Dog trains man

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Could It Be? A Sign Viva's Nose Is Improving?

A big crust came off from Viva's nose this morning, and it didn't reveal yet the next open sore. Instead, a clean and fresh pink piece of skin presented itself.

Woohoo!

A first sign Viva's nose is improving ... Knock on wood.

Since our last update, Viva had a biopsy taken to confirm it was Discoid Lupus (DLE) and our vet consulted a specialist if there was anything we hadn't tried that could help.

So far we had tried every known medication- and herbal based treatment, without success. Of course apart from giving her steroids, which works with most dogs, but cannot be used for Viva, because of her Cushing's medication.

The specialist recommended us one more, last treatment based on a special type of antibiotic together with another supplement boost of vitamine B, E, and fatty acids.

Other than that we just continued to keep her out of the sun, and the nose protector she wears as you can see on the photo, was a great help with that. Although the sun still shines, its power fades, and the days get shorter. We rub some vaseline on the crusts, and apply some xylocain - a local sedative - when we see her wounded nose bothers her.

I really don't know if the last treatment helped her. And it might be just because the sun is fading, we start to see some improvements. But who cares, just she gets better!




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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Meanwhile, at the West-coast

Kenzo does, what Kenzo likes best:





The best Hovie is a tired, wet - and sandy - Hovawart.
But we are not finished yet, in the evenings, Viva joins:



Now we reached perfection. A bed full of sand.




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Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Spotting Pain

I'll keep on smiling
"Don't worry, she is not in pain" the vet said. Her comment left me baffled. Really. Viva's nose looks like a raw steak, and you tell me that doesn't hurt.

"It is itchy, which is uncomfortable of course", the vet persisted. "It is just not a nice sight." - the emphasis is mine.

We'll get back to that discussion later.

I really don't blame her. Spotting pain in dogs is difficult, and even worse, it is individual from dog to dog. I respond to completely different triggers depending if it concerns Kenzo or Viva.

It is best illustrated by comparing Kenzo and Viva's response to acute pain, with something they both have experienced, which is stepping into a thorn. They both start with a couple of short limping steps. After that, the similarity ends.

Kenzo stops walking almost immediately. He sits down, starts panting, and holds his injured paw up into the air for me to see: "Dad? I made a boo-boo". On investigation, I find the thorn and pull it out. When we move again, the same scenario tends to repeat itself a couple of times, as the paw is still hurtful, and Kenzo wants to double-check I did my job removing the thorn.

You can probably guess what Viva does. Right, after those first limps that look like a series of missteps, she just continuous like nothing happened. Not even a puff or a pant. After I stopped her, I pulled a 1 cm long thorn out of her paw.

Viva reminds me of Tom Sizemore in Saving Private Ryan, saying "I just got the wind knocked out of me" after taking two bullets in the chest. And I never forget when we treated her for her spondylosis - painful in itself - , and not getting it quite right as she didn't improve the way she should. After more investigation, the vet found a thorn completely embedded in her paw, that probably has sit there for quite a while.

Maybe she has experienced so much chronic pain in her life, she even responds differently to the acute pain caused by a thorn. Maybe she is just "tough". Either way, she does feel pain, even if she hardly shows it.

To be able to see how Viva is doing, I keep a simple diary, the "Chronic Cushing's Diairy", that would alert me of any issues or chronic pains. I use it to be able to compare for how long she played, walked and run on any particular day. Any slowing down in either department, and something is not right. The diary has enabled me so far, to predict each outcome of her quarterly Cushing's test and blood work.

Other than that I watch for the tiniest of clues which brings me back to the discussion with the vet. Viva soon started to make "grinning faces" and she sometimes rubbed her nose against me - both to relieve the itching - only to quickly stop. She also shows discomfort when she bumps into Kenzo with her nose when they are playing: she closes her mouth.

Other than that it is just plain common sense. She has open wounds on her nose. Her nose. That thing a dog sticks into literally everything. Put something in your open wound and see how that feels.

"Well, I don't have any other clients that are tuned in with their dog as you are, so I'll trust you on that", said our vet.

And therefore we both wondered again what it is we are looking at. Could it be a drug-induced side-effect, are we not dealing with DLE after all?





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Monday, August 26, 2013

A Hovie's Nose

The best summer ever in Denmark. According to meteorologists, the best since 1860.

The summer already started in early May, during our visit to the Danish West-coast. Viva's favorite place on the planet. We enjoyed being outside the whole day. Temperatures where not high, but nonetheless we all got a little sunburned. Also Viva was, on her nose.

The sunburn would soon heal we thought, and hoped the summer would stay, so we could go out into the light again and wash off the Danish winter and its short days.

Now, it is the end of August. We returned to the West-coast, and are looking back at this "best" summer ever. How different has the summer turned out to be. Viva's nose is still "sunburned". The vet thinks it is Lupus (DLE) - also called "Collie Nose" - an auto-immune disease, and in Viva's case, difficult to treat as the medication doesn't go along well with her Cushing's disease. We have been trying three different topical treatments so far that don't interfere with her Cushing's, to no avail.

The vet's best advice was to avoid the sun, as the ultraviolet rays seem to be a main trigger for lupus. We dodged the sun as much as we could in the short sunless window of opportunity, between 23:00 and 04:00, given to us in the South of Scandinavia.

We went for late walks, hunkered inside during the long summer days and only made short trips to potty in areas with an abundance of shadow. It did seem to help to an extend. Although about every two weeks it flared up again to it's worst state.

For us humans it is a strange experience going against the little Nordic voice in our heads telling us to suck up some sun and light now we had the opportunity. Although going nocturnal was counter-intuitive for us humans, Viva really doesn't care when she goes out, as long as she does go out. Her spirit is high, and I wonder how she can. When I look at her nose I know it must itch enough to make one crazy. It must be painful. I don't even have the stomach to add a close-up of her nose to this blog, it looks too horrible.

But somehow Viva sucks it all in and can muster enough fight to remain her cheerful self. Enjoying the little things like she always has. Tough girl.

Two vets and three treatments have not been able to help so far, leaving me in despair and self-hate for not being able to help my girl, and seeing no options other than doing a rain dance and pray this summer will soon end.

Let it storm, rain, hail and thunder. Go away sun and blue skies, you are not welcome any more.






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Saturday, July 13, 2013

Missing Hot Hovie

What do you do when it is hot. Swim as much as you can. Obvious.


And when home, find a cool place in the shades to observe the world.


Well done Viva.

Although obvious for Viva.
Kenzo can't sit still, and he rushes from whatever he is doing in the burning sun, to one of his cooling places.


Sometimes we can't find him and he goes missing.


Ah right, there he is. Charging up for the next dash.





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Saturday, June 22, 2013

Learning To Share

Until recently, a picture like this made my heart skip a beat:


The toy falls in the wrong place, exactly in the middle of both Kenzo and Viva and they have an equal opportunity to reach it. When one of your dogs is a resource guarder, like Viva, it is a disaster waiting to happen. A resource guarder has to own whatever it is they value high, usually a toy or food. And they'll fight to get it.

When resource guarding would lead to a conflict their relationship could be disturbed for ever. And I know plenty of people that had to give up one of their dogs because it has gotten totally out of hand and the relationship seemed beyond repair.

Managing Viva's resource guarding has therefore always been a big deal to me. The very first time I tried to play with Viva, now three years ago, I remember she left me baffled. She would take the toy as far away from me as possible, and her body stiffened as I tried to approach her. Since then, I worked with her, two or three times a day, to reach where we are today.

The obvious thing to do was to exchange the toy for a treat, and then give it back again, so Viva learns I won't take it away and it is fun to let me have the toy for a moment. Like we did with Kenzo, when he was a puppy, to socialize him how to interact with people and dogs when there are toys in the mix.

But that was a bridge too far for Viva, and the first half year just went by letting her have it, and acting casual and not interested around her when she had a toy. Then when she started to trust me with her toy around, I started making "play-ish" movements in her direction, which she recognized as play, yet kept her distance, but the blink in her eyes revealed she was enjoying it.

I think it was somewhere near the end of that first year Viva decided to make the next step. When I stopped that day with our game - of still making "play-ish" movements in her direction - and put my attention elsewhere, I noticed Viva was approaching me ... with her toy. She didn't want me stop. Finally we could get started with our training, and soon after we made our very first toy-for-treat exchange.

One-and-a-half year in she started to enjoy teasing me with her toy. Sometimes I found Viva standing beside me, pushing her toy against my hand. When I reached out she turned her head or made a step back so I couldn't reach it. After a second, I could feel her touching my hand again, asking for more. And when she dropped the toy she pushed her nose against my pocket, "treat please! didn't you notice?".

Although Viva and me were good now, it took longer with Kenzo in the equation. Thankfully Kenzo is blessed in being the absolute opposite of a resource guarder, and already proved he can cope with resource guarders before. But Viva remained more fierce towards Kenzo if he would run off with her toy. Kenzo quickly dropped it again, as soon as he discovered Viva noticed him. These next shots show how careful he is around Viva and a toy:

Kenzo sneaks in when he notices Viva drops her toy

 Just Viva's head turn makes Kenzo hit the emergency brakes

 Viva has it again ... of course

As it slowly became more clear to Viva that Kenzo was not out on owning what is "hers", she could relax more. At least during that second year, we could have toys laying around, and we could start trusting her enough not to start a fight over it.

Of course Kenzo took advantage of the fact Viva was getting more relaxed, and started to tease her by keeping a toy longer in an attempt to invite Viva to chase him, after which he quickly dropped the toy. And ran a little further, just in case. And so we slowly reached into the third year, where we finally noticed if the toy would end up in the middle of them like in the photo above, Viva was ok with letting Kenzo have it. Also for a longer while.

And this month we had our first encounter where they found themselves both on the end of a tug-of-war rope, and after a second that seemed to last a century, Viva let it go, for the very first time, and chased Kenzo-with-rope instead, because that is a lot more fun.

We can all relax a little bit more now, and although I think it is not necessary anymore to oversee and help them in their play, I think I'll keep my eyes open for a while still, just in case.




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Kenzo & Viva Art Surprise

What do you think? Aren't they beautiful?

Viva

Kenzo

You probably noticed these watercolor paintings are based on the photo's I carry on the top banner of the blog. I selected them because they both capture their different characters so well. Viva, with her sweet, loving and also somewhat dependent look. It's her expression when she feels safe and just wants to be close to me. Kenzo, the eternal optimist, having fun in the moment, and already scouting for the next thing to enjoy, full of misschief.

All credit's go to the talented and gifted Margie K. for these beautiful watercolor painted versions of my favorite couple. I am forever grateful to you Margie.

When I look at the paintings, I also think back at Shiloh the Hovawart, as Margie and me met trying to help getting Shiloh adopted. Which after a long two year fight for Shiloh and two hip operations, finally got a happy ending.

I have a lot to smile about, when I look at the wall, where they are shining now.






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Sunday, May 12, 2013

Viva Making New Friends

We took a little risk on our latest visit to the Danish West-coast by bringing a house guest. It was Joska the Viszla, Kenzo's great pal, stayed with us for the whole week. Viva knows Joska of course, but so far, Joska was only tolerated by Viva if he would show her his most polite behavior. And Joska walked the gauntlet the first two days, his every move sharply observed by Viva. Until Viva de-iced, and welcomed him into the group.

She even played with both Kenzo and Joska on the beaches, when both were engaged in their special edition of fetch, and had great fun when she could snatch a ball or a stick right from under their noses. Of course sometimes she had to assert her rule, but we knew she had found a new friend when Joska was allowed a place on the sofa.

We made long hikes and the Danish West-coast again delivered the three things Viva loves so much. Space, space, and space. This time we landed in Blåvand ("Blue Water"), and compared to the places we visited earlier, Hvide Sande, the beaches were even wider, and compared to Romø, even more empty.


View Larger Map

We thought we hit the jackpot this time with the house we stayed in, as it had no view to either neighbors or nearby paths, so we could let the dogs roam free around the house. We kept them under supervision at all times, but there was no need to leash them or keep them inside because of nearby traffic, we figured. That quickly changed though, when we spotted vipers in the area. The many vipers also made hiking through the dunes and heath fields not as relaxing as usual, so we turned more to the beaches this time.

The leash laws forbid dogs off leash on the beaches this time of year. But like I said before, with so much space and knowing how rarely it happens Viva can go off leash undisturbed for hours, I'd be happy to pay the 260 Euro fine if we would ever get caught.

And Kenzo needs his ocean. The ocean was quite calm this time, but it didn't seem to disappoint Kenzo there were no waves to surf. On the other hand it was great for Viva now, who ventured further and further into the surf, and even got her elbows wet.

Our west-coast trips mean so much for Viva, when she doesn't have to worry about other dogs and scary things that happen. She can finally be "just" another dog, enjoying the small things in life. We'll keep coming back for more of that. At least until I have figured out a way to convince the family we really have to pack our bags and move away from the city.

***

There are some more photo's of our trip in this Facebook album.




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Monday, April 22, 2013

Keeping Viva Safe

We started off on the wrong foot on the beach. Within minutes we were surprised by no less than three off leash dogs.

One after the other they seem to come down from the sand dunes, although I never saw any owner they might have come from. Of course, Viva's stress levels skyrocketed as a result.

Viva and Kenzo were still leashed - from April 1 dogs should be leashed on the beaches - although we were looking for a quiet moment to enjoy some off leash play as well as the others, we are no saints either.

With the third dog, I had to drop the leash on Kenzo as he or she was very persistent in wanting to meet Viva, who thought that was not a good idea at all. Kenzo send him or her packing. Further down we finally found some more space, and we could enjoy some play and getting our feet wet.

Other dogs approached from the horizon, and in an attempt to keep Viva as calm as possible, I retreated with her to the sand dunes, while my wife played some more with Kenzo in the surf. We just sad there, and returned to the surf when the dogs had passed by.

Murphy must have traveled with us that day, as most dogs did make an attempt to run up to Viva, even from that long distance. Every time Kenzo followed them, made his point that Viva is off limits, and herded them back to the surf. Kenzo played with them without any problems, no hard feelings. One abducted his ball, and he didn't care. Yet as soon as they ran towards Viva, he drew a line in the sand.

One person looked surprised at Kenzo herding the next dog away. "Wow, he really protects her". I thought it was team work. But true, Kenzo's role in keeping Viva safe is so much more then what I could achieve by myself.

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Saturday, March 30, 2013

Viva's Inner Cat

We are well into our first month of raw feeding now, after we recently made our first baby steps. To my surprise, the first effects are already starting to show. Viva has gotten a lot more playful and self-entertaining. She even invented a new cat-and-mouse game with the raw bones we give her:

throw

shake

stare

still staring...

is-it-still-alive-check

gotcha

ignoring

finally...

The days that Kenzo was the most playful of the couple, or that Viva needed him to engage in some play, are now over. And it is not just the bones. She is a lot more active when we play fetch and she runs through the house with her squeaky toys on her own initiative. It is too early to tell if this is caused by something underlaying, like her allergies, even though we thought we had them managed, or if this is something completely new. Either way, it is a feast to see her enjoying herself.
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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Viva The Easter Bunny

Three years ago, on the day before Sheer Thursday and Easter, we brought Viva home with us from the shelter. Our Easter Bunny in disguise, complete with a basket of easter eggs. I can vividly remember each of the eggs she kept hidden for us in her basket during that day.

We discovered Viva was returned to the shelter by her former adopters on the Monday before Easter. I drove by the shelter later that day to have a look and hear more about her and her background. And of course, to express my interest. The shelter people thought it was best for Viva also to meet Kenzo to see if they could get along, and I got an appointment for coming Wednesday to bring Kenzo when the shelter's behavioral expert would also be there.

That Wednesday was the day before Sheer Thursday followed by Easter, which are all public holidays in Denmark, so I was slightly annoyed that would probably mean we could first get Viva home after Easter if it would work out. On the bright side, the selection process is there for a reason, and it would be best for Viva too, not to rush things. Still there was hope Wednesday we could finish the process.

On Wednesday the meet between Kenzo and Viva went excellent and we were invited into the office for the "formal" part of the adoption to answer what felt like a thousand questions. When I heard the shelter's director was not in - she would have to make the final decision - my last hope to make it before Easter melted down like snow in the sun. While answering the questions, my mind already started wandering off thinking about Viva, having to spend Easter in the shelter. My pondering was suddenly interrupted, when the interviewer stood up in the middle of the interview, and said she had to make a phone call.

Sitting alone in the room, me and my wife hardly talked, as we both in silence were trying to accept the situation as it was turning out. Not knowing that in a few seconds, we would both fall off our chairs, when the interviewer returned from her phone call, which turned out to be a call to the director on holiday, bringing the message they would be glad if we would like to adopt Viva. We could take her home with us already today. It was not normal procedure, but because everything looked so good, they wanted to make an exception. For Viva's sake.

The best highs are always the ones, that follow after the lowest of lows, so it took a moment before I could scramble all my brain cells to get used to the new reality while citing each Danish version of "yes, we would love to...", I could think of. My wife still insists to this day, I responded in my native Dutch language, without me realizing it.

Finishing up the last paper work, we finally reached the part in which we could pay the adoption fee and leave with Viva. But the Easter Bunny had one last easter egg still in her basket. The terminal of the shelter didn't accept my card. If my wife's stare could kill, I would have dropped dead on the floor that very moment. As she knows, it is not the first time my irresponsibility with financial matters put us in such a situation.

I rushed out to see if I could get the money from an ATM. And it was a slight relief to find out, after visiting the third ATM of different banks, clearly something was wrong with the ATM network and not with the color of my account. At least I could save face for the home-front, although now I had to fight the banks too to get Viva home.

Blessed with an account at an Internet bank - quite new in those days - I went home to pickup my laptop, and brought it with me to the shelter to make a wire transfer instead, which they approved as payment reading it from the screen. The whole visit to the shelter had taken three hours now, and we could finally leave with Viva to celebrate Easter and introduce her into her new home.

Kenzo and Viva made their first meet on what would be Kenzo's turf for the last day, and as you can see on the photo he was making his best impression of a peacock trying to impress this beautiful lady newcomer:


And soon after, they engaged in their first play. The Easter Bunny came home after all:


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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Off Leash: The Careless, The Clueless and The Judges

It seems like ages ago Viva was fear aggressive towards almost every other dog. She lunged, showed teeth, growled and barked, even to dogs far away. When an off leash dog came close despite all her warnings, she could lay shivering on the couch the rest of the day. I remember, just after we adopted her, how clueless I felt about what to do. Thankfully, BAT - Behavior Adjustment Training - was the answer for Viva.

Today, Viva is far from what people would call a "social" dog, as she rarely goes beyond a sniff exchange. But neither is it my goal to have her engage in play or other social contact as she rarely wants that. The important thing is she now has the social skills to communicate to off leash dogs she really is not interested to meet them, without asserting to aggression.

Working with BAT did me a lot of good too. I am studying dog body language of every dog we are about to meet to judge how Viva would react and learned a lot from that. Can we pass by on a short distance? If not, how much distance would we need? Dogs that mirror Viva's calming signals, like looking away and starting to sniff something on the ground, have a good chance Viva will allow them a sniff, might they want that.

An excited youngster with a lot to learn, is no threat either, although she will tell them to bugger off when they would try more than a sniff, as they usually do. Viva does give the message on an appropriate level, making it a good lesson for the youngster as well. Her only nemesis are still the dogs that zoom in on her, and have a stiff stance. They send her over the threshold once more. Her message is clear, don't even think about getting closer. Still work-in-progress on that one.

Do you really want to meet us?
Would such a dog try to come close, I usually drop the leash on Kenzo. He will firmly yet politely convince the other dog it is probably not a good idea to continue to approach Viva. He is her biggest help.

The best possible scenario is, when it concerns a dog that was allowed a sniff, the other dog makes a play-bow right after the sniff. Something only the dogs with the most savviest social skills will do. It rarely happens, but it will trigger Viva to engage in some play and gain her a new friend. It was also exactly what Kenzo did, first time they met.

Along the line, I found out I can get a lot of clues studying the body language and habits of their dog owners as well, at least the ones that always have their dogs off leash and thereby could cause some trouble for us. I call them the Careless, the Clueless and the Judges.

Thankfully the majority of people that have their dogs off leash, are not Careless, Clueless or Judges, and do show empathy when they meet us on their paths. They make Viva's life so much easier. They leash their dogs, when they see we go leashed or when they see us trying to avoid them. Or they recall and have their dog to heel. At the minimum, they also study Kenzo and Viva's body language, to measure what is coming up the road ahead of them.

The first are the Careless. They seem to show no interest into what their dog is up to. They talk on their cell or are occupied with other things. A Careless owner with a dog that displays a stiff stance, are a risky cocktail. I make a U-turn when I see them come.

One of the Careless we've met, with a young exuberant dog bullying others on every opportunity he could get, really baffled me. When he noticed his dog was speeding towards us for a rump, he must have thought: "Ah great, he found somebody to play with", and sad down on a bench to make a phone call. After a body-check and a tumble Kenzo was laying on top of the dog. He just doesn't accept impolite greeters. The guy almost dropped his cell.

Then there are the Clueless. They are very into what their dog is doing yet they don't seem to get a message, and their dogs usually don't listen to them. When I feel that Viva would not like to meet their dog and try to create some distance or avoid them, they follow us, usually while shouting: "My dog is friendly!". It is hard to get away from the Clueless or try to explain it is not a good idea. Luckily they hardly ever have dogs that come with a stiff stance or zoom in on Viva, so I can relax more now, would they catch up with us. And as soon as Viva does her "one sniff is enough" bark, it also usually sends them packing, while rolling their eyes.

The worst are what I call the Judges. Self-confident, with a walk like they own the world. God's gift to the off leash dog scene. We are walking on their path. Whatever will happen next they're right and I'm wrong. Would we meet, we'll usually get scolded for being something inferior, and nothing is their responsibility.

When one of the Judges would have a dog that displays a stiff stance, that means real trouble. When we meet this combination, we get the hell-out-of-dodge. I remember once while getting away, such a couple met another dog when I looked over my shoulder, they found another dog to bully, commented by the Judges with: "They must find out of it among themselves". Their favorite sentence.
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Monday, January 28, 2013

Traveling With A Reactive Dog? 6 Reasons To Visit Norway

If you have a reactive or aggressive dog it can be difficult to find travel destinations. Like it is with our Viva. We can't just travel anywhere and visit any place. Even when a place is labeled "Pet Friendly", it might be the opposite of what a reactive dog like Viva would need.

When you are "reactive pet travelers" like us, you might want to consider a visit to Norway. If you like hiking, it is the perfect country to visit with a reactive dog. Imagine enjoying the beautiful sights of the fjords and mountain sides, the northern lights, the wild-life. All while you know your pet is enjoying it just as much as you do.

Here are 6 reasons why Norway is a "Reactive Pet Friendly" country. And if you indulge me with a totally unrelated subject, I also grasp this opportunity to showcase how Norway positively reinforces responsible pet ownership - in italic text:

***

1. Reactive Friendly Leash laws

Dogs must be leashed from April until August in the whole of Norway, to protect life-stock and wild life. Some areas even require a leash the whole year round. Our experience is those laws are not just window-dressing, we never met an off leash dog on our hikes.

For us reactive pet travelers it is a gift. We don't have to worry about meeting off leash dogs on the trails. And because we use a long leash with a harnass, we still have plenty of room to move and romp about. 

Several signs continously remind you of the leash laws, not by just stating "Forbidden...", but with an explanation why it is necessary, and closing with a friendly "Takk" (Thank you) for being a responsible dog owner. Now that's positive reinforcement ... for dog owners. Clever Norwegians.

2. Please Trespass!


You'll never find a sign "Private property - No trespassing" in Norway.

They do have private property though, you didn't end up in a communist country, but they also have a law called "Allemansret" ("every man's right"), that allows you to hike through - even camp and forage on - private property.

That means you can always frind a trail or a camp spot, where you can enjoy some privacy with your reactive dog, or maybe to avoid the busier trails and find your own path.

Also here you can find these positive reinforcement signs where the property owner asks for some consideration of dog owners for his life-stock, like we met on one of our hikes as you can see on the picture. What a wonderful thing, that someone allowed me to take my dogs through his land with sheep and thanked me ahead for my consideration. 

3. Off Leash Dog Early Warning System

There are of course restricted areas where dogs are allowed off leash. Not just the obvious dog park, but you can also stumble upon them while hiking. We came across a small island which was used for dog training and therefore, dogs could roam free.

No need to worry though that you will just run into them, these places are clearly marked and they are not too big. You can just follow another trail around it. 

I really enjoyed the sign explaining their could be off leash dogs ahead. It even explained for people what to do if they would encounter such an off leash dog. "Do not run. Remain calm and avoid eye contact. Do not pet or talk to the dog." Yes, it can be that simple to act on some bite prevention. Kudos, Norway.

4. Thank You So Much

This is just my observation, but I found Norwegian dog owners very empathic towards us reactive pet travelers when I compare it to Denmark, where we live.

When we meet other - leashed - dogs on the trail I always moved slightly off the trail to let them pass on a distance, so Viva would not get upset. And many times, people thanked me for it! "Takk so mycket" (Thank you so much) they shouted, "my dogs doesn't like other dogs". We gave a smile back "Same over here, you are welcome!".

When we went swimming in a fjord, a woman was approaching with her dog to join the fun. When I warned her Viva is probably not friendly, again I received a big "Takk" and a smile. She then just enjoyed Kenzo and Viva's swimming activities from a distances, while we had a talk about Hovawarts. Compare that to the cold shoulders and shouts we usually receive in Denmark...

This is a positively reinforced Valhalla! It is not only written on signs, the Norwegians practice it too!

5. Spacial Crash Sites

There are a lot of camping sites and cabins for rent. And you won't have to look far for a location where there is enough room between you and the next dog owner.

We really enjoy this room and space. Viva doesn't get upset by barking, or growling, neighbors.

I don't have any numbers on it, but my best guess is that 30% of all facilities have a "Pet allowed" policy. 

No special signs here unfortunately, just the usual scoop your poop! Applying positive reinforcement on poop-scooping might be a bridge too far, even for those inventive Norwegians.

6. Dogs Are Pets

Compared to Southern-European countries, the feral or stray dog is virtually non-existing. Norwegians keep their dogs as pets, and don't let them roam free. Actually there are not that many dogs in Norway at all. Only 0,7% of all dogs in Europe reside in Norway.

The probability of running into a feral or stray dog are therefore the lowest you can get in Europe, and that is good news too for us reactive pet travelers.

***

I hope you consider Noway, I am sure you'll love it as much as we did. If you like to read more about our Norway trip you can find it here. And if you do, here is a sentence you might need: "my dog is not friendly" in Norwegian is "hunden min er ikke vanlig", pronounced as "hoenden min r ik venli". And you probably receive a "Takk so mycket!" in return.
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Saturday, January 12, 2013

Ear Nibble Prohibition

Viva is almost done with the cone-of-shame after her eyelid surgery. The stitches will be removed in a couple of days. But impatient Viva feels healthy already, and she can't understand what this new and evil ear nibble condom is doing on her head.

I can't feel anything ?!?

Oh yeah, this is so good, so, so good. Purrr.

We'll soon be back in the good old days.


Kenzo did smuggle in some ear nibbles through, he is actually getting the hang of how to beat this cone-of-shame. Maybe he misses giving ear nibbles more than Viva does receiving them. Soon we'll celebrate the end of prohibition with some old-fashioned and full-fledged ear nibbles.
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Wednesday, January 9, 2013

The Top Spot For The Top Dog

Viva's favorite place to sleep is an old carpet we have in our spare room. Kenzo occasionally uses the dog bed in the room too. To give Viva some extra TLC in the post eyelid surgery days to come, I set up a camp bed for myself over there.

Hey dad, thanks for the upgrade of my room, glad you guys keep me company.
You really shouldn't have done that, so kind of you.

In return, I insist you take the top spot on the carpet.


Why doesn't that make me feel like the top dog?
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Monday, January 7, 2013

Showing Off Our Waistline

Of course, you are the judge if there really is something we can show off with. And to explain why we suddenly became exhobitionists over night: we are joining the Show Off Your Dog's Wastline Campaign over at Jana and Jasmine Rade's blog Dawg Business.

Look at that waistline:

When you have a look at the infographic on Jana's blog, you can find out if that's an ideal waistline or not. I am blurred when it concerns Kenzo and Viva, they are always ideal to me. And while you are over there, read more why it is so important to keep an eye on your dog's waistline. Jana can explain it a lot better than I can. Knowing Jana, it is probably very important for your dog's health.

To close off with some facts. Viva was obese when we got her, her weight was 50 kg. She is now on a stable 43 kg, which seems a lot for a Hovawart lady, but she is a tall girl, so her waistline is a much better indicator than breed averages. Kenzo had opposite issues before his neutering, as he stopped eating because of all those love bugs in his stomach. He was even down to 39 kg, but after his neutering he is now on a stable weight of 43 kg.

Now show off your dog's waistline.
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