The Black Cracker Dog Update

So far, we're feeling pleased with our decision not to have R's elbow operated on until autumn. We've learned the hard way that you never know how long you'll have with your dog so our motto is to seize the day.

We've decided to let him romp like usual (within reason) for the rest of this spring and summer. He and his sister have been making the most of it! You should see them play like maniacs during our evening hikes.

And, so far, the medicines that we're giving him are making him less lame than he was before we visited the surgeons a couple of months ago, and he seems super happy.

He uses his wily strategies to win many recall races with his sister. It is truly amazing that he wins so often because, at this point, Shyla's top speed is much faster than his. R knows how to "block" her with a subtle sideways step at a key instant in almost every race.

This winter, I've also been spending more time than usual doing training games with R. It used to be that he wasn't very interested in training so Shyla and I could do our training routine in the house while he snoozed. For some reason, last fall, he suddenly realized that he was missing out on lots of fun, and he started insisting on participating.

To train both dogs during one session, I first had to teach the two of them that whoever was not being trained had to hold a quiet "down-stay" while I worked with the other dog. At first, that was tough for each of them. But now they're pros at that part of our training routine.

I spend about 20 minutes per day working with them. With R, I first focused on a couple of tricks that I thought would help his elbow and shoulder range of motion. He learned to wave with each paw, depending on which one I asked for. He also re-learned how to take a bow, which stretches his elbow and shoulder muscles and tendons.

Then, independent of taking a bow, I taught R to rest his chin on the floor while in a down. Interestingly, just like Shyla, he's combined it with "take a bow", as you can see in the next photo.

I'm really glad that R insisted on being included in our training routine. I think my bond with him has grown tremendously since he joined the training games.

So, we're hoping that this program can keep him away from the surgeon until autumn. If so, he can enjoy our glorious mountain summer, replete with camping trips, long runs in the high mountains with the Runner, and lots of swimming with his sister in mountain lakes. Then, he can use next winter for his recovery from CUE surgery, a surgery that will put artificial surfaces inside his elbow joint, taking the place of the cartilage that used to be there.

Here's to an amazing dog!

Snow Fun!

Shyla loves all the snow we're getting. Yesterday, she lay on a snow embankment outside our back door, waiting for me to come out and have fun.

Her happiness has been helping me to accept the piles of snow that we have and the ongoing small accumulations each day. I know that we "need it" but I was enjoying spring before this winter surge.

But, even Shyla's funny faces make me stop and smile as I slog through the cement-like snow.

Today was the first day that I even tried to take my fat bike on the trails. I was able to ride a little and walk the parts that weren't packed well enough.

We stopped to play some games. It's amazing how happy retrieving makes a Labrador Retriever! One thing that I hate the most about R's elbow dysplasia is that he's never been allowed to play retrieving games.

Through the magic of a fast shutter, I discovered that Shyla loves to pounce on her Wubba after I throw it for her.

Another pounce!

The funny part was that pouncing made her head dive deep into the snow so her face had snow all over it as she ran back to me.

It looks as if a big warm-up is coming our way so perhaps spring will revisit our region before too long!

Black Lab Sunday

Best friends run together

The race is on!

Our 7 year old puppy

The Duo Romps on Saturday

I had both halves of the Duo for a short snowshoe hike on our cement-like snow this morning. It was still snowing when we started our hike.

The Duo is incredibly happy whenever they have off-leash time together outdoors.  It's hard to contain their enthusiasm.

 My best hope of keeping things calm is to do frequent recalls and some boring stuff like stays.

But most of all, they want to play with each other. This morning, I couldn't bear to try very hard to stop them. The reason for stopping them is the possibility of tweaking R's bad elbow. But, I made the same choice for him as I make for myself all the time, and I let him have some fun despite the worry of injury.

It's amazing the ferocious faces that the Duo makes while they play. They were having SO much fun!

They make me smile with their joyful and good-natured romping. A takedown....

And, in an instant, R was up again...

As the photos show, we had a wonderful time outdoors together this morning, despite the lousy snow conditions. I gave R a dose of anti-inflammatory when we arrived home, and he seems like he feels no worse than usual.

I'm so glad that I let him run and play with his sister. I'd want the same thing, if I were him!

Snow, snow, snow!

Our storm dumped a lot of cement-like snow onto us. I think it was 2-3' this morning, depending on where you measured. It was a lot of snow compared to the length of Shyla's legs!

I took this photo as she headed out into the unbroken snow and rapidly came to a halt with a wide-eyed look on her face.

It was almost impossible to snowshoe or ski in the snow because it was so heavy. The boys had been out earlier than us, trying break trail for skiing. Shyla took advantage of their tracks to move in an almost normal way.

Despite how young and healthy Shyla is, I worried every time she left the slightly packed path. I feared an injury of some sort in the cement-like snow. But that didn't stop her from making occasional forays off-trail.

She had to use a "jumping" gait, where she'd leap almost vertically, up and out of the snow. Then she'd fly until she landed in the deep stuff again.

Here's a series to show you how hard she had to work when she decided to leave the path. Getting ready to jump...

Up and out of the snow...

And flying above the snow.

Then she'd land and start the whole process again. No wonder less than a mile was far enough for both of us!

I just read a forecast saying that we may get another 10-20" of snow tomorrow. I think it's time to break out the hard liquor.

The good news is that the fire danger is presently nil, the electricity is on, and the internet works (although the satellite TV is kaput). The bad news is that I just read one expert's opinion that there's a decent chance of flooding.

Happy Springtime! All we can do is roll with what Mother Nature sends us and hope for the best.

Springtime Blizzard

It is springtime in the mountains!

Meteorologists have been talking about this storm for almost a week. Usually, that means that it will fizzle out. Not this time.

I've read predictions of 2-3 feet of snow falling here by Sunday. Fitting that prediction, the world had several white-outs during our fat bike ride this morning. Believe it or not, this is Hug Hill. This is the same place as the first photo from yesterday's post was taken. Yesterday, the snowy mountains shined against a blue sky behind Shyla. Not today.

Based on the 5 inches of snow that fell during our fat bike ride alone, it seems like the meteorologists might be underselling this storm. They use scientific models to make their predictions, and one of those models is predicting 4 feet of snow for us. Even though I know how desperately we need this moisture to fend off a terrible wildfire system, the thought of 4 feet of snow might drive this non-drinker to drink!

If I were to drink, it would only be the Ellie the Chocolate Lab's Brown Ale (and no one is paying me to say that)!

Mountain Photo Wednesday

Those mountains behind Shyla make my heart sing. I love having them so close.

I gaze at the mountains whenever I can, trying to never take them for granted. Sunset over them was spectacular last night.

"I've seen it raining fire from the sky" (John Denver).

I feel so lucky to live in a place that I love so much.

Being Shyla's Rock

I enjoy teaching Shyla tricks. A silly trick that we practice is her balancing a treat on her nose, tossing it in the air, and then catching it. Just today, she seemed to figure out how to toss it so that she could catch it.

I used to think that tricks were a silly waste of time. What is useful about being able to do this particular trick? Nothing really.

With Shyla, I have learned that practicing these seemingly meaningless tricks teach life lessons, like impulse control. Shyla has to resist trying to toss the treat that's on her nose too soon in order to earn the chance to toss it and eat it.

With Shyla, more than any other dog, I've also realized that playing games like this one helps build her trust in me. Because the trick itself is not important, I never get upset when she's not successful in doing it.

Rather, I praise her for trying so hard, and then let her try again. Partly by playing inconsequential games together, we've built a bond of trust.

I saw this trust help us immensely this past weekend. We went to a drop-in dog training class that we've been attending all winter. Usually, 2-6 dog/handler pairs attend. This time, there were 15 dog/handler pairs, including one person who used a motorized scooter for mobility (Shyla had never seen one before and unpredictable things with wheels tend to scare her). Moreover, the park where the class was held was insanely busy with all sorts of springtime recreation underway.

I immediately realized that this might be a tough class for my sensitive Shyla. I decided to focus only on keeping her calm and confident despite a chaotic scene that would have provoked Shyla to melt down just a year ago.

I was SO happy when she maintained her cool for the whole class. I took her for frequent breaks - short walks away from the group - to let her decompress.

Much to my utter happiness, Shyla chose the coping strategy of making very frequent eye contact with me. She'd swivel to check out the general chaos in the park, and then she'd bring her eyes back to mine. I felt as if I'd become her trustworthy rock, in the midst of the swirling insanity of humanity on a spring weekend.

I believe that all the little stuff that we've done together led Shyla to be able to cope with that scene. All the trick training, basic obedience training, socialization, and just being best friends culminated in her trusting me to help her through that class.

One good class doesn't mean that all of Shyla's fear issues are in the rear-view mirror. I'm sure that Shyla and I will have rough days dealing with her fears in the future. But, for that one afternoon, it felt so good that she trusted me to be her rock.

Elk and Mountain Lions

It's springtime so the elk herd seems to prefer our elevation. I love watching them, and photographing them with a hand-held camera and with trail cams.

Whenever I spot the herd, I go back out in my car and shoot some photos without getting out. It seems that elk are not concerned about cars but they are very concerned about people on foot.

Last week, I watched a young and shedding bull elk lie down. The "spots" on his coat are clumps of fur that he's shedding. Lying down appeared to be quite a procedure for a big animal. Here he was, standing up and grazing.

Then he decided that it was time to rest his hooves and began the process of lying down. He lowered his front end first.

And then his hind end followed.

Soon, he was lying there relaxing. I suppose that this is one of the safest times and places for an elk to rest - in the midst of a big herd in a sunny meadow. Mountain lions, the elk's main predators, are not likely to stalk the elk in this situation.

I've also been seeing elk on my trail cameras. This is a somewhat older bull with broken antlers that tell the story of him fighting with other bull elk during mating season.

Then, he heard some people approaching but he also seemed to notice my trail camera at the same time. He gave the camera a quizzical look before heading up the hill and away from where people and their dogs walk.

When there's such a big elk presence in our area, the mountain lions soon focus on our area too. The collared cat followed in some snowbike tracks, heading toward the herd. It's a smallish cat so I'm guessing that it's a female.

A couple of miles from where my camera captured the image of the collared lion, another trail camera captured the image of a collar-free muscular muscular mountain lion, also heading directly for the elk herd.

In the case of that second lion photo, I wasn't planning to check that particular trail camera that day but Shyla "told me", loud and clear, that something scary had been in the area. She starts sniffing the ground incredibly intensely when a mountain lion has been through.

Based on her behavior, I think that the big collar-free lion had been on top of Hug Hill in the wee hours of the morning, in the same spot where Shyla and I play many days.

I once daydreamed about teaching Shyla to signal me when she found the scent trail of a mountain lion. That's starting to seem like a reasonable proposition because she reacts so obviously when she catches the scent of a mountain lion.

The elk and mountain lions always tide over my curiosity about our wildlife until the bears become active. Although I suspect that some bears are outside their dens now, I haven't found any tracks or trail camera photos of them yet, perhaps partly because their favorite routes are still snow-covered. When I find bear tracks for the first time in the spring, it's a day for celebration!