May 6, 2012

My dad was an amateur photographer and had his own darkroom in the basement.  I spent a lot of time in there, just looking and watching.  I loved the smell of the chemicals and the whole process of taking and developing images.  In college, I took a few semesters of photography, just to get back in the darkroom.  Yes, I’m dating myself.  When I was in college, there was no such thing as digital photography.  Geez.  Now, however, my equipment is all digital and my laptop is my dark room.

I usually always have my camera with me, and have often thought of  shooting for more than just personal enjoyment.  To that end, you’ll notice the new link above:  The site is new, and will grow by bits.  I’ll be offering prints and gift items of various images from travels, nature, or just general interest.  I will also be making myself available for animal sporting events, or portrait shots.

I hope you pay the new site a visit, and come back often as, like I said, it’s in its infancy and will grow as I add to it.  Thanks!

May 2, 2012

Repeatedly banging your head against the wall only feels good when you stop.  There are times during training when it feels like you aren’t making any progress, which is how I’d been feeling with Shaine.  In fact, over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been feeling as though we were regressing.  It’s amazing how quickly Deb saw the issue this past weekend.  We hadn’t regressed, not like I thought, but I had been making excuses for Shaine’s avoidance behavior instead of addressing it and working through it.  What a difference it began to make when we stopped taking no for an answer!

Shaine, after I stopped letting her play me.

I had convinced myself that Shaine’s slash and burn behavior was due in part to her knee on unstable footing.  My theory seemed good because in the arena, on grass, she stayed with us most of the time.  Once we got inside, on the looser ground, she did a lot more avoidance.  Deb watched for a session or two before she proclaimed my theory to be a load of crap.  I wasn’t sure I agreed, but I’m always open to try something new, so we double-teamed Shaine.  Any time she veered off the stock, one or the other of us would pressure her back in.  Lo and behold, she began to accept that and continue to work.  Sometimes I’m a little slow on the pick-up.  As I watched some of the other dogs working in the indoor arena, and pictured Shaine working in the outside arena, I saw a split image in my head.  There was the outdoor trial arena — large open, Shaine could easily move out of my pressure and yet still engage the stock.  Next to it I saw the indoor arena — smaller, walls, not a lot of opportunity for Shaine to get out of the pressure.  That was causing her avoidance.  Once we made her accept that, I could see it even more clearly.

Hmm. . . not a bad pick up.

The highlight of the weekend with Shaine came during our last session on Sunday.  She had been showing a little more progress each time we took her in.  On Sunday, we were working two heavy ewes and a yearling Barbado.  The Barb liked to lie down in the corner and pretend to be invisible; Shaine would go back for him nicely and bring him out.  At one point, the Barb decided to challenge her.  He squared off to her and lowered his head.  Shaine held her ground and the Barb thought better of it for the moment.  He tried again later.  This time Shaine began to walk up on him, nose to nose, step by step, backing him toward the two woolies.  She pushed him just so far and then stopped and looked away, taking the pressure off him by turning her head.  The Barb hesitated, then turned to join the others, and Shaine flipped back into motion.  To say I was joyfully dumbfounded would be the understatement of the year.  For her to show that much patience and stock sense was more than I thought to expect from her at this stage of the game.

"Love it!"

With Quinn, we worked on inside flanks and sharpening up his ‘there’ command.  Steve Shope had gotten on me last year for walking in on my inside flank, instead of backing out.  Seems I forgot because Deb had to get on me for the same thing.  No wonder the poor dog is confused!

We spent most of our time focusing on cattle, though.

Working nice, after we explained our "no rodeo" rule.

The first time in, Quinn immediately showed Deb our problem:  He slid up the fence line next to the cattle and went to head to start a rodeo.  She had me correct that, and he settled nicely.  Still, it took him a while to figure out what he could use as ‘power’ in place of that, so we had to spend some time on rebuilding his confidence.

Getting braver at the head.

Deb and I moved the cattle and ignored Quinn.  Okay, so Deb had to tell me three times to work my cattle instead of my dog before I stopped focusing on Quinn.  I couldn’t help it, my ear flaps were closed.  It didn’t take him long to move in and start helping us.  When the cattle turned to face him, we moved in with him, made him hold his pressure and helped him to turn them.  At first he just wanted to flip around and fall back into his old habits, but we didn’t let him.  By the second session an amazing thing happened — my dog got his bark back.

All puffed up and giving the big dog bark, without rushing in and around.

Quinn hasn’t barked on cattle in longer than I can remember.  When they faced him off he held the pressure on the head, puffed up, and let loose with his deep, big-dog bark which was enough to turn them.

Overall, it was an intense and exhausting weekend, for handlers and dogs alike, but what a great group of folks!  The camaraderie, support, and encouragement are one of the things I love about clinics.

April 26, 2012
This weekend Tija and I are heading up to Conroy Farm to work with Deb for the weekend.  The anticipation of a fun, educational weekend has been making this week really drag.  I’m sure I’ll have a lot to write about next week once I recover.  The brain always goes to mush at clinics.  Too much to absorb at one time.  Until then, a little humor for you, and a goal to strive for — hee, hee, hee.

April 18, 2012

Lately, our last trip out for the night has included Grady blasting out of the garage in full alarm bark mode.  He’ll shoot across the yard for no apparent reason, and disappear into the dark.  Of course, everyone goes with him because they don’t want to miss out, and I hold my breath, waiting to hear the panicked screams of the neighbors as they get assaulted by the entourage.  As long as we’ve lived here, I’ve never known the neighbors to be skulking about the underbrush at 9:00 p.m.  The dogs return in relatively short order to leave me wondering what possessed them.

Last night, Grady started to bark just as I opened the garage door.  I almost managed to block everyone, but 60 lbs of solid Aussie to the side of my leg cleared the path for everyone — except Shaine.  They were back quicker than normal, but Grady kept woofing and bouncing in that post-legged, threatening manner.  He’d run into the garage, then come back out, woof some more and dart back in.  A lamb’s plaintive baa was the first thing I heard when I finally got him to be quiet.  I swore.  I have one ewe lamb that keeps finding a way past the lamb-proofing on a gate to graze outside the fence.  From the tone of her call, she’d done it again, and couldn’t find her way back in the dark.

Then my blood went cold.  A coyote barked to the north, and though sound does travel on a clear, cool night,  it sounded way too close for comfort.  We’ve been very lucky as far as coyotes are concerned.  We’ve never had a problem with them.  Oh, they’re here.  I’ve tracked them around the property in the winter, and we hear them, sometimes fairly close by, but they’ve never messed with the sheep.  Partly, I think, because we live across the road from the Cedarburg Bog, and there are plenty of easier meals for them to find.

At first I thought the sound might be another dog.  It had a rhythm I’ve never heard with a coyote before — bark, bark, barkbark, barkbarkbark — and continued on at regular intervals.  I got the dogs put away, grabbed the million watt spotlight, took Quinn, and headed out to get the lamb back where she belonged.  Quinn is, at heart, a pacifist, and so not the best choice for dealing with a coyote should one have materialized.  He is, however, the best choice for dealing with a wayward lamb, and that was priority one.

We cornered the little bugger who, I think after this, should be named Entrée, and got her back where she belonged.  Another sound rippled down my nerves — something to the east of the field.  The spot light didn’t show a thing, not even eyeballs, and I couldn’t quite identify the noise.  Owls and foxes can make some pretty freaky sounds, but it could have just as easily been another coyote.  I aimed the spot light to the north, hoping to convince ol’ Wyle E. to vacate the premises.  No such luck.  He kept up his steady bark, with only periodic pauses, and without changing locations.

It occurred to me that if a lamb could get out, a coyote could get in.  Not willing to take the chance, I spent some time coyote-proofing two gates.

Grady and Shaine were barking from their crates in the garage, and Wyle E. kept up his call.  I began to wonder if he was injured and couldn’t move.  It seemed odd that he’d stay in one place.  Odder still no other calls joined his, and that he kept up the same, steady bark with only an occasional coyote warble thrown in.  Honestly, it was a bit unnerving.

He kept it up, even after I got back in the house and went to bed.  I’d say at least a half hour of barking from that one location.  I don’t know what the deal was.  I do know, I’ve got no problem with them so long as they keep their distance and don’t mess with my stock.  I’m not sure what I’ll do if the day comes when they decide to try lamb.  As Dave pointed out, a gun won’t help me much.  Try pegging a coyote in the dark and see how lucky you are.  Hopefully, they’ll keep munching on rabbits and other small game and leave the lambs be.  If not. . . Plan B.

Whatever that is.

April 17, 2012

Those of you on FaceBook saw a similar video to the one below.  I just can’t help filming Quinn while he’s helping with the ewes and lambs, because it’s the one thing he does *really* well.  It’s also the only thing I can film without someone to handle the technical aspects while I handle the dog.  I promise, this is (probably) the last video of him doing this that I’ll publish. 

April 13, 2012

I made the mistake the other day of looking at what trials I plan on entering with Quinn this year.  I didn’t consciously think about them when I worked him, but it must have been sitting in my subconscious because it adversely impacted our next several sessions.  The calm, crystal clear, new me reverted to the nit-picking, perfectionist, old me again.  Instead of working on exercises that make things black and white for both of us, I began to crowd him and chatter at him.  Worse, I ran things together until he resorted to trying everything just to figure out what I wanted, and I proceeded to get more and more frustrated because he wasn’t listening.

I’m not a totally slow learner.  It only took me two or three times of this to figure out the problem.  I wasn’t asking him for the damn coffee cup!

So, you’re all scratching your heads now, right?  (Except Deb, and Tija & Alicia if they remember.)  Imagine a counter full of stuff.

No, this isn't *my* countertop!

There’s something I want off that counter and I just point to the assorted jumble and tell you to hand me “that”.  You keep reaching for things, and offering what you think I want, and I keep telling you you’re wrong.

“I want that!”

At which point you begin to whip whatever you grab from that counter at my head.  Things would be a whole lot simpler if I just asked you to hand me the coffee cup, wouldn’t they?

So, Wednesday when I worked Quinn, I remembered to ask for the coffee cup.  Things went better and I got to see a hole in our training that needs to be fixed.  Actually, two holes:  Holding the line, and inside flanks.  Instead of running these two together, I’ll plan my next sessions with him to address the little bits of each of those.  (And in two weeks, Deb is going to show me some new tricks.  Hmmm. . .  )

I’ve also been working Grady.  He’s. . . um . . . remedial.  Happy, bouncy, mentally immature.

Shaine:  She doesn’t like the footing in the small arena.  It’s gotten like concrete.  The sheep don’t much care for it either.  Maneuvering isn’t easy and someone is going to get hurt.  So I’m putting in a new, slightly larger, training arena on the grass where footing will be soooo much better.

We’re done lambing.  15 lambs total.  We would have had 17 but we lost two ram lambs.  One because I waited too long to interfere with a first time mom, and by the time we pulled her twin rams, one didn’t make it.  The other we lost was from one of my favorite ewes and was stillborn hours after her first ram lamb was on the ground.  I’ve never had that happen so was a bit stymied by it.  Her surviving ram is growing at a faster rate than anyone else, and actually gaining on Twix.  I’m tempted to keep him a ram but I would need to get rid of Jr and Sarma first.  I don’t need four rams hanging around!  Anyone need a registered, yearling ram lamb?

March 28, 2012

Wow!  It’s been a busy, weird, um . . . Winting?  Springter?  What exactly would you call it?  According to the calendar, spring didn’t officially arrive until March 20^th.  According to the weather, we barely had winter.  Overall I’m not complaining.  Really. It did get a little too warm, too fast for my tastes, and I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and for winter to come back with a vengeance.  Or I see it coming early this year.  Either way, I don’t trust it.  But, I am enjoying it because the ground dried up quickly, and I’ve been able to work the dogs on a somewhat regular basis.  That always makes me smile.

We finished lambing Monday.  I promise more lamb pictures soon.  I’m very pleased with what our ram continues to produce.  We have an interesting blend of colors this year.  A lot of charcoal/black/dark brown, and more ewes than rams.  I’m definitely going to have to cut down my numbers after the trial in September, though.  Anyone looking for sheep let me know!

So, time to catch up on the dogs and goals for the coming year.  Quinn and I have made outstanding progress and I’m thrilled with the teamwork we’re starting to develop.  I work hard at making things black and white for him, and staying out of his bubble.  He works better when I’m a good fifty or more feet away from him.  As I close in, he gets tighter and more frantic — that’s what blew our first cattle run at the Coyote Classic last October.  I’m hopefully optimistic — okay, pretty darn sure (I just don’t want to jinx it) that Quinn will get his WTCH this year.  I’ve no doubt of his abilities, if only his handler can hold it together!

Grady continues to fluctuate.  He’s a soft dog, not very brave, and a bit of a mental midget.  He’s not dumb by any stretch of the imagination.  He’s just mentally very immature.  Think, coming two year old, instead of mature *cough* dog.  Sometimes I think there’s hope for him and sometimes, not so much.  Although he is getting braver with the bully sheep.  He’ll at least stand his ground (when I force him to) and bark at them.  Won’t hit them on the noses, but one step at a time.  I’m not sure he’ll ever make a trial dog, or what I’ll really pursue with him.  If his brain ever catches up with his biological age we might be able to do more.

Shaine.  Did I tell you I plan on taking Shaine to Nationals next year?  I wonder if I told Shaine?  She’s made progress.  I’ve made progress trying to figure out how to work her.  I think I broke her for a while.  Actually, I know I did.  She would do the ol’ slash and burn, which I hate, dive in at the sheep and then veer off and go find something else more interesting.  I created that problem by being in the wrong place at the wrong time and not releasing the pressure.  (Is that a surprise?)  I have to work really hard to fix it and not pressure her to do more than she’s ready for or she reverts.  But we’ve had a couple really good sessions this past week, and with consistent work, I think she’ll have me trained by September 2013!

I’m looking forward to going up to Deb’s again in April.  Don’t forget, Deb is coming here in May.  I have a few working spots open yet.  Steve Shope is coming up in June.  As of now, I’m planning on going to the SEMASA trial over Memorial Weekend, hopefully IA in June, Outback in August, our trial in September, and Deb’s trial in October.  Yikes.

March 9, 2012

Went out with my camera today because lambs are just too freakin’ cute.

For instance…

This was just adorable. Father and daughter.

Then along comes another daughter, Twix, the trouble maker...

She thinks dad needs a back massage and a good ear sucking. Dad is suitably unimpressed.

Gazelle's twin girls, Uno and Dos (hey, I didn't name them!)

Merlot, demonstrating lamb balancing acts.

"Who you lookin' at?"

Snicker, also known as Sits in Snow.

Merlot & Coal, Kiki's daughters. Nope, didn't name them either.

Twix, showing off for the camera. Yeah, she's a pretty girl. Mother did good.

February 21, 2012

“You actually take your dog to a chiropractor?!!?”

I get that question a lot, and the answer is yes.  (*Although I’ve since learned the term ‘chiropractor’ can only be used for humans.  For animals the term is ‘spinal manipulation’.)  In either case, my dogs have benefited from trips to the chiro for many years.  Ever since a good friend convinced me to take Lace after she fell off the approach to the dog walk twice, for no apparent reason.

But it’s not just working dogs, or canine athletes that can benefit from spinal manipulation.  It’s also not just for dogs.

Dr. Witte and one of her happy patients.

So, today, I’d like to welcome Dr. Deanna Witte to the Blog.  Dr. Witte is a regular at Dawgs in Motion, which is where I met her.  She was gracious enough to take time out of her schedule to answer some questions for me, providing information on animal spinal manipulation and who can benefit.

Thank you, Dr. Witte!  Please, tell us a little bit about yourself and what prompted you to get into animal chiropractic work.  I started my career as an emergency veterinarian, which I did exclusively for 5 years.  After that I started as a primary care vet, but still worked shifts at emergency clinics, including Wisconsin Veterinary Referral Center.  It was as a primary care vet that I became interested in spinal manipulative therapy.  I was seeing so many dogs that I could not isolate their lameness problems, and was tired of just telling people to rest their pets and give them nonsteroidals indefinitely.  I felt like I was just putting a bandaid on a bigger problem, and potentially causing more harm than good with the medications.

What exactly is an animal chiropractor?  Only human chiropractors can use that term.  Veterinarians refer to it as veterinary spinal manipulative therapy (VSMT).  With that said, it is someone that evaluates the joints in the body for proper motion.  When areas are found that are not moving properly, we restore the motion to the joint with a high velocity, low amplitude thrust.  In doing so, we not only restore motion to that particular joint, but also re-establish proper receptor and neurologic function to these areas as well.

Do VSMT’s need special training/licensing?  Yes, and you need to be either a licensed veterinarian or chiropractor to attend the training courses.  In many states, chiropractors need to be under the supervision of veterinarians in order to legally work on animals.

Why should someone take their pet to a VSMT?  Just as in humans, it can help improve the overall health of your pet by improving their neurologic function to all organ systems.  Although many people only bring their pets for mobility issues.

What sort of conditions respond to spinal manipulative therapy?  Many – including but not limited to mobility issues, paralyzed pets, incontinence, seizures, ear infections and other chronic infections due to the effect VSMT can have on the overall immune system, chronic diarrhea / GI upset, even heart conditions can be more easily managed with a well adjusted patient.

What are some of the most common injuries you see?  By far paralyzed patients due to various causes, including disc disease, anterior cruciate ligament injuries, and back muscle strains which are commonly thought to be hip arthritis.

Should owners of canine athletes be doing stretches/warm-ups before working
their dogs?  Absolutely!  This can help decrease the risk of muscle injury, and since a joint is only as strong as the muscles and tendons that support it, joint injury can also be decreased.

What happens at a typical appointment?  A history and physical exam are generally done, then motion palpation of the spine and legs with adjustments made as needed.  If necessary, massage and exercises maybe done and / or taught to the owner to do at home.

How long does an appointment last?  Depending on the condition of the animal and severity of the problems, anywhere from 10-60 minutes, with most first appointments being 45-60, and follow up appointments generally much quicker.

Do you just work on dogs?  No I work on cats and horses as well, and have adjusted ferrets, pigs, goats, guinea pigs.  I will work on just about anything with a spine.

More information on Veterinary Spinal Manipulative Therapy can be found on line or by consulting with your regular vet.