Nelson...Therapy Dog...Healing My Heart.

I KNEW Nelson was going to be a therapy dog when I first met him.  He has such a sweet spirit...such a sweet dog.  Since Mother passed away last Thursday I've not been able to spend a lot of time with him.  He's been given just the basic care, and I feel bad for that.  How has he responded?  By stepping up his sweet attitude and love.  I think he senses the emotional pain that is there even if well hidden.  He has this "thing" that he does...he pokes with his nose when trying to get your attention.  Not a rude poke...just a "hey...I'm here" type of poke.  Tonight, as I was looking through some things I brought from Mother's house he walked up behind me and poked me repeatedly.  "Hey, I know you are hurting...but I'm here and Iove you."  I'm so happy to have him as my therapy for a hurting heart.

Treatment 2, Day 14

Today is Day 14 following his second treatment.  Dr. Rocky said that he might start coughing some and may need even more restricted activity for a few days.  However, I'm proud to say that Nelson is doing GREAT!!!  He seems to be feeling really good.  No coughing.  No sign of feeling bad at all.  We continue to restrict his activity just to be sure that he's ok.  Two more weeks and we get to slowing take him off of restriction!

It's been amazing to observe the changes in him over the last 90 days since we adopted him.  He seems to be totally comfortable with us now.  He isn't as reserved as he was when we first got brought him home.  His personality has blossomed.  I'm so glad he is a part of our family...I am looking forward to the time when we can get "out and about" again.

Nelson Udate August 11th

Hello friends,

Nelson had his second treatment on the 9th and 10th.  This one was pretty tough on him...he received a shot on Tuesday and had to stay overnight.  He received another shot yesterday.  He vomited some while at the clinic and wouldn't eat but he did drink.  I picked him up yesterday at 5:00 PM...I was SO happy to see him.

As my dad would say, "He feels poorly." The good news is that he is eating a little bit and he hasn't vomited any since we brought him home.  As I understand it, Saturday or Sunday may be a bad day for him.  Two weeks after the treatment is a critical time too.  Apparently that is when the majority of the worms start to die and his body has to "process" them. 

Please continue to pray for this sweet boy.

Life after living on the streets

One unexpected thing about the heart worm treatments...I know EVERYTHING Nelson does when he's outside.  :)  

I've learned that he can't ignore crickets...they are his obsession.  He pounces on them like they were t-bone steaks.  I realized this evening that they may have been his t-bone steaks while he was living on the streets. 

Update - Day 7

Nelson is doing great.  He's a little bit tired of being on restricted duty but...overall he's doing well.  Every step he takes when outside is on a leash.  The hardest part of this is that he seems to feel fine.  He doesn't understand why he isn't being allowed to run with the other dogs.

7 days down...53 more to go. 

Day 3

Nelson is doing so good!  He doesn't seem to feel bad at all.  The hard part is keeping him in slow motion.  Especially in the mornings.  He loves to kick up his heels when he wakes up.  These days he has to go slow on a leash.  He doesn't complain but you can tell that he is wondering why he is being restricted.

We went out to water the yard this evening and he BEGGED me to go for our long walk.  I told him that we woudl go tomorrow.  (His memory isn't good, so I can tell him the same story again tomorrow.)  :)

We are working on some basic commands (requests) that don't require much effort every evening in the cool of the house.  He has "sit" perfected.  Tomorrow we will start on "down".  That shouldn't take very long.  I'm also going to start working on "bow" as it is a natural thing that he does.  I want to put it on cue so that he will do it when I ask it from him.

Fun times with a fun guy.  He's so sweet.   I want each of you who read this to have the opportunity to meet him.  You will love him as much as I do.  :)

1st Treatment...Day 2

Nelson is doing great!  He didn't eat breakfast this morning but ate a full dinner this evening...with the help of a hamburger patty crumbled over his kibble.  :)

Dr. Rocky warned us that he might feel ok for the first day or two and then take a bit of a down turn.  I'm hoping that won't be severe.

We walked around the yard a little bit this evening.   We have to take it slow...but that's ok with this heat.  By the time he is released for full activity I'm hoping it will be cooling down a little bit. 

The good news is that we can do basic obedience training in the air conditioned house.  :)  So far he has learned to sit.  Next we will work on down.  Then we will learn stay.  We might even throw a few tricks in just for fun.

Heart Worm Treatment #1

The day that I've dreaded for a month.  Nelson's first heart worm treatment.  Injecting poison into this sweet boy's body to kill worms in his heart.  Dead worms will then be released to flow through his body....finding a spot to clog his heart...his lungs...his brain.  NOT good.  : (

BUT...I completely trust Dr. Rocky and his staff at Turtle Creek Veterinary Medical Clinic (TCVMC) in Greenville.  Completely.  My daughter worked for him and his wife.  His beautiful twin girls were flower girls at my daughter's wedding.  I trust him...and I trust his wife, Laurie (PhD) to make sure he is "the best of the best."    :)  His staff is wonderful too.  Nice and caring people.

Ok, enough of the advertisements for TCVMC... : P

I dropped Nelson off this morning on the way to work.  I cried as I drove to work.  Shocking for those of you who think of me as a "man's man" I know.  Sorry you had to learn that about me.

I called at noon to check on Nelson.  Dr. Rocky gave me the good news that Nelson was doing well.  No obvious damage to his lungs.  His heart looked good.  Prognosis....Great!

I picked Nelson up at 5:00 PM.  I was AMAZED at how good he looked.  Of course, he is on pain medication so he was a little sedated...but he looked GREAT!

We have some things to watch for in the next few days....every step he takes for the next 60 days will be at the end of a leash to ensure that he doesn't start running and get his heart rate elevated. 

I'm so very happy that Ann found Nelson in time for us to save him.  I'm so glad that the initial heart worm test was negative...we would have never considered him had we known...but now...Worth every bit of the money and the trouble to give this sweet boy a healthy life.

2 July 11

Nelson has such a sweet soul.  He's obviously been through a lot of bad things....I read the vet report from the original "in processing" at the pound.  His coat condition was described as "dirty."  My heart hurts to think about what he has been through in the last two years.  He has a few things to overcome but I hope to help him through them.

We only have a few days before he starts heart worm treatments.  I'm SO dreading that.  I hate to see him sick.  PLEASE pray for him.   He will need your prayers for the next 60 days.

Pavlov, Skinner, Dolphins, and Nelson

We started "Click and Treat" training today.  It is operant conditioning based on the works of Pavlov and Skinner.  Kary Pryor simplified it for us who aren't scientist.  If you haven't read anything about Karen Pryor you should.  She revolutionized the world of training based on "markers and rewards."  Her first experience was with training dolphins.  What she learned there she shared with those of us who love dogs. 

Simply put, when something does something you want it to repeat you identify the behavior - the marker - and then reward the behavior - the treat.

I've been working with Nelson to accept treats.  He hasn't been very food motivated.  I talked to a good friend, Renee Toth, who taught me how to get him cued in to the treats.  It worked!

So today we started working on "sit."  When his butt hit the ground first I "clicked" and he received a treat. I  tossed the treats so he had to get up to get them.  He figured it out pretty quickly.   We had three training sessions today with each lasting about 15 minutes.  It's amazing to watch him "think" and "problem solve."  He would wag his tail and then sit. Very soon I will anticipate him sitting and put the word "sit" with it.  Thus he will connect the word with the action with the reward.  Pretty simple!

25 June 11

Nelson and I went shopping again today.  It was very interesting.  I have so much to learn about this guy!  First we went to Home Depot to buy paint.  We've been there before but I've never used a shopping cart when he was with me.  I expected him to be timid around the cart.  Wrong.  He was very brave and the cart didn't bother him at all.  He met several new people while there and he didn't spook at any of them.  Next up was a new stop at Honda and Yamaha of Greenville to introduce Nelson to one of my friends.  (Thanks for being a Pet Friendly business!)  Nelson did great!  He was relaxed and showed no sign of stress at all.  Our final stop was PetSense.  He has been there many times and has been making friends on each visit.  Today...he was timid...not a full out panic, but definitely not happy to be there.  One of my biggest challenges with Nelson is that he refuses to accept food rewards when we are "out and about" or even in the car.  I'm struggling to learn how to reach him with rewards in the strange situations.

This evening we went on our usual walk.  Ann and Lizzie, the Dachshund / Chihuahua mix, went with us.  It was a fun walk.  We were glad to have them with us.

Nelson in his natural habitat!

I love this face!

23 June 11

I arrived home from England at 11:00 PM last night.  I SWEAR Nelson smiled at me!  While I was gone someone chewed a hole in the comforter on our bed.  Ann thinks it was Nelson....I think he was set up by the other dogs.

Nelson walks on a completely slack leash.  I drape it over my shoulder and he stays right by my side.  He does this on our nightly walks and even in PetSense, Tractor Supply, and tonight we added Home Depot to our stops.  YAY for dog friendly stores!  We are currently working on "sit on stop"....aka, we stop walking and he should sit.  He's learning quickly.  Next will be a completely reliable "come on recall"  aka, I call you and you come to me.  He does that perfectly in the house.  Outside...not perfectly.  Oh well, room for improvement.  Ann and I will use treats and clickers to reinforce that...aka, "doggie ping pong!"  We will be in different spots and take turns calling him to us.  When he comes he gets treats!  Amazing what a dog will do for a bite of turkey wienies.

I'm reading Karen Pryor's book, "Reaching the Animal Mind."  She is AMAZING!  She is a pioneer in the world of reward based training.  I've read a couple of her previous books.  She is one of the leaders that taught us we don't have to use punishment based training and that reward based training works MUCH better.  God Bless Her!

17 June 11

On our walk this evening we found some kids playing basketball and a kid riding an electric car.  SO VERY good for Nelson.  He spooked but then settled down.  All of this will help prepare him for the scary world of hospitals and nursing homes.  And...I'm not forcing this on him.  After he gets over his initial fear he is very friendly to the people. 

I leave tomorrow for a business trip to the UK.  Sadly, no dogs allowed.  Sigh.

16 June 11

The last two days have been the best of times and the worst of times for Nelson. 

The bad news first....we visited with Dr. Rocky again about Nelson's heart worm treatments.  It is SO scary.  However, I totally trust Dr. Rocky @ Turtle Creek Veterinary Medical Center.  I just HATE to put Nelson through such a horrible treatment.  He has his first treatment on 6 July.  Thirty days later he will have his second treatment.  During that time he will have to remain very quiet.  Nothing to elevate his heart rate and possibly cause a large amount of dead worms to break loose and cause severe damage to his lungs or cause a blockage somewhere.  Scary!  If we would have known that he had heart worms before we met him we would have never taken him...and he probably would have been put down.  I'm glad we didn't know!  I'm glad we were able to save him!

Now...the good news....

We visited the pet store yesterday and he did great.  Then we went to Tractor Supply...which is the ONLY other business in Hick-ville that is pet friendly...and we explored for about 45 minutes.  There was A LOT going on there.  A lot of noises...people dropping things....shopping carts....a lot of strange things for Nelson to encounter.  He did amazingly well.  He was a little timid at times but never really scared.  Several people petted him and was friendly to everyone.  After that we came home and went for our evening walk.  On the little oil road we had a chance encounter with a friend who stopped and got out of the car and petted him.  I'm so impressed with the way he meets people!

This afternoon we went for a walk down our usual road.  Our neighbor was out in his yard with his grandkids.  I decided to take Nelson for an introduction.  One of the grandkids is little boy about 4 years old.  He came running and screaming to pet the puppy.  Nelson spooked a little bit but soon settled down and accepted the little boy's rough petting.

This was PERFECT conditioning for Nelson's preparation for therapy work.  He is going to be so good at it!  I am so looking forward to Nelson sharing his love with the sick and elderly people in our community.

June 13th

My main focus with Nelson at this time is to get him completely socialized and desensitized to the things that make him nervous.  He is doing really well but occasionally he still gets a little nervous.

He has been with us now for about 10 days.  He already knows his new name....or maybe that was the name he has always had and we just learned it?  :)

Living in Hick-ville makes it a little more difficult to socialize him.  Not counting the vet clinics there are only TWO businesses in our little town that allow pets to come in.  So we visit there several times a week.  He’s doing really well with those trips.  Yesterday he encountered a really scary shopping cart and wasn’t afraid of it. 

The sad news is that Nelson tested positive for adult heartworms.  We were told when we adopted him that he had a negative heartworm test.  Apparently the rescue organization only checked for the microfilaria and not for the adult heart worms.  Sigh.  Oh well, our vet is very encouraging that Nelson will be able to make a full recovery.  I just hate to put him through the treatments.  They will painful and will make him feel really bad for awhile.  I’m not looking forward to these treatments.  He is currently on an Rx as pre-treatment.  He will start the heartworm treatment in July.  Thirty days later he will have his second heartworm treatment.  I am hoping that he will only need two treatments.  It’s going to be a tough few months.

I SO love this dog.  Such a SWEET soul.  I'm so happy we found him!

Meet Nelson

This is Nelson.  He's an Australian Shepherd mix that we adopted on June 3, 2011.  Our vet thinks that he is about a year and a half to two years old.  I think he might be a little bit younger...but I trust Dr. Rocky.

He's a very sweet boy...a little bit timid...but overall...just a sweetheart.

I would love to do therapy work with him.  I think he will be great visiting sick or elderly people.  However, we have a LONG way to go before he's ready for therapy work.  Loud noises scare him so I am currently working on getting him fully socialized and desensitized.  I am also looking for an obedience class for us to take.  The biggest challenge with him so far is that he is NOT at all motivated by treats.  He eats his meals ok but he doen'st appear to be motivated by getting treats at this point.  I am a big believer in reward based training, especially "Click and Treat" training techniques.  I'm going to have to figure out how to reward him without treats.

He's OBVIOUSLY had some training before.  He's housebroken and walks on a leash better than most dogs I've ever seen. 

I would love to know his story.  Where did he come from?  HOW did a sweetheart like this end up in a kill pound in Altus, Oklahoma?

Oh well, whatever his story was until we found him...I hope you follow our story from this point forward.