Hips Revisited

Tringa turned 2 last month.  Traditionally, 2 years old would mark the milestone at which dog owners would have their dogs’ hips x-rayed to be evaluated by Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. Most people doing this would be those interesting in breeding their dog. Many breeders ask their puppy owners to do this even if they’re not planning on breeding to give the breeder valuable info about their breeding program. Many breeders use OFA as a determining point for guaranteeing hip health (the presence of dysplasia or not).

Hip dysplasia simply means malformed hips. Being dysplastic in itself isn’t always a problem. Some dogs are dysplastic and never have any problems well into their advanced age. Others can go on to develop degenerative joint disease and arthritis at a very early age.

In our house, we choose to PennHip. See The Value of PennHip for a greater explanation of what it is and why we chose to do this.

PennHip can be done very early. We have our dogs PennHipped when we spay or neuter them. They’re already under anesthetic so it’s easy enough to do one more procedure.

There’s been discussion among breeders and dog fanciers that PennHip can’t accurately predict what dog’s hips will become.  

Puppies in general have a lot of laxity in their joints. It’s what keeps them safe from injuries while they’re trying to get themselves coordinated and developed. Therefore we expect them to have some distraction in this technique.  I would anticipate their hips to “tighten up” somewhat as they mature. To what degree is the question we wanted answered.

For our own information and curiosity, we chose to reshoot Tringa’s PennHip when she turned 2.  In Tringa’s case, there was a degree of “tightening up”-but not much.

Her first PennHip was shot when she was 7 months old. Her left hip had a DI of 0.82. Her right hip had a DI of 0.85. Results on both hips state “DI is greater than 0.30 with not radiographic evidence of DJD. There is an increasing risk of developing DJD as the DI increases; low risk when DI is close to 0.30, high risk when DI is close to 0.70 or above.” (see The Value of PennHip for explanation of this lingo).

Because of the knowledge we gained from Tringa’s first PennHip, we were able to change her activities. No jumping, no Frisbee, no anything that would stress hip joints. Swimming, dock diving, etc are things to help her stave off arthritis or joint problems. We did things to help build and stabilize her muscles. We kept (& keep) a close eye on her weight. We added supplements. We crossed our fingers and hoped the critics were right in their suspicions of the ability of PennHip to predict the future.

Tringa’s second PennHip was shot 13 days after her 2^nd birthday. Alas, even before the radiographs were sent into PennHip for evaluation, we could see the remodeling. In layman’s terms: PennHip DID predict the future.

Her left hip DI was 0.71 and her right hip was 0.75. Results on both hips state “CONFIRMED HIP DYSPLASIA. DI is greater than 0.30 with evidence of mild or moderate DJD.”

Even with the changes we made, in the second set of x-rays we took, we can see remodeling. Remodeling is the term used when the bone changes shape.  Here are a couple of photos showing the two views taken in PennHip. Each photo has the original film compared to the second film.

Can YOU pick out the remodeling?

Tringa's Second PennHip Distraction View

Tringa's Second PennHip VD View

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If it was too subtle for you to pick out, here are a couple more photos with the changes highlighted with arrows.

Arrows highlight remodeling in Tringa's Second Distraction View

Arrows highlight remodeling in Tringa's second PennHip VD View

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And to make it an even more informative comparison here they are side by side:

Side by side comparison of Tringa's PennHips Distraction View

Side by Side Comparison of Tringa's PennHips VD View

 

What does this mean for Tringa’s future?

Well, we can already see her hip problems in her gait and she’s already shifting more of her weight from her rear legs to her front legs.

We’ll continue to monitor her and adjust her activities accordingly. We will take it into account when we ask her to do things and her compliance of what we ask. Is she refusing to obey or CAN she obey?

When she needs it, she’ll get meds to help relieve discomfort.

I also believe by doing a PennHip in her early age we gained valuable information that helped us put the need for medication off into the future.

Holiday Photo Tips

In our house around this time of year we start thinking about taking a family photo for our holiday newsletter. Subjects in the photo are varying numbers of dogs, depending on the year (the cat always seems to have good excuses for not being in the photo) and us most years. Some years we have good excuses for not being in the photo, too!

Inevitably, without fail, at least one person will ask “How did you get them all to sit there?” To which either my husband or I will answer “We told them to”.

Honestly, many people forget this, but obedience commands have their place in everyday activities…such as picture taking.

A simple SIT or DOWN depending on how you want your photo composed is a start. The attention command such as WATCH gets the dog looking at you who has the camera so therefore…the dog looks at the camera.  Simple.

Well, simple for one dog. It gets a little more challenging with multiple dogs. The more dogs, the better the obedience will need to be.

For those occasions when you want to be in the photo with your dog, unless you want your dog looking at you when you take the photo, the WATCH command won’t work. WATCH means to focus on you. You can teach a separate PHOTO or LOOK command to get the dog to look away from you and to whatever it is you want them to concentrate on (in this case the camera).

If you don’t have time (or the desire) to teach a LOOK there are a couple tricks to get your dog to focus on the camera (or at least the direction of the camera). These tricks still require solid enough obedience for your dog to hold their SIT or DOWN commands in mild distractions.

If you’re using a helper to take the photo for you, have them make interesting sounds, shake a treat box or squeak a favorite toy.

If you’re using a tripod to take the photo yourself (with a remote or a timer) try throwing a treat bag or toy in the direction of the tripod just before the shutter releases. Be aware the dog’s gaze will be wherever the object ends up so practice throwing before taking your photos.

I’ve also hung something of interest to my pack from the tripod with a small line to where I would be seated. When we were ready, I’d tug the line slightly to move the toy or feather or whatever near the camera. Dogs focused there and viola, family photo.

Here are a couple photos from years past. We’re still waiting for snow for this year’s attempt.

Oh, and remember to HAVE FUN and BE PATIENT.

Using holiday type props can enhance your photo

 

Family portrait from years past

Remember Veteran’s Day

Thank a Veteran — those still here and those who’ve left us!

Ky helps sell poppies to support veteran causes

RePoe 8 Weeks

I came home from a lesson Thursday night to find a tri-colored dog curled up on the bed next to Mark. Not a thing to get excited about usually. Seda hangs out with her “dad” like that a lot.

The factor making this event exciting was the dog was a longer haired tri-colored dog named REPOE! RePoe was hanging out on the bed like our normal pack! This was awesome.

Could it be he knew it was the 8 week anniversary of his arrival here and wanted to celebrate?  Woo Hoo!

Friday when I got home from another lesson, Mark informed me not only had RePoe ventured out and onto the bed on his own with no prodding, he actually tried to participate in a play session!   Ledum and Seda were on the bed wrestling. RePoe could no longer contain himself. He did a play-bow and a couple feint & perry swats at Ledum who was concentrating on Seda. He then wagged his tail (a first here) and took a couple swats at Quigley, who was also uninterested.

Not a big rip-roaring play session for the first try, but it’s a first try!

We’re hoping this is the crack in the protective armor this dog developed to survive his past. We’re looking forward to the flood of true dog-ness that’s been bottled up to gushing forth soon.

8 Weeks

As someone who usually has her holiday shopping done by Halloween, I have to say YIKES! This year that’ll be a missed deadline.

To make myself feel better I’m convinced at least I have ideas for people’s Christmas gifts. I just have to make them materialize.  In a mere 8 weeks, I might add. Yep. That’s right. Christmas is just 8 Thursdays away.

If you’d like some Christmas gift ideas for the dog or dog-lover on your list, here are a few:

For the dog:

~Quality training time. From someone with a pack of 7 who teaches others, I can tell you TIME is a wonderful gift.  Teach your dog a new trick or give a gift certificate to a tricks class to a dog-loving friend. A dog’s mind is a terrible thing to waste. They LOVE using it. Show them how. Fun will be had by both two-legged AND four-legged.

~Healthy, wholesome treats or dog food.  Obesity in our pets runs as high as in our human population these days.  Give them nutritious diets, including treats. If you can’t afford a premium dog food, at least give premium treats a try. Making it a special holiday gift may make it even more special.

~Rules, boundaries and expectations along with a job/purpose. That sounds pretty weird on a gift list, but for dogs it’s what they want and need.

~Learn pet first aid so you can be prepared in an emergency.

For the dog owner:

~A gift subscription to Cesar Millan’s on-line course, Sessions with Cesar. He has lessons on teaching dog owners how to enhance their relationships with their dogs by giving them insight into dog psychology.  Canine Coach can get you a discount. Contact us.

~A gift certificate to a training class. Even offer to attend with them. Moral support when learning new or different things can be very important to success.

~A gift certificate to their vet’s office.

~Offer to pitch in with a chore or babysitting to free up their time to spend with their dog.

These are just a few to jumpstart your brain a little. Gifts don’t have to cost a lot to mean a lot- especially to a dog.

RePoe 7

It’s coming up on 7 weeks since RePoe entered our lives. In the last couple weeks, we’ve been making larger steps towards normalcy. They’re still tiny compared to dog with good beginnings, but they’re big in RePoe’s mind.

He’s a dog who’s spent most of his life in a box. He’s content to stay in his box. We’re slowly showing him life outside his box. Sometimes he’s not happy about it, but after he gets over the initial apprehension, he takes it all in and deems it not so bad after all.

He doesn’t flatten himself out in response to our approach anymore, but rather sits up fairly straight.

He willing gets in and out of the vehicle.

He’s now allowed our BST sessions numerous places inside and out, while I’m standing completely upright, when I’m sitting in a chair, when I’m on the floor.

He’s now graduated to giving some tongue flicks. This is a signal I welcome. It means he’s moving from completely shut down surrender to subtle communication-subtle, normal dog communication!

I finally got to cut his toenails. The professional groomer in me was driven mad daily by looking at them and hearing them click on the floor. But we had to be patient. He still wasn’t at totally on board with the idea, but I was comfortable enough taking the risk knowing I wouldn’t lose too much ground in our progress.

His back feet were easy. He was trying to plaster himself against the back of his crate. I just crawled part-way in and did them with him sitting straight up.  His front left foot was a little bit of a challenge. He really HATES having his front feet handled. He pulled his leg away, but wasn’t in a huge panic like before. His right front foot was the one closest to the crate wall. He didn’t want me to have it. When I finally took it firmly, but gently he did something awesome. Not awesome in a way most dog owners would think of, but as a trainer and his confidant, it was awesome to me.

He took my left hand, the hand holding his foot, into his mouth!

This dog was communicating with me. He didn’t bite, he did nothing more than mouth my hand extremely gently. This one gesture was so full of communication, I was touched. But not so much as to stop my automatic game show buzzer warning to let him know it wasn’t acceptable people communication. He didn’t panic or freak and my calm rebuff of his behavior.  He immediately removed his mouth and let me finish his nails.

A little while later, I even went back and scissored his feet. Whew. The groomer in me now can rest at ease for a while.

The trainer in me won’t be able to rest for quite a while yet, however. There’s a whole world to show him out there!

Six Months

It’s been just a tad over six months since Ky left us.

I still miss him terribly. I feel his absence most in group classes. He had the anchoring energy even out of control dogs responded to. He could practically read my mind and I wouldn’t have to think twice about it. That allowed me to concentrate on teaching rather than bolstering Ky’s training.

Mara is starting to take on more and more of his former duties. She’s got a totally different energy. Not anchoring in the least because she’s always trying interrupt everyone else’s behavior. Her mottos are “why can’t we all get along” and “it’s okay, I’ll help you feel better”.  She’s especially alert to any chaotic energy. And she’s not always content to wait for me to make the choices. In certain instances, I have to watch her like a hawk.

Having my attention split in two -one part of me teaching and one part of me fortifying her training, makes things much more challenging. But I think those are still good lessons to students-training is lifelong for ALL of us. Trainers included. Even our dogs are far from perfect.

Ky made it very easy for me. I didn’t have to be split for the most part. He knew how to take care of me.

Mara is doing her best but she’s sure got some big pawprints to fill. Hopefully I’ll get Quigley up to speed shortly and he’ll help her, too.

The thought it would take more than one dog to fulfill his legacy is not surprising to those who had the privilege of meeting Ky.

I know I’m not alone in my missing him.

RePoe Day 30

Today is day 30 of RePoe coming to foster with us.

In the last month, his life has changed dramatically. Ours has too.

He started out shutting down if Mark or I touched him. He passively allowed us to do so, but he mentally checked out -a sad surrender as someone else described it.

We did some exercises I dubbed Butt Scratch Therapy (BST) to teach him human touch wasn’t horrible (see our YouTube channel, CanineCoachWI, for videos). He’s starting to come around. He still won’t solicit touch outside of BST, but he’s no longer “surrendering” to it. If we scratch his chest he will actually smell our hand rather than go into avoidance mode. He sits up straight

He’s doing much, much better with direct eye contact and voice so we can look at him and talk to him at the same time. He’s no longer trying to hide himself under an imaginary cloak of invisibility.

He’s been pretty good about his eating habits. Since his third day here, he’s let us watch him eat his meals from an ever lessening distance. Something others from the seizure weren’t so willing to do.

In the last few days, he’s taken food directly from our hands. He’s still clearly not comfortable doing that, but he’s willing to give it a try. He’s also now letting me hold his dish while he eats his meals.

Having a 10 week old puppy in the house certainly drives home the importance of EARLY training and socialization. Seda, the puppy, wouldn’t dream of giving a treat from your hand a second thought. She’s too busy trying to figure out what to do for a second one before the first one is even in her mouth. Talking to her and looking at her, carrying on a verbal conversation, those are good things. Even though dogs aren’t verbal creatures, they certainly can adapt to some conversation.

These are things that have been a part of her life from birth – early handling, socialization, exposure to life outside a box: normal puppy-raising events.

As a professional trainer, I see a variety of dogs with a variety of behaviors from a variety of backgrounds. Normal puppy-raising events can still sometimes produce puppies with abnormal responses and behaviors.

Having a dog in the house without the benefits of normal puppy-raising and even normal young adult canine life will certainly make teaching this week’s puppy class much more poignant.

Expanding the Comfort Zone

RePoe’s been coming along slowly but steadily. We’ve been happy with the progress. It’s being measured, as someone well aptly put: glacially. To us, though, it’s progress and we’re happy to see it.

We make progress forward and slip backwards some then make more progress forward again. It’s the way of dogs like these.

At some point there is a tipping point where the progress will be exponential and the backward slips microscopic.

We’re not there yet so our job is to keep pushing the edges of RePoe’s comfort zone being very careful to balance it so as not to push him OVER the edge.

Today I had a little time so I did the first session of Butt Scratch Therapy (BST) outside. I expected it to be like starting over. I needed to match leash tension and use lots of calming signals. He actually resisted this a little more than I expected, but not much more.

I used calming signals he likes the most. He’d come in a little, but still hadn’t figured out what it was I really wanted him to do. Why was I sitting cross-legged on the ground????

I decided to be a bit more forward than I wanted to be. I held the lead firm and reached as far as I could and scratched his undercarriage between his front legs then immediately went back to my neutral space. It took a few seconds while he processed things. Then he turned his butt to me and sidestepped in to test the waters. I did some BST and stopped. He stepped a little closer and I did some more. He relaxed a bit and contemplated how this worked outside, too.

Then I carefully stood up and we went for our walk.

On our way back, I chose a random spot in the driveway to attempt some more BST. This time I change the picture again. Instead of sitting cross-legged, I kneeled and then sat back on my heels. I again did the same things I had been doing in all the other sessions.

As I predicted, he regressed some; offered some resistance. He was just starting to think about coming in when the cell phone tucked in my pocket rang. Serious mood dampener!

My lesson plan then changed from coming in for BST to not freaking out and bolting when someone was talking on the phone a few short feet from you. I explained to the caller why I was talking in my quiet, calm voice.  RePoe did okay with that new lesson, so we didn’t go back to BST lessons.

There’s always tomorrow.

RePoe’s First Play Date

RePoe had a play date on Sunday. I’m sure it was the first in his entire life.

We had Ripple and her owner, Kerry, come for a private play session at the training center.

RePoe was mildly interested in Ripple, but not much. Ripple loves coming to “school” so she took it all in stride. As long as she got to jump through the tire and do the teeter, she was happy.

Kerry & I had settled on the floor a few yards apart and were quietly talking while the dogs roamed about (off lead) doing what interested them.

RePoe was getting braver and braver. He was pacing about the room absorbing everything. He impressed me by passing pretty close to Kerry fairly often.

He decided to get really brave and come and sniff my leg. He actually TOUCHED me! My basking in that moment lasted a fraction of a second.

Out of now where, there was a flash of lightening and a deafening clap of thunder that shook the whole building accompanying a sudden cloudburst-very loud in a steel building.

*&^%$!! Talk about the worst timing EVER. Ugh.

Kerry had to run out and shut her car windows. I took RePoe’s collar and leashed him back up. Kerry used strict obedience to calm Ripple down using static postures.  I got RePoe up and moving. We did a bunch of long line walking before he stopped shaking and settled down.

RePoe and I need time to decompress.

Kerry ran Ripple through a couple obstacles and then went home.

I crated RePoe and went to run some errands.

A couple hours later, I came back to try to regain some of the ground we had lost in the morning’s freak micro-storm.

I started back with long line walking. Then I started “Butt Scratch Therapy”.

I’m working at getting RePoe to buy into the idea a human’s touch is a good thing. I’m exposing him to Butt Scratches. At first I had to convince him it was okay if I touched him. Only for a few seconds, and then I retreat back into “my space” and leave him to “his space.”

The first BST session was a week prior to this play date day. By the end of that first session, I had him moving his rear into my space for me to scratch his butt (and shoulders and head), but he was still on lead.

This second BST session I was going to up the ante slightly. I was going to try off lead. Mind you I’m not a fool, he’s in no way ready to be off lead anywhere but a secure, safe enclosure. The training center fits that bill very well.

I started with the movement of follow me on long lead walking. He does very well with that. After he started to calm down, I removed his leash.

I sat on the floor giving calming signals as I had done in the first session. It took about 40 seconds before he approached me tentatively. Not long after that he was coming into position for his BST.

This second session was a repeat of the first, but he was not hooked to a lead. He was free to run from me at his own will. The first session he could’ve run to, but only the length of the 15’ lead.

He never did. In fact, he actively kept seeking more scratches.

I moved to a different spot in the room-the scary micro-storm spot. He did the same thing. I changed my body position by lying on the floor. He didn’t care. Or at least not enough to leave the new found BST.

I moved to several other spots.

He kept trying to get closer and closer to me for scratches. His legs were already touching mine. So before the session ended, I calmly put his rear feet in my lap…between my crossed legs. I had been sitting crossed-legged on the floor. He didn’t bolt, but he wasn’t sure he was ready for that so he moved his left rear leg out from between my legs. He let his right rear remain.

Again, I did some quick scratches and pauses. During all the pauses I went back to calming signals and neutral body language.

RePoe’s response was to move his left rear leg back in between my legs! He willingly got into my lap!!! It only lasted a few seconds, but it was a lifetime coming for him.

The most impressive thing to me, though, was before he moved out of my lap, he turned his head towards me so I offered my hand for him to sniff.

Good Boy, RePoe!