Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Vaccinations….Day Three Hundred, Twenty Four

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Our friend over at 2BrownDawgs posed a really great question to me; why don’t I vaccinate against Distemper.

I’m going to try not to climb on one of my favorite soap boxes here, but give you a quick and dirty. 😉

The older I’ve gotten and the more information I digest, I’ve begun to feel that we over-vaccinate in this country. Honestly, if I was having children right now I would be thinking long and hard about what I would vaccinate for. But I digress….

The first set of shots we gave to Sampson left him with a hard lump on his lower back. That was when I seriously started questioning shots.

In CT your dog must be vaccinated for Rabies; that is the only shot they require. Most training centers require your dog to be vaccinated against Bordetella (Kennel Cough) and Distemper.

Sampson has been vaccinated against Bordetella and gotten the virus; three times.  That was when I asked the vet what the point was of vaccinating him if he was going to get it anyway. The best explanation I got was the shot covers two or three of the 12 known strains. Well if it covered all but two or three then I might consider it; but since I don’t board the dogs and they don’t go to dog shows, I pass on the Bordetella.

In the past I have had the dogs Titered  (Tie derd) which is a measuring of antibodies in the blood. That is usually sufficient for daycare.

Each year when I take the dogs for their annual visits, I discuss the shots with the vet to determine which shots they really need. At Delilah’s last visit we talked about Distemper and Parvo and if I remember the conversation correctly, our Dr. feels the shots protection lasts much longer than the manufacturer indicates.  Hubby thinks she said ten years, but the American Animal Hospital recommendation is seven years.  You can read their recommendations for all vaccinations here.

My vet tends to favor the holistic side of medicine, which is why I like her and every visit I say, “Dr. Soutter, what do you vaccinate your dog for?”

Last visit she vaccinated for Rabies and Leptospirosis; and since we spend a lot of time hiking in areas where wild animals live, we decided to vaccinate for Leptos.

Sampson is scheduled for his yearly check up next Friday and I intend on re-visiting the vaccination subject.  I’ll keep you posted. 😉

Thanks again to 2BrownDawgs for the most excellent question.

Training Centers?…Day Three Hundred, Twenty Three

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A while back I had a post about good dog trainers.  My advice was a good trainer won’t make you do anything you don’t feel comfortable with.  I’m going to expand on that a bit to include this, check out the training center and observe the instructor working;  WITHOUT your dog.

As many of you know I’ve been looking for a training center focused on positive training, I am interested in learning how to work positively with my dog with the goal to go on and share this knowledge with others.

A friend of mine had mentioned a center she was using; I was supposed to visit this center two weeks ago, but fate intervened and I wasn’t able to go until last night.

I had no intentions of bringing either of the dogs with me, because I wanted to be able to observe and (hopefully) learn and I didn’t want to be distracted by the dogs.

I got to the center about 10 minutes before the beginner obedience class ended, so I sat and watched; the young puppies were so good, they did three-minute downs and stays!

When class was over my friend came over and introduced me to the trainer, a young woman who seemed really nice.  The second class came in, there were seven dogs in the class, one Lab, a Lab mix, a Doberman, an Akita, what looked like a Blonde Scottish Terrier and two German Shepherd.

I have to admit, I’m a bit intimidated by the bigger dogs, but watching the Akita working with her human had me mesmerized.  The mom had some type of treat she was using and the dog was so focused on her human, she wasn’t paying attention to anything else.  

About half-way into the class, the trainer decided to do recalls.  One of the Shepherds (Nikka) wasn’t quite getting that her mom wanted her to stay while she walked to the other side of the room.  The trainer came over and stood on Nikka’s leash and instructed the mom to walk away.  The mom walked away and Nikka jumped up to run after her and came up short.

“Come back and put her down again,” said the instructor.  The mom did and started to walk away again.  Again Nikka stood up to go after her mom and the instructor yanked the leash so hard, Nikka’s front two feet came off the ground and she yelped.

I sat there in shock, a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.  I didn’t know what to do. 

After that Nikka stayed on that side of the room until her mother called for her, then they started again at the other side of the room. 

Honest to God, the exact same thing happened again and again the trainer yanked poor Nikka off her feet.  Now she instructed mom to do it; granted mom didn’t do it nearly as harshly as that instructor did, but at that point I couldn’t watch anymore.  I walked over to my friend and said, “I have to go.” 

She wanted me to stay, and I said, “I can’t stay here and watch them yank that Shepherd again.”

I barely made it to the car before the tears were falling and I cried the whole twenty-two minute ride home.  I kept thinking about that poor dog getting yanked around and how grateful I was that I didn’t bring Delilah with me.  Quite frankly if the instructor had yanked my dog the way she yanked Nikka, I’d probably be writing this blog from a jail cell.

I feel ashamed that I did nothing to help Nikka, and I wonder is there anything I could have done? 

What are your thoughts?

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie…Day Three Hundred, Twenty Two

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Where does your dog sleep?

Our dogs sleep in their bed and we sleep with them; at least that is what they would lead you to believe.

We have an over-sized queen bed; that uncomfortably fits all fur of us.

When Delilah first joined our pack we struggled with her jumping on the bed. I would get up and pull her off at least five times during the night. It was a battle fought and won by persistence.  Hers.

Once the battle was won; we needed a nightly routine in order to ensure we at least had a chance to get a spot on the bed; it starts with Sampson and I in the bed. Sometimes Delilah is there too, but as soon as she thinks I’m heading her way she usually gets up and sits beside the bed.

I position myself; then using carrots, I lure Sampson up the bed toward his pillow, each time Sampson gets a carrot Delilah does as well.

After about three carrots I have Sampson where I want him and I say, “Okay, pretty come on.” Up she jumps to the bottom of the bed where most of the time she curls up on MY feet.  If I move too quickly because I don’t have my feet in position before she gets settled; my darling diva growls at me.

I try to manage her by reaching down and petting her while I position my feet; the surprising thing is if I move during the night, she normally doesn’t growl. Go figure.

Sampson meanwhile has chosen a parent to lean against. He stretches his legs straight out against the other parent’s back. In this manner we go to sleep, Hubby clinging desperately to one side of the bed, while I cling to other and Sampson sleeping blissfully between.

It surprises me that this doesn’t upset me. In fact there are times when I wake up in the night to find his head tucked under my chin or resting on my shoulder and I smile. I. Smile. In. The. Middle. Of. The. Night.

Or my legs ache from remaining in one spot for too long, or my butt is freezing because it is hanging off the bed and I laugh. To myself of course, but I laugh.

Last night I rolled over and Sampson was facing me; I took the opportunity to give him a little good night kiss, he shifted his position and put his nose right up to my nose, typically this would freak me out; (if I can’t breathe cool air I wig) instead, I snuggled closer and I smiled.

Please keep the typing to a minimum…I’m trying to sleep.

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