Rusty update

Rusty tested positive for Lyme disease. This may be old news to some (he was diagnosed over 3 weeks ago). We are 5 days away from completing 30 days of doxycycline, 3 pills a day. It's been pretty easy to give him the pills. It's become a ritual of sorts. He wants cheese. I'll feel bad for him when his pills are gone.

8 days ago, Rusty lost his backyard freedom. It was my birthday, and some vicious howling winds were celebrating a little too hard and blew a whole 4 panel corner section of our 6 foot fence down. Now my landscape looks like it's missing a couple of teeth, and Rusty has no place to run.

Oddly, this situation is not as bad as it appears...apparently we are winning (get the reference?). I have been forced to walk Rusty several times a day. This 'forced' walk is actually quite pleasant and the more we walk the easier it gets. The more we walk the less he sits at my feet and barks at me. The more we walk the more he 'gets it' when we are training. The most recent training accomplishment is Rusty getting his kong and placing it in my open palm without me grabbing for it. I say 'get it' for him to get his kong, and 'give it' for him to give it to me in my hand. If he drops it to the floor, I just say 'get it' and 'give it' again until he gets it right. He's been getting it right frequently. Good boy. And...the more we walk, the more exercise I get. Bonus!

Crappy cell phone pic of Rusty at Bird Park.



Our fence is going to be fixed, hopefully tomorrow. And Rusty will have free range of the back yard once again. The walks will not cease. The walks will continue!

A couple of months after he finishes his medication, Rusty will be tested again for Lyme disease. If his number doesn't drop below 30, he may have to go on another run of antibiotics. At this time his number is 67. He has no symptoms of Lyme, let's hope it stays that way.

Update for a neglected blog

A lot has been going on in nancyrosettaville.

Hubby had knee surgery but is recovering nicely. Arthroscopic to be exact. We even have a DVD of the inside of the knee parts of the surgery, and the surgeon actually narrates the footage as he is talking to Scott. It's pretty cool. Scott is doing very well. He only used crutches for a few hours, then on to a cane for a day. Really an amazing recovery.

Mom continues to be a part time job for me. I visit her as much as I can, and have recently been having more pleasant visits, she is doing better in some aspects and worse in others. I have been dealing with her personal/financial issues as well, they had started to take a toll on me, but I think things are beginning to settle, at least I hope that is the case.

Rusty has started to bark at me when I sit on the couch. It's only been about a week of this new nonsense. I am not usually afraid of him when he does this, but the last couple of days, his breath with the barks have left my hair standing on end. The shock collar* seems to stop this behavior, we don't even have to use the electric part of it, just putting it on him does the trick. (*we only use the sound part...not the shock part)

There's the quick update.

Rusty fetches

Scott and Rusty playing Rusty's version of 'fetch'.

Jumping through the hoola hoop. He really likes the hoola hoop.



He's a cool dog when he is not biting people. So cute, too!

A walk through Walpole

Rusty and I took a long walk today through East Walpole, into Walpole and back again. We walked through Bird Park (Francis William Park) and all the way to Plimpton Street. We actually made it almost to Main Street, but I got scared and turned back because Plimpton Street is not a street for walking, I found out. Very narrow, no sidewalk, but what really made me turn back was a super friendly black Chow Chow dog not chained in his unfenced yard who bounded over to say 'hi' while I kept saying 'no' trying to pull Rusty away from him (can't be too careful!). It was a nice day for a walk, very sunny but nice and cool. I did find my dream house on Plimpton Street though (in my dreams).

Bird Park is blooming like crazy, a lovely time to stroll through.



We had a wonderful walk, I googled our route when I got home and we did about a 5 mile loop. Rusty was actually walking almost behind me the last 1/4 mile...he was done! This is what a worn out dog looks like.

Look at those eyes, he is just exhausted!

Julie borrowed my car for tonight, so perhaps I will take Rusty on an even longer walk tomorrow to pick up the car at the Gallery. It's nice to have a worn out dog...especially one that is usually barking at you for attention.

Rusty has a new hobby!

Jape played some agility games with Rusty today while Suzanne and I watched. Apparently Rusty really likes jumping!

Some activities he was not so interested in, particularly the frisbee...

I think he had a fantastic time playing in the backyard with Jape. Rusty came home with his own hula hoop, so we may practice some tomorrow in the backyard.
He liked jumping the stationary rake, too.

Alright, it took over 1 1/2 hours to upload less than 2 minutes of video. Gha!

More Dog

A Sleeping Dog is a Good Dog

Scarf!

I finished my scarf last night.

It was actually a challenge for this experienced crocheter. I had never used true handspun yarn before, and this particular yarn had incredible fluctuations in the thick and thin. I found it very hard to keep my stitches loose enough and actually pulled the whole thing apart twice before I was happy with it. The yarn I bought from Knittydirtygirl is called Godzilla eats Pumpkins and it has incredible color and texture. My photos don't show the true vibrancy of color, the true color can be seen here or here.

What a great model!


I had a lot of fun tearing this apart and re-making it and in the end, I think I have a fantastic scarf. I only wish that I had enough yarn to make a hat, too.

Two skeins 80 yards each.

Rusty's new toy

My friend Noriko from California sent this toy to Rusty, along with some chopsticks and chocolate for me!

I love my new chopsticks, and as you can tell, Rusty loves his new toy!
Thanks Noriko!!!

Mugshots

Rusty has been doing really good with the attention training. He is very focused for hotdogs, not as much for cheese.



Today, we were out training with all manner of noise and distraction just outside the fence (the neighbors are doing something big) there was even a guy on the roof! Rusty kept his attention on me and my stinky hotdog fingers. Success!

Rusty Waits

Tomorrow is one week from our first obedience class, and I thought I would try to show how well we are doing.
He is a smart cookie.



You can see he almost jumps the gun, but I am proud of him anyway. It's tough waiting to enjoy some treats that are sitting right on your paws, Raven told me so.

Tuff Plushie?

This poor little blue and gray long friend is less than 24 hours old.

So what that I paid $15.99 plus sales tax for something I could have gotten cheaper over the internet with free shipping.

We need instant gratification in this house, as you can tell.

If you would like to see what this thing looks like new, and the incredibly bad rating that this 3X stronger than the average plushie toy gets...click here

I should have gotten him the $4.00 bunny, at least it would have lasted longer than 24 hours.

First Obedience Class

Surprisingly to me, Rusty did very well today. I was imagining a snarling, growling, barking, misbehaving dog, but luckily he was none of the above. The fact that this was a new place to him probably had a lot to do with that.
We had to walk him alone instead of having the 10 minute play/socialize time with the other dogs before the lesson, but what a beautiful landscape to have to take a walk in.
Kerry was not kidding when she said the property was "very peaceful for man and human". I had to get some shots before the lessons started.



I found it incredibly tranquil and beautiful with the rolling hills and paths.
We have homework called "Nothing in life is free" and that basically means that Rusty has to do something that I specifically ask for before he gets any affection, treat or time outside. Starting off this means to sit, stay, down and wait/stay. Then he gets all the rubs and scratches he wants. We are using a lot of treats now, too.
He likes string cheese, but it makes him gassy.

Obedience training Today

The appointment yesterday went well.

Scott and I had a little bit of trouble finding the Center for Behavior and Training, but we finally found it and all was well. The meeting consisted of Dr. Marder and two vet students. Rusty did a great job acting like a good dog, I was super pleased with him. We went over his history and talked about his general behavior and how we will change the way he reacts to the stimulus that creates this aggressive behavior. We have a lot of homework to do. Dr. Marder's prognosis after the meeting was 'Fair, with intensive training' at least it wasn't 'Poor with no hope at all' so I am taking that and running with it.

Scott and I took separate cars so he could go directly to work afterwards. Rusty and I moseyed along to Jape and Suzanne's house. Rusty had a nice little playdate with Raven and I had 3 mid afternoon beers with my friends. We came home so exhaused, me from the beers at JapieSuze, and Rusty from all the attention and activities of the day. We both curled up on the couch and took a long nap, sweet lovely peaceful sleep. There is a good dog deep down in that biting hot mess.

Today we have our first obedience class, and we don't even have to travel all the way downtown, we are going to The Animal Rescue League in Dedham. We missed the orientation since the 6 week course started last Sunday, but we were quickly brought up to speed in 10 minutes. So we will be on the 5 week plan instead. A big plus is that the ride is sweet and easy compared to yesterdays ride.

My lille aggressive pooch.

Today we are visiting the Center for Behavior and Traning at The Animal Rescue League in Boston. We have an appointment with veterinarian and certified behaviorist, Dr. Amy Marder. He will be on a 3 month program with her, hopefully we can resolve some of his issues in that time.


God, I hope he doesn't bite her! Wish us luck!

Rusty walks again.

Some serious progress has been made in the curing of Rusty's dominant, aggressive alpha dog syndrom. I went to Petco after work last night and bought this gem of a collar...I AM THE ALPHA DOG DAMNIT, what I say goes!!...but I digress...

Kristen suggested this collar, or a harness that clips at the chest, and since this is what I found at Petco, this is what I went with.

Actually he looked nothing like the dog on the package. That dog looks comfortable and content, Rusty looked more like he was sentenced to life in prison. He did however, walk without pulling, lunging or barking, and I was able to keep him right at my side where he could see my feet walking before his. I am the alpha dog after all (I will keep saying that so shut up!).

I tried it out just walking back and forth in front of the house at first. I was initially nervous that he could get out of it, and since I fastened the gentle lead not only to his leash, but also to his collar, I was especially concerned. He was defiant at first, thrashing his head back and forth trying to get out of the contraption, but settled down after a while. I was pleased.

We actually took a long walk last night, which I have been reading is good for his instinct. Regardless of who is leading the walk, walks satisfy a primal instinct in dogs and I could tell that he was happy to walk again even with all the initial thrashing. I haven't walked him since the biting started, so I was super happy to take him out when very few people or animals were around.

We did come across a couple of people getting into cars, a few night joggers, and a few barking dogs and he did not try to chase after anything and did not bark or lunge at all. He showed some mild interest when we passed a house with a couple of dogs in the front yard protecting their territory and he did not lunge or make a peep, he just kept up with me and the walking.

He also spent a lot of time lying at my feet yesterday and following me around. I think he is starting to get it. I hope today will be a repeat of yesterday and I hope I can keep posting good things about Rusty.

Becoming an alpha dog

If you read the previous post, you have probably been on pins and needles waiting to hear about the wonderful accomplishments that we made with Rusty and the trainer on Friday. Well, you're not going to hear any of that. Things did not go so well. In fact, things were downright sour. I am embarrassed and not amused by Rusty's behavior.

Kristen came into our yard and met Rusty while he was on leash and the initial meeting was a whole lot of barking and lunging, so Scott took Rusty inside and we started talking. Kristen had me fill out a questionnaire of sorts, to find out what the key behavior problems were that we wanted to deal with, and find out a bit of Rusty's background that we knew of. We told her the only history that we knew...that he was a stray...that we didn't know for how long... the condition that Rusty was in when he was found...his various ailments he overcame, his foster care before us, his return to a kill shelter...and so on. She compiled a sort of plan to deal with his issues.

Once we were done with the initial consultation, Kristen wanted to meet Rusty. She had me go inside and get some cheese so that she had something that he liked to offer him. She had been briefed on his biting and was not a bit scared or nervous. I was also not a bit nervous as Kristen is a dog trainer and if she came to this house after all the warning, I thought she could handle him. Things didn't go as I planned.

Kristen was sitting, and Rusty made a beeline to her. She had treats, I know he knew that. He jumped in her lap at first. She gave up the treats. She stood up, and he grabbed her inside elbow with his mouth when she did. I think she probably has a bruise there now. He didn't break the skin, but I did see some purple teeth marks after a few minutes.

So, we are left with the realization that we have an aggressive, dominant dog who may never allow guests into our yard let alone our home (we need to nip this in the bud!). Since this most unfortunate realization, I have been changing my behavior. I am becoming the alpha dog. It sounds silly, but it is working. Tonight, he actually followed me slowly up the stairs instead of plowing me down to be the first one up. I have made some changes in the way I treat him, and I think this may work.

He has become defiant, stopped listening to me, but he has also begun showing a few signs of stress, so I think that he knows that there is a change in power taking place.

So in recap: Friday night after the unfortunate incident, I had become temporary alpha. Saturday all day, Rusty was in denial (he ignored me as much as he could, which was a lot) so to me, he thought he was back to alpha (although I was not buying it). Sunday night (I was gone most of the day) Rusty is starting to follow me. I am becoming the alpha dog. Pray for me and him! This is truly his last chance. I think if we return him to the rescue he will not make the cut. He is too smart for his britches, and he doesn't have any chances left. We're it.

I WILL be the Alpha dog!!!!!!
Rusty WILL look to me for guidance. It's my wish. For him to live. Fucking dog!

First Vet Appointment

Rusty's first vet appointment (since he has been with us) went very well. He likes Dr. Thorne, she gives him cheese.
I was a little nervous at first because there were other dogs in the waiting area and Rusty was extremely vocal and showing his strength. I took him outside until the dogs were mostly gone, and he calmed down a bit, frogged out on the floor, and just whined. When we got into the examination room, I took him off leash and he let Dr. Thorne examine him (sort of) after she fed him cheese and he slobbered all over her hands.

So now he is on Frontline, and Heartworm medication finally. He will have some other shots in January when his rabies is due.

I hope Friday goes as well as today did. We have a trainer coming over, I will keep you posted.

...and we're back...

What a great vacation. Much relaxation, no pressing responsibilities, and an endless supply of nothingness.

Rusty spent a lot of time doing this...


and this...


and a little of this...

Oops, that was a cattle type animal doing what he does. But Rusty did that, too.

I spent a fair amount of time cooking our meals, chasing after the Rusta Bibble, playing various guitar hero's with Suzanne (our band !+*=AAA rocked so hard!), and we watched the whole first season of Rock of Love (yeah, that's right, Rock of Love.)

Some other highlights included a wonderful tour of our immediate part of the ocean with Suzanne in a small blow up kayak that needed constant bailing (we should have brought a cup)...

We visited the Point Prim Lighthouse and got eaten by mosquitoes so bad that I had to do the slappy shakey run back to the car.

We drove around the southeastern most part of the island and stopped at a winery...the vineyard was beautiful, the wine we got left some taste to the imagination...sorry Rossignol.


and we got totally turned around, but not before we found this most gorgeous out of the way cliff.

...and a pic from the other side...


After the 13 hour drive home (we made great time) it was all worth the drive. Even though the weather didn't cooperate the whole two weeks, PEI is the most gorgeous place I have ever been and I am blessed to be able to go there each and every summer.

Its almost Island time.

We start the journey up to PEI on either Friday night or Saturday morning, we're still undecided. I have not even started to look through books I want to take or jewelry I want to work on, or even clothes I want to wear. Things somehow work out, as we make this trek every summer and somehow it all works out even if we have forgotten something. Enjoy our backyard!
Suzanne, Jape and Raven are spending the 2 weeks with us this year, as they did in '05 and '06. We will drive up together (in separate cars) with the dogs. This will be Rusty's first time up there, I think he will love the freedom, but I am afraid of him off-leash, so we will just have to feel it out and see how he does. Hopefully we will be able to let him run wild (with eagle-eye supervision) for at least a little while each day. I still haven't totally found out what the code word is to bring him back when he runs, but he has been responding to the whistle very well. So far he always comes to me when I make that whistle noise, but the tests are always in fenced in yards...so you never know.

Perry enjoying some water time in August 2002.

Perry loved the water but couldn't swim. He would just run like mad in the low tide, and during high tide he would hug the shore. I miss him so much! He loved the freedom he had up on the island, and I will never forget him.

Perry's long awaited services will be held sometime between July 13 - July 26th. His ashes will be scattered over the cliff and into the ocean when the tide is in. Hopefully not on a very windy day.

RIP my very good friend Perry 1/96-11/07 I love you!