not the V-E-T (rut roh)/ PawDance

hi bloggiepals,

well, it was that time of year again. 

Annual exam &  vaccinations... for moi, it's my worse nightmare.

i do NOT like to be handle. touched. looked at..  by the vet at ALL!

look at me, i look like an anteater with this tubey thing on my face with a GL!

mom says safety for everyone comes first, not fashion.

guess she's right, b/c the minute the vet entered..

i gave him my most welcome, how've you been greeting-

low grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

which set the tone for the exam.

luckily i do get a feedbag of chicken in my face

the entire time. mom makes sure to keep my face in it 

so i don't want to eat the vet.

i mean he's trying to score a homerun when
he didn't even work to get to first base- if you know what i mean!

then i heard all my secrets being discussed right in front of me..

okay, so i gained a few pounds. + 10 = 114 lbs.. big deal

and yes, i sleep alot... 

and do not like to exert any amount of energy on walking, moving..
unless it involves foodies.

is that a problem?

the vet thought it could be side effects of my medication & other factors.

he ordered my meals to be cut in HALF (rut roh)

and that all my treats were ok -since they're given for a purpose (kinduv - training, right)

but he decided to check my thyroid.

yep, got a call the next day, that was the culprit. 

a very low thyroid can cause weight gain, lethargy & aggression in some dogs.

most large females. huh? moi?!

the prescription: levothyroxine medication
we'll see how it goes.

so to make it up to me..
mom scheduled an appointment with JULIE!
my animal massage therapist.
she's helping me get use to being handled & touched 
(it's purely therapeutic reasons-- ookay!)

here's my greeting for Julie..

she's what you call a WOO WOO FRIEND!
thanks julie.. now i'm loose as a goose:)

This is also my entry in Norwood's Pawdance Film Festival

Visit his bloggie for more info!

Happy Sunday,

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10:11:00 AM

animal massage therapy, movies, vet

Training Blog #8- the good, ok & humpf

the good, the ok & the humpf ... thought i was done with training. too good to be true. this week it was a triple tula whammy: a vet visit,a new training class, and a rub down. Let's start with the good! oh yah.. mas-sage time.


definitely the best part of training... yep, julie came to visit me this time. Usually we head ovah to Northeast kennels, but it was way 2 hard to concentrate on the massage. the constant wroo wrooo wroos, arf arfs, yappers at the kennels.. did not help to create a relaxing environment. i bet they were just jelly.

at home. relaxation.. not a problem. although when julie knocked on the door. a case of the zoomies broke out. i even went to show her my tricky ball. oops.. that's not why she's herah.

i settled down & got use to her visiting me. then, massage time. hot stones pulleze? oh yeah.. lavender is sooo soothing.. could use some of that too? i wish! just have to get ovah the fact that hoomans have to touch me to do that- this truly is training therapy!



the ok... Ruffians class is in session. a different reactive dog training class with a former instructor Paul Emerson. more advanced or faster paced. already walked in circles around the room with 5 other dogggies. paul calls me his 'grad' student since i was in his class a year ago and calls on moi to demonstrate. who moi? i think i'm impressing him.. calmer & got skills now. look out!





and the i already knew that... meet Dr. Wolfus, my favorite person! i like him so much i give him a special grrrrrrr just for him. especially when he tries to feel my tummie. he was thrilled! and said he notices the progress.. much more calmer this time. his orders are to continue training- okaaay AND lose some weight-- ah, that's a toughie. training = lots & lots & lots of treats. so.. maybe aftah.

that's my week in a nutshell. nevah let's up. excuse me while i catch up on some zzzzzzz..

happy sunday!

toodles,

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7:26:00 AM

animal massage therapy, ruffian class, training blog

Training Blog #5: Whew!

Whew.. talk about an all work-no play weekend. Puggeash!

Massage Therapy Time
Saturday was my massage appointment. Ok, so massage doesn't sound like work to you... but remembah, I'm what some call a 'work in progress'! People touching me anywhere except my cute black & white cookie head (that's what Lucia's mom said about me ) makes me, how do you say, a little uncomfortable. Don't get me wrong, my mommie has special priviledges... she can give me belly rubs! Other peeps, not so much.

This was my third appointment with Julie Robataille- certified canine massage therapist. We're working on me relaxing so I can get the big shabang--a full body massage.

There's more I would like to bark about-- Julie is writing a book about her techniques & asked me not to share toooooo much. Although, she has to take puppy steps with me, she thinks I'm something to wroo wroo about! Awww, shucks.

After our session, mom got out the tunnel, this blue tubey thing. Why, why would I want to go through the tunnel when I can easily walk around to get the chicken. Being the problem-solver that she is, mom sprinkled the chicken inside the tunnel too.
Alright, alright, I'll do it! Puggeash!

Wow, she acted like I did somethang spectacular!
For some reason, I was suppose to chase & play with this big bright yellow ball too.
Umm.. not realleee interested.

This lesson was brought to you by the Letter O!
(he he- opps that is not lady-like)

Sunday's Dog Training Class
Wait, that was just Saturday. Sunday was my new (more advanced) class called Controlled Unleashed. Emma Parsons, author of Click to Calm is the instructor who is basing the class on the book by Leslie McDevitt.

The class is designed for dogs who have a hard time focusing & become reactive during agility competition. However, many of the techniques and games are very effective for me (the non-competitive, inexperienced and not-so-interested in agility stuff). It can have similar results, teaching me to focus (schmocus) and to think while watching doggies move, jump, bark, and breath in close proximity to moi!

Mom was a nervous nelly for the first class. Puggeash! I am the one with the problem... or am i???? I showed her! Her jaw hit the ground in the parking lot... i got out of the car at the same time, Mya the boxer was getting out. No grrring, no lunging.. i watched, very nicely! EXHALE. Ok, off to a good start! We practiced the DOG IN THE BOX and LOOK AT THAT game and other stuff in class. Let me take a bow right now :)

The second class, which was yestahday, was a toughie. There was some Bull Terrier competition in the next ring so our class had a much smaller space to work in. Close quartahs, if you know what i mean. Some doggies, ok including myself, got a little ruffled. (But, that's why we're in the class) We did the DOG IN THE BOX game again to practice playing in front of others & getting a default behavior. Suppose to create a start & stop immediate response. Good idea! We did some jumps.. got somewhat distracted. Never watched myself do it in front of mirror before.. in fact, mom thought i was reacting to some other doggie. Nope, it was me!

Class ended with learning how to 'GO TO YOUR MAT'. The mat is to be the place to settle while you wait your turn. Daisy girl, from the previous class is taking it with me. Her mom came over to say, you might want to exit a few minutes early since the next class is already coming in... before you could blink,
We're OUT!

SORRY NO PHOTOS-- promise the next time.

toodles,




TO CONTROL UNLEASHED (CU) VIDEOS

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7:48:00 AM

animal massage therapy, click to calm, reactive dog class, training blog