Osteoarthritis

Thommo has had sore front feet for a while - he'd seem fine for days then be three-leg lame on one front foot or the other. A fatty lump on his right foot confused diagnosis but radiographs today confirmed that he as osteoarthritis in both feet. Other joints seem clear for the moment.

Arthritis results from destruction of the cartilage that protects the ends of the bones that make up the joint. Cartilage destruction can be the result of normal stress on abnormal joints or abnormal stress on normal joints.

Thommo does subject his toes to quite a bit of stress through a pouncing action as he stalks sticks and toys. He uses the same pounce to come to a stop on the contact obstacles.

There has been lively 'debate' in Australia over the ANKC's decision to remove slats from the A-frame and DogWalk last year. However, though some say dogs can no longer tell the difference between the Dog Walk and the Teeter, the absence of slats will allow Thommo to continue with agilty for a while longer.

I'll limit him to one or two runs a day and watch him carefully. I know from my own arthritic hands that it's usually a day or two after exertion that I feel the pain so I'll certainly start off with a "less is more" approach.

Treatment:
Cartrophen Vet - a series of weekly injections for four weeks, in conjunction with
Sasha's Blend - a combination of marine concentrates with high natural anti inflammatory and joint protective properties, it contains the full range of GAGS (glycosaminoglycans) including Keratin, Dermatin, Heparin sulphates and the commonly known Glucosamine & Chondroitin sulphates which provide the necessary nutrients required to stimulate healthy joint function.
Rimadyl (carprofen) - for occasional use to manage severe pain.

We've cut back on swimming with the cold weather - but I'll get the wetsuit out and alternate swimming and walking. They both need to lose the couple of kilos they put on while I was away, also.

Duz doesn't want to pose

Duz doesn't want to pose, originally uploaded by marj k.

A fairly typical scenario - Thommo doing what I request and Dusty asking "Why do you want me to? Can I do it later? Can I do it differently? How about just Thommo does it?"

Nicknacks and prizes.

At the weekend's trial I was happy to choose photo frames from the selection of great things on offer, but was fascinated by the magents available at Canine Shenanigans.
"Agility Trial Qualifier" is pretty straight forward, but who decides whether non-qualifiers would get "Agility Just For The Fun Of It", or "Train Don't Complain".

Return to Agility

After four months with no agility - no training, no trials - Dusty, Thommo and I went back to training at Canine Fun Sports last Friday and to an ADAA trial on Sunday.

In the training session we worked on discriminations, layering and distance work with a semicircle of jumps behind a tunnel, and then on control on contacts and table. My footwork and hand signals were a little rusty, but the dogs seemed to pick up where they left off.

Thommo has sore front feet - x-rays on thursday this week - so I only entered him in one event. It was a good quick run, with perfect weaves but he had a refusal and a knocked bar at the end of the course so his feet may have started to hurt. A couple of tight pull offs eliminated most of the competition so he ended up with a non-Q first place.

In Dusty's agility runs I continued what we had been practicing in class and asked for a full 'down' on the contacts and a wait for an 'OK' which added seconds to our time, but she had clear rounds in both Starters and Elementary and third-place ribbons. In Starters jumping she had a great, focused run to get a Q and a first-place ribbon. However by Elementary jumping we had had some heavy rain and she was reluctant to 'down' at the start, I started too close to her, behind the wing, and then pulled her off jump 2 as I ducked around. After that it was another good run, but no Q and no ribbon.

Dog domesticates man

Australian Museum scientist Paul Tacon and Adelaide colleague Colin Pardoe believe that man first developed a relationship with dogs almost 130,000 years ago – 10 times longer than previous estimates. "Evidence suggests domestication of dogs was a two-way street," according to their paper. "That led to profound changes in the biological and behavioral evolution of both species."

Domestication apparently started when wolves introduced themselves to humans by scavenging around campsites. They then moved in and started acting as an early warning system for humans. Later they were used in hunting.

This would have improved the chances of survival for early human groups and may explain why Neanderthals became extinct and homo sapiens did not. Big game hunting became part of human culture after the arrival of dogs – an instinctive wolf behavioral trait which humans picked up. "What we are saying is the two main models of human evolution are too simple," said Dr Tacon. "The real story is far more complex.”

It also suggests that the arguments for raw food based on a 'natural wolf diet' are too simplistic too. If dogs have been eating human cast-offs and left-overs for 130,000 years they are probably well adapted too it. Myself - I think raw food is healthier for both humans and dogs if standards on chemical and bacterial contamination are met.

Dusty gets a qually

Dusty's second trial at Newcastle this past weekend. She had two runs - one in Standard Agility and one in Jumpers under ANKC rules.

We were second in the ring for Agility. I didn't really have Duz's attention and when she saw our instructor running in the next ring, she did the whole course looking over her shoulder. I thought it was a fairly difficult novice course with 90 degree turns away from discrimination obstacles - and it wasn't one we could do without her full attention.

By Jumpers, I had settled down and had taken the time to go through her pre-comp routine with stretches, focus tricks and settling obedience commands, and a game of tug. She had a great run, a couple of wide turns when I forgot that she needed much earlier cues than Thommo, but finished clear in 2/3 of the standard course time for a qualification and a third place medal.

Summer Camp Two

Our second Summer Camp with Canine Fun Sports dealt with skills to succeed in the Games that were introduced in ANKC Agility in 2006.

Summarised, we covered:

1. Distance
2. Discrimination
3. Distractions
4. Directions

Silvia Trkman

Negotiations are underway to bring Silvia Trkman to Australia. Often the promoters of agility seminars here ask you to sign up for a visiting instructor, without knowing more about them than what they have won.

Silvia Trkman has won plenty, but her website also tells us a lot about her training philosophy.

She says:

Many people ask why I don’t write a book… Here is your answer: because I can tell everything that I think is important for success in agility in 10 paragraphs:

1. Develop a firm and trusting relationships with your dog .
2. Properly condition your dog.
3. Teach your dog tricks.
4. Teach your dog obedience, obedience in high-drive of course.
5. Boost your dog’s confidence.
6. Don’t be afraid to do things your way.
7. If something goes wrong, always remember it’s your fault, caused either by your training or your handling. That’s good to know since it gives you a power to fix it yourself too.
8. Never forget that results don’t count.
9. Dogs’ work best when they work for themselves.
10. You want agility training tips? If you follow the advice from above, agility gets so easy that you don’t need those. Just go out and have fun with your dog!

The points are expanded on her website.

Rockclimber

Calling all Pets

Calling All Pets on Wisconsin Public Radio features Patricia McConnell and co-host Larry Meiller providing "down-to-earth advice about pet problems, big and small, and fascinating information about wildlife, too."

Check the archives for a series of shows on "For The Love Of A Dog" discussing whether animals experience emotions just as we do, how to read a dog's facial expressions, and why we love our dogs so much.