Bing enjoys a hug from Ali.

Pete has been bugging me for weeks to do another Bing Blog…he’s right! There’s so much to share that I am not even sure if I can remember it all!

Last time I wrote about him, I was expressing my hope that he was improving because of a new medication. I think that what you’ll read will indicate some serious improvement!

I am taking it VERY slowly with him in weaning him off of his Prozac. I was warned that if you try to take a dog off Prozac and he can’t handle it, you run the risk of it no longer being effective when you put him back on it. So I spent a month giving him Prozac every second day, and now we have nearly completed a month of giving a Prozac every third day. After Memorial Day, we’ll be on one every 4th day for a month.

Bing gives a "hug" to Kim Pike's mom, Joan (left) and long-time student Susan. Bing knows there are treats to be had.

Even though we have been diminishing his Prozac, he has been doing some rather astonishing things. He’s been doing some seemingly simple things, like going up to people he doesn’t know very well (students who haven’t done much, if any, work with him) and jumping up on them for treats. Granted, this is not the sort of behavior you want to reward in most dogs, but coming from Bing, this is HUGE! I also recognize that this is Bing imposing himself on someone else, as opposed to someone approaching him, but it’s a step in the right direction. In the past, a select few people would have to work pretty hard to get him to accept them. Now, he is offering this behavior to people he wants to interact with.

Bing and Cyan enjoy watching Ketchup (Guinea Pig)

His interactions with Cyan have been remarkable. She is older now…she’ll be 3 in 2 weeks, so that makes her a bit more predictable than when she was 2 LOL. She has been able to go up to him and pet him, hug him (briefly! I never let it go longer than it takes me to call one of them away), take him by the collar. Every interaction between them is still watched like a hawk, but he is calmer, more accepting. Sometimes he has a relaxed, open mouth. Sometimes he walks away, or rather, slinks away. Once in a while she comes on too strong, and he gives a warning ‘Grrff’ and then looks at me as if to say “Help!”, which I do. He ALWAYS gets praised for any interactions between them. Bing has always wanted to lay in Cyan’s room….he has always been near her, so I know that he likes her.

Bing's April and May 2011 Agility Ribbons

Just today, during an agility lesson, we saw how he is suddenly able to put things together. We’ve been working on 12 weave poles for a long time…he is in Open Jumpers with Weaves class and Excellent Standard classes in AKC agility. But his weave entrances aren’t always great, and at our last trial I still felt the need to ‘babysit’ him with on-side weaves (having him do them with him on my left as opposed to him on my right) to make sure he completed them. Today, no matter how we challenged him, he got them right…it was really something to watch! Click here to watch Bing on YouTube working on his entrances to the weave poles. Karen Schelling is the instructor at Great Companions.

Bing's ribbons from Great Companions May 22, 2011 Rally-O Trial.

This past Sunday, we had our Great Companions Rally Trial. It was a great success, despite the weather going on strike. Actually, 59 degrees is pretty perfect for most dogs, especially black furry ones. Bing trialled in all three levels, in both trials. Out of a perfect 210, his scores were: 206, 207, 208, 207, 210 and 207. As if that weren’t good enough, , he performed his first complete retrieve ever in a trial...something we never bothered to complete in training. Last week it all seemed to come together! One night we were playing with it. I tossed the toy, sent him out, he picked it up and dropped it part way back to me. Frustrated, I waited to see if he’d figure it out…he DID! He went back and picked it up, sat in front of me, and waited for me to take it. (Watch Bing's retrieve on YouTube) YAY! During the trial he did the same thing, but since I didn’t have to give him the cue again, we got 9/10 points for the bonus. What a victory for us. Watch Bing in action at Great Companion's May 22, 2011 Rally-O Trial.

Cooper and Bing do a dog-appropriate
meet & greet.

I have also seen him be more interested in interacting with some dogs. He’s ways been selective with the dogs he plays with, and I still often see him be grumbly toward dogs, but it is more frequent now that I see him want to sniff, tail wagging, play bowing. He played tonight with Little Maggie, and their running was a pleasure to watch (and no humping whatsoever!).

He is no better but not any worse in the car than he was months ago, so I’m not sure how the Gabapentin helps him there. But he is able to sit or lay down on the way to trials and on other longer rides. Can’t win ‘em all, I suppose. I need to work the Protocol for Relaxation with him there, I guess.

So, that’s the Bing update for today.

Or, should I call him, “Shmoo”.

Bing Blog 56