It's Taken Me Years to Publically Say...

I'm a diabetic. Oh yeah, and I have Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Basically, these came on due to a viral infection when I was 23 years old that has forever weakened my Immune System. But this isn't intended to be a sob-story post, so let's just focus on me coming to terms with my Diabetes. There, I said it publicly again - heck, I might even get good at this!

Sure, I've talked with select individuals about being a diabetic, but overall I have tried very hard to hide it because Diabetes has had such a negative stigma in the past. Did you know that Mary Tyler Moore has Diabetes? So does Larry King, Randy Jackson, Nicole Johnson Baker (Miss USA '99) and the Seattle Mariners pitcher Brandon Morrow. Did you also know that most of these people hid their disease for fear it would derail their careers by giving the impression that they were damaged goods, high-maintenance or be seen as unable to keep their commitments.

In this day and age, it seems strange that people have been denied jobs, promotions, access to airplanes, treated as if they had the plague, looked at as an oddity and dumped in relationships because the other person "couldn't handle it." All because they were labeled 'Diabetic'.

I remember the first time my doctor said "I'm certain you have Diabetes, but we need to run a test to confirm it." I began to cry and quickly refused the test, explaining that if I was diagnosed with Diabetes, I could be dropped or denied future health insurance (which is true in many states). The negative stigma related to Diabetes is strong and it is still in existence.

There have been countless times that I've started to write about my experiences with Diabetes, but didn't want it to come out in a 'poor me' kind of way. I just think it's time I state the facts, not just for myself, but for everyone around me and for those who may be facing the same scary issue.

• First, I am a Diabetic. I'm a Type 1 so that means I will ALWAYS be a Diabetic
• Yes, I can have deserts & carbs, but only in moderation
• Next, if you see my 'pager' it's really my insulin pump (a medical device). If you hear a beep, it's probably my insulin pump. If I'm pushing some buttons on it while we're talking, please continue on, I'm not ignoring you or taking a call
• I'm sorry (I'm apologizing in advance), but when my blood sugar is low or high, my moods aren't my proudest moments. It's a chemical thing in the body and I really, really can't help it. Please don't take these moments personally, but rather as a clue that something is going wrong in my body and I need help.
• Oh yeah, when my blood sugar becomes too low, I have discovered that my breathing becomes very quick, shallow and labored. I become very hot & sweaty. I also become incredibly task-oriented and can no longer multi-task. As mentioned previously, I might be a bit short in our conversation. This means I need sugar NOW so please ask if I need to check my blood sugar level or just hand me some sugar.
• If I need sugar you need to know it comes in all types of forms such as sugar packets, orange juice, regular soda, a candy bar and my favorite for traveling, gummy bears.
• My sugar can drop quickly when I'm exercising, it's hot out, when I eat a high carb meal (which I generally try to avoid) or for no apparent reason at all. What a pain it is!
• Does Diabetes scare me? Of course it does. I know that statistically, the chances of me dieing at a much earlier age because of this disease is a very real future for me. I'm more susceptible to organ failure, limb amputation, blindness and much more.
• With that said, I'm certainly not going down without a fight! I have heart, I have gumption and I work hard to focus on other things besides the negative what-could-be.

Having Diabetes is a challenge and there are days I'm just tired of it. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of taking a vacation from it, although I so wish I could just have 1 week a year! But on the flip side, Diabetes has put a lot of things in perspective for me. I don't sweat about a lot of things I used to and I feel like I live in a great place that supports a healthy diet - which is key for my daily living.

Diabetes has also shown me that my husband loves me unconditionally. He was there for the diagnosis, the 3-day hospital stay that followed and for all of the education 'we' have had to endure! I say 'we' because the first thing Dan said when I was diagnosed was "What do WE need to do..." I wouldn't have blamed him if he would have chosen to run far, far away - it's no secret that I wish I could have had the option to run from Diabetes!

After almost 5 years of living with this disease, the one thing that continues to surprise me is how my friends and family accept and support my Diabetes life. It started when my mother-in-law took an entire day of her personal time to come & support me at an informational Diabetes Conference. She doesn't have Diabetes, but boy did she jump in to help me get educated that day!

More recently, I went on a long hike with some friends and with the exercise and heat, it was challenging to get my blood sugar stabilized. I had to keep stopping along the trail to bring my sugars back up and in my embarrassment, kept apologizing. My friends didn't think it was a big deal and my husband was his usual supportive & patient self (which also meant he carried a loaded backpack full of supplies for me).

Taking that hike was a big deal to me and a bit of a milestone. I've read about real people who do triathlons, long distance cycling and marathons, so accomplishing my 9 mile hike (which really turned into a 12+ mile hike) was a start. Next I really want to get back to swimming, which means having my insulin pump injection patch in plain sight thanks to the swimsuit. Since being diagnosed with Diabetes, I've been playing it safe when it comes to physical activity, I've been living in fear of the sudden drop in my blood sugar and I've been hiding my patch. I think it's time to move forward, get back to full living and to remember that the what-ifs are going to happen whether I'm sitting at home on the couch or climbing a mountain.

I may have a disease that requires intensive daily management, but I can still make & accomplish goals - it just takes a little extra planning and a contingency plan.

I know I'm not the only one out there with Diabetes who is trying to keep their chin up each and every day. I just hope that my story will inspire someone else to keep going, to stay engaged and most importantly, know that you're NOT alone.

Thanks for letting me write this.

How to traumatize your dog 101

So a man calls the office and says his dog was quilled last night and he would like the dog checked in case he needs antibiotics. He says he pulled the quills himself but just wants the exam. I make space for him in the afternoon schedule. When he arrives we notice that the dog is limping. OK that isn't good news. Cut to the exam room where he tells the doctor the dog had hundreds of quills in his face, in his mouth and his neck as well as some in his paw. The doctor couldn't do a good exam because the dog was now extremely head shy and snapped a warning. They couldn't get a good look at the paw either but it is assumed that there are still some quills causing havoc which is responsible for the limp. (that wasn't mentioned in the phone call) He will now be back tomorrow so we can properly anestitize the dog to get a good look and pull what may be left.

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My mistake? Assuming the dog only had a few quills in the first place. A dog owner might pull a few quills themselves but usually leave seriously quilled dogs for us to deal with.

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WTF was this guy thinking? How painful that must have been for that poor dog?? For those that don't know, quills do not pull out easily. They have backward facing scales which help them stay in the skin. Pulling them out takes some force on the pullers part. (And it is a myth that cutting them lets air out so don't try it. It only leaves less for us to hold onto.)

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My lesson in all of this is to ask more questions next time and to get the dog in earlier. Time could have been saved had I realized the severity of the dogs incident with the porqupine. I also learned that not every owner considers the pain involved for their pet during a quilling incident. I mean, he knew to come in for medication but he put the dog through hell to get to that point. Besides the physical pain that dog has gone through, it is possible that he may become leery of his owner as well as others around his head from now on. Wouldn't you be?

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Perhaps he was trying to save himself from a large vet bill. Unfortunatly a pretty high price was paid for it by his dog. I cannot imagine putting my dog through that much pain to save a few dollars, which in the long run it didn't. The dog still needs to be anestitized for us to get a good look and get the rest of the quills out. It might be ironic if it wasn't so sad.

You be the sheep, and I'll be the wolf

Culture Clash!

The other night after tracking, everyone had a great romp in the field. Looking through my pictures, these ones stood out. Not the greatest photos but interesting. In the above photo, River is demonstrating how shepherds like to play. They are all about control. Border Collies are all about running! In the above photo, River demonstrates a neck grip, which is an acceptable way for a GSD to stop a running SHEEP in the world of GSD herding (HGH). Ted is happy, because he gets to run full tilt. The neck grip (to be clear) is to grab the wool at a thick spot on top to stop the sheep, not to hurt it in any way (which would not be acceptable, of course).

River was so excited that her one ear, which is usually down, was UP. I guess she figured that she should really get into that wolf role. She looks like a different dog! Most people have no concerns about coming over to pat River because with her coat and floppy ear she looks like a big Golden. Some actually stiffen when I say she is a German Shepherd. When both ears are up like Caden's or Thorn's, people sometimes cross the street rather than pass me on a sidewalk - yet Caden is overly frendly if anything!

Just some ramblings on a nice, cool summmer morning.

What Would You Do on a 106 Degree Day?

Our friends Steve & Laurie invited us over for dinner and fun on their lake with the dogs - a perfect day for it since the high was at or above 106 degrees here! Ah yeah, a new city record...

Any way, the water was wonderful! With all of the hot weather, the water was a comfortable temperature which is good, because I'm a wimp.

I wasn't sure how Zulu would be in the water so we brought bumpers to throw, a long line "just in case" and my bathing suit so I could coax him in if needed.

Well, the joke was on me because little did I know that our little Zulu is a water fanatic! Within moments of spying the water he had me on my butt!!!

It all happened so fast. One minute he was diving in the water to fetch a toy screaming with delight the entire time. As I was checking to be sure my ears weren't bleeding from the high pitch, he came in, gave me the bumper, proceeded to wrap me in the long-line and then before I could calculate my predicament, he dove back in and down I went!

I just have one thing to say...remind me to talk to his breeder on the lack of warning regarding his water fetish - LOL.

After a good 30-45 minutes of hard swimming (I did keep the long line on him the entire time), I went out in a raft and Zulu came up to join me and get some rest. The first picture attached was after we settled in. The second picture was us trying to settle in!

Last, but certainly not least, Burton is pictured doing one of his many water retrieves. He too is a water fanatic!

We're going back on Saturday and plan to bring Ru in the hopes that Zulu can get her to graduate from the baby pool to the adult lake. Should be fun!

Dog Days of Summer

The Seattle area is under a major heat wave with temperatures into the 100's.

While this may seem normal to folks from the South, last night was the first night in Seattle's history that the temp didn't drop back down below 70. Today we're in for another record high of 105+.

So the plan for the week has been to get the dogs out early so they can peacefully spend the day inside with the A/C going.

On Monday, we had an early play date with our friends Dave & Heidi and their pups. Dave is an amazing photographer and all of these pictures are courtesy of him - Thank you Dave!!!!!

The first picture has Ru & Zulu cooling down in the pool, which was also known as 'home-base' for the dogs while playing. They'd run and run and run, then jump in the pool to cool down and then go off to run again.

The next picture is Ru & Zulu playing a great game of tag.

In the third picture, Dylan is a part of the game and witnesses Ru being taken down by Zulu...not that that stopped the fun as they all played for a good 45 minutes to an hour without a break.

Next we've got Zulu & Ru tugging on the Frisbee and last but not least, a picture of Zulu framed in by an Agility Tire. Don't worry, my 6 month old puppy wasn't jumping it, but rather he was standing at attention just waiting for the other dogs to start the next game of chase.

His breeder asked what I thought his ear set would be, prick, semi-prick or a combination. It's so hard to say at this point! There are moments they're as prick as can be, then there are the times they're semi-prick and then there's that lazy left ear of his that just wants to hang around while the other is straight up. It will be interesting to see which way they end up : )

Stay cool everyone. I know I'm going to take advantage of the heat and take a siesta later with the pups.

Finally a Field! Part 2 with Caden and Jet tracking July 28 Videos

See the post below for details about these tracks...

Caden's track

Caden is settling down compared to earlier this summer. I need to calm him at his turns and encourage him to carry on as he doubles back every time. This might be something to work on at the tracking seminar in 2 weeks...



And here he is playing with his favourite toy afterwards, as I practice platz (down), sit and out!



Jet's track
Please NOTE that I forgot her harness, but didn't want to put it off. I usually don't have her on a collar (for those who have commented!)

Jet has not tracked this year. I deliberatey laid a bit of a challenge to see where we are at, but had faith in Jet as she is one nice little tracker. She was a bit rough here, on the start, pulling a bit to the left and then casting on the corner. I used my Schutzhund articles and you can see her look at me and choose to disregard this piece of rug - until I call her back.



My memory card was full so I only got a portion of the next leg, and her very nice turn. Sadly, I was not able to videotape her nice article indications for more small SCH articles.

Finally a field!

The heatwave broke today, and it rained overnight, so I could hardly wait to get out tracking! Back home I had so many fields to practice tracking in, but here in Alberta I have not really found one, so do all my training in urban settings. I have a SCH tracking friend who has a field though, and he is at the Nationals this week in BC...so, I asked if I could train in "his" field, and it is OK! The field is only 20 minutes from my house. I am so happy to use it! Video is coming next, tonight, photos and description!
What a great night tonight. I took some video and Caden is really coming along. We are going to a SCH tracking seminar in two weeks, so I plan to get some work in ahead of time to be prepared. He had a load of fun playing with his ball later - and I practiced his sit and platz with the ball. I ran Ted on Caden's track afterwards, just to keep Ted interested. Ted's mission is just to find that toy so he can play. Mine is to keep him focused on the track. He seemed to beedle along quite nicely, but his little beedling legs took him right past the first corner. Funny that his weak area in herding (legs go too fast for brain) is the same in tracking!
I laid River a U track as we are mainly working on our starts and tweaking up her veg nose right now. Her start was good - I held the harness and did it like a restrained recall. Her turns were loosey-goosey. She likes non-veg so much more. So for now, she won't get it as much - it is really funny how they lose their veg nose and in River's case, all interest in veg. Tonight she really thought it was more for "marking" and I admit I got a bit frustrated - and she did buckle down near the end. I understood her wish to mark the field, since she had to sit in the car and watch every other dog track first. It should make her keen, but just makes her pissy! Well, literally I guess!
The little star tonight was Jet. I have decided it is time to get her working seriously towards her TDX and her UTD. Other than playing around with some HITT this spring, Jet has not seriously tracked this year. I laid her a TD length track with 3 turns and long legs. I also used my SCH articles for her, and put four down. She was not sure about the first one (rug) but with encouragement indicated. After that she indicated the rest. Her track was aged 1.5 hours - because I wanted to see just where we are at tonight, then develop a plan. Her first turn was a bit wobbly, but the next two were great - her 3rd being dead on. I also loved her pace - steady and sure. I am just super-excited about getting Jet out on the track again.
Jet was a great TD dog - the only one to pass at a test in Fall 2007, on a blustery rainy and windy fall morning. She aced her track, towing me along. I know I will love moving forward with her but was just waiting for the right timing!

River just needs fun, motivational maintenance now. And as you can see, she had a great time runnng around tonight just playing.

So it is Jet's turn to get some real work in on the tracking field. On the way home I let her ride on the front seat and she kept giving me little kisses. If you read the post below, you will know that it is quite an honour to be riding alongside a sweet and happy version of Jet! This could be the start of a beautiful relationship!

Dogs Color Vision: Can Dogs See Colors?

Can dogs see colors?

Dogs color vision has been a debatable topic since a set of experiment ended up with the fact regarding the optical perception in dogs!

Many authorities have declared dogs to be color blind. I have come across a lot of sources that said “dogs are color blind”. They have directly implicated that dogs can only perceive white, black and all grey shades i.e. combinations of white and black. This conclusion is wrong. As a matter of fact the not much was known about the dog’s color vision until in the late 1980s, when a definitive series of experiments laid down the fact that dogs can see colors! The experiments were carried out at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and had been the world’s first research program based on the comparative study of color vision in dogs. Some of the researchers had volunteered their most loved dogs. 'Gipsy' and 'Flips' a couple of Italian Greyhound and 'Retina' a toy poodle were volunteered by the researchers.

The experiments ended up with the conclusion that dogs can see colors. The fact is that their chromatic acuity is much less than what human have, because of two distinctive factors:

1. Dogs’ retinas have fewer cone cells, which contain pigments that perceive specific color wavelengths and help animals to see and distinguish colors.
2. Dogs are dichromatic, which means they can see only two primary colors - blue and yellow and their combinations, while humans are trichromatic (we can see three primary colors - red, green and blue – RGB, and their combinations).

Most pet product manufacturers make dogs toys red in color. Fact is, it becomes really difficult for the dogs to see red. Well I cannot say exactly what color does a red rubber ball may appear to your dogs, but surely not as it appear to you and me. When I tossed red ball to my Rex he seemed to be a bit stupid about chasing it correctly, but later I discovered that it was actually a fault on my part selecting the right colored toy for him.

The study of dogs’ color vision by Jay Neitz of University of California, Santa Barbara had been made in a very unique way. Each dog was kept into a dog box facing a display of three round panels of light arranged in a horizontal row. The researchers had put a cup of yummy treats for the dogs beneath each panel of light, where two were always same and the third one was always different. The dogs were trained to find the odd one out… i.e. the one that was different. Each dog was made to make 4,000 trials, where for every correct finding the specific dog was rewarded with the tasty treat in the cup, while for wrong choices there were no rewards.

Researchers have concluded that we human beings have 100% cone cells in the center of the retina, while dogs have only around 20% cone cells. This means that when we see color we can see several times prominent than dogs. Dogs see the same colors in faded version, with less detail. In 1995 an on color vision in dogs was published in the Journal of the Veterinary Medical Association. The articles described the optical differences between human and dog color visions.

This is not the end, by the way. Researchers have also said that dogs can clearly notice very subtle changes in color shades… more clearly than humans. This is due to the absence of the yellow pigmentation in the lens of dogs’ eyes. We have this yellow pigmentation in the lens of our eyes. The yellow pigment actually blocks the short wavelength, thereby mitigating the optical sensitivity to blues and violets. It is due to the absence of this yellow pigmentation that the dogs are more capable of seeing different combinations of violet and blue lights.

See below to know what the spectrum looks like to canines and humans…


Dogs can be color blind

Well, now there’s no doubt about the fact that dogs can see colors. But dogs can be color blind as well! Yes, no jokes! Dogs can be color blind just like some humans are. Color blindness in dogs is just a condition and is not normal. If Rover is color blind that doesn’t mean that dogs in general are color blind. But to be very frank, it’s quite difficult to say if a dog is color blind. Color blindness in dogs is rare condition. So, if your dog is not responding to the colorful toys, just don’t pounce on to the conclusion that he/she is colorblind. May be it’s your fault in picking the right color for your pooch.

More interesting facts about dogs:

Evolution of dogs
Dog Intelligence
Tail Docking in Dogs

A brag and some breed chatter

First I have a pretty nice brag. My akita breeder (yes that sounds decidedly possessive) also raises and shows whippets. Well one of their males won a regional specialty which as I am told is a pretty big deal. May I present BISS Select CH. Liberty's Walk Like a Man J.C. Also known as "Jersey" to his legion of fans. Fan mail may be sent to http://www.libertyakitas.com/

All this and humble to.

And here he is in action earning his Junior Courser title.

This is him with some adorable akita puppies. Two of them are longcoats like my Jack. (Like I even need to say they are adorable right?)

Now I have to admit the sighthounds are intriguing me lately. I'm even considering a whippet for myself someday. They are a nice size, are athletic enough for me to walk regularly, and I could do lure coursing as a dog sport. There is nothing I like better than to watch dogs do what they were originally bred for and enjoying it. They also like to cuddle on the couch which I love. And since I already know an awesome breeder of them, (Liberty in case you missed that) I'm sure I could get a great dog.

I happen to love the pup in the top left of this photo. I am a sucker for interesting face markings.

If I were going bigger I would consider a saluki. I think they are quite elegant. (though I do also love rescue greyhounds) Personally I wouldn't mind down sizing though. I am finding smaller dogs are less expensive in many ways. However that said there is something to be said for having the mental security of a big dog in the house. And when I walk Jack I am never afraid of anyone harassing me.

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I go through phases of thinking about future dogs I wouldn't mind owning. Truth be told I like FAR to many breeds to ever own them all. My husband has decided that he wants a bullmastiff someday.

I admit I love the look. But downsizing it certainly isn't! And their lifespan isn't nearly as long as I would like. (in general)

Or I could stay with the familiar and go with a smooth chow. I happen to know the most excellent breeder of them after all. (Red Cloud) I should take advantage while I have the chance. This handsome boy is my current favorite at her kennel. And they are smaller than an akita too. Of course a nice pit bull or am staff would also fit the bill for smaller yet imposing security. There are certainly enough pit bulls looking for homes available.

But part of me wonders how I could ever walk away from this cuteness:

They do make my heart go pitter pat. And who better to own another akita than me? I have all the "stuff" after all. (literally) But another part of me wonders if another akita could ever measure up to my boy Jack. I swear he is absolutely perfect. He will be a hard act to follow for sure.

Of course this is all thinking out loud on my part. I hope to not have to make this decision for many years to come. 3 dogs is plenty for me and I'm not looking to replace anyone of them.

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What breeds intrigue you??

Update on Zulu 7-26-2009

It's been a little while since I did an update on Zulu so I thought I took a few updated pictures to share.

Zulu's been with us for about a month now and we're still so glad we got him. Unlike in the beginning when he thought Dan was the best, Zulu's since warmed up to me and can often be found acting as my personal shadow. Of course since I work from my home, I have an advantage, but more importantly, Zulu likes to work for me and is always ready to go.

His adult coat is coming in and it's just beautiful. He still looks like a baby coyote, but his face and mannerisms are maturing and his eyes are incredibly expressive and are now a warm brown color (hard to see in these twilight pictures).

This next week our temperatures are going to be in the 100's, which is unheard of in Seattle. Poor Zulu's going to think we're back in Louisiana!

The dog room has it's own A/C unit so they'll be nice and cool. However, with temps like that, I'm probably going to have to cancel my classes as NOBODY is used to such heat, including the dogs. I guess if I'm going to practice, I need to get up at about 5:00 a.m. and get my butt out there!

For Zulu, I've got a 2x12' board inside so we can practice our contacts. I also need to bring a cone in so we can start working on some turn work...see, there's lots to do in the air conditioned house!

Hope everyone has a great week. Stay cool!

Identify Your Dog's Emotions - Dogs Have Emotions and Feelings

Identifying Dog Emotions

The dog pictures in this post will give you an idea of dog emotions

I don’t have too many friends. Most of the very few friends of mine are dog owners, yet some people are there who do not have dogs, but they love dogs. Most of my pals who don’t have dogs seem to be really confused when I say my dogs have emotions. Yes, this is something that has created a real buzz across the web. Do dogs have emotions? I am sure you will agree with me if I say dogs have emotions and if you are a dog owner. Still I have come across peeps who own dogs don’t know how to recognize a dog’s emotion. I do recognize my dogs’ emotions and moods through their gestures, body languages, expression of their eyes, and not to forget, the sound they make. Well, I am not a professional canine behaviorist or scientist. I just love dogs, can’t live without them try to learn from them as much as I can. I can understand when they are excited, when they are sad and when anxious. It’s not a rocket science! Just what we cannot do is we cannot measure emotions of a dog. There has been a hard topic of debate amongst the canine behaviorists because it's not possible to quantify the emotion of a dog. Researchers cannot say exactly how happy or sad a dog is. Only I can say that Roland is very happy because his mum, Mrs. Gordon, got back home, or he is very sad since his bother – Gordon’s son, has caught cold and cannot play with him.

So how do I recognize my dogs emotions?

Emotion is what delivers your dog an impulse to act according to situations. While the negative emotion or the emotion of fear will deliver a dog an impulse to defend himself, a happy dog will come close to you, wagging and appreciate a physical contact. Touch definitely strengthens the man-dog relationship. There’s no doubt about the fact that your dog has rich emotional aspect of his life. He feels happy when he should and becomes sad during the gloomy moments of his life. That is the main reason why your dog show symptoms of pleasure like jumping and springing, wagging and licking your face, holding his ears back and making sounds of love and happiness etc. when you get back from your work place at the end of the day. No dog owner on the planet can understand exactly how much happy his dog actually is, and hence most owners choose to ignore the emotional part of their dog’s life! A very few people who have lived with dogs would deny the fact that dogs have emotional feelings. Every time Reva (my female GSD) meets with her daughter (Rechie), they greet each other with love, wagging their tails, licking each other and biting each others’ muzzles. They seem so happy, chasing one another. The facial expressions of both the dogs are different from the expressions they both show when they come across the strangers. I am sure you might also have noticed this!

Until a recent research the canine experts and behaviorists used to believe that dogs have only the primary emotions or basic emotions like love, joy, sadness, fear and anger. Primary emotions are those emotions that form the basic platform for all other secondary emotions (which are more complicated emotions) like anxiety, jealousy and shyness. Recently researchers have come up with the conclusions that dogs have both emotions, and this is what all responsible dog lovers, who have noticed dogs, have always known! It is now proved that dogs have al emotions that we human have. Now I am sure training your dog yourself is going to be a bit easier. All you need to do is to trigger his emotional aspect. Dogs have inherent instincts to learn things just like human babies. They know how to love and be loved. Sadness, fear and anger put extra mental stress on them, which makes them hard to learn new tricks. Hence Yelling at them will never work. Scaring and hitting them will make your dog more obstinate – just like human babies, and will make training harder.

A happy dog will be anxious to see what trick is going to be made by his master. If you carefully notice his ears, eyes, head movement, tail position and movement, the way he’s carrying his head, the posture he is carrying himself with etc. you will get and idea of his emotional state. Not just one thing can give you a correct view, for example, tail wagging doesn’t always mean that he is in playing mood. A bed ridden dog will wag his tail seeing his owner; that doesn’t mean that he wants to go out to play, but it’s an indication that he is happy to see his loved one and wants his owner to stay by him during his bad time. Tail wagging indicates excitement, anticipation, playfulness, contentment/enjoyment, happy, self-confidence etc. Along side the tail wagging, I notice the tail position, facial expression, ear position and obviously the vocal communication to conclude exactly about my dogs’ emotional state.

Bottom line is that I try to understand the communication of my dogs to identify his requirements.

Interesting Links:

HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH DOGS

UNDERSTANDING DOG ATTACKS

WHY DO DOGS BECOME AGGRESSIVE

Jet's little blanket - Well, isn't that special?

Jet is such an enjoyable and bright little dog to live with. I honestly don't think I have ever had as smart a dog, even though sometimes she gets this "church lady" look on her face. Do you remember that skit on Saturday Night Live with Dana Carvey?

Jet often seems to be judging everyone and determining that she is surrounded by idiots. In the photo above, she is giving me the look. The quote from SNL was "isn't that special?" That was in the days of Dennis Miller, Jon Lovitz (the compulsive liar) and our own Martin Short (Canadian, from Ontario). I guess I am dating myself... the 80s were fun...

Anyhow - you be the judge

Church Lady*...

Jet...
I guess that in addition to 'church lady' (or instead of it!) you would expect me to compare Jet to Snoopy, but in fact, she is more like Linus with her lttle blanket (or dogbed) always at hand. I caught these pictures of her the other day, after she pulled her bed out of her doghouse, and brought it to the backyard so she could chew her bone in style.

Later the same evening, I was working on my computer, and looked down to see that she brought out a different dogbed out of a crate in the bedroom (which is a very convenient piece of furniture by the way, great for piling laundry on!). Here she is at my side on a dogbed she brought over. Heaven forbid Jet should lie on grass, or, the floor! Actually, she did muster up a smile for this photo.

"All-righty then!"

We are having quite a heatwave, so I have been keeping their water tub full of cool clean water. Caden loves to drop his Giggle Ball into it, then pull it out (over and over). As you can see, Jet has quite a bubble of space around her. Caden just hangs out by the pool. He is trying to make his Giggle ball look really interesting. He doesn't need a stupid dog bed or bone!


*Note that the above Church Lady photo is actually a Dana Carvey impersonator named Nick Tarr, from his website nicktarr.com - wow, great impression! Beow is a thumbnail of Dana Carvey in the role.
Well, isn't that special!

And, since I am a piano player (and I did play in a band way back when...around the SNL's golden days), I have to share this link to YouTube, even though it is not the Church Lady - it is Dana Carvey's "Choppin Broccoli" - fanastic! Such a good parady of a self-important rock star. He actually performed this song as his audition to SNL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3Hct1pL3-o&feature=related

See here for information on the heat wave - it has been over 30 C every day!

Heat wave hits regionreddeeradvocate.com - Red Deer,Alberta,CanadaBy Brenda Kossowan - Red Deer Advocate Inflatable boats and rafts are selling by the hundreds as people prepare for what will be one of the hottest weekends ...

Outed at work

So now they all know my secret, I feed raw.

Not all the time. I am sometimes lazy so I do feed kibble too. During hunting season I have access to lots of free deer and moose trimmings and bones which I use to feed my dogs. (the ribs not weight bearing bones and yes I add calcium when needed as well as probiotics and other supplements) I had even stored a bunch of meat up to use through the summer but lost it all recently to a freezer malfunction.

When I first started my new job at the vet I kept my mouth shut about my views on raw diets. They sell a specific brand of kibble and I knew that going in. I figure it is not my job to educate people about the food that they feed their pets in that setting beyond that. (ok perhaps that is rationalization on my part) I love my job and want to keep it though so that is how it is. Call me a sell out if you will. I figure though that EVERYONE has access to the information available if they chose to look for it. Besides, I am simply one person with one opinion.

After being there a few months I did admit to one of the doctors and some other staff that I sometimes fed raw but only as one meal a day and with supplements added. (which is all true) When Missy had her scare with the mast cell tumors I switched her to all raw until we got results back. (cancer thrives on sugar which is very readily found in kibble food) But I didn't tell them that. I wasn't sure of the reaction I might get and didn't need any more stress at that time.

Cut to this earlier this week when I took Jenny in to be seen for some extra itchiness. She gets that way at times and I usually manage her with benadryl and baths. I was worried she might be getting a secondary infection or have a staf infection this time so I took her to be checked. I have been toying with the idea of allergy testing but had heard they aren't always as accurate and didn't want to invest in it if that were true. (the jury is still out on this) The doctor said that they prefer you do a food trial before any bloodwork for those tests anyhow. It would be good to know if this was food or an environmental reaction or a combo of both.

Of course he would prefer I use the food they sell there for the trial. In his defense it isn't about profit but because he truly believes in the product. His experience has always been good using/recommending it and he likes the testing they have done on it. I cannot fault him for that. At least it isn't about making a buck. I also admitted that I am a bit all over the map with kibble food because I tend to change it often for the variety. There are alot of good foods out there and I don't like to feed just one all the time. I guess I just wonder how one food can be balanced if you eat it for every meal. Humans don't do that nor do they recommend that we do. Besides, all dogs are individuals so shouldn't their diet be too? Of course it helps that I have dogs that can tolerate the frequent changes to their systems. Not all are that lucky.

He wants me to use his food because he is familiar with it but I prefer the foods I feed based on my own research. (disclaimer - I am not a vet just a regular person that sometimes reads to much.) So I asked him if I could do a food trial using my own choice of food. He said it would depend on the ingredients and being strict with the protocol. Could he see what was in my food? Um sure.

So I printed off the ingredients listed in the formula of Primal, the commercial raw I decided to switch Jenny to, and set it on his desk. http://www.primalpetfoods.com/ I told him to try not to roll his eyes to much at it. (I thought humor might help.) Later we had a discussion about dog food. It was interesting but neither of us really changed our minds about anything. We only agreed to disagree. (with respect) We did both agree that all dogs are individuals and some do well on things others do not. He did admit the ingredients themselves were good even though he personally isn't a fan of raw diets.

Now for the record I do value his opinion as a vet. I think he is good at what he does and I like his bedside manner. He isn't pushy about his views and he will listen to mine. All good things. And to add to that he is a very good boss. At least so far.

I am very relieved that I no longer need to keep my food opinions a secret at work. Of course this doesn't really change anything as far as clients go. It will still be status quo there. But considering the doctors there are now my dogs vets to I think that is important. And who knows, maybe my experience can be a foot in the door towards new information for them.

FMI on pet food diets check out these books:

Raw Dog Food ~ Make it easy for you and your dog by Carina Beth MacDonald (Why and how to feed a raw diet.)

Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats ~ The ultimate diet by Kymythy R. Schultze C.C.N.,A.H.I. (more about how to feed raw with sample meal plans)

Food pets die for by Ann Martin (Interestingly while disagreeing with vets about feeding kibble she agrees with them about not feeding bones. But the other great info in the book outweighs this one discrepancy.)

Pet Food Politics by Marion Nestle (in inside look at the pet food recall with some alarming info about what may be in our own food supply)

Alberta Weather

It is dry, hot, cold, windy, muggy, hailing, raining, snowing and there is a tornado watch on today. I thought we had changable weather in Thunder Bay, but Alberta wins the prize for unpredictable weather and the risk of weather warnings and disasters always on the horizon.

Below is a photo of the sunroof of my car after a TORNADO touched down in Red Deer on July 4. Environment Canada confirmed today that is was indeed a tornado. Thankfully (unlike most Albertans) I had glass insurance to pay for this to be fixed!

See this link for the story - Storm upgraded Red Deer Advocate • Jul-22-2009 Central Alberta likely experienced its first tornado of the summer on July 4 when a thunderstorm roa… more

In Penhold where I live, we had hail - about 20 k south of the tornado. I didn't realize the hail had broken my sunroof, until July 5 when I parked in Calgary to attend the Stampede. My friend suggested I close my window because it looked like rain, and the glass just exploded into the back. Thankfully I was traveling without dogs.
Last Sunday at a herding trial in High River, people who live in this area were saying that the big clouds and muggy weather meant a storm was on its way. I left around 3 PM to drive up to my Schutzhund Club and on the way (80 km from the trial north to the club which is east of the airport) I saw this ominous cloud from Hwy 9 near Langdon.

I drove for about 5 more minutes, and this is what the cloud now looked like...and I thought for sure it was going to turn into a funnel cloud. I took this photo (below) then took off as fast as I could for the north, where the sky was clear. I drove through a horrible rainfall but emerged into clear weather. The cloud did go south to hover over the trial, but in the end, it was just a nasty storm cloud.

On a positive note, rain and humidity are GREAT for tracking!!!

Class Course - July 22 & 23, 2009

This week I thought I'd do a course featuring contacts and a whole lot of other stuff going on.

I lulled my students into a sense of confidence by using the first 4 jumps from last week's opening sequence, but put the table out there as an appealing off-course option.

This is a good refresher for my advanced folks on the art of 'pulling' while still moving forward and it's a great opportunity to introduce the younger pups to multiple body language cues (i.e. the pull AND forward motion). I think this is a long lost skill not mentioned in the latest of handling systems that personally, I think is a fancy term for basics and allows the marketing wheels to churn and offers a place for cash to flow. But, that's just my opinion although I'm getting the sense that people are getting bored with the whole topic.

Back to the course...the contact obstacle placement and course flow gave handlers an opportunity to see whose dogs really knew their contact performance and whose dogs were dependent on their handlers for correct placement. It was an eye-opener to many and gave us a chance to work on 'the fix' and give each appropriate homework.

The superstar on Wednesday was Beth and Cassey. Beth semi-recently had 2 partial knee replacements so part of her lesson each week includes a reminder on how to appropriately use her body and how to run. Remember, she's spent the last decade compensating for knees that wouldn't bend and has really embraced the learning curve on body usage & placement. It showed on Wednesday when she kicked butt and had several absolutely gorgeous moves that I wish I would have been able to video. Kudos to this team for not only getting out there for the mental challenge, but for the physical one as well.

Weave Exercise - July 15 & 16, 2009

After having come back from judging in Louisiana, were the weave-pole performance was to die for, I decided to setup a nice little weave exercise for my class last week.

When folks first saw my concoction, there were definitely moments of shock, which then turned to dismay and a few who said it looked like I had puked up a few weaves and then tossed in some jumps . But as usual, there is a method to my madness...

The spacing on this course is intentionally tight for two reasons. First, it allowed the baby dogs to stay focused and not get too far ahead of their owners. Second, it forced the experienced dogs to collect.

There was plenty of flow through this course and the speed was anything but slow which forced handlers to be right-on with their timing and cues.

Since spacing was tighter, I required my advanced folks to stay ahead of their dogs. This included:

• a front-cross between #5 & 6,
• handlers to be in the middle of the #8 weaves so the dog had to find their entry with the handler 3+ poles ahead (a great skill we don't often practice)
• a TIMELY front-cross between #10 & #11 requiring handlers to pick-up their dog immediately and wrap them around the last pole
• to have the handler be ahead and between the #12 & #13 obstacle so the dog had to seek out the #12 jump
• I did require a rear-cross after the #15 weaves to the #16 jump AND
• a well executed & timely rear-cross between #17 & 18 which resulted in the dog wrapping to the right of #18 and still make the #19 weave entry

There certainly were a ton of skills going on here and a multitude of weave pole entries to boot!

A couple of side notes. The #8 & #10 weaves were also channel weaves to help my baby dogs out a bit (although we didn't open them up more than 2 inches) and once folks were timely with their cues, the teams did GREAT and had a ton of fun!

My New Tent!

After spending a week in BC I decided that spending money on hotels is just not worth it when you spend from 6 AM to 10 PM out at a dog event and then with friends. Inspired by my friend Penny, I decided to research tents! I have loved camping all of my life, and I know the dogs would much prefer to sit in a campground than in a hotel room. Today I got my new 'home on the road' - a Marmot Earlylight Tent. The reviews are fantastic, and best of all it has a very big vestibule where I could tuck stuff or even two little Border Collie crates. I have already decided the German Shepherds will have to sleep in the tent, as they will keep me feeling safe - though municipal and provincial campgrounds are usually very family friendly. Check out the set-up video! No, this guy does not come with the tent, sadly!







I am looking so forward to using my tent that I may go to Banff for an overnighter in the next week or two for fun! I also bought myself a little portable stove that I can use to make myself morning coffee or boil some soup. I have been beside myself with excitement since the idea hit me - and am looking forward to going back to my roots, since I camped my whole life with my parents, mostly at Quetico Provincial Park in northwestern Ontario. I also camped for a short time as an adult but that was eventually replaced by other stuff and fell by the wayside. It will be a fun project to collect some new camping gear in a kit, having left most of my stuff behind when I moved.

This will be perfect for all of the herding and tracking events out west. I am really turning into a wild west woman LOL. I've booked my first reservation for Aug 8-9 when I will be in a tracking seminar in Edmonton for the weekend, and will try out the beautiful Rainbow Valley Campgrounds. Much better than driving home and back, even if Edmonton is only 1.5 hours away.