inCORiGIble...

So, we've had quite a week and it is only Thursday...

A quick recap:

On Sunday Dash was Reserve Winners Dog at Maryland Kennel Club. Joe showed him and Dash had a marvelous time playing with his sister for the weekend. We happily collected him on Sunday night, and took pictures of the triumphant little man. A great start to his show career.

Dash had other ideas. On Monday, while playing in our back yard, he stepped wrong and broke his foot - specifically 5th Metatarsal on his left hind (the judges side, of COURSE). X-rays confirm this instead of the feared blown knee. After carrying him inside, I laid him down and felt down his knee/hock to try to pinpoint where it hurt. No reaction. But brushing against his foot got a BIG reaction. I was really hoping for a soft tissue injury. No such luck. When Dash does something he goes all out. Dash came home in a spint while we decided how to treat him. He kept forgetting that his foot hurt, and tried counter surfing on one foot. Crazy dog!

On Tuesday I brought Dash back to the vet. Surgery was done to insert a pin, and as I learned on Wednesday, to remove bone chip from a butterfly fracture that didn't show up on the X-ray - all on same bone. We got a call at noon that he was awake and happy. And I called at the end of the day to learn that he is eating everything in sight.

On Wednesday I went to pick up the miscreant, who, being hopped up on pain killers, wants to FRAP. Sensing this is not a good idea, I confine him to his laundry room with a nice fresh knuckle bone (may regret that decision later as he has an upset tummy from the antibiotics...)

He spent Wednesday afternoon being cute and adorable. And given our current run of luck, it is now raining, so all trips outside involve wrapping his cast to keep him dry. We also had to spray the cast with bitter apple to keep him from chewing on the toe.

Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. (note the time - not during regular working hours - and there were 6 of them between the time we left the vet's office and when they closed), PegLeg decides that 24-36 hours with a cast is plenty (instead of the 28-36-56 days), and proceeds to slide his hock out of his cast. By the time the ER vet could see us, the cast was about 3/4 off his foot/leg. Cast is replaced. (Fast forward, my vet got a good chuckle this morning, and is giving me some tape to connect cast to fur... I'm considering doing a fancy figure 8 around the entire dog... but I'll think about trying just around his thigh to start).

Wednesday at Midnight, we are home, he is banished to a Labrador sized crate for the night as his fancy new E-Collar doesn't really fit in his normal crate, and Mom starts a glass of wine. This is followed by the 4:00 a.m. trip outside, complete with bagging the cast because of course it is raining for the first time in months... Mom finishes glass of wine and goes back to sleep.

Thursday a.m. - our vet's office tells me we don't need to come in if I'm comfortable that the cast is securely back in place. Dash figures out how to use his cone to scoop and toss gravel from our walk. Great - now I have to worry about him flipping something into his eye...

He is back in the Laundry Room today, and Dad gets to worry about bagging the leg until I get home.

It is going to be a long 6-8 weeks.

The "Perfect" Chewie...

Last night at class, Dash was a typical puppy. He had moments where he shined bright as the star he can be, and fewer (than last week) where he was a complete nitwit. Loose lead walking showed great improvement. We started teaching the stay command. I need to get myself more coordinated so that I don’t confuse him. He actually does very well for a baby, and I need to work on reinforcing it more. We also kicked up a cloud of dust doing puppy pushups! During the crazy dog game, he was more interested in the Goldens than he was me – until it was time to behave again (a good thing).

We actually got an early start to class yesterday, so we had time to go to Phydeaux and do a little shopping! We replaced Dash’s WubbaWubba (he opened a seam on his first one), and got a few more rawhide chews so that I’d have something to keep him busy with during downtime at class. He met a woman in a wheelchair while in the store and tried to climb into the chair with her. I was pleased to see that he didn’t freak out over the chair (however garbage cans can still eat unsuspecting Corgis). After class we went to PetCo to get a Nylaring for chewing. Another recommendation from Corgi-L.

Appropriate things to chew on is a broad topic. We know the inappropriate ones are, of course, the most fun – Dash brought me three of Gus’ shoes last night after Gus went to sleep. Clothing, especially Mike’s running hat after he exercises, are also popular with the felon, and worrisome for us.

Our lab Java was a power chewer. She managed to break bones – shatter them – that were not supposed to shatter. So there are a few products I won’t buy. Then there are the Greenies – that are supposed to be digestible, but there have been too many reports of problems with them not being so digestible on the internet for me to feel comfortable with them. My first sheltie, Duchess, rarely glanced at her Nylabone, so I haven’t wanted to spend money on that. Java quickly destroyed one of those too, so I worry about big parts or broken teeth. Speaking of broken teeth, Mom’s sheltie, Spencer, broke one on a cow hoof – so scratch those off the list (plus they stink when being chewed).

And then there is the rawhide debate with the very real concerns that because it is not really digestible that there could be blockages. Java could finish a 3 foot rawhide bone in less than a day if we had let her. We used to keep her bone in the downstairs bathtub when she wasn’t allowed to have it. Bixter was less intense, but definitely enjoyed them too. Because of our experience with our seniors over the past 13 years, I am comfortable allowing Dash to have rawhide chips under controlled circumstances – he is always monitored and watched to make sure that he is not going to fast or pulling off big bits. And he gives me the most forlorn looks when I take the scraps away at the end. Looks of disbelief that I would steal and (even worse) throw away his treasure are priceless.

At the recommendation of folks on Corgi-L, we are trying the Nylabone Ring. One description of how it will lessen the likelihood of broken teeth is that the Corgi’s can’t get a great grip on it – and thus can’t get the leverage to break a piece of the ring or a tooth (my biggest fear). So far the ring is being greeted with about the same level of enthusiasm Duchess gave her Nylabone – underwhelmed.

Another attempt to find the “perfect” chewie had mixed results for us. Sam’s Yams – dehydrated sweet potatoes – were recommended by the folks on Pembroke-L. What a great idea! Lots of vitamins, digestible, chewy. Dash motored through his first one. Nothing left in nothing flat – ut oh. Following day – bright orange soupy poops. Oops! I forgot that he is a little sensitive to sweet potatoes – same gut reaction from his whitefish and sweet potato biscuits the first time he got some. Turns out he also had something going on in his GI tract – so I waited a week after he finished his meds to try the Sam’s Yams again. So far so good. I’m also finding the smallest pieces so that his system gets used to the sweet potato. But – can they replace rawhides? Not really. He spends days working on a rawhide chip. The Sam’s Yams are gone in under 30 minutes.

An old standby, and a new toy, provide chewing and entertainment value. We have several Kongs, which when stuffed with cookies and/or peanut butter, do provide longer term entertainment. Though Dash is figuring out how to get the cookie more quickly. We also load some of his food into a Buster Cube so that he has to work to eat. It is a much louder toy than his Kongs, but it keeps him occupied.

So that leaves the non-traditional chewie – a good old fashioned cardboard box. Fortunately he simply, delightedly, shreds these and doesn’t try to eat them (same with paper – one just has to have the patience to clean up afterwards). While they keep him busy, I’m not so sure they clean his teeth.
Thus we continue on in our quest for the "perfect" chewie.

Puppy Classes

In November a new session started at Pet Behavior Help, and we eagerly enrolled in the Senior Puppy class. I visited PBH in September for the NC Corgi picnic – and noticed that there was not really a building… as I selected PBH over PetSmart and APS, I did wonder about the wisdom of training outside during the winter. In fact, now that we are entering February, and week 4 of Pet Obedience, I am still questioning that wisdom as we shiver once a week. Well, as I shiver – my partner has a nice thick fur coat. He LOVES cold weather.

So – back to November… we entered class not knowing much – except how to sit because I figured out how to lure him in to that pretty quickly. My last puppy training experience was back in the 80s when “jerk the choke chain” was the popular reinforcement technique and it was unheard of in our town to train on a flat buckle collar. But I’m willing to try new things. Turns out, being a typical Corgi – Dash works for FOOD! And he loved our first homework assignment: find 5 foods that your dog loves and rank them in terms of value. Turns out his highest value food is Rainbow Sherbet – and given the temperatures outside for some of our classes, I might actually have been able to train using that without too much of a mess. However, we settled for the less exotic choices of kibble, commercial dog treats, hot dogs, cheese, etc.

Training using positive methods is like playtime for Dash. He loves the attention and he responds quite well. Down was a bit of a challenge at home as stubborn Corgi meets inexperienced mom = Corgi A-Frame. Our version of the Corgi A-Frame is butt planted on floor, chin laying on floor in puddle of drool, and shoulders high in the air. This was preferable to elbows and chin on floor with butt up in the air. The folks on Corgi-L provided some neat training suggestions, as did our instructor who was able to demonstrate several techniques. So with a lot of patience – turned out I needed to wait longer than him – we got a pretty nice Down.

Throughout November I monitored weather reports like a hawk (a freezing hawk). And I noticed a distinct pattern. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – nice and warm for a winter day. At some point on Thursday a cold front rolls in, leading to frigid temps. And then it starts to warm up again on Friday and Saturday. Needless to say, I had a huge persecution complex as I muttered around the office. We came back after the Thanksgiving break to an arena wrapped in plastic! Yippee – at least the wind was cut, so now we could concentrate on training instead of trying to keep warm. By the end of our class – Dash learned how to do lots of the basics, and it is time to fine-tune and wean off the treats. We started with 9 dogs, though were down to 5 by the last day of class.

We started classes again in January, this time on Tuesdays, which are generally the warmer part of the week, the Thursday cold-snap cycle continues. There are 10 dogs in class this time – and it is a crowded 10 – 9 are big, and then you have Dash who thinks he is big. I would prefer a smaller class, or a larger arena. Dash is having a harder time paying attention to me – but at the same time, when he does pay attention, he does so much better. Last week was a bit crazy as we were trying to work on loose lead walking. Dash was much more interested in loose lead sniffing. At the end of class we started working on weaning off treats. There was a series of command stations (like a short rally course) and as handlers, we had to decide which stations deserved treats, and which did not – 3 treats for 7 commands. We also learned Puppy Push-Ups – lots of fun with the sit-down-sit-down-sit sequence. At home I’ve also incorporated Stand into the routine as we need to work on our stand/stays for conformation.

In the past 4 months, Dash has changed in many ways. Some physical as he has started to mature from the adorable fuzzy puppy, to a glossy young man. And some behavioral – as he has moved out of the puppy mouthy little bastard stage (didn’t think we’d survive that) to getting a grip on bite inhibition and learning what he is allowed to chew. He still steals things every chance he gets – but he has figured out that we’ll trade for them, so I think some of the theft is more calculated on how to get cookies.

Counter surfing is becoming a problem, so I’m going to have to set him up. I didn’t think a dog with 4 inch legs would be a surfer – but I forgot about the length of his body. Those short legs work to his advantage as his nose is closer to the counter…