After Death Experiences

My dog, Jack, died on 12/23/2009.   I have not experienced anything unsual after his death.   I wish I did, but then again, I hope he's on to bigger and better things.   My sweet boy deserved everything life had to give him, and I can only hope he is back on his way to more adventures.

However, I do believe that I have had contact before.   My cat, Clyde, died many years ago.   He was very old, but it was especially taumatic for us because we needed to help him along via a vet.   I returned home with my husband sobbing, and then stopped suddenly.   I heard the distinct sound of his purring.  Clyde had an unbelievable ability to purr so loud it WOULD wake you up, even if he was in another room.   I believe I heard it distinctly that day, as if to say "don't worry, I am all right".

To leave the pet category for a moment, my Grandmother also died many years ago.   Although she died in a nursing home, her house was vacant without owners until her passing.   I felt the need to drive over, and sit on the stump of the boison berry tree that I climbed in my youth.   As I drove into the driveway of her house, I smelled her perfume, which was a rose type of perfume.   I can't conjure up that smell if I try, but I smelled it distinctly that day.  Also on a day of a big decision (which I can not remember now), a music box that had not been played in ages went off.   I attributed that to my Grandmother's approval or wish of good luck.

A few years before my Grandmother, my Grandfather died the day after Thanksgiving.   I felt someone distinctly tug on my pony tail after he died.   There was no one else in our house.

How about others?   Any after death experiences that you attributed to passed love ones?

Jackie, CD Passed this Morning Around 5 AM

I just can't express how heavy my heart is right now.  A chunk of my heart was ripped out this morning by three words uttered to me by my husband upon waking..."Jack is dead".   Whatever had laid dormant until the "hairball incident" finally claimed our Jack.  

Jack was still warm when I rushed to his side.   Robert had been checking on him all night, and had last seen him alive at 3 am and drinking water.   I touched him at 5 am, and he was still warm.   I thought "oh he's still with us, Robert was wrong."   Alas, my beautiful boy had indeed gone.  His paws were getting cold, his gums were icey, but other parts were still warm.   He must not have left too long ago.  

It's so unfair.   You put all this love and care into this life, and it's ripped from you before you are ready.  We have been lucky in that Jazz died of old (and I do mean old) age, both our cats (Clyde and Mustache) died of old age, and our dog Neptune died of heart disease but he lived a couple more years than expected.   It was no fun, but we were more prepared for the deaths of our previous pets.   Three of old age, and one that lived with a very serious heart condition longer than expected.

Jack had barely been sick a day in his life.   Before coming to us at the age of two, I understand he had a few obstruction surgeries.   He a list of behavioral issues that came with him, some of which I expect came from this thing dwelling inside him.   My husband and I ironed out a lot of those behavioral problems so the list was short, and spent a lot of time working with and having fun with him.   Jack loved spending time with us.   He was such a smart dog, and so loving.   He was a foster that was supposed to go back to DRU, and then go onto another family but he wormed his way into my heart.   I could not let him leave, and try out another few homes.   He had come home to live with us as his final destination.

He and I shared a huge accomplishment in getting his Companion Dog.   I would have never thought Jack (due to his dog aggressiveness) would have been capable.   I should say especially with me, never handling a dog in competition before.   Jack stuck with me though, and we both completed that adventure together.   Had we been dealt better odds, we probably would have gone on to do more things.   Jackie was an amazing dog.   I admired his ability to find anything dead or alive in the woods.   Few things crack me up more than remembering the "turkey incident" with Jackie, and the look of pure joy on his face as he chased a very angry turkey towards me.   Who knew turkeys had a temper?   And that when I called, Jack off the turkey that the turkey would go after Jack.   Or the time he danced into our yard with the deer leg in his mouth.   Things with Jack WERE NOT dull ever.   He loved the woods, and he loved his dog friends that he accepted.   Most of all, he loved his family.  And I assure you his family loved him back in return.

I just wish he was still here.   I still can't quite believe that he isn't.

Skiing Lessons Relate to Dog Lessons-Day 2 Vacation

I was able to leave the dogs today to attend my lesson and ski.   I am not overly protective of my dogs, but a health issue happened that I will get into on another post.   In the meantime, an epithany came to me regarding my ski lessons.

In my ski lessons, I am the paying customer.   Each year I pay an instructor named Jose (pictures to follow at a later date) to tell me where my skills improve, to boss me around while practicing those skills, and to select the best terrain to challenge my skills.   Often on the other side of this relationship, I think "if only my these nice people would hold the leash correctly, or walk straight in a way the dog understands, or hold their right hand with the leash straight by their side instead of floating"...If only they would do that, their homework and training would flow so much better.   Often, I am just happy they have done their homework, and we can fix out the kinks anyway.   The most important part is that the homework is done, but I wish people would realize that those other minute things, and committing them to their motion memory is equally as important.   Imagine the decrease in frustration and stress this would cause.

However, it took me many years (not weeks) to begin to learn this lesson myself:)   I resolved to implement and focus on my lesson today.   There is a reason that Jose tells me to lean on the tongue of my ski boots, to face the way my skis are going rather than up hill, to put my body weight downwards not upwards of the mountain, to plant my poles on the steep terrain turns, to stop looking at my skis and watch the tracks ahead of him, and to stay in his tracks so he knows I am doing well.   At the end of the lesson, I felt that I had accomplished more in any other lesson.   My mind was whirring with the information, and I was fighting the wrong motion memory in my body.   At the end, I had begun the reprogramming process, and I lasted three hours on some of the steeper terrain that I had done in the past.

Yeah me.   Remember there is a reason that you are told to do things a certain way.  In the end it's not only for the success of an inter species relationship, but everyone's safety as well.

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Doggie Vacation Day Angst - Day 1

The dog's vacation preparation started the day before we left. The first order of the day was to accustom our dogs to the rental Dodge Durango, which was Necessary as the Nissan was in the shop. Dogs have no idea the pleasures that await on a vacation, especially if this is the first time.




As a baby puppy, Leon, had come over on a plane, went on a trip to MO with me for a seminar, and went on our last ski vacation until now. In that time, our two current vehicles were the only ones that Leon had ever been in. I often joke that my Nissan is like Leon's baby crate. He used to travel with me from lesson to lesson, before I bought a place big enough to have lessons at in my Nissan all the time. Once he goes in, generally, it's nap time. So poor Leon did not know what to make of the bohemoth rental car.



Jack was less concerned, and settled himself in shortly. Leon needed a bit of a trip to the thrift store to find some cheap stuffed toys for him to suckle on. He was much better after that, but definately stuck in his "happy place" suckly trance.



I was so glad that we road around doing errands the day before in our truck. As much time as you try to spend accustoming your dogs to change, if you haven't in fact traveled for years with them, it can be a shock to the system. They have no idea long two hour hikes await, and that the rest of the day not skiing is meant to cater to them:) So we had a bit of time to start and acclimate them to the most recent new change. The next day the dogs were quiet and mostly asleep for the four hour ride (snow, or it would have been 2 hours) to Mount Washington NH.



But wait, there was a next challenge. We live in a wide open rural settings, and got a condo on the second floor of a development this year. It's right off the state park trails that the dogs are going to love. Before enjoying that, however, we needed to brave the "apartment like" steep stairs complete with see through balcony railings so the dogs could see the ground below. They, especially Leon, are still getting used to this.



To Be Continued...



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It's Okay to Admit Mistakes Isn't It Dr Dunbar?

There are two Dogstardaily postings that have me a bit puzzled. Dr Ian Dunbar talks on two trainers posts, that don't seem to be linked, where those trainers talk about mistakes they made with their dogs either under another trainer or with themselves.

Dr Dunbar goes out of his way to argue with these trainers own observations. What puzzles me is why? It's okay to acknowledge when we make a mistake or our thinking changes. Mistakes make us not change all things sometimes, but also recognize the individual personalities of dogs.

My suspicion on why he disputes these owners observations and feelings, is to fight the battle of dog politics. I wish we could all concentrate more on dog training, the lessons we learn, and the content that we can bring. Everything does not need to be disproven, it is not about egos here!!! Many Dog Personalites + Many Human Personalities + Many Pack Set Ups (a pack being more than one being) = Many Possible Solutions and Outcomes

I would love to have seen these postings that he is talking about, as I suspect there are some very important observations there. If anyone knows where I can find the originals, here is the links to Dr Dunbars most recent blogs:

http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/bad-puppy-classes
http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/can-too-much-socialization-ruin-puppy  (oops sorry, this one does have a link to Turid's blog, and I will have to read that momentarily)

My first dog, Jazz, had to suffer through my lack of experience when I was not a dog trainer.   Luckily she was a healthy and patient teacher.   Since the time where I was not even learning from a trainer, I have learned that putting pressure on the butt or back is not optimal and can make a condition that you haven't found worse.   I now mold my dogs, and wish I had known about that (Koehler of course) as a gentle way of guiding your hand down the back and cupping the bum.   Also great for discovering up and coming health issues in your dog's physicality.

There are tons of mistakes that I had made which I now know better.   It's okay to own and admit to them, and better yet pass off that knowledge to others, and perhaps you can avoid them from making a similar mistake.  Noone who is not evil does this with malice and the intent to damage their dog.   I do agree that guilt has no part in this equation.  I had a  client that made a similar mistake with her Great Pyrenes as Turid did.   In training, we found a better way to go about it.   If my client hadn't realized her mistake, you might thing her Great Pyrenes was unpredictable et.   To acknowledge and learn is a great thing.

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and coming to the Portland Examiner online soon!!!!

Forget Spring Cleaning, Spring Trials Await!!

In the cold of winter, It's always a challenge to find matches in which to test out your training.   At these matches, you can also test out what your score might be if you  would like.   Saccarappa Obedience club is holding three of these events, which they are calling Super Sundays this year.   January 17, 2010; February 14, 2010, and March 21, 2010 will be the dates.   Located at Westbrook Armory Stroudwater St Westrbrook ME the Judging will be from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM.

Entries start at 9:00 AM.   The flyer can be found on this link. ***AKC event FYI.

Additionally, I have started to identify the AKC Novice and Open trials that we will be attending this year with Jack, Magoo, and Bri.   Collie Club of Maine is having their Portland ME trials on the 5th of March.   Collie Clug of NH is having their Amherst New Hampshire trials on the 19th of March.   Sadly I am missing Casco trials in Bath Maine around April 17th due to a week with five new boarding dogs:(   However from May 20th to May 23rd in Scarborough Maine the Vacationland and York Obedience club trials will be going on.   This is awesome because you have four in a row, so if your dog wierds out on day one, you have some time to get them acclimated.   This will be the first of the outdoor trials, which I am better at.   I have yet to get a leg in a "real" indoor trial.   Once got a leg in an enclosed outdoor trial, but that is a bit different because it was basically outdoors.

A couple of things to remember when scheduling events:

• Check who the judges are, so that you know if you will duplicate on or not.   Remember three legs must be under three different judges.   Course, I never assume I am going to get a leg, so if one judge is going to be two places, then that next trial will just be one more experience if I got the leg the last time.   I have to say, the AKC does try to really rotate the judges well, so it's most always not a problem, but check.
• If you are like me and own a business, be sure to either blank out the days for business, or have a qualified replacement.   Luckily the winter and early spring months are easy for me to get away.
• Matches are the hardest to find, because they are not online so much.   Sometimes, only internal club members may know when these are, if someone forgets to post them on the individual clubs online website.   The best thing to do is stay in contact with these club secretaries so you find out or subscribe to the listing that comes in the mail (however, I have forgotten how to do or find this LOL).
• By having a free online account with the AKC, you can keep track of your dogs events, schedule events, and be reminded before the closing dates of events come up.
• Infodog.com is an easy way to online enter into trials.   They can't always guarantee that you get in, and there is a fee for each entry of approx 15.00.   However, if I really want to get into that trial, I have found that I will more than likely get in using this service.

I will be looking at up and coming UKC events later.   I have heard you can modify exercises, and would love to have my dog Leon compete, if I could substitute stand for sit (bad knees).  Don't know if many of those events come this way or not.

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Training Here, There and Everywhere!!

Magoo is in training for AKC Novice.  We are still working on public performance before signing him up for his first trial.   I will need to see if there are any run thrus or matches (during winter here, that is a rare thing) that we can go into before our first attempt.   Worse comes to worse, we will use the crowd in Fitchburg to start to prepare him.

Right now, I have been taking him into the cities of Portsmouth and Kittery to prepare him for flexi pulling or off leash dogs that may run up to us.   He is a one year old puppy of 155 pounds right now.   The main thing he needs to know is that it is not playtime all the time.   Can you imagine this guy dragging someone down the street to play with some strange leashed dog?   I assure you he has the strength to do such a thing.

He's my big pink nosed spotted bunny.   The other problem?   Magoo is like bringing out a huge bowl of candy, and then asking that nobody take any.   It's fairly annoying to train him out in public, as some people just won't leave you alone.   If I am out in public with a well mannered dog, the public thinks I am not training as it looks so easy.   In fact, I am concentrating and paying attention.   That is why I have a well mannered dog with me.   People don't pay me so that their dogs look ill mannered.

When we were in Kittery this summer doing this but with less commands to work with, a family told me how happy they were that he was training with me as I was "so kind to him".   A lot of the time I am made to feel, by people who neither have met me in person or seen me, that I might have some horns peeking out under my hair.   It almost brought me to tears that this person, who was watching me train, said that.  Then their are people that don't understand why you would be training at all, if this isn't going to be a service dog, sigh.   Oh well.  I can only assume that perhaps they don't live with dogs.

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Preparation + Repetition + Challenges = Training Plan with Standards

Margot Woods, a fine writer and trainer, wrote the attached piece on training a retrieve.   Or the lack thereof on training a retrieve.   It's a bit tongue in cheek.  The pictures are a great way to make a point.

However, the point is probably not going to get across to a novice or beginning trainer.   It also won't get across to trainers who allow their training standards to be sub par.  The point that I got from this is that if you train an excercise to a lazy or imperfect standard, then the exercise will be performed to a lazy or imperfect standard.   It's not the dog who is failing, it is the trainer if their intent is something better than what was acheived.

Why does it matter if the exercise is done in a sub par manner?   Here I will differ from some trainers and say to some people with some dogs it will not matter.   However, Margot trains dogs to do jobs.   A dog can not do a job with a sloppy or lazy communication (ie sloppy or lazy training in the first place) from their trainer.   Not everyone needs a dog that can do a job.   Not everyone needs to train an aggressive or behaviorally challenged dog to a certain standard so that they are happy OR even safe in public.  Many of the public either should or do, however.   For those folks, it is important to know what real training consists of AND how to measure it against the standard that is being trained for.

Of course the questions being made fun in Margot's blog are all part of the training plan BEFORE your dog "knows XYZ exercise".   Many owners don't get that their dog does not know the exercise if there are a list of "except fors" and "other excuses" long of why the dog won't [insert command of choice here} at a certain time.   Being that this is something the owner/trainer comes in contact with fairly often, it is something that the training should have occurred in before one can call "training completed on XYZ exercise".

Hence why I am going to Kittery today to put Magoo through his exercises.   I try to do a different place with different distractions everyday.   Magoo is pretty close to being ready to compete in Class B Novice AKC obedience.  I am so looking forward to it, and want to make sure everything is done so that I can be confident for Magoo when we go in the first few times.   It's going to be hard enough without preparation.

Real life outside the ring comes with challenges for our canine companions as well.   Be sure to prep your best friend before expecting them to perform or behave correctly in trying circumstances.

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Getting Pickles and Sadie Ready for Home

These guys have not been getting along well at home. Leadership, training, and getting to know what their dogs are telling them will get this family along way towards keeping both their dogs at home and with them.

This is the best part of my job, and why I do this. I enjoy reuniting families and educating them on working with their dogs for the best and most optimal results.

Many factors are causing the problems in this case, keep your fingers crossed for Pickles, Sadie, and their family:)

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