Hello, dog lovers! My name is Brittany I am certified in canine first aid, and use science based tra
We are moving!
And Rizzo feels a certain way about it.
We will be moving to to Alabama at the end of August. It will be really hard saying goodbye to the PNW. But, it won't be forever. My partners company gave him a deal we couldn't refuse, and we are super excited at the prospect of owning our own home.
Hopefully we meet new friends, and have new grand adventures. š
My friends: Come hang out!
Me: I canāt, I am sick.
Also me: Holding my cramping stomach and constantly runny nose as I hike up a mountain, while black spots dance in my view.
My dogs: Worth it.
I canāt not hike. I just canāt. I will also probably never feel better if I donāt actually restā¦
Rizzo, week three update. 11.2lbs
My sighthound is not pleased with rain. She will try to den under a tree instead of hike if it is wet out.
She already is working on sit, down, watch, shake, nose work for truffles, with me, vet handling, and chin. Plus, she seems potty trained already. She will run up and scratch on the door to get out, even when itās raining.
This pup is extremely smart, and has low threshold for discomfort. She definitely lets you know when she is OVER it, or is cold. She gets scattered puppy brain pretty easily, as well.
She is way easier to socialize then any border collie puppy, I have had. She runs right up to anyone and everyone. I have no doubt she will make herself everyoneās best friend.
The pro of a sighthound puppy definitely seems to be super social, smart, and cuddly. Cons so far would be easily distracted and low threshold for frustration/discomfort. VERY VERY VERY vocal when upset. Send prayers and thoughts to my ears. š«
All in all we are enjoying her like crazy! She has brought zest into our pack. I definitely think we will be doing sighthounds, and sighthound crosses from here on out.
Rizzo, week three update.
My sighthound is not pleased with rain. She will try to den under a tree instead of hike if it is wet out.
She already is working on sit, down, watch, shake, nose work for truffles, with me, vet handling, and chin. Plus, she seems potty trained already. She will run up and scratch on the door to get out, even when itās raining.
This pup is extremely smart, and has low threshold for discomfort. She definitely lets you know when she is OVER it, or is cold. She gets scattered puppy brain pretty easily, as well.
She is way easier to socialize then any border collie puppy, I have had. She runs right up to anyone and everyone. I have no doubt she will make herself everyoneās best friend.
The pro of a sighthound puppy definitely seems to be super social, smart, and cuddly. Cons so far would be easily distracted and low threshold for frustration/discomfort. VERY VERY VERY vocal when upset. Send prayers and thoughts to my ears. š«
All in all we are enjoying her like crazy! She has brought zest into our pack. I definitely think we will be doing sighthounds, and sighthound crosses from here on out.
Happy thanksgiving. This year I am thankful for this man. He has been a stable staple, and a true blue puppy raiser. I love how cuddly and sweet he has become. Three (almost four) years ago Gumby was raising hell, not sleeping all night, biting me, and whining none stop. He had horrendous separation anxiety, reactivity, and resource guarding. He bit me over everything. If I moved too quickly around him, If I stepped too close to his food. If a car drove past. He lost it vocally on bikes, people, pets, strollers, a twig snapping in the woods. He barely let me pet him, let alone hold him for any duration.
Now? I use Gumby to show puppies strangers are great! That there is nothing better then pet stores, and drive through coffee shops. Now we cuddly all night long, him being small spoon. Now he passes dogs, and bikes with only a bit of interest.
It took years of training, but also recognizing he needed more help. We actually ended up giving Gumby a low dose fluoxetine starting almost a year ago and it has made a world of difference for his noise sensitivity and arousal threshold. As a trainer we are taught training is enough, and there is definitely a stigma to adding medications into training protocol. But, I am really happy we did. He seems genuinely more comfortable in his skin. Plus, he isnāt sedated as many people told me he would be. He just seems like the same dog, but more relaxed and happy to engage.
He still gets reactive on a bad day. He still whines when I work other dogs, or if other dogs are playing. He still gives me hard stares when he chews things of high value. He still requires training, lots of exercise, and mental stimulation.
I am very, very thankful for this dog. I am thankful I didnāt give up on him, and I and thankful for all he taught me. He has turned into an absolute gem.
Apart from that I am also thankful for all our friends and family! Hermes recovery, and our new wheeeee lamb.
Me thinks, itās feral.
Thank you .k9s for the reminder to use Lowes as a socialization spot. Puppy did great despite the hustle and bustle. I also took the boys in individually for some one on one time. They were the perfect gentleman.
Hi! My name is Rizzo. I like to run at full speed right before I p**p, and drag my people along for the ride.
Hermes adult mane is really coming in! š So handsome!
Gumby is as always being a fun goober.
You, and me, and me, and you, and your friend, Steveā¦.
You, and me, and me, and you, and your friendā¦. Steveā¦.
Week 2! I didnāt have the bottle for this photo. Also, all the photos I have with the bottle this week are blurry. Iāll post in my story.
So far, I believe sighthound puppies to be dramatic. Which has been backed up by a lot of sighthound owners. A lot more vocal then my border collie pups.
That being said, still as smart. A week in and already she runs to the door to potty, sleeps through the night, and only fusses for 5 minutes before relaxing. She has been VERY social and outgoing with strangers and new dogs. She already is figuring out sit, down, and come. Such a smart girl!
Fruit bat and her dad. š¦
Twenty four hours into owning my first sight hound!
I want to do weekly progress photos of her growth. I picked out stones to manifest the personality of our first silken before Rizzo was born. It will now be used as a size comparison to measure her growth!
Since a lot of herding breed dog owners have asked Iāll be mentioning some of the differences I noticed with these updates. So far Rizzo is way more vocal then most puppies I have raised. She has literally cried at a food toy because she couldnāt get the last crumb. She has been slow to get used to being held captive be it a crate, xpen, or make shift barrier. She is very cuddly, and will push her muzzle into you. Also, she is the best of napper.
Thatās all I have so far!
Hermes bolts are in place! We will recheck in a few months to see how they are looking.
The neurologist had no concerns, and said his left leg looked fine ( itās been dragging, or stepping inward). However, two other vets looked him over and had concerns. They also saw what I saw, without me saying anything. So, we will keep working with his rehab to insure that things are healing well. It may be an unrelated issue to his spine. Also could be soreness from surgery/ walking with the LS joint in place for the first time. Really just hoping it isnāt nerve damage. Time will tell on that front.
All and all good news. Surgery remains successful!
Finally getting into the fall season!
Hermes recheck is tomorrow. And tomorrow canāt come soon enough.
Brothers that dig together, stay together.
Uhm, I already posted todayā¦ But, who is this handsome man! Gumby is such an underrated beauty. I really think my next border collie will be black.
Tiptoeing into the weekend, excited for the pumpkin patch and scary movies! šæ
Given everything going on with Hermes lately, I really want to advocate for dogs.
Normalize asking your dog ācan you do that? ā
And if not, āwhy canāt you? ā
Was the criteria too high? Did you not train that behavior up enough?Are the distractions too overwhelming? What if hormones are to overwhelming? Is my dog not fully physically or mentally developed? Is my dog not feeling good?
I am listening a lot to Cog Dog radio lately. It is heartening to hear people like Sarah Fisher, Jessica Herman, and other vet professionals talking about the importance of wellness in our dogs.
Did you know teaching a puppy/ adolescent to be in the heal position, looking up at you for long durations can cause distress on the middle of the spine and neck? Did you know you can help coax a dog out of fight or flight, by coaxing them into certain positions? Did you know dogs learn mostly through body language , and verbal cues are very hard for them to grasp?
We so often assume the dog is at fault. The dog is picky, the dog knows what I want, the dog is just being lazy.
When Hermes started coming slower to recalls I assumed it was adolescent mischief. He came, but he was slow to come. When Hermes snubbed food, I figured he was just throwing a tantrum. Possibly something had changed in his environment? Or he was just being a picky/nervy border collie.
Hermes desire to work with me never changed. But, his ability to keep going did. He didnāt want to disappoint, he didnāt feel good in his body.
I wish I had dig deeper into his GI issues earlier, and I am glad we caught his spine quickly. He has taught me, along with the other speakers I am listening toā¦That I must continue to ask dogs if they can participate. And if not, then why?
Sir, Honey Badger Herm Worm is resting easy. He is also, SO over the rest already. He has six weeks of very strict rest to go. We will get him in for physical therapy asap to learn just how long it will take before heās running around. I am over the moon š š to have this part of the journey over. Putting a pet under anesthesia for any amount of time is nail biting. Knowing he was having a very invasive surgery on top of it was nauseating. When the neurosurgeon called sounding particularly proud of himself, I knew we were in the clear. As someone who works with surgeons you can tell when they are on cloud nine, and when he said it went beautifully I believed it.
Hermes day consists of medications three times a day, lots of forced standing, potty breaks, trick training, nose work, massage on the legs, stretches, crate rest, and food toys. He still thinks this is not enough, and wants to know why I am a mean mom. He also wants to know why the no jumping on couch and bed has become a rule.
I am extremely happy this is only for the short term. Thankfully despite the sad eyes he is handling it all like a champ. I am glad he loves his crate, and is taking this all in stride.
We will continue to take things in stride and work with our medical team to asses what Hermes future looks like. For now it looks bright to me! Canāt wait to hit the trails with my boy again some day!
Hermes surgery is complete!!! It went smoothly and everything looks beautiful.
Good news:
Hermes should make a really lovely recovery! The neurologist said he has done these surgeries a lot on police and active military dogs. With great results.
Bad(ish) News:
Do to his LTV he is still at a higher risk for a herniated disc. So, we will have to weigh pros and cons of agility, and sports like disc. But, the surgical area shouldnāt be effected unless he encountered a really big trauma in that area. However, herniated discās are still low in the breed, so he might be fine. Itās just something we will have to debate. He really loves agility and so do I. So, I hope we can do it again one day.
His Dynamic Lumbosacral Stenosis is highly hypothesized to be congenital. There is no sign of injury on the MRI or when he went in for surgery. So he has probably been in pain since he was young. š Which made me cry a bit. Just glad we caught it now, before it got worse. He commended us on catching it quickly, and being diligent. We have carried Hermes up and down stairs, been cautious about high impact tricks, skipped disc dog seasons, let him rest often during activities, kept jumping bars low, and have been careful about hike length. All of this to insure he was orthopedically sound and developed prior to high impact sports. It is a weight off my shoulders to know I didnāt do this too him, and that we did the right thing.
The bestest news!
Hermes in the end should have a very full life! With possibly dabbling in sports on the horizon. It is all that I could hope for given the situation, and I am so incredibly happy. Hopefully, his recovery will be smooth and swift.
Special thanks to
for helping watch Hermes! You are the true MVP.
Part Three
Lastly, and here we go again! Pet insurance!!! Hermes is now a $12,000 dog. His MRI was over $4,000.His surgery is estimated to be over $8,000. We havenāt even gotten into the rehabilitation work. Which will probably be a six month to year long process. Luckily I already have $1,500 in physical therapy equipment from when we were doing it with Steven. I already have an emergency credit card which I have been building credit for years to get. However, that would be so much money to never see back, and would take forever to pay off. Please, please, please if you have pets consider pet insurance and build up a credit line to the best of your abilities. Most pet insurance doesnāt bill directly, it reimburses you. So a credit card you can toss the bill on is a must if you donāt have $5,000-10,000 on hand.
I work in an animal ER where I see so many pets who canāt get the care they need because people donāt have the money. Vet costs are on the rise, and I donāt think pets should only be for the rich, but I do think you should get pet insurance for emergencies like these. If you canāt afford pet insurance work at a vets if you can. You usually get discounts on pet insurance or medical bills ( usually around 50% off). If you canāt do either make sure you have a back up plan or family member you can pay back. Crowd sourcing can be successful, and can fall short. Not everyone has the finances to help as inflation rises. So make sure to formulate emergency plans prior to having them! Care credit is also another useful credit card for emergencies and is often used at my work when people donāt have the money. But, you have to be approved for it.
Part Two:
Since, I have gotten a lot of messages surrounding it If your dog is running with both back legs together (bunny hoping), switches what hind leg they favor, tires really quickly from training, has abnormally frequent urination, carries a leg constantly down stairs, waddles in the hind end while walking, improper tail carrying ( Hermes dives and stays to one side and he doesnāt have a kinked tail) . I recommend getting them checked out. Working bred dogs RARELY show pain. We caught Stevens LS disease too late. Damage was done, and irreversible. If we had caught it sooner we could have stopped degeneration with surgery or steroid shots. Spine issues are no joke. We caught Hermes early enough, and are able to stop degeneration before it even occurs. His spine and surrounding area are looking perfect currently. We got lucky.
As for LTV dogs can live normal lives without issue, it just heightens the risk of herniated discās. As for his Dynamic Lumbosacral Stenosis we will try to cut it off before it does more damage. But, obviously this may leave him more open to injuries in the future. These can both be genetic. I 100% believe his siblings should get tested. MRI and X-rays. So they go into sports with care and knowledge. Many dogs with LTV can have sport careers. They should just have an orthopedic vets hands on them often to insure they arenāt painful anywhere. The only way to test for LS or DLSS is MRIās.
Given the genetic component obviously I am sad, but relieved the litter wonāt be producing puppies, and that the parents wonāt be crossed again.
I am fairly comfortable with the idea of Calypso being bred again. Genetics are odd, and her up and coming litter could be fine. They could have unrelated issues. Breeding is not a set science. You have to do the best with the information you have. Calypso produces stable, friendly, sweet temperaments, while remaining biddable and driven. Which is a hard find in border collies. There is no such thing as a perfect dog. Every puppy has a risk. You just have to be comfortable with that risk. Working dogs have a high risk of spine and neurological issues. These are things to consider.
After more space from the initial shock of Hermes diagnosis, I feel pretty heartbroken.
I also feel a lot of fear. Iāve gotten two other vets opinions on the matter, and surgery seems the best foot forward. If we donāt the LS joint will continue to pop in and out of place and cause irreversible damage.
I fear that Hermes will have chronic pain after the surgery. I fear heās always been in pain, which given his diagnosis could very well be true. I fear that he will never be able to hike off leash again, never do barn hunt, agility, lure coursing, or other sports that he finds amazing. I fear the surgery will go wrong. I fear it wonāt work and we will head into degeneration.
Andā¦ Selfishly I am sad I may no longer have a sport prospect. Dogs with LTV can herniate a disc more easily, and Hermes will already be at a disadvantage since, he will have had surgery around that area. I am sad that he kills it in everything he does, and he might be handicapped in everything he does now. I am sad he will never have puppies. I was really hoping on having puppies, and grand puppies out of him. Heās such an absolute sweetheart, who is beautiful, and smart. I dreamed of pairing him with a higher drive female and continuing the lovely temperament his mom, siblings, and he has. I definitely am sad I will never get the opportunity.
If he is handicapped for sports/physical activities we will find ways around it. We can barn hunt with the rats on the ground. We can do NASDA a form of searching. We can truffle hunt, hike easy trails on leash. We will make do, and do our best.
I certainly didnāt see me having to make the calls of what he can, and canāt do so young. It breaks my heart. All that matters is that he is physically and mentally stable. I know we will do our best to provide that. However, I canāt help but feel a lot of heartache over these new developments. We were only a few months away from getting his OFAās done and being able to take agility ( a sport he loves) seriously.
In the mean time we will focus on water therapy, acupuncture, laser therapy, physical therapy, and nose work games with truffle oil.
An update on Hermes.
Hermes was diagnosed with Transitional vertebra (LVT) which means he is at a higher risk for herniated discs. He also has Dynamic Lumbosacral Stenosis.
We will be moving forward with surgery immediately to fix the Dynamic Lumbosacral Stenosis. Surgery will hopefully be scheduled for this month.
I am extremely devastated to be here yet again. It is a different spinal issue then Stevens. The prognosis looks better. The hope is to head it off quickly, so it doesnāt become degenerative.
My only words I can think of at this point is move fast if you think your dogs walking funny. Have pet insurance (not kidding).All Hermes did was walk like he was stiff. We got X-rays the day I saw it. When they looked clear I made an appointment for an MRI within the hour of hearing they looked good. I moved so much faster then we had with Steven.
With Steven we took the long road as the Orthopedic doctor advised. We crate rested, did physical therapy ( I bought $1500 in PT equipment for home), messages nightly, long leash walks, lifted her up and down the stairs, ext. Which was the worst thing we could have done for LS disease. She should have immediately gone to get steroid shots, surgery, and been on strict rest.
I am so grateful I did move quickly this time. We caught it, and because of that the spine still looks really good. There is no sign of spinal compression so far.
As for what this looks like in the long for Hermesā¦ I donāt know. I will wait to determine that. We will seek rehabilitation after surgery, and sport rehabilitation vets. To see what he can and canāt do long term. There is a rehabilitation center with acupuncture, a pool, and laser treatment near us. So, we will definitely take advantage. If he ever does agility or high impact sports again he will probably be retired young. The doctor did say police dogs with LVT still do their jobs without herniated discs. So never say never. He is at risk for a lot going wrong, even if surgery goes well.
Puppies have so much promise. We dream of what they will do, who they will meet, where they will go.
They are lovely little could beās. They could be agility champions, service dogs, search and rescue companions, camping buddies, best friends, and anything else we dream to try.
What we never imagine is what they canāt do. I am absolutely gutted for Madeline who may have to decide what Audacity can, and canāt do. I hope that what ever choice they make for her care, helps her to live her best life. I hope she recovers enough to hike again. But, no matter the outcome I know Daniel and Madeline will give her a full filling life along the way. My heart goes out to the them and their pack.
Iāve been watching Lord of the Rings a lot. This back drop is giving me dwarf kingdom vibes.š
Hermes and I have been working a lot on revamping his basic obedience, in preparation for a puppy!
This will be my husbands pup, so I will be a lot less hands on. I will still be over seeing and helping with training, making sure she hits certain markers. Such as impulse control work, engagement play, basic obedience, and socialization. This also means the puppy will be getting a lot of one on one time with him which is really important.
We have to make sure what ever puppy coming in doesnāt get overly bonded to Hermes and visa versa. I always recommend a two year age gap between dogs.That way they have time to bond to their people and donāt develop something similar to litter mate syndrome.
Hermes and I will continue to do a lot of one on one training once puppy comes. Gumby will also get his one on one sessions, though I am sure there will be a month or two where he gets less training since, he is the only established adult. We will make sure he gets alone time away from puppies though!
The prospect of adding to our pack is so exciting! We already have a name, two name tags, and a collar on the way for this pup. Puppy count is tomorrow! Hopefully there will be lots of healthy girl puppies to choose from next month.
Trying a new editing style. Unsure how I feel about it. Definitely a darker woodsy feel.
Tried some darker woodsy photos. Not sure how I feel about them.
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