Catcher's Story

2009-06-16T11:09:00.000-04:00

A lot has happened in the two years since I've posted to this. Well, really it's only been the last 13 months that things have happened. Catcher was neutered in February 2008. Despite his nice structure and beautiful markings I knew that given his temperament he would never be a breeding option. Shortly after the surgery he developed Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca (KCS or Dry Eye). While treating him for the KCS he became very ill. We rushed him to the vets where after a battery of tests he was diagnosed with Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) which had led him to develop Diabetes. This was all 6 days before he turned 2 years old.

The last year has been a trying one. It has taken that long for Catcher to become healthy again. However, I feel that the treatment protocol laid out for us is only masking the issue and not addressing it. Under the advisement of a trusted colleague I took Catcher to see a holistic vet. She has changed his life, and in my opinion enabled him to lead a better one.

We are in the beginning stages of his new treatments. I intend to document everything that happens from this point forward, as well as what has happened in the last year. I will back date all entries so they will appear as in real time.

Thank you for your support reading Catcher's story.

~Casey~

ACTH results

2009-03-10T13:16:00.001-04:00

Catcher was a total trooper while getting his injection for the stim test and his blood drawn. He was happy to just sit with me, twitching his tail while they took the blood.

Observation I've discovered: In reactive classes we always talk about mat exercises. You spend an enormous amount of time building a relationship between your dog and their mat. Their mat is their safety zone, where no one enters it, and only happy things happen. It's used for calming, settling, and a great shaping exercise. Here is what I've now noticed: Catcher has generalized that the benches and scale at the vet clinic are "mats". When we walk into the lobby he runs to a specific spot on the benches. He jumps up on them, and sits there, happy and looking for treats. Then he makes a break for the scale, and will do a sliding stop onto it, sitting there twitching his tail and smiling at me, because again it's a highly reinforced space. It's nice to see him calm at the vets.

Firstly: Weight: 45.0 pounds!!!!! We've successfully gained back the 6 pounds he lost while he was sick, and have gained an additional 2 pounds!

Results:
Pre-ACTH Cortisol: 6.5
Post-ACTH Cortisol: 2.5

Comments: (as best I can understand them)
Reference Range:
Pre-ACTH: 2-6
Post-ACTH: 6-18
Equivocal: 18-22
Post-ACTH w/ hyperadrenocorticism: >22
Post-ACTH w/ hypoadrenocorticism: <2

According the vet clinic he shows no signs of Cushing's or Addison's. Yay! That is one big boost of confidence for me. Now back to the roller coaster that is regulating his blood sugar.

More Trouble

2009-02-19T13:04:00.000-05:00

Catcher went to the vet for his yearly 4DX test. I decided to do a full work up on him since we were drawing blood anyways, and he hadn't had a complete set done since last June.

The good news is he was negative all around for Heartworm/Lyme/Ehrlichia/Anaplasmosis!

Results of the bloodwork:

CBC Comprehensive:
HGB: 18.1 (12-18)
MCHC: 36.8 (32-36)
Basophil: 0 (0-1)

Chem 21:
ALK Phos: 229 (10-150)
BUN: 29 (7-27)
Cholesterol: 477 (112-328)
Glucose: 440 (60-125) (this was to be expected)
Chloride: 102 (105-115)
NA/K ratio: 26 (27-40)

My vet called and asked about running a T4 panel. I said that we'd done one in July '07 and it was normal. It was also suggested that we do an ACTH stim test for Addison's and Cushing's.

We decided to go through with the ACTH stim test but hold off on the thyroid panel for a little while.

The thought of Catcher having another autoimmune disorder scared me. I felt like this was a never ending battle and that he was never going to get better. I spent a lot of time thinking about the outcome. What kind of life was he going to have given all of his issues? He hated his shots, even with treats. He runs when he sees the needles for blood draws, even though he gets treats galore. I didn't think that I could put him through another treatment plan.

After thinking long and hard I decided that if either one came back positive that I would let him go. It was not fair to keep him going because I wanted him with me. I didn't see that he was going to have a great quality of life if he was simply going to continue to develop autoimmune issues and not be able to regulate his blood glucose levels.

New Year's

2009-01-07T11:45:00.000-05:00

New Year's day I brought the dogs in from playing outside. They were with me in the living room when I noticed Catcher acting weird. He became very anxious. He was suddenly eating every speck of dirt off the carpet. He was trying to get to Stewie's food. His nose was warm to the touch. I was concerned and made sure to keep a close eye on him. A few minutes later he curled up on the couch to go to sleep. I watched him and noticed him shiver. Then he shivered again. I found this to be odd since he had been inside for an hour at this point.

I called Mom to help me do a blood draw, suspecting his blood sugar was too low. I was correct. It read 40. He was teetering on the edge of seizures and coma. What I had initially suspected was shivering was really tremors. I quickly gave him some Karo syrup and called the Emergency vet. They said to recheck his BG in 30 minutes. At which point it was in the 130's.

I did not give him insulin that night. The next day I called my vet. They said to not give him any insulin in order for the body to recuperate. Without any insulin his BG went straight back to off the charts. The next day we gave him 8 units in the morning. At 2:00 I noticed the same scavenging behavior and warm nose. I checked and he was in the 50's. Again we gave him Karo syrup and he bounced back.

We decreased him to 5 units as he was keeping in the 250's range, which isn't quite normal, but is better than 500.

So begins the roller coaster

2008-11-24T11:34:00.000-05:00

I will skip ahead now, but summarize the last few months...

Catcher's insulin dose was increased to 7 units in July. At his one week recheck his BG was 83 so we decreased the insulin back to 6 units twice daily. His weight was up to 41.4 pounds.

Catcher seemed to do well for the next few months. I ordered a glucometer so I could test him at home, though I was still uneducated and did not test him as regularly as I should have been.

At the end of October he was tanking on water again. I tested his blood and it was in the upper 300 range. I was advised to do a glucose curve on him. (Take readings every two hours post injection)

He had his insulin at 7:20.
7 am: 345
9 am: 187
11 am: 220
1 pm: 333
3 pm: High (high on the glucometer means it is over 500)
5 pm: High

Okay so the way it is supposed to work is that the insulin is metabolized at a rate that 6 hours post injection the BG will be at it's lowest point. Catcher was now metabolizing it within 2 hours of his injection. So we switched him to Vetsulin (a porcine insulin). Ideally vetsulin is metabolized slower and only needed every 24 hours, however we were giving it every 12 for Catcher.

Catcher was not responding to the vetsulin at all. I spent the first half of November with him reading over 500. I was getting cranky and worried that nothing was going to be able to help him. After doubling his dose, and still not working, we discovered that Vetsulin is a different concentration (40 units/mL rather than human insulin being 100 units/mL). (I also discovered that human pharmacies are useless). So because I was using the human syringes he was not receiving the correct dose. We promptly changed the syringes and began to see a difference. He still did not react to 6 units however, so we increased his dose to 10 units twice daily.

His peak with 10 units was 73 so we decreased to 9 units.

More Blood work

2008-07-11T11:31:00.000-04:00

I was very overwhelmed at first. We started Catcher on pancreazyme mixed in his food. It was a nightmare getting him to be hungry enough to eat it, but eventually he warmed up to the idea.

We ran another pre-anesthetic profile on him just to monitor his progress.

His BG was 351. It was recommended to increase his dose to 7 units twice a day and recheck in one week.

EPI - We Learn More

2008-06-23T11:09:00.001-04:00

Over the past few weeks I have learned a lot about Catcher's issues. Simply put Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency means that he cannot absorb the nutrients he is digesting. Which explains his wasting over the last few weeks.

From an online article:

"The pancreas has two functional parts. The endocrine part secretes insulin and glucagon, which are essential for the metabolism of carbohydrates. The exocrine part consists of units called acini that produce and secrete enzymes essential for the digestion of protein, into the small intestine. With EPI, there is a gradual wasting away (atrophy) of the acini. Clinical signs do not develop until most of the acini are gone. As dogs lose the ability to digest protein, they progressively lose weight despite a voracious appetite.

Affected dogs lose weight despite voracious appetites, and usually pass large amounts of semi-formed feces. They often eat their own stools, or other inappropriate substances. Some dogs with this condition do not show these typical signs, and may experience intermittent watery diarrhea or vomiting.

Although this disorder cannot be cured, management is generally fairly straightforward. Powdered pancreatic enzyme extract is mixed in with each meal. Within a few days, your dog's appetite and stools should become more normal, and s/he will begin to gain weight. Enzyme supplementation of your dog's food will be necessary for life." 1998 Canine Inherited Disorders Database.

From the Cornell website:

Description: EPI is characterized by inadequate production of digestive enzymes from pancreatic acinar cells. This might be a result of chronic pancreatitis, juvenile pancreatic atrophy, decreased function in severe protein-calorie malnutrition, or rarely following acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis. The lack of digestive enzymes and bicarbonate secretion results in acidification of the gut, malnutrition and weight loss, with voluminous stools containing undigested fat, muscle fibers and protein.

Signs: Abdominal distention, Abnormal behavior, aggression, changing habits, anorexia, diarrhea, dullness, flatulence, increased borborygmi, internal abdominal mass, lack of growth or weight gain, pale, pica, polydipsia, polyphagia, rough hair coat, steatorrhea (fatty stools, feces), Tachycardia, underweight (poor condition, thin, emaciated, unthriftness, ill thrift), unusual or foul odor (stools, feces), vomiting or regurgitation, weight loss

After reading several different articles, and talking with my friend Jenn whose collie is suspected to have EPI, I realized that Catcher had certainly been showing most of the symptoms. The problem was that they were intermittent, and any of those symptoms could be evidence of something else. For a long time we suspected that his off and on again diarrhea was due to a parasite problem (he had picked up whipworms at daycare as a puppy and we'd been treating with panacur regularly to break the cycle). It was only when looking at everything as a whole did the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit together.

I was still left with asking how and why. How did an adolescent dog who was perfectly healthy (as proven by multiple blood workups) develop all of these conditions (KCS, EPI, Diabetes) within 2 months of each other. What had changed? Did his neuter have any effect on this? The unfortunate problem was that no one had any answers. All 3 conditions are fairly rare in Border Collies, especially ones under the age of two. EPI and Diabetes are both pancreatic and if untreated EPI can lead to Diabetes. However, the KCS was a totally unrelated issue.

Another Re-Check

2008-06-19T08:27:00.000-04:00

Today Catcher had a re-check for his eyes, which getting a bit better during this whole fiasco. He was up to getting the Tacrolimus 3x daily, BNP 2x daily, plus artificial tears and saline flushing as often as possible.

Weight: 39.2# (we've gained some, that's good)
Schirmer Tear Test: Left Eye: 18 Right eye: 15 (at least there is some tear production)

However, the stain did have some uptake. (Damn.) Another mild abrasion. Other than that he's doing well.

We rechecked his pre-anesthetic profile today as well. I don't have the results, but I think everything seemed fine.

Blood Tests Offer a Diagnosis

2008-06-10T08:20:00.001-04:00

Catcher returned to the vet today for a recheck of his glucose levels.

At 1:00pm BG: 139 (yay!)

Our plan: to recheck a preanesthetic profile on Thursday.

and here is where it begins to get interesting...

Results are in from the Tick Panel, TLI, and Immune panels...

Lyme - Positive 1:400*
Antinuclear Antibody (ANA): Positive 1:25
Rheumatoid factor: Negative
Ehrlichia Canis: Negative
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever: Negative
Trypsin-Like Immunoreactivity: 2.1**
Coombs Test: Negative
Platelet Count: 238 (within normal limits of 164-510 thous/uL)

* Now remember that Catcher had an all around negative 4DX test in February. We decided to rerun a 3DX and see what it said. Negative all around. Hmmm. Notes from lab report: "A positive titer indicates exposure to the Borrelia Burgdorferi or similar antigen but does not confirm the presence of the disease. Titers may be affected by vaccination or disease." So we decided it was a false positive due to vaccine history.

** Reference range for TLI is 5-35ug/L. Catcher read 2.1. Anything <2.5 is consistent with Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency.

(There is also a note regarding the ANA about age or inflammatory disease but I can't decipher it)

D-Day + 1

2008-06-06T08:09:00.001-04:00

I brought Catcher back to the vets to be admitted for the day. He seemed much happier. The techs all praised how good he had been the day before. I warned them to watch out because he was feeling better and I could see him eyeing the quick pace of the techs as they rushed around the back rooms.

Observations from the chart:
owner gave insulin @ 11:30pm. Chem profile run @ 7:30am. Restarted fluids @ 84ml/hr. 2 cc Cerenia in fluid bubble. owner says he ate a 1/2 cup of food last night. Ate well for us. Restarted Lactated Ringers with Dextrose.

Blood Glucose @ 11:40: 364 (off glucose drip 30 min prior to BG) gave 6 units NPH
2:15 - Disconnect IV fluids. Remove IV catheter. BG: 393 @ 2:45
Write script for NPH insulin - 6 units twice daily
Re-check Mon or Tues ~6 hours post injection

We were sent home with a box of syringes, bottle of insulin, and the instructions to give him 6 units twice daily, making sure that he had eaten before giving it to him. We were to bring him back Mon or Tues to test his blood. We were still awaiting the results of the bloodwork sent to Idexx.

D-Day

2008-06-05T07:51:00.002-04:00

Today was one of the hardest days of my life. When I woke up this morning Catcher was extremely lethargic. He's not been eating well the past few days. Over the weekend I was at a seminar in Methuen and he began tanking water and urinating frequently. The poor guy had several accidents in his crate during the day and at night he would scream to wake me up and let him out. I feared I knew what was causing it, but clung to the hope that it was a displacement behavior due to stress. He got better Monday and had a good day. Tuesday he started seeming lethargic again. He has been unable to keep any food down for the last 2 days. Last night his temperature was 102.8. I called my vet first thing this morning. Of course they were closed for a staff meeting until 10:00 but I left a message saying it was urgent.

When they re-opened for appointments they called me back and we rushed him in. His temp was 102.0. We ran a urinalysis and blood work. Here are the notes from his chart:

Findings:
Weight: 37 pounds (he lost close to six pounds in 3 weeks)
weight loss, decreased appetite
started Tacrolimus yesterday, clinical signs of pu/pd (increased water consumption and urination) began prior
run full urinalysis, CBC, chem profile, radiograph thorax/abdomen (suspect blockage)

Urinalysis:
Glucose ++++ Ketones ++
Cloudy, dark
negative for: Leukocytes, nitrite, protein, blood
Normal for Urobilinogen
Specific Gravity 1.020 - 1.033 (two different numbers on two different spots)
Ketones 40
Glucose >2000

At this point I'm sitting on the floor with him in my lap wondering if we're going to survive the morning.

Radiographs: 2 views, lateral thorax and abdomen. Normal findings, no blockage (damn, that would have been the better hope)

They tested his blood glucose it was 448. His ALP - 339. ALT - 132. Na - 135. K - 5.2 (N)

We decided the best course of action (and really only course) was to admit Catcher for the day. They would give him an IV and start him on insulin. He was so sick he could barely move. I left him there and headed to work (as I wasn't being allowed to take the day off). I spent the rest of the day trying to hold back hysterical tears while awaiting news from Mom. I told her that I couldn't lose him one week before his 2nd birthday. That after the 12th I would make any decision needed, but he was having a 2nd birthday.

Treatments for the rest of the day:
IV catheter: 84 ml/hour
0.04 ml (4 u) reg insulin IM & 2 cc Cerenia SQ @ 1pm
Blood glucose @ 2:30: 422
Gave 2 units insulin @ 2:40pm

Notes/Suspected Diagnosis:
Treating for Diabetic Ketoacidosis (frightening words to me). Given recent diagnosis of KCS suspicious of underlying autoimmune disorder. Sent tick panel, TLI, and Immune Profile to Idexx. Currently treating with more aggressive protocol of hourly reg. Insulin IM injections and will switch to SQ reg insulin or Humilin N insulin accordingly. Tentative plan of stabilizing, sending home for the night, then arrange drop off again in AM to continue treatment.

Continued Treatments:
3pm: Brighter. BG @ 2:30: 422 - begin hourly 2 units reg. insulin IM
3:30 - 2 units
4:30 - 2 units
5:30 - Blood Glucose 188

Catcher was sent home with the instructions to give him some dinner at 10:30. I believe we were sent home with I/D but cannot be positive. Then to wait one hour to make sure he held it down and give him insulin at 11:30 pm. He did seem brighter when he got home that night. I kept him with me in the living room. I slept on the couch, and he slept next to me on the floor.

Specialist

2008-05-29T18:54:00.000-04:00

I could tell that Catcher was not feeling well. With the discharge from his eyes he was becoming more and more lethargic. He didn't want to play. He didn't really want to eat. I was extremely concerned at this point. One other observation was that I no longer needed a muzzle at the vet because he was too sick to be scared. He would just sit there and let them do anything to him.

I took him to see Dr. Marion at Essex County Vet Specialists. She was wonderful. Very pleasant to speak with, and handled Catcher great.

Her findings:
Absolute (that's a scary word in a diagnosis) KCS in both eyes.
Superficial corneal ulceration right eye, central location (told ya)

Medication directions:
Saline irrigation after outdoor activities and prior to applying any ointments
Tacrolimus ophthalmic ointment applied to both eyes three times daily long term
BNP ointment applied to both eyes three times daily until recheck

Recheck with either Dr. Marion or normal vet in 7-14 days.

Bilateral KCS is uncommon. She explained that it would take about 12 weeks to 6 months to see the tacrolimus helping. If this plan did not work the next option would be surgery.

Regression

2008-05-27T18:50:00.002-04:00

I went away for 3 days as we were decreasing his optimmune to once a day. He regressed quite rapidly.

May 19 - noticed squinting again. He was rubbing his eyes after the BNP-Dex was administered. Increased optimmune to twice daily.

May 20 - discontinued BNP-Dex for one day, green mucous returned. Continued with BNP-Dex.

By the 21st of May I was discouraged and seeking a second opinion from a veterinary ophthalmologist. Despite increasing the optimmune his eyes were no longer responding to any treatment. I called my vet in the meantime and requested an ointment without steroids as I felt it was likely that he had formed another ulcer. We decided to wait out the weekend to see if the old protocol returned him to normal. It did not.

He spent the weekend squinting. I used the artificial tears as much as possible. He had lots of white mucous discharge. I kept him indoors as much as possible so he was not getting dirt in them. Switched to the BNP to avoid steroid use due to rubbing. I also started him on Benadryl 25 mg twice daily.

I made an appointment with a specialist for May 29.

16 days later

2008-05-01T18:46:00.003-04:00

Follow up. Catcher's eyes were doing better. He had much less discharge, and it was no longer green. His eyes actually had some life back in them. He was getting perkier.

Findings:
weight 42.8# (this will come into play a bit later)

Schirmer tear test: 22 in both eyes! Significant improvement

Treatment plan:
continue plan for 2 weeks. then decrease optimmune to once a day for 2 weeks, if still okay. then discontinue optimmune unless regresses. changed from Dexospore ointment to drops three times daily.

First re-check

2008-04-17T18:40:00.003-04:00

Catcher's eyes had not improved in the two days since the first visit. Both eyes were completely covered with film. He could barely open them.

Finding this exam:
weight: 42.2 pounds
Schirmer Tear Test - no tear production in either eye
Flourescein Stain - stained only eye with worst abrasion, mild uptake

Diagnosis:
Sudden onset Bilateral Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca (KCS). Possible triggers: no recent vaccines, bloodwork within normal limits 2 months prior, thyroid panel within normal limits 8 months prior, possibly an unidentified autoimmune disorder?

Treatment:
Optimmune ointment bilaterally twice daily
Dexospore ointment bilaterally three times daily
recommend tear replacement

Re-check in 2 weeks

Things Begin to Change

2008-04-15T14:19:00.003-04:00

Catcher started showing some mucousy discharge in both of his eyes a few days ago. It progressed to the point that he had a film of mucous covering each eye. I began treating it with BNP however when it wasn't getting better I decided to take him to the vet. I figured it needed steroids, however since he had been rubbing his eyes I was almost certain he had ulcerated to a degree.

Initial physical exam findings:
greenish discharge, bilateral conjunctivitis, corneal edema left side, increased ocular discharge, suspect allergies, fluorescein stain showed + Left side - Right side. Mild stain uptake on left eye, very superficial, suspect steroid would still be responsive.

Treatment:
Dexospore bilateral three times daily. optional benadryl 25-50mg twice daily

Re check in 2 days

Snip-Snip

2008-02-29T14:11:00.001-05:00

I brought Catcher to the vets today for his surgery. I must commend my vet office for being so caring and professional. I had taken the time prior to the appointment to address my concerns given Catcher's temperament. I was not sure how he would act with complete strangers, especially when put in a kennel with other dogs, and being under the influence of anesthesia. I had explained that I was not only concerned about making it pleasant for him, but I did not want to put any of them in harm's way. I asked that I be able to stay with him while they sedated him and that no one touch him or try to take him outside once he was awake.

They honored my request and even let me stay until the catheter was in place and he was asleep. Then they performed his surgery first and called me as soon as he was able to stand. I brought in a urine sample as well as had them run another chem profile. Below are the results and details from the surgery:

Weight: 43.2 pounds

Urinalysis:
All normal/negative
pH 6.0
SG 1.040

Chem Profile:
All within normal limits

Sedation:
Superbag 1.9cc SQ
Ket/Val (1.0 cc each)

Catcher was groggy but happy to be home. He came through surgery well and is on Rimadyl for a few days.

Pre-Surg Work-up

2008-02-09T14:07:00.000-05:00

Catcher had his pre-surg exam today. Everything was within normal limits. We ran a Heartworm/Lyme/Ehrlichia/Anaplasmosis test, all came back Negative. I also had them draw blood for a CBC and Chem Profile.

Blood work results:

Everything was within normal limits except the following:
MCHC High - 38.1 (30.0-37.5)
CRE High - 1.5 (0.3-1.4)
GLOB Low - 2.2 (2.3-5.2)

Will run urinalysis and chem profile before surgery day of. Neuter is scheduled for 2/29/08.

Decisions to be Made

2008-02-01T14:02:00.000-05:00

I have not taken the decision to neuter Catcher lightly. However, due to his temperament and the increasing issues he is having getting along with his brothers I feel it is necessary and the correct choice. He will never, and should never, be bred. While I feel it is important to keep dogs in tact for growth and development purposes he is now 18 months old and I think it is the appropriate time for him to have the surgery. He is scheduled for pre-op bloodwork and physical exam on February 9.

Thyroid

2007-07-13T13:51:00.001-04:00

Catcher has been showing increased signs of fear leading to defensive behavior. He is very easily aroused when around his brothers and extremely defensive if approached by a stranger on the opposite side of a gate/fence. I have decided to run a thyroid panel on him just to rule that out as a cause.

I sent the blood off to Dr. Dodds in California. Here are the results:

T3 - 61 - ref range (45-150)
T4 - 2.11 - ref range (1.0-4.0)
Free T3 - 2.8 - ref range (1.7-5.3)
Free T4 - 0.90 - ref range (0.45-2.06)
T3 Autoantibodies - 1.4 - ref range (less than 2.0)
T4 Autoantibodies - 0.7 - ref range (less than 2.0)
Thyroglobulin Autoantibodies - 10 - Normal/Negative

Thyroid Levels are adequate though we recommend annual testing.

2007-06-01T12:04:00.000-04:00

Here are some newer pics of Catcher. He was 10 months old in them.

~Casey~

2007-01-07T13:10:00.000-05:00

Our First Class

Yesterday we had our first L2 class at the MSPCA. I was very nervous going into the class because Catch has developed some serious fears and bad behaviors lately. I arrived 40 minutes early to give myself enough time to look around and let him settle down. When I arrived the first thing I noticed was that I knew my instructor. She used to be an assistant at that other place, as well as work in the Daycare. So not only did I know her, and feel comfortable with her as an instructor, she knows me and knows that I'm not just some random person walking in off the street.

I brought Catcher into the classroom when it was empty and let him sniff around and get acclimated. All the time feeding him for good attention, if there was a noise, if someone came in or left, etc. I briefed the instructor on Catch's issues and we agreed to set a condo up. He did great in the condo, and by the end of class he was working beyond the condo and with the sheets pulled back a little.

We went very slow and if something was too much we backed up a step. She also positioned me at a door so I could have a quick escape if he needed a break. I was amazed at how calm he was in class. I really expected him to be stressed but I also think that my calming down seeing her helped dramatically to keep him calm.

He did let out a couple growls at the other dogs and the assistants, who seemed a bit hesitant, and I think he sensed their hesitancy and fed off of it. As soon as they walked by and dropped food into the condo he was fine with them walking by and talking to him. He even got to demo hand targeting because none of the other dogs had done it before, and he didn't let me down. He also engaged in the leave it exercise, in Flex he would just shut down and ignore the toy. This time he was actually picking the toy up, which isn't a desired response, but in my mind it's much better than ignoring the toy all together. To me, it showed that he was getting comfortable enough to play.

I'm glad that I went with this class, it's small 5 dogs total, and it's all stuff he learned in Flex. I think it helps that he's not being pressured to learn a lot of new behaviors, but instead is learning to do solid behaviors in a different place, with distractions.

I bought a head collar after class, and will spend the next couple weeks getting him acclimated to it very slowly. And I spent a while talking to the instructor and we agreed to take it very slow with him. We're going to keep working him in the condo and gradually pulling the sheets back, and letting him set the pace. But if he continues as he did today she thinks he'll do great, and so do I.

I'm so relieved that he was nowhere near as horrible as I thought he would be. I expected barking non-stop, lunging, etc. He let out a couple minor barks, and then mostly whined when he was bored.

Yay! Maybe there's hope for him yet!

2006-12-28T16:38:00.000-05:00

I'm so very proud of my little boy. He has been going through some anxiety issues lately. He stresses when I'm not around and won't settle. If I bring him into my room so everyone else can have some peace, he doesn't settle and just paces back and forth. Well last night I brought him on the bed, and he stretched out on the covers and went to sleep for 2 hours! It was well past his bedtime when I woke him up and he went right into his crate without a fuss. I even left him alone on the bed for a minute and he never made a move to jump off and follow me. I'm very happy right now!

We start Level 2 classes in 1.5 weeks at the MSPCA. That ought to be fun!

Casey

2006-12-07T13:23:00.000-05:00

Pics!

Here are some pics of Catcher growing up! They're not in any order.