The Evolution of Play [revisited]
So. This is not the post I had intended. Apparently I am on the road to hell, the one “paved with good intentions.” In my body’s never-ending determination to make my life more F&^*&%^% difficult an adventure, I now have “de Quervain’s Tenosynovitis.” It’s basically two pissed off tendons squeezed inside of a vice (the “first extensor compartment”), or a ramped up version of tendonitis squared. It hurts, a lot sometimes, but that’s not the problem. The most important treatment is to not use your hand. No turning of door knobs and jar lids? I can deal with that. Feed the sheep hay with one arm? Not a problem. Can’t put my watch on? Thank heavens for Jim. (Understatement.)
However, after working on the “Meanwhile . . . ” portion of this post on Saturday, it became obvious that typing makes it much worse. Writing by hand is not impossible, but results in semi-illegible graphic designs suitable for a museum of modern art exhibit.
But, of course, I have nothing to do right now that requires working on my computers or writing by hand. (Insert head exploding emoji here.) Just a gazillion things to do on the “author wants to be writing her next book but needs to bite the bullet and promote her first one” list. And, soon, sign hundreds of books while on book tour in WI and TX. (I hope! Please come–I have a growing sense of terror that no one will come.)
Here’s my work around for us this week: I’m reposting an article I wrote five years ago, in February 2021 about Skip’s arrival as a lousy play partner, and how they evolved into best play buddies ever. Here it is:
I was going to title this “Skip likes it rough,” but, well, you know . . . the internet. But the fact is that Skip came to us loving to play rough and Maggie didn’t, and we’ve gone through a year of managing and conditioning and innovating and despairing and come out the other side with two dogs who absolutely adore each other, and play happily and hard every day. Whew.
Before talking about the two of them, let me preface this by saying that first, play is powerful stuff. As Karen London and I say in Play Together, Stay Together, “Play is fun, but don’t be fooled into thinking it’s just goofy or frivolous.” Play is important for mental health (why not dogs too?), physical fitness, and social relationships. Second, watching dogs play well together is one of my greatest joys in life. I sometimes forget how important it is to my own mental health until for some reason, usually an injury, my dogs could no longer play together. Even Skip’s two weeks off of playing with Maggie after his cryptorchid surgery got me down.
That said, all play is not equal, and play between two dogs can resemble a bad playground experience where Ronnie, in the first grade, won’t stop grabbing you and hugging you, and you get disciplined for finally fighting back . . . Oh, wait. Dogs, we’re talking about dogs.
Good play occurs when both actors are enjoying themselves, when the stronger one “self-handicaps” and avoids overpowering or frightening the other. But that’s not what happened a year ago when we got Skip.
Skip came to us loving to play, but played like a linebacker for the Green Bay Packers (you know, the team who should have won the Super Bowl because Aaron Rodgers is the bomb, not that I’m upset about it or anything). Skip would charge, a freight train of power and muscle, into Maggie, eyes shining, and quite literally run her over. He was, and is, especially fond of hip slamming, and thought it was especially amusing to slam Maggie into the fence. The bottom line is that Skip loves to play, but came with no self-handicapping skills. Here’s a not- great video taken the day after Skip came to us. It will give you some idea of how mouthy and physical Skip was, but it’s not a clear example of how hard he would hip slam Maggie, get on top of her, or simply charge into her at a gazillion miles an hour. Nor is it a good example of how Maggie increasingly became afraid of him. But still, you can see something of his physicality in it, and how Maggie cuts it off:
If you had the sound on, you’ll hear Jim and I agreeing that Maggie was “giving as much as she’s getting.” Ah, how wrong we were.
But, still things looked great those first few days. We kept the dogs separate in the house because Maggie was afraid of Skip in close quarters, but she seemed thrilled to finally have a dog to play with again after Willie died. Maggie is fast and agile, and Skip was not in good condition when we got him. As far as I know, he’d never been in snow before either, so Maggie held all the cards. You can see how much fun she is having in the video below. It made me happier than I can say…
Maggie and Skip appeared to adore each other. Maggie looked like a teenage girl blushed by her first crush on the guy in her French class, and Skip looked like the guy in the class who just discovered girls. And then, Skip got better at playing in the snow, and began slamming into Maggie as if it was the most fun he’d ever had. It possibly was, but Maggie quickly became afraid of Skip. Rather than disciplining him for being a jerk (one of our nicknames for Skip is “d—head,” with apologies to males everywhere), Maggie withdrew and tried to avoid him. I am sure, absolutely sure, that if Maggie had just once laid into him, Skip would have deferred with some sort of canine “Gosh golly gee, Ma’am . . .” and played more politely. But she didn’t.
Here’s where I insert the video showing just how rude Skip was. Oh wait, I don’t have one. I’ve searched all my videos, and I found nothing. I’m guessing that I had my hands full enough trying to monitor and manage their play. You’ll just have to believe me that Skip became ruder and ruder, and Maggie began liking him less and less.
I did all I could, or all I could think of. In the early days Skip was so new I couldn’t count on a recall to work, and any vocal correction scared sound-sensitive Maggie, while having no effect on Skip. But relatively early on I got the two of them playing with toys, and that helped tremendously.
Soon too I had a recall that I could use reliably, so I could simply call Skip off when he began his full out cavalry charge toward Maggie. Whew. Things were looking up–Maggie seemed to enjoy playing with Skip again, and I thought we were free and clear.
And then, in April Skip badly injured a back leg and was off of play for over two months. When he could finally play again, I expected Maggie to be happy to be able to play with him because things had been going so well. On the contrary, against all expectations, she played with him a few times, looking increasingly worried about it, and then refused to go up the hill with him on a walk, much less play with him. I wasn’t going to force her, so I began walking them separately while I pondered how to get them playing again. After a few days of this, Maggie refused to go up the hill at all, even with Skip still in the house, even to work sheep.
Whaaaa . . . ? I still cannot say why this occurred. I searched my brain for answers, talked to my colleagues, mulled, pondered, but never really figured it out. My only guess is that Maggie associated going up the hill with the emotional event that occurred when Skip was injured. “Emotional” it was, because when Skip walked toward me after running into a gate post with his back leg sticking straight out away from his body, I was gutted. It looked like a horrible injury. All the endless months came back, of rehabbing Maggie’s torn cruciate, Willie’s mangled shoulder, and later liver cancer surgery. I envisioned 7-8 months of rehab for a new dog I had just gotten, not long after Willie’s awful death from lung cancer. I relate this not for sympathy, but simply so you understand why my knees buckled and I sobbed into the grass for a very long time. Skip’s affectionate nick name might be d—head, but Maggie’s is “Trisha’s Mood Ring,” so perhaps that was it? And we know that the effects of trauma tend to percolate and strengthen in the brain, sort of a reverse version of wine improving over the years. Perhaps when Skip was able to go up the hill again that trauma was triggered? But what caused it mattered less than what to do about it.
I won’t go into all the details of how I got Maggie back up the hill, but it took six to eight weeks of conditioning Maggie to first walk toward the path up the hill by throwing pieces of chicken ahead of us, then partway up the hill, etc etc. (I didn’t write about it at the time because I needed the time and space to deal with it–more lessons learned when learning about how to deal with my own traumas.) Of course, all this was separate from Skip’s walking and exercise routine, so it kept me busy. (If you’d like more on how I did this just ask, and I’ll make it another post. I will admit to being as pleased with the result as about any training I’ve ever done, because Maggie seemed outright crazy for awhile. But it is different issue from dealing with rough play, which is complicated enough, so I’ll keep it short here.)
Want some good news? Here’s a video I shot just a few days ago of Maggie and Skip playing beautifully together, which they’ve been doing for many months now:
Skip self-handicaps more, Maggie is on offense more, and uses her agility and speed to outrun Skip in the snow while still being completely engaged with him. Skip learned that Maggie just stopped playing when he got too rough. He also learned that full charges, before he got anywhere near Maggie, got a recall from me (a happy, chirpy “Skip Skip!”), and interred with his play. I rarely need to do that now, because he no longer slams into her, and she is better at countering him.
Here’s one last video of them playing tug, which I should mention they usually do before the running play you saw above:
So, right now, paws crossed, things are great at the farm. But here’s the question for all of us: What do you do when you have two dogs who want to play, but one has a play style that doesn’t work for the other? To get our conversation started, her are some things that have worked for Maggie and Skip:
OBSERVE Maggie needed to know that Skip wasn’t going to be able to run roughshod over her without some protection from me. That meant being observant enough to see when she was getting nervous, and to be able to predict when Skip was about to charge into her. It also took knowing what is appropriate and what isn’t.
PROTECT As soon as I could, I used Skip’s fantastic recall (partly due to training, partly due to his nature) to call him back whenever he looked like he was going to overpower Maggie. We also put him on a leash and let Maggie free, focused him on toys rather than Maggie, walked them separately for a while when she was the most worried, and kept play sessions very short when they were going well.
REDIRECT We taught Skip to play with toys (including teaching “Drop It” as part of the game), and encouraged him and Maggie to play tug. Maggie is so smart and agile she found out early on that she could hold her own at this game, even though he outweighs her by 25% and is as strong as an ox. If I had to guess what was the most important thing that helped them learn to play together, I’d pick this. But I’m just speculating. (I should mention that I do have concerns about the dog’s necks when they play tug so hard two times a day. For awhile I gave just Maggie the toy because Skip thought it a fun game to herd her as if she was a sheep, but that brought out problems with his actual herding work, so it’s back to playing tug. And regular visits to the canine chiropractor just to be safe. So far, they seem to be doing well. Please cross all paws.)
TIME OUTS As mentioned, I learned to call Skip to me as soon as I thought he was about to smash into Maggie. At first I reinforced it, obviously to reinforce the recall, but as time went on I simply kept him close to me, perhaps on “Wait” or “Stand,” which allowed him to cool off a little bit and think again before letting his adrenaline take over.
RESOURCES I’m lucky in that I’ve had years of experience of watching dogs play, both appropriately and not, so the signs of problematic play were easy for me to see. Here are some resources if you haven’t had that same opportunity. I did a half-day seminar on play that is full of videos of different types of play, titled, creatively, Dog Play. (It’s a DVD but I think I can get it live streamed if there is interest.) Dr. Sophia Yin’s site has some good videos on different styles of dog play and how to tell if it’s appropriate. I have written several posts about dog play and even have an entire section in my website’s Learning Center on play. [Comments from 2021 added Jean Donaldson’s Fight! Sounds like a great idea.]
There are lots of resources out there, please add your favorites to the conversation. But what I’ve found is lots of resources on discerning healthy play from problematic play, but little on what to do about it. You? I know this is an issue that is relevant to lots of people, we’d all love to hear about your experiences with this issue.
Back to February 2026:
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Thankfully, we missed the ice storms and snow dump, but it’s been waaaaay too cold. (This from a woman who thinks mid twenties (F) and sun is perfect weather. At least in winter.) I don’t remember when it hasn’t been below zero at night, -16 F is the lowest we recorded, but windchill went down to -40.
Folks up north love to say “There’s no bad weather, just bad clothing.” True enough, but they don’t talk about HOW MANY CLOTHES it takes, even if you have expensive, high quality stuff. (Yes, I was yelling. I’m sorry. ) Here is what I wear to walk the dogs, or feed the sheep, or get the mail:
The hiking pole and boots (lined) with Yak Tracks attached are essential, it being so slippery outside now. On the left is an REI super warm undershirt, a cotton T-neck and a wool sweater, two pairs of pants, the outer one lined, warm, high socks, mittens, a balaclava, an old Land’s End down parka, hiking stick, and boots. (I have saved you the addition of granny panties. Your welcome.)
This is what I wore in December in Belize:
Now you know why many of us get tired of winter.
The dogs needed some extra care too when it was far below zero. When it was far below zero, we kept trips outside short, and came in as soon as a paw was raised. (For those of you in the tropics, super cold feels like you are being burned. Go figure.) I am extra careful because Maggie got frost nipped a few years ago, and one of her pads starts to split if I’m not careful. But it was Skip who seemed to suffer the most when the temperature plunged–we literally went from mid 50’s to “why the hell do I live here?” temperatures in just a few days. Poor Skip couldn’t keep his paws on the ground long enough to poop–his attempts would have made anyone laugh, and then feel guilty because he was clearly so miserable–so I stuffed some wool from the barn into these PawsZ rubber booties I had on hand, and he did great.
Besides dealing with winter, life out here is all about two things right now: Ramping up for the release of Away To Me, and dealing with my hand and wrist.
I have a splint that keeps my thumb immobile, sort of, an appointment for a cortisone shot in a month, and a prognosis of “two to six months” before it’s healed. It makes it hard to type, uh, so, I guess I should keep this short. Ridiculously, it is also almost impossible to write with a pen, which is why in less than a month’s time I’ll be signing hundreds of books when the novel comes out. I am trying to learn to write my name with my left hand, but so far the results are astoundingly bad.
“Thing Number Two” is doing my job as an author to birth my novel into the world. The reality of publishing is that after spending a good part of your time steeped in writing, just you and the characters you’ve created, you’re plunged into promoting your book as best as you possibly can. To that end, here is the list of appearances in WI and TX. I repeat myself from above: It would be such a blessing to see you at any of these live events! If you can’t come, I know many of you are far away, I am told there are still a few copies left of the books that you can order to be signed and then shipped to you. Just don’t laugh too hard at my signature.
I am so very aware that my troubles are trivial, compared to so many. I send them compassion and grace, as well as a photo of Skip and Maggie playing last weekend. Dog play = Nature’s best therapy.
May you find time for play, and all of its joys, in your life this week.
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About the Author
Patricia B. McConnell, PhD, CAAB Emeritus is an applied animal behaviorist who has been working with, studying, and writing about dogs for over twenty-five years. She encourages your participation, believing that your voice adds greatly to its value. She enjoys reading every comment, and adds her own responses when she can.
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Patricia is known the world over for her clear and engaging books and DVDs on dog training and canine behavior problems. You can also “meet” Patricia in person on her seminar DVDs, from The Art & Science of Canine Behavior to Treating Dog-Dog Reactivity.
Feel better soon!
Thank you for the videos. It’s great to watch dogs play.
I only have one dog but he does like his neighborhood friends. He can go from standing still to suddenly lunging to the other dog. Maybe I used the wrong word because it’s not an aggressive “lunge”. He just wants to get to the other dog for sniffs and play. Most of his friends are smaller than he, and I can see they are afraid of the movement (not that I blame them). They don’t remain afraid, and that’s why I’ve come to understand that his “lunge” is harmless. My dog is on leash as he is a suburban dog, and at 2-1/2 years with his personality, I don’t have that 98% certainty that I could control him off leash when outside. So I should have the upper hand of control.
I took heart to your “observe”. I really need to get better at seeing when that nice quiet dog, either standing still or sniffing around, will get the urge to MOVE QUICKLY toward the other dog. Then I might be able to either distract, re-direct, or guide him to approach a little slower. I keep telling him “If you want more friends, you need to stop doing that”, but his English isn’t all that good 😉
Damn, I’m sorry you failed the Finkelstein Test! Tendonitis is a tricky one–just when you think it’s almost healed, it flairs up again. Rest, rest twice as much as you think you need to, then double that!
There are dictation programs that you can install for your laptop/phone. Might be just the ticket. Maybe look into getting a stamp made that looks like your signature or an autopen. You can pre-auto-sign before the events.
You’ve been through it, Job.
So sorry to hear about (further) health problems. Thinking of you.
I find teaching owners about appropriate play can be tricky because not many people are willing to put in the time and effort that it takes to observe dogs and understand what is being communicated. I thought that it was interesting to see Maggie sniff the ground after the over-exuberant play session. She also sniffed his groin area after the “fun” play session – any ideas as to why? Maybe assessing his mood?
Also, dogs need to learn too because they do not always read the signs, and when both dog and handler are novices it can be an uphill struggle. People can understand that they need training to control their dog but not so much to understand their dog.
I feel for you about your thumb. I had that too.
So sorry for your tenosynovitis…OUCH. Does your computer allow you to dictate to typing? Hope your book launch goes well. To the moon and back!
I am sorry to read about your troubles! A body that betrays you is so frustrating! I am on the verge of exploring voice to text options myself – perhaps it would work for you too? Totally different writing experience through the mouth versus through the hands (at least for me).
I hope your challenges get lighter, just like the days and hopefully (!) the clothes!
A fellow northerner,
Jen
So sorry to hear about your hand ailment and the lengthy time for recovery. In my experience cortisone shots hurt but do the job! Hoping you get relief as soon as possible. This is the first winter season in MI that I have had to keep the dog from our usual walks. Lowest actual temperature was -12 F, wind chills supposedly 20-25 below zero, at any rate just getting my girl outside was a feat! The flip side is we were in the teens this week and it felt like a heat wave! Proves it’s all relative! I did look at houses in FL online after a particularly long week spent indoors! I do have great clothes for the weather so I was never really cold, thank goodness for my new Columbia coat with what looks like tin foil inside. But despite boots, coats, and snoods on the dog, she was inside or very short walks for a while. Getting back to more humane temperatures lately, in my head I am planning my gardens for the summer, it helps!
Such a timely post for me! My recently adopted APBT/AmStaff mix, Archer, is only a year old… a high energy 80 lb. goofy boy who plays rough with my 9 year old Husky/Pitbull mix Jax. I’ve been working on his recall but we’re not there yet. He blocks, tackles, and body slams Jax every time they are out in the yard. Jax was my first ‘foster fail’. He has been a wonderful partner with all of the fosters that followed. His super power is that he simply loves and befriends every dog he meets. Last year I lost two of my much loved old dogs and Jax seemed lost without his buddies. I adopted Archer as much for him as for me. Although Jax is energetic (and still fast on his feet), Archer’s constant rough play has taken its toll. Jax now hestitates to go out or in when his buddy is in full on “I’m gonna chase you and knock you down, and won’t that be fun?!’ mode. Jax has snapped at Archer several times (including twice when there was minor bloodshed) , and Archer always backs off, but I don’t want this to escalate. Right now I am leashing Archer and asking for a calm sit until Jax is out the door, and giving him a treat every time he comes in right away without trying to block Jax from following. Fortunately, he is extrememly food motivated. Thanks for this… you have given me hope and some ideas to try.
Agree that seeing my dogs play happily together is a joyful, stop-and-watch moment! Two of them play perfectly together. The third had a harder early life it seems and he does not seem to want or understand play. The other two occasionally try to engage him briefly and it works for a few seconds.
I hope your wrist is pain free very soon. I had very good results using a collagen supplement to help an injured joint.
Dealing with same problem: 35 lb mini aussie and 16 lb borderpap. He likes rough play and sadly she says bring it on. . Until she gets scared. Some great ideas here – thanks. Also dealing with outrageous amounts of snow and cold so the only place they can really run is in my arena. If warmer, they would be thwarted from slamming by the deep snow . Staggering back toward 0 C next week so I can beef up my recall and work outside then. Meanwhile, short focused training and play in arena. Too much agility equipment for group runs in there!
I think what I was missing was the belief that I could ‘fix’ this…so good to see the possibilities.
So sorry to hear about your wrist/arm! This growing older just keeps bringing opportunities for personal growth! Yikes!
Thanks for the post on play. I have pretty much ignored my two Portuguese Water Dogs’ rough play. All PWDs that I know play rough! But my Starshine is 15 pounds lighter than her son Flash Gordon. And they do play rough. I think it’s time that I pay some attention and look into some of the resources that you’ve listed. Nothing wrong with double checking.
Best of luck on your book tour! I know that there will be crowds! I would be there if there was a venue closer to me! Instead, I’ll be cheering you on from a distance! Bask in the luxury of your first, but not your last, book tour!!!
Just a suggestion, but you might use this time to maximize your potential at voice dictation on your computer or phone. I found it to be very helpful during my recovery for my last injury. It’s very frustrating not to be able to write or type or open door knobs and I totally understand. I’ve gotten pretty good at voice dictation and it can cover a lot of ground when your hand hurts.
Good luck with your book tour. I wish I could be there, but I have my first copy order.
I can’t wait to see you in Lake Geneva, and if I get the chance I will yell at you for your terrible computer setup. We need to get you a more ergonomic situation so that your poor hand/arm/wrist heals faster and you can get back to writing and playing with dogs.
Also the segment in your blog about Maggie refusing to go up the hill for a while struck me — my daughter’s BC rather suddenly began doing a U-turn on walks that they go on ALL the time. Sara (who is a therapist for humans) wracked her brain to recall anything that could possibly have frightened the very sensitive Syrka. She began distracting Syrka as they approached the forbidden area with food, then with squeaker toys, with excited body moves, etc. It has worked a little, but basically Syrka doesn’t want to go on long walks anymore, especially if it’s dark. She had a thorough vet exam and they are trying Prozac, which Sara very hesitatingly agreed to. She thinks it may be beginning to diminish the anxiety. she has changed the route but still Syrka will suddenly decide it’s not a good idea to continue. Conversely, their daily play in the park behind the house has not changed at all. For reference, Syrka is 10 yo and comes from a line of herders in France (her sire still lives there, I believe her mom has passed.) Sara lives in AZ. Any insight is greatly appreciated!
Amy BH–thanks for the laugh (and important) point about my computer set up! Interesting, though I’m sure frustrating, about Syrka. So many possibilites, including pain (long walks?). Even if she plays hard, I’ve seen so many dogs, BCs included, who either mask pain or don’t feel it when they are engaged. I’d honor what Syrka wants (sounds like your daughter is doing a GREAT job), and maybe end walks before Syrka does, see what happens after that.
Thank you!! Yes to certain dogs playing through pain (I’m a Malinois person) and there could be something to that. Sara has her on adequan I believe for some possible arthritis but she is a helicopter handler and watches like a hawk for signs of physical discomfort. So I will send her your msg, maybe if she ends the walk early, Syrka will decide hey, don’t gyp me on my walk and it could turn around! See you on the 28th!! can’t wait!
So, to teach Skip to play more gently with Maggie, first you had to teach a great recall,right? In tje mean time, you had to keep them separated? All the time? And that recall had to be super solid, to call him off something highly reinforcing in a state of arousal? Were you constantly doing recalls with Skip all day, every day, to achieve that in a few weeks?
Recalls with Skip were easy, just a few weeks of P+ training. But I did keep them separate part of the time, at first in the house, but after a week they were fine in the house, it was outside that took some time.
I frequently take my dog to off leash hiking trails where he has a chance to run and play with other dogs. The interesting thing is that my dog seems to identify “good play partners” from like 30 ft away. I don’t know how he does it, but I can tell he’s found a good candidate because he’ll immediately go into a play bow. The other dog usually responds with a play bow, and then my boy takes off to initiate a game of chase.
However, I always watch carefully, because he’s only 25 lbs. He’s also incredibly fast and agile, so I always watch other dogs to make sure he isn’t triggering prey drive because he darts around like a rabbit! Fortunately, my dog has a lot of tools he uses to deal with dogs who aren’t playing appropriately.
If a dog is chasing and gets nippy or too amped up, my dog will do a 180 and start running at the other dog, and the other dog basically instinctively has to turn and run away. With younger dogs or puppies, he’ll just come to a halt, turn around and stare down the pup until they calm down. If a dog is playing too rough, he will push into the other dog’s space to get them to back off, and then we just walk away.
There have been a few times where a dog hasn’t taken his signals or the other dog seemed to have some predatory drift starting up. In those cases, he just runs to me, sits between my legs or jumps into my arms, and I’ll block the dog from bothering him until the owner comes and gets their dog.
I was fortunate that I had a lot of well socialized adult dogs that my dog was able to play with as a puppy, so I think that really helped him learn the “rules” of appropriate play. He’s also so good at self handicapping with small dogs/puppies. He’ll roll over on his back and let them jump all over him.
There’s really nothing better than watching appropriate play between dogs.
Trish, I hope your hand heals up soon! Have you tried any of those speech to text programs? I know that won’t help with book signings, but it could make typing easier.
Sarah, what a socially brilliant dog! One in a million. And thx for the idea about speech to text, I’ll be checking it out.
One word- Transcription. It is available free with Word and Google Docs. There is also Dragon voice to text software. Dr’s use a version just for them for taking their notes on the go. It takes a little training, including getting your brain used to it, but totally worth it if you have an injury like yours. Happy talking.
Thanks for the idea, Kay!
Play is important, especially in these trying times. Living in Minneapolis, it’s hard to focus on anything but the needs I see all around me. Thank you for this gentle reminder that play keeps us from being hardened by the world.
We in NH have been experiencing the same cold, cold weather, though we did get dumped on with the 3 day storm a bit over a week ago. When I take my dogs out at night for their pre-bed potty time it takes longer to put on coat, hat, boots, mittens, leashes than it takes for them to go once we get out there! Maybe your tendonitis was caused by putting on all of that gear just to go outside, lol!
I SO sympathize with your pain. I had dislocated ulnar nerves in both elbows that caused tendonitis in both arms and took a year to get a real diagnosis (one doc telling me let’s deal with the tendonitis and figure it out later. Huh? Typical, treat the symptom and not cure the problem). I would work at my computer with wrap-around ice packs on both arms, 15 minutes on/15 minutes off… for a year! Followed by surgery on one arm which was experiencing nerve damage. Ugh. Hope your healing goes well and quickly.
Meanwhile, have you looked into software that allows you to dictate rather than type? Might be your ticket to keep working.
Sorry you are injured. Take it as an opportunity to teach yourself to use your left hand and, in the long run, be ambidextrous. I had a shoulder injury and couldn’t use my dominant hand (left). Years later I am glad I learned to use my right hand. But I won’t tell you how frustrating it was at times.
Forty-four years ago, I spent most of my days carrying a baby in my left arm while doing chores with my dominant right. Yes, I developed de Quervains. The good news is that I had surgery to relieve the pressure on the tendon, healed very quickly and went on with my busy life. The surgery involved just a small incision. “Every Case is Different” (sorry that’s the registered name of my dog Casey) but if your doctor recommends surgery, I’d go with it.
Barbara, thx for the tip. PA didn’t rec surgery. Honestly sounds much easier than all else. I’ll check into it.
I’m eagerly awaiting an audible version of your book, since reading is getitng hard for me with my eye issues. I have a dog who has awesome play skills but I feel like she does not discipline my puppy enough when he gets too rough. My other two dogs are good at backing him off if he is too much, but she is too tolerant in my opinion. I fear she will be overwhelmed when he gets older and bigger if she doesn’t put her paws down now.
My female border collie from when she was a young pup to around 3 years old has had somewhat of.a rough play style which could result in pinning down the other dog and air snapping. As a pup this seemed innocent enough but as she got older it became a problem. So for a few years I simply didn’t let her play and instead we went on walks on and off leash, swimming, obedience, agility etc but avoided any real interaction with dogs involving play. However when my sister got a dog (oodle), whilst initially interaction was highly controlled, over Christmas both dogs were in the back yard together whilst extended family were tucking into Christmas lunch when my sister called out ‘oh they’re playing’. Initially I was a bit alarmed so got up to look out the window and there it was two dogs having the time of their lives bouncing off each other, excited play bows and for the most part measured play with no pinning. I caught my dog looking over at me at one point and she regulated herself a bit knowing I was watching. Best Christmas present ever! P.S. I am looking forward to reading your new book!
Get well soon! I have it in both hands as a result of too much typing over decades of a day job and also when I was a musician (I played bagpipes). Hang in there! Cortisone shots and hand braces like yours really helped.
A couple of things.
1) Play: We have a 50lb dog and a chihuahua. The first thing I taught the 50 lb dog was to lay down when she plays with the chihuahua.
2) Keeping careful watch, and knowing what to look for, I agree, are key to keeping the under-dog safe. We had an incident because someone in my house forgot that rule. The chihuahua almost died because of it. That person is no longer allowed to let the dogs out to the yard because, apparently, they need more supervision than the dogs do.
3) We had an “exploding” tree in our yard, so those temperatures you talked about are no joke. Straw is supposed to be very effective at keeping paws safe for potty breaks. Just lay some out on the area you want them to use. Of course, we don’t have sheep, so maybe your dogs need to do other things besides potty outside in the cold.
4) Last but not least, Get Well Soon. I have problems with my connective tissues, so things pop out of joint for me. I’m no stranger to wearing braces and such. No fun when the PT/OT says “don’t do that”.
I’ll try to get to one of your book signings, in WI. Would love to meet you in person some day.
I just commented to my husband this morning how much I enjoy watching our dogs play. We have father and son Swedish Vallhunds and they get along beautifully. I show them so they are both intact and will stay that way, at least for the foreseeable future. Son is only 9 months old, so I hope that as he matures, they’ll continue to have the great relationship they have now.
I’ll see you in Lake Geneva in a few short weeks. Apparently, my pre-ordered copy of your book won’t arrive before then so that will be one less to sign! Here’s hoping that you heal quickly and completely!
Thank you for sharing your nuggets of wisdom. I could not describe how much I have learned so much about my dogs behaviour especially through your blog. I am also a pet-parent to german short hair pointer named max who is a outdoorsy little fella. I am so sorry to learn about your wrist injury. I pray that it will heal soon.
Get better soon! I would like to come to your readings, but being in Germany, it is a bit far. 🙂 Loved the “Barks from the Bookshelves”-podcast about your book, definitely going to buy.
I for once would be highly interested in a live stream of your play seminar, please do!!!
I feel for you – constant pain is no joke. Just as I was getting over the right hip replacement nicely my left hip started hurting with what as been diagnosed as a trapped femoral nerve. Amitriptyline helps a bit, especially at night, but exercise is painful, especially after the chiropractor I saw tried deep pressure release on the psoas muscle – never again! I hope your wrist improves soon – that prognosis of “several months” is utterly deprssing, I know.
Play styles are fascinating – I had to limit Freddy’s play with Sophy in her last months as he was just too much for her, and play with other dogs needs watching. He loves to chase but does not like being chased (probably because nearly all the dogs he meets are so much bigger than him), and most dogs feel that it is only fair to take turns. At home there is only Tissy-cat to play with now, and he is gradually working out how to play with her now she is as big and as heavy as he is. He invites play with bounces and pounces and play bows she respond by rolling on the floor on her side until he backs off enough for her to risk a pounce back. If all goes well they will then play chase around the house, but if he feels she is being Too Sudden he flees to my lap so that I can protect him! Meanwhile he has a wonderful dog walker who takes him out as often as possible, and really understands him. He comes home wet, muddy, and incandescent with happiness – I can see I am going to have to do joint walks with her when I am once moer able to manage the distance and learn from her techniques.