New to AIHA, dog in trouble

[admin]

Rick, this is too funny! Our Ripley (I did not name him) would fail miserably in the show ring but he is smart as a whip. I raised him for Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind and he was supposed to stay with me for 2 months, I was just helping them out, I was waiting for my first poodle pup Kahlu. Ripley did not make the cut to be a guide dog, he was chasing birds and was so unhappy in training he lost a 1/3 of his weight. So he had a “career change” and was sent back to me. 8 years later he is still with me. He became a great agility dog, a wonderful therapy dog and a perfect pet. I pride myself to be able to call him off a running deer but most importantly he is very happy and healthy:)

[admin]

Oh Rick, you make me laugh so much. I have a vision in my head now of the pair of them getting up to all sorts! How is Ripley coping now without his partner in mischief? My two are real chasers & have selective deafness (?? or is it complete disobedience??).
Keep the stories coming!
Love Sheena, Worzel & Ollie xxxx

[Vally]

Rick you have such a way of telling a story, I can see it. Yes, please keep them coming.

Love Vally & Bingo

[Rick]

Thanks everyone. We are actually doing okay. Ripley lied on the area rug between the fridge and pantry for the first time the other day.
This was Brandy’s spot.
She needed best access to anything that hit the ground in the kitchen so Ripley wasn’t allowed to come in there. One of her favorites was lettuce. Ripley would turn his nose up at it, but Brandy love it. Weird for a dog that wouldn’t eat anything for her first 5 years.
Unfortunately Ripley lying in the kitchen made it quite difficult to cook something because he is a much larger obstacle.
I have had a few down moments, but since the pawprint day I’m feeling pretty well. I think being able to express myself on this board has helped a lot. I haven’t shared much of my pain with anyone else.

“Miss Mouse”
I haven’t mentioned my wife very much in this thread. It isn’t because she wasn’t a huge portion of Brandy’s life.
My wife Jennifer is Brandy’s Mom. She is the emotional, overprotective, super-caring half of our life (in case you haven’t noticed I’m the pro-active, logical, technical half), She is also extremely sensitive to any animal being injured or in pain.

Miss Mouse was a very special persona of Brandy’s. It was not only a specific type of behavior, but it also encompassed the complex and loving relationship between Jennifer and Brandy. I never experienced Miss Mouse directly but could only see it through their interactions.
Miss Mouse was typically seen in the morning when we ate breakfast. We eat at a low table where Brandy is always on guard for any crumbs that might fall. She was also very good at sticking her face in your food.
“oh, I’m blind and can’t tell that my nose is 1 inch from your toast. Oops I accidentally bumped it so now you have to give it to me”.
If I pushed her away or scolded her for being too close she would go to her mother for comfort. Usually this involved jamming her nose under Jennifer’s armpit to be petted, though I think she was really just trying to jar some food loose.
Miss Mouse was waiting for Jennifer whenever she came home, and Brandy was always most excited at that time. Brandy demanded to be serviced before you could do anything else after arriving. There is a specific spot on the couch where she would jump up, and you had to rub her chest for at least one minute. If Ripley happened to be lying there she would jump on his head (another reason why he’s not so upset).
To be honest I was really concerned about Jennifer’s well-being during this ordeal but she is also doing okay. She/we have suffered a lot of tragic loss over that past 4 years and she is doing a lot of the right things to manage her grief.

Remembering Brandy doesn’t make me sad.
I have heard that primary caregivers often feel guilt at feeling relief after they are gone.
I feel no guilt and I feel no relief.
A month ago I told the internal medicine specialist that every extra day with her was a bonus. Looking back now I can say that every single day with her was a bonus. She had a great life and I don’t regret a single sacrifice we made for her. Ripley on the other hand…

[Tamara]

Rick, I’m so glad you and Jennifer are doing okay, and Ripley too. I think if we are fortunate, we can learn from this disease — that every single day is a bonus. Please give Ripley some scritchies and belly rubs from here.
sending you all hugs and love —
tamara and ashki

[Rick]

That’s funny, Tamara. Ripley would consider scritches and belly rubs cruel and unusual punishment. When I say he is aloof I mean that he NEVER wants to be touched.
That being said he will tolerate it if will get him something he really wants.
In the morning he will stand by the bed and ‘Vader’. Essentially he does heavy breathing to tell us that it is time to go out and can keep it up for hours if necessary. I can rub him under the chin at only that time. If you attempt to pat his back he will duck under and run away as if your hand is boiling water.
Ripley has always been this way. It was particularly problematic when he was young and untrained. Before Brandy arrived, Ripley was entirely not food motivated. Most of his breakfast would sit in his bowl until dinner, he didn’t care for any treats, etc. He also didn’t care for tennis balls or love any toy (and we had a lot of toys for him to choose from). Add in that he didn’t want praise or pats and you get a high energy puppy that can’t be taught using a reward system
There was one thing that he loved. He had to be very near Jennifer. This meant that he had to be right behind her wherever she went and had to sit beside her on the couch.
We used his one weakness to train him and most of our training involved one or both of us running and hiding. He got a lot of exercise with us alternately stepping behind a tree at either end of the field.

The instant that Brandy arrived and tried to boss him off his food he became food motivated which changed everything. Of course Brandy required massive encouragement to eat from day 1 so our life really didn’t get easier. It was just different.

[Tamara]

Well then, please ignore Ripley for me LOL! That is a challenge when you can’t use the usual reinforcers, and what a brilliant solution you and Jennifer came up with for Ripley. I’ve never had a dog that is that aloof, the closest was my dear Sierra who hardly ever solicited affection but would tolerate it a little. My Annie (GSD) was slightly less aloof than that, my other GSD Gitta was quite affectionate. Ashki is the polar opposite of Ripley, we call him (sshhhh) the attention whore. Last night we were sitting on the beach, he was right next to me, and I stopped petting him for a minute. He got up, nudged my hand, and sat in my lap.

Is he still eating well? I hope so.

[Vally]

Oh I want to hug Ripley even more now.

Vally