek this time.
Trek's walking might be better. I had her do some more obedience heeling on both sides and it might be better.
Her socks came in and unfortunately they just come off. I could
vet wrap them on if I thought they'd help but I'm not convinced. Also
tried vet wrap which just came off. Bobbie is going to send us some toe
grips that were a donation.
Sun May 4
Yoshi walk - no dogs no drama.
Trek walk. She's tired so we just went around on Johnson. It's
looking like a yes on PT but we still have a week and a half to think
about it. If we do it I need to fill in the forms and send them an
updated time line.
I had her try to do some heeling - it's pretty silly as she just throws her left let out but that might actually look ok.
Sat May 3
I went to a hike at Lover's Leap and Ralson Peak area so no dog
walks save for a bit of dual fetch at the end of the day that worked
surprisingly well.
Thu - Fri May 1-2
Basic dog walks.
Wed Apr 30
Walk around the school with Yoshi but we took an extra couple of
blocks to extend things some. We waited for a woman and two dogs to
cross the street but that's all we encountered.
Trek walk. Went around Johnson after doing some walk up and down
the curb in front of the house. She met a boy whose name was Arlo. He was a little afraid of
her which amused his parents. He did touch her a little.
Tue Apr 29
Yoshi walk. I wasn't paying attention and a dog named Ruby
walked by us on the other side of the street. Yoshi growled low
but didn't react. Later he did want to go racing up to a cat and I
advised him against such a move. Then on Central there were two
dogs across the street that we sort of like Vishlas. What was
unsettling is that they were off leash by a busy street. 4
unconcerned adults were sitting around talking with two kids playing
with them. Walking by would have been inviting trouble so we
turned around and went a different way. Yoshi watch the dogs carefully
but didn't respond.
Trek walk. We went down Gibbons and then around on Santa Clara.
I'm also letting her find her way down the stairs herself now and
walking her more on grass though it's hard for her.
Mon Apr 28
Yoshi walk. On Central we would up parallel walking with a
Golden for a couple of blocks. Yoshi didn't even seem that
stressed by the dog at all. He seems to realize that if he looks
back to me he gets rewarded. It feels like we've turned a small corner.
Trek walk. We went around the block via Santa Clara which seems to
be a good distance for her. I encouraged her to walk on the grass
though it meant a lot of stopping and sniffing. I didn't repeat the step
exercise today but instead I'm not letting her go down stairs on her
own. She's a little hesitant about it but coping. I don't like
that she still holds up her left foot into the air while sitting. I
think it's become a habit.
Sun Apr 27
Yoshi walk on the water on Bay Farm. It was a lovely day and a great time to walk by the Bay.
Others had the same idea. Had to steer around a Great Dane who was off
leash but sticking close to her family. More challenging was the Shiba
Innu 20 feet away but Yoshi was more interested in the cheese that I
offered. I also fed him while a small white dog walked by and when
two dogs one of them off-leash approached we just escaped down an
access path and let them pass by.
Trek park walk. Trek is supposed to walk on uneven surfaces and she
seemed to be doing ok ok Gibbons Ave so I thought I'd try walking her on
the grass at Lincoln Park. This is where the line is. It's
too difficult for her. We did a little and then walked down the side
walk and then gave up.
Later on I put the exercise step on a padded rug in the kitchen and had
her practice getting up on it while me pulling back on her harness to
keep jer from bunny hopping up it. She did pretty well doing this
and I think it's something we should do everyday.
I'm wondering if we should buy an inexpensive treadmill for all of us to
use. It would cost the same amount as PT, though Wendy says that
what would be best are short stairs. Problem is I only have one stair
but we can do it over and over.
Sat Apr 26
Yoshi walk. Nearly walked in a LabX at Central and Gibbons.
Fortunately there was just enough warning for us to turn around and more
fortunately, they went the other direction. The on our street a hound
dog was approaching across the street. I showed Yoshi a reward if he
held it together and he did great.
Trek walk. We went down Gibbons with the intent on going out and
back, but when she hit Santa Clara she turned left and headed off with
such intention that I just followed. This isn't a way we usually
go and rarely in this direction so I was sure she was going to take an
early wrong left turn. She didn't. She headed right across
the street and then turned left where she should. It's entirely
possible she's really good at reading me but I don't know she was out
front on a harness.
Fri Apr 25
Appt with Wendy Wallace. Trek is improving, doesn't seem to be in pain, and she now should walk on uneven surfaces.
She thinks we could do her rehab ourselves though the rehab people could help with advice.
I'm thinking the tools they have in rehab like the underwater treadmill
and not what Trek needs. She needs to do things where she pushes up on
that leg. Wendy is suggesting stairs about half the rise of a
normal stair, and uneven surfaces.
It's raining so no herding today.
Did a basic walk for Yoshi.
Walked Trek up and down a block of Gibbons which is very uneven. It was
hard for her and tonight she's pretty tuckered out and is having a hard
time walking on the floor so we put more things down to help her walk.
Tue Apr 22
Yoshi walk. Fernside. We had a sort of threeway
collision of dogs. There was enough space that it was manageable -
one dog was across the street and one was exiting his house with his
people.
Trek walk. I went over to the Grand St boat launch in search of a
hill. This boat launch had large groves in the concrete so it was
less than ideal but there were other small hill type things to walk on
and Trek thought the smells were great.
Mon Apr 21
Yosh walk. Uneventful until a small dog came out of his/her house
on leash and snuck up on us while we were sitting at the corner waiting
for traffic. Yoshi looked over his shoulder and barked and the
owner apologized and stopped and I said we were going to be crossing
after the car went by. Crossed the street and the rest was fine.
Trek was. Met a family over on Court - it's actually where one dog
that always barks at us lives. One of the kids asked it Trek was
an inside or outside dog, and I got to say that always inside, and that
dogs are pack animals that want to be with their people. We had a
nice chat.
Sun Apr 20
We all went to Lake Wildwood for Easter dinner. Trek and I
met a Corgi across the street whose name I'm forgetting. Yoshi, of
course, had a cow in Terri's arms a ways off.
Sat Apr 19
Yoshi walk. I said that a woman and her dog were running right
at us but fortunately we were on Central so we were able to go out on
the other side of a parked car and stand in the bike lane while they
went by. Yoshi noticed the tag jangling but he also noticed the
carrot bit I had in my hand, so he was successful.
Trek walk. Out to the school and back. She's tired tonight.
Fri Apr 18
Yoshi herding.
Thu Apr 17
Yoshi walk. No issues.
Trek walk out to Santa Clara and back. I'm not seeing much
difference but I don't know if I should be seeing that much. She
is walking on the foot more though.
Wed Apr 16
Yoshi walk - we crossed Court to let Corgi Shelby walk to her
house. Just as they were right across from us a dog who lived at
that house came out the open garage door to say hello (his/her people
were standing there looking kinda clueless.) I thanked Mark for being
there so it wasn't I and Yoshi that the dog went running up to.
I've never see that dog before so I know to be careful when their house
or garage is open. The dog wasn't aggressive so it likely would
have been ok but I've walked past that house a 100 times and never saw a
dog so I would have been taken completely by surprise.
Trek walk. We went all the way around Johnson this time.
Tue Apr 15
Appt with Wendy Wallace. She showed me how Trek's muscles are
improving but still sees an issue in her spine C7-T1 where the radial
nerve comes out. Also her back is curved up like a Whippet's which
is strange. We talked about it for a while and she doesn't think that
Trek will be ready to compete at the end of May especially since she
would need to train. She still would have a visible limp and a
note from her vet doesn't help. AKC cares about how it looks. Also
she would have to train in May and she's definitely not ready to start
training by then.
Mon Apr 14
Basic walk for Yoshi. He did a fabulous wait while a dog
across the street approached and then we walked past them when the owner
stopped to talk on the phone with the other dog staring quietly at us
the whole time.
Trek walk. We made it to the school. Hooray. The
school sidewalk is nice smooth, and wide which is perfect for her.
Trek's nails are long and she's hypersensitive about me doing
them. I'm going to try every few days and then decide what to do.
Yoshi and I met Stephani and her son who moved in three doors
down. Also met James and his daughter when we were over outside of
LuAnn's house though James actually lives on Gibbons.
Sun Apr 13
While Trek can lift her foot she's still struggling with using it
properly. I'm trying not to worry. It's time for PT for
her. I sent an email off to the Walnut Creek place.
Yoshi walk. Round the long block on Thompson. It's through
the Fernside which is nice but has a short section on busy High St which
I don't like but it is very short.
Trek walk to Santa Clara and back.
Dogs have a new (old) rug for the living room. They're not sure what they think yet.
Sat Apr 12
I had the door open as I worked in the yard. Trek charged down the stairs twice. Argh.
Later that day when I tried to walk her on the bike path in the back of
Lincoln Park (I had given her a ride over) and she didn't really want to
and was having a hard time of it. We walked down the side walk
after trying the grass and she was still struggling so I gave up.
When we got back I gave her a Rimadyl - the last one, so I'll have to
get more from Park Centre (just sent them a request via email.)
I'm trying to cut back to once a day but not succeeding yet.
Earlier Yoshi and I had a normal walk some dog sightings, but no drama.
My neighbor is giving away an old oriental rug which I immediately took them up on as it will help Trek's walking.
Fri Apr 11
I filed a VPI claim for the nose misadventure. Claim number is: 201404101255
Regular walk for Yoshi. Corner to corner for Trek.
Thu Apr 10
Trek's nose is nearly normal now. Phew. An asute friend
points out that the lump could have been a bug bite which explains the
hour delay in it showing up in her nose.
At noon time I see that she hurls herself into the corner to bark at
Coco my neighbor's dog. Looks like a fine way to hurt
yourself.
Basic uneventful walk for Yoshi. Harness walk for Trek to Santa Clara and then turned around.
Faxed the claim for the ER visit. It was less that $100 total, so it won't be much but they'll give us some.
Wed Apr 9
Had
to happen. Dogs were charging around the yard at 5pm, I went in to get a
camera and when I got back out Trek is lying down licking her good
front leg. "What have you done?" I try to ask levelly. She goes on
licking. "Can I see it?" Lets me look at it. Not in horrible pain, but
she takes it away again. Wants to go in to eat, but I ask her to stop.
She licks it again. I go look again and a bruise is forming on her
ankle. "What am I going to do with you Crash Princess?" She's in a
crate now with some Rimadyl that I was hoping to stop. She'll be ok,
despite her best efforts.
I take Yoshi for a walk which had some nice steering around other dogs
including a white fluffy Bichon standing on the other corner, but
otherwise uneventful.
I get back and let Trek out of her crate. After about 20 minutes,
Terri notices that Trek's face is swelling up. What? It was
fine when I crated her, but sure enough her nose is huge. Just
can't stay out of ER can we? We give her a Benedryl (25mg) and
head off for BAVS calling them on the road to let them know we're coming
in.
Fortunately it wasn't busy and they took her to the back right
away. Dr Emily Kupprion examined her and said it was definitely an
allergic reaction (didn't find a stinger) probably because of all the
licking. I said that it was in her usual yard and she said that
was common. Benedryl is exactly the correct thing to give
her. The other thing they do is give an IV of Dex, but that's
steroidal and Trek is on Rimadyl (an NSAID) so she can't have the
Dex. She's to get Benedryl ever 6-8 hours for 2 days.
When we got home she was scratching at her ears, but stopped after a
bit. Now she just has a big nose. Wonder what
happened. Shouldn't have gone to get the camera I guess though I
did use it to make a video of her licking at her leg.
Tue
Apr 8
Yoshi walk. We went down around the school. Before we
got there the Bull Terrier's gate was open and when she saw us she came
out. I don't know this dog, so I'm yelling "Loose Dog.
Help! Come get your dog!" During this I pick up a yelling Yoshi
and Beatrice (yes, that's her name) was observant enough to decide that
perhaps running up to us wasn't such a good idea and she stopped dead
and looked firmly 90 degrees in the other direction. (Good
girl.) Her mom came right out from the back thanking us and
collecting her. It worked out very well fortunately.
The walk around the school was completely uneventful.
Trek harness walk corner to corner to back to the house. She is tired.
Mon Apr 7
We went down past the condos and a Vishla came out of his house on a
flexi right behind us. I didn't notice at first but Yoshi
did. He barked and the dog stopped and put his nose on the ground
ignoring us as we went on with out any meltdown.
Sun Apr 6
Yoshi walk. A couple of small things that he made very good
choices. One had a GSD approach the corner across the street very
fast with his person and turn the corner quickly and turned down
Central. Yoshi tensed and then turned back to me. Good boy.
Then another dog was moving rapidly down the street on the other side of
the street and he did the same stare at the dog, then looked to
me. I think he's made some real progress.
Trek walk. I let her just walk her usual way and then we turned
around after a bit and then when we got closer to home I insisted she
walk slowly got the rest of the time.
Going
over AKCs opinion of lameness. A note from her vet is not enough
apparently. This is from the obedience regulations, but I'm sure
herding is similar. Though it's not as obvious when a dog is herding,
but obvious enough. It means if she's not able to walk without a head
ducking motion by the 2nd week in May I have to scratch her from a trial
on May 31st.
"A dog that is lame in the ring at any obedience trial or at a tracking test
may not compete in that class. Lameness is defined as any irregularity of
locomotion. The judge must determine, without a veterinarian’s opinion,
whether a dog is lame. If the judge deems a dog lame, that judge will not
score the dog and will mark the judge’s book “Excused-lame.” "
Sat Apr 5
Yoshi walk. We stopped to let some kids pet him. He was fine
with being petted but was more interested in what was going on down the
street - moving truck activity. Rest of the walk was fine.
Trek harness walking slowly down and up the block. This time I
filmed it and you can see her really using her foot when she goes slow
instead of just bouncing her weight over the foot which engages the
muscles less. This is hard work for her, but she is using the foot
this way. Dr. Wallace thinks doing this is fine.
Fri Apr 4
I want to take Yoshi herding, as he could really use a goat session
or two. Trek can come as a tourist. It was raining this
morning and it might shower in the middle of the day. If it's
raining hard we won't bother as neither Yoshi or the goats like the
rain.
[later] We did go and had a nice time as the rain had let up and
the goats were mostly cooperative. Yoshi was his usual too close
too hyper so I kept him on the long line the whole time so I could stop
him when I needed to. Second run he had tired and was less
annoying. He'll improve with more practice, but it's not real
financially feasible to do much of it right now.
Trek got to say hello to Linda and Gail and others. Gail thinks
just making Trek walk at a slow, steady rate would be a good thing and I
think she's right.
I think the hill thing was too hard for her so I put the harness on and
we walked slowly to the corner turned around passed the house went to
the other corner and then back. That tired her out as going slow
forces her to use her leg rather that the bouncing jog that she prefers.
Thu Apr 3
Trek sees Dr. Wendy Wallace. Trek really is improving, it's
not just my imagination. There is more muscle on her legs and
shoulders and the work that she did on Trek's face is holding. She
is still limping but it's much less severe. Now it's a grade 1
instead of a 2. Dr. Wallace did a fair bit of chiro adjustments
and an acupuncture session. She wants her to start back up on
Blood's Palace (1/2 in AM, 1/2 in PM). I forgot to ask about
continuing the Rimadyl but we can stop it and see if she struggles or I
can ask about it later.
For PT she is familiar with Canine Rehab Center in Walnut Creek or
Scout's House in Campbell, but she's happy with any of them. Right
now just learning to walk will suffice for Trek.
PT: Trek is supposed to climb up short hills in a harness and then come down in an easier way.
She is also supposed to pull with a harness on the flat. In short, she gets to be a bad obedience dog.
Bobbie suggests I teach her an actual "Pull" in case she's ever in a cart.
Yoshi walk. A little longer this time to get him some more
exercise. A couple minor dog sightings but nothing really to speak of.
Trek hill climb. Looking around Alameda (a flat island) I see that
there are some hills in Littlejohn park. Trek wasn't that
thrilled about walking up the hills in her harness. I think it's
pretty hard for her, so I think we'll try to do more pulling with a
harness on the flat. She's fine with that. "Go on" sees to
work so I don't know if I need to teach her "Pull."
Wed Apr 2
Yoshi walk. Chased one dog for 1/2 a block but that's
it. He really wanted to work and was very engaged so we did some
Rally work.
Trek walk. Just up and down the block this time. She's still holding her head off to the right while walking.
Appt with Wendy Wallace tomorrow morning. Big question is: Is she getting better?
Tue Apr 1
It's raining so no walk for Trek and I'll think about whether Yoshi really needs one or not.
Mon Mar 31
Trek has an appt with Dr. Applegate at 12:30pm today to look at her
lower left molar to make sure the tooth itself is ok since she doesn't
like for it to be brushed.
Dr Applegate found that Trek would open her mouth and let each tooth be
pressed on individually when she starts on the right side. If she
goes for the left side first then Trek tenses up so there's something
she's worried about but the teeth then selves are fine except that she's
no chewing as much on the left side so the left side had mild to
moderate tartar as opposed to the right which is just mild tartar.
She says that I don't have to insist she open her mouth on the left and
can just do the outside surfaces. We'll do a dental on her much
later when we're past all this.
Dr Applegate thought the muscle atrophy in her shoulder was pretty unchanged.
Yoshi walk. Went the usual way this time but there was a slow
moving French Bulldog coming towards us so we turned around and went
down Santa Clara instead and went further past where we usually
turn. We saw two dogs and he saw the dog first and looked back to
me each time. One of them the dog was bouncing a little and it's
something he usually react to so he was richly rewarded for just looking
back to me.
Trek walk. She seemed like she wanted to so we went on a standard length walk.
While she was ok at the end later in the evening she was having a hard
time walking so that was too much. I gave her a Tramadol and she's
still getting Rimadyl. She's going back to Wendy Wallace but it's
not till Thur. I'm hoping Trek can go into rehab but I need to
watch her carefully to make sure she's not getting worse.
Later - I think that was too far of a walk. She's having a hard time moving around the house.
Sun Mar 30
Yoshi walk. This time we went back to going around the school
about one and a quarter times before heading back. Crossed the
street for one dog. He did great. He's overweight so his
treats are now cut up brocoli and carrots and he's fine with that.
Trek walk. We also headed for the school since it's a nice smooth
wide sidewalk but when we got to the intersection to cross over to it
she headed left and I let her. She wound up taking us home so I
guess she was done with the walk.
Sat Mar 29
Had to wait for the rain to settle down some and then Yoshi and Trek both got full standard issue walks.
The rain had just stopped and there were a few dogs out to steer around
with Yoshi including a Beagle and Cairn Terrier right out the door that
we just retreated back down the driveway to let pass by. They we
wound up following them for half the walk but it was uneventful.
This is Trek's first full length walk since she was injured. She
is now lifting her foot normally, but still has a limp because the leg
isn't as strong as it should be yet - this could take a while.
Fri Mar 28
Yoshi walk again his more usual direction.
Trek walk. Went down to the water again as it's a really nice path
for her to walk on. Her leg continues to improve but still has a
pronounced limp. I asked Dr. Wallace about PT, but she said she
wanted to wait till the next appt next week so we didn't undo any of the
progress of the chiro stuff.
Thu Mar 27
Yoshi has been gaining weight. I think out leisurely Fernside
walks are too leisurely which is funny as they easily could be quicker
but they're not at this point so we're going back to his more usual
places instead. I'm thinking Yoshi needs to go back to herding
though his bike rides help.
Trek walk. Around to Santa Clara again.
Wed Mar 26
At lunch today Trek seems to be moving around better.
Hopefully it won't be raining this evening, so I can walk the dogs
easily. Just checked accuweather.com. It's predicted to rain around 6pm (70%) so I have to hustle.
Ha ha ha. In the middle of the walk we got the 5 min warning
sprinkles. I suppose I could have turned around right then and
merely just gotten wet but continued with the loop in the Fernside that
we were doing and were soaked by the time we got back stopping every so
often under trees to wait for the intensity to ease some (though it
never became heavy.) Before it started to rain in earnest we had
an opportunity to work our way past a Deer
Hound across the street who was staring at us. I showed Yoshi the
treat right at the beginning and this helped him focus on not being an
idiot and he did very well.
Trek walk to Santa Clara. The rain had eased some. Her limping is improving but still very much there.
Trek is very sensitive about her lower left teeth. I should have
Park Centre take a look just to make sure there's nothing wrong with the
tooth itself.
I need to ask Park Centre for more Heartguard and Rimadyl (switching the 25mg to 20mg).
Tue Mar 25
I did the dogs nails today. Trek is equally sensitive on both feet which is a marked improvement.
Trek sees Dr. Wendy Wallace this afternoon for Chiropractic (and
some acupuncture). She finds that Trek’s Atlas is now over on the
other side and that her skull is uneven at the suture lines and her
thoracic vertebrae are out of alignment. She spends a fair bit of
time on these issues and she also does acupuncture on Trek as
well. She suggests that we give Trek Rimadyl 2x day for a bit.
She wants to see her again next week (I made the appt for Thur morning.)
Mon Mar 24
I sent the flash photo of Trek's partially opened left eye to Dr. Friedman, Sage, and Park Centre.
I was reading that Paresis can be caused by hypothyroid. I asked
Dr. Friedman if it would be a good thing to rule out and she thought it
might be. We don't have to do this right away I don't think.
Yoshi walk in the Fernside. This time I had to work a little
harder. Crossing the street for one dog and then again on for one
that had stopped to talk right were we wanted to walk. But this
time it gave Yoshi a good opportunity to watch them walk by.
Trek walk around the block to Santa Clara. Her walking is improving.
Sun Mar 23
Yoshi walk on Bay Farm. Steered around a couple of dogs but no problem, beautiful day for a walk by the water.
Looking for a dirt path with less gravel for Trek to walk on sent us
down to the base of High St (different name there-whatever) to walk
along the water there. She is starting to walk more normally with
less head bob, but I still massage her neck every day and we've been
giving her a Rimadyl in the morning.
Sat Mar 22
Bike run with Yoshi in Washington Park. I had loaned his
harness out to a friend so we haven't done a bike-run ina while and it
was really fabulous. We mostly go off trail on the grass and dirt
so I get a work out too. (So does the wee little folding bike)
Took Trek to Bay Farm to walk on the grass and dirt trail there.
Her left foreleg muscles are slowly coming back though she's still
pretty uncoordinated.
Did an exercise that Ziji showed me where I am behind her supporting her
chest with both her feet on the ground and then I pick up the right
foot which makes her bear weight on the left foot. I do this for
about three reps and let her go. I did 2 sets of them. Treats help.
Fri Mar 21
Trek Appt with Dr. Deborah Friedman her eye doc.
I asked Sage to send them her status and they sent them 35 pages. Sorry.
We spent a while talking about what had happened up to now and she
looked at Trek's eye. Her tear production in her left eye was down
to 6 (you want it to be 15 or higher) which is lower that it was last
time, but her eye itself actually looks fine which is what I had been
concerned about.
Trek also has Paresis (weakness) of her left eyelid. She is
wondering if she closes it when she sleeps. We couldn't really
tell because of the coloration of her eyelide, so I waited until Trek
was sleeping in a pitch dark room and I took a flash photo. She
closes it but not all the way.
She brought up the medication Pilocarpine and was wondering if we'd
tried it. That sounded very familiar and they looked in their
records and found mention of her being on it and being taken off of
it. I looked in my records and found that on May 22, 2007 she had
explosive diarrhea and we wound up taking her to ER and Pilocarpene was
the likely culprit. I found that I had sent them a fax of the
visit with a note that I didn't think having her on it was helping (even
though it did help her tear production.) Given that we haven't
had any episodes like that again I think Pilocarpine was the likely
problem and I re-faxed the whole thing back to them saying that I didn't
think Pilocarpine was a good idea.
Yoshi Fernside walk. Actually had to steer around a couple of dogs this time, but it's really easy to do that there.
Trek walk. She went around down Santa Clara which is the furthest she's gone since her Jan 30th injury.
Thu Mar 20
I sent a status report off to Sage and to Park Centre. Today I
took video. She is doing better, but has a significant way to go -
still very much has a limp.
Dr. Walls checked her CT and MRI and there was no C1 abnormality which
means that is started to happen later because of the limping.
Faxed off another VPI claim which included all the blood tests and the EMG and one acupuncture.
Yoshi walk in the Fernside. Saw one dog there on the other side of
the street and another dog on our street later. I had cheese with
him. I showed him him the cheese but didn't give him any until
we'd passed the dog. He glanced at the dog but did not
react. I was prepared to put the cheese away and not give it to
him if he did react. I did remind him once to leave it but he
seemed about to do it anyway.
Trek walk down the street. She is using the foot more but the
muscle that supports her weight, the Flexor Carpi Ulnaris is way
underdeveloped compared to the other one, so it's going to take a
while. After she sees Wendy I want her in PT. Park Centre
suggested Canine Rehab Center in Walnut Creek or Holistic Vet Care in
Oakland.
Took a little more video at noon where you can see this.
Trek did that odd chewing motion with her jaw again. She did let
me brush her teeth on both sides. One thing that makes it harder
for her on the left is that her left leg isn't as strong so it's harder
for her to stay balanced, but she didn't clench her jaw like she used
to.
Wed Mar 19
Timeline entry:
Dr.
Schwartz from Sage called to tell us that Trek’s Toxoplasma was
negative. So there no infection issue. It’s looking like
Trek’s leg is an injury to the Radial nerve which he says has a good
prognosis since she has sensation in her foot, just no motor control
yet. For the head issues, he recommends an MRI of the brain.
I
asked if the MRI could see nerve damage and he said you usually can't
because the nerves are embedded in far (I think he means the myelin
nerve sheat which makes sense).
Chiro session with Ziji.
In
one session, Ziji finds Trek's Atlas (C1 http://anatomy.wikispaces.com/file/view/skull_atlas_dog.jpg/118902485/skull_atlas_dog.jpg)
is jammed up nearly to her
left jaw. After a fair bit of massage on her Brachiocephalic
muscle that goes through her neck from the top of her neck to the front
of her chest she was able to work it free. (https://vitaminsforpitbulls.com/dog-muscle-anatomy/)
More
importantly, she found that Trek's left elbow was stuck rotated in which
was putting pressure on the Radial Nerve. She worked on the elbow
so it would rotate and she could move Trek's shoulder around and get
her to put a little weight on her left foot.
Just amazing.
She showed me how to rotate her head to the left so I could massage the
neck muscles, and then exercise her leg in a circular forward running
motion including making the shoulder blade move.
That evening, Trek let's me brush her teeth on the left side without issue. Hooray.
Tue Mar 18
Yoshi walk. Gonna keep doing dogwalks in the Fernside for a
while. It's eerily quiet even where there are kids around.
One dog in the distance and that's it.
Terri walk with Trek down and up the street went fine she said.
Cool thing today was that Trek wanted to play with Yoshi and tossed him to the ground with only 3.5 usable legs.
Trek might get a spot with doggy chiro Ziji tomorrow. Given that
Trek isn't seeing Wendy Wallace for a week that would put us ahead of
the game.
Jose from Sage called to tell us that Trek’s Neospora test was negative.
Mon Mar 17
Yoshi walk - in the Fernside again. It's so peaceful in this
part I should make our regular walk here. Less cars and dogs.
Trek walk - went around the block on Johnson again. This seems
like a good distance for her but I should choose a smoother street than
Gibbons. Maybe drive her over to the Fernside or do an out and
back.
I'm
thinking that Trek's mysterious limping might have been caused by going
down the stairs too quickly (and turning at the end) after just coming
off of being sedated (and woken up - muscles very relaxed and not in full control). Seems so unlikely, but it's
actually the most likely possibility. If this is the case then I'm told she has a good chance of recovery.
Timeline entry:
Trek has more energy and is able to walk around the block, but still isn't lifting her left foot up.
She's
also had a couple of unusual episodes of making exaggerated chewing
motions with her mouth yet there's nothing in her mouth. She doesn't
appear to have too much trouble eating though she is slower. She
still has the sensitivity about brushing the left side of her teeth.
Sun Mar 16
Trek walk and video in Lincoln Park. I drove her over there so
that I could make a progress video with her on the grass. When
she has energy she looks great, but after doing some takes, we went on a
walk and came back and did a little more and you could tell she was
having a harder time. She isn't lifting her foot, but instead
throwing it out which works ok, but I really want to see the foot
working properly. I'm trying to massage her shoulder and leg
muscles whenever I have a moment. I think she's getting a little
better but progress is slow. I did do her nails which helps.
Yoshi walk at Bay Farm. It was a lovely day and we had to steer
around around 10 dogs but there was no incident. There is good
lateral space at the Ferry Building Park which helps everyone to relax.
Sat Mar 15
Trek seems less coordinated, but is willing to walk further.
She went around the block on Johnson. She kinda has to work harder
when she looks at me while walking so I'm encouraging her to walk in
front with me directly behind her which seems to work. Her nails
drag, so I'll have to do her nails a lot more often.
Yoshi walk. Went through the Fernside which was relaxing.
The only dogs we saw were over on Gibbons and we just waited for them to
pass by.
Fri Mar 14
Trek Dr McCabe - acupuncture.
Trek after being worried about Dr McCabe, relaxed after a nice massage
(Trek is suspicious of Doctors these days). It helps that Dr.
McCabe doesn't wear a white coat.
She did not mind the acupuncture at all. Would get the occasional
head lift I think as she felt zing on a nerve (which is my experience),
but that's it.
She would like her to see Dr Wendy Wallace for chiropractic.
Thu Mar 13
Trek EMG with Dr Schwartz.
The EMG tests the functioning of muscles. With the dog sedated, a needle
is inserted into the muscle and then it's measured for further
activity. A sedated dog's muscle should show the initial insertion
and then nothing. A muscle that is having a problem will continue
to show activity. There is a verified problem with Trek's
shoulder and face, however there is not a problem with her back or rear
legs. This is an immense relief. Something is wrong with the
nerves or muscles in Trek's leg and face. Dr. Schwartz would like
to see an MRI of her brain to check for tumors. I more want to
work on the nerves by using acupuncture and chiropractic first and then
see if she improves.
----
Temp: 102.8 Pulse: 140 Respiration: pant
Weight: 9.091 kg, 20.00 lb, 0.44 m2
Procedure (3:36 pm Malte Schwartz, DVM, DACVIM (Neurology)/MSc)
EMG (under sedation):
There
was spontaneous muscle activity consisting of positive sharp waves and
fibrillation potentials of the left temporal muscle and
the left supraspinatus, infraspinatus, triceps, and extensor carpi
radialis muscles. There was a run of complex repetitive discharges in
the extensor carpi radialis muscle. No abnormal spontaneous activity was
found in the left thoracic and lumbar epaxial
muscles nor was there abnormal activity in the left pelvic limb
muscles.
Assessment (3:36 pm Malte Schwartz, DVM, DACVIM (Neurology)/MSc)
There
is evidence of either primary muscle disease or more likely denervation
of the left masticatory muscles and left thoracic limb
muscles. Involved nerves include the trigeminal nerve for the
masticatory muscles and the suprascapular nerve, radial nerve, and ulnar
nerve for the left thoracic limb. There was no evidence that these two
processes involve the pelvic limb muscles and it is
uncertain whether signs of masticatory muscle atrophy and signs of left
thoracic limb muscle atrophy are signs of the same disease process or
may represent two unrelated processes.
------------------
Extensor Carpi Radialis
http://quizlet.com/2495570/thoracic-limb-muscles-canine-flash-cards/
http://o.quizlet.com/i/REUTTpFcYPfQYmEgcCjR2g.jpg
She might also have radial nerve damage. I am concerned that she has a form a radial paralysis.
http://www.vetnext.com/search.php?s=aandoening&id=73288673867%20249
Wed Mar 12
Yoshi walk. This time I just worked to keep a comfortable
distance from other dogs and it worked nicely mostly. We would
sometimes stop to see which way the other dog was going to go, or cross
the street.
Trek walk. She has more energy. Made it down to Court and Johnson which is much further than she's been before.
Her EMG test is tomorrow. I'm hoping we can learn something from
that. Past this I think we're going to coast for a little bit and
wait to hear on the blood tests. She's not getting worse and may
be at least stable. It's possible we've burned through $4k just to
have it heal on its own. One concern is that it's a slow growing
cancer, but to have this sudden onset would make it a pretty strange
case.
Tues Mar 11
Trek neuro appt. Dr. Schwartz is very thorough and read the entire 3 page timeline that I gave him and went over the MRI again.
Here is the assessment part of his report (click to make them larger.)
Yoshi walk. There was a dog approaching so we crossed the street
and I was just in the middle of asking him to sit when he lunged and
bark. I looked up to see the dog was crossing the street diagonal
right at us. I picked him up none to gently and tried to get a
hand on his nose and got nipped in the process. Miffled, I carried
him half a block telling him (perhaps unfairly to knock it off.)
Then he's jacked for the whole walk so when another dog comes around the
corner right at us I pick him up and walk down that houses driveway to
let the dog pass while he whine. I didn't yell at him this time
just held him so he couldn't see the dog.
Mon Mar 10
Happy Daylight Savings Time!
Yoshi walk. Right at the start on the top of the landing he
saw a Lab across the street. He barked at them bit settled down
to eat treats. as we were walking down Court, Yoshi was looking
over his shoulder and I saw that there was a bike with a Sheltie. I
bent down and grabbed Yoshi just as he started yelling at the
dog. To complicate things they went around the corner right in
front of us, but I managed to hang on to him even though he was in a
fine snit. Then on Central there was a smaller dog
approaching. We hustled and we made is down a cross street and let
them pass without issue.
Short walk for Trek. She's using her leg more and is coping well, but she's not better. Neuro appt tomorrow finally.
2M antibody test was negative.
Sun Mar 9
Yoshi walk through the Fernside. Apparently High St is a hot spot
for dogs as he was checking out the smells very carefully.
Unfortunately High St is a busy street and not the easiest place to hang
out. Saw two small dog across the street later and I let a car
stay in between us and let he glance at them briefly. No issues.
Short Trek walk. She went further this time. She's coping
better with the disability but she's still not lifting her left foot
without throwing it out first.
Sat Mar 8
Both
Purple Fountain Grass and Maiden Grass are not toxic to dogs (the two
grasses that Trek vacuumed up into her nose). Phew. I was
concerned that she carried that around for 3 days before we removed it.
Trek
is having a harder time opening her mouth for me to brush her teeth
especially for the left lower molars. Months from now we're going
to have to give in an have her teeth cleaned as tarter is building up in
that area. The 2M Antibody test comes back next Monday. This screens for Masticatory Muscle
Myositis (MMM) by checking for 2M fibers. While Trek is showing
evidence of it, all her symptoms are only one one side and MMM is
usually bilateral. And she's limping which is not usually
included.
I have a tough time wrapping my brain around conditions that can be made
worse with an average dose of steroids, but the actual treatment is a
much larger dose of steroids over a long period of time. http://www.caninecreche.ie/info/masticatory-muscle-myositis
Basic walk for Yoshi. Saw a Golden in the distance and waited for them to walk across our path. No drama.
Walked Trek around the lawn and down the side of the house. She's not getting any worse.
Fri Mar 7
Yoshi evening walk. Went around the school this time.
Really wanted to sniff a lot - schools on the edges have a lot of dogs
around so there was probably a lot to catch up on. No dog
sightings.
Trek mini walk. Doing her usual throw her foot out instead of
lifting it. She's getting good at coping, but I'm really hoping we
can reverse this.
Added the sedative she had during the grass burr removal to her timeline. Dexdomitor, with Antisedan as the reverser. Pretty normal stuff.
Found out what VPI is going to pay. Ouch, it's way low. I
think with our next dog we'll either self-insure or use a difference one
like Embrace. Fortunately between three contributing parties it's
not too horrible. But she is up to $7000 in expenses and we're
not done yet. I'm hoping we don't have to do another MRI.
That is expensive.
Thu Mar 6
Trek went in to see Dr Walls. Her incision is looking
great. He did take a careful look at her face and did some testing
of it noticing the reduced reaction of the left side. He said he
will pass on his findings to Dr Schwartz.
Yoshi walk: saw one small dog get out of a car then turned towards us -
no reaction but they were across the street and we walked on. Then
we were going down a different street and a young German Shepherd
started barking at us from across the street. Yoshi didn't react
at all and I told him he was a really good boy and gave him a treat
while the owner was scolding her dog. This does amuse me I must
admit.
Wed Mar 5
Trek seems to be in good spirits so I made a couple of status videos where she is trying to use her leg.
Evening walk for Yoshi that was nice - no dogs.
Walklet for Trek. She is able to walk as fast as I can walk which is strange as she doesn't have full use of her leg yet.
Tue Mar 4
I am still coughing and sick, so took the afternoon off, but I was
well enough to walk Yoshi who was happy to get out. Trek and I
also took a walklet.
Trek's enthusiasm increases as her coordination decreases. She went loping to the back and nearly crashed into a door.
Dr Applegate called me late in the evening. Trek's CK/AST tests
came out as normal, though it doesn't rule out polymyositis.
Since I'm coughing, I slept on the sofa which helped me to be more
elevated and I didn’t have to feel guilty about hacking so much. I
brought Trek out in case she wanted to sleep in the same room as me,but
she left and went back to the bedroom, so I went back put her on the
bed and she was happy. I was concerned that she might try to leap
off the bed and hurt herself further.
Mon Mar 3
Got Dr. Applegate involved in Trek's case. Our schedules don't match
up well as she works Mon and Wed and those are system days for me, so I usually see the other vets in her practice, but it was
time to make time to see her. She's a great diagnostician and we've
known each other for 15 years. She thinks Trek's limping is from a
muscle problem and she's running tests to see if it's an autoimmune
issue, or a fungal or infectious one. It's very important to get a
correct diagnosis first as the treatment for one type can make the other
type worse. And she's already spoken with Dr Schwartz, the neurologist that we're
going to be seeing were discussing which blood tests to run.
Tests are
- CK/AST (results in a day or two)
- 2M antibody assay that checks for MMM (takes a week, goes to San Diego)
MMM: Masticatory muscle myositis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masticatory_muscle_myositis
Which is a disease mostly centered in the jaw, but can appear in other places as well.
There is another test called Neuro Real PCR that the neuro
wants to wait till Terri brings Trek to him next Tues as the blood can
give false negatives and if he chose to do the test he would use CSF
(Cerebral Spinal Fluid) instead.
Neuro Real PCR looks at the DNA of the organisms causing the problem
It tests for:
- Polymyocitis, deterioration of the muscle (auto-immune)
- Distemper
- Lymes (only a couple of them, not like the Lyme screening I already had done)
- Bartenella (spelling is wrong)
- West Nile Virus
- and others
Dr Schwartz will be doing a muscle test on Trek first.
Sun Mar 2
I'm still ill, but less so. Yoshi got a walk and Trek a micro walk.
Thought about it overnight. Trek walked into the nose procedure
and stated limping soon after. Time for Occum's Razor. She
is showing evidence of a neck issue and now it's worse. Let's
focus on that.
I made appt for Trek with Dr Malte Schwartz a neurologist at SAGE in
Dublin for Tue March 11 at 9:55 (Terri will take her), and Dr. Applegate
at Park Centre Mon (tomorrow) at 12:30. She already has an
incision check in Concord on Thur March 6 at 9:55am. And Friday
March 14 she will see Dr. McCabe again.
Sat Mar 1
Break in the rain. Walk for Yoshi. Baby walklet for Trek.
Trek is showing signs of muscle wasting on her head. I spend a
fair bit of time checking on causes. None are quite right.
- aspergellosis fungal infection - possible though remote (Dr
Applegate told me on Monday that it's not common around here).
- thyroid - she doesn't look like a thyroid dog
- lyme disease - ruled out
- myositis - she can open her jaw though she's not chewing as strongly on the left
- DM - not unless she's the world's first Corgi with upside down DM.
She may be using her foot more, and can walk on it, but she's not
standing upright on it. The spleen and the limp and not
related. We are back were we started. At least her life
isn't in immediate danger anymore.
Fri Feb 28
I've been posting progress videos to Facebook they look a lot better than they did but I'm not convinced we're out of the woods.
Took Trek's Fentanyl Pain Patch off. Now her foot is black and I'll ask at the incision check if they can clean it.
Thu Feb 27
I've
been home with a cold for two days which means that Trek and I are
actually sick of each other's company. Yoshi, on the other hand, is the
same as always.
Yoshi has been forgiving about his not getting out that much on walks.
Wed Feb 26
BENIGN!! What a relief.
Trek is using her foot more. Could this be related? Seems far fetched, but the hematoma is huge.
Tue Feb 25
Picked Trek up. They warned me she's still limping and she is, but she seems ok
Mon Feb 24
10:05am Trek's Splenectomy surgery went very smoothly I'm told. Biopsy results in two days. They'll keep her overnight.
The mass was not entangled into other things like the liver. A couple of mild adhesions on the abdomen that's all.
I had him send me a photo. It's freakin' huge. Just under a softball.
I hope she's going to be ok. I lost Cali at 9 to cancer and I so don't want to do this again.
I so want to go see her, but she'd never forgive me if I left her there,
and it might stress her more. I had them X-ray her foot for
completeness, and, of course, it's fine.
Peaceful walk for Yoshi at noon.
Sun Feb 23
Trek is in the hospital at Sage Concord now "under observation."
Her surgery is tomorrow. It is handy that Candace was there at
the front desk for continuity. Terri thought to buy them some Girl
Scout cookies which they appreciated.
It's
nice to know "Would you watch my dog all night long?" is not that much
money (under 150.00) and it's only that high because a vet (Dr Wong) has to
examine her before admitting her.
I
miss her a ton, but she's safer there even if she's not happy about
it. They're going to put her in a quieter section which should
help.
Now I'm eating Trader Joe's comfort food.
Yoshi walk. The neighbors chickens were out in the front yard
(bark bark bark after he got over being surprised to see a large chicken
with socks), so we turned around went inside and called the
neighbor (when we came back out the chickens were all the way across the
yard by their gate going: "Let us in." Then we walked down the
street and saw 4 cats walking
with a neighbor across the street (bark bark bar). Then another
neighbor's JRT was standing out side with her people. Off leash by
the street which I hate especially because a dog across the street was
just killed by running out into the street. People put way too
much confidence in their dogs without regard to their impulsive
nature. It's a terrier for heaven's sake. Anyway Yoshi did
great around the dog because she wasn't moving. The rest of the
walk was uneventful.
Yoshi is missing Trek it seems.
Sat Feb 22
Just
discovered that EBMUD property because it’s permit only really cuts the
crowds down and leashed dogs can go on some of the trails which is
perfect for Yoshi.
It was really lovely. Only say 3 different dogs and they were no issue at all. We were on the Kings Canyon Loop Trail.
Ref: http://www.ebmud.com/recreation/east-bay-trails
I
said to Dr. McCabe that I was concerned about it rupturing and she
talked to Dr. Walls and they said that we could bring her into ER and
they could monitor her and call in the on-call surgeon if it becomes
necessary. I think we will bring her in on Sunday afternoon. That said,
she's doing fine right now
Fri Feb 21
3pm Appt with Dr McCabe at SAGE Concord
During
Trek’s appt with Dr McCabe she asked to do an abdominal ultrasound and
I’d been thinking of doing one anyway so I readily agreed.
Trek
has a mass on her spleen. It’s coming out next week (Mon)
Terri will take her in and I will pick her up. Unless we
take her to ER this weekend.
I like being able to email the vets - that’s nice.
So no more exercise until after her surgery. We're going to go back to carrying her down the stairs.
Wed Feb 19
I'm looking for doggy chrio Ziji and I can't find her on the internet really. Asking around.
Tue Feb 18
Trek tech appt for a tick panel just to rule it out.
I also had a dr appt so no walk for Yoshi.
In the evening I got Trek out on the lawn and had her walk around some.
She's trying to use her foot but it's not doing that great but she is using it some.
Mon Feb 17
So the good news is that there is nothing terribly wrong with Trek
even though she is having trouble walking. No disk injury, no
fracture, no obvious nerve impingement. There is muscle atrophy
which could have been caused by disuse. She is starting to use her
foot some so the doc assures me that she is not getting worse and
giving it time will not make anything worse. I have scheduled an
acupunture appt for her for Friday and 3pm at SAGE with an eye to
perhaps moving Trek's care over to Wendy Wallace who is in Layfayette
and closer. I don't know how often a dog needs acupuncture.
Walk for Yoshi which was fine except for a smaller dog trying to change
at him from across the street. He was on leash fortunately but
Yoshi did react.
Sun Feb 16
Walk for Yoshi. Steered around several dogs mostly quite successful.
He watched a very slow moving little white dog walk down Gibbons.
When he would look to me for a treat I would give him a treat and move a
little further away down Johnson as a reward.
Trek is trying to use her left front foot, which is very
encouraging. Her appt is tomorrow at 9:40am in Concord.
We'll leave at 8:30am from my work.
Sat Feb 15
Easy walk for Yoshi.
We've decided that Trek can't feel her forearm well. She doesn't
react when I pinch her left front toes however when I squeeze a little
higher up and she reacts.
Fri Feb 14
Big MRI day for Trek.
Animal Scan is in Redwood City. MRIs is all they do and it's just
one dog at a time. We saw a German Shepherd leave but that's the
only dog we saw. It's a nice set up that way. Trek wouldn't come
out of her crate so we did the same think as we did at Park Centre and
just carried her and the crate into the place. In the waiting area
she came out on her own. Trek did have some trouble coming out of the
anesthesia. Pacing and crying, but after 45 minutes she was pretty
much ok, but I think it's a day she'd like to forget - though
relatively painless.
Thu Feb 13
Evening walk with Yoshi. Did a lengthy out and back along Santa Clara
There was a dog but no issue and he negotiated around a large rambunctious family without issue.
Trek's MRI is tomorrow at 11:45am in Redwood City. We'll leave at
10am to give us lots of time. I can't give her any food or water
after midnight, so I'm going to take her out around that time and give
her some water. I gave her some extra treats at 10, but it's more
the no water that's going to be hard.
Wed Feb 12
Yoshi walk. On Central a Pit Bull approached. We went down a side street to let them pass,
but this time we only went under a house length away. It
worked. Yoshi looked at the dog and then locked onto me for a
reward. Yahoo.
Tue Feb 11
Regular morning walk for Yoshi. He was thrilled to be out. No dogs, no drama.
Trek has a follow-up appt with Dr. Walls (http://www.sagecenters.com/chuck-walls) at SAGE in Concord at 4:10pm today. She'll go to work with me at 1pm and we'll leave at 3pm.
He concluded that she isn't showing the progress with the Pred that he
would have expected - she shouldn't be still knuckled over on the left
foot and the back is now unstable, so it's obviously neurological, and
wants to do an MRI ($2100). After a brief conversation with Terri
we decided to do it and it's on Friday at 11:45am.
Mon Feb 10
Yoshi got a quick walk down and back. He was disappointed but I'll try to get him out at noon.
Trek is still struggling but I'm told I need to be patient.
I need to talk with the vet to get her opinion on whether the
manipulation necessary to remove a grass burr would have tweaked the
disk. It was on the edge of being injured but it only got worse
after the procedure.
Sat Feb 8
Yoshi walk. Break in the rain. Drizzling a little but nothing serious. No dogs this time.
We're all going to Lake Wildwood in a bit for dinner and an overnight trip.
Fri Feb 7
Rain and I was busy at work. No dog wanted to do much
Thu Feb 6
It's raining today - this is very good news, but Yoshi doesn't like
the rain and Trek isn't going on walks right now. Yoshi went out
with his duck, looked around, peed, and came right back inside, all the
while without dropping the duck which he usually does. No one went
on a walk today.
Wed Feb 5
For a little while today it looked like Trek wasn't getting any
better but after her second Pred dose with some Tramadol she seemed to
perk up some. It's going to be a long two weeks. This
evening both of us were out in the rain me holding an umbrella and Terri
watching Trek and trying to help her get into position to
pee/poop. It was successful but it felt pretty absurd.
Yoshi walk down and up the street in the evening. Surprisingly we
saw 4 dogs. 2 he did ok on and the other were iffy.
Tue Feb 4
Trek to see Dr. Cathy Wydner. The foot isn't presenting as
obviously broken, so we're going to go consult with Dr. Charles Walls in
Concord 1410 Monument Blvd. 925-627-7243. Didn't do X-Rays as
they might want to do some of their own.
Diagnosis: Suspect acute left caudal cervical nerve root impingement
(which is disk involvement). I though sweet little Trek was going to
bite him when he carefully pulled her head to the right to check the
mobility of the area. Fine. Fine. Fine. Scream like I've never heard
her before. "OWWWW why did you do that? I'd bite you if it wasn't
hurting so much." Dr. Wydner was dead on in suspecting a neck injury.
We skipped right over X-rays and went straight to CT scan - the other
choice was an MRI, but that is double the price and in Redwood
City. The CT they were able to do in house right then while I
waited. Found Lila's car in the parking lot, verified it was her
bringing Abbey in for a dental consultation, then I posted a photo of
her car on Facebook and tagged her. Within 5 minutes there she
was, so we went back in and I listened some to the dental person when
they called me on my phone to say Trek was out of her CT and they had
results.
NORMAL CT!! Yahoo. This means that she basically tweaked her
neck. I guess we're paying for all those 5pm frap sessions though
it's usually Trek throwing Yoshi on the ground.
Treatment is Prednisone and Tramadol and rest with some acupuncture
later on for pain management. We have a followup appt next Tues at
4:00pm.
Things aren't looking good for herding any time soon.
CT 927
Consultaion 140
an MRI would be 2100.
We're going to let the case run for a while before submitting it to insurance but I do need to do the nose one.
Mon
Trek still limping and showing little improvement. If this was a sprain we would see improvement by now.
Yoshi evening dash walk down and up the street. He's getting less
attention with this thing with Trek which is odd as Trek isn't being
walked right now.
Sun
Trek limping no change. Carried her out to the front yard to let her roll around.
Basic drama-free walk with Yoshi
Sat Feb 1
Yoshi walk. Went to the Bay Farm ferry building and started to
walk the shoreline from there. There is a reasonable amount of
lateral space and he did great with other dogs around. He got to eat a
lot of cheese and passed five or more dogs as close as 30'. We'll have
to make a habit of this. I have his harness back so we can go on a
bike ride too.
Trek is still hobbling pretty badly. I think she's going to get an
X-Ray next week. I keep debating X-Ray or Ultrasound but an X-Ray is
the more natural step but I think an ultrasound would show the same
thing and more and she's due for an abdominal one anyway.
Fri Jan 31
Herding with just Yoshi this time. First with goats and then a
mix of sheep and goats. The first session he plowed into an
obstacle - I had been sending him out around the obstacles to get more
distance. He survived ok it appear. I earlier had been
tripped by a goat and am a little sore from that.
Thu Jan 30
Trek is going back to the vet at 4:30pm to look at her foot. I
took video. Her limp was pretty obvious, but Dr. Wood was happy
to get a look at it. She examined Trek closely and it appears to
be localized to her toes. There is nothing stuck in between her
toes and it doesn't appear to be a disk problem. We're going to
watch it for a couple of weeks and see if it improves with Rimadyl (1/2 a
tablet twice a day). If it doesn't then we'll take X-Rays to look
for arthritis but I'm hoping it doesn't come to that. When she
was under they trimmed her toenails as they were a little long and that
might have been a factor. I also found a rock way out of place in
the yard which could have caused a doggy paw ouch but I was raking back there took and I could have easily done that.
We should limit her walks during this time and no herding for a couple of weeks.
I ordered more Advantix and included some greenies to try them.
To busy to walk Yoshi unfortunately. He was bummed that Trek wasn't up to the usual 5pm frap.
Wed Jan 29
Dr. Loo found 2 grass bits up her nose. This is after being at the vet's all morning and not sneezing at all.
Trek is also limping - left front. I gave her 1/2 a rimadyl to see if that helps.
Tue Jan 28
Yoshi noon walk. We went backwards the usual way - no
dogs. That blind corner is partially true on the other side of the
street too.
Dusk walk for Trek, this time just all the way down the street and back - which actually is a ways.
Trek is still snorting so she's going into Park Centre to be sedated and
then they'll put a scope up her nose. I'll bring in the $300
piece of grass that was taken out of Yoshi's nose as an example of
something to look for. I think it's her left nostril. I'll
also have them trim her nails while she's under as she has a sore left
front toe and it might be because her nails are too long. She also cried
out again in the afternoon when she was relaxing on Terri's lap and
then Terri put her on the floor.
Mon Jan 27
Yoshi noon walk. Said hi to Steve who was doing
yardwork. Steered around some major tree trimming work going on on
Gibbons. Said hello to a man I've seen before who asked to say hi
to Yoshi and he said he had a Lab (though not with him that day.)
Trek dusk walk through the Fernside. I often pick the Fernside
when it's near dark as the trees are smaller and less raccoon risk.
At night, there were some raccoons arguing which was a little unsettling
but they stayed a house width away, but I called the dogs in pretty
quickly.
Trek went to the vet because of her sneezing. Couldn't find anything obvious so she's on Benedryl to see if it resolves.
Sun Jan 26
Yoshi walk. We were running across High St. at Santa Clara to
get out of the way of a car waiting to turn left and just about ran
smack into another dog who was walking up to the park we were going
go. I sweved right as we were going up the curb and told him to
cool is and bent over and picked him up and walked him to the other
nearby park entrance. He was grumbling but we just sat down on a
bench and cooled off. Then he was able to let a Lab walk by
without issue and later on watched a Boston Terrier across the
street. He's getting good enough at the game that I often don't
have to say "Leave it." He just looks and looks back for a treat.
Trek snorted something up in the yard right in front me in front of the
small rosebush and started violently sneezing. It calmed down
later, but is now sniffing and snorting.
Sat Jan 25
Trek cried out at the back door in the morning when jostling with
Yoshi. It was still dark and Terri was getting a headlamp so
didn't see it and yours truly was in the bathroom, but heard it.
Trek seems ok.
Fri Jan 24
Herding, Yoshi on sheep and goats, Trek on ducks. Trek did great
and is actually stopping sometimes, and Yoshi did less badly. I
took video (I try to each time.) I went back and double checked the video and she is not injured here.
Thu Jan 23
Morning out and back walk with Trek. She found a desicated pear
that I didn't see until she obediently sat by my side and looked up,
almost whistling. She did drop it when asked (twice), and she was
rewarded with cheese but she really wanted her prize.
Wed Jan 22
At 11am Terri went into the house and found Trek staring intently at
the guest room door and not budging. She opened it and Yoshi
walked out having gotten stuck inside while she was leaving in the
morning (she has a closet in there.) Trek attitude to Yoshi is
usually "I'm with stupid," but this time she was very much "Let my
people go."
At noon the street was alive with construction equipment working on the
sidewalks so I chose not to take a dog out and we hung out in the yard
playing a little fetch.
Took Yoshi for an evening walk and got a look at that place where we've
nearly run into other dogs. There is a hedge along the other side
and it blocks my view of approaching people and dogs. We usually
aren't walking there which is why it isn't a regular occurrence and I'm
glad I'm aware of it now.
Fetch in the yard with Trek at dusk.
Tue Jan 21
Noon Yoshi walk. They're working on our sidewalks so we went out and back instead of a loop.
Saw Max the Pembroke with Mary Ellen and we crossed the street to let
them go by and we chatted. I explained the Look At That game while
Yoshi demonstrated it. I said that he's allowed to look at Max
and then look back to me and if he can hold it together, he gets
cheese. Which he got a lot of. We talked about maybe Max and
Trek getting together. Trek will not like it at first then love
it that another Corgi boy is asking for her to tell him what to do.
On our way back we nearly ran into a neighbor and her Jack Russell
Terrier. I pulled up steadily on the leash and U-Turned us and
walked back a house width. Yoshi is making strangled reactive
gurgling sounds but didn't explode mostly because I was shutting off his
air. When we got far enough away he was able to hold it together
to watch the other dog cross the street.
Mon Jan 20
Walk in the morning for Trek.
Yoshi had an out and back walk. Right at the start was an approaching
dog that looked like a very small Harlequin Great Dane. I showed
Yoshi the cheese and he successfully with effort played look at
that. I would have rewarded him just watching me. I did not
reward him being on my leg - nor did I push him off he just got down on
his own since he didn't get rewarded for it. He held it together
and did not bark at the other dog. Good boy.
Sun Jan 19
Walked both dogs separately. Trek in the Fernside and Yoshi the more standard route.
He walked past two red hunting dogs looking at him non-challengingly. He did very well.
Sat Jan 18
I went hiking today and only Yoshi got a walk but he got some good practice it.
Fri Jan 17
Back at herding. Hooray. Took a lot of effort to put the
new Scion back as a dog car with crates, tie downs, herding and video
paraphernalia etc.
I'm going to keep Yoshi on sheep or mixed sheep and goats, and Trek will stay on ducks of course.
Yoshi was on a long line and while I'm not supposed to be holding it, it
works better for me to hold the end but keep the line slack as it's
hard to step on the line when it's flying around. I have an even
longer line but that gets wrapped around everything and there is a bit
of comedy with him racing in a circle around stock, but if I stop him
with the line he calms down and is able to work for about a minute
before going into overdrive: Get That Sheep! I don't know if he's
going to LA or not. Judy's sheep are his best chance to succeed,
but I don't know if it's worth it. What's great about that ring is
that the walls are solid so he can't see outside the ring at all which
is perfect.
Trek on the hand did very nicely with the occasional zoom past and poke a
duck. The video is very funny with a lot of "Yes, good girl. No!
don't do that."
She gives me that "I just have to do this" look. But her outruns
are doing well though we haven't worked up to the HTD II distance
yet. The problem I want to work on is when the ducks hang on the
fence which has happened to us with Peggy's geese in LA and the ducks up
in Gig Harbor, WA. Linda's ducks don't hang on the fence, they
just stop in the center. If I put their crate on the side of the
fence or better, just outside the fence. I'll have to try that
next time. Trek will be going to LA in April, Auburn on May
31-June 1 (she's entered already), and maybe Gig Harbor in July.
Wed and Thu
Jamming in dog walks when I can squeeze them in.
Tue Jan 14
Time crunch today. Yoshi got a quick walk at the end of the
day and Trek bugged me all evening for attention. Fortunately a
lengthy belly rub is what she wanted.
One interesting thing that happened during Yoshi's walk was that we
crossed the street to let an approaching dog walk by. I showed him
the cheese and he jumped up on my leg which I sometimes let him do, but
this time I said "No, sit" and when his feet hit the ground he growled a
little and then would look up at me there might have been a brief sit
in there before he repeated the whole process two more times.
I see that Trish King and Tricia Breen have set up their own dog behavior consulting service. Hooray for them.
The web site is: http://www.canine-behavior-associates.com/
Mon Jan 13
Yoshi walk at noon
Just enough daylight now to squeeze in a walk for Trek.
We can soon return to normal walk behavior.
Sun Jan 12
I bought The Corg II (2014 Scion xB). No walks for dogs but it's for a good cause.
Sat Jan 11
Dog walks. Yoshi and I watched the two German Shepherds walk
by across the street and I was showing him the cheese this time.
He held it together mostly but it was a challenge for his. He kept
standing up and I would say No, sit.
Thu Jan 9
Regular walk for Trek which meant we went by the crossing guards
while the whistle was blowing. Fortunately this whistle is like
the ones that the SF doormen use to signal taxis. It's not loud
like a regular ball containing whistle, but it carries. I don't
know the overtones which is always an issue for Trek who objects to
things like DVDs ejecting out of computers, metal clanging (even
softly), agility teeters, obedience jumps being adjusted, and even oven
thermostats turning on and off. I fed her quite a lot going past
and she was at least willing to engage the notion of not trying to bolt
for home.
Uneventful walk for Yoshi.
I find this intriguing about Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior (DRO)
http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/using-positives-to-decrease-negatives
Dog trainers call it bribing, but here is evidence that it could work (later she says that it worked completely).
'DRO, or “Diff’l Reinforcement of Other Behavior, in which the
therapist gave the child a chance to choose the reinforcer before each
session, and then told the child “If you don’t touch the dog’s bottom,
when the timer goes off (10 sec), you’ll get X (chosen reinforcer)
afterward”.'
So if I see a dog approaching and will be passing by my dog at a
distance he is expected to tolerate, then would this be essentially
saying Sit, and showing them the cheese, and just stand there?
Hmmm, I'll give it a try. We're close to doing that anyway, but I
try not to be so obvious with the cheese.
Wed Jan 8
Trek morning walk. We went our usual way and I gave her a lot
of treats at the crossing guard. This seemed to work find.
Fantastic noon walk for Yoshi. He barked and growled at a passerby
(that he did not see clearly) right out the side door then he stopped
and looked at me. After a beat, I told him 'How about we try that
again?' And he sat and looked right at me not paying any attention to
the street and I rewarded him. From there on he was very engaged with
me, and even watched a dog he's barked at before walk down the other
side of the street. Looking at the dog and then looking at
me. Good boy.
Gary Wilkes (well respected clicker trainer) was just writing that
positive reinforcement can not stop a negative one. Given the
above, I'm not convinced.
Tue Jan 7
Trek walk in the morning. We went the other direction that we
usually go in to get by the crossing guards before school children and
whistles.
Noon Yoshi walk. Peaceful.
<snif> The Corg has been officially totaled by St. Farm. The
damage was only $500 over what the Fair Market Value was so it was very
close. I think I'm just going to get a 2014 version of the same
car if the crates still fit, and the photos imply that there haven't
been any substantial changes to that part of the car. I'm going to go
look at one tonight to measure it, but I won't tell them that a decision
has been reached yet.
Mon Jan 6
Walked both dogs at noon with out major incident. Phew.
Yoshi's brain must be so full as he just doesn't listen the first time I
say his name. Usual wisdom says that he hasn't been rewarded
enough but he's been rewarded a lot and in a non-distracting environment
he's terrific and when he checks back it he's great. Hmmmm.
Sun Jan 5
Walked each dog separately though I'm still getting tired easily.
Yoshi and I went into the Fernside mostly out and back with a short loop
at High St to Gibbons before turning back off. I don't
particularly like walking along High St or Gibbons as the traffic on
either make maneuvering difficult and I would have to pick him up
instead.
Standard walk for Trek. She was bugging me to work so we did some
walk, down, stop, go. And also a little bit on down on recall
which for the first time she's actually starting to get. I haven't
worked on it much as I wanted her to get her CD (Novice Title) first
before messing up her recall. Now it's looking like I might not
bother so I'm starting to play with it.
Sat Jan 4
Yoshi noon walk. Things were just too quiet so I wasn't that
surprised when a dog appeared approaching a blind corner right at the
same time. I said "whoops" turned to him to turn around and he was promptly a complete twit and I
picked him up. Other dog was a harmless hound of sorts.
Basic walk for Trek. I'm getting tired easy so it was way short.
Fri Jan 3
Walk with both dogs at noon - no herding today.
Thu Jan 2
Someone hit my car which completely messed up my usual schedule and took the dog car out of commission for a while.
Wed Jan 1
Happy New Year.
We're all going to Bodega Bay Spud Point Crab Company for lunch then South to Dillon Beach a dog friendly beach.
It was delicious. Yoshi and Trek each got a lot of attention
separately while Terri stood in line and I and a dog would join her.
We then ate lunch on the point there and then drove down to Dillon's
Beach which had a line and was over crowded and would have been a Yoshi
nightmare so we drove south and wound up doing an on-leash walk around a
school in Point Reyes Station. I was wanting to go down to Ocean Beach
or at least around Point Reyes visitor center but we were going to run
out of day light. It wasn't what I was hoping for but it was a
good day.
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