Party Hard!

Party hard, but play safe everyone. Happy New Year!

This is an old photo of Teresa. She was sedated for the upcoming fireworks and we took advantage of her coma-like state. If you drink until a coma-like state, you may find your silly pictues posted on a blog somewhere.

Good luck with the new year resolutions and the diets. I know I've got a few pounds to lose myself.

Holiday S.L.O.P.

I have been a bad raw-food-diet-feeding mother. I ran out of SLOP (Superior Life Optimizing Pudding) or veggie mix a few weeks ago. With a few days off, I found the time to whip up a new batch.

The mix included cranberries, blackberries, garlic, a pear, collard greens, celery, carrots, brussell sprouts, and for flavor..... turkey liver and cottage cheese.

I also did something new this time. I will often add water to the mix because it helps the food processor puree the mix smoothly. This time I added some caffeine free green tea. I have started drinking hot green tea and I have been intrigued by the health benefits. So I heated a pot of water with a couple of tea bags and included some nettles and dandelion leaf along with it. I added the anti-oxidant and vitamin rich water to the mix as needed.

Christmas Dinner

I found a special treat for the greyhounds' raw food Christmas dinner..... turkey backs!

I have not seen turkey backs in the last few years. When I see the wings, legs, and thighs for sale at the store, I always wonder what happens to the turkey backs. I bet my friend with Ridgebacks would love those. Turkey backs are huge and would force her dogs to chew for a change.

That is a chicken back to the right of the turkey back so you can see how much bigger they are. I did cut off the skin and extra chunks of fat.

Katie tackles her turkey back from a down.

Allie tries chewing and carrying it at the same time.

Stacker uses the bottom of his crate as leverage to get his turkey back chewed up.

Reagan and Riley got to split a turkey back last night. That was fun for Stephen and I to cut in half :-).

Katie is now sleeping off her Christmas dinner.

Goodbye Old Friend

I am happy to report that the old, white van was placed in a new home tonight. It is beginning its second career as a work van for a man starting an appliance repair service. It makes me glad that we did not just trade it in. It is a good van that has been serviced regularly and driven gently. Its nice to know that it will go on to help someone start a business. I hope that the van serves him well.

For several years, the white greyhound bus was my primary vehicle. Not cool when you are a single girl in your mid 20's. I remember years ago when my boss asked me about the new van and I answered in a less than excited tone of voice that I had indeed purchased a van, "a van van... a big van". He assured me I shouldn't worry about how it looked as long as it got me to where I was going. A few minutes later he says "IS IT THAT BIG WHITE ONE?"..... yes it is. So for all of you who resist the uncool idea of a mini van and then complain when your dogs won't jump into your tall SUV, I do not feel sorry for you. I looked a lot less cool in a big white van :-).

All in all, the van was a very smart purchase. I log a ton of miles with the dogs and the van affords them a safe way to travel via crates. Its a home away from home and a comfortable place for the hounds to relax.

Family Trip

Stephen, the greyhounds, and I took our first family trip in the new van. We traveled to Alabama to visit with Stephen's parents.

Happy Driver

Happy Passengers

..... Stacker, the hound who rides uncrated because we can only fit 5 crates.

..... Reagan and Riley sleeping soundly most of the way.

And then there is Katie.

Katie does not seem to travel as well as she used to. I cannot pinpoint it exactly, but I think this may have started after her spinal stroke.

When Katie's left hind leg was dealing with some paralysis and neurological weakness, she became extremely fearful of laying on her left side. I believe this was because she could not jump to her feet quickly because the left hind leg was not able to do its job.

Once she had partially recovered, I started to work on getting her to lie down on her left side again using a clicker and food. If anything, I felt that getting up and down using the left hind was good rehab exercise. I also would have her lie down and I would get her to roll from one hip to the other as practice.

At this point, I would say that Katie is back to being about 90% functional. Part of the decrease has to do with her age (10 years). At some point, you just don't jump as high or feel as stable as you used to. I could see that happening a little prior to the spinal stroke and I think the spinal stroke simply sped up the process.

So back to traveling. I think that some of this caution and fear that developed due to the hind leg weakness has had a residual effect on how she reacts to being jostled or rocked. There were several occasions that I or the vet techs fought with her to make her lie down not realizing that she simply did not want to lie on the left side. At the risk of over analyzing this, I think that sometimes the traveling reminds her of the fear and fight of avoiding the left side and it creates an unhappy experience in the van.

It is uncomfortable to watch her for 3 hours. Most of the time I am driving so I do not see how uncomfortable she appears. She will stand up, turn around, and fluff bedding over and over and over again. Bumps and noises cause worrisome expressions.

I may have to come up with some creative ways to improve the traveling experience for her. Maybe even something like a stuffed Kong or a bully stick each time could make traveling more fun and help Katie to forget the bad experiences. With her intense food motivation, changing her mind is always easiest to accomplish through her stomach.

Collection Continued..

Continuing from my last post about collection, one of the ways you cue your dog to jump in a more collected style is to face the dog. If my back is to Reagan or in other words facing and running in the direction we are both needing to go, I am telling her to go faster and take bigger strides. But if I am standing still and facing her, I am telling her to control her jumping and to not fly past me.

In this exercise, I leave Reagan in a stand stay behind jump 1 (off camera). I am facing her as she comes over the 2 jumps and ask her to turn right in front of me and enter the tunnel. My position should be warning her that a turn is coming and she should prepare for it.

I never did any collection work with Travis. When I would walk a course and decide how and when I would cue Travis for the various obstacles, I would have to consider where he would be landing and what the next obstacle looks like from that spot. Depending on his likely speed at that point in the course, I may have to plan for a landing that could be several feet farther than you might think.

Here are 2 pictures of Travis showing extension. The first one, Travis started the triple bar long before the jump. The takeoff spot would have been out of the frame of this picture. The second one, Travis is going to land some distance away from the jump.

For you folks out there that think agility looks fun, but people like me make it look so complicated. Please do not let me discourage you. It can be as complicated as you want to make it. I started out with Jes in 1999 (I think) and my goal was simply for her to learn how to do all of the obstacles. I didn't even plan to compete. Almost 10 years later, agility still gives me more to learn and new goals to achieve. I would love to inspire you to just build a couple of jumps and to have fun in your backyard or take an agility class. You can get a lot from a once a week class.

Here are some links to building cheap and easy jumps, slightly more professional looking jumps, and a website where you can order a kit to build your own agility obstacles.

Mean Mama

Sometimes Trouble 1 and Trouble 2 (Reagan and Riley) are obnoxious especially in the afternoons when I am working at home. They begin to anticipate that we will be heading out for a training session soon. They start to jump up at the sound of every computer beep, drawer close, and ankle crack (cause if Mom's ankles crack, she must be about to stand up). It becomes very distracting.

Today, the temperatures were extremely comfortable outside, so I opted to load the girls into the van a little early......... ok 2 hours early. The van serves as a 2nd home considering all of the time the greyhounds spend traveling to and from the places we go. They are quite comfortable crated in the van and are happy as can be knowing they cannot be left behind.

.... time elapsed 2 hours.... "Oh, hey troublemak.... I mean girls. Katie and I just had to get our things."

However, don't let Katie play innocent. She and Travis did plenty of hypersensitive anticipation of their own. They spent their fair share of hours in the van while Mommy got a break. Katie is just more civilized now and knows that maintaining a down position is the best way to earn stuff.

Collection

With Reagan, I taught her to jump using Linda Mecklenburg's method and I am very pleased with the results. Linda is well known in the agility community and has competed worldwide representing the USA. In the past, I never gave much thought to jumping as a skill. Somehow my greyhounds learned to jump and did just fine. However, I am always seeking new ways to complicate matters. :-)

The February weekend I picked out Reagan, I also attended a Linda Mecklenburg jumping seminar. The main point I brought home was that it is important for a good agility dog to learn to jump collected. Most dogs can easily clear jumps when running with large strides, but it is especially handy if your dog can also collect his stride and use his rear end. Collection allows for tighter turns (a time saver). Jumping with an extended stride is nothing more than an extra large, extended stride. However, jumping collected requires maximum effort because the take off and landing spots are closer to the jump.

One of the exercises is simply jumping the dog full height from just a walk or a stand. It forces the dog to jump round and to jump straight up and down. I'm not demonstrating this very well in the clip below, but it gives you some idea.

While the method worked really well for Reagan (a big sloppy jumper), it is not working as well with Riley. Linda likes for dogs to be jumping full height as soon as possible. Riley is telling me that she needs to learn to jump, change direction, turn, and so on at a reduced height and then learn it all again with jumps a few inches higher..... and so on until she finally reaches 24" jumps.

Riley is somewhat short strided so I think I need to take the opposite approach and teach her how to extend her stride and to jump big.

The two of them keeping me guessing and learning.

Agil'in

It has been a busy few days. Here is a little clip of Reagan doing a practice agility course a week or 2 ago. Her only problem was with the weaves. Everything else was great. And since that day, her weaves have been awesome also. I have been working on closing the gap between the poles and she has responded well. Reagan is starting to look like a real agility dog.

It was a cold day, so don't make fun of my green head band.... it keeps my ears warm.

Last Man Standing

In our house, the humans try to focus on rewarding good behavior. With 6 greyhounds, good behavior indoors usually means lying down and minding your own business. In other words, not underfoot. Lying down gets acknowledged with love, attention, and treats. Underfoot gets you nothing.


Today, I took the girls for a 2 mile walk/jog. Kudos, to Katie (age 10) who did so much better than Reagan (age 20 months). Reagan was clearly bored with the idea. I get such a kick out of Katie being in so much better shape than many pet dogs half her age. Riley is made for jogging. I think she could run a marathon. I need to find her twin for Ray.


The daily routine is that Riley and Reagan eat after training/exercise (usually in the evening). The other 4 greyhounds eat breakfast (we feed raw food, so each dog eats once a day). Anyone not underfoot while I prepare Reagan and Riley's dinner gets a treat. Lately Katie has not been successful. She follows Riley, Reagan, and I into the dog room in hopes that she will be fed also.


Well, I think Katie had an epiphany because for 2 days now she has followed us into the dog room, but then very deliberately leaves the room and lies down in the living room. Its not a huge accomplishment, but I love to see them figure things out without being told what to do. Treats for Katie.

Next, I stuffed chunks of beef heart and canned pumpkin into Kongs to put in the freezer for later use.

As usual, we have some winners and we have some losers. These are the underfoot losers.

These are the winners.

Loser....

Winners... Even Riley figures it out!

Last man standing......... no beef heart for Stacker tonight.

I have heard some people say "I don't feed my dog any people food because I do not want him to learn to beg." The truth is that "begging" is a well trained behavior. It has nothing to do with people versus dog food. I can cut Red Barn dog treats at my coffee table without any obtrusive "begging".


Dogs will do what works for them. If you reward your dog for milling around in the kitchen or for staring at you with sad eyes, then that is the behavior your dog will offer. Katie is "begging" for food when she is lying down in the other room. How do you want your dog to "beg"?

The Search Continues

I am still shopping for Ray. I was really hoping that Riley's littermate, Bob's Cane, would be a good fit, but he was not. He was not as food motivated as I was hoping and food motivation is important to clicker trainers. I was able to find out more about Cane and to give Screening and Placement a detailed profile on the boy. Unfortunately and fortunately, Cane is quite independent and aloof. This type of personality does not appeal to the person looking for a dog to "pick me", but he is absolutely perfect for someone who works full-time while the greyhound is home alone. Greyhounds who do not immediately bond and beg for human attention are much less likely to suffer from separation anxiety.





I prefer the aloof, independent types (i.e. Katie). I like a confident dog. You have to earn their affection and it is so rewarding to see he or she become sweeter over time. Katie had no use for me until she found out there was food in my pockets. Now she is such a doll. I cannot begin to tell you how much I love that greyhound!


I also looked at RJ's Skippy. Skippy has the food motivation I want, but he is a lazy boy. Ray has access to miles of logging trails, so I also want to find him a greyhound that enjoys lots of hiking and walking. I took Skippy on a 40 minute hike. He starts out like gangbusters, but was bored after 20 minutes. He is more of a stroll around the neighborhood hound.





On the bright side, Skippy was giving me a really good "family dog" vibe despite our original profile saying otherwise. At SEGA, we work really hard trying to pinpoint which of our available greyhounds enjoy the company of children. I took Skippy to Petco, hoping to find some children and I was in luck...... two little boys and two little girls. Skippy was very sweet. He sniffed their faces and got very calm and close to them. My gut was right! So Skippy fills an important need!


When I search for greyhounds suitable for living with small children, I like to find a greyhound that is affectionate and tends to get very close to people. If kids are available, I love to see the greyhound seek the children out or at least give them equal attention with adults. I also want to make sure I do not see any other red flags during our temperament test, such as food aggression, dramatic reaction to any handling, fearfulness, and excessive noise sensitivity.


Keep in mind that a greyhound suitable for children may tend to be prone to separation anxiety due to his or her affectionate nature. Steps to prevent separation anxiety are important for ANY greyhound that is going to live without the company of other dogs, but especially those that are very sweet and clingy. Even when you have a dog like Bob's Cane, why take a chance? I always tell people that they will never regret spending a few weeks doing preventative groundwork to ensure the new dog is happy and comfortable with the routines and rules.


SEGA has an excellent manual that includes information about separation anxiety prevention.


Rest assured, Jules. Despite being passed over, these two hounds will easily suit someone else. They are in no danger and will be adopted soon.

Maiden Voyage

The new van was finally ready for her maiden voyage part 2 (Stephen had already gotten to drive his dogs around while I was stuck at a board meeting yesterday). This van is so much bigger...... longer and wider. There is so much room! And it drives so smooth.

Stephen had finished installing wooden walls and insulation. It looks very professional. Great job, Snookums.

Greyhound decals have been applied.

And my favorite bumper sticker of all time........

You can get one of your own at Wisconsin Sheltie Rescue. Click here and scroll down. The look on passerby faces is totally worth $2. They either laugh, make a face, or hurry their kids past.


I think the old, white van was jealous. It conveniently refused to start today and now I am going to have to use the new van to pick up chicken backs on its third day of official service. Can't it just stay clean for a little while?

Once A Year

Once a year.... I wear a dress. On Saturday, Stephen and I went to the Southeastern Greyhound Club's annual Christmas party.





We had fun sitting with Addie, a fellow blogger, and her husband, Garrett. I was bad and didn't take anymore pictures.





This picture does not do it justice, but our house is the most festive on our street. Stephen did a great job hanging lights from high places and tending to our herd of deer. I put the lights on the bushes, but they are not showing up very well.





Its getting cold. We have started tucking the greyhounds in at night. If they don't move, they are guaranteed to stay warm all night.

Spilled The Beans

Recently, my husband, Stephen, let out a little secret about the new girls. It is customary to pay a dollar to brag at the Southeastern Greyhound Club meeting. At last month's greyhound club meeting, Stephen pays a dollar and stands up to share a brag. I am curious because I cannot think of anything worth sharing about our hounds.


Stephen begins to describe the scene you see below. How sweet. Allie, Reagan, and Riley snuggled up on a mattress. He runs for the camera to take a picture and snaps this shot. Suddenly, a toot is heard and all of their heads raise. Riley has done it again. Most greyhound people are familiar with the "silent but deadly" gas, but Riley AND Reagan both end almost ever stretch with a toot from behind. Sometimes no stretching is required. It is quite embarrassing to be their mom. I don't believe it has happened in public.... yet.

Vet Visits

I work really hard to make sure my greyhounds have a good experience at the vet (or at least I try to minimize the bad stuff).


For routine procedures, I always bring food. I will often distract them with a piece of food while blood is being drawn or a vaccination is being given. If it is not a problem, I will often bring an extra dog or 2 just so the extra dogs can have a good experience of eating treats in the waiting and exam rooms without being poked or prodded.


With Riley, she was not allowed to have food prior to being sedated so I brought along some squeaky toys. She was dying to play with them all morning, but I kept them put away until she was at the vet office. The toys helped to pass the time in the exam room.

I also always bring a comfortable fleece pad for my patient to relax on. Even if your dog typically stands the entire time, a pad to lay on encourages them to lie down.

If you are petting your dog during a vet visit, you want to make sure you do it in a helpful way and in a manner that encourages relaxation. Long, slow, smooth strokes over the whole body and down a leg (alternating legs). Slowly and softly stroking the ears is also good. If you are not paying attention to what you are doing, you may find that you are quickly rubbing your dog's skin back and forth mindlessly. The short, rapid, continuous strokes can increase the nervousness of the patient. Your hound is better off not being touched if you cannot do it in a thoughtful and relaxing manner.


Lastly, you may want to save uncomfortable procedures (such as microchipping) for the next time your dog is being sedated if a surgery or a teeth cleaning is coming up.

Clean X-rays

Riley's x-rays were clean. Her hips are perfect and the knees looked good as well.

Hip x-rays are fairly complicated to do. The dog has to be positioned just right and on their back. My vet was nice enough to allow me to stay with Riley through the process and take pictures.


First, Riley was sedated. Once she had fallen asleep and her muscles had relaxed, she was placed on the x-ray table and into a plastic cradle.

Next, gallon jugs were placed along Riley's waist and hips to further hold her in the correct position. And her hind legs are tied together.

Not the most flattering pose.

Riley is in la la land.

Since Riley was sedated, it was the perfect time to have a microchip indentification inserted. I am a needle freak so I prefer that my greyhounds not be awake for the procedure. I have a hard time giving the greyhounds good vibes and warm fuzzies about needles the size of toothpicks.

And the clean x-rays. The D ring you see above the pelvis is part of the leash that was tied around her thighs to keep her legs together. The white balloon objects on each side are the jugs of water.

Goofy Gait

Riley has a goofy gait or a funny way of going. Ideally, an agility dog should travel freely and cover a lot of ground with each stride. The trot should appear natural, forward, smooth, and straight. Doing so, suggests that the dog will be less prone to injury, jump better, turn tighter, and get around an agility course quicker and more efficiently. Having a nice mover like Travis or Reagan is an asset for long-term soundness.

In the rear, Riley moves like a sewing machine wearing a diaper (there's a visual for you). The movement is rather up and down (instead of reaching forward) and she travels very wide when you watch her trot away from you. I did not give it much thought initially since she appeared to be sound otherwise.

After watching her move, I have had 2 vets suggest having her hips x-rayed. There is probably nothing to worry about since the movement is symmetrical and even on both sides. But slightly concerning because she does not seem to have any major conformation flaws that would produce this type of movement. She is cow-hocked a little. So to play it safe, I am going to have her hips and knees x-rayed today.

If we find a problem, I would probably switch her focus to obedience since that activity is lower impact than agility. If the x-rays are clean, then I will know that her gait is just as goofy as her lovable personality. I'm confident that everything will be fine.