Duncan's volunteering

Duncan, who retired as my mobility dog December 2012 (he broke a toe, then blew a knee in January 2013 as he was coming off crate rest for the toe), has been jealous of my working Keeper (SDIT). He's only 7, so I hope to have him around many more years. He's been volunteering as a "house elf" for my mom on the days when her familial tremors cause her to drop things, and will pick up anything he finds on the floor and turn it in for treats to anyone in the house. Keeps the younger dogs from eating paper towels or the cellophane off my parents' cigarette cases and keeps him engaged. He's also happy to help with laundry or taking things out to recycling.

Friday night, he noticed that my very pregnant cousin (due early Feb.) was a little short of breath, so he went to her, escorted her out of the bathroom to the couch, then did a paws up on her lap (his "stay there!" alert- I'm stubborn, he had to physically hold me sometimes.)  She was surprised and I had to explain why the front half of a 90 pound dog was pressing her thighs into the couch. She laughed and agreed with his assessment. Once she caught her breath, he hopped off. She invited him up on the couch next to her, and he settled his head in her lap, wagging and keeping watch for the rest of her visit. 

I know he's unhappy with retiring, but the grin on his face when he was "working" again broke my heart in a good way. I know I made the right choice to retire him to home-only. I'll find him occasionally leaning on a wall to take weight off his left side (the front toe and knee are both on his left), and he's not as active, so I think the knee or other arthritis still bothers him.

Sometimes, though, he's still a damn good service dog.

Do what you can...

It's time again for the Assistance Dog Blog Carnival (I apparently missed the last one.) http://aftergadget.wordpress.com/about-the-assistance-dog-blog-carnival/

ADBC button- purple dog on lavender background 

The call for posts is over at Ruled By Paws http://www.ruledbypaws.ca/2013/10/call-for-submissions
The topic this round is "Lessons."

2013 has been a hard year, and it’s not over yet. Duncan blew his knee in January. We did 8 weeks of post-op care. My PTSD and Strider’s instincts clashed horribly just after that, and I returned him to his breeder April 1^st.

I spent months heartbroken and depressed. I’d lost Duncan’s help for weight bearing tasks. While the vet said he could go back to normal work, I’d catch him in the hallway, leaning on the wall to take weight off his left side. It still bothered him. Maybe not as much, but it did. We did hydrotherapy for a while, and he seems better, but mobility work is still not something I want to stress him with.

Strider is doing well in his new home. I’m Facebook friends with his new people, and part of the healing was watching him thrive with them. I hadn’t ruined him. I hadn’t failed him. And he was happy. Which meant it was time for me to move on.

I started looking again, checking shelters and contacting breeders about returned dogs- I didn’t want to deal with all the housebreaking and issues of a young puppy. I went to a dog show, looking to see if there were breeds that, by their body language, set off my hypervigilance. (I learned there’s more than I would have expected, some of them breeds I thought I’d do well with.) Bernese Mountain Dogs, female Great Pyrenees and some hounds seemed like they might work.

I had one BMD breeder say she had a male, who sounded wonderful. I was so excited to go meet him. Then she decided to keep him (he really was wonderful), and it made the depression and heartbreak worse.

The second BMD breeder called me back. She had a male and a female. The male had completed his championship, and was a little less than confident with her other males. The female had not enjoyed the show ring. She liked the judge, she just didn’t think the trotting was all that fun.

Since the PTSD has left me anxious and reactive, I didn’t think I’d be a good match for the male. I went to go see the female. I spent more than an hour there. I fell in love.

Keeper came home just before she turned 10 months, and then we hit a hell of a fear imprint period. I worried she wouldn’t work out, that I’d ruin another prospect. She came out of it, and is learning new skills.

Duncan’s running around and having a great time wrestling with her, though he seems a little perturbed when she wins tug-of-war. He’s no longer the biggest. He’s not 100% on the knee, but he’s 90-95%, and happy. I’ll take it.

I signed up for online dog classes-FE400: Hearing Dog Training with Martha Hoffman and FE210: Shaping with Sue Ailsby- at Fenzi Academy http://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/. I’m learning a lot, and getting to polish old skills. I’m teaching Duncan new things to keep him from being bored in his retirement. I’m laying a foundation with Keeper. We’re all enjoying the training sessions, and we’re communicating more.

When Keeper came home, she was mannered, but not trained. She acted like she’d never been asked to problem solve to earn food, and she stuck on food held in hands, staring and standing (I assume this is show ring training?) She’s now offering behaviors, trying new things, and making me proud.

I’m still chipping away at the PTSD with my shrink (Keeper knows the route to the office, but is now trying to take me down hallways to explore), going to physical therapy to see what we can fix on the after-effects of the car wreck, still writing and working part time. As much as I’ll be teaching the dogs, I’ve been learning from them the lesson I need to learn again and again- keep going. It’s not going to be easy, all the time. But there’s always something new coming up.

Theodore Roosevelt said, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” I don’t always remember that quote. I want to do more, be more, have more, go more places, most days. But I have the dogs, and we’re learning together. I even have some video of Keeper.

Keeper’s grabbing a wooden dowel dumbbell, and even holds it for a second or two, occasionally. Since her breed is not known for retrieving, and this is our third lesson on this task, I’m pleased.

One of the skills a big dog needs to know in public is to fit in small spaces, not sprawl. This is her first time with this box, and the first time I’ve gotten her to sit in or on an object that wasn’t at least as big as she is.

And I still have a long way to go as a handler. There’s a lot of mistakes in this video (mainly not waiting for her to finish eating all the stray treats), but I can see where she’s focused on the sound and wants to earn her reward.

We’ll keep going, and keep learning. The lesson to keep moving, to keep trying, can be a difficult one to hold on to. Losing Strider as a SDIT was a bitter lesson that sometimes you have to let go, and healing from grief takes whatever path it will take. I'm glad he was in my life. I'm glad I've got a pair of great dogs, and I'm grateful to be looking forward.

Online dog classes, update

I've started Shaping and Hearing Dog Training at fenzidogsportsacademy.com with both big dogs. Duncan's whipping through things, based on prior training. Keeper's doing well, and we're learning to communicate with each other. She's totally in it for the food, or the love.

She's more solid on tracking the sound to find the food than Duncan. He's defaulting to bringing me the timer that is our sound source. They're about equal on indications to the sound, but it's very, very early days- class started last Tuesday.

Shaping class presents a challenge: she knows I have food, and doesn't want to work away from the food source. She's also still easily frustrated and will make a grab for the food ("just give it to me!") but then she thinks and we get things done.

She's got an ear infection, but did better at the vet this round than she has before. She's still a little spooky (I must remember to take her there for more than shots and unpleasantness), but spray cheese overcomes a lot of distrust.

She's 96.5# as of Saturday, and has a new Lupine step in harness that doesn't bother her at all.

She's gone to Petsmart. It was a rough start- I didn't set it up well- but she adjusted. Her biggest hangup was trying to go play with the cats in the adoption room. I think she misses felines.

She's been going with me to the shrink, and knows the way back to the office. She lead the way, the last time. It's finally cooling down to where I hope I'll be able to sit out and let her watch people go by at the local strip mall.

She tore up a library book. Not the sort of $12 dog toy I want to buy. She had to pull it off a shelf, so I'm choosing to view it as an indication that she can do scent work- that was the last book on the shelf that I touched.

I'm dreading her winter coat, but we'll make do.

Fear period update

Well, I won't say it's over, but I will say I've been seeing a lot of improvement in Keeper's reaction and recovery time in the last few days.

Sept 5th, my brother and his girlfriend showed up. Keeper fear/alarm barked at them. I chased her from the room. If she is that scared, I'd rather she run away than bark. She came creeping back in, and was very flinchy. By the end of the 1.5 hours they were awake that night, she was going to get petted. She was better with them the next morning.

Duncan wears a scarf, entertaining the guests.

My aunt and uncle showed up the 6th and spent the day. There were a couple sotto-voice boofs, but some improvement, still ducking stranger hands. Then my cousin showed up. She wasn't sure about him, but no boofs. A couple hours later, his wife showed up and Keeper walked past like "don't even care anymore." Throughout the weekend, she got better and better with the people coming and going, upstairs, downstairs, in and out the doors, and began seeking attention from everyone. 

By the end of the visit, Sunny, my dad's 16 month old hunting pup, was the only dog barking at unexpected movements of guests (she's very social, she's just sound shy- she was whelped in a quiet garage, and has always had troubles with unexpected sounds in the house.)

Saturday the 14th, I had three people from my writers' group over. No boofs at all, and while a little bit stretchy about it, Keeper went to greet them straight away. (There's nothing like puppy socialization logs to make you sound racist- we're white, the three friends are black, so it's nice to see that she's generalizing across skin tone.)

I haven't really gotten her out, with the heat we had before the family visit, but I'm planning to make some short runs to the Renaissance Festival grounds (they're open weekends, but I'm hoping their parking lot is open during the week so we can go check scents there without crowds), stop in to the vet's property/lobby and maybe some other parking lots in the coming days.

Just go places and see things.

We've also just begun the desensitization to the vacuum. She's not as bad about it as Duncan was, but she doesn't like it at all. She's come along fairly well for 7 weeks of settling in and explaining the basics. Once we're out of this fear imprint stage, we'll get serious about outings.

Keeper mugs for the camera.

I feel a lot better about her chances of making it after seeing her with the three new people yesterday. During the family visit, I wasn't so sure about her.

She's also got a histocytoma next to her left eye that's been growing since I brought her home, but I believe it's finally starting to shrink.

One Month Status Check

Keeper is a large puppy with very little training. She's naturally a soft and sensitive animal with a very good understanding of dog manners, so it's not hard to live with her. She was encouraged to put her feet up on people and lick faces (so gross!). Many times when I'm petting her it feels like a constant stream of *mouth on arm* "no" *mouth off arm* "yes" *eye contact and wagging, happy to be petted, wants to express that joy, mouth on arm* "no".... The time between each "no" is stretching out, and I have pinched her tongue to her jaw those times she's grabbed me hard. Sometimes she opens her mouth, then turns her head away. She's trying very hard to live by the new rules.

Ocho (our grumpy old crate dweller) likes her better than he liked Strider. Strider grew up with Mr. GrowlyPants telling the "kids" to knock it off, so there was a certain ear rotation that was "yeah, yeah, I hear you, old man." but Strider didn't give Ocho space. He never bumped him, but Strider was almost preternaturally aware of where he was in the world and would pass within a whisker length of Ocho. Ocho, being old, tottery, hard of hearing and with cataracts, did not find the sudden appearance of a fast moving puppy to be a good thing, and would sound off about it. Yet they often slept next to each other, with it being fairly equal on who would approach and settle touching the already snoozing dog.

Keeper, being big, clumsy, and not at all aware of herself in space, gives Ocho plenty of room, swings wide of him, and stops in her tracks when he stiffens. He's growled at her about five times in the month she's been here. Neither puppy has actually jostled or hurt the old dog, but it's so interesting to see him be more relaxed now that the big black dog in his life is not "buzzing the tower," as it were. [Sunny, the 16 month old English Setter, is fast, unaware, and sometimes clumsy. She's bumped Ocho off his feet a couple times, but she is "the right breed" of dog and does not get told.] Keeper does not currently want to sleep near any of our dogs, although I'm seeing more of her in the sleeping doggy mosh pit between the couch and the coffee table.

She's willing to climb in and out of the half crates, but doesn't yet want to sit in them, or back into them. (I'm asking too much. This is day two with this new training. I need to acquire some patience.) She does seem to be becoming at least marginally aware of her hind feet needing to be lifted to get in or across the sides.

We started two-person "come" before breakfast this morning. She lost focus on just going back and forth, but pepped right up when asked for a down (hand signal only at this point- but it was Dad who asked for it and got it, first try, the very first time he'd asked her for it!) or a sit when she came. I had locked up the Setters and put Duncan in a stay, Mom was still asleep, and we worked in the living room. I had accounted for almost all of the distractions... except biological. Once we were done and all the other dogs were roaming free again, she went tearing out to the yard, squatted to poop, tilted her pelvis and peed on the pile (highly efficient- had only really seen Ocho do that sort of EMPTY ALL CHAMBERS! maneuver before.) Maybe next time, potty break, then training. But, she stuck with the training, and waited to go out, which is promising.

She's also gaining the eye-mouth coordination to catch food 1/2 to 2/3 of the time. I'm going to miss being able to lob food directly at her head and watch it roll off between her eyes, but it will make distance training easier to reinforce now that she has the idea.

The hardest part of so much of working with her is that she is big, and she does have manners, and she's still utterly a puppy brain. I want to push and move forward and she doesn't have a strong enough foundation, yet.

I need to go back and rework Zen again. It remains a weakness, too many months encouraged to grab for bait and pester the hand while in a stack, I guess. Or she's just got a high food drive.

We're kind of scattershot through the Levels.

Zen: Level 0 (she keeps grabbing at hands that look like they might have food.)

Come: I can ask for and get Level 2 step 2 (dog comes 10 feet to have leash put on), but we're training on Level 1 step 2 (dog runs 10 feet between two people) because I don't trust it.

Sit: Level 1 step 3 and step 5 (She'll sit for real life rewards, which is step 5, and she'll sit with hand signal and on a leash, steps 2 and 3, but we're still working on sitting by an open door, step 4)

Target: Level 1 step 1, still working on the logic of touching a hand or a lid that does not have food, in order to get food/praise.

Down: Level 1 step 3 (tested with Dad giving the hand signal and getting the down in the middle of come training.)

Focus: Level 2 step 2 (two seconds of eye contact, and she's starting to give eye contact when she wants to train, get food, or communicate with people, which is Level 2 step 5)

She's also becoming very consistent about bouncing her chin on the edge of the bed in the night to wake me up so she can potty outside. I'm semi-consciously training persistence by trying to roll over and go back to sleep, and she's started prodding knees and elbows if she can reach them, and nose-pokes for things in the car.

For having her just over a month, she's doing pretty damn fantastic, once I type it all up.

11 Months old

Keeper's 11 months as of yesterday. She's been here 4 weeks. We're working on crate games (two feet in), and targeting a lid (she thinks it's silly, but anything for a bit of hot dog). Since she's figured out how to bump doors open, I'm hoping to add "shut the bathroom door" to her repertoire soon.

We went to a new parking lot yesterday, then doodled around working on loose leash and attention and sits. She did well, and was much better when we left than when we got there. She heard sirens, semis, and motorcycles go by. We'll probably hit that parking lot again.

She's met the neighbor and his high school aged girls on our front porch. She's not as sure of people on the porch with Sunny and Twist barking just the other side of the glass door, but once Duncan approves of them, she warms right up. Interesting to see how much the pack effects her.

She's finally catching food that's thrown at her. Maybe one out of twenty throws, but she's getting the concept. It's still hilarious when it bounces right off of her nose or lips, but we're getting there.

Duncan and Keeper, bathroom escorts. I will never pee lonely again.

Good news!

Our vet called this evening. Keeper's PCR and CBC came back clean, so whatever she's got that's making the SNAP test come up positive, it's not any of the tick borne illnesses known to infect dogs.

I also checked to see if she really knew "sit". I rolled over this morning, she was there, I said sit, she did. I'd never asked for it while I was laying down before. In a different room at a different time, I checked my hand signal. That also works. So, one reliable command in the house. Now to get it solid everywhere.

We've also got the beginnings of "touch", "place" (go to a mat) and various other life skills. We've been doing long-line work when my body cooperates. She's getting the idea of a slack leash being the best way, and is starting to watch me so I can't catch her out.

She has a brain, and she's using it. Duncan's been inviting her to play several times a day, so she's good for him, too.

I'm glad I found her.

Three weekends

Keeper's been here three weekends. She has tested positive on a spot test for Anaplasmosis, but seems very healthy and happy, so I've had the vet send off blood for further testing. Since the spot test is an antibody test, it may be cross reacting. Or we may have caught it early. I should know more this coming week. The treatment, a month of Doxycycline, is hard on young dogs, so even if she's positive, we may hold off treatment until there's some symptoms.

She's an absolute champ for blood draws and vaccinations. She's learning "sit" and "come" and so much more. She's a joy to live with, and I'm almost used to her hair (which has nothing to do with combing some 3 grocery bags of hair off of her.....) I'm not used to the sliming, yet, and we're still working on when she's allowed to put her mouth on me in play (not nearly as much as she'd like.)

She went with me to my shrink appointment, as my awesome shrink had offered to help train the SDIT after Strider. She went right up to her reflection in a glass door, sat politely in the lobby, explored a little, then sacked out in the office.

We started the very beginnings of "go to mat" today, and she did really, really well. I was setting the bar at "look at the towel" and by the end she was walking over to the towel and sitting on it. Duncan liked the training time, too, as he was in a down-stay on his own mat, with a semi-regular stream of hot dog bits headed his way.

Keeper's general trend is a good one. She seems interested and engaged, is easily re-directed, and picks things up faster than I'd hoped. She is showing more interest in thrown toys, so training "fetch" might be easier than I hoped.

Also, she snores. It's not chainsaw bad, it's more man in a recliner/very heavy breathing cute.

It's hard to believe Friday was the 3 week mark. She just melted into our lives seamlessly. Here's hoping everything goes this smoothly.

Keeper grins at the camera.

Keeper, Day 2

No idea how long I'll keep up the daily posts, but we'll see.

Just after midnight, she whined. I turned on the light, saw her sitting on the dog bed, and told her that I wasn't in the mood for a midnight potty run. Her response? That sad, lips back "smile" and a *gurk* that means vomiting is about to commence.

I fairly levitated out of bed to try to rush her past all the carpeted places to the back door. She paused about halfway there, diverting to puke on the hardwood, then did the rest out in the yard. Cleanup was surprisingly easy.

She wasn't too interested in breakfast, so I don't know if the new food, new water, or a stray bit of post-nasal drip got her. Gave her some pro-biotics, in case it was something they would fix. She's showing more interest in food (and playing with Sunny) as the day goes on, so I hope whatever it was is a passing problem. The food we've got her on now has a little less fat and a touch more protein than the Kirkland they were feeding, so her system should adjust soon, if that was the cause.

Donna from garden club came over to do some paperwork with us. I had stepped out into the garage to put out some recycling (Duncan was carrying the cardboard for me) and Keeper bulldozed her way through the door before it latched. Things Setters can't do that a BMD can do, lesson #1. The garage door was open about 12 or 18 inches, but I didn't think it was a problem... until I heard her tail hit the metal. Would not have thought she'd shimmy out like that....

Called her, stuffing things in bags as fast as I could. She came back and looked under the door like "Hi, why ya still in there?" Then I heard Donna's car on the driveway, and Keeper was gone. I hit the door open button, and Duncan joined the welcome wagon. Donna was very, very glad the large, strange dog was friendly. I didn't mean to spring mondo puppy on her like that. People hear "puppy" and don't think 24 inch fluffball.

Got the big dogs to head back inside, and then Twist came, bounced around and stuck her nose where it doesn't belong. The 10 month old has better manners than Dad's 3 year old. *sigh*

We got paperwork done, and Donna loved on lunker puppy for a while. Keeper, of course, thought this "go say hi" stuff was wonderful.

The new ceiling fan went up, and she's been fine with the ladder, mildly curious about a person standing on the ladder, fine with the fixture being carried around and the drill sounds.

I had hoped to get her to the strip mall this evening, but interrupted sleep means I'm tired and a little sore and not so interested in going out myself.

She and Duncan are sharing everything but my bed (I refuse to have that much dog in a twin, so I have scolded Keeper any time she puts a paw up.) She even crawled up with him on my loveseat last night. He wasn't too fond of it, but he let her, and they seem to be taking turns cycling from dog bed to loveseat to carpeted floor.

Keeper, Day 1

Keeper hasn't been here even a full day, and she's already settled in very well. She let me sleep through the night, woke me around 6 am because she had to pee (she's used to being up at 5 or 5:30am), went out to the yard, did what needed doing, chased Sunny around in the nice cool air, then we went back inside and I conked for a few more hours- and she let me! Because I'm a pushy asshole, I moved her food bowl during breakfast, and got a "noooo" pitiful look and that was it.

She didn't mind Dad bringing in the 10 foot ladder, didn't even stick around to watch. She followed me into the kitchen, so she didn't see the ceiling fan come down. Came around the corner, saw it sitting on the ground, and walked up to sniff one of the fan blades, all casual like.

There's been a couple moments of perimeter checking where it looks like she's trying to find her people, but overall, she seems content.

The thing that's annoyed her most is wearing a collar. She whines and scratches at it like any puppy wearing one for the first time.

Did our first work with a clicker. I'm using about halfway between Sue Ailsby's Zen and Susan Garrett's "It's yer choice". Keeper's got such a soft mouth that while she was desperate to get to the Natural Balance roll bits in my hand, she never so much as pinched me hard with her teeth. By the end of the session, she was making eye contact with food open in my hand less than a foot from her nose.

I keep trying to lure a sit, and it's not happening. This may be the first dog where I shape a sit. She's soft, but she recovers well. Like I stumbled and kind of half fell into her, and she looked mortified, until I pet her and praised her. Repeat a few times, and she's standing there letting me gently bump into her with my knees. We'll work it up so she eventually can handle my usual level of grace.

She's choosing to lay near me, head on my foot. I keep working on her in short bursts, trying to get the underfluff off of her. I don't know if I'll ever completely teach her to keep her mouth off of me, but while she slimes me, it isn't stringers.

She's not sure cucumbers are food, but green beans and sweet potato totally are. Bell pepper is not (Duncan is very grateful for all her rejects). She's not used to looking for food on the floor. If I didn't need retrieving work, I'd work to keep that obliviousness. As it is, teaching her to look down and scan her environment is part of the rewards in the clicker work.

It's really hard to tell how smart she is, she's mentally passive, like she's never been asked to work out problems for herself. I think she's plenty smart, it'll just take a while for her to catch on to thinking for herself, and what that clicker noise means, anyway. She's not disturbed or put off by it, it just doesn't mean anything to her yet.

I'm so pleased with her.

Pickup Day

Knew I was at the right place for all the Berner statues.

Big tricolor dog, laying down and grinning at the camera.

Signed the contract, paid, moved several barn kittens out of the way, and left. She's doing well with the Setters, the new home, the new people... she wasn't sure of herself for a couple hours (it's hard to make sense of Twist running up, cutting her off, then flopping over. "No! No! I have to be submissive. STOP WALKING AWAY FROM ME!") She's played chase with Sunny already. She's not sure about the dance-on-the-head Sunny does, but she's not bothered at all by Duncan trying to play bump-and-grrr. She's big enough he barely bumps her off course.

She whined a tiny bit about being in an ex-pen instead of loose in the room, but seems to have zonked out now that she's sure Duncan and I are here for the night. This is so much easier than Strider.

Ocho is content with her. She backs off when he growls. Sunny thinks she's awesome, Twist is trying to make sure everyone knows she's not boss, which is confusing the hell out of the puppy. Duncan was pretty much "You brought home another dog? And you want me to be nice to it? Fine. Lemme finish peeing on ALL THE THINGS, and then we'll talk. Oh, and I'm going to go crap on the property line, just to be sure I've marked everything." He even tried to pee on her tail! Jerk-face missed, thankfully.

So much coat. Such huge feet. I'm going to need a bigger dog bed for her. She's really fond of coming up between my knees and putting her head in my cleavage. I need to decide if I want to keep that on cue or just knock it off soon here.

She ate dinner fine, and seems interested in food. She's got play/herding drive- she doesn't want to play bump and tackle, she wants to chase.

She greeted everyone but Ocho outside, walked in, inspected the place, I had to hold the dog door for her twice, and then she's been worming her way into the pack like she belongs here. She's been awake here less than four hours. She's being AMAZING.

Tomorrow I plan to start introducing her to the clicker. And I need to come up with a name. They called her Kiara (Key-are-ah), and I can never remember 3 syllable names, so I'm planning to switch her to Keeper or Kiki, since she's aware of and responsive to the "Key" sound.

Meet-n-Greet

I got a call from a Bernese Mountain Dog breeder (Networking recap: Lady in Garden Club saw my obedience jumps for Duncan, we talked dogs, she had Shelties, she knew a man with a Sheltie and a BMD, I called him, the breed and breeder sounded like a great fit, so I emailed and filled out a questionnaire some weeks back). Cue some of the most frustrating minutes of my life as our land line to land line connection kept breaking up and cutting off as she was describing her dogs.


She talked about two dogs, Watcher http://lionheartbernese.com/Watchers_page.html and Kiara http://lionheartbernese.com/Kiaras_page.html. Watcher's already got his championship, but he lacks a little confidence. When he's unsure he hides behind her legs. If I didn't have my issues, I'd be willing to take him on, but given my issues, it didn't sound like a good fit, so I didn't pursue him.

Kiara, on the other hand, is a confident, smart, people oriented girl. Went and saw her this morning. Friendly, sweet, a little smaller than Duncan (and she's only 10 months old at this point), likes to play with/herd the cat, but seems aware enough of her own size not to harm small things. Hung out for about an hour, watching her interact with a cat, two kittens, a pink cockatoo, a preteen, a teen, and a couple of people walking into the business to pick up their dogs.

About the only thing I can think of to say against her is she's not a fetch head, and she's fluffy. I don't think I'll ever be fond of Berner coat fluff, but if that's my biggest hangup, that's hardly an issue.

Plan is to sign the contract and a check and bring her home on Friday. I don't want to bring her home only to leave for work the next morning. So, Friday afternoon. 3 days. OMG.

I desperately need to clean my room. We don't have a crate big enough for her, so she'll be in a tall x-pen.

I hope, hope, hope this works out.

Knee therapy round 1

Duncan's TPLO was a success, but I was still seeing him limp if he went to play fetch for 3 reps, and he just wasn't improving on his own with walks. He'd be limping after 3 minutes on the treadmill. I found a place that does underwater treadmill sessions, and Thursday, we went.

The plan was to do a 15 minute session to get him use to the setup and equipment. Dunc loves water, and he loves our treadmill. After he was sure this was not actually a bath, he relaxed, and we did the full 30 minutes instead of the half session.

The vet who runs the treadmill took video, and says Duncan's short striding on the left about 3 inches on the forward reach, and 4 or so on the rear extension. He thinks we'll need 8 to 12 sessions, and with it being summer and there being nice soft grass, probably closer to 8 than 12.

He did need an EtoGesic just as we got home, but he was sound again by Friday evening. I'm very hopeful this will help my muttly man.

We'll see if he goes in on his own the 2nd session. He thought it was a bathtub and didn't want to go in the 1st time.

ADBC #11: Resources and Tools

When I saw the call for the 11th Assistance Dog Blog Carnival, it was just days after returning Strider to his breeder, and didn't want to participate. After all, I'd failed, hadn't I? What could I offer?

It's been a little over a month since I handed Strider over, and while the grief and pain is still there, I'm starting to pull out of my deep blue funk, and realizing I still have something to offer. The call for posts was extended and I realized I have about six years worth of gear choices, and our experiences with each.

This ADBC's theme is Resources and Tools, and Frida Writes did a lovely job sorting the many things into usable topic lists: http://fridawrites.blogspot.com/2013/05/eleventh-assistance-dog-blog-carnival.html

Assistance Dog Blog Carnival button- purple dog silhouette.

I've done both a rescue dog and a puppy from a reputable breeder. So I guess I should mention both as great resources for finding the right dog, though shelters only work if you're able to pass on a cute puppy or a sad, lonely adult and keep looking for the right dog for you, and responsible breeders only work if they know your limits and strengths as well as they know their dogs and pups. If you're not able to pass on the cute or the pity, I'd suggest finding a program or trainer to select and train the dog and place it with you.

I hadn't realized what a wonderful resource a good, knowledgeable breeder could be, and still chat with Strider's breeder, and enjoy watching her blog. Knowing that there was the safety net, in case things didn't work out, was helpful as well. As it became more and more clear Strider and I couldn't work together in public because I'd underestimated my disability and reactions after a second car crash, knowing his breeder was there for him was a huge relief. I didn't have to worry about finding him a good home, or how I would care for him, and Duncan, and a SDIT. I continue to wish I wasn't as disabled as I am, and that I was able to keep Strider, but knowing his breeder was there for him has helped tremendously.

Duncan at the shelter meet and greet room.

My dogs are intended to be mobility dogs first and foremost. Most of their gear, tasks, and grooming is meant to work around or with my limits. No super long haired dogs, or I'll bust out the horse clippers.

In the beginning, I started Duncan in a simple carting harness I found at the local Dressler's Dog Supplies (sadly, since closed). Just something to get him used to wearing a harness. His exposure in public was going well, so I ordered a SDIT cape from someone I met through an online forum, who sold things on ebay. I had seen the vests at SitStay.com, but didn't like the looks of them, and I wanted to buy one and adjust it for his growth. I have heard many good things about SitStay.com and RaspberryField.com vests. I prefer the way his SDIT vest came out, and it's adjustable, so it worked for Strider and will work for the next SDIT.

Duncan stands in front of an oak dresser wearing a light blue vest with patches.

It was a shock when Duncan started to blow coat. I'd had double coated dogs (field line English Setters) before. None of them had as much undercoat as this stock coated mutt. You could try to part his hair, and not have a clear look at his skin.

Brown dog with lighter brown line of hair in the "part".

I tried a number of tools, before settling on a Furminator. The amount of hair that came off amazed me. We're in the middle of a blowout now, and I'm still amazed. But now I can see skin, and he's better ready for summer.

Brown dog with pale line of skin in the part.

We went on working, and Duncan kept doing better. We moved from the SDIT vest to a quick-release Outward Hound backpack (http://www.amazon.com/Kyjen-Outward-Hound-Release-BackPack/dp/B003MU9OFM) with patches I made, and a spare leather collar to see if having him do momentum pull would help me before I committed to the purchase price of a harness. It helped me a great deal, so when Duncan passed his OFA evaluations, and I went looking for a harness. 

I found Bridgeport Equipment (https://www.bridgeportequipment.com/), and got the double strap mobility harness on someone's recommendation. He was very fond of working, so he never ducked the harness in the years we used it. It did rub his chest bare, occasionally, so I would go on to pad the straps for him, and the rigid handle got layer after layer of padding trying to make it not hurt my hands.

The Bridgeport harness, perhaps the day I got it? Not a ding, and no padding added.

The Outward Hound backpack over the Bridgeport. I swear the best thing about the backpack was room for big patches.

Duncan's favorite resources would be BestBullySticks.com where I get him chews like tendons, bully sticks, and antler burrs for the times when I'm writing or reading or sick and unable to do more active things. For those days when I am more active, Duncan turns into Mr. Fetch. Air Kong and hunting bumpers (a tube shaped toy on a string) are his favorites, and the picture below shows how much use we get out of them. I picked these up at Dressler's, but the Kong, at least, can be found at Petsmart/Petco. These toys float, so they're also good for lake days.

Four bumpers- an old, nasty looking Air Kong where the cord has ripped out, a shiny new Kong, a bright new orange bumper, and a faded grey-with-a-rip-in-the-cover old bumper.

Other great toys for active dogs with inactive handlers who may have varying hand strength or mobility include things like the Chuckit http://www.chuckit.com/, and the HyperDog slingshot http://www.hyper-products.com/products.html I got a lot more use out of the slingshot, as Duncan's not terribly interested in balls, but flying squeaky toys kept him busy for a long time.

Kiddie pools from Walmart were also a wonderful thing in summer. They kept him entertained, they amused me, and they kept him from overheating.

Duncan creates and bites at a splash in a 5ft kiddie pool.

I would eventually give up on a rigid handle harness. I didn't want to fall and torque Duncan's back, and I needed momentum pull, not brace work while moving. I decided to try the PawPower Creations Sport Style harness (http://www.livingblind.com/guide-dog-harness.html) with a number of me and Duncan specific changes. I had them move the contact points forward and down, use metal hardware of a sort I could manage instead of squeeze snaps I couldn't always open, and made sure the shoulder pieces were long enough that the front of the harness was over his prosterum. He's built a little weird, and his prosternum is only slightly higher than the point of his elbow.

The first time I had the harness on, and had the girth strap too far  forward. His body language is much better than in the Bridgeport.

And the ActiveDogs.com neoprene bridge handle. So soft to use.

It worked beautifully with the Outward Hound backpack.

He loved the PawPower from the first time he had it on. I loved the handle I bought from ActiveDogs.com (http://www.activedogs.com/product.php?id=98) It has been squishy and lovely to work with since it arrived. ActiveDogs has a number of other pieces of gear, including harnesses.

For Strider, I wanted a harness to hold him in the car until he learned to settle on his own. I found the Kurgo (http://www.kurgostore.com/dog-travel/enhanced-strength-tru-fit-smart-harness-with-steel-nesting-buckles/) and it had buckles I could use. It also adjusted to fit Duncan, though their body types are very different.

Strider (bicolor GSD) in the backseat wearing the Kurgo Harness.

While researching and going for the PawPower, I came across many other designs of mobility harness. 

The Freedom Harness only comes in one size, and has had supply troubles, but those that use it, usually like it a lot. I couldn't find a link, apparently there's a new no-pull harness with the same name.

The Classi Pack is a similarly built harness http://www.classiproducts.com/products.html and still looks to be available.

The Har-Vest is a vest/pack that comes with easily exchangeable and replaceable straps to custom fit the gear http://www.abetterpet.com/har-vest/

For heavy mobility needs, there are Circle-E http://circleeleather.com/Service_Dog_Harnesses.html and Bold Lead Designs http://boldleaddesigns.com/products-overview/

There's also a number of gear exchanges on Facebook and through forums. Duncan's old Bridgeport moved on to someone I'd met through Livejournal who was not sure if a Bridgeport would work for her, who then bought a tan one because she liked the color better, and moved the brown harness on to a third SD home. (https://www.facebook.com/groups/374855945939732/?fref=ts is a gear exchange friends of mine use).

Note: I paid for all my gear, and have not been compensated for any of the products or websites I talk about/link to in this post.

Strider's Career Change

When I picked him from his litter and started taking him out, Strider was confident, adaptable, and not bothered by being out in public. He greeted people politely, but didn't seek attention. It looked really good for him taking over Duncan's job.


I was hit Sept 2011, and we got hit on the way home with him July 2012. I am in therapy, and I can drive known routes like to and from work without too much issue, but I don't just get in a car and drive somewhere for my amusement any longer. There's about a 1 hour bubble from home were I can drive without too much issue. This PTSD is on top of my mobility and fatigue issues.

Somewhere along the way my anxiety about car rides meant I stopped taking Strider out as much because we'd been most the local places and needed to go new places, outside my comfort bubble. It sort of spiraled from there. I'd be nervous because of the car ride, he'd be cuing off of me and looking to find the trigger in the environment from the moment we stepped out of the car.


Strider started to guard, and he was guarding against all sorts of people. Then he started to guard me while we were at home. He would even bark to alert me of my parents approaching out in the yard (not quite the same as his guarding bark, but still loud.) He'd bark, I'd startle and scan the environment, he'd see me startle and assume his barking was right. We were feeding off of each other, and not in a good way.


I contacted a local trainer who works with working line GSDs, and trains service dogs. I was hoping we could work our way out of the vicious cycle we were in. The eval was not horrible, but with me as a handler, Strider would not be completely trustworthy in public. The trainer assumed it was Strider, I was pretty sure it was me or us as a combo.


I called his breeder, and she assumed it was just him being an adolescent jerk. She offered to take him back, see him through the worst of it, then let me have him back once he was past it. I was honest, and figured it was me/us paired together. She offered to take him and find him a new home.

We drove him back to his breeder in VA starting Easter morning, and left him with her the night of April 1st. Partly, I was worried he wouldn't handle being shipped, partly because he'd learned how to break out of normal "airline" crates and an escape proof metal one big enough to meet shipping guidelines would be more than the cost of hotels and gas to get us to VA. My dad did the driving, and I tried to remember to breathe in the passenger seat.


Strider's been there 3 days. He's been adjusting and relaxing quickly with her. He's playing well with her dogs, including Jack Russells and 8 and 11 week old puppies, he's not bark-alerting to sounds like he had been with me, and he's adjusting to her being his human. She's going to take him to a Walmart parking lot tomorrow to see how much of his reactivity was based on my actions, and make her plan from there. Ideally he'll be placed in a working home with a non-anxious handler. He sounds like he's blossoming into the dog I hoped he'd be when I picked him, but she's also seeing where he turns to look for her reaction before deciding how to respond. He's a good dog. We're a very bad match.


The breeder and I agree I'd do best to look for a young adult dog. Basically, I need to be on the other side of the equation as far as having someone else give up a young dog who didn't work for them, like I did when I found Duncan. There's a lady in garden club who's got contacts with local breeders, and is shaking the bushes to see what happens. Strider's breeder has suggested a Lab breeder she knows.


I'd planned to give myself a couple months to grieve giving back Strider. Even if it's best for both of us, it hurts. The people in my life want to see me succeed (such a wonderful problem to have) and are working hard to try to find me a dog that will match me with all my issues. It just feels a little too soon right now.

TPLO 8 week checkup

Duncan is cleared to rejoin the pack, and to off leash play in increasing increments over the next couple weeks. His x-rays are good, his range of motion is great, and the surgeon seemed a little impressed with Duncan's attitude in general. (Duncan was much relieved to come back to me, last time we were in that room I had to leave him for surgery.)

Duncan's having fun playing bitey face. He's not up and wrestling the pups, but he'll lay down, putting his TPLOed knee under him, and grab at puppy ankles as they go by. He chased Strider for about two minutes, then decided that was enough running for the day. He's a tiny bit stiff today, but he's still playing and hopping on and off of furniture.

We'll be back to full time fetch and tackle games in a couple weeks. It's nice not to have to do the rotation of young dogs. Ocho does not approve this change, as Duncan is joining in the young dog gaunlets where everyone pesters the old man (mostly muzzle licks or sniffing his behind) until Ocho busts out the "you kids get off my lawn!" bark. Since he (rarely) joins them in play, they're all gambling this will be the time the old man will play with them, and they back off when they're told off.

TPLO checkup

Oops, this was put in drafts on 1/31/13

Duncan had his incision check today. They were slammed, so we got our information second hand from the tech. The surgeon didn't feel any swelling, and Duncan's got good range of motion. So far, so good on the road to recovery.

He's now cleared to wander the first level of the house, take the stairs (slowly) to the basement, and use the treadmill we have in the basement for his rehabilitation walks. If we had sidewalks, if the neighbors didn't let their aggressively territorial animals roam, if I was healthier and more stable on my feet, we'd do it together. I figure I'm good for 3 ten minute walks a day, and then we'll have to supplement with treadmill time. As it is, he's the dog who'd go trotting down the stairs and park himself on the treadmill, so I think he'll enjoy his rehab walks.

He's been enjoying his frozen meals, frozen cucumber, carrots and other low-cal treats. His fur is growing back. He's no longer Naked Butt, he's Stubble Butt.

He's very happy with his progress. He's been peeing with his weight resting on his TPLO side, trying to run during his potty walks (He's gone from wandering on a 10 foot leash to getting about 3 feet of slack to work with), tries to get us to play fetch with him, and tried to jump into the truck for his checkup. I'm so glad I was worried about his shoulders and put the time in years ago to teach him to step from the seat to the floor to the running board and then out, as it means we have a chance to support his rear as he leaves the vehicle.

One month out

Duncan's up to 15 minute walks outside, and ten or 12 on the treadmill depending on when the head bob starts to happen. He can't compensate and walk in curves on the treadmill, so he uses his TPLOed knee more there, and it seems to tire him. He's had some morning stiffness, but he seems content with how his leg works. Of course, I'm still not sure how much of this is him over-using his right leg, so he's still restricted on many things.

I can see he's still losing muscle on his left thigh, so we haven't yet hit the point where he's using it enough to bulk up. I wish I knew more about standard times and how this should be going. I'm not too worried yet, and he seems to be using it more as the days go by.

Judging by the warnings that he wouldn't really start to use his leg until six weeks out, and he's been using it since a couple of days after the surgery, he's too stoic for me to trust I'll see when he's in pain. I think this means he's doing well, but again, I'm not sure.


Strider, having seen Duncan on the treadmill, wanted a turn. I've started leaving him in a different room, as he's so excited he bark/screams about his turn. I worry about my hearing with his big voice. His first time was a minute on leash, and he was all excited and happy. Second time, I let him do it off leash, and he was stomping the front engine compartment to make it go faster. He was on about a minute and a half, having a grand time. He's too young for this to be a large part of his exercise, but it's nice to know he has no fear of the machine.

Update post operation

Duncan's sleeping most the day, but he's happy, it seems. He's off the Tramadol and the Fentanyl and he's trying to prance on leash when he's on potty walks. He's using the TPLOed leg to walk on. He's still getting Etogesic, and that seems to be enough for pain management for the current time.

He's been shaking his toys and trying to engage us in fetch. I bought an Easy Button to try to keep him amused, but the "that was easy" voice freaked him out (he was probably stoned when it went off under his chin.) His appetite is back, which is very nice to see, so we've been working on building his confidence with the button with the batteries removed. He's still a little edgy about the distinct click of the button, but he's willing to hit it.

We made him a new dog bed out of a foam mattress topper, so we could put his old bed through the wash. When I set it down to try to coax him off the old one, he moved over so he was front half on new bed, rear half on old bed, then sprawled out like he though it was an addition, not a replacement.

The bruising is all gone, the swelling is mostly gone, and the scabs are falling off his suture line. We'll go in Thursday for a checkup. His hair is starting to grow back noticeably, so we won't be calling him "naked butt" forever.


In SDIT news, Strider's figured out all the parts of the play retrieve, and the Perpetual Fetch games have begun. With a bit more training and practice, that should become a working retrieve and his first solid task.

ADBC #10- Perfect 10

It's Assistance Dog Blog Carnival time again. This time the call for posts is at After Gadget,
http://aftergadget.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/call-for-posts-10th-adbc/ and the theme is "perfect 10", or "perfect" or "10".

ADBC badge has a purple dog silhouette 

Few things in life are ever perfect. Duncan's conformation left some to be desired, and the result of his too-straight knees is a torn CCL and about 12 weeks of crate rest, with a high likelihood he'll blow his other knee in the next year. A much less than perfect start to the year.

But "10" can be the top of the scale, the best of the best, and I think Duncan is currently my level 10, though he wasn't always the wonderful dog he is now. Duncan was on his third or fourth home by the time I found him at the shelter. The latest family to house him had said they’d had him 3 or 4 months, and he was 9 or 10 months when I saw his brown and tan face. He wasn’t on the list of large dogs and extra large dogs I’d printed off of Petfinder. He was the dog I was most interested in after evaluating him in the kennel run.

He was an unwanted dog, passed from home to home, then dropped off at a shelter. He had perfect scores on their evaluation in the shelter, but he was far from perfectly behaved. He was mouthy, he jumped, he hauled on the leash like he was trying out for the Iditarod, and he was 75 pounds of unrestrained, unmannered joy.

It was months before I was comfortable taking him into public, and I was so concerned about being perfect that I nearly drove us both nuts. When I look back at the “mistakes” he’s made, I see a lot of handler error. I pushed too hard or ignored my own needs to get things done, and I tried to use that stubbornness to dictate Duncan’s life and training. He learned to be just as persistent with me when I wasn’t listening, and his alerts became things I couldn’t ignore. I could (at my peril and with him looking at me like I was stupid) tell him to give me another minute before I sat down, but he was relentless in telling me things were going wrong before I noticed, just what I needed.

There are very rarely outside observers who know what a service dog team are doing. Occasionally, someone says something about the dog. Usually they’re wrong. I had one woman tell me he was deeply stressed and should not be working in public- and she stepped in front of me, blocking my progress to tell me this- when he’d indicated a need to go out. He wasn’t nervous, he just needed to pee.

We were stalked through a consignment store by the owner, who eventually came up and told me “that dog” was welcome back anytime, as he had been careful of the merchandise. I remember a man in Walmart coming up to tell me what an impeccable job Duncan was doing, and at a grocery store, I had a K9 handler with a young dog come up and ask me when his dog might settle down into the workman like attitude Duncan had and stop being so nuts. To them, he looked perfect. I thought he was merely normal. Such is the flow of a good working partnership.

Duncan’s made me look good, just by being himself. I was perfectly lucky to find him, he’s exceeded every expectation I had for him.

On days when we’re out of sync and frustrated with each other, it’s odd to have people comment on how well he’s doing. On days when we’re in tune and cruising, it seems those are the days someone will say something- usually to my companions, as Duncan moves at a good clip, and we’re usually the first ones into the store. I’ve been told people expect Duncan to bite or poop indoors, that “people like that” should stay home, or other hurtful comments. The good comments, usually about how handsome he is, or how he’s taking good care of me, help balance the hurtful comments. Dealing with the public is never perfect.

Duncan was the perfect dog for me at the time. He gave me back a level of independence, he helped me let go of obsessing about my health, and where I set things down, and if I’d be able to reach or get up and turn off the light. He picked up a lot of the slack, and he forgave me for the training mistakes, the bad days, the days when I slept almost straight through and he had to bring me his water dish because I was so out of it I forgot to refill his most basic need.

We dabbled in obedience, and he did a perfect run through in Rally. We earned a 90/100 because I got confused and we did the serpentine starting on the wrong side. The dog was perfect, the handler had an issue. It was how we picked up most of our "faults" in the ring.

We disqualified on a Companion Dog (novice obedience) run, third one in a weekend, because I was exhausted, and he broke heel to come around to my right side, my weak side. He wouldn’t sit on the halts because I was a little off kilter and he’s trained to stand and brace. I was telling him to turn left and right as we were used to doing in real life, and I drove our score down every time I unthinkingly opened my mouth. I was frustrated to the point of tears for about half an hour after we left the ring with our 159/200 (I think I’ll always remember that score), and then I got my head back out of the dark place I’d shoved it.

Two photos of us in the obedience ring. Left photo is (l-r) the judge explaining the recall hand signals, me looking at him, and Duncan sitting in heel, waiting for what's next. Right photo is (l-r) me looking where I'm going, Duncan heeling and watching me on a nice slack leash, and the "post" person we're doing a figure-8 around.
photos from: http://classic.akc.org/mixedbreeds/first_events.cfm

Duncan was a service dog. He’d done his job. He’d been perfectly behaved for what I needed, not what I wanted, and I'd basically had a tantrum that we "failed" in front of a judge. He still managed perfect scores in the stays and the recall. It was just dealing with me, while I was moving, when I needed help, that he'd ignored the hours of obedience work and defaulted to his service dog training.

Later that day we went to a state fairground, and into the horse barn to talk with a friend. We passed cars, strangers, livestock, horses and riders, a wagon with a pair of drafts, food on the floor, a number of people took his picture, we said hello to a policeman in full duty belt, and then we went into a small office with my friend and some strangers and hung out. He did beautifully there. I took his real job for granted and focused on the “failure” in the ring because his day job work was so perfect it was (and sometimes still is) easy to forget the training, time and effort that went into getting his SD behaviors solid (though I'm dealing with an 8 month old service dog in training, and I have far more respect for Dunc's SD work now than I had when we were showing).

A more typical day of work-  Duncan lays between my knees and the chair in front of me at a National Novel Writing Month kickoff. A new place, new people, new things, and he settled himself and waited until the kickoff meeting was over.

We would finish earning the Companion Dog title, because I wanted it. His heeling was never perfect unless I was having an excellent day with my balance, which never happened in the ring. I often got confused and double signaled, or said the wrong command. Duncan managed to get passing scores anyway.

I think that’s part of what makes him so wonderful. He tries, and he forgives my mistakes.

He's a dog, and I’m only human, but somehow our working relationship has been near perfection for years.

Right now I’m waiting on the weeks of confinement to tick away. I’m hoping for a perfect recovery from his TPLO, because if I could ever be perfect for him, I want to be perfect in helping him get better, the way he was perfect in making my life better.

Duncan update

Duncan didn't eat or drink last night. He ate breakfast, slowly, if I piled a little kibble in front of him. He seems too loopy to recognize a food bowl on Tramadol. Which is disconcerting given his level of food drive.


The Tramadol seems to be too much with the Fentanyl in his system, so I'm trying to balance him being aware enough to eat, drink and eliminate on his own, without letting the pain creep up on him. Duncan seems to have found a comfortable position, and is snoozing the day away with his leg propped up on his dog bed, with his back to the side of my mattress. Rest and elevation. I think the swelling is a little less than it was when he woke up this morning, though the bruising is darker. I'll ice it later if he lets me.


The most frustrating part of the middle of the night walks are Strider screaming in his crate because he doesn't get to go too. Jerkpuppy waking the whole house with his rants is embarrassing. Thank goodness I'm not in an apartment.


Twist, Sunny and Strider continue to try to sneak in to see and/or sleep with Duncan. They're all missing their contact, wrestling and kissy face time with the Big Brown Mutt.

Duncan's home

Duncan's home from his TPLO. He's zonked out on pain meds. I don't know if he's comfortable or just drugged unconscious, but he seemed very happy to get home. I hope he feels better soon.

Unhappy New Year

Duncan did in his left knee last week. We saw our vet on Saturday morning. She made a face as she palpated his knee, said it was "popping" and that he'd likely done in more than his cruciate ligament. Called the specialty vet's then, left a message with the scheduler.

Today I called back, because he's my heart. I got him an appointment an hour before the scheduler called back, and I'm only sorry I wasted a couple minutes of her day, I managed to grab a cancellation spot. We'll be going in tomorrow morning, and talking with a specialist.

I have no idea what his prognosis will be, but I'm trying to be hopeful and do my crying when I'm not on the phone with people.

He's on a half dose of Etogesic, as giving him the appropriate dose for his size means he's trying to use the leg and getting out of the ex-pen to try to join the rest of the pack. Right now he's got the cushions off of the love seat to lay on, and seems content with the arrangement, if not happy about being out of the loop.