Zekie laying in front of the new flower bed under construction. He has been spending a lot of time with me while I’ve been weeding and planting. For the most part, he’s been good.
He’s stayed nearby while I worked on the rose bed. He’s even learned to stay out of the rose bed. I do have to preplan everything I do so he isn’t alone for more than a few minutes. Otherwise he gets stressed out. And a stressed Zekie, is a destructive Zekie.
He was with me for the urns I planted too. I tried to tie him to a leg on the patio table but he chewed through the leash. Change with Zekie is slow, although he does improve. In the interim, dealing with him is done with a lot of management.
This is the second bowl that Zeke has “re-sculpted” since we’ve had him. It has looked like this for quite some time, I just don’t care anymore.
I don’t know when he does this. We never leave the bowl in the crate with him and go away anymore. The bowl comes out and the Nylabone goes in the crate if we are going away. When he’s in his crate for a brief time after meals, I don’t hear any noise. I don’t think he even had any canine fangs left by the time he mangled this one. (They were broken off in attempts to escape the crate when we were away.)
Although Zeke still sounds like a wild child, and I suppose he is, he is much improved from where he started. He is a good companion and relatively obedient. He does get into things but stops when we tell him to. So although he is a work in progress (aren’t we all?) things are at more of an even keel.
Zekie is ever so slowly showing improvement in his behavior. As he does, he earns more freedoms.
He has become my husband’s shop dog. Whenever he goes out to the shop to work, Zekie goes too. He lays under a sawhorse or workbench and passes the time while my husband works. The loud sound of the power tools, the hammering, the sawing, none of it bothers him. Several days of shop work in a row have Zekie waiting at the door to report for work. He likes to have a job.
Earlier this week Zekie got to go along to grandma’s house with my husband when he went to do yard work. Aside from jumping up into grandma’s lap to stare in her face and lick her nose, he was a good boy. She thought he was funny so that ended well.
Another morning, Zekie and Baxter got to ride along to a local plant nursery. They were both good boys.
Yesterday evening Zekie got to go along to a Craft Night fundraiser for our Sheltie Rescue group. My friend went along too and brought one of her dogs. Both dogs did well on the ride and at the event. Most attendees brought a dog along. Everyone got along well and it was a fun evening.
I hope Zekie is learning that new opportunities open up to well behaved dogs. I know he greatly enjoys these new adventures. He is happy and generally well behaved as long as he is with one of us. Good boy Zekie!
Finally. Some sunny days. Nikki and Shelby enjoyed the day. They watched the other pups play frisbee and run around playing and being generally crazy.
Grandma’s little dog Paisley ran around and played with the big boys. She is much younger than Nikki and Shelby. A fun time, followed by baths (not a fun time) was had by all. You can see the mud on Zeke’s white legs. Summer weather is near!
Zekie continues to improve his behavior. He can hold a stay long enough for me to take a few pictures.
Of course just last week he chewed a second bungee cord in half that was used to hold the pasture gates together. Without it there is only the latch and cross board holding the gates together at the top. With no bungee cord Zeke can push his way through and escape. I was working in the patio garden and he couldn’t bear to be that far away from me. The gate is now held together at the bottom by a chain and a metal closure with a snap on each end.
Sometimes you take what you can get. Look at that stay!
Zekie is not always anxious and getting into trouble. He can also be a happy and playful dog. He plays with toys and invites us to chase him too. In fact, if we never went away from home, we could be tricked into thinking that he is a normally mischievous pup.
But we know better. The separation anxiety and leash reactivity are still lurking beneath the surface and waiting to come out. We haven’t done a good job of walking dogs lately. Between icy or rainy weather and bouts of flu, the walks haven’t happened. So I haven’t been working on the reactivity.
On the plus side, the damage to Zeke’s cruciate ligament must have been a partial tear. He runs on that leg with no problem now. He even leaps to catch the frisbee. So either the leg is healing, or the muscles are strengthening enough to compensate for the injury. The thigh muscle on that leg is still slightly smaller than the other one but the bulk is greatly improved. That leg is well on the way to recovery.
I had forgotten what a beautiful thing it is to have a dog that you communicate with on a personal level. It takes years of working together to achieve such a bond. I haven’t had it since my dog Duncan passed in 2013. I noticed recently that I have reached this point with Shelby.
She watches me and is generally able to anticipate what I want from her. I have had Shelby for about 7 years now. She is 9 years old and has been a certified therapy dog for 5 1/2 of those years. I was without a therapy dog after Duncan’s passing so had to train Shelby with no one for her to learn the ropes from. She learned the basic behaviors quickly and passed the test with no problem. The trusting working bond is not something you can teach though. It is something that is built, something earned. This takes time and experiences.
Shelby and her sister from another mother
It dawned on me recently that I now have this with Shelby. She is my go to dog whenever I need assistance on a job, or a reliable partner. Shelby has worked numerous public events with me including some with hundreds of people petting her. She has assisted me at county fair demonstrations. She has taught two (so far) therapy dog training classes with me at the vocational school. She has helped me test potential new therapy dog and handler teams for 5 years.
Shelby and I have put in many trips to visit at nursing facilities. She has earned the title TDIA (Therapy Dogs International Active) and is well on her way to the next title. She will “go visit” on command. She will hold a sit-stay will I put chairs away after a visit. We have done reading to kindergarteners, we have visited with college students to de-stress.
Shelby is a happy worker. She loves to work. In fact if I don’t give her a job, she will find one. Such as barking at extra cars through the window until they go away. Or stopping the cats from too much roughhousing. I can trust Shelby to do a job and do it well. I always watch her when we are working though. Unexpected situations do arise and I am her protector.
This level of relationship is rare. My hope for you is that you are able to experience it. It is a blessing and a gift.
This is what dogs do on a sunny spring day! It’s still only 42 degrees but the sun made it feel a little warmer. The sheltie girls, Shelby and Nikki, supervised from the sidelines. Shelby takes her job seriously and barks and chases the others for a short distance telling them to get it right. Nikki just sleeps.
All four of the dogs pictured above have been known to catch the frisbee, but mostly it’s Paisley and Baxter, each getting it about 50% of the time. They catch it and bring it back, over and over. Paisley is a tough little girl. She got rolled in the mud yesterday but still keeps trying for the frisbee every time. She weighs only 22 lbs. to Baxter’s 62, but she’s fast and agile. She’s also two years old to Baxter’s ten.
Here is what the dogs look like in action. You can even see Shelby playing referee from the sidelines. Their just happy to spend more time outside again.
Sanctuary Acres 