Putting on the Big Girl Pants

Cala, taken November 22, 2009

This summer I lost my heart dog. My once-in-a-lifetime dog. The dog who took me places I never thought I'd get to go. Viva was not young, but with a lot of relatives who lived to 14 and a dam who made it to 16, I was looking for more time. Hemangiosarcoma had a different idea, and she went from healthy to her last day in a span of two weeks.

Viva was an overwhelming presence in not just my life, but in our household, on the training field and at shows. She effortlessly and calmly dominated every room she entered. She was solid in her convictions and she was never wrong. Really. I'm not kidding. Not only was she always right, she was quite willing to tell you she was right, why you were wrong, and that you better straighten up, dammit. But she was also totally devoted to me. I never had a moment's doubt that Viva would lay her life down for me any time. Fortunately she was never called to do so, and instead I had to help her leave with grace and dignity. She even told me, in her blunt and uncompromising way, when it was time; not by asking but by demanding I let her go.

Then there was Cala, Viva's daughter. How, I often wondered, could this dog have come from Viva? Not only did Cala have no impulse control at all, she really didn't seem to care much about me, and nothing at all about anything I wanted. She never worked to please me, always herself. If doing something she wanted to do happened to coincide with what I wanted that was great, but if not, well so much for my wishes. From the moment of her birth it seems, Cala and I have done nothing but butt heads. I've often said that Cala is the dog whose primary role is to make me humble as a trainer and to teach me how to deal with tough dogs.

When Viva fell sick, I worried a lot about what would happen to Cala. Though sometimes it seemed that Cala and I were always at cross purposes, Cala really depended on her mother. She leaned on her, literally and figuratively. She often slept on top of a (grumbling and complaining but resigned) Viva. Viva was Cala's anchor. I knew Zipper would be okay; he would miss her but not in the same way. Cala I worried about quite a bit.

Cala and Zipper piled onto poor Viva, 2006

After Viva's death we all kind of reeled as a household. Cala was very subdued the first couple of months. We all grieved; I know I am still grieving. But then a very interesting thing happened. At age seven, Cala grew up and put on her big-girl pants. It was as if no longer having a mother meant she couldn't be the puppy any more. Without Viva to lean on, she had to stand her own four feet and learn to deal with life herself. She has stayed more subdued, but has added focus and maturity and a new willingness to work with me.

I've changed too. It was always hard to look beyond Viva, my perfect dog (not that she was perfect of course, but she was perfect for me). Without Viva to show her up so unfavorably, I've become much more patient with Cala, and more willing to work with her on her own terms, though they are different terms than Viva's. It seems maybe I've put on a pair of big girl pants too.

As a result, Cala and I have made huge progress. She's less hectic and more willing to listen. She's much calmer and easier to deal with around the house. I'm having a lot more fun with her too. I've started showing her a bit in agility again and though we haven't Qd and she's still her screaming self on the course, she's really trying to listen. In APDT Rally this past weekend she cleaned up, earning her Level 1 title with a 205, 209, 210 and then her first to L2 legs with two 210s and two first places. Here's a video of her second Level 2 run.



I will always mourn Viva. But I am also enjoying my new relationship with Cala. It seems it's never too late for old dogs (and old trainers) to learn something new.

What Rally can learn from Agility

Rally was originally proposed as a mix between Obedience and Agility. But, most people will say, it really has almost nothing to do with agility. The only agility-like aspects of Rally are the numbered course and the fact that it's timed. Other than that, Rally is very firmly rooted in Obedience. The signs and their performance are all Obedience tasks.

Further, many Rally people have never done agility. They may be new to dog sport, or they may have done obedience or be taking obedience classes. But there is one fundamental way that Rally does relate to agility that many people simply don't think about.

In Obedience, a dog progresses from task to task, with a break in between. Heel on leash. Break. Figure 8. Break. Stand for exam. Break. Heel off leash. Break. Recall. In Obedience, the "between exercises" break time is when the handler can praise the dog, and the dog gets mental and physical time off, even if just for a few seconds. It can be a way to keep the dog relaxed. But it can also signal a mental disconnect, then the need to reconnect as the team moves on to the next segment.

In agility, there are no breaks. You start at the first jump and end at the last, and the rest of the course is a constant flow of multiple tasks. Even on the table, the dog is expected to hold attention and position. In agility, good handlers know to treat the course as a single piece. While novice agility handlers will occasionally handle each jump and obstacle separately, not thinking about the next thing down the line till they get there, that doesn't last long. You quickly learn in agility that if you are not planning two to three obstacles ahead you are not going to be setting an efficient line. And in agility there is certainly no time to stop and see what number you're on, figure out what you're supposed to do there, then do it. In agility, all of the obstacles are well known and trained ahead of time and the handler walks the course until he or she feels confident of what needs to happen to create an overall fluent, fast, efficient, smooth line.

The problem is, too many people treat Rally courses like Obedience with breaks. They heel to a sign, peer at it to make sure they know what it is, sort out the details in their head (reminding themselves that this is the call front with/without a halt, or the spiral with the dog INside), complete the sign, then heel to the next sign and do it all over again. They do not think ahead from one sign to the next, much less about how their speed and line exiting one sign may affect approach and performance of the next. They certainly don't think of the Rally course as a single unit, to be accomplished as one piece. As a result, we see a lot of slow, jerky, and/or hesitant performances. Doing Rally this way is handling piecemeal, and the score and time will reflect it.

In Rally, there are no breaks for praise. The team is supposed to start at the Start sign and keep going until the Finish sign. When you think of it that way, it becomes clear that Rally competitors need to walk and plan their Rally course as they would an agility course. Handling as a single line will produce a much smoother, faster run that is a lot more fun to do and to watch.

The first and perhaps most important thing is to know the Rally rules and signs before entering. Handlers should understand each sign at a glance and have the performance of each sign ingrained so they don't have to actually think about it, and can let their subconscious take over the task. This also means that the dog knows its job. Dog and handler confidence begets smoothness.

If you really know and understand the signs, then your walk through can be focused on pace and smoothness. Walk the course once to make sure you know where everything is and what follows what. Then walk the course with an eye to how the *next* sign affects your line on the sign you are currently performing. How will your exit from the call-front-finish-right carry you to the offset figure 8? How should you pace and angle your jump in order to have a smooth transition to that 270 right? Think ahead. What we learn in agility is that often, a mistake at a jump actually started three jumps prior with a poor cue or a bad line.

Finally, walk the course as many times you can as a complete flowing line. Concentrate on keeping your shoulders back and head up and striding out in a brisk, smooth pace. You have a destination. That destination is not the next sign, it's the finish line.

Like agility, Rally should be a dance between dog and handler moving as a cohesive whole throught the course. Walk and think of your Rally course as you would an agility course, and see how your performance improves.

When you come off the course, ideally you should be able to close your eyes and draw a mental picture of the whole course. Try to see it as a diagram with a continual line from start to finish.

It's not about the Q

I've been sitting on this post for awhile, partly because I wanted to think about it a bit, and partly because I've been busy.

I want to talk a bit about my favorite run of my entire weekend a couple of weeks ago when we went to Glen Carbon for a 3-day agility trial. It's probably my very first time at a trial where I felt like Zipper and I were totally in sync. He was running hard, I was getting my cues out on time and he was just faultless. Everything felt graceful and coordinated. It was one of those runs you will remember forever.

Later in the weekend, I had another Jumpers run I didn't like as much. I had cut my walk through short because Zip was first on the line, and I didn't feel I really knew the course as well. Zipper likes to be out of his crate a good amount of time before running, and he started out a bit sniffy the first couple of jumps. I got his head up, but felt like the rest of the run was a constant battle of pulling irons out of the fire. He was wanting to stress zoom and I kept getting him back last second.

The first run was an NQ, because it took three tries to get Zipper into the weaves. When I said, after the second run, that I didn't care for it much, I kind of got chastised for being "too hard on myself." "It was a Q! You did a great job!" And indeed it was a Q. But it was not the same as the first run.

The thing is, it's not about the Q. It's about the teamwork and timing and partnership with your dog. I'm as glad as anybody to take the Q and run, but that run is not the one I'll remember. The first run is.

At this same trial, I encountered a friend who has a very stressy young dog that she's having trouble getting to even go around the course. She is incredibly frustrated and thinking about quitting. I feel that if she sticks with it, it will come through for her in the end, but I don't blame her for questioning whether she should go on with a dog who appears to not like it. But the key there is that she says the dog is fast and accurate at home. I hope she does stick with it, and refinds the joy of being in the ring with her dog.

After the trial, I talked to another friend. She told me she has made a big difference with her dog simply by stopping her obsession over the Q. I had told her (in one of my very infrequent moments of brilliance I guess) that it was NOT about the Q. And she had decided to take it to heart. As a result, her dog was running faster and happier at that last trial than I've ever seen him, and she was too.

Yesterday morning, a World Team member lost her dog. The dog simply dropped dead in practice. No warning, no symptoms. Gone in an instant.

So here's the message. It's a simple one, yet so hard for us humans to get through our thick skulls. It's really not about the Q. Ever. It's about being in the moment with your dog and glorying in what you have, when you have it.

She's now gone

I realized I had updated pretty much everyone but readers of this blog. Viva is now gone, and for some of you that is news you've already heard. It's been almost two weeks since I let her go, less than two weeks before that she was fine.

The house is quiet without her. Zipper and Cala and I look at each other, nonplussed. So far Cala is doing okay, she's the one I worried about the most. She and Zipper are starting to play again. But there's a gigantic hole, so large I can't span it with thought or deed.

I'll be getting another Min Pin. Soon Prada, Ch Regatta Devil Wears Prada, will come to live with us thanks to Pam, Zipper's breeder. Zipper will be thrilled to welcome his niece. Not so sure about Cala, but my guess is we'll end up okay after some initial adjustment.

I'm making myself train, and that helps. But it's hard even to do that. Viva was entered in a Rally trial in St. Louis the day I took her to Dr. Wendy to let her go. I knew it was the right thing to do, I knew it was time. She was ready. I was not. I'm still not. But it will get better.

Where the MU Vet Hospital Goes Wrong

I have an old dog. Eleven and a half; okay, 11 and 3/4. She is beloved this dog. The best dog I have ever owned or probably ever will. A part of my life and my soul, I have always felt honored and humble that I have been allowed to share her life. And like many old dogs, she has become such a part of me that she is an extension of my thought. We understand each other, though the slightest gesture or flick of the eye.

If you have ever had a beloved dog, maybe you'll understand why I am so angry at the vet school. Maybe not. Nonetheless, I'm furious, and after years of similar stories, both personally and from friends, I'm like that guy on the old movie from the 1970s called "Network." I'm mad a hell and I'm not going to take it any more.

Last weekend, my normally very fit and capable dog, who looks more like she's six than nearing 12, suddenly got very weak and began to look a bit pot-bellied. This morning found me with a 9:45 appointment at the vet school for an abdominal ultrasound. Extensive testing through the week is drawing us toward a probably inescapable cancer diagnosis. I went to MUVTH armed with multiple xrays and extensive bloodwork results from my GP Vet, the capable Dr. Wendy Forbes of Rock Bridge Animal Hospital. She and I had been working on this through the week. The ultrasound was to show us more clearly what's going on in Viva's abdomen. A mass is almost certain, the question being whether it's splenic or kidney or even something else.

And that's really all I want to know. I'm not planning dramatic intervention. She's a dog who has had a fantastic quality of life and to me, quality is far more important than quantity. So the reason I was referred, the only reason I was there, was to get an ultrasound.

I was escorted in fairly quickly by the student, who gave Viva a somewhat cursory exam, then disappeared to get the attending. And we waited. And waited. Me on the hard bench plank, Viva on the ice cold linoleum floor. For an hour. Finally a Resident appeared, and began to give Viva another exam. "Oh honey," she said to Viva, "you're shivering!" And I replied, "Ya think? She's been laying on this cold floor for an hour." I mean, come on. They left an old, sick dog in a breed with very little coat for an hour on a cold floor, why shouldn't she be shivering?

The resident, in her best "I'm the pro and you're an idiot" voice, started to explain to me some of the tests they would like to do.

[ETA: The resident actually told me what they wanted to do before she even looked at Viva. She examined Viva after she outlined what they wanted, then outlined what they wanted again after the exam.]

"Well, we'd like to do another CBC. And of course, depending on what the ultrasound finds, we'd like to do a fine needle aspirate (and I had to stop her from explaining what that is, I *know* what it is), though with her platelets so low that might be a bit iffy, then we'd like to do a bone marrow tap."

"I really just want the ultrasound."

"Oh. Well, okay, let's see. We'll need to take some xrays too."

"You have x-rays." (her hand was on them for God's sake.)

"Well, we may need to take some more."

"Why? You have xrays."

"Xrays would probably be required if you want an ultrasound."

"Then forget it, I won't do the ultrasound."

(she's looking at me like I've sprouted two heads, because I won't go along with her 'Doctor knows best, let's charge everything we possibly can' scenario.)

"Well let me see, let's see what it would be without xrays." (cogitating ensues, in which the student points out they don't have a price structure for ultrasound without xrays, which is ludicrous, because a) they have her xrays and b) you really DON'T need xrays when you do an ultrasound)

"Okay, it'll be about $300."

They wanted $300 freaking dollars to wave a wand around on my dog's belly for a few minutes. Further, I was informed that no, of course I couldn't stay with my dog and it would take two hours "or so." I told them I couldn't afford $300, so they looked at each other again with that look of 'how dare she not fall into line like a sheep' look and said they would consult. They left the room. I promptly called the other place in town that does ultrasounds, which we hadn't chosen first because they couldn't get me in till this afternoon. Their price was almost half less than MU's. So when they came back in and said, brightly, "oh, we can reduce it to $260!" I said thanks, I'm leaving.

"Oh, um, well, we think from her bloods she might have a rectal bleed so we want to test that and see if we can give you some meds for it." (they do a digital exam and say, somewhat regretfully, they can't find anything).

For all that, for having to wait an hour to be seen, and for the privilege of them doing absolutely nothing for my dog, I paid $92.

And maybe I shouldn't be so furious. But let me tell you the things that infuriate me about MUVTH.

First, I should not have to wait an hour to be seen, especially with a sick dog.

Second, I feel the vet school grossly overcharges and deliberately adds on unneeded tests in an attempt to get fees up. In the past, I have been lectured and yelled at for not going with the most expensive treatment possible.

Third, and this is a big one, is not being able to stay with my dog. They take your dog away and do whatever they want. I've had my dogs used as student guinea pigs before, including a dog who came back so bruised from a liver biopsy that his entire belly turned completely black. I think medicine "behind closed doors" is an extremely poor way of doing business. If, indeed, the departments are set up in such a way that there isn't room for owners, then that should be remedied. This is supposed to be a state of the art facility. Owners do deserve to be in on what's going on.

Which brings me to my last point. I never felt (and have never felt when taking any dog to the teaching hospital) that my views or knowledge were in any way respected or even considered. I have always felt condescended to, ignored, and sometimes as if I was just an extra to be gotten away from the dog as soon as possible, so stupid that anything I said was dismissed on its face. It's completely infuriating and always gets my back up so yep, I tend to get surly.

Yes, some owners are pretty clueless. But it doesn't follow that all are, and even those who are deserve respect and someone really listening to what they are saying. Which I never seem to get at MU, where my knowledge in some areas probably way outstrips that of most of the staff.

Some of us have been trying to address these pervasive problems with the vet school for years. I could tell you almost a dozen horror stories, all dogs I know or have owned personally. But the administration is patently uninterested in listening to us, and certainly not in making any sort of change to the way it does things. I bet it brings in a lot of money from the unsuspecting dog owners who don't know better. It's sad, and it needs to end.

Meanwhile, my old dog and I are home. She'll have her ultrasound this afternoon, and I'll be right in the room with her so that I too can see what's going on and help keep her calm.

[ETA: Viva had her ultrasound yesterday afternoon at The Pet Center, with Dr. Miller. They got me right in. I was able to stay with Viva, which helped a lot to keep her calm. We looked at her for about 15 minutes while Dr. Miller very patiently explained what he was seeing. I was able to see her organs right along with him which was extremely interesting and educational. This is how veterinary medicine should be practiced. Thank you Pet Center!]

ASCA weekend

Last weekend was ASCA here in town. I really enjoy ASCA, it's my favorite venue besides AKC. On impulse I entered Zipper in everything. Five runs a day over two days. He's in Elite Jumpers and Regular, and I even decided to try Novice Gamblers. Turns out Zipper was one of three 12" dogs entered all weekend, the second being Joan Meyer's Niel, who was in Novice and Open, and Kathy's Kip, who was entered Saturday only and not in all classes. As was typical in small trials, often I had jumps set just for me.

Saturday was two rounds of Gamblers, two of Regular and one Jumpers. And to my astonishment, Zipper actually Qd in his first round of Gamblers. He really doesn't have distance skills, but it was a fairly easy one. You had to flip the dog out over the gamble line to a tunnel, then out of that tunnel to a jump, another tunnel straight ahead, then a bonus jump. He had no trouble at all. The second Gamble was a different story It was a jump out to the aframe, then come back toward the handler and finally flip back away again for a tunnel. And Zip decided he wasn't doing the aframe (a sporadically recurrant problem). Instead, when I told him out he went WAY OUT, past the aframe and to the weaves. Oops.

Next was Regular, and we got one Q there, then in the second round he went around the last jump. In ASCA there are no refusals. But if the dog misses the very last jump and crosses the finish line (which thanks to electronic timing IS the last jump) they are NQ. Rats.

Sunday, we started with Jumpers and Zip was clean both rounds but a second over time. I'd taken the dogs for a run after the show the day before and something had made him itchy so I'd had to give him an allergy pill. Next was Regular again, and in that round he just flat ran out of gas. I pulled him from the rest of the runs and brought him home, and he totally fell out. Poor little kid was tired.

We had a lot of plusses and I'm glad I entered, but I'm not sure I'll enter him that many runs a day again.

Mandatory Spay Neuter. Is it a good idea?

A mandatory spay/neuter could force sterilization of dogs like my Zipper, Ch Regatta It's About Time, OA, AXJ, RS-O, JS-O, UAg1. Zipper is the #5 agility Min Pin in the country.

Columbia's Board of Health, along with the Central Missouri Humane Society, are contemplating passing an ordinance which would require all pets in Columbia to be spayed or neutered.

It sounds good on the surface. We have, according to CMHS and the , a pet overpopulation problem. We need to take care of that problem. If everyone would just spay/neuter, the problem would go away, right? No new dogs and cats being born would mean much less burden on Animal Control and CMHS. The sun would shine, and the birds would sing. All would be right in Columbia.

Or would it?

The first and most important question to ask when contemplating a new law is, will it work? Addendums to that question include, how would it be paid for, who, if anyone, would be harmed, who would benefit, and how would it affect the local economy?

Unfortunately, a mandatory spay/neuter law would not work, which is why similar moves by other municipalities all over the U.S. have failed. Why wouldn't it work? Oh let us count the ways.

First, its totally unenforceable. There is no way to ensure that every pet in Columbia is altered. Inspectors would have to go from house to house on a search. And if it's tied into licensing, that won't work either. People simply will not license their dogs. If people who don't want to spay/neuter know that if they go to the vet they'll be required to do so, they will not go to the vet. Thus more animals will become sick and not get treatment and even more will remain unaltered.

There's no way to pay for it. The costs for such a program would far outstrip any license fees gained, because, see above, compliance with licensing would falter. Of course draconian fees could be instituted for those who wish their animals to remain intact, but that too discourages participation. Even worse, it punishes responsible breeders and forces those of us who DO take care of our dogs to pay for the idiots who don't.

A moment to discuss responsible breeders. Responsible breeders are dog lovers who have a hobby, usually showing dogs and also occasionally breeding. Most breed very few litters (I've bred a whopping two litters since I got my first Doberman in 1981). No responsible breeder ever breeds for money. Responsible breeders have a deep passionate admiration for their breed or breeds, and when they do decide to whelp a litter it's always with the mandate of improving the gene pool of the breed as a whole. It's never, ever for money. Responsible breeders have long waiting lists for puppies. Responsible breeders do not have dogs that end up in shelters, because responsible breeders are willing to take back any dog they have produced, at any time, for any reason, no question asked. We want to know *exactly* what happens to each and every life we produce and we are dead serious about it.

Responsible breeders do genetic health tests on their dogs prior to breeding. They show their dogs to ensure they have correct temperament and structure. It's a hobby. And just like Golf or Fishing, you throw money at it. You rarely if ever get money back. Most responsible breeders are far from wealthy. Finally and perhaps most importantly, responsible breeders are just as concerned as anyone else about the problem of unwanted dogs, and a huge majority of them are involved in rescue in some way or another.

Okay, back to why this won't work. On top of not being enforceable and being very expensive you just can't legislate morality. The idiots down the road from me breeding their pit bulls every six months are not going to obey some law. They're going to keep breeding.

And let's talk economic impact. Columbia holds a large conformation dog show as well as several agility trials each year. Mandatory Spay/Neuter could force relocation of those events, which have a multi-million dollar impact on the Columbia economy. It would also hurt dog training businesses such as CCSC who train dogs for show as well as pet companions.

And the question is, what is the problem in Columbia? Is it truly that there are too many pets and too few homes? Or is it that irresponsible owners are not properly taking care of and training their pets? Is it that too many owners think of their pets as disposable commodities, to be discarded at the first hint of inconvenience? I don't have any numbers (and would be glad to see any) but I bet that the number of actual puppy litters turned in to CMHS is fairly small. I bet most dogs turned into CMHS are adolescents to old age. Which means they HAD A HOME. But that home dumped them. If that's true, then it's not that there are too few homes. It's that there are too few responsible homes. And mandatory spay/neuter, even if it worked, would not even begin to address that issue.

So what is the solution? I think it's three-fold.

First, the city should work together with the University of Missouri Veterinary Teaching Hospital to offer free spay/neuter clinics. Not low-cost, free. No questions asked. To pay for it, grants could be applied for and licensing fees could go up a moderate amount (perhaps $2 or $3).

Second, the city should use the internet and other dissemination that's free or very low cost to launch a publicity campaign to help inform the community and encourage participation.

Third, the city and CMHS should work proactively with training centers like CCSC to offer discounted training opportunities for people with pets. A dog that is trained is far less likely to be given up than a dog who is untrained. Many owners give up their dogs because they simply do not have the tools they need to deal with behaviors they don't want.

Positive proactive action will get results. Punitive laws with no teeth and no chance of effectiveness will not.