After a two-day break due to some writing deadlines at work, I took the four youngsters out early this morning and worked them. For my own ease, I just worked everyone on the hair sheep (the "Holsteins"), starting with Lark. I had left the sheep in the dog lot yesterday since there is a tiny bit of grass in there, so Lark had to bring them out of there, and then drive them through the gate into their paddock, through the bottom gate into the alley paddock and then out of the gate at one end of that paddock into the unfenced field. I went ahead and had her drive them all the way to the top of the field. I haven't been doing much driving with her lately because of her apparent confusion over when to drive and when to gather, as I've decribed earlier in this blog. I worked her for about 10 minutes or so, just doing basic stuff, stopping her on a circle around the sheep and pushing them off in various directions. She did everything I asked very nicely, so we called it a day. (I don't enjoy drilling anyway, so that guarantees short work sessions.)
Next I brought out Phoebe. I have been working with both her and Pip on looking for the sheep in the direction I'm walking. Both of them want to just take off and look for sheep as they go out (which just doesn't work if they happen to decide to run out in a wrong direction) instead of just looking for them in the direction I'm walking. I had finished up my session with Lark by leaving the sheep over in a little grassy area in the middle of some cedar trees where they wouldn't be obvious to spot. Then I walked out with Phoebe, asking her to look. Every time she just tried to take off blindly I'd stop her and ask her to look. After about the fifth stop and request to look, I could see her hone in on the sheep while she was just standing still. At that point I "shushed" her and let her bring them back to me. I then just had her drive them all over the field with minimal commands, occasionally flanking her around to take them off in a different direction, and sometimes letting her fetch them back to me. On a whim toward the end of our session I decided to see if I could call her through the sheep on a shed. That girl is going to be a shedding dog like her mama! I was using just the six hair sheep, a rather small number for early shedding training. But Phoebe was very obedient about stopping where I asked her to and then flying through when I called on her, which is really all I want at this stage--enthusiasm and speed coming through. The first couple of times, she was confused about which sheep to turn on, but then she figured out to cue off my position and drive off the sheep I was facing. Then I'd walk away and get her to bring those sheep to me and practiced sending her back for the other set of sheep. She had a blast! She clearly enjoyed coming through and after the first couple of tries, had figured out what we were doing and was even helping me some. I stopped on that nice note and pulled Pip out.
Again I did a lot of driving with Pip, using minimal commands. I had him set the sheep on a line and just keep pushing them in that direction. As they neared the limits of the field or where I could no longer see them because of the terrrain, I would give him a short flank and set them off driving in another direction. He looked back at me only a few times and mostly just happily pushed them along. I did the same basic exercises I did with Phoebe, including a few fetches, where I encouraged him to really bring them on per Jack Knox's suggestion when he was here for the clinic in January. I had such great fun shedding with Phoebe (and the sheep were being reasonably cooperative) that I decided to try it with Pip too. He was a little more "gee'd up" by the whole thing, and as he's also a bit worse about taking a stop, I had to get on him a bit before we could set up a few sheds. Like Phoebe, he was quite happy to come flying through a pretty small hole. Unlike Phoebe, he was much more concerned about the sheep we were "leaving behind," glancing back at them more than I'd like. I think part of that is the result of his habit early on of leaving sheep behind on the fetch, just pushing what was directly in front of him and ignoring those who peeled off from the sides, and I'd stop him and send him back for whatever he left behind. Interestingly, though, I managed to take a single with him and got him to push it all the way down the field away from her friends. He looked really happy driving her along and flanked himself repeatedly to correct the line (actually to prevent her from turning back, but the ultimate effect was a nice straight line). I then let him flank around and start her back and then make a really big, sweeping flank to gather them all back together before ending our session. Happy dog!
Wow, three youngsters, and three really good work sessions! I guess I'm going to be forced to go ahead and put the hair sheep in with the rest of the flock so everyone can get practice sorting sheep before we work in the mornings. No more being lazy!
Last, but not least, I got Raven out. I also grabbed some corn because the sheep have been a bit bad about leaving early when they see the Raven coming (partly because she's still a bit tight on her outruns yet), and that's going to encourage her to be tight at the top too. So I figured a little corn would inspire them to stay in place longer and give Raven a chance to do it right. She did some nice little outruns and then on the uphill fetch (ugh!) she was actually pacing herself a bit instead of pushing to fast and then having to weave behind the sheep as a result. Whenever she picked up speed and started to weave, I found that just using her name would get her to line up back behind the sheep and even check her pace just the tiniest bit. She still had a couple of "yeeha!" moments on her outruns to the right, but overall she looked pretty good. So we took the sheep back to their paddock and since I had Raven at hand, I decided to go ahead and use her to move the rams out of their paddock and into that same side field for grazing.
I don't know exactly what vibe she was getting from the rams (one mature ram and three lambs), but she did not want to gather them. She reverted back to her old behavior of lying down and refusing to move. So now there was nothing to do but work through it. The rams are usually pretty light for the dogs, so I was quite surprised that they didn't excite Raven into going after them in some form. Finally I got her to get around them enough to head them in the direction of the gates to the side pasture. She wasn't happy about it, though, and I didn't think I could end there, so we followed them out.
I felt like I was back at the beginning with a little dog who was refusing to leave my feet. She didn't even want to get up when I went out to the rams and started moving them myself. Finally I took her by the collar and got her started, and then she went on around. At that point I started moving quickly to encourage her to speed up and have a good time. The rams would try to "escape" and I encouraged her to take off after them. She always stayed on the correct side (no crossing over), caught them, and brought them back. She was clearly figuring out that she could work these sheep and have fun doing it. I let her catch them and bring them back a couple more times and then called it a day. There's nothing like having a mature ram and his little lamb buddies heading for you at a good clip, but in the end I think it was what Raven needed to give her a confidence boost. I'll try using her for the same chore again tomorrow, before we do any other work and see if our little lesson stuck.
The Idiot Department
Yesterday evening we were invited to Mary and Tony's for leg of lamb. Henry K. and Mike were going to be there, too, and so I offered to bring the Heartland Creamery ice cream to go with the cake Mary was making for dessert. There's a little store about four miles away that sells beef off their property and homemade foods, canned goods, etc. I went there first because I thought they sold ice cream in pints. While there I discussed the price of a half beef, which was a bit dear, but as the owner pointed out, the $2.75 liveweight price meant that the filets I got from that half would be cheap! That's when I said I was pricing for dog food, and filet mignon wasn't on their menu. And that prompted the owner to ask me about my dogs.
She then proceeded to tell me that they had a new dog, and Australian shepherd pup that they had bought to be the "girlfriend" of their current dog, a border collie/Australian shepherd mix. I asked if they used the older dog on the farm and she replied that he was the best cattle dog they'd ever had.
Me: Is the pup working bred?
Her: Well, no she's more show bred. We found one [working bred] out in Texas, but it would have cost as much to ship her here as it would to buy her, so we decided to look closer to home. We got this one from Ruffin, and she's mostly show bred.
Me: Are you planning to breed her to "Max" (not his real name) in order to get a new working dog for yourself?
Her: Oh, we have a hundred people who want pups off Max because he's such an amazing cow dog. The best we've ever had.
Me: Well, let's hope the pups inherit his working genes then.
The poor woman hadn't a clue. She's certainly not making the best breeding choice to insure that those hundreds of folks wanting Max "the world's best cow dog" puppies will get pups that work as well as their sire. They'll probably churn out multiple litters to satisfy the great demand for Max pups. Sad for the bitch, and sad for any owners who really are expecting the resulting pups to be "world's best" in their own right. It will be pure luck if they get it.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
Decisions Made
I have been worrying over Willow and the recent decisions I've made regarding her care. I've felt somewhat pushed into the cruciate surgery (I tend toward conservativeness for treating such problems), when in fact the whole issue with her heart seems a more pressing matter. I finally called my alternative vet today, only to find that there was a three-month wait for an appointment. It's been getting more difficult to get in to see Regina as more and more people discover how wonderful she is (and to think she moved to a small rural community in Virginia so that she could have a more quiet practice than the big New York practice she came from). Regina offers holistic and alternative therapies, as well as physical therapy for dogs. I have seen a number of dogs she's worked with--dogs who were declared not likely to ever walk again, and yet there they were, walking. She worked with me and Jill after her hip dislocation, when my regular vet told me I'd have a better chance of winning the lottery than having Jill's hip stay in place (given that she has bad hips to begin with), and a partial cruciate tear that likely occurred during the accident that caused the dislocation but was overlooked because of the hip. Through a regimen developed by Regina, we were able to work Jill's hip to keep the good muscling intact (it's what was holding her hips in place after all) without putting undue strain on her knees. Within 6 months, I had a dog who was capable of running an open trial course again. She also worked wonders with my old dog Boy. Is it any wonder I trust her so much?
So when I found out I wouldn't be able to see her anytime soon, I was a bit saddened and upset. But her receptionist said she'd have Regina call me, and just a little while ago, she did. I was able to discuss all that's going on with Willow and get some good advice on how to proceed. The biggest thing that has been nagging me is Willow's heart. She has a grade 4 murmur and some heart enlargement, for which she was put on an ACE inhibitor and furosemide, a diuretic. What concerns me most is that the Enalapril can have a deleterious effect on the kidneys, something the regular vet didn't warn me about. He made no mention of rechecking kidney function after starting the Enalapril (she had baseline bloodwork back in January before surgery to remove a mast cell tumor), which apparently is fairly standard. One of potential side effects of Enalapril is inappetance, and Willow is already exhibiting that. And yet, here I am facing ACL surgery, which is quite expensive. I was wondering which problem I should be focusing on, and it didn't seem that the ACL was it, especially given that she is retired from working.
Regina is also conservative when it comes to surgery for ACL tears. She feels that if the dog is putting weight on the leg, there's not a need to rush into surgery. That said, she thinks I should restrict Willow's extreme activities, not only to prevent any further damage to her stifle, but also because bursts of extreme activity cause a sharp increase in blood pressure, which isn't a good thing for a heart that's already compromised. (Hmmm...something else the regular vet didn't mention--maybe I just didn't ask enough questions that day.)
So she suggested that I wouldn't be making a huge mistake to hold off on the ACL surgery and instead use the money to see a cardiac specialist in order to determine just how compromised her heart function is (and perhaps exactly what the problem is as well). Once we know that, then we can better form a course of action that will help increase her longevity without (hopefully) also creating potential problems elsewhere (e.g., kidney damage).
In the meantime, I will buy an above-ground swimming pool and put both Willow and Jill on a swimming regimen. It will help Jill to maintain muscling in her hips, which is important now that she's pretty much fully retired at age 12, and it will give Willow a low-impact, heart-friendly means of exercise (she'll be swimming assisted so as not to stress her too much). I started Willow on prolo therapy and will continue with that, although I'll cancel the surgery for now. I will also be adjusting Willow's diet to take into account both her heart and kidney function. If we can do all that, perhaps we'll get to September and our visit to Regina in better shape than where we are right now, or at least in no worse shape! It feels good to have made a decision I feel more comfortable with.
So when I found out I wouldn't be able to see her anytime soon, I was a bit saddened and upset. But her receptionist said she'd have Regina call me, and just a little while ago, she did. I was able to discuss all that's going on with Willow and get some good advice on how to proceed. The biggest thing that has been nagging me is Willow's heart. She has a grade 4 murmur and some heart enlargement, for which she was put on an ACE inhibitor and furosemide, a diuretic. What concerns me most is that the Enalapril can have a deleterious effect on the kidneys, something the regular vet didn't warn me about. He made no mention of rechecking kidney function after starting the Enalapril (she had baseline bloodwork back in January before surgery to remove a mast cell tumor), which apparently is fairly standard. One of potential side effects of Enalapril is inappetance, and Willow is already exhibiting that. And yet, here I am facing ACL surgery, which is quite expensive. I was wondering which problem I should be focusing on, and it didn't seem that the ACL was it, especially given that she is retired from working.
Regina is also conservative when it comes to surgery for ACL tears. She feels that if the dog is putting weight on the leg, there's not a need to rush into surgery. That said, she thinks I should restrict Willow's extreme activities, not only to prevent any further damage to her stifle, but also because bursts of extreme activity cause a sharp increase in blood pressure, which isn't a good thing for a heart that's already compromised. (Hmmm...something else the regular vet didn't mention--maybe I just didn't ask enough questions that day.)
So she suggested that I wouldn't be making a huge mistake to hold off on the ACL surgery and instead use the money to see a cardiac specialist in order to determine just how compromised her heart function is (and perhaps exactly what the problem is as well). Once we know that, then we can better form a course of action that will help increase her longevity without (hopefully) also creating potential problems elsewhere (e.g., kidney damage).
In the meantime, I will buy an above-ground swimming pool and put both Willow and Jill on a swimming regimen. It will help Jill to maintain muscling in her hips, which is important now that she's pretty much fully retired at age 12, and it will give Willow a low-impact, heart-friendly means of exercise (she'll be swimming assisted so as not to stress her too much). I started Willow on prolo therapy and will continue with that, although I'll cancel the surgery for now. I will also be adjusting Willow's diet to take into account both her heart and kidney function. If we can do all that, perhaps we'll get to September and our visit to Regina in better shape than where we are right now, or at least in no worse shape! It feels good to have made a decision I feel more comfortable with.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Working Dogs and Getting Hay
Yesterday was a really fun day. I went to a friend's place to work sheep, along with several other folks, and despite the heat we had a really good time. I worked only the young dogs (well, there's enough of them after all!). I didn't spend a lot of time on any of them, largely because it was hot and we were using a commercial wool flock so didn't want to wear them out in the heat. I mainly did outruns with Lark and Phoebe. I'm letting Lark work with minimal commands--it's nice to watch her bring sheep down the field and correct the line herself with no word from me. It may not be the most perfect line (millimeter tolerance, as some would say), but it's straight enough to get a good fetch score, and I like a dog who can do a silent gather. Phoebe had a sheep that wanted to go hang on the pen with the lambs in it at the back of the pasture. I sent Phoebe to get it, and she kept thinking my flank command meant she had to find a way into the pen, but she figured it out.
Later we pulled out the ewe flock for one of the younger dogs. I decided to work Pip on them. Pip has been looking like he's not enjoying himself while working. At the get-together at Becca's place, he appeared to be lacking confidence on the drive. Even Robin, who was setting sheep for us, noticed it. So I spent a few days thinking about the situation and it (finally) occurred to me that maybe I had been screwing down on him too tight, trying to get good lines instead of just letting him drive. I put that theory to the test by taking him out into the side pasture with the hair sheep and just letting him push them wherever--not aiming for anything or trying to correct any lines. His attitude improved immediately. On the larger group yesterday, he still showed better confidence and happiness when I just let him push on without trying to pick a line and then stick to it unwaveringly. He's not yet two years old, and I'm really not in a rush, and not planning on doing much in the way of trialing this fall, given the gas prices, so I've decided to slow down with all three youngsters. I have two open dogs, so there's no rush to get the youngsters to that level and so I'm going to just slow down--"take time" so to speak.
At the end, we put the ewes back in a smaller paddock so Robin and Laura could work their six-month-old pups, and I pulled Raven out for a spin. This is the second time she's worked sheep off the place (the first time being at Robin's and so on sheep she was familiar with) and I was really pleased with her. She pulled the sheep off the fence without attempting to grip, flanked well in both directions, didn't think much of stopping when asked and was a bit too pushy on the fetches, but generally I was very pleased with her. I've been letting her do some chores at home as well; for example, putting the hair sheep back in their paddock at night after they've been out grazing in the yard. The sheep know the drill, which is nice, because they will head to the paddock gate and Raven can fall in behind and do a bit of "driving." (It's not really driving in the sense that she's pushing the sheep, because they're going in a direction they want to go, but it's a very easy, stress-free way to get her comfortable with the idea of being behind the sheep and moving them away from the human). I started Lark driving using a similar situation and it worked great.
And of course any get together wouldn't have been complete without a chance to sit under a shade tree and enjoy some good conversation and great food. Laura gets props for being the Domestic Goddess and making all sorts of yummy food! I also picked up another large Vari-kennel from Robin, so now I won't have to haul Pip's crate in and out of the house whenever I go somewhere and he won't have to be crammed into an intermediate.
Hay!
This morning, Jimmy and I went and got 19 round bales of timothy/fescue mix. Wow, that was a chunk of change, but at least I have some hay in the barn. Tony came over with his tractor and forks and we rearranged the hay that was still in there and added in the new. He's lined up some hay from another neighbor, so we'll probably be moving that next Saturday. I think I went through close to 25 bales last year, and that was with starting to feed hay in August or September. We're already feeding hay this year, and since we basically had no rain in May or June, the pastures are pretty much beyond recovery. I hope that we get enough rain for folks to get a second cutting, but I'm not counting on that and am trying to get as much hay as I can afford to buy into storage now.
I will be going through my animal list as I will need to send at least half the sheep off this place. Tony and Mary are going to take two of my tunis ewe lambs, and my former neighbor Joy wants one or two of my two- to three-year-olds, as well as several of my tunis wethers to pasture over the summer and then butcher and sell to their CSA customers next spring. I plan to butcher a couple for the dogs (need a bigger freezer first) and Mary and I are going to make a big push for the ethnic market July 4th celebrations this coming week, and then whatever else needs to go will have to go to the livestock market. I really hate to do that with a breed that's as rare as the karakul, but there's no way to avoid it now. And with the flooding in the midwest, I imagine grain prices will be astronomical this fall, which means I need to start stockpiling corn now so I'll have something to feed whatever sheep I have left during late gestation and lactation. I'm glad a lambed early this year--at least there was grass for the young lambs up through weaning.... One advantage to the hair sheep is that they seem to stay fat on air. My wool sheep don't look bad, but they don't keep as easily as the hair sheep do. But I just don't particularly like hair sheep. I'll keep a few around, but will hang on to the tunis and karakuls until I can't hang on any longer!
When Joy called today to talk about the tunis, we also talked about going peach and cherry picking in the next week or so. Because I don't have enough to do. But I figure I can just get them in the freezer and then pull the frozen fruit out later when I have more time to make preserves and the like. I will also need to start frequenting the farmers' markets, since our garden is slowly going the way of the pastures. With no way to water at the back of the property, we are at the mercy of Mother Nature, and she's not being terribly merciful of late. (And to be honest, even if we could water from the well, I'd be reluctant to do so because in times of low rainfall I think it's irresponsible to take water from whatever aquifer our well taps into.) If I want to put food by so as not to have to deal with grocery store food, the Farmers' Markets is my alternative to our garden. And who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky and get some rain and I'll still be able to get my own home-grown goodies too!
Later we pulled out the ewe flock for one of the younger dogs. I decided to work Pip on them. Pip has been looking like he's not enjoying himself while working. At the get-together at Becca's place, he appeared to be lacking confidence on the drive. Even Robin, who was setting sheep for us, noticed it. So I spent a few days thinking about the situation and it (finally) occurred to me that maybe I had been screwing down on him too tight, trying to get good lines instead of just letting him drive. I put that theory to the test by taking him out into the side pasture with the hair sheep and just letting him push them wherever--not aiming for anything or trying to correct any lines. His attitude improved immediately. On the larger group yesterday, he still showed better confidence and happiness when I just let him push on without trying to pick a line and then stick to it unwaveringly. He's not yet two years old, and I'm really not in a rush, and not planning on doing much in the way of trialing this fall, given the gas prices, so I've decided to slow down with all three youngsters. I have two open dogs, so there's no rush to get the youngsters to that level and so I'm going to just slow down--"take time" so to speak.
At the end, we put the ewes back in a smaller paddock so Robin and Laura could work their six-month-old pups, and I pulled Raven out for a spin. This is the second time she's worked sheep off the place (the first time being at Robin's and so on sheep she was familiar with) and I was really pleased with her. She pulled the sheep off the fence without attempting to grip, flanked well in both directions, didn't think much of stopping when asked and was a bit too pushy on the fetches, but generally I was very pleased with her. I've been letting her do some chores at home as well; for example, putting the hair sheep back in their paddock at night after they've been out grazing in the yard. The sheep know the drill, which is nice, because they will head to the paddock gate and Raven can fall in behind and do a bit of "driving." (It's not really driving in the sense that she's pushing the sheep, because they're going in a direction they want to go, but it's a very easy, stress-free way to get her comfortable with the idea of being behind the sheep and moving them away from the human). I started Lark driving using a similar situation and it worked great.
And of course any get together wouldn't have been complete without a chance to sit under a shade tree and enjoy some good conversation and great food. Laura gets props for being the Domestic Goddess and making all sorts of yummy food! I also picked up another large Vari-kennel from Robin, so now I won't have to haul Pip's crate in and out of the house whenever I go somewhere and he won't have to be crammed into an intermediate.
Hay!
This morning, Jimmy and I went and got 19 round bales of timothy/fescue mix. Wow, that was a chunk of change, but at least I have some hay in the barn. Tony came over with his tractor and forks and we rearranged the hay that was still in there and added in the new. He's lined up some hay from another neighbor, so we'll probably be moving that next Saturday. I think I went through close to 25 bales last year, and that was with starting to feed hay in August or September. We're already feeding hay this year, and since we basically had no rain in May or June, the pastures are pretty much beyond recovery. I hope that we get enough rain for folks to get a second cutting, but I'm not counting on that and am trying to get as much hay as I can afford to buy into storage now.
I will be going through my animal list as I will need to send at least half the sheep off this place. Tony and Mary are going to take two of my tunis ewe lambs, and my former neighbor Joy wants one or two of my two- to three-year-olds, as well as several of my tunis wethers to pasture over the summer and then butcher and sell to their CSA customers next spring. I plan to butcher a couple for the dogs (need a bigger freezer first) and Mary and I are going to make a big push for the ethnic market July 4th celebrations this coming week, and then whatever else needs to go will have to go to the livestock market. I really hate to do that with a breed that's as rare as the karakul, but there's no way to avoid it now. And with the flooding in the midwest, I imagine grain prices will be astronomical this fall, which means I need to start stockpiling corn now so I'll have something to feed whatever sheep I have left during late gestation and lactation. I'm glad a lambed early this year--at least there was grass for the young lambs up through weaning.... One advantage to the hair sheep is that they seem to stay fat on air. My wool sheep don't look bad, but they don't keep as easily as the hair sheep do. But I just don't particularly like hair sheep. I'll keep a few around, but will hang on to the tunis and karakuls until I can't hang on any longer!
When Joy called today to talk about the tunis, we also talked about going peach and cherry picking in the next week or so. Because I don't have enough to do. But I figure I can just get them in the freezer and then pull the frozen fruit out later when I have more time to make preserves and the like. I will also need to start frequenting the farmers' markets, since our garden is slowly going the way of the pastures. With no way to water at the back of the property, we are at the mercy of Mother Nature, and she's not being terribly merciful of late. (And to be honest, even if we could water from the well, I'd be reluctant to do so because in times of low rainfall I think it's irresponsible to take water from whatever aquifer our well taps into.) If I want to put food by so as not to have to deal with grocery store food, the Farmers' Markets is my alternative to our garden. And who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky and get some rain and I'll still be able to get my own home-grown goodies too!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Larky the Duck Dog and Other Notes
Larky loves poultry. I went outside Sunday morning to hang clothes on the line to find Lark "babysitting" a hen with her chicks, all of whom were trying valiantly to take a dust bath despite their audience.
Saturday was the BC Boards picnic at Becca's place. This year we also had a bunch of non-border collie folk from a couple of other forums that Becca is also a member of. It was fun to meet new people and new dogs. The food was delicious per usual, and those of us who wanted to work our dogs had the opportunity to work either ducks or sheep.
Given Lark's love of chickens (she will work them here at the farm), I figured she'd be a natural on ducks, and she was. Here's a video Laura took:
And since we were playing around, I decided to give Pip a whirl. It seems that Pip thinks working ducks is beneath him. The speech bubble above his head reads "A sensible dog doesn't work ducks, he eats them!" This video is in three parts, and if you watch closely, you will see a couple of occasions where Pip is spitting feathers. Disclaimer: No ducks were hurt in the recording of this video....
And just to show that Pip isn't a completely useless working dog, here's a video of him working Becca's sheep. We had just pulled this set of sheep out of the main flock, and in doing so, separated them from their unweaned lambs, so they very much wanted to go back toward the gate and to their pasture, which is to their left on the drive. They were leaning really hard on Pip, but he managed to drive them away anyway. They hadn't been penned before either, so this video is a little lesson of sorts in how to pen uncooperative sheep with an inexperienced dog. (That's Robin French with her good open dog Spottie setting sheep for us.)
Training Notes and Vids
We also got some videos of Phoebe and Raven at home. A note on Phoebe: Ever since she came into heat (her second) in mid-April she has completely regressed with respect to stockwork. As a result, I had moved her back to a smaller area on easier sheep, thinking that perhaps her "crisis of confidence" was the result of having been overfaced, or pushed too far, too fast. After discussing the issue with others, I'm now inclined to think that it was completely hormone related. In the past week or so, roughly eight weeks after coming into heat, she seems to have her brain back and be working as well as she was before coming into heat. If this continues to be a problem on every heat cycle, then I'll probably end up spaying her.
Anyway, I also wanted to get video of Phoebe working in a similar situation as Raven so that Raven's owner could compare their working styles. So here's Phoebe working the dog-broke sheep in the paddock last Saturday morning.
Laura came by last Friday evening to try her six-month-old pup Linc in the round pen. You can see the video of his work session on her blog (see the list of favorites on the left). I had Laura tape Raven for me as well. I wish I had video of our first few training sessions so y'all could see the tremendous strides she's made, but unfortunately I didn't have anyone to tape for me, and it's pretty impossible to tape and train a youngster at the same time (at least not without a real camcorder and tripod). Here's Raven in the round pen.
Saturday morning Darci came by to work a couple of dogs and ride with me up to Becca's. I got her to tape Raven in the paddock (she also took the video of Phoebe above). The work isn't perfect by any means, but you can see that she's showing less tension, is flanking reasonably well in both directions (except that she sometimes still blows in to the right), and seems to be enjoying herself. Note: The sheep that crashed into the fence did so because Raven sliced her flank and pushed him too hard. Since this was a lamb, his reaction was quite exaggerated, hence running into the fence. Had it been one of the ewes that Raven had buzzed like that, she likely would have reacted less violently.
We worked Darci's young dog Stella in the round pen on Saturday morning, and she's coming along very nicely. Then I took Darci's Chris in to work her. Chris has a real problem with working sheep in tight spaces, and so her reaction is to try to pull sheep down. Darci has gotten to the point where she doesn't like to take Chris off her own place to work for fear of the damage she could do to someone else's sheep. That's why I took her in the round pen. I figured if I let her damage my sheep, then I had no one but myself to blame. Now this is where well dog-broke sheep (Robin's "magic sheep," whom I refer to as "the Holsteins" because of their markings) truly prove their value. I had Chris going around between the sheep and the fence in a calm and controlled manner. I think she grabbed at the sheep just once in our entire work session. The first thing I did was get her attention when we walked into the pen. It was clear her mind was just churning, and I wanted her to remember that I was there and pay attention to me. Getting into her head right at the start made a big difference. What she does is get tense and then goes into a reactive nonthinking prey mode--and it's all the result of feeling uncomfortable in close proximity to the sheep. All I did was get her to engage her brain before she got into the reactive mode. I also asked her to lie down at the moment when she would normally speed up and try to shoot through the space between the sheep and the fence (with the sheep up against the fence). By getting her to lie down, I was getting her to think and helping her to see that she could be close to sheep and up against a fence and nothing bad would happen. I sure wish we had taken videos of her working--the change from this time to the last time she was here (when I had to use Blu-kote liberally on my sheep) was amazing.
Other Stuff
In other notes, and somewhat related to my "When it rains...," entry, I got a speeding ticket on the way to Becca's. It was simply my inattention, heading downhill and talking to Darci instead of keeping an eye on the speedometer, that got me caught. Now there's another bill I have to pay, although I'm considering going ahead to court and seeing if I can get it reduced and keep it off my license, thereby saving my insurance. The irony of the whole thing is that I tend to be a bit of a lead foot, but lately I've been very conscientious about driving slower to try to conserve fuel. Maybe I should have tried to tell the state trooper that I was practicing hypermiling and was just trying to get my speed up going down that hill so I could make it up the next one with fuel usage. I'm sure he would have bought that excuse!
I also will be getting a few Rhode Island Red pullet chicks in the next couple of weeks. I love my Old English Game bantams, but it will be nice to have regular-sized eggs, and I've always had a soft spot for RIRs since one of our pet chickens when we were children was an RIR aptly named Curious.
We're drier than ever here. The few storms that have come this way have split and gone either north or south of us. The pasture we seeded is dying, and I'm feeding the flock hay already. I think I need to relocate my farm to someplace that gets a little bit more rain. Karakuls originated in the arid steppes of central Asia, and they did amazingly well during last year's drought, but I had really hoped we'd have some decent pasture for them this year. If it keeps up, I won't have any choice but to ship some sheep out of here.
And although this post is already too long, I wanted to report that I swam Twist at Becca's and then used her to sort sheep (despite the fact that she's not supposed to be working--our help was needed) and she had to do some major "cutting horse" moves to keep the set of sheep we had separated off from rejoining the rest of the flock. She hasn't shown any signs of lameness since all the activity on Saturday, so here's hoping that she's all healed up and will soon be back in fine working form!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
When It Rains...
Yes, it pours. And unfortunately I'm not talking the wet stuff that comes out of the sky and which we desperately need, but rather veterinary issues.
The good news is that I took Twist to Robin's on Saturday and swam her for a while in the pond. She came out sound and was sound later after being tied out and left in her crate for some time. So the combination of prolo therapy and "lock down" must be working (personally I think probably the strict crate rest was the greatest benefit, but who knows for sure?). Yesterday morning I had to use her to get the rams and wether into the stall so I could catch the wether and take him to the butcher on my way to our next vet appointment (both in Siler City so trying to save gas by doing two errands at once). Twist is really the only dog I trust to handle the ram--you just don't want to risk your health training youngsters on mature rams after all. Anyway, one of the ram lambs bolted and Twist ended up doing "airs above the ground" to get him turned back. I thought right then that if anything wasn't well on the way to being healed, we'd certainly know it after those acrobatics. She then went into a crate where she spent the good part of an hour while I delivered the wether and drove to the vet. When I got her out of the crate, she was sound. Yay!
Dr. Redding still wants her kept very quiet for a week after each therapy session (we have one or two more), with slow build up to activity in the couple of weeks before the next session. The bad news is that he said he didn't think he'd realease her for work and trialing till fall. Okay, I can live with that as I have youngsters to train and run. At least I managed to get two of the three pounds she'd gained back off, even while on strict crate rest. She probably thinks she's turning into a green bean though.
Then it was Willow's turn. She had been marginally better after our last visit and while on Previcox, but once the meds were stopped, she was as lame as ever. I let her off crate rest at the same time as Twist because I couldn't see that nearly three weeks of strict rest had made any difference. We sedated her and X-rayed that leg and Dr. Redding checked her for drawer signs and sure enough it seems she's got a torn cruciate ligament. He also suspects that the lateral ligaments are damaged as well. Ugh.
On top of that, when Willow had the mast cell tumor removed from her groin area in January, the operating vet talked to me about a heart murmur she's developed (in relation to the anesthesia protocols she elected to use). When I first took her to Dr. Redding for her lameness, one of the questions I asked him was whether this type of tumor ever traveled to the bone. His answer was that it doesn't usually happen; instead such tumors, if they reappear, usually show up in the lungs. So, back to the heart murmur, which is a 4 on a 6-point scale. The problem with a heart murmur is that it's the result of valves that don't close completely--the murmur is the sound of blood leaking backward from those valves. The result of this leakage is that the heart has to work harder to pump blood in the proper direction, and since the heart is a muscle, the extra work causes muscle (heart) enlargement.
So Dr. Redding wanted to X-ray Willow's chest to see what shape her heart is in. It is a bit enlarged in the upper half and is actually beginning to impinge on her esophagus a little bit (if it continues to enlarge, it will eventually also put pressure on her trachea, which will cause her to start coughing). The good news is that we've caught it pretty early and there is no fluid in her lungs. The other bit of good news is that her lungs also appear to be free of anything that looks suspiciously like cancer.
So we've decided to put Willow on heart medicine (Enalapril) now because there is good evidence that starting treatment early in the course of the "disease" can greatly extend her life expectancy. Sigh. I really don't like giving my dogs a bunch of medicines, but I don't want to jeopardize her health either, so for now, I'm doing as instructed. As soon as we get past the ACL surgery, then I'll plan to consult with Regina and see if there are any alternative approaches we can take to heart health.
What Willow has going for her in all this is her relatively small size (36 lbs) and extreme athleticism. She's always been quite healthy--generally vet visits have been the result of self-induced injuries, since her style has always been wide open, to say the least.
We started the prolo therapy on her yesterday and scheduled the cruciate surgery for mid-July (to give me time for my bonus from work to come in--so that it can promptly go to pay for surgery), which is when her next prolo injection will also be given. There is no real choice to take a conservative route (like I did with Jill's partial tear) because the damage to the ligaments is painful and will result in major arthritic changes in the joint. I want to get a consult with Regina after the surgery and see if we can't work up a physical therapy protocol that will give her the best chance of regaining full use of her leg.
Willow just turned 11 on June 7, so she's not really an old dog. I think she's just always been really hard on herself (how many dogs do you know that have broken metatarsals while making quick turns chasing a ball?) and now it's catching up with her....
Training Notes
On an somewhat unrelated note, Raven continues to make good progress. She's letting go of a lot of her tension and is approaching her work with a more level head. She's still a bit tense and tight going to the right, but she can do short outruns on that side, and compared to when she got her just a month ago and refused to go to the right at all (as in lying down and refusing to move), she's making great strides. The dog broke hair sheep I bought from Robin are perfect for her. Although my tunis ewes were working okay in the round pen, their propensity for running made it difficult to let Raven do any sort of fetching. She felt and worked all the time as if she were going to lose her sheep. Get sensible sheep and we were able to skip the round pen altogether and start working in the paddock instead. I think she'd actually be fine with these sheep out in the main pasture, and we'll move there soon enough, but right now I want her to learn to relax working sheep in a closer quarters, so we're staying in a smaller area.
I've also been working Phoebe on these sheep and this morning for the first time since she went in heat back in April I felt like I might just have my old dog back. I don't how long it takes for the hormonal changes to subside, but I have to say that for the past six weeks or more Phoebe has been something of a moron on stock. That's why I backed way up and put her back on the easier sheep in a smaller area. It never hurts to go back to the basics when you're having problems. Going back to something that should be easy for her has helped her regain lost confidence. When we were finished with our session this morning, she was eager to go work the main flock. We didn't--no sense in tempting the fates of regression!
I worked Pip on the full flock this morning. I alternate days with him and Lark on the main flock because it's hard on the sheep (they aren't used to being worked a lot), especially those with younger lambs. The main flock is really more like three or four smaller flocks that don't really want to work as one unit, so the dog has to work hard to keep them together. And then of course the mothers of the younger unweaned lambs are still a bit feisty in protective mode. So I've basically been working both Lark and Pip in silent mode, letting them figure out how to cover, when the push, and when to back off. I've been doing "walkabouts" with Lark because all the pushing sheep off feed bunks that she's done for the past many months (thanks to the drought) had gotten her thinking that her job in life was to come around to my feet and push sheep away. By just letting her wear sheep to me around the pasture, she's having to come most of the way around toward me at times to contain the sheep, but instead of continuing to me and starting to push, she's realizing she needs to go back and cover the back and other side as we go. I haven't been giving her any direction beyond an occasional little correction (Ah, ah!) if she appears to want to go all the way to the heads. Doing this very basic work should help free her up more and hopefully help with her boring tendencies (bore straight into the sheep and keep pushing the ones directly in front of you while those off to the sides just peel away). Well, and remind her that fetching is part of her job too. Some of the issues I've seen with her you wouldn't see working just a few sheep (she can do a lovely silent fetch at a trial on three or four sheep), so it's nice to have a larger flock that brings out some of these issues so they can be worked on.
I canceled out of the VBCA summer trial and have decided against going to Don McCaig's trial as well. For the former I can't justify the expense when I have to pay $1,000 or more for Willow's surgery, and for the latter, it's a long way to go (gas $$) to run just one open dog, and maybe a youngster on Monday. Instead I'll aim for Roy's trial at the end of August (Twist may still not be cleared to run by then) as it's close and so won't cost me an arm and a leg in gas and lodging.
And I guess that's about it for now here at Willow's Rest.
The good news is that I took Twist to Robin's on Saturday and swam her for a while in the pond. She came out sound and was sound later after being tied out and left in her crate for some time. So the combination of prolo therapy and "lock down" must be working (personally I think probably the strict crate rest was the greatest benefit, but who knows for sure?). Yesterday morning I had to use her to get the rams and wether into the stall so I could catch the wether and take him to the butcher on my way to our next vet appointment (both in Siler City so trying to save gas by doing two errands at once). Twist is really the only dog I trust to handle the ram--you just don't want to risk your health training youngsters on mature rams after all. Anyway, one of the ram lambs bolted and Twist ended up doing "airs above the ground" to get him turned back. I thought right then that if anything wasn't well on the way to being healed, we'd certainly know it after those acrobatics. She then went into a crate where she spent the good part of an hour while I delivered the wether and drove to the vet. When I got her out of the crate, she was sound. Yay!
Dr. Redding still wants her kept very quiet for a week after each therapy session (we have one or two more), with slow build up to activity in the couple of weeks before the next session. The bad news is that he said he didn't think he'd realease her for work and trialing till fall. Okay, I can live with that as I have youngsters to train and run. At least I managed to get two of the three pounds she'd gained back off, even while on strict crate rest. She probably thinks she's turning into a green bean though.
Then it was Willow's turn. She had been marginally better after our last visit and while on Previcox, but once the meds were stopped, she was as lame as ever. I let her off crate rest at the same time as Twist because I couldn't see that nearly three weeks of strict rest had made any difference. We sedated her and X-rayed that leg and Dr. Redding checked her for drawer signs and sure enough it seems she's got a torn cruciate ligament. He also suspects that the lateral ligaments are damaged as well. Ugh.
On top of that, when Willow had the mast cell tumor removed from her groin area in January, the operating vet talked to me about a heart murmur she's developed (in relation to the anesthesia protocols she elected to use). When I first took her to Dr. Redding for her lameness, one of the questions I asked him was whether this type of tumor ever traveled to the bone. His answer was that it doesn't usually happen; instead such tumors, if they reappear, usually show up in the lungs. So, back to the heart murmur, which is a 4 on a 6-point scale. The problem with a heart murmur is that it's the result of valves that don't close completely--the murmur is the sound of blood leaking backward from those valves. The result of this leakage is that the heart has to work harder to pump blood in the proper direction, and since the heart is a muscle, the extra work causes muscle (heart) enlargement.
So Dr. Redding wanted to X-ray Willow's chest to see what shape her heart is in. It is a bit enlarged in the upper half and is actually beginning to impinge on her esophagus a little bit (if it continues to enlarge, it will eventually also put pressure on her trachea, which will cause her to start coughing). The good news is that we've caught it pretty early and there is no fluid in her lungs. The other bit of good news is that her lungs also appear to be free of anything that looks suspiciously like cancer.
So we've decided to put Willow on heart medicine (Enalapril) now because there is good evidence that starting treatment early in the course of the "disease" can greatly extend her life expectancy. Sigh. I really don't like giving my dogs a bunch of medicines, but I don't want to jeopardize her health either, so for now, I'm doing as instructed. As soon as we get past the ACL surgery, then I'll plan to consult with Regina and see if there are any alternative approaches we can take to heart health.
What Willow has going for her in all this is her relatively small size (36 lbs) and extreme athleticism. She's always been quite healthy--generally vet visits have been the result of self-induced injuries, since her style has always been wide open, to say the least.
We started the prolo therapy on her yesterday and scheduled the cruciate surgery for mid-July (to give me time for my bonus from work to come in--so that it can promptly go to pay for surgery), which is when her next prolo injection will also be given. There is no real choice to take a conservative route (like I did with Jill's partial tear) because the damage to the ligaments is painful and will result in major arthritic changes in the joint. I want to get a consult with Regina after the surgery and see if we can't work up a physical therapy protocol that will give her the best chance of regaining full use of her leg.
Willow just turned 11 on June 7, so she's not really an old dog. I think she's just always been really hard on herself (how many dogs do you know that have broken metatarsals while making quick turns chasing a ball?) and now it's catching up with her....
Training Notes
On an somewhat unrelated note, Raven continues to make good progress. She's letting go of a lot of her tension and is approaching her work with a more level head. She's still a bit tense and tight going to the right, but she can do short outruns on that side, and compared to when she got her just a month ago and refused to go to the right at all (as in lying down and refusing to move), she's making great strides. The dog broke hair sheep I bought from Robin are perfect for her. Although my tunis ewes were working okay in the round pen, their propensity for running made it difficult to let Raven do any sort of fetching. She felt and worked all the time as if she were going to lose her sheep. Get sensible sheep and we were able to skip the round pen altogether and start working in the paddock instead. I think she'd actually be fine with these sheep out in the main pasture, and we'll move there soon enough, but right now I want her to learn to relax working sheep in a closer quarters, so we're staying in a smaller area.
I've also been working Phoebe on these sheep and this morning for the first time since she went in heat back in April I felt like I might just have my old dog back. I don't how long it takes for the hormonal changes to subside, but I have to say that for the past six weeks or more Phoebe has been something of a moron on stock. That's why I backed way up and put her back on the easier sheep in a smaller area. It never hurts to go back to the basics when you're having problems. Going back to something that should be easy for her has helped her regain lost confidence. When we were finished with our session this morning, she was eager to go work the main flock. We didn't--no sense in tempting the fates of regression!
I worked Pip on the full flock this morning. I alternate days with him and Lark on the main flock because it's hard on the sheep (they aren't used to being worked a lot), especially those with younger lambs. The main flock is really more like three or four smaller flocks that don't really want to work as one unit, so the dog has to work hard to keep them together. And then of course the mothers of the younger unweaned lambs are still a bit feisty in protective mode. So I've basically been working both Lark and Pip in silent mode, letting them figure out how to cover, when the push, and when to back off. I've been doing "walkabouts" with Lark because all the pushing sheep off feed bunks that she's done for the past many months (thanks to the drought) had gotten her thinking that her job in life was to come around to my feet and push sheep away. By just letting her wear sheep to me around the pasture, she's having to come most of the way around toward me at times to contain the sheep, but instead of continuing to me and starting to push, she's realizing she needs to go back and cover the back and other side as we go. I haven't been giving her any direction beyond an occasional little correction (Ah, ah!) if she appears to want to go all the way to the heads. Doing this very basic work should help free her up more and hopefully help with her boring tendencies (bore straight into the sheep and keep pushing the ones directly in front of you while those off to the sides just peel away). Well, and remind her that fetching is part of her job too. Some of the issues I've seen with her you wouldn't see working just a few sheep (she can do a lovely silent fetch at a trial on three or four sheep), so it's nice to have a larger flock that brings out some of these issues so they can be worked on.
I canceled out of the VBCA summer trial and have decided against going to Don McCaig's trial as well. For the former I can't justify the expense when I have to pay $1,000 or more for Willow's surgery, and for the latter, it's a long way to go (gas $$) to run just one open dog, and maybe a youngster on Monday. Instead I'll aim for Roy's trial at the end of August (Twist may still not be cleared to run by then) as it's close and so won't cost me an arm and a leg in gas and lodging.
And I guess that's about it for now here at Willow's Rest.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Hazy Days
The past three days have been quite hazy, but not for the typical summer weather reason. No, instead the wind is apparently blowing from the east and so we're getting the smoke from wildfires in the eastern part of the state. If anyone doubts the cause, they need only step outside and try to breathe--the smell is pretty bad. I haven't worked dogs the past three mornings because I can't imagine the smoke is healthy for any living thing to breathe, and while the outdoor animals don't have much choice in the matter, I don't think it makes sense to stress them just now and make them breathe in even more of the "tainted" air as they'd do when being exercised. The National Weather Service says that the "code red" air quality (meaning everyone should avoid prolonged outdoor activity) conditions should abate by tomorrow when winds come in to blow the smoke away. It's kind of like the days when I used to work in Washington, DC. I was a jogger then, and I used to jog in the mornings before work sometimes. Some of my co-workers (and many other folks) would jog on their lunch hours. I couldn't help but wonder how much the health benefits to be gained from exercising were offset by the fact that those folks were jogging in the summer (tourist season, with the attendant traffic increase) heat in downtown DC. Imagine all the exhaust fumes they breathed in as they ran. How could filling your lungs with that poison (and at a greater rate than normal) be healthy? That's why I kept my runs to early morning or at the indoor track--I couldn't see choking myself on exhaust fumes in the name of better health....
Tomorrow will be Raven's first trip off the place to try working sheep somewhere else. Fortunately the sheep where we're going are well dog broke, so I hope we'll be able to set her up for success. I'll be bringing some of those sheep home as well, so we'll be able to continue making progress here with sheep that are more appropriate than those of my main flock.
In preparation, I pushed the last seven ewes and their lambs (the youngest are four weeks old now) out into the big pasture with the rest of the flock this morning. That ought to make for a sorting nightmare whenever I want to work part of the main flock, but it will make all other management issues easier (like not having to feed hay to anything but the rams). And with the entire flock in one location, I can set up the foot bath and get them all treated. They've had plenty of practice going through the chute, so the new challenge will be getting them to step into the foot bath (it's too long for them to jump, so it'll require some serious pushing from the dogs)....
We're supposed to be getting some guinea hens, but I need to move the spare 10 x 10 dog kennel down into the alley paddock to be their temporary 24/7 home and future night time roosting area. Our neighbor is giving us some young adult birds. I joke with him that he can just keep giving them to us every time they go home! The plan is to keep them penned for a while and then let out one at a time, so that the others will be the "lure" to keep the outside bird(s) from heading back to the home farm. I know a few people who have made this work (common wisdom is that guineas won't stay if you don't raise them from keets). If the project fails, then I'll just get keets from my neighbor instead, but it would be nice to be able to make the young adults work because they are less management-intensive than the keets and can start on tick and fly control right away. By penning them in the bottom paddock, I'm hoping they'll go back to that pen to perch at night. The distance between that pen and where my bantams stay ought to help cut down on the guineas picking on the bantams (while they're all roaming, they bantams can get out of the way, but I don't want to house them all together to avoid bullying of the smaller birds by the bigger birds). I also would like to find some Rhode Island Reds to keep for their eggs. The OEG bantam eggs are great, but you do have to compensate for thier much smaller size.
Crate rest seems to be working for Twist. I haven't noticed any lame steps lately, and she doesn't get up three-legged like she had been. I'm taking her along tomorrow so I can swim her in the pond. I'll be interested to see if she comes up lame again after that non-weight-bearing exercise. She's had something like three weeks of modified crate rest (basically no work, but allowed on leash walks) followed by two and a half weeks of full crate rest. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the rest has done the trick. Otherwise, the mystery lameness will remain a mystery and she's in for an even longer crate rest "sentence."
Tomorrow will be Raven's first trip off the place to try working sheep somewhere else. Fortunately the sheep where we're going are well dog broke, so I hope we'll be able to set her up for success. I'll be bringing some of those sheep home as well, so we'll be able to continue making progress here with sheep that are more appropriate than those of my main flock.
In preparation, I pushed the last seven ewes and their lambs (the youngest are four weeks old now) out into the big pasture with the rest of the flock this morning. That ought to make for a sorting nightmare whenever I want to work part of the main flock, but it will make all other management issues easier (like not having to feed hay to anything but the rams). And with the entire flock in one location, I can set up the foot bath and get them all treated. They've had plenty of practice going through the chute, so the new challenge will be getting them to step into the foot bath (it's too long for them to jump, so it'll require some serious pushing from the dogs)....
We're supposed to be getting some guinea hens, but I need to move the spare 10 x 10 dog kennel down into the alley paddock to be their temporary 24/7 home and future night time roosting area. Our neighbor is giving us some young adult birds. I joke with him that he can just keep giving them to us every time they go home! The plan is to keep them penned for a while and then let out one at a time, so that the others will be the "lure" to keep the outside bird(s) from heading back to the home farm. I know a few people who have made this work (common wisdom is that guineas won't stay if you don't raise them from keets). If the project fails, then I'll just get keets from my neighbor instead, but it would be nice to be able to make the young adults work because they are less management-intensive than the keets and can start on tick and fly control right away. By penning them in the bottom paddock, I'm hoping they'll go back to that pen to perch at night. The distance between that pen and where my bantams stay ought to help cut down on the guineas picking on the bantams (while they're all roaming, they bantams can get out of the way, but I don't want to house them all together to avoid bullying of the smaller birds by the bigger birds). I also would like to find some Rhode Island Reds to keep for their eggs. The OEG bantam eggs are great, but you do have to compensate for thier much smaller size.
Crate rest seems to be working for Twist. I haven't noticed any lame steps lately, and she doesn't get up three-legged like she had been. I'm taking her along tomorrow so I can swim her in the pond. I'll be interested to see if she comes up lame again after that non-weight-bearing exercise. She's had something like three weeks of modified crate rest (basically no work, but allowed on leash walks) followed by two and a half weeks of full crate rest. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the rest has done the trick. Otherwise, the mystery lameness will remain a mystery and she's in for an even longer crate rest "sentence."
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Mean-spiritedness
I’ve been thinking about this behavior in people lately. What is it that makes people mean-spirited? Why do some people take pleasure in others’ pain or misfortune? I imagine that taking private pleasure in another’s misfortunes or mistakes is somewhat hard-wired in us—one of those things we all do at times, but which most of us have the grace to at least not be proud of. But what makes a person comment on such situations in a manner that’s derisive of the person or situation upon which the comments are being made? And why does the person making the comments generally tend to do so in a venue where the person or people being derided don’t have a voice (that is, in a venue where the people being attacked can’t defend themselves)? What purpose does this kind of behavior serve? I assume it makes the one partaking of it feel better about him- or herself, but don’t these people also see how such behavior just reflects back on themselves? Don’t they understand that by taking that “holier than thou” stance—especially when the situation is something with which they have no direct experience and thus have no real knowledge on which to base their judgments—they’re also making themselves look ridiculous (and mean-spirited, which they are)?
Consider the somewhat typical behavior exhibited on a dog-related e-mail list I receive. The people there routinely state things like “My dog could certainly do that,” even though nothing they’ve ever conveyed to the rest of us of their actual real-life experience could come close to making their statements believable. Often these sorts of people will say something along the lines of “I don’t see why John Q. did that or couldn’t do that. My dog could do that.” Of course people making the claim that their dog “could do that” will never actually come close to “doing that” with their dog, so it’s difficult to see what truth they’re basing their statements on. Certainly you rarely hear such comments from the folks who have been there and done that. Nope. You hear those types of comments only from the people who have never been there and done that and probably have no hope of ever being there and doing that. At least on the e-mail list someone is likely to point out the hogwash for what it is. And the author of the comments can then defend them or not. But what if those same comments were made in a venue where no one could call the author on them? What purpose, then, do those types of comments serve? Is it some sort of self-stroking of the ego? Is it to make the author feel better about his or her own failures (or perhaps lack of initiative)? I think it’s really just a poorly-veiled attempt to elevate oneself by tearing down others. It’s a coward’s tactic. And it’s really sad….
Consider the somewhat typical behavior exhibited on a dog-related e-mail list I receive. The people there routinely state things like “My dog could certainly do that,” even though nothing they’ve ever conveyed to the rest of us of their actual real-life experience could come close to making their statements believable. Often these sorts of people will say something along the lines of “I don’t see why John Q. did that or couldn’t do that. My dog could do that.” Of course people making the claim that their dog “could do that” will never actually come close to “doing that” with their dog, so it’s difficult to see what truth they’re basing their statements on. Certainly you rarely hear such comments from the folks who have been there and done that. Nope. You hear those types of comments only from the people who have never been there and done that and probably have no hope of ever being there and doing that. At least on the e-mail list someone is likely to point out the hogwash for what it is. And the author of the comments can then defend them or not. But what if those same comments were made in a venue where no one could call the author on them? What purpose, then, do those types of comments serve? Is it some sort of self-stroking of the ego? Is it to make the author feel better about his or her own failures (or perhaps lack of initiative)? I think it’s really just a poorly-veiled attempt to elevate oneself by tearing down others. It’s a coward’s tactic. And it’s really sad….
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