so little ansel is doing better, pics to come of some of his wardrobe (seems so silly to me still that i have a dog that wears 'layers')...
i ordered some dermagic lotion for him last night. i found a place that sells it in 4oz as well as 8 oz bottles. being a small dog he won't need much. he's been much perkier and we actually played a little bit. i'm amazed that he has no interest in toys. not sure what to get him to play with....
in HORSE news - i rode yesterday. i'm getting buster ready for a clinic on the 14th of next month. the BIGGEST thing though, i cantered on him! i know, doesn't seem like a big deal but for me, it certainly was. i've been having issues with the canter longer than i've been riding buster. some of my confidence issues have been gone for a while but there's still alot of lingering fear and hesitation. so while he's been cantering u/s since he had 6 weeks at the trainer's back in march, i haven't done it with him yet.
now when i was in high school i would ride all 3 gaits all over my home valley bareback. i loved it. i instinctually knew how to ride then and i've lost that. staying on just happened and i couldn't explain it. now it's all a thought process (or it shouldn't be now lol)... i guess that's why fear has entered - i started THINKING too much instead of just riding. so i started to lose my balance etc.
however, reading cesar milan's books about the dogs and calm-assertive energy has really helped me. k, a friend, was out there and she rode him a bit and got him warmed up for me.. watching him on the ground really helped me out and i couldn't be more thankful for her presence. she has a great upbuilding and positive energy and confidence to herself so that naturally helped me. i got on, told myself 'i can do all things through Christ who strengthens me' and then picked up the trot. not even a butterfly. we trotted for a while then i asked him to move up into the canter. he was being pissy and lazy, but he did it. then he decided to start cantering laterally so i shut him down... next weekend my goal, now that i'm 'unstuck' is to start working through that and keeping him on a straight or round track - it's not time for lateral cantering, especially if i'm not asking for it lol! the canter is actually my favorite gait and i was laughing and tearing up it felt so good to finally get that out and break through the fear and anxiety. God gave me so much confidence yesterday and i felt more like i used to than i have in the past ten years. my eventual goal is to be able to go bareback anywhere (buster needs to build some muscle and fat up over his back too) but we're a ways out from that right now. either way, praise God indeed for small and large blessings.
the chiropractor needs to see him before the clinic and i'm hoping he'll be coming out soon.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
more about the dog...
he ate his chicken baby food fairly enthusiastically and had seconds this evening - so hopefully, that's a good sign. we had a nice evening and i showed hubby how he walks and trots alongside me like a show dog. (as if i have any experiences other than watching it on tv, but hey..)
he's getting *very* responsive to me though. still unsure of my husband (but he's a big guy and hasn't been home much... work and all) but his wariness is to be expected given his history. yesterday, however, i was really impressed by how much he knows once he's willing to share it. he's coming to me about 90% of the time when i ask (and when he's sleeping, it's sort of a '5 more minutes mom..'), sits about 70% of the time when i ask and has impeccable leash manners. it makes me wonder if in his prior life he was a show dog. he wasn't neutered when Nice Gal found him on the street so i'm curious. too bad there's no way to find out who and what he was before coming to her. i'm tempted to buy a show lead and see how he responds to it.
to help minimize his stress i've stopped just about everything but the very basics - pretty much just eating a bland diet and frequent walks. no 'training' (after our less than enthusiastic session the other morning i think i'd rather wait until he's come out of his shell some more), probably won't do any baths for a few days and just staying home - no going on any outings until he's adjusted and confident in his environment. this is my first time rehabbing a dog with prior experience of neglect so working through some of his hesitancy has been interesting. cesar milan talks about dogs living in the moment, but i disagree with some of that. i think prior experience can most certainly affect and condition an animal to respond in a certain way (memory is one of the most powerful tools for survival after all, and i think that there IS a measure of reasoning happening there, like a horse who always flips out at a man in a black cowboy hat because of memory of abuse by an owner who was male and wore a black cowboy hat.. those associations are powerful and often reinforced and difficult to remove)... anyway, i do agree that animals have a remarkable (and enviable) ability to move beyond their past negative experience once they're in a balanced place that meets their needs, either equine or canine but with neglect/abuse in the past it does take more time with certain dogs than others. the last time he left Nice Gal's home it turned out to be very very bad for him, and i don't think he's forgotten that. i hope we can prove to him that he is in a safe, loving 'pack' here too, and that we'll see more of him emerge in the coming weeks.
some nice things happened yesterday - a couple of times when i called him, he 'bounded' down the hallway to come see what it is i wanted, and when we were standing in the kitchen before bed, the cats were eating and he *really* wanted some of their food. however, i stood there, gave him a firm but gentle 'no.' and blocked him without even having to touch him. then as i walked out of the kitchen, i told him to 'come on' and he followed me into the bedroom and got in his bed when i asked him to. i think he's learning the routine and some of the boundaries and i'm hoping that it will help him feel a little more secure about being here. he also spent a significant amount of time just sniffing and exploring the place which i think was good for him. he needs to spend some more time with my husband though, particularly on walks, to help him bond and feel more comfortable with The Tall Guy. TTG is pretty much the epitome of 'calm-assertiveness' when it comes to handling animals and most of the time with people too. if i can teach him to be more observant to body language, what it means in dogs and horses, and to recognize subtle changes in an animal's demeanor, he'll make an awesome handler just because of the fact that he's so quiet minded and has a steady, even focus to him. heck, he even has a calming affect on ME when i get upset about things (which can be often, lol)... so we'll see.
i keep meaning to take a 'before' picture of ansel 'naked' so i can have it for my reference as he makes progress coat-wise...
he's getting *very* responsive to me though. still unsure of my husband (but he's a big guy and hasn't been home much... work and all) but his wariness is to be expected given his history. yesterday, however, i was really impressed by how much he knows once he's willing to share it. he's coming to me about 90% of the time when i ask (and when he's sleeping, it's sort of a '5 more minutes mom..'), sits about 70% of the time when i ask and has impeccable leash manners. it makes me wonder if in his prior life he was a show dog. he wasn't neutered when Nice Gal found him on the street so i'm curious. too bad there's no way to find out who and what he was before coming to her. i'm tempted to buy a show lead and see how he responds to it.
to help minimize his stress i've stopped just about everything but the very basics - pretty much just eating a bland diet and frequent walks. no 'training' (after our less than enthusiastic session the other morning i think i'd rather wait until he's come out of his shell some more), probably won't do any baths for a few days and just staying home - no going on any outings until he's adjusted and confident in his environment. this is my first time rehabbing a dog with prior experience of neglect so working through some of his hesitancy has been interesting. cesar milan talks about dogs living in the moment, but i disagree with some of that. i think prior experience can most certainly affect and condition an animal to respond in a certain way (memory is one of the most powerful tools for survival after all, and i think that there IS a measure of reasoning happening there, like a horse who always flips out at a man in a black cowboy hat because of memory of abuse by an owner who was male and wore a black cowboy hat.. those associations are powerful and often reinforced and difficult to remove)... anyway, i do agree that animals have a remarkable (and enviable) ability to move beyond their past negative experience once they're in a balanced place that meets their needs, either equine or canine but with neglect/abuse in the past it does take more time with certain dogs than others. the last time he left Nice Gal's home it turned out to be very very bad for him, and i don't think he's forgotten that. i hope we can prove to him that he is in a safe, loving 'pack' here too, and that we'll see more of him emerge in the coming weeks.
some nice things happened yesterday - a couple of times when i called him, he 'bounded' down the hallway to come see what it is i wanted, and when we were standing in the kitchen before bed, the cats were eating and he *really* wanted some of their food. however, i stood there, gave him a firm but gentle 'no.' and blocked him without even having to touch him. then as i walked out of the kitchen, i told him to 'come on' and he followed me into the bedroom and got in his bed when i asked him to. i think he's learning the routine and some of the boundaries and i'm hoping that it will help him feel a little more secure about being here. he also spent a significant amount of time just sniffing and exploring the place which i think was good for him. he needs to spend some more time with my husband though, particularly on walks, to help him bond and feel more comfortable with The Tall Guy. TTG is pretty much the epitome of 'calm-assertiveness' when it comes to handling animals and most of the time with people too. if i can teach him to be more observant to body language, what it means in dogs and horses, and to recognize subtle changes in an animal's demeanor, he'll make an awesome handler just because of the fact that he's so quiet minded and has a steady, even focus to him. heck, he even has a calming affect on ME when i get upset about things (which can be often, lol)... so we'll see.
i keep meaning to take a 'before' picture of ansel 'naked' so i can have it for my reference as he makes progress coat-wise...
Friday, October 16, 2009
friday friday friday...
well ansel is settling in. i'm reading cesar milan's book 'be the pack leader' (i know he's the pat parelli of the dog world - doesn't make his training concepts invalid though)... and also have been implementing nilf (nothing in life is free) with him and he's been a little more respectful. still have a little ways to go. he's got a little bit of 'small dog syndrome' and i suspect some trust issues for humans as pack members simply because of previous neglect. i think it's just going to take time. another good thing, is handling him with confidence and assertiveness will also translate better to my horses (calm assertiveness and confidence is something i can really stand to work on with the horses...). he's learned his new name well and comes to me when called. he's still not sure about my husband and has some possessive aggression, especially about sleeping places. some of his personality is starting to come out and i've seen a little bit of tail wagging which made me feel good. last night he decided to play the tough guy and bark at the police helicopter flying overhead. this morning i got some very high pitched (he has a lower pitched tough guy bark even for a pom) barks asking to be let out.
i am concerned, however, about his intestinal health. he's got a touch of the runs, which i expected given the stress and microbial environment change of a new home and doesn't have much of an appetite. it's slightly blood tinged (improved this morning). he's not going frequently - still only once or twice a day and he's drinking plenty of water. this morning he took a couple bites of kibble and then lost interest. i think i'm going to take him off all food for 24 hours and then start him on chicken baby food and brown rice and see how that goes. if it's not cleared up by sunday i'm taking him to the vet first thing monday morning. i know toy breeds are susceptible to bloody diarrhea when they're stressed... he's current on all his shots and he's had a clear fecal recently so i'm not so concerned about parasites as i am about stress. i'm back and forth on giving him kaopectate - i'd rather wait and see if it clears up on it's own, especially because while his stools are loose, they're not frequent and i don't want to constipate him. when he's recovered from this, i plan on switching his kibble from natural balance to blue buffalo, so as to eliminate the need for an outside vitamin supplement. then he'll just have the brewers yeast and melatonin in his kibbles as well as the omega 3s. i also was told at petsmart that a gal who had a pom with the same skin condition started feeding her dog blue buffalo and the coat results were amazing. having seen significant coat improvement in my own cats after putting them on a holistic diet (eagle pack to start, then i switched to blue buffalo) i can certainly believe it.
in grooming news, he's had two baths (should have only been one, but yesterday he had an accident in his little kennel and thereby needed a second) and i gave him his vitamin e oil massage. which means another bath today. i'm looking into the dermagic system for him - the starter kit is $60 so a little too steep for me right this second but i'll go ahead and purchase the whole set probably around the 1st of the month. in the meantime i may just buy a bottle of the lotion and start using that for now. the earth bath shampoo i'm using has aloe vera and tea tree oil in it as well, but it hasn't been scientifically formulated the way the dermagic has and it has fewer of the good ingredients as well. it'll do for the moment though. he was on a nioxin treatment with occasional selsun blue but honestly, he's so teeny i want to avoid adding to his chemical load as much as possible and both of those treatments do that. the liver and skin are connected - and when the liver gets overloaded the skin tends to be a backup detox system and that can definitely hinder coat growth in animals. that's a big part of why diet, liver and colon health play such a part in a 'healthy glow' - the body doesn't need to use the skin as an excretory backup for toxins through sweat and sebaceous glands. nioxin does stimulate hair growth, but it works on the outside. it's my belief that the best coats grow from the inside out... and outside stimulation won't fix his internal issues.
later today i'll take some 'before' pictures just to document how he is right now. last night i dreamt of how he would look with a full, beautiful pomeranian coat. i can't wait to see how pretty he is going to be. until then, it's sweaters and lots of love.
i am concerned, however, about his intestinal health. he's got a touch of the runs, which i expected given the stress and microbial environment change of a new home and doesn't have much of an appetite. it's slightly blood tinged (improved this morning). he's not going frequently - still only once or twice a day and he's drinking plenty of water. this morning he took a couple bites of kibble and then lost interest. i think i'm going to take him off all food for 24 hours and then start him on chicken baby food and brown rice and see how that goes. if it's not cleared up by sunday i'm taking him to the vet first thing monday morning. i know toy breeds are susceptible to bloody diarrhea when they're stressed... he's current on all his shots and he's had a clear fecal recently so i'm not so concerned about parasites as i am about stress. i'm back and forth on giving him kaopectate - i'd rather wait and see if it clears up on it's own, especially because while his stools are loose, they're not frequent and i don't want to constipate him. when he's recovered from this, i plan on switching his kibble from natural balance to blue buffalo, so as to eliminate the need for an outside vitamin supplement. then he'll just have the brewers yeast and melatonin in his kibbles as well as the omega 3s. i also was told at petsmart that a gal who had a pom with the same skin condition started feeding her dog blue buffalo and the coat results were amazing. having seen significant coat improvement in my own cats after putting them on a holistic diet (eagle pack to start, then i switched to blue buffalo) i can certainly believe it.
in grooming news, he's had two baths (should have only been one, but yesterday he had an accident in his little kennel and thereby needed a second) and i gave him his vitamin e oil massage. which means another bath today. i'm looking into the dermagic system for him - the starter kit is $60 so a little too steep for me right this second but i'll go ahead and purchase the whole set probably around the 1st of the month. in the meantime i may just buy a bottle of the lotion and start using that for now. the earth bath shampoo i'm using has aloe vera and tea tree oil in it as well, but it hasn't been scientifically formulated the way the dermagic has and it has fewer of the good ingredients as well. it'll do for the moment though. he was on a nioxin treatment with occasional selsun blue but honestly, he's so teeny i want to avoid adding to his chemical load as much as possible and both of those treatments do that. the liver and skin are connected - and when the liver gets overloaded the skin tends to be a backup detox system and that can definitely hinder coat growth in animals. that's a big part of why diet, liver and colon health play such a part in a 'healthy glow' - the body doesn't need to use the skin as an excretory backup for toxins through sweat and sebaceous glands. nioxin does stimulate hair growth, but it works on the outside. it's my belief that the best coats grow from the inside out... and outside stimulation won't fix his internal issues.
later today i'll take some 'before' pictures just to document how he is right now. last night i dreamt of how he would look with a full, beautiful pomeranian coat. i can't wait to see how pretty he is going to be. until then, it's sweaters and lots of love.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
ansel is home! he prances like a little pomeranian should - and he's a very confident little pooch. we do have some training challenges - i need to teach him to sit and he is definitely a 'social climber' as some websites call them. i've spent the evening establishing and reminding him that my husband and i, not he, are the bosses around this 'pack'. amazingly, horses and dogs communicate dominance in similar ways so the training concepts are the same. we'll have a few days of intense training, (sit, down, stay, and heel on the leash) but pretty soon he should settle in ok.
Another Member of the Menagerie.
So tonight marks the first day of Ansel's residence with us. A new home, a new name. A big day for a little dog.
His history as we know it is this: a while ago a nice gal found a cute, fuzzy little Pomeranian wandering in Los Angeles. She took him in, got him neutered and microchipped, and found what seemed like a nice new family. A little while later, she got a phonecall from someone who had identified him via his microchip. She went to pick him up, and found a horrific sight - he was infested with literally thousands of fleas, had an infected eye and ear, and had lost most of his hair as a result of the flea infestation and stress. Because he'd lost all his hair, he was also badly badly sunburnt. She took him home, nursed him back to health and put out an ad online for a new new home. That's how we came to know him. Now I will be continuing his rehab regimen and we have a fun new family member.
His history as we know it is this: a while ago a nice gal found a cute, fuzzy little Pomeranian wandering in Los Angeles. She took him in, got him neutered and microchipped, and found what seemed like a nice new family. A little while later, she got a phonecall from someone who had identified him via his microchip. She went to pick him up, and found a horrific sight - he was infested with literally thousands of fleas, had an infected eye and ear, and had lost most of his hair as a result of the flea infestation and stress. Because he'd lost all his hair, he was also badly badly sunburnt. She took him home, nursed him back to health and put out an ad online for a new new home. That's how we came to know him. Now I will be continuing his rehab regimen and we have a fun new family member.
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