Wordless Wednesday ~ Dashman edition

Be prepared! Not just for boy scouts anymore.

Because the holiday is on it's way here is a great article from Dog Star Daily:

8 Tips on keeping your dogs calm for the fireworks

And from Pet Connection this is a good look at why you should research your breeder BEFORE you buy that puppy.

Heartbreak ~ Where bad breeding meets poor judgement

It is also important to research the breed of dog you are considering adding to your family to make sure it is a good match. I typically recommend going to the rescue wesite for the breed you are considering. Rescues are usually much more forthcoming with the negatives of a breed than some breeders are. Remember, THEY love their breed and may not see the negatives of owning them. Love is blind after all!

Yard Work! Nearly ready for the long weekend.

Here is my happy little church-house with a trimmed and mowed yard. That's my new driveway, put in last fall. I love it! I am planning to paint the front doors a dark forest green to match the green glass in the house exterior. It would be a lot warmer than those black doors! And, I will be putting wildflowers around the base of that tree. In time, I'll have an arch with roses and little fence around the little remains of the lawn. Plus some pretty climbing flowers on the iron ornaments against the wall. It's just been too busy this spring to keep up with yard work!

In the backyard, I have tried to put pea gravel to look like a Japanese dry river, with waves, but, the dogs made quick work of spreading the gravel! It keeps things clean though, but I need more as you can see...they are doing a number on the very sparse grass. You can see the nice chain link fencing I've got for their run area, and there is a great walk-out door from the basement under the deck. I love their run area! It looks dark because the back yard is very shady in the evenings.

The long narrow run that has the green shadecloth belonged to a Bloodhound named Nero who was a police and SAR dog in Ontario. I was friends with his owner - handler. When Nero died, he decided he would not have another one, and I got the run. It is very special. It is the Border Collie run. The square run in back that you can barely make out is Caden's big run. I prefer square for a GSD, rather than long and narrow, because of turning and their deep chests and stomachs, and bloat issues.

As you can see - I am covering all of the bases, with a St. Francis of Assissi statue, and a little Buddha statue (obscured by Ted).

And here is the nicely mowed and weed whacked backyard! I feel so accomplished! Now I need to get some flowers for my deck and I am set for the long weekend! And a friend's visit!!

When I stand in my backyard at night and look up, I face the Big Dipper. It feels so funny because back in Thunder Bay, when I stood in my field at night after haying or working the sheep, I looked up at the same stars. But I am so far from my home now! Same stars, though. Sometimes I close my eyes and I feel like I could be in my field (except - there are really no mosquitoes - only what Albertans call "mosquitoes" LOL).

Courses - Maine Sun Exc Std

Here is my last Excellent course from the Collie Club of Maine's trial. Handlers did a great job and it was really fun to watch everyone work their skills. As an added bonus, we were done 30 minutes before the rain!

Here are some points on the course:

* Quite a few handlers did a front cross between #3 & #4. As a side note, I noticed several dogs went very wide. I've run similar sequences elsewhere and hand't noticed this previously, but I consistently saw this in Maine. It could easily be the course, a late signal or a need for additional cue training. Just something to think about.

* Handlers made sequence #7 - 10 look like a breeze. They handled the offset #8 & 9 like champs.

* Handlers not driving down to the teeter was an issue for some dogs.

* After the table, some dogs had already made up their mind they were heading toward the incorrect side of the #12 tunnel. Regardless of the handler's clear signal, they took what was immediately in front of them.

* Few dogs took the off course jump after #13.

* The line from #14 through to the weaves was quick!

* From the weaves on, some handlers did a front cross at the end of the poles so the dog finished the course on the handler's left. Those handlers that did independent weave poles and then pulled their dog over #18 with a pick-up to #19 clearly had practiced this as they executed it with confidence and precision.

There were some AMAZING working dogs at this trial and some really, really cute Canine Companion Dogs as well. I'm still tired and am heading to bed, but I wanted to thank the club and everyone there for a wonderful, wonderful time!

When bad stuff happens to good dogs

Yesterday after finishing with a client I checked my cell phone to see a message waiting for me. There had been an "incident" at the prison with the dogs. Apparently the leashes got tangled, treats were dropped, and a fight broke out between them. One dog was injured during the fight as well as a handler while breaking the dogs up.
*
Ahhh crap!
*
The leashes being tangled had made separating them quickly problematic and had probably contributed to the fight starting in the first place. I say this because treats on the floor or ground with both of them present had not been a problem in the past. And yes we had discussed how to properly break up a dog fight and resource guarding in dogs previously as well. Considering it was a big dog vs small dog fight things certainly could have been worse.
*
Fortunately the injury to the handler was a minor one and I received the call within 2o minutes of the incident. I was also luckily in the immediate area so I got there quickly. As soon as I saw Cooper I knew he needed to get to the vet. Of course this had to happen on a Sunday when everything is closed. A few phone calls later and we were on our way. (A big thank you to Dr. Yovino of Harbor Road Veterinary Hospital for coming in on his day off.)
*
The x-rays showed a clean break of both bones in his front right leg. Ouch! Poor guy! He had to spend the night in the veterinary hospital to get fixed up. So now Cooper is on bed rest and limited exercise for 6 to 8 weeks. He is sporting a splint that will need to be checked and changed weekly and re-x-rayd routinely. He is also on antibiotics and pain medication. (an nsaid) Thankfully they let him go back to the prison to be cared for by his handler. I could tell all of the handlers felt horrible that it happened.
*
I already had today off which meant I was available to handle everything fortunately. (we were short a Dr. at work so I wasn't needed) It is also good that Cooper is a dog that likes to do a lot of cuddling on the bed instead of racing around. This should make his recuperation easier on his handlers. He of course charmed everyone at the vet while there.
*
While at the vet I bought a Medipaw dog bootie for them to use. (not shown in the photo above) I HIGHLY recommend them for any dog in need of a waterproof covering for a splint. It happened to rain last night so keeping his splint dry was on my mind. A cheap splint covering can also be made out of old saline bags that you tape on the foot. (Tip - Plastic baggie coverings on splints should ONLY be on while the dog is outside on wet grass. Remove it once inside so the foot doesn't sweat. A wet bandage MUST be changed to prevent skin issues.)
*
Please send healing vibes Coopers way. Hopefully this incident doesn't affect our program in the future. It does mean Cooper will be with us longer and we now have unanticipated vet bills because of it. For anyone who wants to donate funds to help pay for his care, or to contribute to the cost of our training program, send checks to The Humane Society of Knox County. Write "For the K-9 Corrections program" or "For Coopers vet bills" on your donation. We would really appreciate any help. Thank you!

Judging Stories - Maine June 2010

Lucky me, I got to spend an extra evening in Maine! Due to weather in Chicago flights were cancelled and delayed so that meant I wasn't able to get in to catch my connection.

Not to worry, I'm resourceful and got myself a seat on a US Airways flight. With ticket in hand I start to board only to be told they gave me the wrong coded ticket. Long story short, the United Rep had no idea how to 'unlock' my reservation which meant that US Air couldn't get paid. So it was with a bit  (okay a TON) of disappointment I got to watch as they closed the door and the flight took off. Once again, United will be hearing from me...not that they ever do anything about it. They have a way of not answering customer complaints or simply loosing them.

Could things be worse? Absolutely! Portland, Maine is a nice small airport and it was easy to get back into my comfortable hotel so I was able to get a good night's rest. So today, I feel much better!

But back to this weekend, part of the reason I had so much fun was judging with my old friend Kim Ingraham. It's nice when you can hang out with someone you enjoy and we were both up for seeing the sights.

We went to a few places. The picture at the top was taken around Fort Elizabeth (I believe it was called) and the rest of the pictures were taken at Two Lights.

You can see Kim in one of the pictures standing on rocks that, thanks to the constant touch of the sea, looks like petrified wood. Every step we took we just kept saying 'amazing!' and it was!

After we were done sight seeing, we stopped in at The Lobster Shack for dinner. Wait, I should say an amazing dinner! I took a pre-feast picture of my soon-to-be carnage and Kim giving me lobster gutting lessons, I managed to eat like a queen.

At one point I was having trouble with a claw that just didn't want to give up its' meat and the cracker gizmo was only getting me so far. With cracks in the claw already started, I put it flat on the table and proceeded to pound on it until the claw was ripe for ripping into. Surprisingly, nobody around us seemed to notice my desperate act.

Well, I'll be boarding with my new tickets here in a bit (5:45 a.m. flight) and am hopeful I can make the connection in Washington/Dulles in a timely manner and be home by early afternoon.

Happy Monday everyone! Lisa

Cows at the end of the Rainbow

On my way home from Schutzhund practice in Calgary, I pulled into Tim's at the Esso in Crossfield, east of Highway 2. I spotted these cows and it looked like they were at the end of a rainbow. I had just driven through a sunshower. This was taken with my iPhone - not bad! And, thanks to my friend Dan for the coffee. We both drive home to Red Deer with our trailers full of dogs. Next time is my turn again!

Speaking of trailers, Jerry Prescott took the numbers and decals off of my dog trailer last night! I can finally stop explaining to people in gas stations that that is NOT my phone number. It looks so much better!

Busy Saturday! Sheep, Horses, Dogs, Tracking!

What a busy, fun day yesterday. First I went to the Highland Games at the Westerner in Red Deer. Ted's full sister Neve, owned by Larry Bell, put on a fantastic herding demo for the crowd. Here she is in action.

Larry had a mic and whiteboard, and gave a very good description to people so they would understand what they were about to see. Larry and Neve gave three demos yesterday. You can see my Jet tied under the speaker's box. She was NOT impressed.

Here is a shot of Neve waiting for Larry. She is seven years old and a very nice dog.

Here is Penny Caster with Brock, holding the sheep while Larry was chatting with the crowd.

And here is Jet, being a PR dog with kids (she didn't notice them, she was just staring at the sheep)...

Neve did such a nice job of showing elements of trial work, plus a figure 8 around the cones that was a real crowd pleaser. I am sure Larry and Neve did a lot to educate people and hopefully inspire some young people to take up this activity.

One of the best results of the day (for me) was to possibly make some new training arrangements, as I have been just sick with missing sheep and training Jet and Ted. Being around this and seeing Larry and Neve work was great to re-ignite that desire to get going again.

Jet could not comprehend that this was not all about HER. She watches the penned sheep through the fence. I have to admit, I felt very sad for her. She loves to track and it keeps her active, but she is born to herd sheep and it is in her blood. It made me very determined to get her out, Ted too. I can't tell you how hard I have looked for some land or a small farm. Alberta is a very expensive place to live. While I was in Thunder Bay I saw 106 acres with a barn and home for $199,000. That would cost at least a million dollars here in Alberta. So, I need to find more places to train and somehow fit that in with tracking and SchH. Oh, that should be easy, haha.

Next, I visited my friends Pam and Jerry Prescott and saw Pam's beautiful new foal. He is a fiesty little guy, and very beautiful with top notch breeding behind him. I can't get over how fast these foals grow and get strong. Did you know you halter break these little guys when they are barely a few weeks old, otherwise they are just too strong to handle? Amazing. They progress so much faster than puppies. Pam explained that they are prey animals, so need to be up and running day one, unlike pups that are practically born premature - closed eyes, no hearing, can't walk. Very interesting to learn more about horses. I love them, always have.

Is this one handsome little guy or what?

Then, Pam and I tracked with our boys. I did a track down her driveway for Caden. It crossed the driveway at one point. He was very intense and nose down. I was super happy. Caden just loves to track which is good, since (as you may have guessed) that is important for me!

Caden's tail is like a banner when he tracks.

Well was I thrilled with this road cross! He nailed a 90 degree turn and hit the other side dead-on. Of course, she should be there after all the work I have done with him, but SchH style is new to me, and to see him take a corner on rails without lifting his head is quite exhilarating. I honestly don't know why people would not aim for this for field work and a foundation for their dogs. I am taking longer to train him, as I am trying to incorporate all positives and very light negatives (a line pop or a 'no') to keep that drive. I can really see his confidence just blossoming as he understands his job more and more.

There was another turn to take him to the end. At that turn, he did lift his head and turn in a circle. That's OK. It was a great first turn, and a short leg to the next turn. I simply encouraged him to find it, and he did, and took off again. I think that was a positive for him, rather than saying 'no' and I really didn't want to take away from the great job he did on his first turn. Sometimes, we have to look for RECOVERY and not focus on perfection. He also needs to learn that he can sort things out, and he did within seconds.

Pam has been working with Sting consistently for the past few weeks. Below is a photo from June 5 where Dan Waters met with us in the morning to work with Caden and Sting. Dan is so generous with his time and expertise.

Since then, Pam reports that she has been out at least 15 times with Sting and does it show! Pam is an experienced cutting horse trainer and competitor and you can tell she has the concept of working out a training program. Sting knew that 'such' (prounounced sook, German for seek or search) meant for him to search the scent pad. He proceeded beautifully down his track from footstep to footstep!

He was very thorough and calm, and Pam's handling was also very calm.

Sting has a lot of tracking drive. Pam put a small curve in the end. Now she can start to mix up shapes, more age, and less treats - one variable at a time. Also, she can work her way back on a longer line.

Dixie the Schnauzer is also learning to track. But that evening over tea, she demonstrated another variety of tracking as she left Pam's lap to finish my peppermint tea, LOL. Schnauzers are excellent tracking dogs - very food motivated!

Courses - Portland, Maine Fri 6/25/10 - In REALITY

Sorry for the delay in this note, but the internet at the hotel went down yesterday and didn't go back up until some time today.

But I do have some interesting things to report!

* First, as expected, most errors began around the #9 jump. Not a single handler front-crossed after the weave poles and then rear-crossed between 8 & 9 like several on-line folks had suggested.

* #8 to 9 was a problem for some folks. Not one person did a front cross in this area, however some did push their dog off of the #9 jump when they failed to wait for the dog to cross before moving in on its path.

* Handlers who did a front-cross between #11 and 12 had a VERY wide dog path and many of the dogs went off-course over the #8 jump.

*Several dogs pulled off of the #13 jump.

I was worried handlers wouldn't like the course, but I've received compliments all weekend so that made me feel good!

Lisa

A trip to the lake.

Today I took Jenny to the local lake to see if she liked the water. I figure if I couldn't get her in then the possibility for ever considering an appearance at a Dock Dog event is unlikely. I didn't need to worry. The treats did the trick to get her in. The water was pretty nice so I'm sure that helped as well. We used the public boat ramp because it gets deep quickly and has good traction.

She swam a little bit and we quit there. The next step is to get her a life jacket. Pugs, and other top heavy muscled dogs, aren't really built for swimming more than a few strokes while supervised.

The next step is to get her fetching her water toy in the water. We'll practice that on land a bunch first. She already likes it. My son came with us and caught her swim on video for me.

Now I'm not really training for Dock Dogs. It's just a lark. And a reason to have some fun at the lake. I'm sure with a motivated pug it can be done. I'm just not sure Jenny is that pug. But we'll have some fun trying.

Courses - Maine Sat Exc JWW

Today's course was pretty straight forward with a couple of reoccurring themes.

* Quite a few small dogs started off by heading in to the wrong side of the tunnel. That's a heck of a way to start a run, but handlers recovered quickly and moved on.

* Some dogs pulled off of #3 when handlers began moving early to handle obstacles #4 on.

* Jump #4 went down a lot. I suspect the speed coming from the tunnel added to it as well as dogs accelerating in anticipation of the off-course #16 jump, and then having to abruptly change direction to head toward #5

* The #8 tunnel didn't give anyone trouble.

* The surprise problem on this course was the #10 jump! Dogs were pulling in and going from #9, past #10 on the upper part of the course and heading toward #11. For some dogs, a push and/or a bit of support to #10 was needed.

* Great weave poles by a ton of dogs!

* After #16, if handlers didn't check their dog's head and pull them in just ever so slightly, they went over the off-course #4 jump.

* Teams out here had solid sends down the straight finish line.

Great job everyone!!!

Courses - Portland, Maine Fri 6/25/10 - In Theory

Here I am in beautiful Maine. I've never been to this location and I'm really excited to be here!

Not only do I to watch and play with dogs, but I get to go to some kick-butt locations. I love going places and getting a feel for the culture, the people, the history and much more. Oh and an added bonus, I get to judge with an old friend who used to live in Illinois.

For me, it's a great line-up and I'm hoping my courses add to the fun of the weekend. I really like looking at courses ahead of time and gambling on what I think the challenging locations will be and then seeing how close I was.

Since I've never been to this part of the country, it will be interesting to see what their handling preferences are. Do they like front crosses, rear crosses, lots of verbal cues or do they rely more on physical signals? We're close to the Canadian Border (assuming the map I'm looking at is correct - this is a poke at my blog from last weekend were an oversimplified map told me I was near the Oklahoma border when in fact I was near Texas!) and I wonder if we'll have some Canadian folks as well. So many possibilities!

OK, on to the course. Here are my guesses as to how they'll handle it:

• I think they'll start with their dog on their right at the tunnel and front cross so the dog is on their left going down the dog walk.
• If handlers don't have some distance/lateral at their weave poles they may end up doing a bit of reactive handling after jump #7 as the dog potentially curls in to them and heads toward the dog walk. The other possibility is that as handlers step around the dog walk they may inadvertently push their dog into the tunnel.
• I'm going to guess and say that handlers will do a rear cross at jump #9.
• The challenge for the pinwheel will be slowing down. The first part of the course was a place where handlers had to run and now they'll be faced with a part where patience may need to come into play.
• I think it would be GREAT to see a front cross between jump #12 & 13. I think this would be a great way to keep the dog motivated and moving and allow the handler to switch sides and get up to the teeter area.
• Heck, if handlers get a front cross in above, they may be able to do another front cross either before the #14 teeter or after. I'm going to go out on a limb and say before the teeter.
• The last running line begins with the jump after the teeter and works its way down through the end of the course. 

In case anyone hasn't figured it out, I really like running courses. But, I really like to add a handling place as well. In my mind, I love the running areas for the dogs and I love the handling areas to mentally challenge the handler. For me, this combination seems to bring out the best and allows the team to work, well, as a team!

Well, I'm off to bed to start my exciting day in Maine. I know we've got a Lobster Shack on the water planned for dinner and a trip to one of the light houses for more photo opportunities. 

One last note, back in my reality world of Washington State, my hubby took down a couple of small trees that were precariously perched on some rotting nursing logs so that we would have a clear and sunnier place to plant the new Dogwood Tree I bought last week. I plan to use the newly cut trees to build a natural trellis with the logs and branches. 

I'm off to bed. Enjoy the post, but don't worry, it won't be public until late in the afternoon : )

Another great new blog to follow...

Just a heads up - I am adding this to the sidebar menu of blogs I follow...

http://sheepdogtrialling.blogspot.com/

Water Dogs - and Prevention / Care of Overheating Dogs in Summer

There has been a very interesting discussion on the Sheepdog List about Care of Over-heating dogs. I shared some of the information on the CKC Tracking list (with permission) as this information also applies to tracking dogs. BELOW is the text of my message to the CKC tracking list. These pictures and video show how my dogs love their 'pool' and how the Border Collies lie right in the water to cool themselves off.

Ted in his tub above; the whole gang gathers around "the water cooler" below, today after work

Today when I got home from work, it was not sunny but it was very humid. We played ball and frisbee as usual, and they were all hot. I filled their pool with fresh cold water and it became the place to hang out. It is a goofy video, but shows you how much they love access to cool water. Caden, who was raised by the BCs, also jumps in.

Silly video...

My crazy, happy dogs...

This was taken on Monday afternoon (above).

Below, Caden drops his Giggle ball into the pail while he drinks, so he can keep an eye on it!

THROW IT!!!

TEXT of messages regarding care of overheating dogs is below.

----- Original Message ----- (and more tips below...)


Permission to Cross Post
Avoiding Heat Related Injuries in Dogs
by Nate Baxter DVM

The first thing that needs to be understood is that dogs and people are
different enough that most of the info cannot cross lines. I do not profess
to know what the appropriate procedures for people other than what I learned
in first aid.

Dogs do not lose enough electrolytes thru exercise to make a difference, but
if the dog gets truly into heat stroke the physiology changes will make them
necessary. BUT oral replacement at that point is futile, they need
intravenous fluids and electrolytes and lots of it.

Cooling: Evaporative cooling is the most efficient mean of cooling.
However, in a muggy environment, the moisture will not evaporate so cooling
does not happen well. I cool with the coldest water I can find and will use
ice depending on the situation. The best way is to run water over the dog,
so there is always fresh water in contact with the skin. When you immerse a
dog in a tub, the water trapped in the hair coat will get warm next to the
dog, and act as an insulator against the cool water and cooling stops. If
you can run water over the dog and place it in front of a fan that is the
best. Misting the dog with water will only help if you are in a dry
environment or in front of a fan. Just getting the dog wet is not the point,
you want the water to be cool itself, or to evaporate.

For MOST situations all you will need to do is get the dog in a cooler
environment, ie shade, or in the cab of the truck with the air conditioning
on (driving around so the truck does not overheat and the AC is more
efficient). Up to a couple of years ago, I was very concerned about my dogs
getting too hot in the back of my black pickup with a black cap. New white
truck fixed a lot of that problem. When I had one dog I just pulled the wire
crate out of the car and put it in some shade and hopefully a breeze. But
having 2 dogs and running from one stake to another, that was not feasible.

So I built a platform to put the wire crates on, this raises the dog up in
the truck box where the air flow is better. Then I placed a 3 speed box fan
in front blowing on the dogs with a foot of space to allow better airflow. I
purchased a power inverter that connects to the battery and allows the
3 speed fan to run from the truck power. It has an automatic feature that
prevents it from draining the battery. When I turned that fan on medium I
would find that the dogs where asleep, breathing slowly and appeared very
relaxed and comfortable in a matter of 20 minutes or less, even on very hot
muggy days.

Alcohol: I do carry it for emergiencies. It is very effective at cooling due
to the rapid evaporation. It should be used when other methods are not
working. You should be on your way to the veterinarian before you get to
this point. We recommend using rubbing alcohol, which is propylene alcohol,
not ethyl, for those of you not aware. So do not try to drink it. Alcohol
should be used on the pads and lower feet area where there is little more
than skin and blood vessels over the bones. Use a little bit and let it
evaporate, you can use too much as some is absorbed through the skin. There
are concerns about toxicity, but you have to get the temperature down.

I purchased those cooling pads that you soak in cold water, but found that
the dogs would not lay on them. I would hold them on the back of a dog that
just worked to get a quick cool, but have not used them for years. I also
bought a pair of battery operated fans but found them pretty useless. Spend
your money on the power inverter and get a real fan.

Watching temperature: If you feel your dog is in danger of heat injury,
check its temp and write it down. Keep checking the temp every 3 minutes. I
recommend to get a "rectal glass thermometer. The digital ones for the drug
store I have found to be very unreliable, Don't forget to shake it down
completely each time, sounds silly, but when are worried about your
companion, things tend to get mixed up. This is VERY IMPORTANT**once the
temp STARTS to drop, STOP ALL COOLING EFFORTS. The cooling process will
continue even though you have stopped. If the temp starts at 106.5, and then
next time it drops to 105.5, stop cooling the dog, dry it off, and continue
monitoring. You will be amazed how it continues to go down. If you do not
stop until the temp is 102, the temp will drop way too low. I cannot
emphasis this point enough.

When the dog is so heated that it is panting severely, only let it have a
few laps of water. Water in the stomach does not cool the dog, you just need
to keep the mouth wet so the panting is more effective.

Do not worry about hydration until the temp has started down. A dog panting
heavily taking in large amounts of water is a risk of bloat.

Due to the heavy panting they will swallow air, mixed with a large amount of
water they can bloat. Once the temp is going down and panting has slowed to
more normal panting then allow water. The dog will rehydrate it self after
temp is normal. If the dog has a serious problem and even though you have
gotten the temp normal, get the dog to a vet, as it can still need IV fluids
and some medication. Also, a case of heat stroke can induce a case of
hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (not parvo), with a ton of very bloody diarrhea
and a lot of fluid and electrolyte loss. These cases need aggressive
treatment.

The best method of treatment is prevention. Learn to watch your dog, and see
the changes in the size of the tongue, and how quickly it goes down. Learn
your dogs response to the different environments, and be careful when you
head south for an early season hunt test or trial. I have been to Nashville
at the end of May, only 5 hours away, but the difference in temp and
humidity did effect the dogs as they were used to more spring weather in
Ohio. Try different things in training to help the dog cool and learn what
works better. Another very important point=> Do not swim your hot dog to
cool it then put in put in a box/ tight crate. Remember, evaporation can not
take place in a tight space, and the box will turn into a sauna and you will
cook your dog.

Carry a stake out chain, and let the dog cool and dry before putting it up.
I demonstrated this lesson this spring with my 10 month old pup.
After doing a 15 minute session in yard drill on a warm 70+ degree day, she
was panting pretty hard and was pretty hot. She was OK but it was time to
stop. Just for the heck of it I took her temp. She was 103.6, above normal
but too bad for a dog that had just finished working. In my back yard I have
a 300 gallon Rubbermaid tub filled with water. I took her to it and she
jumped in and out 3-4 times. She appeared totally improved, tongue was much
smaller, and eyes brighter and her full spring was back into her step. So I
re-took her temp and it was 104.2, so even though she looked better she was
hotter. This is a perfect lesson to show the importance of not getting a
hot dog wet and then putting them in a box. The water on her skin caused the blood vessels to constrict,
decreasing blood flow to the skin. Therefore the hot blood was shunted back
to the dog's core and retained the heat. You may have felt the same thing,
after exercising--but still being very warm--take a shower and get
cooled off.

As soon as you turn the shower off you start sweating again.
I know this is s bit long, but hopefully this is easy to understand and
helps provide some useful information.

Remember: Prevention. Learn your dog. It is worth the time and effort.
____________ ______

Nate Baxter, DVM
Lebanon, OH


MORE TIPS (CONDENSED FROM THE CHAT LISTS)

- Ensure the dogs are acclimatized and conditioned for the work we ask of them
- Importance of grooming for health benefits
- NOT always seeing water or a break as a positive thing (some dogs will
learn to use that to their advantage – handlers too); learning what is needed
when; and when you can ask a dog to work through something safely
- Teaching dogs to work in a smart way – not burning physical and mental
energy (I have been doing that with my River since moving to Alberta as she is a
long-coat, older and not used to the dry weather – it took a year to change
some of her habits for the better; which were MY BAD as I let her do them in
training, not having urban experience)

- Consider the timing of your training / testing…if possible do your
more complex, long tracks early or late, they are harder on the dogs than a 7
minute TD or even a 20 minute UTD. Not all clubs can do this, but offering UTDX
or TDX before the lower levels – or doing them in the evening – for summer
tests, definitely has its advantages for the dogs and possibly the pass rates
compared to doing them at high noon.

A big mistake many people make is to grab the dogs muzzle and pour electrolyte

down its throat, which is drowning the dog. When a dog is "hot" is one thing, but if it is
breathing heavily and pointing its nose skyward it needs cooling air down the
throat.. For what seems a long time it needs lots of air by breathing heavily.
Getting it to water to cool it off is mandatory.

The old addage is that: - rolling of the eyes, and stagers are a sure sign

that your dog is overheated ,( at this point make sure that you can get your dog
to a water source to cool off) humid /hot weather when the humidex is very high
creates problems with humans and animals alike ........ look for the color of the tongue and other mucus membranes. There is also a stare to look for

Dogs not used to working in heat and are not acclimatized will have more

problems the first time asked to work in heat or humidity

It seems like a spray bottle in the hip-pack is a good idea. And perhaps
something clubs might consider is having a 'dog' emergency kit in the car of one
of the test officials. Better yet, everyone should have one. I bought a dog kit
from St. John Ambulance for less than $50 and always have it on hand for my
classes (have never had to use it though, thankfully). It just travels in my dog
trailer now.

Spot-On 2o2o Contact Training

Well, today I officially jumped off the deep end and committed to making a DVD on how I train my 2-on-2-off contacts. Nope, my methods haven't been featured in Clean Run Magazine, I've never seen them in print and each time I tell someone about them (and how flipping easy it is), I always get a wild-eyed look of amazement. Oh, and the light bulb goes off for the handlers too.

Now that I've made the commitment, there are so many details to attend to. Some things are factual in nature and some things are a bit softer and not so obvious. Specifically, I didn't come into almost 15 years of training experience by living in a bubble. There are so many people who have shared tid-bits of information with me over the years. Those tid-bits add up and here I am leaping off of a cliff to pursue a new adventure in my professional dog training career.

This personal project of mine has been developing in my head for the last few years. But specifically over the last year I've felt a directed pull (or should I say push) to move forward. A few things fell into place for me and my comfort level and tested practical experience are exactly where I need them to be.

But what really became the final 'test' or catapult was when I happened upon someone (half-way across the country) who was at their wits end when it came to contacts. After asking if she was open to an idea, I showed her the base of my training during the 20 minutes we spent together. I left her with easy, but specific homework and I guided her through the remaining steps in just a few e-mails. I did get weekly updates via Facebook that she was double-queing, but it wasn't until she sent me a video of their training results that it hit me. Her contacts were beautiful, spectacular, a work of art, amazing and well, perfect!

I don't want to take away any of the credit from the handler because believe me, she did her homework and worked it, but I can't help but know that I had at least a little bit of a hand in the transformation. It really makes me feel all warm-hearted!

So, that was the final push, that little thing that said "Get off your butt, put away your fears and JUST DO IT!" So here I am, planning to either share my knowledge with the world or I may fall face first into a mud puddle. Either way, I'm going to enjoy the journey and hope all those details I mentioned above work themselves out in a smooth manner.

Western Schutzhund Regionals - great tracking and trial reports!

Subtitle: ...and a bit about Caden's progress at the end...

Ali and Dan on June 5...I laid this track! She is such an awesome tracking dog, the best I have ever seen. They just got a score of 96 at the Western Regionals...a V-rating (excellent).

My "mentor" in SchH Dan Waters earned a "V-rating" with his dog Ali in tracking at the Western Canada SchH Regionals last weekend with a score of 96 / 100. A V is anything higher than 95 and means "excellent." Dan is President of the GSD SchH Club of Calgary and last year, he and Ali came in at #5 in the Nationals.

Ali fetches her own start flag after tracking! And check out Ali's daugher Cilla! Like mother, like daughter, Cilla is fetching her stake. I posted a video of Cilla's puppy track a few weeks ago.

I laid a track for Ali a few weekends ago and she was just awesome. She is the best tracking dog I have ever seen, in any venue. So I am very, very happy to hear this report from Dan. Ali also placed 2nd overall at the regionals. And Dan's male Bronson placed 1st in SchH 1. Yay Bronson! The overall winner was Jean Fisher.

Bronson tracking on June 5. He placed first for Sch 1 and had a tracking score of 91 at the Western Canada SchH Regionals last weekend.

The Canadian SchH Nationals are in Edmonton on the August long weekend. I am quite excited about seeing all of the top dogs in Canada here, and also excited to meet new people and see old friends.

By the way, Jacki Barnes, the President of the Thunder Bay SchH Club got a high score in tracking at the Western Regionals with a 97!! And, my friend Marly Desjardins who has Bouviers, earned a 99 a few weeks ago at the Thunder Bay SchH trials. WOW!

Caden at 5 months in Thunder Bay. This is more or less how he looked when we attended the Wallace Payne SchH seminar. Wallace Payne really made me feel good about myself and my dog, and as a result I decided to stick with SchH although the move to Alberta caused a pause in our progress.

The Thunder Bay Club had Wallace Payne come give a seminar in 2008, the year I got Caden. I attended the seminar and helped get tracking locations. It was the most awesome tracking seminar I have ever attended and a turning point for me in my approach to tracking. I see his advice has been useful to my Thunder Bay SchH friends!

6-month old Caden back in my field in Thunder Bay (*when I had a small hobby farm, sigh)

I would LOVE to go train with him when I am ready with Caden to soak in some of his advice. When Caden was a 6-month old puppy, Wallace Payne told me he felt I had a future in the sport with Caden and that he was the kind of pup he would look for, for competition. And then he added that if I was ever in a trial where he was entered, to look out, because he might have to "pull a Tonya Harding" on me, LOL. It was a great compliment and because of his interest and kind words to a newbie, I have pursued the sport.

Hey Wallace, look! (LOL)...Caden on June 13...we have a long way to go, but we have the best help at the Calgary Club! (that's Training Director Wade Waters and Caden's first time off the post, it was quite a thrill).