As you know from my first blog, love of training started with Brutus and Annabelle.
The next two dogs sparked my passion for dog sports as a whole and sharing my love of working with your dog.
It started with Pippa, as she was my first dog on my own in adulthood. My partner Jason, now fiance, had never owned a pet. So I needed to teach and learn with two beings .
Let me start at the beginning: Pippa
CH Fetch & Smell Make Youu Happy CGC RN RL1
Jason and I drove to Pennsylvania to pick up Pippa, named Peti [short for Petisa] at the time, on October 13, 2016. Now named Pippa, She was 4 years old soon to be 5 in January.
I quickly realized she didn't know how to do anything really beside look pretty and stack. Not a huge issue, just not one I was expecting!
It's not secret I tease my dogs, I make fun of Pippa a fair amount, but overall she's a great dog ang a wonderful worker. Sarcasm and jokes are how I show my affection in both animals and humans. The little beagle who struggled to put her butt to the floor ended up qualifying for AKC rally Nationals in 2019 - then COVID hit.
Surprising as it may be considering Pippa is a beagle, she's been my easiest dog to train in many ways.
She struggles with with shaping and clicker training. She gets frustrated when not constantly given structure and commands, unsure how to think on her own.
Downs were also the bane of her existence. Sometimes she still struggles with them - because why would the Queen want to lay on a cold, hard surface?
Some of her favorite things are the pivot platform and heeling. She loves drilling heeling, different patterns and exercises.
Unfortunately Pippa is a big of a problem child medically. We have had many time outs and breaks from training and showing due to health problems. The first one was her diagnosis of IVDD (Intervertebral Disc Disease) and her first trip to MedVet.
She's been to MedVet two more times since. Another for an IVDD flare up overnight and most recently in October of 2021.
This trip was our scariest one yet. After a walk on Monday night I thought she was just sore so I lasered her on my lunch break, the following day (Tuesday). She's was even more lethargic then normal for an IVDD flare up. At that point I knew something was really wrong.
So we worked her up and she continued to go down hill, eventually starting to go into shock. At this point we were almost closing at work and I rushed her to MedVet. She ended up there for five days and nights, we were finally able to pick her up on Sunday. The first night she spent there she had a 50/50 shot at survival. We had to get her through the first night then we had to get her to eat - something I never thought would be a problem.
We chalked it up to a toxicity and one of the most severe cases of gastroenteritis many of her MedVet vets and our GP vets had ever seen. She must have eaten something quickly on our walk the night before. There's nothing else she could have done or gotten to.
Following her near death experience via ingestion, Pippa is now muzzled for long walks. I like her being able to sniff and relax on walks and we had already done muzzle training.
Since then, she's still been on the road to recovery. We did repeat bloodwork almost weekly for a month, then every other week until her levels normalized. We were then finally able to do her wellness exam and vaccines, which she was overdue for due to her stint at MedVet.
Unfortunately at her wellness exam we realized that lumps in her mammaries we have been monitoring have changed. She has a few hard lumps now, requiring surgery and biopsies. She will be back in the clinic for a dental and lumpectomy next month.
Due to this I've decided to semi-retire her from trialing. We still do some training here and there, pressure free and fun.
My wonder little Pippa Lou, the heeling Potato ❤️
Comments