dobedvm

This is such a new world - thank you all for your input. I've been training my current (first) BC in herding for the past year and a half - but there's so much to learn!

while I'm working my first BC in obedience after a string of dobermans, i have to agree - my BC doesn't mind repetition. though i have to say my others can handle it as well - a lot will depend on how we are working and what we are working. if my dog understands his job and understands that a reward is coming, why wouldn't he keep working? if anything, repetition gives me a chance to work on the eventual anticipation i will get

I have had some animals stay precisely for that reason - they cannot do everything all at once. But if this is a muscle strain, certainly they can get you on a home exercise program and they can do just the laser +/- massage at the visit and skip the UWTM (especially if you don't think she will enjoy it).

(my trainer is probably so thankful I found this board so I don't keep sending her messages!)

Next question - reading "Training Tips" by John Harrison in a old The Working Border Collie Nov/Dec 1991 - and he mentions about having a hard/fast dog and making yourself quieter - that meeting a hard/fast dog with hard commands isn't going to work on the trial field. Then he goes to talk about how if you have a dog that refuses to take a flank, that in training he would go and make him flank for 2-3 minutes, and then continue working and then later flank him and make sure he does it quickly/happily. Make flank for 2-3 minutes is just circle in that direction? or change back and forth?

Sorry to hear she's still that painful. I know you mentioned she's on Rimadyl - is she on anything else? How hard is it to keep her quiet at home? Hopefully you are able to stay with her - and in the other thread (maybe more appropriate here, oops) I mentioned some drugs you can try to give her prior to the visit. It's hard going to the vet when you have a dog that hates being handled - as a vet, I always appreciate an owner who will warn me their dog won't be happy. It's also a fine line of the owner restraining and helping the dog versus getting in the way or sometimes making it worse. If the owner is going to be around, I really want them to be SUPER calm and relaxing for the dog, not amping their fears up. When you go next time, if they won't be sedating her again consider skipping a meal and bringing her starving - take super great treats (not boring ones - bring out steak/chicken/cheese whatever she loves) so you can use that to work with her.

In a more natural option - there is a thunder shirt you can try to see if it takes the edge off her (not just for thunderstorms, but also for the visits), Adaptil (used to be DAP - dog appeasing pheromone) - I love the spray version for spraying down the car), or Solliquin as an oral chew.

There are a couple of options - first, do you know if your girl is MDR1 affected? I don't know if your orthopedic or your rehab vet is the best one to talk about this, or your referring vet who typically sees your girl - they would be the most likely one to prescribe meds used for daily use. The caveat of course being I haven't seen your girl - but in some dogs I have used clomipramine quite successfully for noise issues (one dog is even affected by the buzzing of insects). For some more isolated incidents I have been able to use things like alprazolam (xanax) for thunderstorms, and trazodone given daily to take the edge off some dogs who were just super reactive. Trazodone may be a great drug to give prior to your visits to enable both your orthopedic vet to examine her as well as them to do rehab - but in some dogs who are exceptionally painful i DO need to sedated them for the rehab. Trazodone can take the edge off the anxious dog but still keeps them quiet. I love it for post-op recoveries. Dexdomitor is the drug in Sileo - its just a very small amount in the oral (transmucosal) version, but the injectable is very useful in my clinic. The dose can be adjusted so less sedation is seen.

I was mostly joking (not sure about GentleLake but hope so!) - aside from the fact that I am sure my dog is the most handsome and I love his heeling (though others may not - there are many stylistic differences out there in any ring) - so in some way because he *is* capable of heads up, I have encouraged/rewarded him and pushed him to offer a more extreme version - currently working on a prance in the slow. We aren't everyone's cup of tea, that's for sure! When it all comes together and we are fully working as a team it's amazing. (Other times we are a hot mess)

Makes sense! Figure I will keep picking some minds then... A sticky dog - -is this one with so much eye that it gets stuck staring at the sheep instead of necessarily moving them? How about stylish? Is that simply referring to the crouch?

Thank you!

Well, I don't use heeling in daily life, this is purely a highly cultivated behavior that has lost any function in normal life (as is anything tested in an obedience trial today, isn't it?). Heeling style (in a formal heel, not loose leash walking type as discussed above) does all become about personal preference, doesn't it? No one else has to like my dogs heeling style but me, so I guess it truly is narcissistic

I'm a new(er) member of the board and have been sidelined for a week home from work (and training) with bronchitis and laryngitis. Which means for better or worse, I've been reading what I can on pedigrees, herding, etc. I've come across the term clappiness in a few threads and cannot for the life of me, figure out what it is?

Exactly - I just want to make it clear what is expected from the dogs. On off leash hikes I typically always have cookies to reward a good recall and I do have to say, the border collie in my pack does typically by the end try to offer heads up heeling because of the large pay off. He also knows what works and runs off just to come back. He's working the system! For me i think it's a mix - since I lure from the very start at 8 weeks old, it creates naturally (in a dog physically capable of it) a heads up position. My doberman cannot maintain that so she has a slightly above neutral with head turn, but the BC is capable of heads up and front feet flying - and I admit to loving how it looks, so I encourage it and train it.

Were you able to speak to the rehab vet, or did you speak to a technician or a receptionist when you picked her up? I would definitely address this directly to the doctor, and question if they cannot do things with you present, because it may be that a dog like her would do much better with the owner present. Some dogs do better when they are with their owners, and some dogs do better away from their owners. So ask for a visit with the doctor to discuss the case and have her work up an Home Exercise Plan for you. In terms of how she is, do your best to act like nothing is wrong and treat her as normal as you can, despite your own emotions. We all know how sensitive our dogs can be, and she needs you to be strong for her!