Look What Sprouted...

Who is this???

I feel terrible for neglecting this blog for the past month and a half, but life has really gotten busy. I've been working overtime hours at my job and the dogs, including a foster and now a new guy (more about that in a minute), have been keeping me very preoccupied.

Catching up with the gang:

Hokey's training is going well. Her contact training is now in the polishing stages and we're running full courses using all obstacles at full height. I've taken her to a couple of workshops just to get her out and working in some new places. I really love running her! I've not entered her in any more trials since sticking our toes in the water Memorial Day weekend and probably won't bring her out again until fall. Summertime is just too hot. I haven't given trialing too much thought. I'm disappointed that we still don't have an answer on jump height changes from USDAA as was expected the first week of July. I'm reluctant to enter her in any USDAA trials until I know what's going to happen. I may just stick with CPE or perhaps give UKI a try, until there is an answer. I did join the Jack Russell Terrier Club of America and sent in paperwork to have Hokey "recorded". I am planning to do agility with her at their Nationals in October.

I found a way to be able to keep doing a little bit of agility with Poppy! A friend of mine has her own little home-grown agility venue called Super Sport Agility. She holds tiny trials that are run very differently than trials in other venues; nested courses are set up once for the entire day; they account for for 3 different classes and several different levels. Up to 4 dogs per hour can come and run the courses and then the results are tallied up at the end of the day. The teeter is not really used, the other contacts are lower and you can choose to jump your dog at whatever height you want to jump them at; classes are only placed according to level and jump height is not factored into it.  It's PERFECT for Poppy because it is low stress on her both mentally and physically. Everyone has to start at the beginner level. I gave it a whirl in June with no expectations considering we don't really practice and she hasn't done any "real" agility for more than 6 months. Not only did she Q in all 6 runs for a "perfect weekend", placing 1st in 4 of them, she finished the two beginner titles AND was High in Trial dog. I'm so glad I've found a way for her to be able to do a little agility and be successful.

Poppy with her loot from the June SSA trial

Poppy and Ollie continue their training in nose work. There have not been any trials in this area, but there are a couple coming up in the fall. The first one will be at the end of September in Gettysburg. The entry period for that one occurred last week. Even though I am only allowed to handle one dog per trial, I threw both dogs into the pool for the draw in the hopes that at least one of them would be picked. Given that there haven't been any trials in the area, but there have been several ORTs, I figured the number of teams vying for the 38 spots would be large. I'm happy to report that Ollie was selected! Poppy ended up #8 on the waitlist, but since Ollie got in, I told them to remove her. Unfortunately my classmates ended up #23 and #25 on the waitlist which was a bummer. I was really looking forward to doing our first trial together. The next trial in the area will be in October and the draw period for that will be next month. I'll only be throwing Poppy into the pool for that one. Crossing my fingers she'll get in.

Adventures in Fostering:

My cutie pie foster, Clark

It's been a little over a year since my "failed" attempt at fostering brought Hokey into my life permanently. I decided I'd give it another go. This time I succeeded! Clark was brought up by MAJR, along with 4 other dogs, from a bad hoarding situation in rural VA. Here is a picture of just some of the hoard. That is Clark in the front leaning up against the fence with another dog's paw on his back.

Really, you wouldn't know he came from such a terrible situation. He fit into my house like he lived here all his life. And, stranger still, my dogs ALL loved him! He and Poppy became BFFs. Hokey picked on him endlessly, but he just let her and they enjoyed chasing each other around the house and yard. Even Ollie liked him!

The Odd Couple

Astounding rare Hokey behavior

Two Bros Bonding

Here are Clark and Poppy acting like complete hooligans until Hokey finally says "enough"!

He was great fun and we all loved having him here, but I knew his permanent place was elsewhere. After 3 1/2 weeks in my home, he found his permanent family via a mutual friend. They love him to pieces and he will be treated like royalty for the rest of his life. The picture on the right was sent to me by his new family about a week after he left. Looks like he's settling in just great. Talk about a Cinderella story complete with storybook happy ending.




The BIG News

So, that brings me to the latest and greatest news - there is a new canine member of the family! After Clark left, I decided I wanted to foster again right away. Meanwhile, I've not-very-seriously-at-all been thinking about adding another male to the household. The week Clark got adopted is actually one of, if not THE, busiest times for intake at animal shelters across the country. ACCT in Philly had 900 (!!!) animals come in through their doors over the period of one week. The influx was so large, it made the TV news. Since the shelter only has space for 600 animals, you can only image the heartbreaking decisions that were having to be made by the shelter staff. MAJR pulled 3 jack russells: two that had been owner turn in from the same person and one that had come in as a stray. The one that came in as a stray had no clue that the shelter was a scary place and that, without rescue, his demise was imminent. To him, life at the shelter was one big party and everyone there was a great friend. He quickly became a staff favorite due to his attitude. After hearing his personality described to me by the MAJR person, Ardis, who evaluated and later pulled him, I requested him as my next foster dog. He was with Ardis for a day and a half. She fell in love with him and nearly kept him herself. I took him knowing ahead of time that I might be interested in adopting him.

It turns out he is 100 kinds of awesome and is here to stay. I named him Sprout. He is 8 1/2 lbs of busy, happy, joy. He LOVES to play with toys! He loves to snuggle. He's smart as a whip, responsive, and so eager to please. I think he may be the easiest dog I've ever worked with. And I had promised myself my next dog would be "easier" for a change. Here he is learning down for the first time; he definitely didn't know it beforehand. This is less than 5 minutes after I trained it by luring and clicking. He got that in probably just over a minute, so I decided to go ahead and just put in on command. It's already 10x faster than Hokey's down.

And here we are playing with my "baby" tunnel. He's learning it's all part of the fun and games. 

So far, two of my 3 dogs like him. Poppy is ecstatic to have another playmate that will endlessly wrestle, play bitey face, and tug with her. And Ollie is always grateful to have a dog in the house that diverts unwanted canine attention from him. Hokey is the sole holdout and was my only hesitation in deciding to adopt him. She loved Clark. I think it was because Clark was a little wus and let her boss him around and bully him endlessly. She would hump him and bark at him to the point that I was nearly being driven mad. This picture shows her groveling after getting in trouble (the shakey no-no finger came out with a vengeance) for ceaselessly humping and barking at him. Although I'm sure she was back at it less than 5 minutes later.

This next picture shows Hokey being a scary crankasaurus because Poppy and Sprout are playing nearby. Unfortunately I've seen this face and the "I'm shooting lasers from my eyes while I act all sullen and sulky" look all too often in the past week since Sprout came to stay here. I'm pretty sure it's because he let her know almost immediately that he wasn't going to put up with her bullying crap the way Clark did. He HAS learned to give her respect and keep his distance, so hopefully that will help to ameliorate things. Every so often the bee in her bonnet will fly away and she'll actually play with him and have a good time despite herself, so I'm hoping she'll get over herself soon.

But I'm such a cute princess

I sure am looking forward to working with this new little guy. He is already such a joy!

The expanded family

Deaf Dogs Do Bark - Part 1

Recently I've had the pleasure of experiencing what it is like to become a foster failure. I had just signed on as a volunteer with Mid-Atlantic Jack Rescue when a urgent cry went out about a deaf jack in a shelter needing a temporary foster home for a few days over the Memorial Day weekend. Without an available place to go, the dog would not be able to be rescued. Her time was up. The shelter was full. With trepidation, due to Ollie's reactivity to other dogs and Poppy being so high-maintenance in general, I decided to answer the call. She had no place else to go and here was a life I could make the difference in saving. A small thing in the big scheme of things, but a huge impact on this little dog - and now on me. 

Her name is Hocus Pocus - I call her Hokey for short. She was found with her owner's body about 2 days after her owner had died and then taken to a shelter. The shelter attempted to contact family members to come get this poor frightened and confused little dog, but no one ever returned any phone calls. Being at the shelter must have been a traumatic situation for her - to be yanked out of her place of warmth and security, away from the one who loved and cared for her and placed in a cage where she got very little attention. Suddenly, she found herself in a strange place full of strange smells, strange vibrations, with unfamiliar sights and routines. A stressful and scary experience to say the least.

Hokey when she was at the shelter

And precarious - in a world where thousands of dogs get put down every day just for no other reason than not having a place to call home, very few people are willing to adopt a dog that is labeled as "special needs" or somehow seen as being more work than the average dog. Not to mention the lingering myths perpetuated even by some professional trainers and vets about deaf dogs - that they are unpredictable time-bombs, they all turn into biters, they can't be trained, etc. You can read more about these myths here:  Deaf Dog Myths. Cute as she is, Hokey's chances of being adopted before her time was up at the shelter were slim to none.

Then MAJR found her and put out the call. I answered. I welcomed this little dog into my home on a temporary basis. Then decided to stay on as her longer-term foster. Then, because I love her personality and because I love new experiences that allow me to stretch myself as a trainer, I decided to become a foster failure and adopt her myself.

My mind has never been weighted down by preconceived notions of what a deaf dog can and can't do. I've never believed the myths. Having trained several dogs with normal hearing, I know the primary means used for us to communicate is not based on what I tell them through use of my voice or other sound, but rather on them picking up cues from my body language. Years and years ago, when I trained my schipperke in obedience work, I often put him through his paces using nothing more than hand signals. Ollie is able to navigate an entire agility course without me ever opening my mouth. Sound is just another tool; it is not a necessary one.

The title of this entry is "Deaf Dogs Do Bark" because one of the most common questions I get from people is "does she bark?". The answer is a resounding yes! She barks when she wants attention from me. She sometimes barks when she's in her crate and wants to be out. She barks at Poppy when they are running around the yard. She barks at certain sights out the window or through the fence. She sometimes barks when she notices the other dogs barking, but, not always understanding what she's supposed to be barking at, she might point herself in the opposite direction from what they are barking at. When she first came to live with me, she would try to solicit food from me by barking at me every time I ate in front of her. I suspect it was bad habit that had been reinforced in her former home. I quickly and easily put an end to the behavior and now she either is in a down/stay or curled up on the sofa while I'm at the table eating. She also quickly learned that the kitchen is forbidden territory during any food prep activity.

The point that I'm trying to make with this entry is not to say "yes, deaf dogs bark". It is to say, a dog is a dog is a dog. Deaf or not. Hokey is a normal dog in every way. I'm able to communicate with her and train her, just as I would any other dog. She barks. She likes to play fetch with balls and other toys.

She likes to play tug. She likes to harass Poppy and/or engage her in a game of chase and wrestle in the yard. She loves food and treats and is eager to work for a reward. She loves nothing more than to curl up in my lap - in fact, that's where she is now as I type this. She is sometimes naughty. And true to her breed, she can be stubborn and sometimes, albeit not often, downright defiant. In other words, she is a normal Jack Russell Terrier. Her deafness is only one component of who she is as an individual, but it does not define her.

In Part 2, I will discuss special considerations that are specific to her training.

Why I Have Rescue Dogs

I originally posted this on 7/7/12, but decided to scrap that blog and redo it with a new focus, so restoring this post as the first here.

Originally, I was going to dedicate this first "real" post to introducing my dogs. In a sense, I suppose this will still accomplish that goal, but in a very different way that I originally imagined. I watched this short video last night before hitting the hay and it brought me to tears:
http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2012/07/the-way-home-rescue-shelter-walking/

AND it got me thinking and waxing philosophical.
First of all, this hit very close to home. I recognize this. The place is slightly different, but the situation is nearly the same. Nearly 10 years ago I was head veterinary technician at a clinic within an animal shelter in Massachusetts. The shelter had partnerships with a rescue group in Puerto Rico and a high kill shelter in southern rural Virginia. The Kentucky shelter in this video and the faces of the dogs shown especially remind me of the situation of that VA shelter. Countless dogs, mostly whole litters of puppies, passed through my hands on their way to better lives. They were dogs that would otherwise would have been euthanized - most before they had the opportunity to truly live as most were puppies between 8 - 14 weeks old. But almost none of them would have ever gotten that opportunity had the partnership with the shelter not been in place to bring them northward toward loving homes where they would become wanted companions. They were the lucky ones that got the opportunity to live and blossom. A multitude of dogs - all worthy of living a full life and experiencing the love and companionship offered by a home and giving back all the love and devotion a dog could possibly offer in return. No less worthy than any purebred destined for the show ring or performance sport or even house pet - although, for some reason, society seems to deem them less worthy. Why? They are just as capable of loving, learning, and demonstrating devotion to their owners as any other dog. The purity of love cannot be, and SHOULD NOT be, determined by the purity of bloodline.

I now have three rescue dogs:

Ollie, my oldest dog, came to me through a program similar to the one shown in the video. He originally ended up in a high kill shelter in WV after being picked up as a stray. He was one of the fortunate ones as he was selected to be brought north to the rescue I eventually adopted him from and has gone on to become a multiple champion in the sport of dog agility. Who would have thought this little hillbilly dog, once in danger of ending up as a casualty of an over-crowded shelter, was capable of shining so brightly? But shine he has!

Poppy. What can I say about this dog I have grown to love so much my heart can't begin to contain it? I have no doubt had I not taken her when I did, she would no longer be here on earth. When I adopted her from the shelter at 6 months of age, she's already been through several homes and shelter situations. She was more than difficult to live with - severe separation anxiety and barrier anxiety, extremely high energy, no clue about being housebroken, constant and annoying attention seeking behaviors. In other words, NOT a dog for the average pet home. That first year living with her was beyond difficult. Yet we both survived and came through with a tight bond. Although she has enormous potential for agility, her ring stress, noise sensitivity and her worry about being "wrong" has proven to be a serious barrier to her reaching her true potential. It does not matter to me. My bond with her looks beyond all my hopes for her agility career. Her greatness lies with who she is as an individual: her crazy personality, the way she can make me laugh like no other dog, and her complete and utter devotion to me. She does everything with intensity - including love. That is far more rewarding than any 50 cent ribbon or acronym appearing after her name.

And then there is my latest edition - Hocus Pocus - who I am still getting to know, but who I've already begun to form a good working bond with. "Hokey" is considered a special needs dog because she is deaf. Breeders often euthanize deaf puppies and deafies are usually at the top of the euthanasia list when they end up in shelters because their "disability" makes them less adoptable. There are a lot of myths out there about deaf dogs - they can't be trained, they are dangerous because they are too easily startled and turn into biters, etc. If people would simply understand how ridiculous that is. Are deaf people unable to learn? Are they inherently dangerous? No. They are simply people like any other. Hokey is no less of a dog than any other just because she can't hear. She acts like any other dog. She is just as capable of being trained, forming a bond, showing love and devotion than any dog that can hear. She is a dog first and foremost. Most people would not realize she is deaf if I didn't tell them. Here is a video I made of us working on training together:
Hokey Training
Why should a dog like this, absolutely capable of achieving great things and, most importantly, being a devoted companion, not be as worthy of life as any other dog?

Three wonderful dogs. But only three. Three out of thousands and thousands of dogs on any particular day who need homes and are in danger of dying merely because they happen to be classified as "unwanted". Too many dogs never get past the "unwanted" category. They never get their chance to shine. The never get to be loved or show all the love they have to offer. That is a real tragedy. I can't understand why people continue to breed dogs and purchase dogs while others go wanting and end up dying simply because there are too many and/or they are not the right "kind". I can't, in good conscious, do that. That is why I have rescue dogs and why I volunteer. Not because of any great feeling of satisfaction I get; it has nothing to do with my ego. It is because the eyes of too many beautiful, wanting, hopeful-until-the-end dogs haunt me and I feel I need to do what little I can to help to give them the opportunity to know what it is to be loved and wanted. It is my wish that you will too.