It’s been a week since the blood tests with no news, so I called the veterinary hospital to check on results. I left a message and got a call back from one of the technicians. I don’t have details like the actual values to share, but I’m told everything is “perfect.” Lilly is a healthy, healthy, healthy girl with “excellent” thyroid levels, no signs of any adrenal problems, solid kidney, liver, pancreas, etc. numbers. That’s not what’s causing the set-back. …
The following alert came via the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association late last week. It seems a dog brought to the U.S. from Iraq had rabies. Authorities are concerned about the people who handled the dog and the other dogs potentially exposed during transport. It’s a good reminder that pet care and health are not the same in every country. …
It was another long, tough week around Lilly-Town. We nearly gave up and came home from class several times. Here’s how it went. …
This week’s class took place along a busy, outlying trail. Lots of pedestrians, bikes, other dogs. But, there’s good shade in many spots and a creek/ditch for swimming. Despite
set-backs recently, I went with an open mind. I was ready to click anything that resembled something I want. That meant weathering a couple odd moments. …
I’ve written a fair amount about canine nutrition in my career. I even went to a weekend-long international conference a few years ago with a couple hundred specialists in dog
allergies. I learned a ton about the role of the digestive system in causing and treating allergies from contact, inhaled or eaten sources. I like to think I’m fairly versed in what’s good about dog
foods. …
We had another sad training day on Sunday. Lilly spent most of the class in total shutdown mode. I have a theory on why, but who knows. It is what is is. …
The same day that Lilly played with Pitsch, our Borzoi friend Katie graduated from her first obedience class. She came in third overall with a score of 183 out of 200, which is
tremendous (not to be breed prejudiced) for a sight hound. She came over with her parents (Pat and Bear) so celebrate and to show off her cool new trick (jumping through a hoop). As I’ve said before,
there is something about Katie that Lilly really likes. She treats Katie in a different way than she even treats Ginko. Compare these videos I shot to those I posted …
We haven’t worked with Pitsch, Lilly’s “Control Unleashed” training buddy for a couple months because he and his mom Betsy were busy trialing. Gotta say, he’s been on FIRE. We’re
waiting for the official list, but it looks like Pitsch cracked the list of top 25 Aussies. We’re hoping to see his name in the top 10. How neat is that? … said the girl with the dog who won’t get
up off the ground.
…
This week, most of our training happened during our regular 3-mile jaunts in the morning. I noticed a couple of interesting things.
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Lilly and I skipped class this week for several reasons. We’ve had a
rough few Sundays lately. Class was at a dog park that Lilly doesn’t
particularly like and is a LONG drive from our house. With gas prices
as they are, I chose to stay home. And, I promised to attend my
7-year-old niece’s dance recital in the afternoon, and I didn’t feel
like going up and down the canyon twice. So, this week’s training
update is all one-on-one work. In particular, a new trick! …
