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.

It was a busy weekend for Rogue, and I’m still trying to process everything. Posting about everything will probably come in bits and pieces as I sort it all out.

I know that I’ve posted some about the holistic remedies that we’ve been trying for Rogue’s anxiety, but none have had any effect that I could see, and her anxiety if anything seems to be progressively getting worse to me. So…I decided that I needed to try something else. I can’t remember if I posted about our failed attempt to get bloodwork done at one of the local vets here. I don’t think I did, but the visit was pointless because they said they couldn’t find a vein to draw blood unless they sedated her, and I was unwilling to sedate her just for that. I decided to go to the veterinary hospital that Sheltie Rescue of Utah uses in Salt Lake, since I know that they have been happy with them and the vets there are also familiar with Shelties in general.

So, Friday we had an appt. at noon to have an exam and bloodwork done, and during the exam we decided to have x-rays done as well. I was really happy with the exam, I felt like he was very thorough, and by Monday we had the results back and they were normal. Nothing to explain the sensitivity to touch and anxiety increasing. So, in a way that’s a relief…

On Monday Rogue was also scheduled to have her private lesson with Leslie McDevitt. I really didn’t know what to expect from Rogue, since her threshold for handling pressure in new situations has decreased lately. It wasn’t a suprise for me when she pretty much was overwhelmed as soon as we entered the building. Leslie didn’t even try to do any training with us, just sat and talked to us for the hour instead. She said that in her opinion, Rogue has generalized anxiety disorder that requires medication.

Fortunately, she said that with meds she thought that Rogue’s ability to deal with anxiety should improve alot, and that we’ll be able to get past this place where we’re so stuck. She recommended getting a fax consult with Karen Overall to assist our vet in finding the right meds. I have to admit, I came home not really thinking that Karen would have time to take on our case, since she’s involved in a research study right now, but on Tuesday, I had a reply from her stating that she would be happy to take Rogue’s case.

For parts of the last two days I’ve been trying to fill out the forms that she sent us. After that I’m going to try to get my husband’s help to get video of Rogue in several different situations to send along with the forms so that they get a good picture of what needs to be addressed. I feel kind of like I’m trying to complete a school assignment or something. LOL

So…that’s about it for now.