I’m in the tunnel. You know the one I mean, the one where you are so engrossed, overwhelmed and logistically enclosed by what you are doing that life seems narrow but not small, confined but not constrained. I am full up with my life right now, which I summed up as well as possible in the title: Lambs, Rain, Papers, Lambs, Rain, Papers.
If there is life outside of this small but saturated universe, would it do my laundry? This is not a small thing to ask, given that the pants I am wearing into the barn could stand up by themselves, and whose smell could clear a room. I should save them for the next time I think I’ll have to stand in line and wait for something.
And so, today post is all about the farm. Although I have had an especially interesting week on campus (including a vigorous discussion in my University class yesterday about meat eating, and getting to see Jane Goodall speak on Monday, more inspiring than I can say), most of my waking hours alternate between grading papers and attending to lambs and ewes. And dealing with mud. And more mud. And then more lambs, and then more mud.
It has rained here relentlessly, although I should be accurate and mention that at the moment it is actually sleeting. We have had 2 gorgeous days in the last 2 weeks, but other than that it has been grey and cloudy at best. It doesn’t take long for this desert-bred woman to perceive dewy and moist as soggy and moldy after a few days, so I won’t pretend I’m happy about it. If I could stay inside reading good novels and eating bad food I suspect it would be much more fun, but I’m walking to the barn six or eight times a day, and slopping through the mud to fill the water buckets for my lactating ewes, whose lambs are too young to be out in a downpour.
Speaking of lambs, all the ewes have now finally had their lambs. Spot was the hold out, and she had triplets late last night. She was due to lamb around April 1st, but played an April Fool’s joke on us by not getting bred that round and waiting until the next go-round to have her lambs. This is her first set of triplets:
Regretably, she is suffering from the same problem as Rosebud (now cured) and Oreo (not cured, but only has a single lamb, thank heavens), in which her milk glands are blocked and she can’t give any milk from one side of her udder. I am already bottle feeding two of Spot’s lambs, the one standing is always fat with milk, so I think she is getting the lion’s share. (FYI, the analysis on the milk has yet to come back, but there are no symptoms of mastitis. We have had the best luck with a peppermint based udder cream called Dynamint, which seemed to turn Rosebud around. (Thank you Ann T!). Cabbage leaves and alternating hot and cold packs turned out to be logistically a tad challenging to do 3-4 times a day, given the ewes lack of interest in the project.)
Earlier I sat down in the larger pen with the older lambs to get some photos. Here’s a lamb discovering the concept of “the toe of Trisha’s boot.”
Here’s one of my favorite lambs: Lady G also had triplets, one black, one white and this one who is mostly white with a bit of freckling on the nose and a grey ear. He’s very bold and curious, but this afternoon he was mostly very sleepy.
The lamb summary is thus this: 17 lambs from 7 ewes, 4 sets of triplets (a first for the farm). One lamb is an orphan, his mother has completely rejected him, but he is doing well on a self-feeder. There will be at least 3 other lambs who need supplemental feeding, they are all taking milk from a bottle and are in various stages of learning to use a self-feeder. All the ewes are doing well, although not all their udders are. However, dear Solo had a ruptured pre-pubic tendon and probably wouldn’t have managed any live lambs if I hadn’t been lucky and gotten my sorry ass out of bed early enough, and if she wasn’t a hardy warrior-woman-sheep and a wonderful, dedicated mother. She and I have bonded over her difficulties, and I have to admit a special affection for her now. She should never be asked to lamb again though, so I am going to have to find a pet home for her. I don’t have a photo of her today, but I’ll post one soon. We are going through prodigious quantities of goat milk, and if it wasn’t for good friend Donna H with a goat dairy I’m not sure what we would do. There is powdered lamb milk replacer but I’ve never found that lambs do all that well on it.
In spite of the weather, there are other signs of spring besides lambs. A few of the bulbs have managed to put up with the alternating warm and then freezing/snowing/sleeting/raining weather and begun to bloom. These are the first flowers on the farm and they do my heart more good than I can say. There’s nothing like color when you’ve been starved for it for months. These flowers are tiny, you could walk by them and barely notice them, but I’m drinking them in like a thirsty beast in the desert.
Time to go feed lambs. And grade a few more papers (right now I’m grading papers about the ethics of using psychiatric service dogs, fascinating stuff).
Anyone else have a spring story to tell? Or how about fall if you live down under? I love to hear from you if you have a story to relate to the changing seasons. I’d write one about my own dogs, but I’m afraid there is nothing to say about them except that they are being sorely neglected. Poor Willie sits inside the barn and practically trembles with excitement over the lambs, but otherwise gets little exercise. Me neither. How about you…any spring or fall stories to tell?
Alexis W. says
Just throwing out a random idea and no clue if it would actually help, but recently in humans lecithin has become very popular as a way to unclog milk ducts and to keep them from clogging in the first place when taken regularly. I don’t know if it’s safe for sheep or the results would translate but I figured I’d mention it. http://kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/lecithin/
Gordon Edwards says
I’d tell a spring story….if it were actually spring. I think we are into our 12th or so (truthfully, I have stopped counting) straight day of snow or ice in this part of Wisconsin. As I write this at 4:41 PM on April 19th, I can barely see across the road through the snow falling, but I CAN see my Malamutes chasing each other through chest deep snow outside my window. They both just came blasting though the door, which means it’s time for me to either go engage them or seek refuge upstairs.
Now…about spring….
Aliesha says
Well up here in the NW we have had a nice and fairly dry spring, however those few days that it does rain I tend to stay inside and try to clean house (like today). However that means my BC/Aussie doesn’t get a playmate in the backyard so she puts her mind to work escaping the yard! My day is one of hair pulling and depression at not being able to keep her occupied enough on days like this so she does not chase boys walking by the house while I try to tend to house chores. Today needs to be an official venting day. Hope your day gets better and the sunshine comes out for longer stretches for you all!
Frances says
Spring seems to finally be springing here in the North West UK – there are martens flying over the river, a host of wildflowers all suddenly in bloom on the banks, and just enough rain to get the grass growing again, But I am a great believer in the old adage “Cat ne’er a clout till May be out” – I won’t be mothballing the thermals just yet awhile!
Hope the lambs continue to do well – that is a LOT of triplets! I have not forgotten bottle feeding lambs – they look so sweet in the photos that the sharp little hooves and hard little heads come as something of a shock …
Frances says
That should be “cast” not “cat” – must clean the toast crumbs out of this keyboard.
Bonnie H. says
how lovely! so many babies on your farm. and adorable photos.
What is the name of the flower you posted? It’s so pretty.
Margaret McLaughlin says
Lambs are the definition of “cute”. Well, maybe lambs & kittens, but lambs are cuter sooner in their lives.
Whaddaya mean, “spring”? I had to turn the furnace back on! It’s supposed to SNOW tonight! In Indiana! In April!
Wait, I remember saying, while being broiled last summer, that I’d never complain about cold weather again.
Taking it all back now.
michelle says
Just curious about having to rehome a sheep that has called your farm home. ? Do you not have room for her anymore? As I have no experience or knowledge of farms or farm animals, I was just wondering why she can’t stay on your farm? Do you raise sheep for food? Why do you keep breeding sheep every year? Is there a shortage? Just looking for some background info I guess.
I really enjoy your blog and reading about your dogs and your science. I am so fascinated by dog behavior and I really believe the more I understand dog behavior the better dog owner I have become.
I was reading your blog to escape the madness that is surrounding me this past week. I happen to live less than 5 miles from the manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombers and your blog was a little sanity and cute pictures from the insanity that is my life today. FBI, State Police, National Guard, helicopters and a crazy man who is on the run.,…..Crazy!
Kit Azevedo says
Hi,
I just wanted to drop you a line about the second to last comment you made: “And grade a few more papers (right now I’m grading papers about the ethics of using psychiatric service dogs, fascinating stuff).”
As someone who has been using a service dog for 10 years (three different dogs) and primarily for psychiatric reasons (though the latest also does double duty with mobility support work), I am constantly considering the ethics of using a service dog at all, let alone one that does the type of work my dogs do. I would be interested to hear what people who know dogs and yet do not use service dogs think on the subject. As of now most of what I hear is from the psych dog community (admittedly biased), from other service dog handlers (also biased), and from those who have no real understanding of the bond that can develop between a dog and a human (often confused and boiling down to, dogs should sleep on sofa’s all day, dogs shouldn’t be allowed out in public, crazy people shouldn’t be allowed out in public, or aren’t dog’s magical?).
Now I know you probably can’t share your student’s papers, but I thought it would be interesting to hear what some of the major points about the ethics are. I am currently writing a book about the process of owner training a service dog that includes some conversation on the ethics behind using a service dog for any disability. I KNOW this is a hot button topic in the service dog community so you may not want to step into that debate, but I would really like to hear what you and your students have to say on the issue.
If nothing else, it would certainly help me in my own thought process and research.
Kit Azevedo (dogascopilot@gmail.com)
Alison says
Its been wet, windy, and bleh on my days off here in the Inland Northwest. On days I work, we’ve had some sunshine, but I can only enjoy it when I happen to be near a window. 🙁 Someday the weather will coordinate with my schedule, but for now the dogs get mostly indoor play and barn agility practice and my garden continues to be neglected (with weeds/grass already sprouting like mad). My seeds I started indoors in March are doing great though and will have to be transplanted to bigger pots, as I don’t think I can plant them outside for at least another month.
Here’s hoping for sunshiny days for all of us soon! (or at the very least just overcast without the freezing temps. and heavy wind).
Trisha says
Lousy weather for many of us it sounds like, and yet Michelle, you remind us how terribly unimportant it is given what is happening in Boston (and the explosion in Texas). My heart goes out to everyone involved. I did indeed write this particular blog in part to create a sanctuary of life and sanity in what so often feels like an insane world.
Regarding a home for Solo, she would have to be separated from all the rest of the flock for two months during breeding, and that would be very stressful for a sheep. They are flock animals and aren’t happy by themselves. I breed sheep every year for several reasons, the primary is because, yes, we do raise sheep for food. We, and several of our friends, use the lamb that goes to market in fall for much of our meat for the winter.
Here’s to sunshine, safety and sanity.
Beth with the Corgis says
I know nothing about sheep at all, except that lambs are one of the cutest things on this earth. The topic of the ethics of psychiatric service dogs (indeed of any working dogs who are repeatedly put in high-stress situations) is a difficult one with so many angles of approach. And I hope all the ewes get their udders sorted out, poor things.
I have a love/hate relationship with spring. The nice days have me longing to spend some serious time outdoors, but until the trees leaf out everything is a bog after even the lightest rain. There is the huge spring rush to get the yard in order. The weather changing from 70 and summer-like to the high 40’s or low 50’s with a bitter wind is maddening. I have often commented that I enjoy living in an area with all four seasons, but don’t like it so much when we have them all in the same day.
No matter how long a walk we take at this time of year, Jack thinks it’s too short and expresses that opinion in no uncertain terms. Once he realizes we’ve looped back towards home he’ll actually lie down on the path and point his nose plaintively in the opposite direction (or sometimes just plant his feet and not move). I suppose I should be alarmed at what many traditional trainers would see as outright rebellion, but I alternate between finding it funny and feeling terribly guilty for not taking him farther.
Stubby Corgi legs and mud are an awful combination. Muddy bellies are the norm. The two of them find any number of newly uncovered dead things to roll in (to their delight and my disgust).
The neighboring park really wakes up after it’s winter lull and part of me loves seeing it so well-used, while part of me misses the relative quiet of winter, when a hard-core group of dog walkers (all of whom we know at this point) and runners are our only company, save for the rare beautiful weekend afternoon when some intrepid folks bundle up their kids to use the playground, or after a fresh snow when the sledders come out.
And then the allergies kick in.
Yep, definitely have mixed feelings about spring.
liz says
Rain in southeast Wisconsin:
too much of a good thing, unless you are my water-loving dog, N. The property is better described as islands than as land. The pond has overflowed clear to the fire pit (which holds floating logs), to the wood pile, vegetable garden, barn, and driveway, basically all of the acreage. All of our walking trails hold water that’s deep enough to fill ankle-high boots. Amidst serious concerns, there has been entertainment in noting how much the song birds and ducks are enjoying themselves, as well as the aforementioned N. (My other dog, H, who only swims when hot or w/ people, seems both confused and frustrated.) Miss N spent much time in her youth vacationing on rivers with sand bars and shallows. It seems as though the are few joys greater than splashing through shallow water at full speed to retrieve a ball, unless you count being able to swim around shrubbery like some dog/eel creature, or being able to lie down in any given place and take a drink. It seems her favorite parts of the rivers have merged with home, and it’s a dream come true. We also have too much water for there to be mud yet, so I guess there’s that… for now 🙂
Gordon Edwards says
I know I have mentioned my previous line of work, but that also is my wife’s current line of work. Monday, she was in her airline’s “long stay” (meaning long layover) hotel in downtown Boston, and went out for a walk to a nearby park. She sent me an eerie message via Skype that said “… as soon as I got to the park two very loud booms in near distance followed by non stop sirens and now helicopters…can’t be good !”. Then I couldn’t get through to either her cell phone or the hotel’s main number. Soon afterwards, all the news started pouring in.
She since has flown out of Boston, to San Francisco, to New York City (where she currently is awaiting her next departure, which will be) back to San Francisco, then she is scheduled to go back to Boston tomorrow night for a short stay (hotel near the airport for short layover), then to Seattle and finally back to New York where she will be done for this round and then home for days off. Days off that both of us desperately need right now.
Sunshine, safety and sanity. Yes, please.
Kat says
In my particular corner of the Pacific Northwest we’ve actually had spring, two whole days out of the last 40. We didn’t even get them back to back but in chunks, half a day here, a quarter day there and one glorious entire day of spring weather. Mostly we have grey rainy gloomy days, the kind where Ranger (who sleeps outside in his 700 square foot enclosure on his personal couch by his choice) doesn’t even bother to wake up when I go out in the morning to let him out and where Finna huddles under bushes and shrubs trying to stay dry while begging me to please throw the ball again. I planted my salad garden in the rain with hopes that it would someday be dry and warm so the lettuces, etc. would grow enough to be eaten. I sometimes despair of that ever happening.
Having grown up with sheep I miss the joy of young lambs and their delight in the world. I don’t miss the inevitable bottle baby though. Keeping a lamb fed is serious work especially for the first couple weeks. Fortunately, Mary was always a patient and tolerant ewe who would throw one big singleton and the bummer would quickly learn to steal from her. She was named Mary because Mary had a little lamb (although truthfully hers were never little). The bummer would steal from the rest of the flock as well but they were never as tolerant as Mary.
Are the flowers blue-eyed grass? I had a little patch of that but I think it got run over one too many times by the dogs. Next time I’ll have to find a safer spot.
Eileen says
Oh how I wish I had Spring time stories to tell. That would mean there had been a Spring. Here in VA we went from snow to over 80 degrees in two weeks. The only thing spring-like here is the never ending yellow pollen. I have to wash my car almost daily just to see out the windshield. It is raining now so there will be yellow streaks and puddles all over the road–looking like a road painting truck has sprung a leak. They are forecasting temps in the 60s next week so that will be wonderful. I can’t complain too much though because the Azaleas are in bloom. Driving through neighborhoods with azaleas in front yards is like driving around looking at Christmas lights.
I hope you see your light at the end of your lambs, rain, papers tunnel soon.
Joanna says
Not much of a story, but I can share that in the Bay Area in California, the highs were in the 70s today and yesterday, and I’ve been enjoying all the colorful wildflowers popping up. Tiny, tiny orange and purple flowers, and shrubs with almost-neon yellow flowers, and purple lupine (I can identify that one!). Unfortunately the poison oak is also in a growth spurt, although it has its own lovely colors, a mixture of shiny red and green leaves.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=448948175192694&set=pb.212962352124612.-2207520000.1366436338.&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Fsphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-snc6%2F165476_448948175192694_892226657_n.jpg&size=470%2C635
So much green!
Rose C says
Cold temps and flurries on late April isn’t exactly the typical spring days I look forward to. Raining is always expected except that the thunderstorms had left many areas flooded and from what some of my co-workers had said, in their basements too. Cute to see the ducks swimming in ponds that were not there before, one person said she had two swimming in her backyard. Today and the days to come look better in the forecast. I’ve learned to take the weather as it comes since the time I realized there’s no way I’m going to win over it 🙂
em says
Ok, not really a spring story (I have mixed feelings about spring, too, most years, since I’m not a fan of the mud. This winter seemed so long, though, that I’m happy to see it, even while slopping through the muck- a long legged dog does help, but only until he starts rolling on the new grass or wrestling with his friends and comes away beautifully brindled with mud. Shorter Sandy actually stays cleaner, most days.)
My diverting dog story is this: A few nights ago, we were all happily cuddled up in the living room watching The Life of Pi. Partway through the film, there is a scene where a seasick hyaena throws up. Nothing too gruesome, just a quick “bleeghhk”. Immediately, Otis stood up from his bed, took a step toward the television, and in what I suspect was a sympathy puke, unceremoniously gakked up a single dog treat (the last thing he’d eaten). No gagging or retching, no apparent distress, just a quick “bleeghhk”. I cleaned it up, he licked his lips a few times, showed some interest in eating it again once I picked it up (nope, sorry Otis, too gross for me) and went back to his bed where he spent the rest of the evening relaxing in evident comfort.
I suppose it could have been a coincidence, but the timing was so perfect and the action so unusual (Otis is not a frequent puker, fortunately) that I can’t help but wonder- was Otis actually responding to the TV hyaena? I know that unrelated adult dogs will sometimes vomit food for pups- is this exclusively triggered by the puppies’ begging, or does hearing/seeing another adult throwing up trigger a sympathy reaction in dogs as it often does in humans?
Mary K. says
Sunshine here today in Illinois! Finally! We have persisted through what seems like weeks of gray, wind, rain, mixed in with some snow flurries! The last three days we had been deluged with so much rain that the local schools had to close due to flooding. The sun feels like seeing an old friend and receiving a warm embrace. Yea!
We too had some ducks take advantage of some makeshift “lakes” in low lying areas. The neighborhood Labs were having great fun in their new swimming holes too! When life hands you lemons……..
Beth with the Corgis says
em, excellent question about empathy puking! Just curious, has Otis ever done this in real life? I know mine both respond to the sounds of animals in distress on the tv (Maddie barks whenever she hears a dog bark, be it tv, radio, or real life, but Jack does not. Both, however, look concerned and clearly respond to whines, pain-yips, or mewls, whether from dogs or other baby animals). Never seen a sympathy-puke. I was going to suggest that empathy gestures might be a great blog topic when I saw Jack twice do a full body shake-off in direct response to another dog’s shake-off when he was not directly involved, and was showing no apparent signs of stress himself. It reminded me of empathy yawning in humans.
So the “empathy puking” might be something similar, or maybe related to the way humans tend to get ill at the mere sound of another human being ill.
Rose C says
This is not really related to empathy but more to the puking. I used to find it gross too when my dogs went back to what they threw up until I attended a class held by a vet and he mentioned that regurgitation is natural in dogs. Since then, I let my dogs take it back (they don’t do it too often and I don’t let them take it back if it was some slimy gastric acid type, only when it is food or treats they just had). My younger dog is so funny being one who will eat anything or do anything for food. One time when she threw up, she went for the regurgitated food so fast before I can reach down as if telling me, “Oh wait, I want that back!” I’m probably grossing you all out by my post, sorry guys! I was just trying to say that often, I try to let my dogs be what they are unless it is a situation that can be harmful to them. The same thing as poop-eating (since I had you all grossed out already anyway). My most dreaded problem behavior when my dogs we pups was poop-eating. Most dreaded because first, it is gross, and secondly, I was afraid I might not know how to correct it. So when I realized for sure that my younger dog was doing it (I did say she is a dog who would eat anything), my heart crumbled. What I did was to first find out why dogs do that. This helped me understand my dog and that understanding the possible reasons why dogs might do it, the subject or the thought wasn’t as gross to me as it did before. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t encourage her nor let her keep doing it but understanding things how dogs know or see them will give us some insights and probably not feel so grossed out about certain things that sometimes can just be natural to them. By the way, I managed the issue by controlling environment and situations so she doesn’t do the behavior. Left to an opprtunity, I know she still will (she only does for hers and my other dog, she don’t do it for the ones left scattered in the curbs or the dog park). Told you my post is totally unrelated. Now back to mirror empathy . . . .
em says
@ Beth
As far as I know, he’s never thrown up in response to another dog vomiting (I’m trying to recall an occasion in which he might have been in the presence of another dog throwing up and drawing a blank, though). I would say that Otis is a keen observer of gestures and vocalizations and is particularly responsive to babies of any species. He’ll come running, looking very concerned, if he hears a baby cry or a puppy yip in real life, and pays close and concerned attention to noises of baby animals on TV.
Twice he’s barked, from a distance thankfully, but loudly and with very serious intent in response to a shrieking child (the first time was a little girl having a five-alarm tantrum being dragged along by her mother, the second was a little girl in the passenger seat of a bicycle rickshaw shrieking in delight). For non-barky Otis, these were significant reactions.
As far as possible empathy reactions go, I’m not sure. I’ve often seen him poop almost at the same time as another dog in his play group poops- sometimes several dogs at once, all of whom had been in the park varying lengths of time, and nowhere near one another in the field, suggesting that they are not trying to overmark with poop. One starts to go, and the the rest move a polite distance away and do likewise. I’ve often wondered what is going on there.
He does shake off when other dogs near him shake off, but I always figured he was just very sensitive to being splattered with droplets of water- if he gets hit with a single drop, he’ll shake his whole body- and learned to shake by habit, even when the other dogs don’t wet him. It might well be empathy, but I’d never considered it.
The idea of empathy reactions in dogs certainly is an interesting one, though! A good distraction from the muddy cold weather, to be sure.
Rose C says
. . . mirror neurons and empathy, I mean.
Don Hudson says
Patricia, I, too, was taken by the reference to psychiatric
service dogs. I am a neophyte when it comes to training service dogs; I have just begun, the month, attending some training sessions for Occupaws, Inc. observing a class of 12 week old puppies. This past week the puppies were taken to the local fire station and paraded around in a circle. Each revolution of the circle the firemen, paramedics, first responders, etc. had on a new piece of equipment or clothing until they were completely dressed in their full gear. This is including face masks and oxygen tanks – turned on.
The reasons for doing this are pretty obvious (I think) but the Q & A afterwards was equally interesting. For example, they asked how do you approach a service dog that is protecting its person? This time is critical and no one wants to get hurt or hurt anything in the process, but this is still a life or death situation until they know differently for sure.
The answer was interesting. I’m sure you are way ahead of me on this. The Occupaws trainers said, “Number one, smile. Look at yourselves on a run and you aren’t at the scene. If you see anything else but the sternest expression and the most focused, huge eyes (kind of just like the dog the instant before it attacks), and the mouth set in the most serious clench it would be rare. Now imagine you come bursting through the door, perhaps with an axe in your hand, what is that dog supposed to think?
Number 2 is really simple. No emergency vehicle, of any kind, should be without a bag of kibble and probably high value snacks. No emergency responder, of any kind, should be without a small plastic bag of high value treats.
Number 3 Every service dog of any kind is taught the command “Place”. And that means the dog goes to a specific, sits, and waits for the release command. Now, in this high stress situation, this command might not work, but more times than not, it will.
Now, why is there a controversy over psychiatric service dogs? Are people saying psychiatric conditions are not disabilities? If they are disabilities, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, don’t these people have the same rights as the blind, deaf, crippled, “seizeured” (my word), etc? If this was a debate topic, what would the affirmative argument be and the negative argument? Without stepping on student’s rights to privacy, can you tell me how the arguments are framed?
For what it’s worth, the whole topic is enormously interesting. Did you think this up, or your students? Where were you when I was in school? You don’t have to even respond to that.
Beth with the Corgis says
Whoops, in case I was not-so-clear above, by “shake-off” I was referring to the “We’re all cool here” calming signal that dogs use as opposed to the shaking they do when wet.
I have generally seen dogs do this when play gets over-exuberant and might have escalated to a spat but they “shake it off” instead, or after a tense situation, or when coming down from high adrenaline and switching to another activity (moving from intense play to focusing on the handler, etc). But recently the dogs went to the vet for their kennel cough vaccine, and Maddie had hers first. When done, she shook it off, and despite the fact that Jack was elsewhere absorbed with eating peanut butter, he immediately shook as well. And before that, we foolish humans accidentally put two dogs (who know each other well and get along fine) in the position of approaching each other head on while leashed. We were about 25 feet away yet when the little Shih Tzu did a shake-off (I think he was mildly stressed by the head-on approach, or indicating to Jack that it was not his mistake but his stupid human’s). Jack instantly shook it off too, despite the fact that at the moment before he was totally relaxed, smiling, soft eyes, soft ears, etc— not a speck of tension on him yet he did the shake-off in response to the other dog’s.
Totally off-topic, of course….
001mum says
yes, it is a disappointing,delayed spring here as well. Trish, I do believe your weather speeds immediate east and a tad north of the 49th parallel.
It has been difficult not having the steady ongoing influence of sunshine. 48 hours ago it was 23 C and I was so friggin’ hot. The dog was dragging after a long run. Thursday evening I actually had my sandals on and needed a short sleeved top. Today, back to my three layers,wool socks and leather mitts. Snow flurries cutting through the fields with a bitter sharpness and variable sunshine was discouraging.
However, (as I told my spouse a few days ago) dogs (or other animals) don’t wait for sunny, warm days to get outside and nor do I. Our phrase is “dogs don’t wait for good weather” and we all know there is betterweatherahead! so out we go.
Today pup and i had some awkward puddle jumping in the soggy fields. Too many times that shallow spot of water ended up being ankle/foot deep. Pup was a trooper and did a few foot shakes if he ended up in deep grassy water.
We have tons and tons of robins around us, noisy waker-uppers for sure! Cardinals ?in love, sending soft messages treetop to treetop. Bunnies everywhere (why can’t they have birth control?) and I will say the one (of two) things (that I have a difficult time dealing with) is pup eating the rabbit poo. nibble,nibble,nibble on and on and on………………….
Pup also eats sticks, ALL the time. I can use food,toys,voice as a distraction but dear lord he LOVES his sticks. My microscopic, intuitive eyes (lol) can to stop him with a “leave it” some of the time, but darn it, he is closer to the ground and isn’t the one watching for traffic and bikes and wayward
off-leash dogs.
Today a few of my tulips are in bloom
http://www.theplantexpert.com/springbulbs/Tulip14Greigii.html
and the johnny-jump-ups are in denial-cold and shivery they are.
Yesterday I bought a Smoochy Poochy hands-off leash. It can go around the waist but I found it slung across my shoulder absolutely miraculous. It uses my core to keep pup on track with me and no more pulling on my arm/shoulders/neck. Most of the time he’s fairly good but those very attractive sticks……. When in the field I attach it to a 10 foot nylon line and off we go. I am happy as a pig in mud!
Regarding service dogs: I personally know four people who have service dogs (my foster pups).
The “depth and breadth and height” (E.B.B. Sonnet 43) that these dogs have changed lives to allow for greater mobility and autonomy is immense and inspiring. I am quite sure every match is not perfect but when it’s done well, it’s done very,very well. I have great faith in the psychiatric service dog and their ability to calm their client. A good friend counsels military personnel with PTSD and thus far their canines offer as much as, if not more, than years of ongoing therapy offers.My hope is that all dogs will be loved without parallel and cared for throughout their life.
In this windy spring weather i have had all my quilts,pillows and blankets out in the air at least once,such a glorious fresh smell when going to bed at night!
Martina says
Our biggest problem this winter was the lack of sun. Statistics say that sun hours were down by 50% the first months of this year.
While they still get snow in the mountains surrounding us, the upper Rhine valley decided it won’t let spring get away. Everything’s sprouting, many trees are in bloom with cherries and peaches on the forefront, plums, pears and apples seem to hold out for the moment.
While it’s too too early to plant vegetables, the tomato house has been prepared, so it’ll serve as parking spot for the ones already bought.
Walks are more interesting for the dogs and I can finally take Gina swimming, I prefer a dog wet from swimming over one wet from rain. Everything is news for Mailo, who was born last August. And despite coming from a place with similar climate to ours, he had trouble coping earlier this week when we had a short glimpse of summer with temperatures above 20 degrees (Celsius).
So he did what he always does when he doesn’t know what to do, he copies Robby’s behaviour. Which could happen a bit more often, in my opinion, cause whenever it looks like (dog-)fun, he does what Gina does, and that include lots of icky stuff.
We also installed a very basic agility park in the garden, to work on some basic commands while our mantralling-trainer is on vacation. Going through it with Robby, Mailo follows like his smaller shadow. Having him work it alone is not that successful – not yet.
My favourite head image (unfortunately the camera was inside) is while I’m mowing the lawn, Robby and Mailo are lying in the shadow and in the first minutes Mailo constantly looks from lawn mower to Robby and back and then settles to ‘chilling’.
Nicola says
We’ve been having the opposite problem Down Under, at least where I am – summer is refusing to go! The days are getting shorter, but the temperatures are staying high – 30C (86F) in the middle of Autumn. Though some parts of the country are getting snow at the same time…
I love autumn – not many colourful leaves, but cooler days after the heat of summer, yet not cold enough to cause my old dog problems with her arthritis.
Nic1 says
Sounds like you need a holiday Trisha!
We have had one of the coldest springs in living memory here in the UK. Some unfortunate farmers have been digging a lot of dead ewes and lambs out of the drifts. One farmer on the Shropshire/Welsh border lost nearly 200. Heartbreaking emotionally and financially.
It did warm up this weekend though – my dog had to cool off in as many muddy drainage dykes as possible of course. Why is it that dogs so love muddy, smelly water to splash around in, yet look at you as if you are about to torture them when it’s bath time at home?!
Mireille says
Here in the Netherlands spring has finalky arrived and it is a dry one. The wind is still cold though (Easter was ridiculously cold ….) . I guess I don’t really mind, since the nights are still cold I can still go scootering in the morning and the guys reallys needed to burn of some energy. Especially Spot was being very obnoxious on leash 🙂
Donna in VA says
Holy moly. I guess I won’t be feeling sorry for myself any time soon! I hope everything turns out well.
Roberta says
The lamb photos are wonderfully precious.
I’m downstream of all your rain, in SE MO, and am preparing my house and making contingency plans to board dogs (19 here now) if/when flooding compromises our yards/field and utilities. After the rain “passes,” there’s still snow melt from the North, too. Almost makes me want to move back to MT or SD; I can handle snow better than a flood.
Prayers for the lambs needing supplements and for you, working through the tunnel.
Margaret McLaughlin says
I too would love to hear more on the psychiatric service dog issue, & on service dogs in general.
Full disclosure–I raise puppies for a guide dog school (number 18 is rolling around under my feet as I type)–so I’m not exactly unbiased.
Susan S. says
My mother would have said this Spring weather is Wisconsin has been “for the birds”. If I had had my camera ready yesterday I could have caught three Loons, two Ospreys, & two Sandhill Cranes in one frame, migratory guys who are still around. I walked out of the house Monday night, turned around & came right back in to write “spring peepers ’13” on my calendar. Everything’s weeks late. The muddy dog has been getting underbody flushes with the hose from the laundry sink.
Beth with the Corgis says
Don, I may be wrong but I think that perhaps the controversy lies not with whether or not the dogs help, but with how stressful it is to the dogs. Dogs tend to be pretty empathetic towards their people, and people who have behavioral or mood changes related to an illness can upset the dog (depending on the dog). Being an autism dog is a very different life than being a seeing eye dog.
Again, I may have misunderstood and apologize if I did.
Rose C says
@Nic1
I think dogs love muddy and smelly water for similar reasons they like to roll on smelly things (called scent rolling). Trisha mentioned in ‘The Other End of the Leash’ how dogs prefer these scents but find scents that we find pleasant (like perfume and cologne) aversive.
Two sites that could help explain scent rolling:
http://wolfcenter.org/scent-rolling.html
http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/scent-rolling-why-do-dogs-like-rolling-in-smelly-scents
My guess is that jumping and playing in smelly muddy water could partly be for the same reason. Either they want the smelly scent on them, or maybe they are trying to cool off, or probably it’s just plain fun. My younger dog jumped in one today and sat there for a little while before coming back to me when I called her. I was really expecting we’d go home dirty after last week’s heavy rainfall — and we did! Oh what fun! 🙂
Beth with the Corgis says
I just realized what I said and want to correct myself: autism is considered, I think, a developmental issue, not a psychiatric one. I sincerely apologize if I offended or hurt anyone with my careless statement. 🙁
Liz Shaw says
I read your blog for all the great training advice. But now I can read it for sheep advice too. I had a couple of ewes this year with engorged udders. Because I didn’t have dynamint readily accessible, I tried some peppermint oil mixed in with bag balm after reading over the theory behind dynamint. Overnight there was a huge change. The ewe actually let her lamb near the teat. I don’t think he approved of the peppermint flavor but she was ready to let him nurse. Funny how you find things in places where you weren’t looking. My lambs and ewes thank you and Ann T.
Dawn C. says
The Spring ephemerals are delayed here (Ontario), by about a week. A walk in the woods last night revealed some bloodroot in bloom, but most of the plants are still in bud, waiting for some warmth. Although a sign of hope today, as the first barn swallow returned!
Alaska says
Count me among those who would love to read a post about the ethics of using psychiatric service dogs. I have no stake in the game, but as a dog person, I get asked a lot about service dogs.
Actually, what I get most is people who assert that an alleged service dog could not be legitimately providing a service, because the associated human is obviously not blind. I welcome the opportunity for raising awarenss of the many potential uses of service dogs, but am wary of passing any judgement about a specific dog-handler pair unless I know them.
Trisha says
Catching up: I never thanked you, Alexis, for the tip about lecithin, thanks so much for mentioning it. I’ll do some research tonight and see if I can discover if it is safe for sheep. Poor Spot is now the one having the most trouble, the peppermint cream isn’t helping her I’m afraid (so glad it helped Liz’s though!).
Apologies that I’m not sure of the species of the flowers, they look a great deal like Scilla, but a bit larger and lighter than the others I have. Anyone think that’s a good guess?
Is gagging contagious? What an intriguing question! I have to admit I’ve never seen any sign of it in dogs, (although certainly gagging in people can elicit a desire to do the same!) But dogs aren’t sick when they regurgitate, and we all know they can do it as a matter of course (not surprising since that is how early dogs first fed their young their first meat), so it’s hard to imagine that hearing another dog gag would elicit a disgust response in another dog. But em, I am still intrigued and will ponder ‘sympathy gagging’ for a long time to come! Thanks for the diversion!
Terrible news Nic1 about the cold spring and dead lambs in the UK. I hope things have vastly improved. We finally had a gorgeous spring day on Saturday, sunny and in the 40’s and 50’s. We spent much of it in the barn with poor Spot and the bottle lambs, and exhausted ourselves during “break” clearing brush. In other words, we could barely move on Sunday….
Last (for now anyway), I’m so glad to see that so many of you are interested in the issue of Psychiatric Service Dogs. I will definitely put that down for a future blog topic, because it deserves more attention than I can give it in a comment. But quickly, for this thread, the students were charged with writing an objective paper about the positives and potential negatives of PSDs. The positives are relatively obvious, so I’ll just briefly mention that the “negatives” (as mentioned by others, not the student’s opinions) are 1) more research is needed on the dog’s effectiveness in certain contexts and 2) the welfare of the dog: is the work too stressful, are the dogs in any danger? 3) problems with the dogs being accepted by the public/airlines, etc, because there is no visible disability. I’m not going to go into it in any more detail on this thread, but will absolutely make it a blog topic because it deserves more room than I can manage here. If you have comments I’d ask that you hold them for when I post a blog about it, so that everyone interested in the topic can profit from your thoughts and experience.
Laura says
Tricia,
I just wanted to say thank you for clearing up the idea of work being too stressful for the PSDs. I was thinking before your comment that others were refering to service dogs in general. Anyway, I’ll save my other comments for that specific post.
As for Sprinter, and yes, that’s what we’re calling it up here in MN. I think our weather people are afraid to go on the nightly newscasts and speak for fear of snowballs being flung at them. We even had a twitter feed going for one of them under the tag blame Jerid. Poor guys, they’re just the messengers, but another 4 to 8 inches of heavy, siment like snow is supposed to land right across the Twin Cities tonight. All I can do is keep repeating the mantra of hope I think we’re all murmuring at this point, “60ies this weekend… 60ies this weekend… 60ies this weekend.” Seamus puts up with the wet snow. In fact, he just came in from a little walk around the building with a coworker and was wet from rain, but he doesn’t seem to mind. He does smell like wet dog though. I think the only thing that confuses him is when snow drifts and mounds from plows are in our way. He believes he has to clear them for me and if we have to climb over them, he gets confused and concerned.
Also, at M and Beth, I loved your comments regarding empathy behaivor. I don’t know why this is, but everytime someone sneezes in the house, Seamus runs over and climbs into the sneezers lap, all wiggles and snuffling wags. My sister, who has a cold, sneezed loudly yesterday and over ran the dog, and I have no idea why he does this. Is it the noise? Is it the violence of the action in the person’s body? And my other dogs didn’t seem to care. Perhaps it’s just this dog. One of my friends says it’s a golden retriever trait, but I’m just not sure. Anyway, it got me to thinking about that. Also, if Seamus throws up food or treats and he clearly wants to re-eat them, I let him. If he walks away from the vomit, I clean it up. I know it’s gross, but hey, if he wants to eat it and I know it’s ok, why not? It beats me cleaning it up and he does a better job than me. Anyhow, I hope the lambies are doing well, as well as their Mamas and I’m just repeating what I saw in the forcast. “60ies this weekend.” Please Mother Nature… please?
Trisha says
“Sprinter” absolutely cracked me up! Perfect! But I have to say (sorry), that it is actually sunny right now! Wheeeee! I’m taking the flock up the hill, have to go up with them because the orphan lamb (rejected by his mom) won’t follow the sheep and stays bawling in the barn. Someone has to teach him to eat grass!
Frances says
Now that is a wonderful image to send me off to bed smiling – you on your hands and knees demonstrating to an uncooperative lamb how to eat grass. I know that is probably not how it is done, but that is the picture that flashed into my mind!
Beth with the Corgis says
I don’t let mine eat hacked up food or treats because my experience with my own dogs is if they eat right after vomiting, they just vomit again. Double yuck. Triple yuck. But of course every dog is different in that regard. I usually let mine rest their bellies for a couple hours before feeding again.
Laura, that’s funny about Seamus and the sneezing. I’ve never had a dog do that. Wouldn’t you love to know what he’s thinking? One of mine runs over, worried, if anyone says “ouch” even in a perfectly normal tone of voice. How did he pick that up? He looks like he wants to help out. He behaves the same way if another dog yips.
ABandMM says
Down here in South Florida, summer seems to be arriving early in the form of afternoon thunderstorms and humidity. I thought this weather wasn’t supposed to arrive until late May/early June. Needless to say, I have had to prep my girl’s “storm room”… the guest bathroom, the only room from which she cannot see the flashes of lightening. With respect to storms, she is very good and just goes and lies down in the bathroom (we have had dogs that shook violently and tried to climb the walls, fireplace, lamps). She now has a new bed so should be very comfortable :).
With respect to the Psychiatric Service Dogs future blog post…. Can you also comment on accrediation for the organizations that train these dogs? What I wonder (worry) about is people trying to “game the system” and claim that their personal pet is actually a service dog that reduces his/her anxiety (or depression) so that they can take their dog anywhere they want.
So I guess what I’m interested in is what training and skills (both basic as a service dog and specific that is tailored to their human) do PSD’s have? Who verifies that the dog is adequately trained to carry out the tasks that its human partner needs assistance with? Who (or what organizations) verify that the human does indeed need the assistance of a PSD. As someone mentioned, psychiatric conditions are not obvious like blindness or someone with a physical disability. As such, I think without some sort of accrediation on a state and/or national level, people will find loopholes and/or dogs will be “certified” as a service dog without really having all the skills needed to function in public places in that role.
Trisha says
Frances: Actually, your picture was right on… Trish down on her hands and knees, ripping grass with her paws and stuffing it toward her mouth. (I draw the line at eating it.) Good news: Today, after about 30 min up the hill and on the edge of the flock, Ralph (yup, that’s his name now) finally wandered toward his sister and brother and I was able to sneak down the hill without him noticing. Here’s what is most interesting to me: While I was ‘grazing’ he barely even sniffed the ground, but once he got in the flock and beside his siblings he immediately put his head down and began to nibble grass. Apparently I have flunked “sheep impostering 101.” I guess I’ll keep my day job.
Rose C says
Trisha, regarding psychiatric service dogs, could you please elaborate in your future post on their function. This is the first time I am hearing about psychiatric service dogs. I had the same thought as ABandMM that some people might take advantage of this just to be able to take their dogs anywhere with them (even if theirs is not a service dog). But on second thought, I also thought that maybe psychiatric dogs do not have to accompany their human team partner everywhere unlike seeing, seizure alert, or hypoglycemia alert dogs.
Looking forward to your post on this subject.
Frances says
I think I shall be grinning at that all day long, Trisha!
We have been walking through fields of sheep and lambs a lot recently (round here, “field” and “lambs” are practically synonymous around here at this time of year). I have been fascinated by the behaviour of the older appearing ewes, who don’t seem to have lambs with them (they may have stashed them in the creche over in the most sheltered spot, of course). These are the ewes that are on watch, while the younger looking Mums graze, and leave it almost too late to get their lambs safely out of the way. I would swear they are Grandmothers, with inexperienced daughters! I take great care to keep the dogs under close control, and to give the sheep and lambs time and space so they are never spooked, and most ewes calmly remove themselves and their lambs from our path in plenty of time, but there are just a few who don’t seem to notice us -at all until Grandma eventually persuades them to shift.
Kerry M. says
I know I’m about a month late for this topic request, but I’ve been unsuccessfully researching nature vs. nurture take on resource guarding from humans for about a week now. I’ve gotten into a couple of spirited debates about what brings this about.
My (completely unscientific theory) seems to be a common one, but I’ll detail it so you know my bias. Some dogs will never resource guard no matter the environment. Some dogs will resource guard with very little provocation. Some dogs could go either way depending on early environment. I don’t think this is a terribly controversial stance, but what I’d love to know is how many dogs fit in each bucket and that’s where the debate comes in. I think I would put most dogs in the “won’t do it no matter what”. This is anecdotally based on how many times I see people reaching into their dogs to pull something amazing (to the pups) out of their mouths. This is such an instinctual response that most people even do it right after we have just taught “drop it” as “let’s trade” when their dog grabs something inappropriate.
The only families I’ve had who are fully compliant with NEVER EVER grab something out of your dog’s mouth are the ones who have a resource guarder. And if I’m being honest, I also will reach down and grab something from my own pup at times when there isn’t a true emergency, my “ick” response was just too strong and overpowered my reason.
When I tried my google-fu to get an answer, I couldn’t find anything that seemed definitive. Most resources throw out, “there is a genetic component”, but I haven’t seen any citations or any explanation of how strong the component is.
This is how the question was originally brought up, if you have a family who has a pup who started resource guarding around 3 months, should the family trust another dog from that breeder? And should the breeder trust that family with another pup? In this specific instance, my understanding is that both family and breeder have lost trust with each other so they are going to go their separate ways, but is one more right than the other?
Thanks for considering this topic and for reading my long (very off-topic) post!
ABandMM says
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/22/v-fullstory/3358906/the-dogfight-between-south-florida.html
Here is one scenario of potential abuse with respect to PSDs and how a chiropractor and an endocrinologist are allowed to certify that someone needs an “emotional support” dog. There are legitimate reasons as to why somone needs a PSD, and that dog has to undergo specialized training. It is people like those discussed in this article (claiming their pet is an emotional support dog/service dog) that will make it harder for actual PSDs and their humans to gain acceptance.
Laura says
Tricia,
Glad to make you laugh with Sprinter. It’s sunny here today, gloriously sunny. Yeah we got 3.5 inches of snow last night, but it’s already melting so I’m just looking forward to this weekend. Now they’re forcasting 70ies… Dare I hope? Anyway, I’m glad Ralph, the little guy made it out of the barn. When you said he stayed in the barn and cried, I felt my heart squeeze. I can’t stand to hear little children or animals cry. I just have an instant reaction to go up and hug what ever is crying or making painful sounds. Anyway, don’t ever be sorry for having good weather. Your sheep need it more than we do up here in the city.
At Beth,
yeah, I don’t know what to think about Seamus’s behavior. I mean it’s as if he’s afraid something terrible happened to you. He jumps into your lap and just is completely in snuggle mode. Perhaps I’ll never understand it, but it always makes me giggle and that is great when I’m sick. Of course he couldn’t have cared less when I fell down a flight of stairs and hurt my foot. He didn’t even look back at me, just ran into the kitchen towards his food dish… Fuzzy weirdo. 🙂
Gin Gin Bon Bon says
Oh my god. I had a blocked milk duct yesterday and this morning (on myself!) and it was TERRIFYING. I recommend an anti-inflammatory and painkiller cocktail if that is doable for sheep. I think the ibuprofen and acetaminophen really helped me. Maybe that and enough hot compresses and massage will help push down the blockage and you can pick it out of the nipple. Good luck, ewe!
Beth with the Corgis says
Kerry, I have two very closely related dogs from the same breeder, one who will resource guard in certain circumstances (I consider him to be on the very mild end of the guarding spectrum; easily modified/easily handled) and one who would not resource guard if she were starving to death and you actually pulled hunks of liver from her mouth. I don’t want to go too far down that discussion path because I am terribly guilty of going off-topic in posts, but I think that it’s a shame both parties lost trust because it’s such a normal dog trait that even the most careful breeder can end up with a resource guarder, and conversely how the dog is handled when he starts guarding seriously impacts the end result.
Beth with the Corgis says
If there is a blog on resource guarding, I’d be curious to see if there is any link between litter size and resource guarding. Some puppies come home already growling over food bowls. It would seem to make intuitive sense that puppies from large litters, where they have to compete from Day 1 over nipples, would be more inclined to behave this way, but of course intuitive sense is not always correct!
Kerry M. says
That’s an interesting question about litter size. That would be an intriguing variable to look at. I keep thinking about the study that looked at shyness that found that on average, a shy mom will have shy pup. Will a resource guarding mom have resource guarding pups? And I’m thinking about human resource guarding. Not dog-dog, which I believe is far more common.
To get back to the topics in the post, I am also very interested in the debate about psychiatric service dogs.
Rose C says
Beth, I love that thought on possible link between resource guarding and litter size! I’m excited to hear Trisha’s and everyone’s input on this subject.
Nic1 says
Resource guarding, like shyness/fearfulness is highly selected for isn’t it? If you have to fight over a nipple, as Beth says, then the propensity to guard perhaps kicks in earlier? Otherwise, you’d have a tough time surviving. Resource guarding can be modified through classical conditioning at any stage so the behaviour seems to be more governed by the environment than genetics, as I understand it anyway. Fascinating!
Beth says
Nic1, I think the difference between resource guarding and, say, shyness is that my understanding is virtually ALL wolves will resource-guard, regardless of rank— relative rank may determine who gets first dibs, but any wolf will guard food he is already in possession of (I’m just going by what I’ve read; obviously I have absolutely no first-hand knowledge).
So resource guarding is in the genetic background of just about all dogs, and it can pop up even in dogs who are bred from kind and non-guarding parents. I would think that some personalities are more inclined to resource-guard than others, but I have heard of serious resource guarding in otherwise sweet dogs of virtually all backgrounds, breeds, mixes, sizes, types, etc etc etc.
You are right about conditioning — it’s usually an easy fix in all but the most intense guarders. But you can really mess it up and make it worse if you follow some of the really bad advice out there on the internet, and if you did not already know the advice was bad, it can sound reasonable, so kind and well-meaning people with the best of intentions make it worse. I’ve had a few big “Why the heck did I do THAT” moments myself. Hindsight being 20/20 and all.
Beth says
And once it dawned on me how fiercely PEOPLE resource guard, my emotional reaction to resource guarding in dogs did a complete 180 and now I view it in a whole new light. Still condition away from it, of course, but I don’t get alarmed or offended or any of those other perfectly natural emotions.
Trisha says
Resource guarding is another thread that could lead to an entire blog, but I will say here that I would love to see research looking for predictors in resource guarding. I’ve seen hundreds if not thousands of them, and don’t have any sense of a predictable pattern (small litter, large litter, starved as pup, spoiled as pup). I have seen pups guard at extremely young ages, and suspect that genetics must play a role, but I am truly speculating. Beth, I love your comment about how often people do exactly the same behavior. Just look at young children who show you their new toy, but pull it away when you try to reach for it! I have had a lot of luck treating resource guarding in most dogs; the only exceptions are dogs who are extreme in their behavior and around very young children. That scenario has the least optimistic prognosis, but again, those were extreme cases.
Rose C says
Nic1, Trisha had discussed on a lecture how being a ‘single litter’ puppy could be a factor in dogs who has developed low frustration tolerance possibly because there were no other littermates to ‘fight’ with during feeding time. The thought of a newborn pup having to fight over Mom’s nipple against even more littermates may have some link to resource guarding as adults (of course, there are other forms of resource guarding as well but the motivation in the dog probably is the same). My understanding of behaviors is that there are certain behaviors that onset within a limited critical period and if a puppy is not exposed to such situations, it may not develop the skill to deal with that issue. I’m just throwing things out here, I can’t contain my excitement on the subject when Beth mentioned it. I can’t wait to hear what Trisha and everyone knows and can share about it.
Rose C says
Ooopps, I didn’t check out the more recent posts and now I see Trisha had responded to the subject.
Will be looking forward to a future post on the subject.
Becky says
We’ve had a pretty soggy spring so far but today it’s 19 C and sunny! The grass is coming in and soon my horses will be happy campers (I’m trying my hand at management intensive grazing this year and the horses are still stuck in the sacrafice paddock. I reseeded the good pastures, so they’re stuck there for a couple more weeks yet.) My meat chicks come on Thursday and will be in the brooder for three weeks and then move on out to the chicken tractors. I love when I can get things done!
On the down side, my poor dog’s allergies are brutal and he’s scratching himself raw, even though he’s full of antihistamines. 🙁
Beth with the Corgis says
Trisha, I frequent another doggie forum that has a lot of new puppy owners, and resource guarding is the one thing that scares people and makes them think “dominance” because having a puppy growl when you come near their food is scary if you are not expecting it. Jack started grumbling around his bowl at about 11 weeks of age and so I did a few hours of online looking before settling on the ASPCA-recommended method. Worked very well.
Anyway, I have had success in putting it in perspective for people by asking how they would feel if they were eating lunch and their boss came and just took it. Or if they sat down to a nice dessert in a restaurant and the waiter swept it away. Or even if they were eating their first meal in 12 hours and their much-loved spouse dug a fork in, uninvited. It makes people realize that authority or respect have little to do with it; no matter how much we respect people or love other people, we feel strongly that what is ours, is ours.
When asked to put themselves in their dogs’ furry little shoes, most people have an “aha!” moment. Alas, some people still punish the dog by taking away his food. 🙁
Nic1 says
Beth – great point about people and guarding. Once you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. The genetics of it are really what gets my juices flowing. RoseC – From what Trisha has experienced RG would still seem to be a highly prevalent behaviour. Yet the domestic dog more or less has there every whim taken care of in the domestic environment. Guarding food and objects even when there are a whole ton of other similar food stuff and objects lying around seems a bit of a waste of energy. So much of the genome is of course attributed to switching things on and off and not necessarily coding for specific proteins in their own right. If it is genetic, it must be extraordinarily complex, under environmental control, yet dominant? Is it hard wired?
Rose C says
Nic1, I agree. Although, I am apt to believe that it is, and again, a combination of many factors. (I notice many of the behaviors we have mentioned in the discussions always come down to a combination of factors.) It could be genetics, with the genetic predisposition reinforced by environmental factors such as: not getting the chance to be exposed to situations where a dog gets the chance to learn the needed behavioral skill, or that the dog has remained in a situation where its owner has allowed it to display resource guarding without correcting the behavior. Although with regard to your point that it seems like a waste of energy to be guarding food/objects when resources are not scarce, I’m guessing that the domestic dog does not really have the concept that food (or object) resources are actually abundant (no scientific basis here, just my opinion). I think wild canids would have more of this ‘concept’ given their continued need to hunt and survive. They have to remain cunning and bold. And if it’s not the amount of resources, then maybe it’s more genetics plus a learned behavior (or unlearned skill).
Nic1 says
Hi Rose C – Yes of course, cognitively the dog can’t rationalise with regard to abundant resources. What also fascinates me is why some dogs will guard things like balls or toys but will happily give up food, bones etc. Hope Trisha blogs about this in the future too. Would love to hear more from her and others on this too!
Beth says
I’m sure there is a genetic component to resource guarding. But it can be so situational that it is probably harder to trace than some behaviors.
Some dogs guard everything, including the ground they stand on. Others are only inclined to guard in some circumstances.
Jack will happily lick yogurt from a dish with Maddie, nose to nose, tongues actually bumping into each other’s faces, without even flicking an ear. If I drop a handful of treats on the floor, I guarantee there will not be a fight or even a hard stare between my two dogs (but Jack will get the lion’s share). But Maddie had better not go near Jack’s own food bowl while he’s eating, or he will defend it very loudly.
Jack does not guard possessions from people at all, unless another dog is nearby and has been actively trying to steal that possession. Then he will transfer his guarding to the person. I learned that the hard way.
So it would be possible to have a dog that might resource guard in the right circumstances, but never see that behavior because you are not exposing them to the circumstance.
Nic1 says
Fascinating observations Beth! I wonder if you dropped the treats with a dog that Jack doesn’t live with, but knew and got along with, would his behaviour be the same? There seem to be so many environmental variables at play, but it does appear that some dogs really care about some things more than others. My dog has the propensity to guard balls but will happily indulge in some high value food exchange, but only in the house. Not when she is outside on a walk! Goodness, we can have some fun with this topic!
Rose C says
Nic1,
No, I didn’t even assume you were referring to it as dogs being able to rationalise that resources are abundant. We’re on the same page. It’s more like how animals perceive and respond to the things around them within the realm that they live in and operate on. And my statement was just to point out the difference between the domestic dog and the wild canids and how the domestic dog’s evolution and adaptation could have brought the differences in the functions of the behavior.
Rose C says
. . . motivation and function of the behavior, I should say.
Kat says
An interesting discussion re: resource guarding. My two, from very different backgrounds and upbringing, resource guard in very different circumstances. I’ve seen almost no guarding from other canines by Ranger; in fact I’ve seen him give one of his bones to a visiting stray. He occasionally refuses to share the couch with Finna but mostly he’ll move over and share with her but that’s about the only resource guarding I’ve seen from him re: other dogs. He’ll guard what to him are novel objects from us but is always willing to trade for them. In fact I sometimes think his resource guarding in this context is actually a trading game. Finna who was literally raised in the backyard by a pack of dogs (she came from a hoarding situation) resource guards all sorts of things from Ranger, the cats and my husband, but does not resource guard anything from me or my two children. It’s quite interesting watching how differently they regard resources. Ranger almost seems to have a concept of plenty in that he only guards novel/scarce items. Finna who had to fight for her share of resources has no concept of plenty and guards food, toys, me, and anything else she wants. Slowly she is learning to share.
Nic1 says
Gotcha Rose! Motivation is a key operative here it would seem. It’s fascinating why some dogs are more motivated to guard certain items than others. Stuff that you wouldn’t think would be important to their survival – such as balls and toys in particular. Food I kind of get as it’s essential, but that old beat up tennis ball when there are a couple of new ones lying around too? Fascinating isn’t it?
Beth with the Corgis says
Nic1, Jack is a dog with a lot of rules, and he seems to have a strong drive to follow them. So with him, it’s not so much how much he values the food (he values yogurt more than kibble) or whether or not he knows the dogs well, but who he sees as controlling the resource.
I am fairly sure that in his mind, small treats belong to the humans, and are the humans’ to dole out as they wish. Bite-sized treats are not to be fought over, because Jack does not control them so it is not his place.
If I put a pile of treats on the coffee table (nose level) for nail trims, I can leave the room and he won’t take them. I never trained this behavior. If the cat tries to swipe them, he does not guard them, but he does give attention barks, the same way he would any time he saw something out of place or sees a pet in our home break a rule.
So the reason we don’t have fights over licked human bowls or small handed-out treats is because they are not his, if that makes sense. And he also knows that I play fair and if I drop a treat intended for him and another dog gets it, I’ll give him a new treat. At least that’s how I interpret the sum total of his behaviors.
I’m pretty sure if I threw down a real meaty bone in a group of other dogs that it would get ugly in a hurry. He’d guard then because it’s a large item, able to be carried away, and once it’s on the ground it’s fair game.
I’ve seen him guard sticks from other dogs. Sticks are not a super high-value item. And he would never in a million years guard a stick from a person. In fact, one time (to my extreme horror) an elderly woman who was petting him saw him pick up a small piece of bark, and she grabbed his muzzle and pried his mouth open and fished it out hollering “Drop it! Drop it!” in the blink of any eye. I was frozen in disbelief and stood there like an idiot. Jack did not resist. But another dog? He’ll snarl and pick up the stick and move away.
Maddie won’t guard from anyone, in any circumstance. Is it because she’s naturally submissive to everyone and everything? Or is it a separate trait, totally unrelated to relative rank? I’m not sure.
Nic1 says
@Kat – I agree regarding trading. Lily will happily trade her ball for another ball. She traded happily for cheese today too when out on a walk. But there always has to be something in it for her. We have a ‘ball rank’ in our household. Squeaky Kong balls seem to trump most things in life – including prey – so they have been fantastic as a tool for counter conditioning and getting her attention on me when there are far more interesting distractions in the environment. The importance she attaches to balls have made them invaluable for training purposes, so there is no surprise really that she has a propensity to guard them.
CindyB says
This was so nice to read, now that I’m able to read anything. I have been living in a similar world for what seems like months, but has really only been weeks. Teaching classes, writing, doing seminars and caring for animals is all normal for me, but the recent addition of 12 little goat kids within three weeks knocked me for a loop! We’ve been busier than ever, having had six of those twelve born on the same day, but at the same time I feel like things have been moving in slow motion. Now that they are getting a bit older, life is returning to something close to normal, which feels like stepping out of a dark cave into sunshine that is a bit too bright. Somehow, while we were drowning in activity, leaves have decorated the trees, flowers have bloomed and the winter Oregon rain has stopped. Welcome, Spring!
Rose C says
Trisha, I’m also curious if being territorial is a form of resource guarding as well — maybe? partly? not at all?
Nic1 says
Trisha, I’m also interested in Rose C’s question. Are the more traditionally territorial dogs (guarders, herders, terriers perhaps) more likely to resource guard, perhaps including their owners too? I sometimes wonder if a dog’s reactivity/aggression towards other dogs is complicated by the owners value to him.
Are we OK to keep discussing RG on this thread btw? Many thanks for allowing us to veer off topic.
Trisha says
CindyB: Sounds like our lives are a close match! Glad to hear you are emerging from the tunnel; it’s an amazing feeling, isn’t it?
Donna in VA says
Univ of Wisconsin horticultural extension web site lists Chionodoxa (Glory of the Snow) as a flower closely related to Siberian squill (scilla).
I thought that dogs related sneezing to laughing, so maybe the dogs are running over to see what the joke is. I guess it depends on the person though. My husband sneezes loud enough to scare you out of your shoes.
Trisha says
Working on a blog post about resource guarding right now! 🙂
Rose C says
Donna in VA,
I think it may be possible that a dog has related sneezing to laughing if probably when it first saw and heard a sneeze, maybe people around laughed with the person who sneezed. Maybe the dog associated sneezing as something fun and happy.
I said this because from my experience, my younger dog (Dani) had learned that a chuckle from me means I really liked what she just did and I would notice she will keep doing the act and then again from time to time. I have learned to use chuckling to my advantage by making a chuckle when she displays a silly but acceptable behavior. I try to hold my chuckle when she does something funny yet something that I don’t want her to do (even if I’m dying from laughter inside). It really amazes me how dogs have developed the ability to read us, or at least make something out of what they see from us. The picture of Laura’s Seamus jumping onto sneezer’s laps with tail wagging and all so excited is hilarious. 🙂
Laura says
Donna in Va,
it is hilarious, except when i was sick with a cold. I would have sneezing fits where I couldn’t stop and Seamus would end up pinning me to the bed, draping himself over me with his tail still wagging. I sneezed in the car this morning in fact and up into the front seat he came, harness and all, sniffing my face and pawing at my arm, tail awage. He makes me smile so I don’t try to stop the behavior, it’s just so cute in my opinion.
Dieta says
I’m waiting for the resource guarding post Trisha :). Especially about dogs who guard random items, it’s difficult to predict what she will guard. It could be anything, from a bone to a piece of paper.
Nic1 says
Eagerly waiting for the RG post too. Such a fascinating area of behaviour subject to so many variables and can’t wait to hear Trisha’s and other people’s experiences too.
I had quite a strange, yet profound thought and subsequent emotional reaction today. In a reflective mood, I got to thinking about my mid twenties and early thirties, a time in my life where on paper, it looked like I was actually succeeding and ticking the boxes(the usual material trappings we can sometimes foolishly associate with ‘success’ and emotional fulfillment when we are young). However, it has occurred to me that this was the time in my life when I was actually the most unhappy and felt very unfulfilled. I also made some bad emotionally – based decisions during this time (choice of husband being the biggest). Having grown up with dogs, the one thing missing in my life during this period?
A dog….
This amazing species seem to give me an emotional anchor and sense of stability that I can’t quite understand or put into words…almost like a primal emotional connection. I hope you don’t mind me sharing this on your blog Trisha, but I recently re-read ‘For the Love of a Dog’ and I think you have come the closest to actually articulating this feeling out of anyone.
Kat says
Nic1, your post makes me wonder if there is a negative correlation between happiness and resource guarding. My fundamentally happy Ranger isn’t much of a resource guarder while my damaged dog Finna is becoming less and less of a resource guarder as her mental health/happiness (not sure exactly how best to describe it) improves. I don’t have enough experience with a large population of dogs to judge if that’s true but I do observe that of the people I know it is the ones who are less happy that pursue collecting the most stuff. Interesting thought.
Rose C says
Nic1, thanks for your openness and the confidence that you put in us fellow blog-readers. I myself always grew up with dogs, often as much as five dogs at a time and I have always been totally crazy about dogs. (my favorite volume in our encyclopedia set when I was about 9 yrs old was ‘D’ because I always looked at the dog breeds, I can name so many breeds just by looking at a picture and this is considering that purebreds are very rare in my country then, majority of the dogs are mutts). Life for us was not perfect but I was young and didn’t have responsibilities weighing on me so I’d say, I was content in life. I left my home country to live in the US and being busy with work, working 8, 12, or 16-hrs a day, often 5-7 days a week, I knew I cannot afford to have a dog. After 16 years, by chance, I had to often dog sit for a friend’s client’s dog. I once again felt the same joy that I had as I was growing up around dogs. My Mom passed that following year and I decided to get a dog once again. I named her after my Mom (Ludy for Lourdes) so I can still hug my ‘Mom’ every night. (I was working on her papers to come to the US and was looking forward to hugging her every night but she unexpectedly passed.) Having dogs once again, or I should say this time because I am learning so much about dogs more than I ever knew there was more to dogs than just cute furry pets, made me experience a life so enriched that I missed out on the previous 16 years when I was too busy with the cares of our daily lives. Trisha had used the term ‘nature deficit disorder’ and my dogs helped bring me back to having the right perspectives.
Nic1 says
Kat, perhaps that may well be true? My own dog only seems to get guardy around balls….bones, food, resting places etc. she’s pretty relaxed I have to say. She has never growled or lip curled though. I am just aware of her eyes and body posture and know that the potential is there, if in the wrong hands.
I wonder if the behaviour may well be related to security and happiness set points?Looking forward to Trisha’s thoughts.
Nic1 says
Rose C – Trisha’s blog is almost like a sacred place on the web for dog lovers. The respect for each other’s opinions and ideas is exceptional IMO. I frequent a few other blogs too but the level of intelligence and emotional maturity expressed by fellow bloggers here is amazing. I feel privileged to be allowed to share my thoughts and really love reading what everyone has to share. Of course, Trisha leads by example…..our dogs are all the better for having her share her expertise, experience and amazing empathy with us.
Your story is touching Rose. How sweet to name your dog after your mom and to hug her every day. Having dog is like a grounding experience perhaps? ‘nature deficit disorder’ – I definitely suffered from that in my youth. Even though I am so fortunate to share my life with a wonderful man now, I truly feel that the emotional anchor has been much more firmly rooted with the addition of a dog. I am at my most content and fulfilled when around dogs and out in nature with them.
Beth with the Corgis says
Nic1 and Kat, Jack is a happy, happy dog and he is a (mild) resource guarder. He is also dominant and bossy in most contexts, and extremely intense about everything he does.. However, based on Trisha’s post about RG, non-dominant dogs can also be resource guarders.
Since just about all wild carnivores resource guard, (and even grazers do if resources are limited), I think it is probably a separate trait from other personality attributes.