We love our dogs. They become so much a part of our lives it is impossible to think of life without them. When they are sick our hearts break and when they are failing and we feel so helpless. We pray for a miracle that will bring comfort and more days with our beloved friend. The one who can bring such a gift is nothing short of a hero. This is the story of such a hero. Our very own Gable Henderson of Billings as told by his owner, Judy.

About 4:00 p.m. last Thursday we got a call from our vet that they had a lab that was in need of blood. Gable is an emergency blood donor. Within 15 minutes I had Gable down there,I was told that the lab has a mass in it's stomach. About 7:00 p.m. the vet called and said she would keep Gable the night that he was very sleepy, they have to sedate the donor dog to keep them quiet and calm so that no problems develop with the donor dogs. Friday morning the vet called for us to pick up Gable. He did not like their cuisine so when we got him home we fed him. With extra yummy steak in his kibble, he licked his bowl clean. No problems at all with him otherwise after the donation. Vets office called me yesterday and told me that the lab went home with his family which is extremely good news. Now the lab needs one more miracle and that is that the mass is not cancer, he has a one in three chance. Lets all pray and keep positive thoughts for him, The lab is 11 years old and it would be nice for him to have more days of old age.

love
All the Henderson's

Waiting for the dogs to arrive "grandma" Vicki and "auntie" Joni both could hardly wait to see Tiny Tim. Finally the truck arrived and Judy said, "So which one of you will get to walk Tim?" I assured her with a wink that I didn't have to be super fast just faster than Vicki. Finally when the driver was opening the door to the first crate I stood back to make sure it was the boys. I immediately stepped forward and took Tim by the collar, very pleased with myself. The driver was trying to hold the other two dogs in and he said to me "Hand that one off and take this one." I nearly passed out "WHAT?? Hand off Tim?? What??" But I did it and I helped get Xavier unloaded. I turned around expecting to see "grandma" Vicki with the new baby. But it was Dan Tripp who held the long awaited Tim's lead. With a nod from Vicki I swap Dan dogs and headed out to the back of the parking lot to give Tim a much needed nature break. It is hard to pick a favorite among the 3. Rag Doll immediately walked off with Vicki's heart. Rag Doll has these big doe like eyes that look right through you. Her personality seems to be gentle and sweet. I am not a big fan of blue dogs but Xavier is really handsome. He is a nice size and has nice milk chocolate eyes. Tiny Tim is a medium size boy in rich dark brindle. His personality seems to be curious and outgoing. I think he would be a fantastic family dog. When I got Tim home he had a touch of diarrhea no doubt from travel stress. After giving him a little medicine, I put him out with the girls for much of the afternoon. I will cat test him tomorrow. I will get pictures after the week end.

I am getting really excited about the new dogs heading our way. In particular I can't wait to meet Nitro Tiny Tim. Saturday they are due to arrive. I can barely wait!! Gabe the Springer rescue continues to thrive. It is interesting to me how different they look when they relax and find some happiness. He has covered so much ground this week. Day one he was a dog who was peeing on himself, growling and so tense...now he is a pup with some bounce in his step and an adoring smile in his eyes. I really am proud of him. Aim has had a bit of a break from obedience but we need to start getting busy if we are going to be ready for the show next month. There is a weight pull the end of the month and some of my students and I have been getting some dogs ready. So far we have entries from 3 states and several local dogs are entering. It should be a fun week end together enjoying our dogs. I am pulling with my boy Brink. I thought about entering him last year but he just wasn't ready. He is a intresting dog, his body was mature long before his mind caught up. Now at 3 years I think he is ready to step out of the wings and into the lime light.

It has been a interesting week on many levels. Of course when the Springer showed up I ended up taking him in. After I agreed to keep him, his owners confessed he had planned to take him to the vet in the morning to be put down. The Springer has some confusion about the order of things in life but something in his face told me there was a good boy still in there. It is interesting that the number one thing that screws up dogs is the very thing people think is a great kindness. Dogs can not understand complete freedom. I am not talking about no fences or leashes (because in most American societies that means death), what I am taking about is no rules and babying bad behavior. A life without structure and with no leader is a heavy burden for dogs. The Springer boy stayed here to find himself and hopefully a better life. When I work with a dog with problem behaviors I mostly let them just decompress the first week or so. The only rules I enforce are things that are dangerous to themselves or others.

First order of business was finding him a new name. His name was Sage. I already have a Sage in my pack and since he may be here a while he needed an adjustment. With the help of Trish I settled on Gabe...Gabriel...naming him after an angel can't hurt...he needs all the help he can get. About day 3 I let him out for some paddock time with Aim, the golden. After about half an hour I decided to shake things up a little and add a dog Gabe didn't know. I chose a dog who I knew wouldn't react to him, I expected Gabe would try his bad dog hysterical act. I had no idea what a show we were all in for. I entered with the new dog and let him off lead. I stayed near with lead in hand just in case. Sure enough Gabe charged at the new dog barking like a crazed dog from hell. I stepped between them and swung the lead at him in a threatening way. Gabe stopped short and for just an instant I saw him think about taking me on...my no nonsense stance and hard look made him veto the notion. As soon as I saw him back down I called him to me and loved on him. The new dog came in for some love. I watched Gabe start to brace for another bout of hysteria and I very quietly slid the slip lead on him. When he charged at the other dog he hit the end of the lead flipping himself way up into the air and landing with a thud on his back. I never could have planned such a correction. Gabe's hysteria was now displaced, he began to thrash on the ground and scream bloody murder. I kept my eyes on the other two dogs who were completely awestruck. If they stepped forward I got eye contact with them and told them to "GET OUT!" It took about 2 full minutes before Gabe started to slow down. I just held the lead and waited. As far as tantrums go it really was award winning. He kicked, thrashed and screamed and we waited. Slowly the brain started to turn back on. He stopped moving and he laid there a moment taking inventory. "Hmmm I am not hurt. Hmmm no one seems to care I am hysterical. Hmmm everyone else is calm." Then he rolled onto his chest and stood up rather sheepishly. We moved around the paddock and he kept glancing at me with this befuddled look on his face. We stayed out in the paddock another 5 minutes or so and then headed in. He had a lot to sort through while he napped in his crate. Since that time I could see him shifting gears. The crazy behavior is still close to the surface but he is trying to fit in. Today is day 6, he is wagging his tail and his eyes are softening. I let him out this evening with another group of new dogs. He raised a lip but when I verbally corrected him and got eye contact with him, he seemed relieved to know I was in charge. He also is letting me touch him all over finally. Last week he was rock hard tense, would not let me to touch his rump and peed all over himself. Gabe will be a project for sure but I am learning from him. One thing I learned is the value of the growl. Because his owners punished him for all growling he learned not to give verbal warnings when he was uncomfortable. The end result was the owners felt he was randomly going off. In fact he was doing what they taught him to do, skip all the warning and jump right into the hysterical behavior. His hysterical behavior caused them to try to soothe him with calming words which he read as reinforcement. Like all behaviors that are reinforced the hysteria grew. And so started the cycle of behaviors that had him dancing on the end of a needle full of blue juice.

Two weeks before the next dogs arrive from OK. With them will be Nitro Tiny Tim. I can't wait to meet him. We don't know yet what time they will arrive but expect it will be during the day on Saturday Oct. 24. Let Carol or I know if you want to be advised so you can come meet the bus and the new dogs.

I had a woman call me yesterday who was referred to me by the Animal Control. The woman was frantic about the behavior of her dog. The woman was speaking so fast and furious I barely could get a word in edgewise. She was obviously in distress. The dog is a 2 year old male springer and is having problems with both fear followed by bouts of hysteria exhibited by barking and lunging at dogs or strangers. She said she could not figure out the triggers. They have tried a gambit of things from putting him on meds, neutering him and taking him out to public places all to no avail. Finally this last week the dog lunged at a visiting family member leaving a scratch on her mother's face. They could not decide if the scratch was toenail or teeth caused but either way it spurred them into action. I told her I charge $50 for a one time consultation and offer discounts for a series of classes. She said she would discuss it with her husband and call me back. Soon she called back and said they decided not to spend any more money on the dog. I asked so what now? her response was "One way or another we are getting rid of this dog." Her options were to put the dog down or take it to the shelter but she was open to other options. From the description of the dog and behavior it sounded like a dog who simply has lost his way and I really felt like I could help him. I was a little surprised to learn they were on the verge of making a date with a syringe full of blue juice for this dog. This dog had sparked a bit of interest in me. What his owners see as a nightmare I see as a interesting puzzle...a chance to learn and maybe help this pup. So I did the only thing I could do I offered to waive my fees and agreed to evaluate the dog. I told her I would be very frank and if I thought the dog needed to keep his date with the vet I would tell her. I am not a bleeding heart there are dogs that for whatever reason are too dangerous to be in society. If the body is sick and is not going to recover people see immediately the dog needs to be released. I believe if the mind is sick beyond repair the same rules apply. It isn't enough to give them life if there is no quality to it. Sunday morning she is bringing him out. I know she is hoping she can bail out and dump the dog on me and RUN. Who knows I might even allow it.

The show was in a nutshell a disaster...but the hotel was GREAT and Darrin was with me.

The show ring was outside and being outdoors worked against us. Saturday was cold and rainy. Little Aim warmed up well but I could tell I was losing her before I even stepped into the ring. Her on lead work was OK but she was looking all around and lacked focus. When we went off lead she started to run and buck around the ring like a rodeo pony. She was in high spirits saying "hi" to everyone nearby until she realized, "oops we were heeling". Her antics earned us a big zilch. Fortunately the judge excused us from the rest of the work so Aim didn't get to make matters worse. After the show was wrapped up, I got Aim out and we worked near the ring we showed in. She made a few mistakes but I showed her what I expected and she was trying really hard. By the end of our work session she was doing great and giving me solid attention. So Sunday I had higher hopes we could do it. It was a dry day but really windy. It was the kind of wind that makes every thing feel a little crazy. Any nervous dogs were skittish and the guard types were on high alert. One man had his sheltie pull free and it took off down the road towards traffic. Fortunately the dog was rounded up safely but it was completely undone and freaked. His owner scratched him from showing and now faces months of work to get his dog back into form. While one team was working in the ring a tent canopy took flight and was headed towards the ring. Everyone ran to grab it and held it down while to dog finished working and cleared the ring. A brief intermission was given while the remaining canopies were torn down and stashed. Soon it was nearing our time to show. Aim gave a big stretch and we warmed up. Warm up felt good and we were connecting. We stepped into the ring and our on lead work was great, our stand for exam was perfect and then it started to go down hill. The wind started to gust and soon Aim started to wander off from her heel free. She made a brief recovery and came back into to position. I no sooner thought "Whew that was close!" when she bounded off in a big gust of wind killing our performance. This judge did not excuse us from our ring work and we dutifully lined up for our recall (coming when called). By now Aim could sense my disappointment and was back in work gear but the damage was done. Her recall was good and her stays in both the sit and down were both solid. It was only that momentary lapse that cost us. With the local shows drying up we either wait for next year to try again or look at traveling to shows out of state. There is one in Seattle area in mid-November which may be able to be combined with a business trip for Darrin.

Many things played a part in us not being more successful. The weather was a big factor. I don't train much outdoor since I have gotten spoiled with an indoor training space. Also Aim's lack of maturity plays a large part. She is a year old but is on the immature side. If you are going to hit the ring with a pup you have to know that they are going to behave like puppies sometimes. I am concerned that she is developing a bad pattern of loose and inattentive off lead heeling in the show ring. Of course I proofed her before the show by working her outside and even in the rain. I proofed her attention by working her with people and other dogs. I even had people actually try to tempt her away, she was solid and stuck to me like glue. I have never had a dog with this problem before so I am having to move outside of my usual tricks to solve this one. One of my favorite parts of training a dog is to figure out how to work with them. They all are so different and need different things. Honestly I do enjoy the puzzle part of it even if it makes me want to pull my hair out at times.

It is the perfect fall day. The fires were dulled by the recent rain and everyone feels better with some nice clean crisp fall air in their lungs. Things are starting to gear down for winter and fall into more of a routine. Seems like there is more time in the day to work with the dogs and horses. I am preparing for the last out of town dog show I have for this fall. Today I will be bathing dogs, washing out the crates, packing the car, dog bag and my suitcase, and checking my list twice. This show is in Spokane, I am hoping this weather holds just another 24-48 hours there is rain in the forecast. I am only taking and showing the golden, Aim. We are chasing that last qualifying score to tie up both her title and my lifetime goal. Cross your fingers!!