Memory Lane

Thank you for all of the positive thoughts, concerns, and well wishes for Katie. You guys had so many suggestions and questions, I thought I would address them here.

Regarding having a powerful sedative on hand, my vet did not like the idea. I guess in a traumatic event, blood pressure can drop significantly. Adding a sedative to the event could kill your pet. If I were trying to take Katie to a vet, I would be trying to save her. If she was suffering and needed to be euthanized, I would call a mobile vet or my own vet to come to the house (and, yes, I think he would). I am lucky that I have an excellent (but not my preferred) animal hospital not even 1 mile from my house and the emergency vet is actually no more than 3 miles away. I would just have to risk the stress if it comes to that.

My vet recently consulted with a behaviorist and she suggested switching her from Prozac to Buspirone and Gabapentin. She felt it was a better fit for seniors. We shall see how it effects my senior.

I do not think Katie is refusing to load due to pain. She still eagerly fetches her toy, does cavaletti work, and hops over low agility jumps. Also, she was loading just fine until a few months ago.... but for nearly a year has been clearly distressed once the van was moving. So I do not think a ramp would help.

I think it is possible that the noise sensitivity and car phobia are related. Since Katie is a 11, I would guess that there is a physical or pathological reason for it. There is just something going on in the brain.... is my guess.

However, on a happier note, I have learned how to use DVD rip software that takes files from a DVD and converts them to computer files.

I am pleased to show you Katie's very first agility trial run - October 7th, 2001. Please forgive the handler, I have improved a lot over the last 8 years. Katie is 3 years old. This was back when Novice courses were easy.

Warm Spot

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last Wish

Unfortunately, I don't think Prozac is going to bring back Katie's sanity. I thought while the drug was getting situated in her system that I would start working on loading Katie in the van. Just ask her to jump in for a treat and jump out immediately each day. No big deal, right? Generally, she resists, but today she started crying like I had never heard and shaking violently... just from being asked to load.If God ever takes one of my hounds while he or she sleeps, please let it be Katie. I would be so relieved if she passed away peacefully in her sleep when it is time for her to go. I fret about her needing a vet. I don't want to have to decide whether to panic her if she were sick or injured.I have started researching mobile vets. There appears to be several in my area that can do blood work and euthanize at home. If any of you live near me and have any experience with a mobile vet in our area, please let me know.For now, Katie is mostly content doing her cavalettis, hopping over a couple of jumps in the backyard, and extracting Kongs of every morsel. Every so often she wakes up and yelps in pain. I have no idea why, but I hope it does not get worse. I am sure she could use some acupuncture and swimming, but its not going to happen.Where is my Katie? This is not my MACH UD greyhound.

ASFA Greyhound Specialty

A month ago, Southeastern Greyhound Association hosted the National Greyhound Specialty for ASFA lure coursing in Moreland Georgia. ASFA is the American Sighthound Field Association. As you know, I do not lure course my girls since the risk of injury is very high, but I enjoy watching the occasional event. This lure coursing event was extra special because some greyhound coursing fans from England came to visit. Arron Atmore is a professional slipper (seen below at the Waterloo Cup in England). At dinner, he spoke about coursing in England and Ireland and also told the story of Evie, the only American Greyhound to compete in the prestigious Waterloo Cup. The story of Evie's adventures in England is an awesome one, but unfortunately her coursing videos are not on Youtube to assist in the telling. Another Brit below. Everyone called him Froto or Frodo and claimed he was a hobbit. Isn't he adorable! :-)For those who have never seen lure coursing below, here you go:

Here is John and Laura Parker's greyhound, Cole, getting ready to run.And don't ask. All I can say is this greyhound is well loved by her young owner..... and warm. :-)

Error In Judgement

Okay, so I made a stupid mistake at the seminar. As you know, Reagan had 2 fly offs on the teeter in recent agility trials (see example below).

You never want your agility dog to get hurt or surprised on an obstacle. There are many dogs that are never fully comfortable with the teeter.

So when it was my turn to have Reagan do the teeter, a little voice in my head said I should put her on leash, but I did not listen. I thought Reagan would see that it is a teeter since we were working the teeter by itself. Well, Reagan assumed it was a dogwalk and charged to the end only to be surprised when it dropped out from under her. Dang it!

After that, Reagan refused to get back on it and then refused to even do the A-frame. This was not the place to work out such issues so I put her away for the day.

I was not sure what to expect the next time we went to our home field. Luckily, she demonstrated the problem at home which gave me ample opportunity to start from scratch. So Reagan and I have been doing some remedial teeter training, starting small, and gradually increasing the height and pivot range. She is doing great and I think will be ready for January's trial.

Obviously, she is not losing any sleep over it. However, I am so obssessive I did not sleep well for a couple of nights because of it. I was so mad at myself :-).

Seminar

As you know we attended a Chris Zink DVM, Ph.D seminar in Huntsville Alabama. It was about performance dog structure, gaiting, fitness, and soundness. I learned a few interesting things:

• Spay/Neuter - Spaying and neutering should not take place until the dog is at least 14 months old. Estrogen and testosterone are needed to close growth plates. If the dog is "fixed" early there are no hormones to tell the bones to stop growing. Therefore, the dog may continue to grow over an extended period of time causing bones to grow out of proportion making the dog prone to hip dysplasia and knee injuries. I am glad I waited until Reagan was 26 months old. Those of us that rescue greyhounds are lucky because they are generally not "fixed" before 18 months.

• Cross cantering - Dogs mostly cross canter. Dr. Zink called it a rotary canter. When horses canter, they lead with the inside front and hind legs. For example, if the horse is circling left, the left front leg and the left hind leg will lead the others. Here is a picture of Travis doing a traditional canter on the dog walk on his left lead. However, dogs will often canter on one lead in front and the opposite lead in the rear. This has always driven me crazy since I have a horse background and cross cantering does not seem correct. This was the best photo I could find of cross cantering. Reagan is clearly on the right lead in the rear. In front, the right front will land next and the left front leg will extend further out before landing and is thus the lead leg. Dr. Zink assures us that cross cantering is normal for dogs. Thank goodness for that!
  

Hotel Huntsville

The girls and I traveled to Huntsville Alabama for a Chris Zink seminar. It was Riley's first time in a hotel and Reagan's second.... Reagan has actually logged more nights in our tent.I splurged and stayed in a La Quinta this time... a little more upscale than Motel 6. Nonetheless, I still have to clean all my hotel rooms. I spray the carpet and the tub with Lysol and Clorox wipe the tables, counters, knobs, locks, faucets, remote control, clock, and so on. I also pull off the bed spread and all of the pillows, cover the bed with my own sheet, blanket, and pillow. Hello. My name is Jennifer. I am a germ phobic. The girls were allowed a special priviledge and slept on the bed with me. I am not very cuddlely (space aggressive - Don't touch me!), but the girls did great and did not disturb me at all during the night. Reagan kept her princess complex at bay and was able to share the king sized bed with Riley and I.

Homebound

Katie is finally trapped at home. She is no longer able to fight off the demons as they now accompany her in both of our vehicles. I know there are many dogs that get car sick or who associate cars with a bad experience, but Katie is the worst I have seen. She is truly panic stricken. She refuses to load and if given a chance will jump out and run to the house. It truly boggles my mind when she has thousands of positive experiences to draw from.

We started Katie on the generic form of Prozac. My dream would be that she regains her mental balance and can once again go every where I go. Her quality of life would be so much better. If not, maybe the drug will reduce her overall stress level and reaction to noises.For now, I do my best to entertain Katie at home. She gets 2 stuffed, frozen Kongs everyday and I groom her. I work with her when the backyard is dry. I occasionally bike her around the neighborhood... unfortunately, her nails wear down excessively in the rear so I cannot do it more than once a week. I would love to teach her some tricks, but she gets really stressed when we fluctuate from the usual. Katie is a machine and will do the things she is trained to do all day long, but she seems unable to download new programs at this point. We also do not allow our dogs on the couch, but decided to start inviting Katie to sit with us. However, it is a new thing and Katie is not comfortable on the couch at all and gets off as soon as she is given the opportunity. Maybe the Prozac will ease the stress of new things as well.

Riley Brag

I am long overdue on a Riley update. The "Golden Child" (Reagan) is getting far too much attention here. Riley is coming along and I would say that her agility work is really good except that she is still learning to weave. Weave poles are hard, but she has been by far the slowest learner. She has been working on them for over a year now. On days I train agility, my primary focus is on weave poles and Riley continues to make progress....
I am very pleased that Riley is consistently able to weave with just 2 guides at each end.

However, I must share a really big brag and I so wish I did not delete the video. Normally, I cut out the errors I make so you guys think I don't ever make mistakes (just kidding :-), but this one was a big brag for Riley. I had placed the middle and last 2 guides on the weave poles incorrectly. Instead of bailing, Riley ducked and continued to weave below them. At first I was not sure what happened, but when I reviewed the video I could see that she remained correct despite the "obstacles" in her way. Good dog!

California - Last One

Anna and I stayed with my friend Helen in Livermore, California on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night (15, 16, and 17th). Anna and I especially enjoyed our down time lounging around in Helen's backyard.I met Helen via email when she contacted me about competing greyhounds in agility. Helen is very active with her greyhounds and competes them in conformation, agility, obedience, and tracking. In tracking, Helen has the most Tracking Dog Excellent titled greyhounds. I'm jealous! She and I swap training tips and advice. You can see her hounds here. She and I met face to face in December 2007 when I competed Travis at the AKC Agility Invitational in Long Beach, California.The reason why I was crazy enough to plan a trip in October (my busiest month) is that there was also a Greyhound Specialty show going on at the same time. So it was a great opportunity for me to meet other greyhound email friends, see their hounds, and see other greyhounds in action.You can see a lot more photos and get the show results here and here.Lisa debuted Andretti in Open obedience (2nd level or the level after Novice). Since he was the only obedience entry he had to do his 3 minute sit stays and 5 minute down stays by himself. And in Open obedience, stays are done with the handler out of sight from the dog. Talk about all alone, but Andretti stayed like a champ. I am sure he will earn his Companion Dog Excellent title (CDX) in no time.I also got to see Helen compete Whisper in agility. Helen and Whisper are doing awesome. As of October 23, 2009, Whisper had 77 MACH points and 1 double qualifying score (750 MACH points and 20 double qualifying scores are needing to earn a Master Agility Championship). I think Whisper has a good shot at being the first AKC Greyhound and conformation champion to earn an agility championship. Whisper is only 3 years old and has plenty of time. Helen posts videos of Whisper competing periodically on her blog. Her are a couple of runs from the weekend I was there.I thought the pink agility equipment was interesting and fitting since it was Breast Cancer month. Just about everything else was pink too. California takes Breast Cancer month very seriously.Last but not least, I got a little cat love from Helen's cat.... who's name escapes me right now. Cute little kitty though!This concludes my summer (okay, fall) vacation!

California - Part 2

On Friday, in Livermore California, Anna and I went on a hike recommended by greyhound friend, Helen. It was beautiful. After living in crowded and smoggy Orange County, I am always amazed at how beautiful California can be and by how much space is actually left in some parts.Bessie the cow was not very happy with our visit. Despite Anna and I chatting loudly about the cow on the trail ahead, she did not seem to notice us until we were upon her. She tested Anna, but Anna called her bluff and we continued hiking.One more California post, but the next one will include greyhounds.

California

I have been so busy lately. The fall season is always full of events, seminars, and other activities. I also went to California for a week and left Snookums behind to take care of the dogs (Thank you, Snookums). I feel like I have so much to write, but I have been sick for nearly a week with a terrible cold. I had several posts planned, but now I feel they are so out of date.... but because I am sick, I have not done anything interesting with the hounds and thus have nothing interesting to write about.... so here you go with my California vacation.

I lived in Orange County California from age 12 to 17. Best friend, Anna, and I have known each other since I was 14 when we boarded our horses at the same stables. I moved a lot as a kid, but Anna is the one friend I have kept all of these years. She and I are very much alike and our friendship is easy and low maintenance.

Here is the trip summary..... Leaving Atlanta behind.... Well, Atlanta is somewhere behind the fog.Nothing, but clear skies.... at least above the clouds.Finally, some beautiful sights from the sky. I lucked out. The plane was very full, but I was on one of the only rows that with no one sitting in the middle seat.On the day of my arrival, Anna and I went to the stables to take care of her horse, Junior. I switched to greyhounds, but Anna is still very involved with horses.The next day (Thursday), Anna and I drove to Monterey Bay. We took the scenic route and it was very beautiful in some places. Once in Monterey, Anna and I went to the aquarium and had a great time.
Anna and I then proceeded on to Livermore California to stay with another friend, Helen. Here is the cute down town area.Yep, that is a guy wearing cut off denim shorts and pretty top with spaghetti straps. Fascinating!More to come...

Agility Trial

Reagan competed in her third agility trial last weekend. She earned 2 Open Standard legs with a 2nd and a 3rd. Both had flaws... allowable flaws in the Open level..., but flaws nonetheless that would not be allowed in Excellent. So we have some homework to do. Here are her 2 runs from the first day:

I thought the Jumpers run (1st one) was awesome. The opening sequence was once again very difficult. Much more difficult than the Excellent level course the same day. The course started with 2 jumps in a straight line and then a left turn into the blue tunnel. Well, the correct tunnel entrance was facing away from the dog, but jump #4 was an obvious choice, but not correct one. Great run otherwise.

In her Standard course (2nd one), Reagan assumed the teeter was the dogwalk and surprised herself when she ran to the end and it dropped out from under her. I believe this is why she then ducked out of the A-Frame. Neither of these disqualified the run and she placed third.

On Sunday, she ducked out of the teeter, but then came back and teetered smartly. She qualified in that run with a 2nd. However, Reagan also scraped her head.I have no idea how this could have happened on course. I checked the tunnels and the chute and found nothing that would have scraped her head. :-/

We now have 2 months to work on our issues. I am not happy with the A-frame performance. She seems unclear about what to do on the downside and is wasting time by stopping mid way. I also need to work on differentiating the teeter and dog walk, so she does not get surprised on the teeter anymore. Lastly, we need to work more on collection so we can handle those tricky openings.

Riley did great this weekend. She was mostly herself and worked on heeling and fronts ring side.... at least until we saw this on Sunday afternoon:Again, I kind of think it is the smell because she will be walking along and suddenly stops in her tracks at seemingly nothing. Wierd! We will keep working.