Resq TailsThe trials and triumphs of rescued dogs

My husband and I haven’t fostered any dogs for over 2 years now. We got a message from our friends at Sheltie Rescue of Utah though asking for a temporary foster home for two puppies. My husband agreed that as long as he didn’t have to do any of the work, we could volunteer. LOL

Here’s a picture of the little girl. Her name is Lucy. Yes, we’ve now got two Lucy’s at the house, a little confusing, but we’re managing. Is she just about the cutest thing that you’ve ever seen?

The male puppy is named Dakota and he is about 11 months old, so he doesn’t look so much like a puppy, but he’s definitely still one at heart. He is so sweet. He will make a wonderful companion for his person! I guess someone may be interested in meeting him, so we may not end up having him here for long…Sorry his picture doesn’t really do him justice. He’s a real doll and my camera battery went dead before I got a better picture of him. If we have him here longer, I’ll try to get more pictures.

I know, that’s a little weird. Most people dread the weekend coming to an end and heading back to work on Mondays. I used to feel like that when I worked at the dental lab, but since I opened the boarding kennel, my busiest days are usually at the end of the week, and the weekend. So now, I like Mondays because I can regroup, and I have the whole week ahead of me. It’s like a fresh start…

This week I’m going to actually work with Raven and Twist. I know, I’ve been saying that for over a month now, but I’ve been so wrapped up with Rogue that I haven’t done much else. Things are finally settling back down into a routine here and I’m not feeling so overwhelmed, so I think it’s actually got a chance of happening this week. LOL

It’s hard for me to get motivated to train by myself, way too easy to talk myself out of it when I don’t have someone else counting on me to be there. I’ve really been missing my friend that usually keeps me motivated. Her knee has been giving her so much trouble that she had slowed down a quite a bit in her training with her own dogs, but now she’s just had a knee replacement so hopefully she’ll be back up and around soon, without all the pain!

Anyway, yay for Monday, and here’s hoping we have a really great week!

I guess I spoke too soon. Yesterday was not a good day for these two. No sooner have I written that we were seeing some slight improvement in the tension between Rogue and Zoe we had a flare up again.

It all started about 4:00 yesterday afternoon. I was putting on my shoes to take the dogs for a hike and my husband walked from through the kitchen heading towards the hallway to the back door. I don’t know if Rogue was watching me put on my shoes and then he was closer than she expected when she noticed him or what, but she freaked and was scrambling as fast as she could to get out of his path. That’s when Zoe jumped in and attacked her. I don’t know if Zoe thought that Rogue was moving toward her and perceived it as a threat or what, but she had Rogue down on the ground before I could stand up.

I got them separated, looked them both over (no visible injuries), gave Rogue a 1/2 tablet of the Alprazolam and when things seemed to settle down a bit we went for a hike. I misjudged things again, thinking that the exercise would calm everyone down. It did seem like it until we got back home about 5:30. We were walking from the truck to the house and Zoe pinned Rogue under the car. Again I got them separated and again no punctures, or visible wounds, but Rogue was pretty shaken, so I gave her another 1/2 tablet of the Alprazolam. I couldn’t see an effect on her appearance or behavior either time that I gave the Alprazolam, so I think I’ll have to try the higher dose. Things seem a little less tense today, but we’re keeping a close eye on both of them. I’m re-reading the protocol for interdog aggression because I usually find that when something goes wrong, I’ve overlooked something that might have prevented the situation in the first place.

It’s one week today that Rogue has been on the Fluoxitine. Overall, I haven’t noticed much difference. But , there have been some small things that I have noticed, it’s just not consistently. Every once in a while, Rogue will be watching me, but it’s not with the hard intense stare, it’s a little softer. I would love to see that expression more often!

The other thing that I’m really happy with is that sometimes she seems to be doing a little better with Zoe. Once my husband even remarked that she had walked up to Zoe and then turned around and walked away. I know that may not sound like much, but for Rogue that’s progress. I really hope that as she feels less anxiety that the tension between them lessens too!

I also tried the Alprazolam this Monday. I was taking Twist and Raven down to Parowan to go herding for the last time this year, and thought that I’d take Rogue along just for the trip, not to herd. I gave her 1/2 a tablet two hours before we got there, but when I got her out of the car, she was just as anxious as she always is. I can think of a couple of reasons for this. In the consult it said that I should repeat the 1/2 tablet again a half an hour before the anticipated event, and I forgot to bring the tablets. (The meds can’t work if you don’t remember to bring them along to give to her.) The other thing could be that the 1/2 tablet was the low dosage, and she said that we may need to experiment with that to see what she needs. So…I got some good information to work with if nothing else. I was hoping to try this again this Thurs. when Raven and Zoe’s agility class is scheduled, but it got cancelled.

So, that’s about it for the first week…

Twice this week when we were walking in the hills by our house we’ve seen a small herd of deer. Both times it’s been between 10 and 20 in the herd. I had my camera the other day, we didn’t get too close, but you can still see them.

We also got to see birds, and of course jack rabbits. Those are the dog’s favorite! I’m not fast enough with the camera to get a picture of them though. LOL

Here’s some shots of the dogs enjoying the walk.

I wish this nice weather that we’ve been having would continue. Sure has been great for walking!

Thought we’d throw in some black and white shots this week and next.

I’ve been really bad about keeping up on posting lately. Alot has been going on, but I’ll try to recap this last week.

I was hoping to hear from our vet in Salt Lake on Tues., after he got back from vacation, but unfortunately, I never did. I called the office again on Wed. and then promptly missed his return call because I my silly phone on vibrate and didn’t hear it! (Could’ve screamed when I figured out what I’d done). LOL Called the office again, hoping that he hadn’t already gotten busy with other clients, but I was too late. I made one more attempt on Wed. to get ahold of him, but he was just getting ready to leave for a housecall and didn’t have time to talk to me then either. Ughh! So, we set up an appointment for 8:00 am on Thurs. Finally, success! We talked about the fax consult for Rogue and he agreed to call in the prescriptions for her! Woohoo!!!

So, we are now two days into the new medication. She is on 1 mg. of fluoxitine a day. I haven’t noticed any changes yet, but I didn’t really expect any this soon anyway, and at least she’s not having any negative reaction to the medication. At the first of next week I’ll try the alprazolam too and moniter her reaction to it. I need to give it to her when I can watch and see how she responds, so that I figure out what dosage will be best for her. For right now we are going to use the fluoxitine daily and the alprazolam as a preventative, (like prior to an anticipated event that might be stressful), or interventional help, (like a storm beginning while we’re not at home).

In the meantime, we are also continuing to work on the Relaxation Protocols that we had been doing before, and we are also working on some other protocols, one being the Protocol for Deference. It is designed to help the dog learn to be calm, learn that they can ask questions of people and learn that they can get guidance about what is expected or what will happen…if they just sit calmly and provide themselves with the ability to take in useful information. This is a huge change from how Rogue has been up to this point. She is definitely seeking information, but I’ve never provided a really clear way for her to get it. I really think that this is something that all my dogs and myself are really going to benefit from.

I also decided that I wanted to try to keep a video diary of how this whole process is going. I decided to video Rogue doing her Relaxation Protocols, (so it may not be the most interesting video for most people to watch) LOL, but I chose it because it should allow me to make a comparison of how she is able to relax in a structure that she is familiar with before and now that she is on medication.

It’s so hard to get everyone to cooperate for “family pictures”. Here’s one of my favorite outtakes! Looks like Zoe is pulling Twist’s hair and sticking out her tongue! LOL

I just wanted to add to that last post, I didn’t mean to make it sound like I was ready to jump off a cliff or something. LOL Everyone’s comments are so kind and I really appreciate the support. That initial negative emotion that I had was I think more a result of being overwhelmed, tired, and anxious about this for so long. It was quickly replaced by a real feeling of hope. I really meant it when I said that Saturday was a good day!I feel like we’re finally on the right track. It’s a huge relief!

Today is a good day! We got our consult from Dr. Overall for Rogue yesterday. Right on schedule with what she said to expect, even though you all know that I’ve been dying to hear from her sooner. LOL

I have to admit, the first thing that she wrote had me in tears. She said, “This is one of the most anxious dogs I have ever seen on video, and she is distressed so much of the time.” Honestly, I felt like a total loser for letting her continue like this for so long. I just kept trying to train through it, hoping it would get better when I should have sought medication for her. After dwelling on that thought, (which wasn’t productive at all) I got through the rest of the consult which outlined her recommendations for the medication and protocols for modifying her behavior. I really think that with the combination of these two things we have a good chance of improving her quality of life.

So, receiving the consult and having a plan to work forward with makes it a good day, but I have another reason too. Something clicked in my brain today, and I thought I’d better write it down so I don’t forget it. I was thinking about what I enjoy about working with the dogs. Of course, I love competing with the dogs in their various sports. But when I really get to thinking about it, the times I have the most fun with the dogs is when we are training. I think it’s because it’s a learning process not just for the dogs, but more often for me. I really enjoy that. I love to learn new things, and I got to thinking what an opportunity Rogue is giving me to learn. The last thing that Dr. Overall said in the consultation was that “these are the dogs who show you the type of person you can–but never expected–to become”. I’m sure that even though I’m beginning to see the trueness of that statement that it will take on even more meaning as time goes by.