We've had a very rainy year! It's been raining pretty much nonstop since October with only 4 days of nice weather. All that rain has to go somewhere and our rivers are overflowing!
This past Thursday, we went to Thousand Acres park for the first time since Phoenix started doing play group at my work. We've been avoiding places where there will be other off leash dogs, while I was integrating Phoenix into our play group because we didn't want her to have any bad dog/dog interactions, trigger stacking or practice bad behavior with other dogs. It's been 4 weeks since I've been out there and the whole park is completely flooded!
The "Seasonal" Pond is now a river and a muddy mess!
It was fascinating to see how high the water was! I've never seen the "seasonal" pond so full! It was it's own river! This was the spot where I taught Phoenix how to swim a couple of years ago because it was shallow and easy for her. Not anymore!!
This spot here used to be a meadow full of green grass and a trail system!
This is the same exact spot as the photo above. I took this a few months ago!
They were both super confused as to where the meadow went! It was pretty funny!
We took a break from the flood so that Phoenix could play a little fetch!
She loves her ball!
Phoenix has been going to our play groups once a week for the past three weeks and I was so happy with her behavior out at the park! Her dog/dog greetings and interactions where way better than they've been in the past. She was pretty chill for the most part. The terrier directly behind her and to the right was not very nice to her, he snarked at her and was kind of over the top. Phoenix did not snark back. She showed him her teeth when he got in her face but then she moved away from him and let it go.
My work dogs are really helping her to realize that she can meet dogs and nothing bad or scary happens. They ignore her for the most part and she's able to easily move through them without being scared. She actually tried to play with a couple of them this past week. It's nice to see that what she's learning at my work is being generalized to other dogs! I'm really happy with her progress.
We were so excited when we got an unexpected package! Our friends over at chewy.com sent us a super fun summer treat! The girls are modeling the sunglasses! They also sent us a beach towel and some flip flops! Thanks so much to the chewy team!
So we haven't been blogging very much but the 4th of July is not a fun time for us. I really needed to take a break and focus on my dogs. Since it's mostly over, I figured I'd do an update post for everyone!
So to recap this: Two weeks prior to the holiday, I made an appointment for Zoe to see the vet so we could talk to him about "sedation" for the girls. Both of my dogs are now noise phobic and after last year being so miserable, I didn't want the dogs to go through that again. They were so scared and none of the holistic things we've ever tried have helped. Zoe was so traumatized last year that she didn't want to eat for a few days after the 4th. I had to hand feed her every single meal and really encourage her. No dog should have to be that scared. It totally sucked.
So I went into the vet thinking I just wanted sedatives (valium) but he suggested using an anti-anxiety medication and recommended that we get trazadone. So that's what we went with and I asked for at least a week's worth because my neighbors pretty much light stuff off for the whole week.
Let me tell you how glad I am that I got my dogs medication. Words cannot even describe the amount of relief my dogs experienced just taking these tiny pills. They were magical. The pills did not sedate them at all. They just felt better. Neither of my dogs experienced any side effects, they were their same selves. The medication prevented them from freaking out, prevented the horrible anxiety attacks that they suffered from last year and it was just the best thing I've ever done for my dogs. I totally regret not getting medication for them sooner. It was a game changer. I will always sing the praises of chemical intervention from now on. Get medication for your dogs sooner rather than later and don't make the same mistake I made by trying a ton of holistic things that don't touch true anxiety and fear.
On the morning of the 4th we gave the dogs their first dose of trazadone and then went hiking with my friend, Suzanne and her gorgeous new Belgian Malinois, Stuck. You can find out more about Stuck by visiting her blog: Stuck On You!
Thousand Acres was insanely crowded because of the holiday weekend but we definitely needed to get out! I am really glad that I know the park so well and we were able to avoid the more crowded areas. We even managed to secure a small area of the beach to play on without too much trouble from other people and dogs.
Working dogs, fetching! :D Phee is in the upper right corner.
We had a fantastic time with Suzanne and Stuck! Stuck was such an awesome girl! She completely ignored Zoe and Phoenix for the most part and everyone got along great. We had zero issues with them running around off leash together. I think the girls had a really fun time showing off "their" park to their new friend! I'm really hoping they are able to make it out again soon.
Here's a short video of Phoenix fetching and swimming!
That evening we gave the dogs their second dose of trazadone about an hour before it got dark and they got their last walks of the day. When the fireworks started going off, they weren't happy and Zoe needed her trazadone bumped up but neither of them had a major meltdown. Both were able to take food, which is how I measure their stress levels. If they won't eat they are very stressed. This year with the medication on board they could eat. Phoenix wanted to hide in her crate and Zoe wanted to mostly hang out with my husband. Last year, Zoe would not leave the bathroom and even tried to get behind the toilet because she was so freaked out. That did not happen this year. She hung out with my husband the whole time and even wagged her tail a few times when he would talk to her.
They got their special treat of whip cream straight from the can for the entire hour of the fireworks shows. Then we switched to regular treats. After the initial big booms were over, they both actually fell asleep. Falling asleep is HUGE. Neither of my dogs have ever been able to sleep through 4th of July fireworks. Even better, Zoe is still eating her regular dog food like nothing happened. The only real problem we are having now is that Phoenix is afraid to go outside at night but we had that happen last year and I'm sure she'll be okay in a week or two.
So for the most part we had a really good holiday. I am so glad that my friend was able to come and visit us! I'm also really happy that I took the time to get my dogs medication so they could feel better. If your dogs get freaked out for the 4th of July or thunder, I highly recommend talking to your vet about medication. It was the best thing I've done for my dogs. The results I got were completely shocking and the difference in them was crazy. They were so relaxed and we didn't have any meltdowns or side effects. I will never go through another firework holiday without getting meds for them.
So I finally started feeling better this week and we made it out to the park. Phoenix found a new friend! It's so funny because she's always liked little dogs and this little guy was such a great match for her!
I wish I had gotten more of their playing on video because they were doing so well!
If you watch the clips closely, you can sort of see that Phoenix was worried about their other dog, the black one, even though she was unsure about him she didn't react or get snarky. Overall it was a pretty good trip out to the park!
It's finally Spring!! The roses are blooming and the grass is up to my knees and in some places up to my waist! We went to the park on Saturday morning and it was cold and misty out! If you can see the little spots of "light, fuzziness" around Phoenix, it's actually the steam coming off her body!
I love it when I am able to capture silly photos of Phoenix! Here she is clearly wanting to play with Zoe! We went down to the river for the first time in about a month and both dogs were really excited.
Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you're all having a fantastic weekend!
Yesterday I got up at 5am. I couldn't sleep so I decided to go see the sunrise. We haven't been going to Thousand Acres that much because I've been working with Phoenix's reactivity. I'm trying to keep her 100% under threshold and you can't really accomplish that at a giant off leash park where any dog is welcome.
The sky definitely didn't disappoint me! It was glorious and completely peaceful with no dogs in sight.
It was really windy so Zoe was pretty nervous and unhappy. This is probably the happiest photo I was able to get of her all morning. Poor Zoe! I always feel so bad for her when she's like that.
One of the most awesome things about Phoenix is that she's generally a pretty happy little dog. As long as she doesn't have to deal with other dogs or the smoke alarm going off, she's great!
This one didn't quite turn out that great but I still think it's a fun shot. Phoenix bounding around in the tall grass having a good time!
We had a really nice morning and we only ran into one dog on the way back to the car. Luckily he was on leash and didn't care about them. It was a great morning! I hope I can drag my butt out of bed to do this again soon!
When you live with a dog who is afraid of other dogs and you live in the city where dogs are around every corner, finding dog-free ways to exercise is important. The dog park is out for the most part and we can only go to Thousand Acres during off times. I know I've talked about this before but leash walks have never really been enough for either of my dogs. It's fine when it's raining but being able to run is way more fulfilling.
I was pretty excited when I found a different set of trails that were deserted. The dogs were able to run and play and we didn't come across anyone or any dogs. It was a bit of a rougher hike for us as the trails were not as groomed but I'll take it.
This part of the trail heads into Thousand Acres and we didn't want to go that way. The dogs are recalling off a squirrel. First squirrel I've actually ever seen out there. I've seen lots of birds, bald eagles even, some bunnies and deer but never any squirrels until that day.
We had two super nice days hiking these trails and we didn't run into anyone. It was really awesome.
Do you ever try to find secret trails or deserted parks for your dogs?
Do you remember your parents telling you "if your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?" We learned that lesson on Saint Patrick's Day when we had a mild hypothermia scare with Phoenix. All the other dogs were swimming, having a good time and were fine...
The weather was finally sunny, my husband had the day off and we decided to go hiking out at our favorite park. The day started off pretty normal, except that everyone had the same idea we did. The parking lot was full and there was no parking. That was okay, though because there's another park about half a mile away with extra parking so we decided we'd park there and hike in. On our way into the park, we found a little off shoot trail and spent about an hour wandering around on some trails that bordered our favorite park. These sorts of trails are hardly ever used, some of them were flooded and we didn't see anyone or any dogs. When we finally made it into the park it was very, very crowded but we decided to continue on and use it as a training opportunity. Zoe had been getting frustrated with the lack of friendly dogs at our apartment complex and she really wanted to socialize. I had my husband take her down to the river to visit with the dogs while I played some counter conditioning games off to the side with Phoenix on leash.
Phee was doing really well, so I asked for more and moved her closer to the action. We had several very nice greetings with other dogs and it this point I decided we should end on a good note and continue hiking. Once we were away from the big group of dogs, I went ahead and let Phoenix back off leash. We came across several more dogs on the trails but she did great practicing avoidance behaviors, which I prefer over greetings. She definitely tries not to have conflict with other dogs and I'm pretty happy about that. She does great with dogs who are calm and we ran into a bunch who were perfect for her to visit with. I'm finding out that both of my dogs really likes pit bull type dogs. I wish they weren't such breedests but I'll take it.
The day was going pretty well and my husband happened to pick up a stick. As soon as Phoenix saw the stick she was immediately "in drive" and wanted to play fetch. She loves to fetch sticks out of water more than anything else. Everyone out there had their dogs playing in the water so we didn't really think about it too much. We were cautious, not throwing the sticks too far and making her take breaks in between fetching so she didn't get too cold. I told my husband to give her one more throw and then we needed to leave and I was thinking he'd just sort of drop it in the water for her... Well... I learned that I need to give better instructions because he really chucked it out there and she ended up loosing it to the current. This is the problem with high drive dogs, they will do the thing they love until they literally die if people are not careful and Phoenix is no different. She searched and searched for that stick. I told my husband to quickly throw her another one because we needed to get her out. He threw a stick right to her, she grabbed it and swam back to us.
When she came out of the water, she was frozen solid. She was limping on all four legs and was so cold she could barely move and she was screaming and freaked out. It was pretty bad and probably the scariest moment I've ever had as a dog mom. I immediate picked her up and hugged her to my chest trying to warm her up. My husband told me to wrap her in my sweatshirt and that's what we ended up doing. We wrapped her up and hugged her until she was warm, taking turns carrying her. We got her over the sun-warmed sand and set her down and started toweling her off with my sweatshirt and rubbing her to warm her up. As soon as we did that and she was more warm, she took off to play with Zoe like nothing had happened and we both let out a sigh of relief. She was okay.
She was able to run around and hike back out of the park on her own, although I kept calling her back and checking to make sure her gums were still pink and that she was okay and warm enough. We are very lucky that she listens to us and we were able to get her out of the water when we did.
We learned that just because everyone else is swimming their dogs doesn't mean we should and if I do swim her she needs short throws and long breaks between them. I also need to buy her a life jacket. I'm not sure I will put her back into the water until summer, though. This was way too scary and I do not want to repeat it. Lesson learned. Just because the weather is warmer and sunny, doesn't mean that the water is warm. I was so relieved that she was okay. She came home and was playful and happy, her usual self. Thank goodness.
Zoe is pretty easily offended by things. Sheis not a fan of being wet so it was pretty funny when Phoenix hopped out of the river and shook all over her!
The other day we were out at the park and the girls found the largest puddle to play in! It was almost a small pond! It's funny because both of my dogs used to avoid putting their feet in water and now they just plow right through all the puddles!
