Weekly Training Update (May 15)

Another odd week from top to bottom. We haven’t been doing much formal, training-session training, but Lilly did have some adventures, including a vaccine reaction from her veterinary exam on Monday. She’s fine, but she felt cruddy for bit. First, a little good news from our trip to town last Saturday.

Campaign Meeting
A friend of mine is running for city council, so I went to a pre-kickoff meeting. Lilly came with me, but she had to stay in the car because the community center where the meeting was held doesn’t allow dogs. However, after the meeting, she visited the patio area and poked people (hand targeted).

Another of our training classmates (Deborah Flick) blogged recently about her hand-targeting work with her fearful poodle. It’s a lovely piece about how fearful dogs need our help, not to be “fixed.” We’ve added her to our blogroll. I’m sure she love if you visited once in a while.

Lilly did struggle and seemed to have ear muffs on (not listening) because of some kids playing on skateboards and scooters over a nearby brick walkway, but she did not flip out. She just looked worried, so I went into classical conditioning mode and fed, fed, fed. I also hinted there might be squirrels in the trees, which always distracts her.

Walk in Town
After the meeting and a few errands, Lilly and I went for a walk on a favorite path. The weather was coolish, but the area was swamped with a kayaking event, the usual people + dog traffic, bikes, etc.

Lilly did remarkably well, considering the hubbub. She remains wary of people carrying kayaks (visual oddity) and of kayaks scraping on the ground (noise issue), but she will walk past them without balking.

Two off-leash spaniels of some sort (one young, one not) came up to Lilly separately. First the puppy, I’d guess maybe 6 months old, trotted right toward her. I didn’t have time to look for an owner in the crowd, so I took a deep breath, did my best to push on the leash (rather than pull), and let the encounter happen.

The pup showed clear deference, curved his body, looked away, dropped his head. They shared a polite face sniff after a fairly frontal approach. I let it go on for about 15 seconds, then said, “Leave it. Let’s go.” And they parted ways before Lilly snarled or felt intrusion.

But, just as I’m praising her for the greet, the other spaniel came trotting up. I’m happy to say this greeting also went well. Face sniffing, fairly relaxed body from Lilly. So, again, I let it go on for just a bit before asking Lilly to move on.

A guy walking the other way, with 3 dogs straining at their leashes toward us, must have noticed my concern because after I cleared Lilly from the two spaniels and saw his pack coming, he asked, “Is your dog friendly?”

My reply? “Not so much. That’s why we’re being careful.”

So, he wisely veered one way, while we did the same the other direction.

I’d like to say these greetings denote improvement, but there is a good chance that the noise and higher-than-usual traffic on the path put Lilly more on the road to Shutdown-ville, rather than Snarky-town.

Trip to the Veterinarian
The good news is that our new veterinarian handled Lilly beautifully. She greeted her (not me) first. She bent down, offered treats, spoke to her gently … as I gave what I hope was a quick recap of Lilly’s medical and behavioral history.

She did bark a couple times when she heard noises outside the door. She did bark a couple times, when staff came and went. She did fixate on the doors, but she was coping, which is all I ask.

We let Lilly be on the floor for a while before moving to the exam table. I tried getting her to hop on a chair and then the exam table (very doable for her), but she would only put her front feet on the chair and wiggle submissively. So, as much as she hates it, I picked her up.

She did try one slithering dive off the table, but I held her and fed her and talked to her, and she settled in.

As if velcroed to my chest, she did not move again during the exam or blood draw. They tried the neck first, but ended up using an arm instead. Both the doctor and the nurse spoke softly, moved slowly, and praised Lilly.

At the end, our new doctor opened the door to the back of the hospital, and her two very polite, well- trained German shepherds peeked in the door. Lilly watched them without concern. I fed her, asked her to LOOK, and she was great. They observed her without staring. They seem like good critters.

Another Trip to the Veterinarian
Unfortunately, just like a couple times in the past, Lilly had a vaccine reaction — swelling at the injection site and Lilly-style lethargy. She woke up Tuesday morning with what looked like bed-butt (the dog version of bed head), but when I rubbed her, I felt a pretty big lump. I called right away and got advice on using warm compresses. (Thank goodness for a solid DOWN-STAY.) … P.S. Look how shiny she is!

As the day wore on, though, I realized Lilly just wasn’t herself. She only once brought me a ball, and it was a half-assed attempt at that. She did NOT follow me OUTSIDE to hang clothes. She didn’t bother me once all day as I worked. Not normal for Lilly.

So, I called again. They asked me to bring her back. So, Lilly got to see her new veterinary practice twice. The doctor we picked doesn’t work on Tuesdays, so we saw a youngish, guy doctor, who also was super sweet, super gentle with Lilly. When it was time for the shot, I asked her to come toward me and the doc (on the floor). With him there, she refused … so without my asking, he stood up and went behind the counter to give her “space.” Love that kind of awareness.

He ended up giving her a steroid shot and having me dispense some benedryl at home.

Lilly felt much better the next day, but not good enough for class (plus I had too much work). So, we stayed home and smooched on her FIFTH BIRTHDAY (Weds).

On both visits, Lilly went into relative flee mode in the parking lot. The new practice is on a busy corner, so I’m guessing it’s more the traffic noise than the idea of the hospital itself.

I used her Gentle Leader for the second visit, and I think it helped. She also liked the setup of the second exam room, where the client bench and L-shaped counter/exam table made a little nook for her to back into. She sat stock-straight, but she liked being shielded on a couple sides.

Medical News
There is medical news, but it’s been a long week, in a series of long weeks that appears to have no end. So, I’ll write more later about some of findings from her exam, bloodwork, vaccines, etc.