My Little Man -- September 6, 2009 (updated 10/20/2009)

Oh dear, I seem to be so incredibly lax about writing updates on Bing…I think I’ve apologized for this at least a half a dozen times!

 

I see that I haven’t written about him since March. March was a terrible month for me. But since that time, Cyan has turned one year old, is now walking, starting to run, falls a lot, and loves to whack the dogs in the face when she gets the chance. She doesn’t do it maliciously; rather, she seems to be trying to pet them. Acacia just stands there and squints her eyes when I can’t get there fast enough, while Bing usually backs away and then scurries away. Each time something like that happens, I praise the dog lavishly. Last week, the inevitable scary event occurred: Cyan fell on Bing. And you know what happened? NOTHING! He got up and moved away!

 

Now, it is important to understand that I am in a constant state of exhaustion because Cyan is a VERY active child, and we manage her with the dogs at all times. And even with this management, potentially scary things can happen. But I do believe that Bing really loves Cyan. Last weekend, we were trialing in Rally, and Cyan started to cry while Bing was running in the ring. He stopped and looked around for her. It’s apparent that Acacia also loves her, because she is so incredibly tolerant of her antics. If you’ve read past blogs, you know that this has been one of my biggest fears; that Bing would be intolerant of a child’s hands and approaches. So far, so good.

Cyan loves to feed them from her high chair, as any good child would! Even when she teases them by offering food and then eating it, they are calm and accepting of the torment. When she does offer food, they calming and gently lick her fingers. And even when they try to take food out of her pincer grasp when she isn’t REALLY meaning to give it up, they are gentle enough to force it out of her hand without making her cry. I know that if I were reading this about someone else’s kid, I’d be panicking. But I have watched and watched, and I see some really neat trust and friendship developing amongst kid and dogs. YAY!

 

Bing has been doing some other cool things. Back in June, I emailed Dr. Karen Overall, asking her opinion on increasing Bing’s medications. That email must have gone to spam for her because I never heard back. In the meantime, I got very busy and never resent the email. And I’m glad, because he is usually more focused on me in the rally ring, generally calmer in the car, and seems to be thinking more clearly than in the past. As we were coming back from our rally trial last weekend, Pete and I decided to test his ability to be in the car while we weren’t in it. We stopped for dinner for just over an hour. We parked where we could check on him every few minutes. He sat in the driver’s seat and didn’t move the entire time. He didn’t chew the steering wheel or the seatbelts, nor was the seat covered in drool. I was stunned. We recalled that when I was pregnant, Pete met me at the Dr’s office for a checkup and had Bing in the van and forgot to put him in the crate, and he was fine. But I think that neither one of us wanted to test it again, until now. I was nervous about it but thrilled at the result! I don’t think I’m ready to leave him in the car regularly yet, but it seems as if he’s on the way!

 

It would seem that this little Belgian Sheepdog needed four years to grow up. He still has major anxiety issues, and he’s still on medication for it, but he is learning how to learn and how to focus on me. We are working on new things such as a retrieve and heelwork to music. Herding is not panning out for lack of a good instructor (and time!) so we will go back to agility this fall.

 

I hope to write more regularly about Bing. He’s such a great little dog. We love him to pieces despite his issues. He teaches us a lot!

 

Click here to view more pictures of Cyan's interaction with the Belgians

 

Response from Paula M. Panovec

---

Ali,

 

Today I went onto your website when a former trainer of Sophie, my highly reactive mix breed, contacted me regarding referral information for one of her current students. I had very little information about the dog so I gave her a few training facilities and emphasized if this dog had any issues then you were the cream of the crop. I also let her know that even without issues if she wanted complete and total positive training in a variety of different classes you were the best. You have never trained my dogs, but I have assisted you during TDI testing and been to a few competitions you judged. I’ve also read “Scardey Dog" & "Focus Not Fear”.

 

Anyway, I went to your website to get the number, while there I decided to read about Bing. By the way congrats on your daughter, she’s adorable. Sophie has taught me so much. I think these troubled dogs sometimes find us for a purpose. There is nothing like a reactive dog to teach you about yourself and how to train. Highly intelligent, social, motivated pets require some skill but often can figure things out, sometimes in spite of the lack of handling skill of its owner. But nothing can shake your confidence in your abilities more than a dog and people aggressive, environmentally stimulated, powerful breed dog. I adopted Sophie from a rescue and knew she had issues from the start, she would have been euthanized. I have E-mailed you a few times at my darkest hours for advice. Like you I have gone through periods of indecision, she is not as advanced as Bing. Sophie has not been able to stand competition. I have continued to train since I brought her home but the highly charged competition environment sends her over threshold.

 

Like you I have considered the liability, no matter how much you manage, it only takes one slip and her breed mix would put us in the newspaper right away. I can go out in public with Annie (Golden) & Bodi (Westie). We can go to an off leash dog park, trips around town, pet stores. Not so with Sophie. Even my family has made it clear that she is not welcome, not even in their yard. Part is a breed issue mostly, she makes them nervous: she has great communication skills when she is unhappy. I drive off with the other dogs and she watches us leave from the living room window and I ask myself is this fair, what kind of life is this for her, what if I take her along and she bites and injures someone? I have pondered if I should continue training and managing or take the preventative route before something happens.

 

Reading your blog is helpful. You, a highly skilled and well respected trainer have asked the same questions & gone through the same emotions; do I medicate or not, do I make that final decision or wait, it reassures and inspires me. Ali, we and other reactive dog owners have been blessed with a huge responsibility and opportunity. All my life I had great canine companions; friendly and easy to train. Then came Sophie, this troubled creature has taught me more then all the other dogs I have been privileged to share my life. Bing loves you & Sophie loves me, we will continue agility for fun, it’s our special time without expectations of ribbons or titles and for now that will have to be enough. I have had dogs when my children were small. One, a German Shorthair, Partner, gave his life to save my daughter. I bet Bing would do the same for yours. Take care.

Paula M. Panovec

---

More pictures of Cyan's interaction with the Belgians

 

Cyan will go to great lengths to pet Acacia -- although sometimes it more like a "whack" than a soft stroke.

Bing waits patiently for Cyan to kick the bally. It might take a couple of years till she actually gets good at it.

 

 

 

Bing Blog 44