Happy Hairy Christmas!

Happy Hairy Christmas from the two of us. We had a freezing walk on Botany Bay. Managing to dodge the fair weather dog walkers who were on our favourite beach. Also managed to not have a disaster around the chuffing quad bikers. Hopefully our beach will be back to normal next week.

I brushed Grey's hair the other day. Not sure he was that impressed! He could see though, which is one thing. I'm promising not to let scissors near him as it will ruin his coat.

Silly running

We managed to get out today to Botany after two days on lead hanging on for dear life while the roads were too icy to get the car out. Grey ran round and round in silly circles very happy to be off lead again. He had a nice bone for his tea.

Silly running 2st December 2010 from Grey the Slovak on Vimeo.

Some videos I forgot to post

Out at Minnis on November 22nd 2010

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Minnis walk 22nd Nov 2010 from Grey the Slovak on Vimeo.

Minnis 22nd November 2010 from Grey the Slovak on Vimeo.

A bit of snow and a mental dog

Snow has been quite stressful for me and Grey. Thankfully, didn't get much snow and it's now cleared after a few days. We didn't take the car out, so we didn't get out to our normal field and beach that we go to for offlead runs. We live on the brow of a hill and to get to the nearest beach where he can be let off means a walk down a steep hill with traffic. A hyped up 30KG dog on the lead on ice and snow having to wear a halti isn't a pleasure for me or him. He fights the collar and lead and generally struggles the whole way.

We had one disastrous walk out to the beach and I realised later I shouldn't have taken him that far. I was swayed by the desire to take him offlead for a run in the snow. But between us and the beach is a whole obstacle course of things that he doesn't find pleasurable at all: traffic, roads and most off all the prolonged short lead.

The walk started off with me making the mistake of letting Grey off the lead in the square given the lovely covering of snow and I was out with my other half that usually makes Grey stick much closer to be part of the group. But Grey had earlier seen our cleaner go off in another direction out of the square. Despite looking like he'd forgotten, the second I let him off the lead he ran off across the square, across the main road and into the shopping centre. Thankfully he let himself be caught by someone who brought him back. They must like dogs because to grab a big dog like Grey running loose is a big thing. So he'll not be let off the lead again on the square or park.

But he did eventually get to run in the snow and so here are some Grey the mental snow bear photos.

So going back to positive trips out, the lesson from this story is to think about positive experiences together. Not walks, not just running. In the following day I just took him out on the square with his food and did a bit of tracking and hiding stuff and just feeding him for focus on me. But snow is super exciting and he generally was less engaged and more wired.

The snow then cleared enough for me to get the car out and he had a great run. Much harder and ranging wider than he usually would. Now it has totally cleared he was back to being able to concentrate again.

Clicker retrieve 1

Having a go at a more structured approach to shaping the clicker retrieve. I'm using Helen Phillips tip of using a box or basket to begin with. It seems to work. On previous attempts to shape a pick up, he doesn't move on to the clean lift off the ground as fast or clearly. I still have a problem of Grey freezing (2.29) and there seems no way to get him going again other than to go right back to the beginning.

Nice information page on slovaks in the UK

Nice and to the point useful info on the Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer from a UK perspective.

http://web.mac.com/galody/Galody/Slovaks.html

Walking on the beach

Just walking and not stopping or calling.

Blind Retrieve 16/11/10

We're no experts at retrieving! But Grey enjoys it and it keeps him busy and out of mischief. It has to be fun though. So if mistakes are made, no chastisement. I'm very lazy and unstructured, but mainly we hang out and do stuff.

A poodle came to say hello

Grey was on the beach and a little mini poodle ran over to say hello. I think he quickly realised that Grey was too much and a bit big and bouncy for him. Grey really is uncool sometimes.

Sitting down and connectedness

A little video of me sitting down on a bench after a walk and run offlead on the beach. Not asking him to do anything, but rewarding him for voluntarily checking in. This bit of ground is heavily walked on by dogs and isn't that remote or quiet. It's also an area Grey has been walked in almost daily since he was a little pup. The camera is also a cue for training I think as usually a predictor of something exciting coming like sausage! So you see a bit where he sits in front of me. And cheeky monkey lets me know when he thinks we've sat long enough, than you!

I'll try and do more of this in different environments to see if there is any difference.

So in thinking about connectedness, a bond is really important. Choosing to come back rather than being forced or even asked to come back. Probably worth more than a bit of sausage.

Never leave anything precious within reach

Sad when dogs are just commodities to pass on

Saw an ad for a 2 year old female slovak up for rehoming because she 'doesn't have enough drive'. For fuck's sake. Hope she finds a good forever home. Wonder where she's from.

More videos from November

I'm slowly working through bits of video that I've taken on my phone in November.

This is from November 5th. Grey goes bothering a golden who is trying to have a quiet paddle in the sea. Just like he likes to do. Perhaps doesn't need a bothersome slovak in tow!



Both Grey and I love paddling. We both prefer to paddle through the shallows.

The importance of being...

Have had a few really nice trips out recently where Grey and I just hang out. It's something that we really benefit from. Just getting out into the sunshine (or not!) and fresh air and just be together. No goals other than each other's company. It's come up in the LADS course I'm doing. The value of connectedness has been a major discussion coupled with approaching learning when a dog is in the frame of mind to learn. Where freedom of choice is of upmost importance. Quality time is worth a million times than stressful time.

Our terrible retrieve

Ho ho ho, here's Grey and me showing how not to do a retrieve and how much he loves to run away with his prize! Was a lovely day though.

More cautious in the woods

This is a video I shot on my phone last month. Grey doesn't range very far in the woods. He seems to be very cautious. He did come across some walkers in the middle of this and he barked at them and was setting most of his weight backwards.

Mooching on the beach video

I'm working through some videos I shot of Grey the last month. Not had time to edit and upload anywhere. After all the time he was ill this summer, it's just lovely to see him messing around.

Freeshaping flat - The beginnings of a drop?

I started freeshaping Grey to put his chin flat on the floor. This might be the beginnings of a drop where he will down and lie flat. Or it could be the beginnings of the cute behaviour 'sleepy'.

I see a big difference in his understanding of behaviours that are shaped as opposed to lured.

Assigning hand signal to known behaviour - sit

I've started adding a hand signal to his sit so that I can work towards having some distance control and a stop signal. Here's our first session at home. I don't know why I didn't do this before as it's long overdue!

Freeshaping - take a bow

I've often had problems freeshaping where Grey freezes and waits and waits as still as a statue. I thought I'm probably doing something wrong and had moved on too fast for him and was expecting too much. But then I also probably started to help him out and so it all got a bit messy. I recently read a blog post from the clicker trainer Fanny Gott who does a lot of freeshaping. So I took up the advice of building some confidence in shaping by clicking the dog for what ever he offered me for a couple of sessions. It seemed to work. We were able to quickly move on to a free shaped 'bow'. In this film this is the 2nd couple of minute session on the 'bow'. It falls apart in the middle where he starts to offer a 'down' but we manage to find the 'bow' again. Really pleased with him, as it's a big step forwards.

Building Confidence - Thinking About Different Surfaces

I've not found time to post much these last few weeks. Probably owing to the fact that Grey and I have been out more since his recovery from the shoulder injury seems to be going really well. Yeah, well, that's my excuse! We've been following the virtual course still with Learning About Dogs with Kay Laurence on building confidence and working with reactive dogs. It's been good helping me look at the finer details of behaviour and how he interacts with the environment.

I put the crate back in the car and covered it so he can't see out the back or side windows. He can still look forward and at me. Instant improvement in stress levels for both of us. No more barking and lunging at the windows at anyone who comes near the car on the outward journey. So he's no longer practising this unwanted behaviour and not building up more of a habit of it. He also at our walk in a much calmer state. Quicker to settle down before he gets out of the car and so much more connected when he's let out, My own stress levels are much improved no longer having the hound of the baskervilles in the back seat!

It's a simple solution and doesn't involve yelling, antibark collars and keeps him safer in the car.

Here's some video homework looking at different surfaces.

Work inside on a polished concrete floor with the target stick



The varied surfaces Grey runs on in our walk. Just video I shot on my phone of him. It's great to see him so relaxed and happy.





I was interested in the choices Grey makes about which surface to walk/run on. On our grassy field top beginning of the walk he actively chooses grass over the harder paths of gravel, compacted sand or asphalt. On the field top he will pee lots and mark up frequently. He doesn't ever mark up on sand or if we are out in the woods.

On the sand he will immediately look for an object like a rock to carry and will also frequently dig. He never digs or carries objects on the grassy areas.

He will happily canter and trot on grass and slow down very suddenly on asphalt. On sand he will frequently gallop.

New start - Back to school!

It's been a busy week this last week. Grey is settling back in to going on offlead walks. So far so good. No limping and he seems really happy. I've readjusted to getting out all my kit that I've not had out of the cupboard for 6 months: wellies, whistle, anorak etc.

Our new routine for the winter months will be up and out for the toilet. Back in for breakfast in his tug-a-jug in our bedroom, while I get on with breakfasts for guests. Breakfast service finished, I go out with Grey for the main walk of the day. The afternoons will be training walks. This seems to be the routine that will fit best with me having early morning starts at work and dark mornings and early evenings. I have to wait in for guests arriving from late afternoon so late walks are not always possible and in the winter it's dark by 4pm anyway.

He's been super good on our walks. We've been up Botany Bay and Minnis Bay. He's been very connected and hasn't run off. He's had his first interactions with other dogs and I'm happy to say he hasn't been too OTT, which had worried me. Today he came away from playing with a golden to come and find the sock as a blind retrieve.

Botany Bay

I started the LADS virtual course: 'COLLAR Building the Skilled and Confident Dog' with Kay Laurence this week. I'm not sure how well I'll do at it! I think everyone else gets the idea more than me! But we'll see. It will be interesting to see how I respond to a little, no a lot of structure for once! I signed up to see if I can improve Grey's reactivity around traffic and things that he considers out of the ordinary. Just to see if he can learn to handle himself and have some coping strategies. This week's homework is to work on the three gaits of walking, trotting and cantering and also stillness.

I shot this of the three gaits yesterday.



And today I was working on capturing stillness. This stillness is intense and in anticipation of further movement. I was thinking about the fact that if I raise my hand above my head he freezes in anticipation of a throw. I'll also work on capturing calm stillness.

Grey's first off lead run all summer

So we finally did it. The boy had a little free running session after we walked round a field. He was so surprised and I was almost tearful seeing him stretch his legs. He's been kept in and on lead for round about a quarter of his life. He was really good. He had the expected roll on the ground showing off. But he stayed close and didn't bog off. Was responsive and stayed with me despite the sudden appearance of a jack russell.

I've included a slow motion repeat at the end to see if it helps look at his movement. I think he's going heavy on one side. But all in all a massive improvement.

Welcome back, Grey!

Having a weekend going over some Ian Dunbar pieces

I've been going through a few videos and training methods from Dr Ian Dunbar. Working on the all or nothing reward system. I've had great success with the last few days of lead training where you take giant steps and wait for an automatic sit before another giant step and so on. Check out the video link from the DVD here. I've long thought that I have to build in absolute patience to wait out for calm. Grey has a tendency to snatch and grab. And also there should be the rule of not moving on or attempting to train or do anything if he's not focussed.

So here are a few videos:

Wasted pupphood. How puppyies at 8 weeks have already gone through two thirds of their critical period and arrive in most homes not housetrained, socialised or taught anything. Ian believes that by the time they are this age they should have met at least 100 different people in positive circumstances.

Filmed in 2007 Dr. Ian Dunbar gives a lecture for TED.



Over 400+ videos on Ian's Dogstar Daily youtube channel.

Grey is swimming and walking on lead!

Big day for us today! Grey realised halfway through his second swim in the hydrotherapy pool that he can swim! All of a sudden he was able to take an interest in a floating toy and actually swim the length of the pool to fetch it! Horray! Might sound like not much for anyone who's dog loves swimming, but Grey has always been scardy of it. They've been really great at the hydrotherapy centre.

While we were waiting for our turn I took Grey out for a walk around the grounds with the lead round my waist hands free. I only did this because we were away from traffic, other dogs and so he couldn't budge me if he pulled. It seemed like a bit of a breakthrough to him. Then when I tried it this evening on our walk around the square he was so much more responsive. Stopping to look back at me if I slowed as he was about to pull. We must have spent 30 minutes just hanging out on the square clicker training all sorts of stuff. Sitting and lying down while I said hello to people, not pulling towards objects he wanted to check out, sit on the whistle, bits of close heelwork.

He's now cuddled up on his duvet with his favourite tug toy. The leadwork I think is coming on a treat as I've stepped down levels of distraction in terms of areas: I took him the other day to Morrisons car park, then today out at kennels. So he gets practise in before I move him up.

Oh and there was another slovak in kennels today. Looked very much liek Grey, but more like another slovak I've met. Looked like a lovely boy. They're all so incredibly the same looking these UK slovaks.

First swim at hydrotherapy

Yesterday we finally got to hydro and Grey had his first swim. He's made loads of progress. Now stands nicely to have his pre-swim shower before going in. I didn't manage to take much video of him swimming as I had to walk round the edge of the pool about 3ft ahead to keep him swimming forwards. He was sploshing around loads on the first lap and then settled in to it. He had a big lean in to Linda on the steps when resting between laps.

Here's the tiny bit of him having his first swim.

Jean Donaldson's 'Oh Behave!' book

Thinking about getting Jean Donaldson's new book: 'Oh Behave!: Dogs from Pavlov to Premack to Pinker'.

It's not a training manual, more reviews of the latest research in canine behaviour and has a large chunk dispelling the infamous dominance theory.

Better make room on the bookshelf...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1929242522/ref=pe_5301_21376071_pe_ar_t1

Nice clicker retrieve videos with a lovely girlie slovak too!

I've looked at some nice clicker retrieve videos and one series in particular is a favourite. also because it features a lovely girlie slovak! Just goes to show that gundogs can learn well from positive methods.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brKu26LlMTU

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy8UgCivPrs

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V14RcOWeR6w

Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avv51UpXPCA

Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avv51UpXPCA

Part 5b: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkQ0iLNFHmc

I also liked these videos from the lovely Jessie and her Canadian trainer, which starts the process in reverse. i.e. with a hold first. I seem to have better success with this method.

Slovak health: 10 month old slovak needing hip replacement

I was sorry to hear recently of a young 10 month old slovak bitch who has got very bad hip dysplasia and will require a hip replacement if not a double hip replacement. The parents of the pup have apparently good hip scores, but these don't tell you if there are any hip problems in the lines. And, of course, most pet owners don't hip score their dogs so the stats are skewed.

I'm in touch with the owners of a closely related dog to this pup who has hips so deformed they were off the charts and who is having to have a double hip replacement at 3 years old. Yet other closely related dogs are out there winning awards and will be bred from. Thankfully she is now recovering and enjoying a full lease of life for the first time. The current average hip score for slovakian rough haired pointers is 9. The advice is that anyone breeding should only breed from dogs with a score well below the breed score average and definitely not above 9.

If anyone has a health issue such as hips, teeth, coat or suspected epilepsy come up with their slovak, it is really important that they contact the breeder and the breed club. Fill out and to send off a health form to the breed club, which is then passed on to the Kennel Club. This is the only way the breed fault average is worked out.

Anyone thinking of buying a slovak pup from a reputable breeder can then ask them about reported problems. Also try asking the breed club for advice on reported health issues and some of the owners you find on Facebook and forums for advice.

Really hoping we're not back to square one

I took Grey to the vets today for his nails to be clipped under sedation. They'd got really long through the lack of exercise and he just won't let me near them to cut them without a struggle. When I picked him up he was limping. By this evening, he's limping as badly as he was over 6 weeks ago. I've called the vet back and he's on Metacam for the evening. I'll see how he is tomorrow.

I'm worried in case something has happened and he's back to where he was. I was only saying this morning how much stronger he was in his body movements around the house. Damn.

oops! wrong day!

Drove out to hydrotherapy today and realised when we got there it was the wrong day. Ahhhhhh. Nevermind, we enjoyed the trip out of the house for a change of scenery and listening to the radio in the car. The usual excited barking when we arrive at a destination, but otherwise, Grey is much improved in the car. Lorries don't get much attention these days. Motorbikes are still a trigger for mad barking which breaks the sound barrier of an enclosed space.

In other news, Grey has become a practised counter surfer. He now routinely cruises the surfaces when we leave the room. It's always our fault if he gets something. Puppy can not be trusted.

Water therapy

Firstly, thanks everyone who has asked about Grey and his skin infection. He's made an almost total recovery, so it looks like our vet was right. It was an infection rather than an infestation. It's more or less cleared up and he's no longer itchy.

He's had two sessions of hydrotherapy. He's been on the water treadmill. He did really really well. Tried to drink most of the water in a typical Grey way. Was much more confident by the second session. So really pleased with him. I think he'll be going in the actual pool for a swim on Saturday. Yay!

He's doing much better with walking and so I feel that we're really on a road to recovery now. Just have to keep it up.

Grey now also has a skin infection

Just when we thought it was all moving on to being better in the world of Grey and I noticed he was getting sore with some scabby browny red deposits on his back legs, bum and tummy area and then the fur started coming out around it. I'd first wondered if it was a type of mange, which might also have linked to a compromised immune system, but a trip to our vet revealed it is most likely a skin infection, but this could be linked to an immune issue. He's now on anti-biotics, Piriton and having tea tree oil cream applied. So he has the look of a monkey bum from behind. Let's hop he doesn't go bald on these patches.

top of tail on his back

on his side of hip

inner leg from back view

side of tail from back

Lead walking breakthrough

I'm still in shock after our walk round the square just now. Something really interesting and earth shattering for Grey's lead walking has just happened. I decided that seeing as I was going to give Grey his tea, that I would pop out onto the square with him and sit on a bench, watch the world go by and pay up for nice calmness. I thought it might be nice for him to see some things as long as it was calm seeing as he's a bit isolated at the moment still. So I grabbed his evening portion of kibble and went out on the flat collar and sat on a park bench in the shade. We never do this because we live here. We're usually always on the move walking.

I clicked and treated for a few minutes for being relaxed and then for looking at the other people in the park and back at me as long as he was calm. There were some other people in the park: a group of people 20 metres away with intermittent shouts and they had a staffie that they threw a ball for and then an old man came in with a long haired GSD that barked at us when it came in 15 metres away and Grey slightly whined but then managed to put attention back on to me and got to eat loads more of his tea. So things that usually would have him kangarooing on his lead. Then after a few minutes of calm rewards, I stood up and slowly in this relaxed mode took a pace and Grey just continued to be very focussed on me, gentle and calm! ! He was trotting about at my side with the lead in a huge loop down and was then allowed to sniff bits and I continued to click and treat with small handfuls of food. It even didn't go wrong when the stupid staffie owner chucked the ball near us and ran over with his dog to look for it. Grey did get a bit excited, but I was able to settle him down into a sit, a watch and a down and then we continued on our way.

I had to get L out of the house to watch me walking up and down the path as I have never in my days see him do this! Obviously this might have been a real fluke. But I wonder if I had short circuited the adrenaline surge by calming down outside? I have often tried to calm down inside before going out, but his energy has always been so high then it's hard to come down. So by calming for a minute or so before setting off I was able to get his attention.

If this never happens again, I will still be happy with the sheer joy of walking up and down outside my house with my gorgeous dog, Grey! A small glimpse of a possible future!

Further reading on debunking dominance theory in wolves and domestic dogs

A friend had asked me for some links on research that debunks dominance theory in wolves and dogs. It was a nice request as I was reminded to go back through some links and start to look around to see if I could find some more to read myself.

This list isn't exhaustive, and I'll add to it as I go on. Perhaps I'll create a specific link page because as a subject it is so important. Every single dog trainer I've seen has emerged as steeped in dominance theory and eventually waxed lyrical about how wolves use dominance to raise their young. They live in family units of two parents and the pups. Early wolf studies used captive artificial packs. And in any case, domestic dogs are not wolves. Studies of feral domestic dogs show more relations in pairs than packs and relations are opportunistic and sporadic.

Here's my quick list:

Nice blog post from someone who used to believe in dominance theory and then changed his mind. This is a rare thing:

http://retrieverman.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/dominance-theory-is-of-no-use-to-dog-trainers/

Retrieverman links to a peer reviewed paper from the Journal of Vetrinary Behavior: Clinical Applications Research: Dominance in domestic dogs—useful construct or bad habit?

Dr Sophia Yin on dominance with video clips from Cesar Millan's show as a point of discussion:

http://drsophiayin.com/philosophy/dominance/ stating:

"4. Wolves in the wild generally do not gain their high rank by fighting their way to the top. Instead a male and female breed and the pack is a family unit comprised of the parents and the offspring. The parents naturally become the leaders. The offspring naturally follow their lead. As a result of this discovery regarding pack structure, wolf biologists no longer even use the term alpha with wild wolf packs."

http://www.kathysdao.com/articles/Forget_About_Being_Alpha_in_Your_Pack.html

http://www.boulderdog.net/2009/07/18/dismantling-cesars-house-of-domimance/

http://www.fun4fido.co.uk/blog/debunking-the-dominance-myth.html

http://4pawsu.com/dogpsychology.htm

Tips on using a headcollar with a reactive dog that pulls

I had a bit of a rethink yesterday about Grey's walking on any kind of headcollar. I came to the sad realisation that for him it's been an instrument of torture as he didn't just settle into it and self correct when the tension was applied through him pulling. He requires as much close training as a flat collar but with the bonus that I have control over him if he lunges at things he reacts to in the everyday environment. So I'm slapping myself on the wrist for allowing him to have far too much tension on the collar which hinders him learning and giving relief. He's been so hard to hang on to on a flat collar if he does rear up, that this safety belt aspect of the headcollar took over in function. It's a stark reminder that equipment is no quick fix for training.

I heard a saying yesterday which was 'train the dog you have, not the dog you'd like to have'. I would have loved Grey to have been the dog that went into instant calm on a head collar, but he isn't. He pulls less on a headcollar, but he still pulls.

So I had a revisory look through some videos and learned a few little changes that will help change the headcollar into a more benevolent management tool. I've posted some of these before, but in case it is useful to have them all in one place.

Two videos on introducing the Gentle Leader. The first Jean Donaldson creates an conditioned emotional response:

The second is a nice guide on fitting the Gentle Leader correctly by Becky Schultz. Note:

- the very snug back strap and loose nose strap.

- The snap of the lead should be hanging down and the lead should be a 'J' shape. i.e. a nice loose lead at all times.

- Reaching down the lead to take it very close to the dog's muzzle to gently turn the dog round as you would lead a horse round close to the bit.

- Pulling the dog sideways and round not back.

- A no no on backwards pulling and jerking.

http://abrionline.org/player.php?id=194&height=450&width=710

Jean Donaldson demonstrating backing up which turns the reactive dog away from the focus of distraction. Again no pulling back:

http://abrionline.org/player.php?id=95&height=450&width=710

http://abrionline.org/player.php?id=102&height=450&width=710

I've looked at these videos purely for tips on better use of a headcollar and not the general situations that have been set up. Our walk this morning was much better. He had more relief and was brought more to focus on me by being turned to face me for a sit and watch which interrupted his constant strong pulling to sniff.

A cue to settle the dog

Was flicking through some videos on how to fit the Gentle Leader and found a Patrica McConnell video on getting a dog to stop bugging you with a couple of head pats and a look away. I need to remind myself to do more sideway movements on the headcollar and not a straight back pull.

Week 4 of rest

Poor Grey, such a bad dog mum am I that I forgot to give an update from last week! But seeing as it's groundhog day here at our house, I can say it's pretty much this:

wake up

snuggles

out for a wee on the lead

breakfast in tug-a-jug

rest while I make breakfasts for guests.

Out for 10 min stroll (walking on toes really switched on) walk round square on headcollar.

rest chewing pizzle

out for wee at mid morning.

Lunch cuddles and then another wee

Afternoon lounging.

Is it dinner time yet????

4pm dinner in tug-a-jug

another wee in back on lead

more cuddles

stroll round square on head collar if coast is clear and nothing too exciting.

Then bed.

And repeat...

He's been a bit more bouncy and switched on. Don't think the limp has totally gone. I'm afraid they'll not give us the all clear. We go back in two weeks time.

Week 2 of rest

Grey has officially stopped limping to my untrained eye. I'm sure someone more experienced can see something still, but to me, he's stopped limping. Which is really amazing. He's also completely off medication now. So no more Metacam. Rob the vet said he could come off it when we saw him a few days ago. He was taken off straightaway. And that he still hasn't limped is really really good. We've put him on Seraquin to support his joints at 3 tablets per day. He'll be on that dose for 4-6 weeks and then it drops down to half the dose.

He's still coping really well with the routine. Some good things have also come out of this situation. It's such a long road, that it's amazing there are some good things to come out of it along the way. He's now content to be left in our bedroom on his own for a wee while. Before this controlled rest period, he would sometimes howl and bark if we left him in the bedroom during our breakfast service at the B&B, which is when I have to go cook for guests. Now that we didn't have a choice but for him to live in the one room, he's now happy to be left unable to follow me from room to room. He's also much more into chews and the life saving treat dispensing tug-a-jug. Makes sense I suppose that while he's in a more restrictive environment that he gets pleasure from investigating things more.

But funnily enough he's really not that curious or clever in terms of his immediate environment compared to other slovaks I've heard about. I've got chews, primula cheese spread tube and tupperware boxes of his kibble and treats on top of the crate which is next to our bed. He hasn't tried to get them once, despite the bed being the same height as the crate. He doesn't really go in the crate except to eat. I've left it up because it enables him to play with the tug-a-jug and dog pyramid without them rolling under the bed or wardrobe. Mostly he's spends the whole day lounging on our bed with the odd trip out on the lead for a wee.

I'm still taking him out on the headcollar for the 2 x 15 min walks. He still hates it with a passion and shows no sign that he'll ever get over it. Still visibly shudders when the clip clips and runs and hides if he sees it come out, no matter how it is connected to the idea of going out. But everyday I'm reminded that without it I wouldn't be able to manage him. Whether it is a cat or a car that comes round a corner at a certain speed. Bam! There he can go, rearing up and on anything else I wouldn't be able to get him back under control.

He's being very cuddly and soppy. We're managing to have him almost not bark at guests as they come in and past the bedroom door.

So there goes another two weeks. We're now onto 2 months since Grey first got ill in April. It will soon feel like we've passed through the whole of the summer.

Here are some piccies of the slovak poodle sporting a lob sided shaving job:

Looking out

Poodle clipped Grey

Big headed Grey thanks to the iphone camera lens

skinny chested Grey from no exercise and the shaved bits

Week 1 of rest

Wow. Can't believe I've not posted updates on how Grey's doing. Especially since we've been enclosed in our little room for a week now. Grey got a diagnosis of damaged ligaments to his inside right shoulder. He had keyhole investigations last Weds and came home Thurs afternoon. His treatment plan is to have more or less complete rest. That means no stairs, running, jumping. He's to go to the loo on the lead and have two short 15 min gentle walks per day. He's also on 31KG dose of Metacam.

So we had to do some moving round. I moved his big crate and a desk into our bedroom so we could access the outside without stairs. Our basement where we spent all day has eight steps from every entrance. I decided to move myself in here too so he'd find the confinement easier.

He's settled really really well. He dozes lots and we break up the day with some clicker training on none movement things like eye contact and allowing me to touch his nails etc. He's been chewing pizzles and has his food in Kongs and the tug-a-jug. He's now on Orijen complete and is doing really well on it. We have to keep up this regime for another 5 weeks.

Grey's doing ok at the vets

Just heard that Grey is recovering well from his surgery. Hopefully can get the monkey back tomorrow. Vets now think that he has some kind of trauma to his shoulder that is causing instability. We'll know more tomorrow.

Night, night, monkey.

RIP Spek zo Sorosa of Emmaclan

Spek zo Sorosa of Emmaclan was one of the first Slovaks to be imported into the UK in 1997. Spek sadly passed aged 13 in 2009.

Here is a tribute to Spek:

"I’M AFRAID I have some rather sad news. Margaret Holmes tells me of the loss of their beloved Spek zo Sorosa of Emmaclan who was among the very first of the three Slovakian R/h Pointers brought to our shores from Slovakia in 1997 by Margaret and Kevin Bingham. Spek was 13 years old and such a wonderful ambassador for the breed and is, indeed, in every pedigree of our stock here in the UK.
Margaret and husband Colin are terribly upset. He was such a big person – his super temperament and personality were the reasons why she fell in love with the breed in the first place. She is pleased that these qualities and his legacy will live on through his progeny. He obviously leaves an enormous and irreplaceable hole in their lives and Spek will go down in the breed’s book of history.
The other stock from Slovakia were Santel and Supa zo Sorosa. Then Amie and Amaretto vom Kapffelsen came from Germany. These five dogs are the very foundation of all the stock in the UK."

RIP Emmaclan Anya at Ansona (Beth)

Emmaclan Anya at Ansona (Beth)

07/03/99 - 01/02/10

Sad to hear that Beth passed over to the bridge after a short illness aged 10. Beth was one of the first generation Slovakian Rough Haired Pointers born in the UK.

Beth's page at Ansona

Tribute written by Julie George-Ainscough from the SRHP breed club

"IT IS WITH sadness that I bring news of the death, following a short illness, of Emmaclan Anya at Ansona (Beth), owned and worked by Tricia Grimes. Beth was one of the first generation born to Margaret Holmes and Kevin Bingham’s imports here in the UK and became a super ambassador of the breed. She was a well respected working dog and indeed a very special dog for Tricia – I feel privileged to have worked alongside her with my Weimaraner.
Fortunately for the rest of us her wonderful qualities have been passed on through her progeny – enforcing the typical characteristics of this breed for our future pleasure.
It is with thanks to a handful of careful breeders who have endeavoured to place puppies into the correct environments which has permitted many of this stock to go on and make breed history, not just in the field of work here in the UK but back throughout Europe – also becoming world show champions."

Grey's initial orthopedic consultation

We spent 6 hours driving yesterday in the May sunshine. Grey was really excited at first as he must have thought we were going for a lovely off lead walk. Poor love. He eventually settled down into staring sadly out the back window with the occasional bark at passing motorbikes.

He was examined and found to have a possible issue with his left shoulder. They think it is slightly dislocating. They also think he is lame on his right leg. He wasn't easy to examine as he's become a skillful wriggler at these havy manipulations that end up provoking something to hurt. Unfortunately, nothing we can do to avoid this as it's only by finding out where and how it hurts that we can find out. So we had a couple of breaks. I calmed him down, did some Ttouch with him and managed to get him to lie on his side with me sitting next to him.

We've been booked in to come back next Weds for him to have extensive xrays and keyhole investigative surgery on his shoulder. He'll stay in overnight and we pick him up the following day.

Grey's Days now on twitter

About time we got with the social newtworking dogs. Grey's Days blog now comes with twitter. http://twitter.com/greytheslovak

Off to the ortho specialists tomorrow

We've got an appointment tomorrow to see an ortho specialist vet in Hertfordshire tomorrow morning. We were referred by our vet today. Today's consultation revealed that Grey's lympth glands are still up and they agreed his limp is bad. It will take us about 3 hours to get to the vets. He's off the metacam now and has been resting all day. I've not taken him out the front to stretch his legs at all. It's too exciting and he needs the rest. He's slept through.

Back to the vets tomorrow

I'm taking Grey back into the vets tomorrow. he may have to stay in and have xrays again. This is just so shitty and depressing for him. He's generally more insecure now while he's ill. I don't think he's feeling too happy in himself today. He stood and had a howl when some unusual noises came on the radio and growled at a sock on the floor that he'd left there earlier. His limp is worse today and I just hope we can find what is wrong with him.

Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer Breed Club Health Questionaire

The Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer Breed Club have amended their health page on their website. Details of the conditions previously detailed have been removed and replaced with a statement and link to a downloadable rtf document asking for information to be sent to the breed club health rep so the info can be sent to the Kennel Club.

Grey is still limping

Hmm. Not much to report other than Grey is still limping. We were supposed to be working up to offlead exercise, but he's not improving on his leadwalks. So we'll be calling the vets again tomorrow. Poor Grey. So fed up now.

Another young slovak with pain issues

We sadly heard of another young male slovak of 12 months with the same extreme pain symptoms as Grey, Gunner and Indy had. Crying in pain so much that had to be hospitalised. Jed has had extensive tests and the diagnosis is sterile meningitis. We hope that Jed gets better really soon and makes a speedy recovery. Details of his condition were posted on Dogsey Forum.

So why are these young slovaks coming down with such extreme symptoms? We have four reported cases of a pain condition. Two have been found to be discospondilitis (Gunner and Indy), one sterile meningitis (Jed), and Grey is the unknown. There is also a friend who has a 3 year old bitch (Eva) who also had meningitis and had to be isolated for 9 months from the age of 6 months.

Update on Grey: He's on the second day of a 25KG dose of Metacam. He's still limping and had a little yelp when going down some stairs. He's been kept in today and we'll speak to the vets tomorrow. We're just hoping that we can find out what the heck is wrong with him and get him fixed.

Grey is limping again

Bit of a shock really. He had made a good recovery. Was weaned off the Metacam and has been out off lead for the last three days or so. He started limping last night and was much worse today. So we called the vets and have been told to put him back on Metacam for a 25KG dose for two days. I've spoken with Gunner's owner and she said this is how things went for Gunner last year. Although Gunner went months without a diagnosis of an infection and was on painkillers which meant his infection spread further. So we could be dealing with a soft tissue from straining himself after the illness or it could be the return of the infection.

He's ok in himself. Just resting. I was just about to post a video of him helping in the garden as well. Which I will still do, as it made me laugh so much and was lovely to see him after the last month.

Why do dogs mark up?

I've been talking to friends about dogs marking up. So I took a video of Grey marking up when he was first let off lead.



Grey marks up a lot. He's often not challenging anyone or another dog. Unless he's challenging me!

Back in action

Happy, funny running boy Grey after 1 month of house arrest.



I had thought he might be more of a bugger to get back. But actually his month attached has improved things. We're working on more proactive lead training than I did before. His recall is good (not perfect by all means!).

Welcome back hairy boy!

Working on headcollar desensitization

While we're still at home... Yup! Still under house arrest here. Although he seems really well, we're decreasing the Metacam 5kg dose every two days and he's totally off the Tramadol painkiller. So we've been doing a little headcollar desesitization training to try and turn the headcollar a less scary experience for Grey.

Session 1

Sad news - Gunner has been diagnosed with epilepsy

We're heartbroken for Grey's brother Gunner (Stormdancer Swell) and his owner. The day before Grey went in for his MRI, Gunner had an MRI too. He's been diagnosed with Idiopathic Epilepsy. This is really devastating for his owner. He's started on medication which has side effects. He's very drowsy and has peed in the house at night. But without medication he was having fits every couple of weeks. If left to have repeated fits he could end up with lesions in the brain and eventual damage. The last two were in a single morning, the day after his MRI. The fits last from3-5 minutes. His back legs collapse and he goes down.

Epilepsy could be like a ticking time bomb for the UK slovaks. It can show up from 6 months to 6 years. The other slovak we know that is fitting but who hasn't been tested yet is of the same parentage as Grey and Gunner, but he's 5 years old. The UK slovaks are very closely bred with a small number of studs and breeding bitches, themselves from lines that are very closely bred. I would say the time has come for responsible action to be taken.

I'm trying to find out if there are links with the pain issue and epilepsy or if it is just a separate issue that we may have to face. Ideally I'd like to speak to someone in Slovakia for advice to hear if they have had experience of epilepsy in their lines.

Here is a link to Grey's pedigree. You can see that the dogs Hajasov Dvor appear again and again.

Someone kindly posted some useful links on canine epilepsy. If there is a plus side to this story, we're not looking at thousands of dogs that are potentially affected. We may have a chance for a case study because of the small number of dogs and also of the breeding stock.

http://www.aht.org.uk/genetics_research.html

http://www.canineepilepsy.co.uk/

http://www.veterinary-neurologist.co.uk/seizures_epilepsy.htm

http://www.ourdogalfie.com/

Update: Grey still has ongoing pain issues

I've been meaning to post back following Grey's trip to The Animal Health Trust last Weds. I truly hoped that we'd be in a different position by this weekend. Unfortunately, despite getting thoroughly examined at AHT and coming out with clear MRI scan results, he had a further set back this last Friday when he started yelping in pain again when pressure was on his neck. So he was then put on Metacam along with everything else and we have to speak to the vet on Tuesday to see what we do next.

The Animal Health Trust were absolutely fantastic. That place is like the set of ER or Gray's Anatomy for animals! He had a full spinal MRI and spinal tap. They found nothing wrong with him. We may have caught an infection early and are now dealing with the residual pain from inflammation. We heard from someone else who got a slovak pup that was a litter two weeks older than Grey and Gunner. I remember peeking over at them to have a look. The owner said her dog had had a bad spinal infection the same as Gunner and had to have specialist treatment for months. This is the same litter that someone I met who had a pup called Freya who was rehomed at the 2008 slovak fun day. I remember the owner having lots of problems with Freya having the runs too.

More news from the vet on Tuesday. For the moment, we still don't go running. He rests.

Impulse Control Training 2

We ran through another session of the Impulse Control training that we'd started the day before. He was markedly better. I thought he was really good to be able to walk over the food without lunging for it. We've also practiced it outside in the park too.

Home training while recouperating - Impulse Control

We did our own bit of training today taking inspiration from the Susan Garrett 'It's Yer Choice' video that a friend sent us as something to do while Grey is under house arrest not exercising. I probably made quite a few mistakes with not having enough room to back up. We managed to get to the point where we're practising on lead walking close to food on the floor.



We've had a few walks round town and the upside from this enforced free running ban is that we're doing lots and lots of positive experiences around his usual trigger points: kids, prams, motorbikes, vans, lorries, shouting people etc. No lunging today which is great.

I had an update on Gunner today. He's gone in for his MRI tomorrow. So hope they come up with a diagnosis to help him. Also heard that another young slovak is up for possible rehoming. It really is a shame with such few numbers in the breed in total that they come up for rehoming because people can't cope. They're difficult dogs to manage, especially the boys. There are strong grounds I believe for adapting the official breed description to underline the fact that they're working dogs, need loads of stimulation and exercise and are not couch potatoes.

Grey's Results and Further Testing

Grey is doing really well. All pain has now gone. He's down to one set of broad spectrum anti-biotics (Cephorum), pain killer (Tramadol) and a pro-biotic ( Protexin). We had a second opinion on Friday regarding Grey's treatment and results. They said that it would be a good idea for him to be seen by a specialist to see if we can get to the bottom of what is showing up in his results as some kind of immune response to some kind of stimulus like an infection, virus or something else. What I don't want to risk is this going the way of Gunner's pain problems which were also linked to an infection that went undiagnosed for a period of time. We're being referred to AHT in Newmarket.

Gunner is waiting for his MRI scan to see if they can find out why he has been collapsing every two weeks. We heard from another slovak owner who has a 5 year old male from the same sire as Gunner and Grey that he also has collapsed four times in the last year in a manner that sounds really similar to Gunner's episodes. This is obviously a real worry and with such small numbers in the gene pool, it's really important for this data to be shared amongst owners and breeders. It may be that the cases aren't linked at all, but alarm bells do ring when you hear of other dogs with the exact same mystery symptoms.

We heard back from the breed club health rep the other day that Grey's details were part of the list that has been compiled re the slovak bite fault issue and that guidance has been sent to the Kennel Club. I've requested to see this advice.

For now, I've been working on doing bits of training with Grey to try to keep him from being bored. We've done more lead walking on the halti. My friend sent me this Susan Garett video to work through which I'd forgotten about!



In general he's really wanting to go and run now. But we've been told he can't until further notice. He's had a few mad runs round the kitchen island after we've got home from a lead walk. Bless him. He's going to kick up his heels after this.

Day 7 of the mystery illness - how to manage a bored slovak?

Woke up this morning to Grey sat on the bed barking at a cat sat on a wall in the garden. No yelps or squeals today. Generally he's quite bored and finding ways to amuse himself in the house like collecting up a range of objects into his bed. He's eating and going to the loo fine. He's still quite a bit more reactive to noises outside even when in the house. He's also stood a few times barking at me which he doesn't normally do at all in the house.

I waited until the morning school run had finished and the green was all clear to take him out on the halti. We went to say hello to his friend the decorator who's now working on a house near us. He really loves this guy. He was much safer and manageable on the halti. We just mooched across the grass with lots of sniffing.

Off to the vets this afternoon.

I'm now giving him his dinner in frozen kongs to keep him busy longer.

Day 6 of the mystery illness - normal service is resumed

I woke up this morning to Grey hovering above me licking my arm to wake me up. So pretty much back to normal in terms of inside the house. he has only had the odd yelp for going down stairs. otherwise, he's behaving as he would have done before he was ill. He's had just one painkiller tablet and his antibiotic this morning.

This now raises the next issue of what to do with him while he thinks he needs to go out and he's not really allowed out to go running. And lead walking a dog that doesn't lead walk very well is an obstacle to get over.

What equipment should I put on him?

So for now we've been amusing ourselves with lead training with treats and keeping an eye out for things that might set him off in terms of reactivity. Don't want him rearing up on the collar etc.

We've been following the Dogs Trust videos for 'close' in the back yard and looselead walking with the premack principle on the green. Roll on tomorrow for test results.

Lovely lovely Dogs Trust - Dog Training Made Easy videoss

These are just fab! Nice and easy to follow videos from The Dogs Trust. There are even some of our friends in there. Obviously they can always call on us if they need someone to show just how easy it is to get your dog to pull you on the lead and bark their head off in car. it's taken us two years to reach this perfection!

Day 5 of the mystery illness - ups and downs and ups

Today has been such an up and down day. Last night he had basically refused to wee or poo all evening. We had to carry him up and down the stairs and out into the back yard, where he just stood looking sad with his back curled up so he looked like an oversized beddlington terrier. I woke up at 4a.m to him crying so I gave him some more painkiller tablets. I managed to get him to lick some water from my hand while he was in bed. This morning at 7.30 he was no better. He was very distressed if one of us leaves the room. Again wouldn't wee or poo when he was carried outside. He ate his tripe brekkie no problem and had a new antibiotic. Then he turned around for a while. We'd left the front door open and he took himself off up the front steps to look out the gate at the front. So I asked him if he wanted to go out for a wee and he did. Popped on his fleecy harness on, checked there were no dogs around and lead him over onto the green. He greeted two lady neighbours wagging and pleased to see them, then onto the green cheerily had a wee, a poo and decided to lie down on something he thought smelled nice. He seemed very engaged and actively came back to the house when I asked him if we should go find his dad. He then snoozed for an hour or so. I gave him his next pain meds at 10. A bit later he was back to crying and whining and being a bit lost. So I popped a Ttouch body wrap on him and did some Ttouch on him. He wanted to lean into me and generally be sure where we are. So after he tried to sit on the bench with me at the dining table, I moved to the dog duvet with him with all my paperwork! He seemed calmer and slept a while stretching out.

I popped out at lunchtime and on my return found a much more alert and relaxed Grey. He was in bed with a nicked butter pat pot off the side. Woohoo! He's interested in thieving again! He then went outside to the garden and dug up his raw hide chew that he continuously has a bit of a chew on and then buries in the garden. To finish it off he went up the front steps and barked at something across the green. Don't want to tempt fate but a big improvement on yesterday.

He's had chicken for dinner tonight and more painkillers and his second antibiotic. He's now fast asleep.

Report back from the vets

Quite a mixed bag of news really. He's had a every test there is to have and is now home with shaved bits and feeling sorry for himself. The vet doesn't think it's cancer, so it's a huge relief. They don't know what it can be and have mentioned that it could be as a possibility immune related arthritis. His xrays look fine on all joints and spine. We've been sent home with more painkillers and anti-biotics until Thursday evening. So I guess more of the lying around moaning until then.

Let's not forget it's Gunner and Grey's 2nd birthday today. Here they are when they were reunited as adolescents and below a video I found on my phone from a few weeks ago up Botany Bay. Happier times. Both are not too well at the moment with also Gunner having fortnightly collapses. Happy birthday lovely boys.