Changes

Last week was our last Tues night agility class. Now the big question is, what next? The end of Tues night classes feels like the end of an era of sorts, especially since we're moving again in August. Here's a lot of thinking out loud because I've been thinking quietly for the last couple weeks and still don't have a decision I'm happy with.

For the last few months, I've had Iris in two weekly classes. The plan right now is to cut back to one weekly class (especially in light of recent veterinary expenses). For now, I'm going to keep Iris in the reactive agility dogs class at Dogs! Learning Center. It's right down the street, and I do like the class. Iris gets to practice working around other dogs, but the downside is that we won't be doing as much agility. The class is more focused on getting dogs to work around other dogs, which isn't a bad thing for Iris.

After we move, I'm not sure what we're doing. I can keep Iris in the class in Hudson, even though it is less agility focused. The other option is to check out Gemini Dogs. I don't know a lot about their classes other than that they're only about 10 min away from the condo we're moving into. Much easier commute than what I've been doing! Whether or not I can make it to class in Hudson on time is going to depend a lot on how long my commute ends up being. On the other hand, Iris isn't always a model student so the reactive class might just be better for her.

I just found out that Emma Parson is running a Control Unleashed class at the Methuen MSPCA in October. I have been dying to get Iris into a CU class. It seems like every time I try to get her into that class, something else comes up. I was going to take it in July at Masterpeace, but then it looked like we were going to move halfway through class, so I wouldn't have made it all 6 weeks.

The other thing I'd really like to do more of is herding. Iris LOVES herding. She was SO focused the last time I took her out herding, even with a group of dogs and people watching. We took one class with a new instructor right before Iris started having seizures and then had to cancel our next lesson. While Beth's style of training was a lot like what we're used to, the way she runs lessons is a little different. She runs it more like a group class. The plus side of this is that I got to watch a bunch of different dogs of various experience levels work sheep. You can learn a lot by watching! The downside is that each dog got less individual time on sheep. I'm having a really hard time deciding which way I want to go with that. The more I think about it, the more I think it would benefit Iris to have more individual time with the sheep. I could supplement that by trying to audit a couple of clinics. On the other hand, I know Iris can handle the environment at Beth's farm, and that is always a bit of an issue with Iris. And I did like the way Beth handled the dogs, which matter a lot too.

Decisions, decisions...

Sport of Choice?

This question was posed on an Aussie forum I frequent, and some of the responses were pretty interesting.

What got you into your sport of choice...why that one, why not another type of dog sport? What else have you tried, but don't care for? What haven't you tried but would like to?

It's no secret that agility is my "sport of choice." I love the challenge of running a different course every time we go out. Iris loves getting to run around like a nut. She loves doing the different equipment and getting to play. It's just a big game for the dogs. I love watching the dogs - my dog and my classmates' dogs - figuring things out.

I love training agility because of the variety of challenges it presents. We haven't competed because Iris can be pretty reactive to other dogs. Instead, we've just been really enjoying classes. I've been lucky to take classes with a great group of people and their dogs. It give me an excuse to get outside and play with my dog.

We've also done some herding, which I think Iris likes even more than agility. I love the dynamic between the handler, the dog, and the stock. It's so cool to see the dog's natural instincts unfold. Herding is a completely different way of training. With Iris, I could go out there with all the treats and toys in the world and my dog wouldn't give a damn. She wants SHEEP.

As far as other sports go, I know Iris wouldn't be able to handle to environment of flyball. I don't think I'd enjoy it as much as agility anyway. It's too repetitive! Plus, Iris has very little desire to retrieve (which is too bad because I think it's be a great way to exercise her), so that rules out disc dog as well. I suppose I could train her to retrieve as a trick, but it's just not her favorite. Musical freestyle looks fun, but I'm way too self-conscious to ever take that outside of my living room!

At some point I'd like to try Rally, but that will probably wait until Iris is a little older. For now, I need something that tires her out! I'd also like to get her CGC someday, but I think she still has issues she needs to work out before we can do that (some things are as simple as loose leash walking, which has gotten worse and worse lately. Oops!)

Ok, so now what's your sport of choice?

Final Tues Night Class

Tuesday night was our last Tues agility class. It was long course, with a tunnel/dog-walk discrimination, a couple sets of 6 weave poles, and a rear cross at the end. Iris was great. Class was a lot of fun. Well, class is always a lot of fun. I get to go play with my dog for a little while.

Iris flew off the teeter the first time around but after that she was good about waiting (that seems to be a regular occurance for Iris!) I did get her to do the tunnel/dog-walk discrimination correctly, although I really want to work on her directionals more. I have to "baby-sit" her a lot or else she'd rather do contacts than tunnels. Sometimes I think she understands "out" and sometimes I feel like she doesn't. Actually, I don't think she was too bad about it on Tues? This week has been a blur. I probably should have blogged about class earlier this week! Sandy (with Baxter Black) took a bunch of video during class, and I'd really like to see it! I'm not sure if she got any of me and Iris.

We did finish class with a nice rear cross (for us. Maybe not that fluid but better than we often do). Not a bad note to end on. I feel like I should say something emotional, but I'm not good at that sort of thing. It's been a blast, but we're not dropping off the face of the planet yet. We'll still be around.

Cook Out

Just a quick brag before I head to bed.

I brought Iris to a cookout at a friend's house on Saturday. Iris can get pretty overwhelmed in large groups especially if there's a lot of guys. Because she was going to need her meds before I was going to make it home and since I hate crating her on weekends, I decided to bring her (and her crate in case she needed a time out). I have to say, Iris was AWESOME. Really, I couldn't have asked for better behavior from her. She greeted everyone politely. Well, mostly politely. There are a few people she gets excited to see and forgets to keep 4 paws on the ground. I admit, I often let her act a little too bouncy when she's happy to greet someone because that's better than barking at someone approaching. I probably should teach her better manners but if she's sitting politely to greet people, you don't get to see her wiggle butt!

Iris didn't react to any people (a few woofs at cars pulling up but she relaxed once the car stopped moving) and 2/3 of the group were people she'd never met before. I even got her to relax during the bonfire. Iris is absolutely terrified of matches and lighters. She was concerned about the bonfire, but not terrified. Lots of treats and massage helped.

Iris actually acted like a "normal" dog all day - begging for attention from everyone, showing off her tricks for handouts, relaxing in the grass. She was leaps and bounds better than I expected her to be. We've still got a long way to go, but it definitely felt like we passed a milestone.

Agility Update

I'm well past due for an agility class update. We've still been going to class even though I haven't been blogging about it. I really do get out to do things with my dog besides just worrying about her!

The last two agility classes we've had have been the same set up but different courses (which I didn't notice until after Julie posted the course maps). The course from two weeks ago focused a lot on distance, something that I'm not very good about. There were a couple of dogs in the class that have better distance than us, and it was VERY cool to watch them work though the course. Watching them makes me want to get better at it with Iris!

When I did the course with Iris, we did a rear cross after the second jump, and front cross after the 7th jump. Front crosses are much easier that rear crosses! I think I'm going to start bringing some cones when I take Iris over to the tennis courts to play. I don't really want her doing any jumping there because it's pavement, but that doesn't mean we can't work on her direction cues. We still have a lot of trouble with rear crosses, but I think our front crosses have gotten better.

During class, Katrin asked if problems with muscle coordination can be a side effect of Keppra. Iris was jumping ok with her back legs, but she was jumping funny with her front. I wasn't actually sure if it could be a side effect. The biggest side effect I'd talked about with my vet was hyper-activity, which for Iris lasted less than a week. I had a lot of trouble finding any info about Keppra that was specific to dogs. The only thing I found about Keppra and dogs is that the elimination half-life is significantly faster in dogs than people (hence the 3x per day dose). Problems with muscle coordination did come up on the list of possible side effects in people, so I'm guessing it's the same in dogs. My poor girl. Actually, I never would have noticed it at home. There are benefits to being active with your dog!

In class last week, we did the same set up but with a different course. I decided to do a rear cross before the 5th jump which meant I had to do another rear cross before the 9th jump. At least we're getting in some rear cross practice. We probably need a lot more.

Iris seemed like she was feeling pretty good during class. I think she was jumping better than she was the week before too? Of course she started class by running face first into the side of one of the jumps. It looked like she was going to run around the jump and at the last second decided to try and jump over it. But she made the decision too late. I didn't think too much of it, but this weekend she managed to hurt her face twice running into things. She's got a cut above one eye (she hit her face on a table during her joyous post-bath celebration), and the next day she bruised the side of her muzzle after turning quickly into a door frame. Both injuries happened when she was really excited and acting like a dork.

During class we're still doing weaves with cages on. At home, we've been practicing (not as consistently as I'd like) and we've gotten to the point where Iris will do them with the cages off of the first three poles. She's gotten very consistent about doing them correctly when she's on my right side but is still missing the entrance about 50% of the time of when she's on my left. Because we're moving in a month, I'm making it my goal to have her weaves trained before we move. At the new place, I won't have a fenced in place to train her (I'm going to try to find something, but there isn't anything in the condo complex) so if I don't do it now, it might be a little while before we can get back into doing regular off-leash training sessions.

Keeping Busy

This dog certainly keeps me on my toes.

Last Sunday, Iris started having seizures again. Six grand mal seizures in 18 hrs. I got her in to see her regular vet Monday morning and we decided to start her on meds. Her vet was great. I think the appointment ended up being about an hr long. We talked a lot about what could be going on and a lot about what medication to start her on. There's no good explanation right now for why Iris suddenly has so many seizures at once. I can't think of anything in particular that would have triggered it. It was a rainy weekend, so we'd spent the whole weekend home and the seizures didn't start until Sunday night.

One odd side effect of the seizures is the Iris was starving. She was trying to steal food off counters while I watching. She never counter surfs. She tried to chew a hole in my sweatshirt pocket to get at a couple of crumbs. I was still wearing the sweatshirt. In hindsight, it was humorous. At the time, we were both pretty freaked out.

Right now, the decision is to just try and control the seizures with meds. We've tested her for tick borne diseases. We've checked all her bloodwork including thyroid. She is on the old end for the start of epilepsy, but it's still possible.

After a lot of discussion, we decided to try Iris on Keppra instead of Phenobarb. The drawbacks to Keppra are that it has to be given 3 times a day and its more expensive than Phenobarb. Also, Phenobarb has been in use longer than Keppra, so it has a more proven track record. The upside is that Keppra doesn't have the side effects Phenobarb does (Phenobarb can cause liver damage if used long term).

So far, Iris hasn't has any seizures since Monday night. She was got an injection of Valium at the vet, and had one more seizure later that night right as the Valium wore off. Since then, she's been seizure free. It seems like the meds are working. We took the rest of the week off from classes. This may have been a mistake. The meds made Iris very antsy (the vet warned me that Iris might be extra crazy for the first week! Seriously? Something that makes my Aussie more crazy?) She's acting a lot more normal now, thank doG. She was making me more crazy too!

In other news, we're officially moving again sometime in August. This poor dog. I'm her fifth home, and this will the third place we've lived since I adopted her. I'm sure she's dying for something more consistent! She adjusted to the apartment very quickly, so hopefully she'll be good for this next move. We're heading even further north this time.

The upside to the move is that I found a new herding instructor in southern NH. Actually, she's right down the street from the shelter I adopted Iris from. We had one lesson with her a few weeks ago (I canceled Iris' lesson for this weekend). I liked the new instructor. She was recommended by some Aussie folks, and her training style is a lot like Colleen's. Hopefully we'll be able to get out to do some herding more regularly after the move. I love agility, but I'm pretty sure herding is Iris' favorite.

Where Did My Dogs Come From?

We got tagged by Julie from Molasses Ain't Got Nothin' On Us to tell the story of how my dogs came to live with me. I've really enjoyed reading the stories on a lot of different blogs. I think just about everyone who reads this blog has been tagged. If you haven't please play along! I'm going to tag Lauren at Why Everyone Sould Train Dogs and Service Dog Sawyer.

Henry
I don't live with Henry Beagle any more (he's still living with my dad) but he likes to make an occasional cameo on the blog. Plus, he's got a pretty good story.

My cousin adopted Henry (formerly named Fred) from animal control in 2001. Animal control seized him when his first owners were arrested on drug charges.

In December 2002, my cousin called and said she was moving to DC, could we pet-sit for her Beagle while she was down there for a week to look at apartments? Henry came to stay for the week. Just for one week. One. My cousin wasn't going to take Henry to DC with her, so she was looking for a home for him. At the time, my cousin was working for the Archdiocese of Boston. One person who'd expressed interest in Henry was Cardinal Law. If you remember back to 2002, it was during the height of the Catholic Church sex scandals. At that point, it was looking very likely that Cardinal Law was going to resign and return to Rome.

This is Saint Peter's Basilica. It's in Rome.

If you can imagine, those tall ceilings probably give that room a pretty good echo. Now close your eyes and see if you can imagine what a Beagle bay would sound like in those halls.

This is Henry. He's a Beagle.

While "Henry Goes to Rome" might make a great children's book, I have doubts that it would have actually turned out well for the poor bugger. He'd have left quite an impression in those halls I'm sure. Needless to say, it's been six years and Henry never made it to Rome. He never even made it out of my dad's house.

Iris
After I graduated from college, I decided I wanted a dog. Specifically, I wanted to do agility. Henry was overweight and getting older. Not really a great prospect for agility. My dad relented and decided that 3 dogs couldn't possibly be much worse than 2 (at the time, Henry was living in the house all the time and Zeus was living there only on weekends). If you're considering a third dog, yes three is more than two. If one of those dogs is an Aussie, it will feel more like 5 dogs. And if one of them is a Beagle, it will sound more like 10.

I wanted an adult dog, and since breed wasn't really important I started looking at shelters. I was looking for a medium size herding dog mix. My first choice would have been an Aussie if I was going to get a purebred, so I was hoping to find an Aussie mix.

I had a friend who lived in NH, so I started checking out some shelters up there on weekends. I saw "Lula Mae" listed on the NHSPCA website but I actually wasn't going to go look at her. It was a little further away than I wanted to drive, but I couldn't put her out of my head. She sounded exactly like what I was looking for. I went up to visit her and she was so sweet and quiet. She settled down next to me and leaned up against me. She seemed very mellow for an Aussie (if you've read this blog at all, you know she's not really quiet or mellow). I asked someone at the shelter if they could tell me more about her, and I was told the only thing they knew was that she'd been surrendered for killing ducks. No big deal. I don't have any ducks.

It wasn't until after I got home and went through the paperwork from the shelter that I learned a little more about the dog I adopted. She'd been through a total of 4 other homes. Not only was she killing ducks, but she was chasing and nipping their kids and very "overprotective of the house." I believe that roughly translates to "barks at every car, kid, dog, human, insect, etc that passes the house and explodes at any person coming through the door."

Would I have done anything differently if I'd known more about her? Who knows. I'm glad I didn't.