Sounds of Silence

For various reasons, I no longer use my cell phone. At first it seemed like a great pain in the butt not to have one. But as time went on, it is actually kind of nice. Kind of nice and quiet. While driving I don't have to worry about answering or who to call next. When a cell phone rings, it's not for me. If clients leave a message on my business line, I try to call back as soon as possible. And there's always email. So now while driving, I listen to the radio (talk radio, old radio shows, classical). It's very calming. Also introspective. Especially on long drives. So I'm contemplating if I want it back or not. I guess in an emergency it can be helpful or necessary. But overall it's less stressful. I guess I'll think about it.

Frankie lost her battle with diabetes

We lost Frankie this morning. She had been in intensive care for 3 days. I did find out from the vet tech that was caring for her that her last day she had a great walk with her, and came in and walked around the work room with her. It makes me feel a little better. She in fact was doing better which is why it comes as a shock. Her BGs were down and she was keeping food down. But like the vet tech said, maybe there was more wrong with her than we thought or knew.

Her previous owner did not have her tested for diabetes but suspected something when he decided he did not want to keep her any longer. She peed alot and drank alot is what he told us and he suspected diabetes and did not want to deal with all that entails. He was taking her to the SPCA. We intervened and had her checked and sure enough she had diabetes. We decided to keep her since I already had one diabetic dog.

I found out diabetes is different for each dog as it is with people. My other diabetic dog has different needs and he has been stable with insulin for about 3 years. He will be 12 this year. That's another thing. The previous owner did not really know how old she was. He got her as a puppy, why would you not know how old your dog was, even her birthday? Most of our dogs we know their birthdays. So she may have been older than he said which was 4 yrs old. The vet even thought she looked older. Diabetes usually doesn't set in dogs till 6-8 yrs although I know there is exceptions.

We will miss her. She was a sweet and gentle soul. And to let you know how karma works, her previous owner got diagnosed with diabetes shortly after he gave her up. What do you know.

Frankie's in the hospital

Frankie's diabetes crashed 2 days ago. I took her to the vet's and they are doing all they can. She just stopped eating. Tons of weight rolled off of her, that's not good. I tried every kind of food. She did this last week and started eating so I did a wait and see. My other diabetic dog does this sometimes and he picks back up and goes one. Not Frankie. I guess diabetes is different with every dog. We are going now to see what the next step is. Her BG is down which is good but she is not out of the woods yet. She is such a gentle soul. We've only had her a year and a half. Her previous owner did not want her anymore and was taking her to the SPCA. We fostered her hoping to find her a home. We took her to the vets and found out she had diabetes. So we just kept her as no one will take a dog with diabetes. The cost and the upkeep is huge. But I have another diabetic dog so I thought I could take on another. It's been a challenge but she is worth it. Aren't they all?

Smile!

Don't be so serious about training your puppy or dog. Have fun. Enjoy the present moment because for your dog, that's all it is about. They live in the present moment. Dogs are doing what comes naturally to dogs-jumping, biting, chewing, digging, barking. We have invited them into our home and we want them to act human. We are really asking for tough stuff from our dogs. Some dogs adapt well. If yours doesn't, ask yourself-am I being consistent? fair? calm? Am I being the role model for my dog? Be calm, relax. Dogs are dogs and do dog stuff. Find out what makes your dog happy and do it. And smile. Be attractive to your dog.

We have to have rules and boundaries. But make sure your dog has enough of the stuff that makes them happy-not us happy-them happy.If it's chase,tug,running,playing or a million other things, you can use all of these in training your dog. And have fun doing it.
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Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to you and yours. Celebrate the day whether religious or not. Celebrate in your way. It's a beautiful spring day, enjoy!

What I've been up to

Has it really been 2 weeks? Wow, how time flys. I'm taking riding lessons. Lotsa fun. Pretty awesome learning about another species. Lots to learn. Fun being a student and not a teacher for once. Also hard. I have so many questions. Now I know how my clients feel.

Also enjoying the wonderful weather. Playing with my dogs, trying new exercises. I'm investigating another training method-Natural Dog Training. Have a look at www.leecharleskelley.com It's interesting to say the least. It also has a different concept from most other training methods.

I'm a positive trainer but I use all kinds of methods to help dogs and owners. Of course you see me use a clicker but I also employ whatever we can do to help the dog. But first of all, do no harm. Hitting, yelling, punishing the dog never helps. But there are so many other methods. I'm always open to new things as long as they do no harm.

Just sent out a newsletter for Easter. Just as it went out, I saw a couple mistakes. Oh, well. I'm a dog trainer not an English major. Enjoy the day with your dog!