Week Two: Vet Visit, Fears and the Surprise in the Bed

Sharing a Human: The Struggle is Real!

Week Two in Review

This week was a challenge since the weather was not only cold, but it was icy too. Since having two back surgeries years ago, I've walked nearly every day. It's important for the health of my back. I walk in almost any weather. The only conditions I won't walk in - is when it's icy out. Unfortunately, this past week we had several icy days. So, instead of outdoor training on our walks, I did work in the yard and then focused on "brain work" inside. But let's start with some observations.

Observations:
1. Advice Pays Off!
Togo was a 12-week old puppy when I got her. The best advice I ever got was this: You have to make being with you the best thing that ever happened to your dog. They have to want to be with you. They need to want to come whenever you call them. Being with you should represent fun, treats, activity, and play. When I got Roxy, I used that same advice. I spent several days just bonding with her; signing "come" to her and then playing with her or giving her a treat. We played fetch in the backyard. We snuggled on the sofa. When I was signing "come" to her, I did it enthusiastically...like I was telling her she was about to go to Disneyland. Well, that advice paid off and may have saved her from disaster.

I was loading wood from the garage to the back door. I knew Roxy would want to be where I was, so I brought her outside. But the gate needed to be open, so I attached her collar to a cable that almost reached the gate, but not quite. I'd made a few trips when I loaded my arms with wood. I looked at her, and she gave me a funny look. Then she wiggled her head, slipped out of her collar, and ran. I had just gone through the gate and it was still open. A busy street is just one house away. I immediately dropped the wood to one side and then signed "come" enthusiastically - just as we'd done while playing. I signed it over and over while moving quickly toward the house. Thank God she followed me! Inside, I praised her, signing "good girl!" So, if anyone ever asks me what the very first thing you should do when you get a new dog, my advice will be to "make being with you the best thing in your dog's life" because it could save their life someday!

2. Fears Become Apparent

• Fear #1 Roxy has some fears. Her most recent placement warned me of this. She said that she suspects that Roxy has been hit by someone. At first, I didn't notice anything at all. Then I did notice that if I'm reprimanding her at all, she flinches and blinks really fast. This pretty consistently happens in two situations. One is if I (or anybody else) is holding something with a long pole/stick on it. She reacts in a fearful way to brooms, mops, rakes and so forth. We'll work on desensitizing her to this later. 
• Fear #2 Another fear that cropped up this week is a weird one. I was reading up on how to keep your dog clean between baths. I got some cornstarch. I showed it to her and she was curious. Then I sprinkled some on her back and simultaneously got out the dog brush. Well, she freaked out. Totally freaked out. She backed up like I'd burned her with a hot poker! Bless her heart, it was like she knew I was good, that I was OK, but that brush scared her to death. She tried and tried to make herself come back to me. I felt just terrible. I showed her the brush and that I was putting it away. I knelt down and just sat there. Within a few minutes she came up to me and slowly began trusting me again - nosing my hand and accepting my pets, gently at first and then more fun. Again, this is something we'll work on at a later date.

3. Wondering About Vision

• Roxy is a Double Merle Australian Shepherd. Basically, this means that two Merle's were bred. And when two Merle's breed, each puppy has a one in four chance of being blind, deaf, or blind and deaf. In short, her disability (deafness) is due to irresponsible breeding. I love Roxy just the way she is but the reality is that many, many dogs like her are killed or euthanized because they are very difficult to find a home for. So, obviously, I believe that this practice of breeding two Merle's must stop. So...all of that is to provide some back-story to my concern. Though Roxy is deaf, her vision has been assessed and found to be fine. She does seem to see well. But I've noticed a few odd things and I've noted them enough times that I believe there is reason for concern. Here are my observations: When I put something like a treat on a color that is somewhat similar to the treat color, like a tan treat on a brown or gold sofa, she can't see it. When I put a piece of food that's white-ish on the white-ish floor, she can't see it. But if I move that treat to something with more contrast, she has no trouble at all. I really don't know what this means, and it doesn't effect her all that much.  But it is something I'll ask my vet about.

4. Petco Visit

A few days after Thanksgiving, I went to Petco. I didn't take Roxy with me because I was certain there would be a lot of people and dogs there and I really didn't have enough experience with her and training with her, to know that the visit would go OK. The staff at Petco were excellent. I explained to the woman who helped me, that my dog is deaf and that I need a collar system or harness for her since I can't call her back if she gets loose on a walk. She guided me through choosing a harness for Roxy that is virtually impossible for her to slip out of. Roxy is not thrilled about anything that touches her eyes, or slips over her nose etc. So, the saleswoman walked me through how to train her to like the harness. I'll report on that when we get it down - with photos and/or video!

By the way, I ordered Roxy a special tag as soon as I got her. It says, "DEAF DOG (Roxy)" on it. And of course, it also has my contact information.

Celebrations:

1. First Vet Visit I love my vet. Dr. Ladderud is Togo's veterinarian too. It's so important to have someone you trust and who cares for your dog as your vet. I took the file of information on Roxy with me and they made copies - mostly of immunizations and things like that. Roxy weighed 34lbs. I was told she was about 25, so this was a surprise. Still, she seems so tiny compared to Togo, who is almost 70lbs! This visit was really just a "well-puppy" visit so the doctor could meet her and so Roxy could go there without anything negative happening for the first time. The doctor gave me a few hints about correcting her behavior. He noted her active behavior and joked that I had a thing for active dogs. Roxy was actually very well behaved and he noticed that. In fact he said he was amazed she was as good as she was. He gave her the once over, and I told him about her gassy-girl issue and her very loose bowels. He suspected that it's due to stress and gave her an antibiotic in case it's a bacterial thing. I thought maybe it was her food, but he didn't think so. Within about four days on the meds, her issues cleared up. Well, she still has a little gas every now and then, but i can live with that! LOL The visit with the meds was about $44 - very reasonable and I'm glad that Roxy's first visit to the doctor was a positive one.

2. Dancing and Waiting.  So, with an abundance of indoor time this week, I decided to challenge Roxy's great big brain! We reinforced her SIT, STAY, and COME. We're working on her coming when signed to really fast and in all different rooms and settings and situations. We're also working on STAYING for longer amounts of time and with other things going on. For example, I have her in STAY and then I slowly walk back several steps. I also challenge her by having her STAY while I move my arms and lets, turning my head and talking - like I would if I met someone while she was with me. OK...and I even dance. And speaking of dancing... I saw Roxy stand up on her hind legs this week and that gave me an idea. Roxy could dance! So, I did a sort of one-handed sign for DANCE, holding my hand over her with a treat in it - just high enough that she'd have to stand on her back legs. Slowly, she began to understand that I wanted her to stay up there, not just jump up and come back down. So, yes, Roxy is in dance class. I'm her instructor. 

3. Christening. Roxy has been called many things. I originally did not like the name Roxy - the name she came to me with. I changed it to Lucy, then Bunny when I saw her hop. My mom calls her Sweetie Pie. But then I remembered what my son and I talked about on our way home with her on adoption day. Caleb knew I didn't like the name Roxy. We tried out a lot of different names on that 3 hour trip home. Then I said, "You know I hate to say it, but she seems like a Roxy to me." Caleb got rather animated and said, "I know! I think so too. But I didn't want to say anything. She's your dog and I didn't want to influence you." So, Roxy it is!

The moment I knew everything would be OK.

4. And Then There Were Two (plus one human). One of the difficult questions when bringing a new dog into a home with an established dog, is when to leave them alone together. At the beginning of the second week, they were fighting so much that I envisioned a house wrecked, tables overturned, lamps crashed to the floor when I was gone. But then something fun happened. I kept the dogs separated by a doorway gate I had for my granddaughter. I slowly increased the time I left the dogs alone. And on this day, I was gone for 2 hours. When I got home, Roxy had taken every one of her toys (6 of them) and dropped them over the gate for Togo. They were still separated by the gate, and I'd found Roxy in her usual place, with her back to the door I'd left from. But clearly, she'd spent some time with Togo too. The next day, I was gone for an hour. When I got home, Roxy wasn't by the door. I panicked. Where had she gone? I looked around the house and didn't find her. Then I went into my bedroom where Togo sleeps. I asked Togo, "Where is she, Togo? Where's Roxy?" She hoisted herself to standing, and that's when I saw her. Roxy had jumped the gate and jumped up on the bed with Togo. It was a beautiful moment! My doggies love each other now. And I love that they love each other!

Challenges:

1. Reactive With Certain Things - I gave Roxy a compressed rawhide bone. She liked it. But when I tried to pet her when she had it, she growled and looked as ferocious as she could. She did the same thing when she had a food-loaded toy. She reacted to me and to Togo. This has me worried about my granddaughter or any other person, but especially a child - who might innocently put their hand near the guarded treat/toy. I've no doubt we can overcome this.

2. Bedtime - So far, the dogs sleep with me. Before I had Roxy, if I ever needed/wanted to, I'd simply shut my door and Togo would sleep in the living room instead. But when I shut the door on Roxy, she scratches the heck out of my wood floors and even the door. I'm not certain how to overcome this, but we'll add it to the things we need to work on. I think I need to make a list! LOL

What a fun and challenging couple of weeks this has been! Enjoy the warmth of your home and the chill in the air! 

Karen and Roxy (Woof!)