On the Mend

After a year of recognizing I had a problem, alternately attempting to treat it through physical therapy and to ignore it, I finally underwent surgery on November 11th for adhesive capsulitis. About ten years ago, I had surgery on the other shoulder (right) for the same repair plus a small tear repair. I recalled a long and painful rehabilitation and did not want to go through that again. As driving to dog competitions became more miserable, dressing myself became more of a challenge and ultimately getting a restful sleep impossible, I knew I couldn't put it off any longer.

I had Dr. Timothy Mologne at Advanced Sports Medicine do the surgery. I remember wanting to finish reading my "People" Magazine as they prepared me for surgery and the nurses laughing. And I remembered to ask if I could keep my "parts" for the purpose of human remains detection dog training but there weren't any big chunks or anything easily saved, so that didn't happen. The doctor didn't even looked shocked at the request! Something new was added this time; a nerve block. A nerve block was inserted in my neck that numbed my entire left arm. Immediately following surgery, I was walked next door to physical therapy where the arm was manipulated. With capsulitis, every fiber of repair that the body can summon cries out that the arm has just been injured and to send all forces to repair it ASAP! The healing/capsulation begins immediately and so must the therapy. It was unnerving to lay on the exam table and look over to see my own arm being moved around and have no sense of belonging to it. Shocking, actually. The block did not wear off until evening. I wore my arm in a sling, I suppose to keep it from falling off and going unnoticed! If it slipped from the sling, it would swing free and I would have to recapture it and put it back, with the arm not feeling connected to me at all.

Since the surgery I have had physical therapy appointments at Peak Performance Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine, located next door to the doctor's office. My therapist is Brad McMahon. Because it is a small office, I have the consistency of having the same therapist follow me throughout my sessions. Brad has been very good, patient and understanding. I bring my "Linus blanket" with me to each session and wrap it around me for comfort. And then I take my mind away to another place, visualizing other places and activities. If the pain twinges in my shoulder I say "it's not me, it's not me". I can't tell you where I got the idea from but it has helped tremendously. At first Brad would try to make conversation to distract me and I told him "don't talk to me-- you're not HERE."

I am at the point now where I don't need that quite as much and I can concentrate on forcing through the painful parts with my own will. I have oxycodone for pain and generally take two pills about a half an hour to an hour before a therapy session. They cautiously extended the prescription for me and I am not trying to string them out as much as possible, with extra strength tylenol and one oxy, or just tylenol unless it is preceeding therapy. Last night I just used tylenol and had resisted taking any more medication during the day as I visited the dog training club but by the time I returned to the house I was in pain. Perhaps that wasn't a bright idea. I believe they switch now to vicodin? At any rate, my greatest fear was that I would be in too much pain to make the improvements I need to make in therapy. The therapy this time has gone much better than last and I think I have made good improvements. Not easy by any stretch of the imagination, but better.

My dear parents drove down this week to bring me homemade chicken noodle soup and tart shells. To the uninitiated, tart shells are just mini pie shells that you can fill with pudding or fruit. Mom's homemade chicken noodle soup is made from scratch, from making the broth with chicken and the carcass to the noodles. It is so delicious and famous that it is what most of my family requests when we get to choose our birthday meal. My parents knew I was not feeling well enough to visit, but yet they made the five hour trip just to make that touching gesture. They stayed at a bed and breakfast in town so as not to burden us here, and took us out to dinner. I found that to be such an incredibly loving thing to do. Even more than that, my liberal Democrat parents gave me money to buy some flowers or "that Sarah Palin book that you wanted." Now, THAT is LOVE!!

The person this is most difficult on is not me. All I have to do is lay here in a chair, take drugs and contort my shoulder at regular intervals. My dear husband is the one who not only has to care for me, but also for all our other critters. A full kennel plus dogs in the house. A fairly new puppy of mine who can't hold her bladder as long as the adults and has to go out more often. Tom fills the polar cuff and adjusts it, guides my therapy sessions as my coach, even though I am sure it pains him to see me in such pain, and at times to be the cause of the pain. He prepares meals and brings me soda to drink. He even placed a whistle on the table next o me so that I could wake him in the night, when calling his name failed to rouse him. No, I don't have the hard part at all.

Congratulations Christoph and Sparti!

One of the D litter Small Munsterlanders that we bred was selected with lofty goals in mind. His owner, Christoph Bichsel, wanted to join a Search and Rescue team. As he continued to research and discover what is available in his area, they ultimately joined a USAR, or disaster dog, team. Before shipping Sparti, I hauled him around with me so that he was familiar with traveling in his crate. I even took him to Rubbletown near Milwaukee, where he was able to climb on the fringes of the piles and pose for a photo.

Now he is a grown up dog who just earned his FSA, which stands for Foundation Skills Assessment. Having done it with Jinx, I know how difficult it can be and what determination it takes to accomplish. Christoph's team members laugh to recall his early days of training, having never taught a dog to do so much as 'sit' before and having as a first dog one with limitless energy. He persevered and together they learned the skills that may save a life someday.

Gravy Days

We're living in gravy days and appreciating every minute of it. Jinx is now past the short timeline given by the vets for the movement of her tumor to the spine. I held my breath to that point but am no longer counting the days. It's all gravy from here. There was a time shortly after diagnosis when I couldn't bear to look at Jinx without crying. Now I can watch her shop for attention, running between Tom and I and laying her head on us, and laugh at the antics. I giggle when she lays in a silly upside down wiggle-waggle position, with all four legs waving and her lips pulled back in a goofy malinois grin. She makes an evening ritual of greeting the dogs coming in from the kennel for the night, and has a particular 'thing" for Arec, the munsterlander. She will play bow and solicit attention from him and all the while he stands regally as if entertaining his court.

I don't feel I have robbed Jinx by not amputating her leg. She gets along well on three and I firmly believe amputation would have called all the cancer cells to high alert. If there is a seminar going on, I take her down for some fun bites. If she insists on riding along with me, I give in. I certainly wish we would have been granted more time to accomplish things, but those things are on my list and apart from spending time with me doing them, Jinx likely values a trophy less than an extra biscuit in the bowl. Right now she is serving extra duty guarding my recovery from shoulder surgery. When I lay on the bed for physical therpay sessions, I can twine my free hand in her hair, stroking her and talking to her instead of acknowledging the painn emanating from the other arm.

Her presence is comforting to me. Jinx and Sofie have been my two best friends. Both of them females. Sofie was a dutch shepherd who died at age 10 from cancer. Jinx is far younger, also a victim of cancer. Both dogs were my best buddies, my bed bugs and the light of my life. Funny how certain dogs can do that to you. I have dogs I work, dogs I love working, but only a couple that have been elevated to this level. I do a much better job these days of understanding what things the dogs value, and what things are important to me and my ego.

I had shoulder surgery last Tuesday. I'll miss several competitions I would like to have been at, but the fact is, the world won't end with my absence. My dogs would just as soon have me home with them, anyway. The first couple of weeks are the worst because I can't do anything with the dogs so far as training. I can cuddle and give belly rubs, so Jinx is still in fine form. And I can dish up her food and pills. Tom has to take care of the crew in the kennel and here at the house, however. Dogs in, dogs out. Dogs fed, dogs picked up after. Plus watching after me. The poor guy will really appreciate his hunting trip in December! Christmas is coming and that is my favorite time of year. If I started a year in advance, it wouldn't be enough time for me to properly prepare because I would surely leave something to the last minute, but I have so many projects to finish. One thing I would like to do is to have a photograph taken with Jinx, possibly to use for our Christmas card. At the Referral Center there are photographs in the exam rooms of the vets and their own pets done in black and white, and I think something like that would be nice.
Every day I want to celebrate the gravy. One more day that was given to me to use with purpose, not to waste. Maybe a contact or two where I had the power to make the difference in someone else's world, or to cheer them up. One day to see the sunshine and not the bare trees, or to celebrate the graceful silhouette of the trees. Celebrate the gravy.

Ridley meets more of the family

Little Ridley met two more family members today: Roya and her son, Bart. Roya is Cooper's mother and Bart is a full brother, from a previous litter. Because she had not been exposed to other dogs and seemed suspicious of their intentions, I have carefully introduced Ridley to new adult dogs whom I know will be good with her. It wouldn't do at all to have her meet a new dog who acts aggressively toward her and reinforces her opinions, so I do not take her into pet stores or (never, never, never!) to a dog park. If all goes well, she will learn how to understand and speak appropriate dog body language and will not react aggressively.





She met Cooper and adores him. Next she met Arec, the Small Munsterlander and she likes him, too. He outruns her and doesn't play like Cooper does with her, so she doesn't find him quite as intriguing. Cooper runs in circles around her, engaging her to play. She met Pre, a young male malinois, within days of coming home and his enthusiasm was too much for her! He threw himself into an exhuberant play bow and when his front legs slapped the ground, she gave a shrill little half-bark, half-shriek. She was brave enough to follow when he moved away, but the face to face was a wee bit much for her at that time. Still, he was not aggressive toward her in any way that would leave her with a bad impression.

So today it was time to broaden her horizons and meet two more adult dogs. Ridley lacked exposure with adults, and if she does not learn how to respect them and respond properly she may start unintended fights. The time to learn those lessons is before she is big enough to fight rather than submit. Roya is a wonderfully patient teacher of puppies. Bart doesn't have a mean bone in his body. Ridley accompanied me to the kennel, where I let Roya and Bart out. They came tearing out into the grass, chasing and leaping and Ridley jumped right in. She did not show the hesitancy that she originally did when meeting new dogs, so that is good.

I took the gang of three for a walk (me: walk, them: run, run run!) around the property. Ridley chased them both, and jumped on their heads when she had the chance. I was surprised with Roya's patience, as Ridley made growly puppy noises and bit at her.




Apparently it did not cross the threshold to requiring action, Roya ignored it and Ridley stopped. Go figure. I have seen Roya squash devil puppy antics by pushing her shoulder into them and laying on them until they cease resistance, and I watched Cooper do the same thing to Ridley last week. But today, Ridley was allowed to be a puppy and none of her behavior rose to the level of correction. I called the three of them to me and fed them and also threw food on the ground. Wisely, Ridley did not attempt to guard the food or challenge the big dogs for it. And the big dogs both knew this striped squirt was no threat, so they just ate what they wanted.

It was a good walk, and a good lesson for Ridley.

Cooper earns CGC at EWWBK

Last Saturday I loaded some of the crew and headed to Rosendale, where the EWWBK held a CGC and training day. Although the weather outlookwas bleak on Friday, Saturday actually turned out to be a nice sweatshirt-weather day. There were probably half a dozen dogs there for the Canine Good Citizen test. My dog, Cooper, was among them. My Search and Rescue team requires their canine team members to have a CGC, and I do it with all my dogs. It is a basic test that is easily in reach of any dog, no matter the age or size and is well recognized. It demonstrates that a dog can be a good citizen of the community, not aggressive to people or other dogs when accompanied by the handler. As simple as it is, it is still nice to hear the words "you passed". With that evaluation you receive a certificate from AKC and can order special collar tags and even a patch for your shirt or jacket. Minna Nousiainen-Becher put together adorable gift bags for the participants, with Halloween decorations on the front and doggie cookies inside. I think they may have been from Two Paws Up bakery, as they were those cute iced, decorated doggie cookies. I know, because they smelled good and I gave one a nibble just to sure it was meant for the dog!

The club-- or Klub, as it is called officially-- also held a Halloween costume contest. I forgot all about it until the last minute, and then time and lack of creative thought got the best of me and I didn't bring a costume. I wish I had, as there were some cute ones there. Those present got to vote on the winners and the winners also got a special gift bag. They served a delicious lunch, as well.

After that, we did a little training for the afternoon. I took the opportunity to practice the same things I was working on at home with Cooper, so he could see that it is really just the SSDD. (anyone read Stephen King's "Dreamcatcher?" SSDD) I have taught him to run blinds on the down field side and so we reinforced that and the little man did it perfectly! Ran one blind, with a catch in the middle, then the other, then two blinds. We worked on a couple other exercises and he gripped well, worked hard. It was a nice addition to his CGC day. Little Ridley came out, as well, and got to visit a new location and to do some biting play. She is showing improvement every day at finding her comfort level with being in new places.

The end to a perfect day was attending the Green Bay Gamblers "Caps for Cancer" game that evening, having them win against the Indiana Ice 3-0 in a shut out and purchasing my favorite player's jersey in the auction! And now, for your enjoyment, some hockey photos. My favorite player this year is Anders Lee, who is from Edina, MN. I forgive him for being a Vikings fan so long as they win games.

Cooper- the little boy is growing up

Cooper is growing up! Oh, do I love that dog! It is hard not to make comparisons with other dogs but we inevitably do. Cooper turned two years old on July 30th and for the longest time I thought he was just a puppy-head. At some point, he turned a corner and all of a sudden my puppy had turned into a wonderful young adult. In disaster work, he is more focused and thoughtful than Jinx. I have always compared Jinx to the energy of a shotgun blast with bird pellets-- shot flying everywhere! She would run out at a hundred miles an hour, without stopping to focus on where she was going. Ladder? Why climb when I can just jump to the top! Cooper, on the other hand, takes direction well and is so willing to try anything I ask. He is sociable with dogs and people. And he is one handsome dude! Our obedience isn't quite where I want it for schutzhund competition but it will be there by next year's trial season. We started as a puppy with the Knut Fuchs methods, between the legs, and so I have very nice position. Cooper is very fast. His grips as full and hard and I am looking forward his career. He is a Nico van Neerland son, and I think he looks very similar to his father. I predict that once he is out and competing, people will be asking for Cooper vom Foxtal puppies....

My name is RIDLEY

I have a new puppy. Her name is RIDLEY! And Good Lord, look at those ears!! I've looked and looked for something I liked that had more size and also great hip scores. I had been supposed to get a pup from Ridley's breeder last December, but only one pup was born and it died shortly after birth in a litter sired by Titan. In the meantime, I found Izzy, who stole my heart and then broke it when it turned out her hips were horrible. So, when Sam Reed called me to tell me that Elka had three female pups and it so happened I was supposed to be in Connecticut at the same time the pups would be ready to go home, it was game on!

I wished that there had been 10 boys and 1 girl but I was willing to look and see if I liked any of the girls. Elka has the BEST PennHip scores of all Dutch Shepherds in the database. And I really want that. Again I made a choice of a puppy that I wouldn't recommend to someone else. There was little communication as the pups grew. No photos, no video. No Volhard puppy tests.

No contract to sign. On the plus side of the column the parents had PennHip scores and the litter is UKC registered, and the pup was up to date on shots. No tattoo or microchip. I did not get to see the parents work. And the pups had not been exposed to the wide variety of things I do with my own litters, even to the extent that when placed on grass, only the pup I chose felt confident enough to move and pursue. They were on concrete in their kennel and on the deck, but apparently not anywhere else.

So, as I said.... I wouldn't recommend this as a selection process! However, Ridley was totally focused on biting the towel no matter what environment she was in. We carried the pups to a weight room they had not previously visited and she continued playing tug. When the tug was "dead" the other puppy was bored and left it to explore while Ridley guarded it and continued to interact. She also showed a natural retrieve. When I dropped my big ring of keys, she ran to it and carried it off, playing keep away with the other pup. I decided that I could work with that.

She had never been in a crate, but after only a couple whimpers she never whined again during our 20+ hour journey home. And no messes! No anxious drooling or worry. She got out and potty and played at the rest stops and was an excellent traveler.

On our first vet visit she weighed 16 pounds. I had her microchipped and she gave no indication that she even felt it. whoa. high pain tolerance! She wasn't thrilled with the vet and even at her age will growl and bark. She has issues with suspicion she has to overcome, due to her lack of exposure. I have a couple months of intensive work while I can still imprint, so will drag the little munchkin everywhere with me!

It took me the first week to really create food drive. She tended to pick at her food and leave it, so that changed immediately. Now she is very food driven and will take food from strangers, even if suspicious. The world was big and scarey but between the food and the prey drive, she will go through anything. One lesson she has had to learn is that jumping on me and randomly biting is not acceptable. She would throw a little hissy when restricted from something she wanted, or just try to get my attention, by flinging herself at me and biting. NOT acceptable. The first time she got her little muzzle whapped she sat and licked it and looked puzzled like "THAT never happened before!" Slowly but surely, she is learning.

We take walks around the property where she is exposed to different terrains and covers and the sounds of nature. Today I threw her toy into the tall grass and the weeds and she showed very nice hunt drive. She has terrific prey drive and when I am carrying the toy she has intense focus as she looks up at me. But the hunt drive is so nice to see. I restrained her and threw the toy into cover and then released her to find it. She couldn't see it with her eyes, and I could see her working the scent. What a delight! I was very pleased with her persistence. She did not give up and come to me to fix things for her; she kept searching until she found it.

She thinks Cooper is pretty cool and likes to play with him. It's funny, she will chase him and play, but when Pre gave an enthusiastic play bow, slapping his front legs to the ground, it startled her and she yelped! But here she is in action with Cooper, her pal.

At the very least, I will have an interesting lesson in what can be overcome in lack of early socialization. The window has not yet been closed, so I think we can get it done. Stay tuned!