(Las Cruces, NM) In the late morning we got a call saying our part had FINALLY come in. I guess Overnight Service now means you send it on Wednesday and it gets there on Monday. Go figure that one!
Anyway, we packed up the RV and drove to the repair shop. They started working on it the minute we pulled in. But after putting in the new part, the unit still didn’t work. Turns out it was really a different part that was not functioning…and of course they didn’t have that part in stock.
So all we ended up with was another big bill…and still no heat. We then called a service guy in Phoenix who says he has the required part in stock. So we made arrangements to leave Las Cruces at midnight on New Year’s day and drive all night so that we can be in Phoenix for him to fix it on Wednesday.
Maybe, just maybe, we’ll actually get heat in a couple days!
Debbie
12/31/07
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Passing Time
(Las Cruces, NM) Since it’s Sunday we know there will be no part arriving today. So the plan for the day was to just stay inside and try to soak up some of the nice solar heating we were getting.
The dogs are being so good about all of this. But we can tell it is wearing on them too. Wazzu has always loved the cold but being cold 24/7 is really hard on her arthritic joints. She’s having trouble keeping her food down and just doesn’t act happy at all. Poor girl.
Since it’s been so long since the dogs have gotten out to do anything, Mike decided to take a couple of them on a walk. So he took Sparkie (who is about to burst with energy) and Wazzu (hoping to brighten her up a bit). That meant I was home with my boys.
I took this opportunity to clean out a couple drawers. How is it when you do that you end up making a huge mess. The drawers may be clean now but the counters are strewn with stuff that I don’t know where to put. Hmmm, guess I’ll put it all back in the drawer. I wonder why I even bother with that little exercise.
I guess the boys and I will just watch some football…under the blankets!
Debbie
12/30/07
The dogs are being so good about all of this. But we can tell it is wearing on them too. Wazzu has always loved the cold but being cold 24/7 is really hard on her arthritic joints. She’s having trouble keeping her food down and just doesn’t act happy at all. Poor girl.
Since it’s been so long since the dogs have gotten out to do anything, Mike decided to take a couple of them on a walk. So he took Sparkie (who is about to burst with energy) and Wazzu (hoping to brighten her up a bit). That meant I was home with my boys.
I took this opportunity to clean out a couple drawers. How is it when you do that you end up making a huge mess. The drawers may be clean now but the counters are strewn with stuff that I don’t know where to put. Hmmm, guess I’ll put it all back in the drawer. I wonder why I even bother with that little exercise.
I guess the boys and I will just watch some football…under the blankets!
Debbie
12/30/07
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Cold and Wet
(Las Cruces, NM) As is getting to be a familiar tune…no part today. I don’t know why I would want heat…could it have anything to do with the fact that it got down to 16 last night?! That’s downright cold in my opinion!
We decided to run a few errands since the stores were open. We went to the mall here in Las Cruces – not a huge mall but it has heat! I figured since we have a big show coming up next weekend I should get my haircut – since I shouldn't wear a hat at the show.
I asked the people at the front desk for the hairdresser that had the most experience with curly hair. I told them my reasoning and explained in detail that I didn’t want a crappy haircut (sorry Mom – I did actually use the word crappy!). My first clue of trouble should have come when I got back to the lady's station and she said "Oh my, this is REALLY curly hair."
I should have known I was in big trouble right away as the lady sprayed water all down my back. Yup, all four layers of clothing that I was wearing were completely soaked all the way down my back. So much for being warm.
I was in a hurry (sitting isn’t good) yet this lady must have cut each hair individually. She shaved way too much and shaved it too short. The part she cut isn’t shaped at all – it’s horrible. I’m guessing I won’t need another haircut until this summer when we return home as it’s so short. But I’m sure I’ll get another haircut after a while just to see if someone can shape it at all. Good thing I have lots of hats…this might even be a good excuse to buy some more!
We had planned to do more shopping but I was freezing since my back was sopping wet. Maybe we’ll shop some other time…who knows, I think it’s been almost a year since I went shopping in a mall.
Meg was so nice and invited us to go along to a party she was attending this evening. It was an informal dinner and all the people were dog people. As it turned out we knew almost all of them – a few we only knew by sight but we knew exactly what dogs they have and what their names are…dogs weren’t invited though. Ha ha. But it was a great mix of people and there were a couple really good storytellers that kept all of us both entertained and laughing. How nice of Meg to include us in this fun evening.
Debbie
12/29/07
We decided to run a few errands since the stores were open. We went to the mall here in Las Cruces – not a huge mall but it has heat! I figured since we have a big show coming up next weekend I should get my haircut – since I shouldn't wear a hat at the show.
I asked the people at the front desk for the hairdresser that had the most experience with curly hair. I told them my reasoning and explained in detail that I didn’t want a crappy haircut (sorry Mom – I did actually use the word crappy!). My first clue of trouble should have come when I got back to the lady's station and she said "Oh my, this is REALLY curly hair."
I should have known I was in big trouble right away as the lady sprayed water all down my back. Yup, all four layers of clothing that I was wearing were completely soaked all the way down my back. So much for being warm.
I was in a hurry (sitting isn’t good) yet this lady must have cut each hair individually. She shaved way too much and shaved it too short. The part she cut isn’t shaped at all – it’s horrible. I’m guessing I won’t need another haircut until this summer when we return home as it’s so short. But I’m sure I’ll get another haircut after a while just to see if someone can shape it at all. Good thing I have lots of hats…this might even be a good excuse to buy some more!
We had planned to do more shopping but I was freezing since my back was sopping wet. Maybe we’ll shop some other time…who knows, I think it’s been almost a year since I went shopping in a mall.
Meg was so nice and invited us to go along to a party she was attending this evening. It was an informal dinner and all the people were dog people. As it turned out we knew almost all of them – a few we only knew by sight but we knew exactly what dogs they have and what their names are…dogs weren’t invited though. Ha ha. But it was a great mix of people and there were a couple really good storytellers that kept all of us both entertained and laughing. How nice of Meg to include us in this fun evening.
Debbie
12/29/07
Friday, December 28, 2007
From Bad to Worse
(Las Cruces, NM) Yesterday we noticed that every once in a while the water pump would run for a second even when we didn't have the water on. This morning we figured out why....we have a leak due to frozen pipes. As Mike was investigating he found out that in addition to that leak we have a number of pipes that are frozen. Oh I sure hope none of those crack when they thaw.
We're officially tired of this entire fiasco. Mike checked on the part again this morning but still no luck. They said they'd call and get the tracking number and see where the part might be and call us back. So much for overnight service!
Unfortunately the sun wasn't out much today so we didn't get much solar heating. But the few times the sun did peek through, Slugger and Wazzu both made a mad dash to the dashboard.
We're beginning to wonder if we'll ever get Slugger down from there. He has always loved sunbathing....he just never realized he could do it indoors! He's thinking this is a great discovery!
At noon Boogie had his re-check with the vet. She was very happy with the way the surgery site was looking. He was given the all clear to play and to stop wearing the life ring. Boogie liked that news but still wasn't happy to be at the vet office. We weighed him while we were there and he just continues to grow - he's up to 17 pounds! If he's not careful he's going to catch up to Sparkie.
This afternoon Harriet and Meg taught me how to handle Boogie in the conformation ring. Oh gosh, I'm really out of my league here. Good thing I have six whole days to practice! I think I need more like six years.
Harriet then groomed Boogie a little bit - which he didn't much care for. But he did like the major play time he got to have with his sister, Mimi, afterward. While Mimi and Boogie were tearing the house down, Meg and Harriet helped show me when I would need to be in each ring and how things are going to work. I feel like a kindergartner going to my first day of school but walking into the high school instead.
While in the house I also got to have a peak at the cute little puppies. They're a whole 18 days old now. Mike made the comment when Boogie and Mimi were playing that maybe we need to get a puppy to play with Boogie. Music to my ears! But shucks, I think these cute little guys may all be spoken for already.
Well, the work day is totally over and we never heard back about our part. This is getting old really fast. So much for next day delivery - at this rate it may be next spring delivery. And with weather like this, spring can come none to soon!
Debbie
12/28/07
We're officially tired of this entire fiasco. Mike checked on the part again this morning but still no luck. They said they'd call and get the tracking number and see where the part might be and call us back. So much for overnight service!
Unfortunately the sun wasn't out much today so we didn't get much solar heating. But the few times the sun did peek through, Slugger and Wazzu both made a mad dash to the dashboard.
We're beginning to wonder if we'll ever get Slugger down from there. He has always loved sunbathing....he just never realized he could do it indoors! He's thinking this is a great discovery!
At noon Boogie had his re-check with the vet. She was very happy with the way the surgery site was looking. He was given the all clear to play and to stop wearing the life ring. Boogie liked that news but still wasn't happy to be at the vet office. We weighed him while we were there and he just continues to grow - he's up to 17 pounds! If he's not careful he's going to catch up to Sparkie.
This afternoon Harriet and Meg taught me how to handle Boogie in the conformation ring. Oh gosh, I'm really out of my league here. Good thing I have six whole days to practice! I think I need more like six years.
Harriet then groomed Boogie a little bit - which he didn't much care for. But he did like the major play time he got to have with his sister, Mimi, afterward. While Mimi and Boogie were tearing the house down, Meg and Harriet helped show me when I would need to be in each ring and how things are going to work. I feel like a kindergartner going to my first day of school but walking into the high school instead.
While in the house I also got to have a peak at the cute little puppies. They're a whole 18 days old now. Mike made the comment when Boogie and Mimi were playing that maybe we need to get a puppy to play with Boogie. Music to my ears! But shucks, I think these cute little guys may all be spoken for already.
Well, the work day is totally over and we never heard back about our part. This is getting old really fast. So much for next day delivery - at this rate it may be next spring delivery. And with weather like this, spring can come none to soon!
Debbie
12/28/07
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Sun Beams
(Las Cruces, NM) Oh gosh it is cold! The RV was 37 today when we got up this morning. Can you imagine what it would be if we didn't have two space heaters going all night!
At least when the sun came up we could start getting some solar heating through the front window. The dogs figured this out immediately. You know it's cold when Wazzu wants to be in the sun. She was up in the dashboard from the minute we got up until the sun went down - only coming down a couple times to help me have a snack.
Slugger figured it out pretty quickly once he saw Wazzu up there and he joined her right away. He too spent the better part of the day there.
Boogie isn't one to get cold but later in the day he decided to see what this sun bathing was all about. I don't know, maybe he was tired, but he didn't get all the way up there before falling asleep. What a silly puppy - he stayed this way for well over an hour.
Finally he made it up there and had the place all to himself for a while. He enjoyed watching the other borders take turns going out in yard.
For us today was a waiting game - waiting for a call from the shop to say that our part had come in. We were sure the call would come any minute. But by 4:00pm we hadn't heard a word so Mike called to check on the status. You guessed it - no part. They assured us it would be here tomorrow. Oh no, it seems like I've heard this story before.
To help you understand how cold it is....we were going to have some peas with our dinner tonight. So Mike put some water in a pot and then poured in some peas. He looked into the pot a minute or so later and it was all frozen into a solid lump. Guess he should turn the burner on quick!
Okay, so I'm really hoping that tonight will be the last night of this mess!
Debbie
12/27/07
At least when the sun came up we could start getting some solar heating through the front window. The dogs figured this out immediately. You know it's cold when Wazzu wants to be in the sun. She was up in the dashboard from the minute we got up until the sun went down - only coming down a couple times to help me have a snack.
Slugger figured it out pretty quickly once he saw Wazzu up there and he joined her right away. He too spent the better part of the day there.
Boogie isn't one to get cold but later in the day he decided to see what this sun bathing was all about. I don't know, maybe he was tired, but he didn't get all the way up there before falling asleep. What a silly puppy - he stayed this way for well over an hour.
Finally he made it up there and had the place all to himself for a while. He enjoyed watching the other borders take turns going out in yard.
For us today was a waiting game - waiting for a call from the shop to say that our part had come in. We were sure the call would come any minute. But by 4:00pm we hadn't heard a word so Mike called to check on the status. You guessed it - no part. They assured us it would be here tomorrow. Oh no, it seems like I've heard this story before.
To help you understand how cold it is....we were going to have some peas with our dinner tonight. So Mike put some water in a pot and then poured in some peas. He looked into the pot a minute or so later and it was all frozen into a solid lump. Guess he should turn the burner on quick!
Okay, so I'm really hoping that tonight will be the last night of this mess!
Debbie
12/27/07
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Mason's and Heat Don't Mix
(Las Cruces, NM) Last night was so interesting. As you'll recall, the heater got the house to about 63 before going off. We had turned the heat up hoping it would come on. But it didn't, so we went to bed. The three big dogs slept in a bedroom with me and Mike slept on the couch in the living room with Boogie tucked away in his crate. Mike needed extra blankets as he was cold so he got some out of the RV.
About 2:00am, Slugger woke me up crying and crying. When I got the light on I noticed that Slugger was standing in the middle of the room with a huge tongue, Sparkie was panting like crazy, and Wazzu was plastered against the door. I was sweating to beat the band. About that same time, Mike came down the hall to see what was wrong. As he opened the door he was overtaken by the heat.
I guess during the night the heater decided to work! Before going to bed we had turned it down to 70 - which was fine for the entire house except for this one room. It was fine with me as I'd rather be hot than cold. But at that point Slugger and Sparkie went out into the living room to sleep with Mike (we had their beds there for them). I left the bedroom door open since it was so hot. A couple hours later I was really cold.
This was all just too funny. Mike thinks we're jinxed when it comes to heat now!
Mike got up really early to feed the dogs and get on his way to Texas to get the RV fixed. The dogs then got back on their pillows and we all slept a little more.
A few hours later Mike called to say that the service people had looked over the RV and said everything looks fine - it just doesn't work. Exactly what Mike had found when he looked it over. So they were going to call the manufacturer of the unit to see if they had any ideas on what may be the problem. Turns out we need a part that will have to be shipped from the manufacturer. Mike opted to pay to have the part shipped overnight.
So at 3pm he drove back and parked the RV at Meg's house and headed over to Harriet's house to pick us up. In the meantime Harriet had returned home along with her four border terriers - one of which is Boogie's dad and one is Boogie's sister. It was a little interesting with eight dogs there even though there were plenty of separate areas for them to all play.
We can't say how grateful we are that Harriet let us stay at her house. Meg and Harriet are both the nicest most gracious people you could ever want to meet. We are so lucky to have met them and gotten a puppy from them. I could go on and on about how conscientious they are with their puppies and how good they are to all the owners. They truly love each one of them. We're absolutely positive we couldn't have found better or nicer breeders anywhere!
Anyway, we got back to Meg's and are once again settled back in our cold tin can. It's supposed to be 22 again tonight. Brrrr. But at least we can look forward to being all fixed up tomorrow!
Debbie
12/26/07
About 2:00am, Slugger woke me up crying and crying. When I got the light on I noticed that Slugger was standing in the middle of the room with a huge tongue, Sparkie was panting like crazy, and Wazzu was plastered against the door. I was sweating to beat the band. About that same time, Mike came down the hall to see what was wrong. As he opened the door he was overtaken by the heat.
I guess during the night the heater decided to work! Before going to bed we had turned it down to 70 - which was fine for the entire house except for this one room. It was fine with me as I'd rather be hot than cold. But at that point Slugger and Sparkie went out into the living room to sleep with Mike (we had their beds there for them). I left the bedroom door open since it was so hot. A couple hours later I was really cold.
This was all just too funny. Mike thinks we're jinxed when it comes to heat now!
Mike got up really early to feed the dogs and get on his way to Texas to get the RV fixed. The dogs then got back on their pillows and we all slept a little more.
A few hours later Mike called to say that the service people had looked over the RV and said everything looks fine - it just doesn't work. Exactly what Mike had found when he looked it over. So they were going to call the manufacturer of the unit to see if they had any ideas on what may be the problem. Turns out we need a part that will have to be shipped from the manufacturer. Mike opted to pay to have the part shipped overnight.
So at 3pm he drove back and parked the RV at Meg's house and headed over to Harriet's house to pick us up. In the meantime Harriet had returned home along with her four border terriers - one of which is Boogie's dad and one is Boogie's sister. It was a little interesting with eight dogs there even though there were plenty of separate areas for them to all play.
We can't say how grateful we are that Harriet let us stay at her house. Meg and Harriet are both the nicest most gracious people you could ever want to meet. We are so lucky to have met them and gotten a puppy from them. I could go on and on about how conscientious they are with their puppies and how good they are to all the owners. They truly love each one of them. We're absolutely positive we couldn't have found better or nicer breeders anywhere!
Anyway, we got back to Meg's and are once again settled back in our cold tin can. It's supposed to be 22 again tonight. Brrrr. But at least we can look forward to being all fixed up tomorrow!
Debbie
12/26/07
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Merry Christmas
We wish each of you a very Merry Christmas.
Unfortunately, we didn't come across any place to get a Christmas picture taken of the dogs this year. So our Christmas picture this year is a picture we had taken while we were at the agility Championships back in September. It was amazing that Boogie stayed still for the picture as we hadn't taught him the command Stay yet. But he was very good and never moved a muscle.
Meg was really nice and invited us to go with her to a friend's house for Christmas lunch. There were 21 people there and all were seated at one table - now that's quite a table. The people were all extremely nice - and how kind of them to let us join in on their family meal. It was especially nice to have a warm meal in a warm house! A huge thanks to Meg and her friends for including us today.
When we got home Boogie was happy to get out of his crate. But he was still tuckered and very cold. Here he is all curled up trying to stay warm.
Mike has to have the RV in El Paso, TX early in the morning. To avoid us all having to get up so early just to sit in the car all day waiting for the RV to be fixed, we went to Harriet's house about 8pm to stay for the night. We weren't in the way as she was away visiting family for Christmas. We're sure lucky to have friends who take such good care of us.
Sparkie never likes lying on the floor as it's too hard so we put her sleeping bag on the couch. She crawled right in and went sound asleep. She was so happy to be warm. As a side note: Most doggy sleeping bags are only made for small dogs. But a friend of ours in WA makes these beds and we had her make a large sleeping bag especially for Sparkie. It's been a bit hit with Sparkie.
When we arrived at the house it was cold as the heat was off since no one had been home for a few days. We turned the heat up to about 68 and the heat came on. But about an hour later the heat suddenly turned off - the temperature in the house was about 63. We turned the heat up a little bit thinking maybe the thermostat was just off a bit. But we couldn't get the heat to come back on. Oh no, we're jinxed.
Oh well, it's still warmer than the RV! No complaints from us for sure!
Debbie
Christmas 2007
Unfortunately, we didn't come across any place to get a Christmas picture taken of the dogs this year. So our Christmas picture this year is a picture we had taken while we were at the agility Championships back in September. It was amazing that Boogie stayed still for the picture as we hadn't taught him the command Stay yet. But he was very good and never moved a muscle.
Meg was really nice and invited us to go with her to a friend's house for Christmas lunch. There were 21 people there and all were seated at one table - now that's quite a table. The people were all extremely nice - and how kind of them to let us join in on their family meal. It was especially nice to have a warm meal in a warm house! A huge thanks to Meg and her friends for including us today.
When we got home Boogie was happy to get out of his crate. But he was still tuckered and very cold. Here he is all curled up trying to stay warm.
Mike has to have the RV in El Paso, TX early in the morning. To avoid us all having to get up so early just to sit in the car all day waiting for the RV to be fixed, we went to Harriet's house about 8pm to stay for the night. We weren't in the way as she was away visiting family for Christmas. We're sure lucky to have friends who take such good care of us.
Sparkie never likes lying on the floor as it's too hard so we put her sleeping bag on the couch. She crawled right in and went sound asleep. She was so happy to be warm. As a side note: Most doggy sleeping bags are only made for small dogs. But a friend of ours in WA makes these beds and we had her make a large sleeping bag especially for Sparkie. It's been a bit hit with Sparkie.
When we arrived at the house it was cold as the heat was off since no one had been home for a few days. We turned the heat up to about 68 and the heat came on. But about an hour later the heat suddenly turned off - the temperature in the house was about 63. We turned the heat up a little bit thinking maybe the thermostat was just off a bit. But we couldn't get the heat to come back on. Oh no, we're jinxed.
Oh well, it's still warmer than the RV! No complaints from us for sure!
Debbie
Christmas 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
Christmas Eve
(Las Cruces, NM) Our family always has our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. So Mike and I were trying to decide what we should have. Due to our heating problem, we can't use the oven. I was having a really hard time trying to figure out what we could have for Christmas dinner that didn't need an oven. I couldn't think of any traditional Christmas dishes that didn't use the oven. So we ended up having scrambled eggs and hashbrowns. One of many disappointments for the season.
Poor dogs - they didn't even get a Christmas. I'm sure this was okay by Wazzu as she finds Christmas very stressful. Sparkie however loves Christmas as she enjoys opening everyones presents for them! Slugger enjoys having so many people around. And poor Boogie - not a very nice first Christmas for him at all.
While we didn't have any special gifts for the dogs we did give them something to chew on. We gave Wazzu a nice big bone but as you can see she wasn't impressed one bit.
We figured Boogie wouldn't lick himself if he had something to chew on so he got to have his life ring removed for a little bit. I think he enjoyed that as much as he enjoyed the beef trachea.
It's been a few days now since Boogie's surgery and today was the first day he'd been able to figure out how to sleep in his favorite position. Well at least we had one victory today!
Besides being very cold, I was a little sad today as for the first time in many years, our entire family was getting together for Christmas. Well everyone was there except us. Due to Boogie's surgery and, as it turned out, the bad roads - we were precluded from being home as well.
Temps are getting colder each day....and while the days this time of year are the shortest, they are seeming very long to us.
Debbie
12/24/07
Poor dogs - they didn't even get a Christmas. I'm sure this was okay by Wazzu as she finds Christmas very stressful. Sparkie however loves Christmas as she enjoys opening everyones presents for them! Slugger enjoys having so many people around. And poor Boogie - not a very nice first Christmas for him at all.
While we didn't have any special gifts for the dogs we did give them something to chew on. We gave Wazzu a nice big bone but as you can see she wasn't impressed one bit.
We figured Boogie wouldn't lick himself if he had something to chew on so he got to have his life ring removed for a little bit. I think he enjoyed that as much as he enjoyed the beef trachea.
It's been a few days now since Boogie's surgery and today was the first day he'd been able to figure out how to sleep in his favorite position. Well at least we had one victory today!
Besides being very cold, I was a little sad today as for the first time in many years, our entire family was getting together for Christmas. Well everyone was there except us. Due to Boogie's surgery and, as it turned out, the bad roads - we were precluded from being home as well.
Temps are getting colder each day....and while the days this time of year are the shortest, they are seeming very long to us.
Debbie
12/24/07
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Brrr
(Las Cruces, NM) It's just getting colder! Fortunately Meg had a couple little space heaters that she lent to us. I can't imagine what we'd do without those!
When we awoke Saturday morning the temperature in the RV was 47. Can you imagine how cold it would be without those space heaters going 24/7? I don't even want to think about it!
Talk about a true Three Dog Night! In our case though it just turned out to be a two dog night as we only have two dogs that like to sleep under the covers. In fact, it doesn't matter whether it's summer or winter, Slugger and Sparkie both insist on sleeping under the covers. Wazzu won't get on the bed no matter how hard you try to coax her. And Boogie sleeps in his crate.
It's much colder on the floor and we were worried about Boogie getting cold especially since he just had surgery. So we put an electric heating pad under his bedding to help keep him from getting too cold.
It's so cold during the day that Mike doesn't even want to venture out to hike the dogs. So we've just been staying inside huddled around the space heaters.
Little Boogie has been having trouble figuring out how to rest well as his head can't reach the floor with his life ring on. So Mike was nice enough to put his foot under Boogie's chin to hold his head. Finally Boogie could rest well.
Glad someone is resting well!
Debbie
12/22-23/07
When we awoke Saturday morning the temperature in the RV was 47. Can you imagine how cold it would be without those space heaters going 24/7? I don't even want to think about it!
Talk about a true Three Dog Night! In our case though it just turned out to be a two dog night as we only have two dogs that like to sleep under the covers. In fact, it doesn't matter whether it's summer or winter, Slugger and Sparkie both insist on sleeping under the covers. Wazzu won't get on the bed no matter how hard you try to coax her. And Boogie sleeps in his crate.
It's much colder on the floor and we were worried about Boogie getting cold especially since he just had surgery. So we put an electric heating pad under his bedding to help keep him from getting too cold.
It's so cold during the day that Mike doesn't even want to venture out to hike the dogs. So we've just been staying inside huddled around the space heaters.
Little Boogie has been having trouble figuring out how to rest well as his head can't reach the floor with his life ring on. So Mike was nice enough to put his foot under Boogie's chin to hold his head. Finally Boogie could rest well.
Glad someone is resting well!
Debbie
12/22-23/07
Friday, December 21, 2007
Boogie Won't Drown
(Las Cruces, NM) Little Boogie is not a happy camper. He cries often and looks really sad. Fortunately he sleeps a lot too. To top off the pain he is in, his ego is hurt a little bit as he has to wear this pretty blue "life ring" for a couple weeks. Such a sad little face.
While I am staying home taking care of Boogie, Mike is taking the big dogs out on a hike each day. It's really cold so they are trying to do their hikes at a brisk pace. Slugger thinks this is very tiring.
All seemed fine when we went to bed Thursday night. But in the middle of the night we got very cold. As it turns out the heater stopped working (this is just one day after Boogie's surgery). When Mike got up in the morning he tried to fix it but he couldn't find the problem. Everything looked okay - it just wouldn't work. So no hot water and no heat!
Mike called all around but everyone is off for Christmas (people sure start celebrating early!) and won't be back to work until the Wednesday after Christmas. Unfortunately the temperature is in the 20's at night and the 40's during the day.
It's only been one day and I'm already tired of being cold.
Debbie
12/20-21/07
While I am staying home taking care of Boogie, Mike is taking the big dogs out on a hike each day. It's really cold so they are trying to do their hikes at a brisk pace. Slugger thinks this is very tiring.
All seemed fine when we went to bed Thursday night. But in the middle of the night we got very cold. As it turns out the heater stopped working (this is just one day after Boogie's surgery). When Mike got up in the morning he tried to fix it but he couldn't find the problem. Everything looked okay - it just wouldn't work. So no hot water and no heat!
Mike called all around but everyone is off for Christmas (people sure start celebrating early!) and won't be back to work until the Wednesday after Christmas. Unfortunately the temperature is in the 20's at night and the 40's during the day.
It's only been one day and I'm already tired of being cold.
Debbie
12/20-21/07
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
In Stitches
(Las Cruces, NM) We met with the vet that was going to operate on Boogie and immediately felt so much more at ease. She could immediately see the problem and knew just what needed to be done. And even though this is a rare condition, not only has she seen it before, she has done the surgery successfully.
Meg, one of Boogie's breeders, was there with us for the initial appointment. And before we even got out of the exam room, Harriet, Boogie's other breeder had joined us. Talk about support!
The vet was really nice and offered to let all of us watch the surgery. Mike opted out before the offer was even out of her mouth! Mike faints just at the sight of x-rays. In fact, once when a vet was moving Sparkie's leg around and Sparkie screamed, Mike threw up and had to leave the room. So watching a surgery was out of the question!
Boogie was given an initial injection to make him groggy - and after about 15 minutes he was wondering what the heck was going on. He was then given another injection and he was out pretty quickly after that.
He had no idea that he was being shaved in preparation for his surgery.
Then he was taken into the operating room and got all hooked up and tied down.
While they were getting everything ready I kept a close eye on the monitor. He had a nice steady heart beat.
But as soon as the surgery started (I'll spare you those pictures) his heart rate shot up sky high. They stopped, adjusted the anesthesia, and waited for his heart rate to come down somewhat. It was still really high but they seemed happy with it and proceeded to continue on with his surgery.
The vet said the surgery went very well. Phew. What a relief. I have no problem watching any kind of surgery whether it's on my dog or someone elses- in fact, I always find it very interesting. But I have a really hard time during the recovery period.
He actually did okay but like usual he had some interesting ticks while coming out of the anesthesia. For about 20 minutes he did an excellent Ray Charles imitation. Everyone got quite a kick out of that.
After a couple hours we took him home where he was not a happy camper at all the rest of the day. It's going to be a long night...good luck Mike!
Debbie
12/19/07
Meg, one of Boogie's breeders, was there with us for the initial appointment. And before we even got out of the exam room, Harriet, Boogie's other breeder had joined us. Talk about support!
The vet was really nice and offered to let all of us watch the surgery. Mike opted out before the offer was even out of her mouth! Mike faints just at the sight of x-rays. In fact, once when a vet was moving Sparkie's leg around and Sparkie screamed, Mike threw up and had to leave the room. So watching a surgery was out of the question!
Boogie was given an initial injection to make him groggy - and after about 15 minutes he was wondering what the heck was going on. He was then given another injection and he was out pretty quickly after that.
He had no idea that he was being shaved in preparation for his surgery.
Then he was taken into the operating room and got all hooked up and tied down.
While they were getting everything ready I kept a close eye on the monitor. He had a nice steady heart beat.
But as soon as the surgery started (I'll spare you those pictures) his heart rate shot up sky high. They stopped, adjusted the anesthesia, and waited for his heart rate to come down somewhat. It was still really high but they seemed happy with it and proceeded to continue on with his surgery.
The vet said the surgery went very well. Phew. What a relief. I have no problem watching any kind of surgery whether it's on my dog or someone elses- in fact, I always find it very interesting. But I have a really hard time during the recovery period.
He actually did okay but like usual he had some interesting ticks while coming out of the anesthesia. For about 20 minutes he did an excellent Ray Charles imitation. Everyone got quite a kick out of that.
After a couple hours we took him home where he was not a happy camper at all the rest of the day. It's going to be a long night...good luck Mike!
Debbie
12/19/07
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
East and Rest
(Tucson/Las Cruces, NM) Monday we had a very nice and, thankfully, uneventful drive from Tucson to Las Cruces, NM. After getting all set up, the dogs enjoyed running around a nice large fenced yard.
Boogie was sure he could find the gophers.
When I told him he shouldn't be digging he looked up and said "it wasn't me!" Right Boogie. Whatever you say.
Tuesday morning we took the girls to the really good chiropractor here in Las Cruces. She fixed both girls up nicely and they were to rest for the day. Wazzu thought that was a fine idea but Sparkie thought it was for the birds!
We ran a few errands while waiting for Boogie's consultation with the vet. Plans got changed so Boogie and we didn't get to see the vet today after all. We'll see the vet just before surgery that is scheduled for sometime tomorrow. That will work just fine.
So other than practicing a little bit of agility and rally with Boogie, we didn't do anything today. We're just waiting...... The dogs all think that this sitting around doing nothing is not fun at all. You'd think they never get to do anything. Poor doggies.
Debbie
12/17-18/07
Boogie was sure he could find the gophers.
When I told him he shouldn't be digging he looked up and said "it wasn't me!" Right Boogie. Whatever you say.
Tuesday morning we took the girls to the really good chiropractor here in Las Cruces. She fixed both girls up nicely and they were to rest for the day. Wazzu thought that was a fine idea but Sparkie thought it was for the birds!
We ran a few errands while waiting for Boogie's consultation with the vet. Plans got changed so Boogie and we didn't get to see the vet today after all. We'll see the vet just before surgery that is scheduled for sometime tomorrow. That will work just fine.
So other than practicing a little bit of agility and rally with Boogie, we didn't do anything today. We're just waiting...... The dogs all think that this sitting around doing nothing is not fun at all. You'd think they never get to do anything. Poor doggies.
Debbie
12/17-18/07
Sunday, December 16, 2007
High Speed
(Phoenix, AZ) Brrrr. It's chilly in the mornings now. We got up to do agility this morning and there was frost all over the ground and the agility equipment. All the doggies really like this - it makes them really frisky.
The trial this weekend is just a games trial. They are doing it in a very interesting way. It is a two ring trial. So they set up a Tunnelers course in each ring and divided the competitors into two groups - A & B. Group A ran one course while group B ran a different Tunnelers course in the other ring. Then when each group was done they switched rings. That way there were no conflicts and there were fewer course changes. Scores weren't posted until both groups had done each course. It was a great system.
I really like this club as they put on great trials. They reward the workers well with lunch coupons and coupons for money off future trials. In addition they have a hospitality tent for all exhibitors that is extremely well stocked all day long. They even have cheese sticks for the dogs!
The trial committee does a great job every time. And many of their members have become really good friends of ours. And another fun thing is that there are always a lot of border terriers there so it's fun to watch each of them run and imagine what Boogie will be like. What I've discovered is that he's going to sniff the ground while running. I guess I shouldn't be surprised - that's all he does now when we walk around! Okay, on to the trial.
All three dogs ran really well today - but had varied results. Sparkie was really fast and was running really well. But the last couple days her IBD has really flared up and she's been very ill. Today she was running a Weavers run probably the best I've ever seen her do. She was half way through the last set of weaves with only one tunnel left to finish the course when she suddenly popped out of the weaves and acted all scared. She was having a tummy cramp. Poor Sparkie - she was running so well. In each of the Touch N Go runs she ran well but just missed a contact. She ended up with a very respectable 3/6.
Wazzu was only entered in four of the six runs each day this weekend. And since it was cool today she was pretty happy. But she was a little stinker! She always wants to be right so she always goes exactly where she thinks I'm telling her to go. But today she was downright defiant. I was clearly telling her where to go and she just put on her blinders and went where she wanted to go! What a silly Wazzu. I thought it was fun to see her actually go out and just do what she felt like doing. I made her think she was a really funny girl and that she had really pulled one over one me. That made her even sillier. How fun! So she ended up going 2/4.
Slugger must have eaten some rocket fuel as he was really fast today. His little head was bopping up and down and his poor little feet were just going every which way. And he is actually looking for the next obstacle to do. And just as exciting is that he is listening to Mike and trying to go to the correct place. Today he did all of those things. He was so great today! However, there was one little hiccup. At one spot on the course he would stop and look and just stare off to the tents. We couldn't figure out what he was looking at but he did it every single run at the same spot. He'd just stand perfectly still and stare for a good five to ten seconds! You have to run really fast the rest of the time to overcome that. So that shows you how fast he was really running the rest of the time. In Weavers he was only .58 over time! And in Elite Tunnelers he was 1.09 over time. In Touch N Go he made time and came in 1st - even with a stare down with some invisible thing. Slugger ended up 1/3 but we were so proud of his effort today. He's getting back to pre-surgery form. That's very exciting for us.
Boogie just had fun sniffing every inch of the park. To be fair he did pay attention when I tried to get him to practice a tiny bit of Rally. He was very focused when we practiced his weaves and a jump. He's actually a very good boy on these days where he really doesn't get all that much attention. His favorite thing, other than cleaning the grounds, is sitting in the dashboard awaiting our return upon which he barks nonstop for almost ever it seems!
Sunday morning was chilly but it warmed up much more quickly than yesterday. That's not good for two of our dogs. Slugger ran really fast and didn't even do his staring routine on his first run of the day. It wasn't an easy course by any means and Slugger did great....but somehow he was called for a contact. Well bummer - but it's okay as we were just so pleased with how he ran. His next two runs he didn't stop either - progress! But he was much slower. He had a long break between his first and second run so he was still in nap mode when it was time to run. Unfortunately he didn't make time in the afternoon. He was still trying though - just more slowly.
Sparkie doesn't care about the temperature. Any day is a good day for agility. As usual she was running fast and trying really hard. In fact, she was perfect - she went right where Mike told her to go on every run. One Touch N Go run was very tricky. Sparkie was going to the correct place but, as can easily happen, Mike moved a flash too soon and pulled Sparkie off course. But the rest of their day was a thing of beauty. Sparkie ended up going 5/6 and placing right at top against some very strong competition. Some of the top contenders at the Championships are from this area so each run is very competitive.
Wazzu wasn't quite as excited as yesterday which I guess meant that she'd do my courses instead of making up her own. She was having fun on each run though - especially on one Tunnelers run. There was a sharp turn away from a tunnel they were headed straight at very fast. I wasn't fast enough to do a front cross so I did a blind cross and ran just as fast as I could while calling Wazzu. She came out of the tunnel and saw me running away really fast so she just started chasing me. She ran right by the tunnel and started running with me. What a silly girl - she thought it was very funny. I was laughing too which made her even sillier. We fixed our error in plenty of time and ended up going 4/4 today.
We had a great weekend with the nice afternoon temperatures in the high 60's and full sun. Many great dogs and really nice people. Interesting courses and fierce (but very friendly) competition. Just a great weekend all around.
The minute our last run ended we pulled out and made a beeline to Tucson arriving just in time to see the Survivor finale and football. The best thing about this RV park is that they have free high speed internet - which means I can actually do a post easily and timely!
High speed is good for both internet and agility dogs!
Debbie
12/15-16/07
The trial this weekend is just a games trial. They are doing it in a very interesting way. It is a two ring trial. So they set up a Tunnelers course in each ring and divided the competitors into two groups - A & B. Group A ran one course while group B ran a different Tunnelers course in the other ring. Then when each group was done they switched rings. That way there were no conflicts and there were fewer course changes. Scores weren't posted until both groups had done each course. It was a great system.
I really like this club as they put on great trials. They reward the workers well with lunch coupons and coupons for money off future trials. In addition they have a hospitality tent for all exhibitors that is extremely well stocked all day long. They even have cheese sticks for the dogs!
The trial committee does a great job every time. And many of their members have become really good friends of ours. And another fun thing is that there are always a lot of border terriers there so it's fun to watch each of them run and imagine what Boogie will be like. What I've discovered is that he's going to sniff the ground while running. I guess I shouldn't be surprised - that's all he does now when we walk around! Okay, on to the trial.
All three dogs ran really well today - but had varied results. Sparkie was really fast and was running really well. But the last couple days her IBD has really flared up and she's been very ill. Today she was running a Weavers run probably the best I've ever seen her do. She was half way through the last set of weaves with only one tunnel left to finish the course when she suddenly popped out of the weaves and acted all scared. She was having a tummy cramp. Poor Sparkie - she was running so well. In each of the Touch N Go runs she ran well but just missed a contact. She ended up with a very respectable 3/6.
Wazzu was only entered in four of the six runs each day this weekend. And since it was cool today she was pretty happy. But she was a little stinker! She always wants to be right so she always goes exactly where she thinks I'm telling her to go. But today she was downright defiant. I was clearly telling her where to go and she just put on her blinders and went where she wanted to go! What a silly Wazzu. I thought it was fun to see her actually go out and just do what she felt like doing. I made her think she was a really funny girl and that she had really pulled one over one me. That made her even sillier. How fun! So she ended up going 2/4.
Slugger must have eaten some rocket fuel as he was really fast today. His little head was bopping up and down and his poor little feet were just going every which way. And he is actually looking for the next obstacle to do. And just as exciting is that he is listening to Mike and trying to go to the correct place. Today he did all of those things. He was so great today! However, there was one little hiccup. At one spot on the course he would stop and look and just stare off to the tents. We couldn't figure out what he was looking at but he did it every single run at the same spot. He'd just stand perfectly still and stare for a good five to ten seconds! You have to run really fast the rest of the time to overcome that. So that shows you how fast he was really running the rest of the time. In Weavers he was only .58 over time! And in Elite Tunnelers he was 1.09 over time. In Touch N Go he made time and came in 1st - even with a stare down with some invisible thing. Slugger ended up 1/3 but we were so proud of his effort today. He's getting back to pre-surgery form. That's very exciting for us.
Boogie just had fun sniffing every inch of the park. To be fair he did pay attention when I tried to get him to practice a tiny bit of Rally. He was very focused when we practiced his weaves and a jump. He's actually a very good boy on these days where he really doesn't get all that much attention. His favorite thing, other than cleaning the grounds, is sitting in the dashboard awaiting our return upon which he barks nonstop for almost ever it seems!
Sunday morning was chilly but it warmed up much more quickly than yesterday. That's not good for two of our dogs. Slugger ran really fast and didn't even do his staring routine on his first run of the day. It wasn't an easy course by any means and Slugger did great....but somehow he was called for a contact. Well bummer - but it's okay as we were just so pleased with how he ran. His next two runs he didn't stop either - progress! But he was much slower. He had a long break between his first and second run so he was still in nap mode when it was time to run. Unfortunately he didn't make time in the afternoon. He was still trying though - just more slowly.
Sparkie doesn't care about the temperature. Any day is a good day for agility. As usual she was running fast and trying really hard. In fact, she was perfect - she went right where Mike told her to go on every run. One Touch N Go run was very tricky. Sparkie was going to the correct place but, as can easily happen, Mike moved a flash too soon and pulled Sparkie off course. But the rest of their day was a thing of beauty. Sparkie ended up going 5/6 and placing right at top against some very strong competition. Some of the top contenders at the Championships are from this area so each run is very competitive.
Wazzu wasn't quite as excited as yesterday which I guess meant that she'd do my courses instead of making up her own. She was having fun on each run though - especially on one Tunnelers run. There was a sharp turn away from a tunnel they were headed straight at very fast. I wasn't fast enough to do a front cross so I did a blind cross and ran just as fast as I could while calling Wazzu. She came out of the tunnel and saw me running away really fast so she just started chasing me. She ran right by the tunnel and started running with me. What a silly girl - she thought it was very funny. I was laughing too which made her even sillier. We fixed our error in plenty of time and ended up going 4/4 today.
We had a great weekend with the nice afternoon temperatures in the high 60's and full sun. Many great dogs and really nice people. Interesting courses and fierce (but very friendly) competition. Just a great weekend all around.
The minute our last run ended we pulled out and made a beeline to Tucson arriving just in time to see the Survivor finale and football. The best thing about this RV park is that they have free high speed internet - which means I can actually do a post easily and timely!
High speed is good for both internet and agility dogs!
Debbie
12/15-16/07
Friday, December 14, 2007
Boogie & Goliath
(Phoenix, AZ) After a nice fun play time down at the polo field here at Westworld where we've been since late Tuesday afternoon, we headed up north in the car to New River, AZ. Since we do so much hiking in desert areas where rattlesnakes live, we thought it would be a good idea to go through a snake proofing lesson. None of our dogs are afraid of snakes - Slugger even likes to play with them which is definitely not a good thing in many areas.
The idea of snake proofing is to get the dogs to understand that they shouldn’t go anywhere near a rattlesnake. From what we were told, all rattlesnakes smell the same. So the idea is to let the dog smell the rattlesnake and then get an unpleasant experience so that they’ll avoid rattlesnakes at all costs.
I am not in favor of shock collars at all. I know people use them to train various behaviors such as no barking, come, etc. I could never do that. In fact, I've been dreading this day for quite some time. But I know that in this instance it is being used for something that could save the life of each one of my dogs....and possibly Mike or me.
The first thing the trainer does is put a shock collar on the dog and attaches a light weight rope to the dog’s regular collar. He doesn't use full strength shock as he doesn't believe that is necessary - I was glad to hear that. After getting the collar and rope on we then walk the dog up to an empty wire and wood box. The reason for this is to show the dog that the box is not dangerous in any way.
From there we walk straight up to a box that has two rattlesnakes in it. The box is closed and locked (he just opened it so I could take a picture when the dogs weren't around). There is a double wire cage around the outside so the snakes can't possibly strike. I will say they all rattled to beat the band - they were none too happy we were there. They kept sticking their tongues out at me too! I'm so glad they are in a box!
The first dog we did was Wazzu since she is the leader of the pack (second to us humans of course). We are to just walk normally, straight to the box without calling or pulling on the dog.
Wazzu followed me to the box and even from a distance she immediately noticed there was something interesting in the box.
But as you can see she had no fear of it at all....she walked right up to the cage and stuck her nose right up against the cage. You can see why this training is so necessary.
I had told the guy that Wazzu is very sensitive so he had turned down the shock collar below where he normally sets it. Since Wazzu was showing interest in the snake he shocked her....no reaction. He did that three times and got absolutely no reaction. So he turned it up one notch. As you can see, Wazzu wants nothing more to do with the snakes.
At that time you turn and run away from the snake. About 20' feet away you then stop and coddle the dog....like, oh poor Wazzu, are you okay sweetie. Then you walk back toward the first cage. Wazzu wanted absolutely nothing to do with the cage and she wouldn't let me get close either.
From there we move on to the second box which also has two snakes. But these are much bigger - in fact one of them is named Goliath.
From there we walk straight toward the second box. This time we watch our dog's every movement. The reason is so that we can learn what type of behavior the dog does when it smells the snake. That way when we're out hiking we'll know what their signal is that a snake is nearby.
As you can see Wazzu was very leery and gave the snakes a very wide berth.
We approached it from a few different directions but there was no way she was getting near it. Good girl. Then we take the leash off and we walk up to the cage while watching to see what the dog does. Even though Wazzu always wants to be close to me she didn't take a step toward that cage. She circled very far around the cage. Perfect!
Next it was Slugger's turn. We were really curious as to how he would react as we had a little game when we had a house in Washington. There were lots of garter snakes in our yard. When it was sunny he would go snake hunting. At first he would jump away but as time went on he got more brave and went from being frightened to punching at them and finally to biting them. It seemed like a fine game at the time...but now I'm very sorry we let him do that. But who knew.
Mike walked him up to the first box. He was excited and eager to see what fun adventure awaited him.
He was extremely interested in what was in the cage.
Unfortunately I was too busy watching Slugger and forgot to take pictures at this point. When Slugger got shocked he jumped up in the air and did about three back flips before coming back down to the ground. I had warned the guy that Slugger is afraid of most anything - and he certainly was afraid of the shock. But for some reason he didn't connect that to the snake at all. As soon as he got done being the star acrobat he went right back to sniff the snake. On no - this is not the reaction we'd hoped for. Once again Slugger became a star acrobat. This time he then ran away. Good boy!
Now it was time to walk toward the second box. Just like Wazzu, the dogs are not supposed to want to go anywhere near the second box as they should be able to pick up the scent of the snake quite some distance away. But as you can see, Slugger is walking right with Mike toward the box.
Not only did he walk toward the box, he was still very interested in the snakes and walked right up to the box. He absolutely is not supposed to being doing this at this point!
Poor Slugger got shocked again - no acrobatics this time but he definitely reacted.
I think it finally sunk in - rattlesnakes are not good. Now when Mike tried to walk him near the box he took the widest berth possible.
The final test was to take him off leash and see what he would do when we all walked up to the box. Nothing doing! He walked to the other side of the yard and just stared at us. I think from the look on his face he was no longer interested in getting near those snakes.
In fact, the minute we all stepped away from the cages and went towards Slugger he ran to the car and wanted in. Poor guy. But I sure hope he understands now.
Next it was Sparkie's turn. Just before Sparkie was to start, Mike mentioned that she is part Whippet. The trainer was glad we mentioned that as he said he turns it way down for whippets and greyhounds. Sparkie eagerly walked toward the first box with Mike and went right up to it to investigate.
Suddenly she jumped in the air and screamed.
As she did that Mike started running away as he's supposed to do. Unlike the other dogs, she screamed the entire time. Good thing the trainer had turned the control down! Sparkie always has been our little drama queen. Poor Sparkie. But after a couple minutes she calmed back down.
From there it was time to walk to the second box. As you can see she didn't want to approach the second box. Good girl.
Like Wazzu, she caught on very quickly. That's really important as Sparkie is the one that goes out ahead of us and clears the area while doing her hunting. So it's most likely that she would come across the snake first.
When we took her off leash, she stayed very far away from the box looking very scared. I don't think she liked Mike being so close to the scary snakes. We're pretty sure she understands that rattlers are bad. Perfect.
Finally it was little Boogie's turn. He's never seen any kind of snake before so this should be interesting. He was gung ho right from the beginning. In fact, he was pulling me to the first cage.
Even as we got closer he was still pulling me so we could get to the prize sooner!
He was extremely curious about the snake.
Perfect time for his lesson.
But unlike the other dogs this just made him mad. He was going to show those snakes who's boss! He didn't just go investigate again - he charged them!
We knew border terriers were dogs that thought they were tough but the trainer said none have reacted like this - not even Boogie's half-brother Klev'r was this crazy. So we had to do it again. After the second time he was more cautious but still was getting way too close - there is no way he should be this close!
After leaning in a bit he was just getting more confident and going closer. What is he thinking??
Oh here we go again. This time Boogie decided to take off. Finally!
It was decided we should go to the second box now. It didn't phase Boogie a bit - he wanted to go right up to the snakes. Where is his brain!
So the trainer worked with him a little more. Finally he decided to carry Boogie right up to the box. The idea was that when carried close he should really start squirming (which he didn't do).
Then when set down he should run away from the box. Boogie did actually shy a little bit away from the box.
But instead of leaving like all the other dogs, Boogie circled the cage fairly close. He is one stubborn dog who thinks he is "the big man on campus."
We'll just have to wait and see how he does when we go back in a month for the re-test.
Now that we were done with the snakes, the thing we wanted to test now was to make sure Boogie wouldn't be afraid of the cages since the rats that are used for earthdog are kept in cages very similar to the ones we just used for the snakes.
Boogie had no trouble distinquising rats from snakes. He barked, dug, and bit at the cage. Phew. That was really good.
This training really wore the dogs out. They slept all the way home and for a few hours after that as we packed up the RV and moved to the trial site. I'm guessing they'll enjoy agility a little more than the snake proofing....as will I.
All evening I kept hugging the dogs and telling them how sorry I was - I really felt so bad. But Mike kept assuring me that we were possibly saving their lives. I know that - but it still hurt my heart to know we put our dogs through some pain.
Hugs all around.
Debbie
12/14/07
The idea of snake proofing is to get the dogs to understand that they shouldn’t go anywhere near a rattlesnake. From what we were told, all rattlesnakes smell the same. So the idea is to let the dog smell the rattlesnake and then get an unpleasant experience so that they’ll avoid rattlesnakes at all costs.
I am not in favor of shock collars at all. I know people use them to train various behaviors such as no barking, come, etc. I could never do that. In fact, I've been dreading this day for quite some time. But I know that in this instance it is being used for something that could save the life of each one of my dogs....and possibly Mike or me.
The first thing the trainer does is put a shock collar on the dog and attaches a light weight rope to the dog’s regular collar. He doesn't use full strength shock as he doesn't believe that is necessary - I was glad to hear that. After getting the collar and rope on we then walk the dog up to an empty wire and wood box. The reason for this is to show the dog that the box is not dangerous in any way.
From there we walk straight up to a box that has two rattlesnakes in it. The box is closed and locked (he just opened it so I could take a picture when the dogs weren't around). There is a double wire cage around the outside so the snakes can't possibly strike. I will say they all rattled to beat the band - they were none too happy we were there. They kept sticking their tongues out at me too! I'm so glad they are in a box!
The first dog we did was Wazzu since she is the leader of the pack (second to us humans of course). We are to just walk normally, straight to the box without calling or pulling on the dog.
Wazzu followed me to the box and even from a distance she immediately noticed there was something interesting in the box.
But as you can see she had no fear of it at all....she walked right up to the cage and stuck her nose right up against the cage. You can see why this training is so necessary.
I had told the guy that Wazzu is very sensitive so he had turned down the shock collar below where he normally sets it. Since Wazzu was showing interest in the snake he shocked her....no reaction. He did that three times and got absolutely no reaction. So he turned it up one notch. As you can see, Wazzu wants nothing more to do with the snakes.
At that time you turn and run away from the snake. About 20' feet away you then stop and coddle the dog....like, oh poor Wazzu, are you okay sweetie. Then you walk back toward the first cage. Wazzu wanted absolutely nothing to do with the cage and she wouldn't let me get close either.
From there we move on to the second box which also has two snakes. But these are much bigger - in fact one of them is named Goliath.
From there we walk straight toward the second box. This time we watch our dog's every movement. The reason is so that we can learn what type of behavior the dog does when it smells the snake. That way when we're out hiking we'll know what their signal is that a snake is nearby.
As you can see Wazzu was very leery and gave the snakes a very wide berth.
We approached it from a few different directions but there was no way she was getting near it. Good girl. Then we take the leash off and we walk up to the cage while watching to see what the dog does. Even though Wazzu always wants to be close to me she didn't take a step toward that cage. She circled very far around the cage. Perfect!
Next it was Slugger's turn. We were really curious as to how he would react as we had a little game when we had a house in Washington. There were lots of garter snakes in our yard. When it was sunny he would go snake hunting. At first he would jump away but as time went on he got more brave and went from being frightened to punching at them and finally to biting them. It seemed like a fine game at the time...but now I'm very sorry we let him do that. But who knew.
Mike walked him up to the first box. He was excited and eager to see what fun adventure awaited him.
He was extremely interested in what was in the cage.
Unfortunately I was too busy watching Slugger and forgot to take pictures at this point. When Slugger got shocked he jumped up in the air and did about three back flips before coming back down to the ground. I had warned the guy that Slugger is afraid of most anything - and he certainly was afraid of the shock. But for some reason he didn't connect that to the snake at all. As soon as he got done being the star acrobat he went right back to sniff the snake. On no - this is not the reaction we'd hoped for. Once again Slugger became a star acrobat. This time he then ran away. Good boy!
Now it was time to walk toward the second box. Just like Wazzu, the dogs are not supposed to want to go anywhere near the second box as they should be able to pick up the scent of the snake quite some distance away. But as you can see, Slugger is walking right with Mike toward the box.
Not only did he walk toward the box, he was still very interested in the snakes and walked right up to the box. He absolutely is not supposed to being doing this at this point!
Poor Slugger got shocked again - no acrobatics this time but he definitely reacted.
I think it finally sunk in - rattlesnakes are not good. Now when Mike tried to walk him near the box he took the widest berth possible.
The final test was to take him off leash and see what he would do when we all walked up to the box. Nothing doing! He walked to the other side of the yard and just stared at us. I think from the look on his face he was no longer interested in getting near those snakes.
In fact, the minute we all stepped away from the cages and went towards Slugger he ran to the car and wanted in. Poor guy. But I sure hope he understands now.
Next it was Sparkie's turn. Just before Sparkie was to start, Mike mentioned that she is part Whippet. The trainer was glad we mentioned that as he said he turns it way down for whippets and greyhounds. Sparkie eagerly walked toward the first box with Mike and went right up to it to investigate.
Suddenly she jumped in the air and screamed.
As she did that Mike started running away as he's supposed to do. Unlike the other dogs, she screamed the entire time. Good thing the trainer had turned the control down! Sparkie always has been our little drama queen. Poor Sparkie. But after a couple minutes she calmed back down.
From there it was time to walk to the second box. As you can see she didn't want to approach the second box. Good girl.
Like Wazzu, she caught on very quickly. That's really important as Sparkie is the one that goes out ahead of us and clears the area while doing her hunting. So it's most likely that she would come across the snake first.
When we took her off leash, she stayed very far away from the box looking very scared. I don't think she liked Mike being so close to the scary snakes. We're pretty sure she understands that rattlers are bad. Perfect.
Finally it was little Boogie's turn. He's never seen any kind of snake before so this should be interesting. He was gung ho right from the beginning. In fact, he was pulling me to the first cage.
Even as we got closer he was still pulling me so we could get to the prize sooner!
He was extremely curious about the snake.
Perfect time for his lesson.
But unlike the other dogs this just made him mad. He was going to show those snakes who's boss! He didn't just go investigate again - he charged them!
We knew border terriers were dogs that thought they were tough but the trainer said none have reacted like this - not even Boogie's half-brother Klev'r was this crazy. So we had to do it again. After the second time he was more cautious but still was getting way too close - there is no way he should be this close!
After leaning in a bit he was just getting more confident and going closer. What is he thinking??
Oh here we go again. This time Boogie decided to take off. Finally!
It was decided we should go to the second box now. It didn't phase Boogie a bit - he wanted to go right up to the snakes. Where is his brain!
So the trainer worked with him a little more. Finally he decided to carry Boogie right up to the box. The idea was that when carried close he should really start squirming (which he didn't do).
Then when set down he should run away from the box. Boogie did actually shy a little bit away from the box.
But instead of leaving like all the other dogs, Boogie circled the cage fairly close. He is one stubborn dog who thinks he is "the big man on campus."
We'll just have to wait and see how he does when we go back in a month for the re-test.
Now that we were done with the snakes, the thing we wanted to test now was to make sure Boogie wouldn't be afraid of the cages since the rats that are used for earthdog are kept in cages very similar to the ones we just used for the snakes.
Boogie had no trouble distinquising rats from snakes. He barked, dug, and bit at the cage. Phew. That was really good.
This training really wore the dogs out. They slept all the way home and for a few hours after that as we packed up the RV and moved to the trial site. I'm guessing they'll enjoy agility a little more than the snake proofing....as will I.
All evening I kept hugging the dogs and telling them how sorry I was - I really felt so bad. But Mike kept assuring me that we were possibly saving their lives. I know that - but it still hurt my heart to know we put our dogs through some pain.
Hugs all around.
Debbie
12/14/07
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