Senior Dogs

Last year for Blaze's birthday I wrote about living with abnormal dogs.

Now he's 11!  During the past year we finished his APDT Rally Level 1 title.  We intended to finish his AKC Rally Novice but never got our entries in on time. This year we met a person who was crucial in getting us the help we need when she was up here for a seminar.

APDT L1... finally!

A few years ago at a vet conference, Dr. Lore Haug gave a great talk about senior dogs. I really enjoyed that talk and here are a few things from the notes I took.

Training is important.  Cognitive decline can be a normal part of aging, but activities like training can help slow the rate of this decline.

Training is important.  For the human-animal bond and for enrichment.

Training is important.  To create new behaviors and to maintain trained behaviors.  I read a related story on an obedience list this year... someone was obsessive about training Fronts with his dog and when that dog was very much a senior and started having trouble getting around and responding to cues... it was the one thing she could do until the very end.  Putting in some extra time to maintain super-important behaviors like house training and response to name can be very appreciated later on!

Training is important.  To help your senior dog adapt to changes in his lifestyle. Learning more hand cues can help when his hearing cues.  Learning how to use a ramp to get into the car or other ways to get on the couch than the flying leap that used to be possible.

Swimming!

Blaze still gets training. Not always every day, but I try to work on new behaviors and maintaining what he has. I give him different types of exercise and different enrichment activities. He gets novel foods and the occasional time in training classes.

But changes happen.  Two weeks ago we put a ban on fetch games.  For several years we've restricted fetch games when it's wet, slippery, muddy, or really dry out.   I don't want him slipping or falling or tearing up the grass (making it more likely to be muddy later on!).  But now, even in good traction, he still puts in 100% to the fetch games and it's just not safe. We play at the training facility and he's crashing into walls, furniture, and other things. Even when he doesn't, the sliding stop (4' 8" skid!)  can't be good on his aging body.

A list of 10 things.  At a seminar last winter, Debbie Gross Saunders recommended creating a list of the 10 things your dog loves most. As he ages or his health deteriorates, this list can help you know "when it's time.". Fetch is at the top of Blaze's list...it's been hard to tell him we can't.

A classmate made a comment regarding Griffin, she was talking about golden retrievers, "they never outgrow [running around like crazy]!" and it was both a statement that was happy and not so happy. It can be annoying (Blaze used to just get up on the counters to help himself. He's arthritic enough he can't do that, but he can climb up, one paw at a time, onto a chair and then reach the counter!).  It can be great for sports and activities and quality of life.  And it can be really hard.  I hate that I have to restrict Blaze's activity so much.

And for 2012:  We really hope to do AKC rally and tracking, we'll see what happens!

A ten year project

I was correct...Blaze did finish his APDT Rally Level 1 title last month!

10.5 years of training and we finally completed something!

The funny thing is, I've spent more hours training him than Luna and Griffin together (and probably multiplied by 10).  What's different?

The primary difference is that I'm not quite as enthusiastic about training as I used to be.  When Blaze was young, I would spend hours and hours every day working on various training projects.  I still enjoy training... but not that much.  Now I "get" it and would much rather spend my time on the more interesting challenge of teaching other people to train their dogs.  

Another difference is that I'm more experienced and more efficient.  I can make better training plans and better predictions of what will or will not work.  It just takes less time to train a behavior or task, and to train it to a higher level than what Blaze learned.

The other difference.... Griffin is a normal dog.  Luna is more "normal" than Blaze.  Per the veterinary neurologist a few years ago...Blaze probably has some sort of brain lesion that is impacting his behavior/learning (as well as a cause of his seizures).   Dogs with normal brain function learn better than dogs with abnormal brain functioning.

Blaze wanted to play with the ribbon rather than pose...

APDT Trial

A week ago I took Blaze and Griffin to a run at an APDT trial.  Blaze is not a young dog anymore and I gave him too much of a warm up.  But, even without the bonus exercise (I'm not letting go of his leash!), we passed and I think he completed his RL1, we'll find out when the paperwork is processed.

Griffin....had a lot more trouble. We ended up asking to leave the ring.  He did the sets of stationary signs fairly well....but the in-between heeling was miserable, we tried to fake our way through it, but I just couldn't do it.

He did pretty well during the warm up, was excited about the close quarters and he did some barking (as well as getting barked at).  

As a result?  More training. We'll try to find a way to get to run throughs. I'd like to get in classes at different locations, but I don't know if that's possible.   More get-out-of-the-car-work-and-leave   And similar type things.

Since then, he's been doing really well in all the training we've done.      

Frustrations and Solutions

Blaze has been really horrible for the last 4-6(+) weeks.  It's getting to be absolutely ridiculous.  I'm adding more to our management and training every single week.  The naughty dog in the household is supposed to be the young dog....not the 10.5 year old.

For everything that's causing me problems, I come up with a training option (to help things get better long term) and a management option (to eliminate my immediate frustration and to not give him a chance to practice the behavior).

Yes, any sudden change of behavior should mean a trip to the vet.  There's apparently nothing 'wrong' more than the usual issues.   The changes might be a result of me getting slack in reinforcement or maintaining criteria or maybe I let him access reinforcers in his environment too often.  Or a deterioration of his mental health issues. Or normal senior dog issues. Or some combination.

Here's a list of the recent frustrations:

Taking Treats Too Rough: He's always been bad about this. I don't know if he's gotten worse (possible) or if I'm just too used to Griffin (and most student dogs) who are 5,000 times more gentle.   Not only does Blaze take treats roughly, teeth threatening to crush your fingers as he takes the one little crumb....  but he LAUNCHES towards the hand.  The sound of the click is not a cue that reinforcement is coming, it's a cue to launch.  It looks cute.  The enthusiasm is great. The pain is not.

• Training:  I've pretty much given up on this.  I could go with the recommendations I give students, lots of licking practice, feeding flat like a horse (he still fits my hand in?)...etc...   but 10+ years of behavior is really hard to change and probably not worth the pain.
• Management: I am NOT feeding him any treats from my hand.  Treats are dropped into a bowl. From the MannersMinder tool, or dropped to the ground.  Completely eliminate the option.  I only started this two weeks ago and it's making my world a lot better.  I loose out on placement of reinforcer...but I keep my fingers.

Counter Stealing:  He's been bad about this his whole life, but we did get to a point where things could be out if he was supervised.  In the past month he's gotten really bad about stealing food (tomatoes, apples, whole bunches of bananas especially).  The thing is...when I looked at the exact scenario, it was always the same.  He's typically reasonable if I'm present.  If I'm occupied or attentive. If I'm near or far in the room.  However...if someone else is in the room and I'm far away?  Then he lunges for the counter.   

• Training:  More mat work/stay training.  Going into a crate on cue. Leave it practice (verbal and implied). 
• Management:  Always crate him or stay him or take him with me as I move around the room.  Remove items from the counter.  

Not Dropping Toys:  Again, a lifelong problem that is worse than usual.  My solution for the past few years has been to tie him to the fence with the tie out/leash short enough that if-when he lets go, he cannot reach his head all the way to the ground to pick up the item.   We got to the point that he was dropping items within 30 seconds of letting go.   He's been getting worse. Today it was 15 minutes. 

• Training:  Practicing DropIt   ----separate--- from fetch sessions. Do not ask or want him to drop toys until we have had a lot more practice separately.  Practice this outdoors as well. And in the fetch area....but without the actual run and chase parts.  
• Management:  Be sure to only ever use the low-value toys. He probably will drop these easily. Don't be lazy and think he'll be okay with the others. Because he won't be.   Go to the store and buy more low value fetch toys...since we're running low and just have all the nice high value toys for enticing the other dogs to play.   Don't play as much fetch. Find other games so the DropIt is not an issue.

Pulling On The Leash:  For whatever reason, pulling has returned in specific settings. To the door. To the car. To the pond. To the yard. Essentially, this is showing a lack of self control. He's wanting something and just tries to access it by himself.

• Training:  More walking training in those settings.  And many repetitions. Spend whole sessions walking from the house and then two feet towards the fenced yard. back to the house. Three feet to the yard. Back to the house. Four feet to the yard, back to the house. Reinforcing often for being with me. Other self control activities will also help.
• Management:  Avoid those areas whenever possible. If I have to take him, treat or tug transport (...which aren't options for him). Collar transport.      Use a harness or head halter so that he cannot lunge and be successful in getting closer to the Desired Things.   Prevent his access to reinforcement (the things).

Barking:  He used to be worse.  But he's recently worse than his average.  

• Training:  List all the situations that prompt barking and do training accordingly.   Example: He barks if I come into the house and do not walk him the second I come in. It's an attention seeking bark, call-response sort of bark.   For training I could, at a time where we just finished a calm walk or calm activity...  do our session then. Leave and immediately come through and go out. Reinforce using the MannersMinder so that I don't have to approach (or hand feed) while he is in his crate.  Repeat a lot.  Another Example: Barking at cars going by:   Be far enough away and replace with an alternate behavior.
• Management:  Avoid the scenarios whenever possible. Try to exercise or rest him prior to the usual barking triggers.   Use a MannersMinder over his crate/in his area at all times.

We have quite a few problems and more than enough solutions.  

Blaze

I do some pet sitting for a few family friends. And, for whatever reason, most of them have very elderly pets. It's always interesting to see these dogs with decreasing mobility and recognize that they're just a few years older than Blaze.

This week I've exchanged a few emails with a dog professional we met a couple years ago. The person had sent us to a veterinary behaviorist and was very helpful because of that.

I'd somewhat forgotten how many undesirable behaviors Blaze had and how difficult it had been to stop some of those. And I'd forgotten all the poor advice that other people gave us!

I'm very glad that there are so many more options for people to get appropriate help now. And that it's much easier to get the right information and that quality information is so much more readily available.

Ten Years of Living with an Abnormal Dog

Well, a few weeks less. Blaze is now officially ten years old. That's a lot time. Ten years ago my life was completely different. It's especially cool to spend his birthday with a great friend who moved away just months after I got Blaze.

Year 1: My first dog. We started training class at five months. Our first show, 4-H Shomanship, at six months. We got first place!

Year 2: We were with a different 4-H group. He was very mouthy. He bit a trainer for hiting him for mouthing me... We used clicker training to decrease the mouthing.

Year 3: We learned a lot about clicker training. We did our first agility class. It was amazing. We also did our first agility trial.

Year 4: More agility. More training. More dog reading.

Year 5: Luna was added to the family. More training with Blaze and more agility class.

Year 6: We visited a pair of trainers who thought his behavior was very abnormal and recommended a consult with a veterinary behaviorist.

Year 7: We visited the vet behavior clinic at Purdue. We did a lot of playing with meds. Our first AKC rally trial! We started KPA together!

Year 8: More playing with meds. Griffin was added to the family. I was really able to see what behaviors were golden retriever and what were very exaggerated.

Year 9: Not so much work, not so many meds working well. Not so great. A neuro consult led us to find he likely has a brain lesion, likely resulting in his behavior problems and seizures.

Year 10: We started tracking. He LOVES tracking.

Year 11: ???

He's literally changed my life, in very good ways and in very not good ways. If I didn't have him, my life would have likely been completely different. Yet at the same time, I can be extremely empathetic to owners with challenging dogs. It's hard to be scared of your dog. It's hard to be working so hard and seeing no progress. It's hard to not be able to reach your goals. It's stressful, physically demanding, and mentally stressful.

Thinking about euthanasia for a pet with a behavior problem is important but incredibly difficultly and a different scenario from when physical problems are present. Quality of life is very hard to evaluate. We came close more than once, starting at 6 months. The closest was about two years ago, and literally as I was about to make the call, I got an email about an amazing student dog who had just died in a very unfortunate situation. The student just returned to class with a puppy.

Training and management are important. Both to help maintain current levels of behavior and to decrease problem behaviors. Ignoring unwanted behaviors is not enough. Training basic cue response is not enough. We need to be using management and training of incompatible behaviors, and we need to be using response substitution.

Professionals really need to know what they're doing. Numerous vets, trainers, and enthusiasts told me that my dog needed more punishment. More training. More exercise. Better training and exercise. And we never addressed the underlying chemical imbalance until much later in life than we should have. Our life would have had a very different path if this was addressed early on. This goes back to the MOST experienced people need to be teaching puppy and basic classes, and watching out for abnormal things in young dogs. These people need to know enough about normal and abnormal behavior to know when cases should be referred to a vet behaviorist and/or appropriate professional.

It may just be behavior, but the implications of abnormal dogs are much greater than just behavior.

Griffin is Cute

Ridiculously exceptionally cute.

This morning we did tracking and he was very cute. I put on his harness and he put his nose to the ground, closed his mouth and was searching very hard. He knows what he is doing! And he searched and searched and made great choices and found all the pieces of stale peanut butter sandwich that I had dropped. It was adorable.



Blaze however, did not want to let go of the toys (he had two) he found on the yard. I'll let him do a lot of silly things. But I won't let him track with toys.

The last medication we tried with Blaze did not go as well as hoped. And the worst part is that his reaction (increased activity!) don't make sense when we consider his reactions (or not) to other medications. I was impressed that I understood everything in an email I was sent, it was technical and not written for me.


A newfound picture of 7mo Griff offering heeling to my dad....he said "WHAT is he DOING!" Apparently dogs are not supposed to whip in next to your leg if you have food.


Last night Griffin was learning to stand between my legs and put his feet on my feet. I know 100% that I have never taught him this. And within a minute he was doing it. He should not have learned it that fast. And he would put his foot on my foot even if my foot had been moved. And he wasn't looking. How did he know it was there?! He was staring up at my face! But time after time he would get his foot on mine. I suppose he could tell when I would shift weight and move. I tried to fool him!

Tomorrow Blaze gets to go be a demo dog again. And then I might be at a meeting about Therapy dog programming.

Blaze the Demo Dog

Today Blaze helped to teach vet students how to restrain and get lateral recumbency. Meaning the dog ends up flat on his side!

Nine years ago before a show, it took at least 4-5 people to hold Blaze down to get his nails clipped. And today he was calm while he was rolled/flipped/moved dozens of times. The instructor was very good at it, but (understandably!) the students were initially less coordinated.

I shouldn't be surprised at how well Blaze did, after all I did sign us up too volunteer. But most dogs probably wouldn't be so calm and comfortable, let alone on 30th time.

The lesson was very well done and did a great job of using the activities in Sophia Yin's Low Stress Handling book/materials. The students learned not just one way of completing a task, but that there are many options with some being easier or a better choice in certain scenarios.



The most brilliant and most obvious piece was getting the dog into a down. In a training context, we think about shaping, capturing, luring, or using a target. In this context, the students needed the behavior right away, it wasn't a training task but something that needed done right away. Still, there were options.
* Ask the owner to ask the dog to Down
* Ask the dog to down
* Lure the dog
* Put the dog into position (pick up the feet and stretch...very refined from what some dog trainers do in this scenario!)

And that can circle back to something Megan and I talked about today. Adequate training and optimal training. But that deserves more thoughts for another time.

Over the next few weeks we'll be helping out again. I was really hoping Griffin could go and be around a million touching people and then he'd be ready for any stand for exam. But if Blaze ends up being the only dog who can do the Down station, then Griffin will just stay at home.

We'll be going to a tracking workshop in the morning. I'm not sure if I'll be taking Blaze or Griffin. Blaze has learned a bit about tracking but I'm stuck with articles. Griffin has had less training, but I really want him to learn properly and I'm tempted to stop with the baited tracks and do HITT... but that's what I've said since he was a puppy and we never got ANYTHING done until I started doing food a few months ago. Maybe I should flip a coin...