Gotta Dance?

So, who knew? Jake likes the dancing dogs?

Kate and Gin are definitely darlings on Britain's Got Talent. Frankly, I'm crazy about them, too. It's fascinating how they work together. These two best friends wowed the audience and the judges, but it's worth noting that no one seemed familiar with what has become a very popular dog sport known as "musical canine freestyle" or simply "freestyle."

This lack of familiarity with the sport made Gin's performance even more dramatic because she wildly exceeded everyone's expectations. Simon Cowell was exclaiming "OMG!!" repetitively to seeing Gin rear up and walk backwards. Put another way, they had no expectations of the dog before she began the act, so the impact of her fine performance was intensified. Kudos to Kate, because she chose great music and developed a dynamic choreography. Kudos to Gin for executing the commands brilliantly.

Still, freestyling is really more popular than many of us might expect. There are many associations dedicated to it in the US and around the world, including the Musical Dog Sport Association, the Canine Freestyle Federation, Inc. ; World Canine Freestyle Organization; and Pawfect K9 Freestyle Club (Japan).

While Gin's performance would be admired by all, I would also think that many people in the sport might not be as surprised by its strengths as were the audience and the judges.

I can't help but wonder about all the folks working with freestyle. Jake is a very smart dog. I spend lots of time with him, having fun and training him. I look at Gin's performance and wonder, how much time do Kate and Gin spend together on training? Probably much more than one can imagine. It looks like it might be a full time occupation – along the lines of an Olympic training schedule. I sure hope it is fun for Kate because one might fear that she wouldn’t have any time for human friends. Indeed, if I followed her quote correctly on the program, “if it weren't for Gin, I wouldn't have much of a life.”

In parting, let's compare Kate's perfect choreography for the James Bond theme with that of a "Gladiator Dog." You know, there really is a difference between men and women…have fun watching this:

Border collies have talent...

That Debs, so worried about me, but, trust me, I’m OK. At least I think I’m OK. Sure, I may walk on three legs after we get home from the dog park, but, while I’m there...I run like the wind. And, after walking around on three legs, the fourth one kicks in after a while. A good long nap helps, too, along with a Bufferin sandwiched in some cream cheese. Yum!

Today, Debs took me to a local dog park where I can swim in Lake Michigan. Cool, very cool -- especially at this time of the year. She thinks swimming is great exercise for me – something about no impact. I just think it is great fun – the farther out she throws the ball, the more fun to go get the ball. (To think I was ever scared of swimming!) I even tried to bring back two tennis balls today, but my mouth wasn’t big enough, so I made two trips. And, I was doing a much better job of taking the ball back than any of those dopey black labs there today. They just wanted to run around in a pack and chase my ball – but they walked away from their human and their own ball. Dopey! And, they are also not very polite!

A dog that definitely is not dopey is Gin – the new girl of my dreams. Yes, I love Phoebe, but, take a look at this girl and you’ll see why I love her from afar. Gin is on Britain's Got Talent. On of the judges said that she may be the first non-human to win the talent contest! Maybe Debs can find her whilst in the UK!?

I'm going to take another snooze now, and I'm going to dream of Gin. I heard she made it to the finals. On behalf of border collies everywhere, I'm so proud!

Canine hip dysplasia hits home...

Canine Hip Dysplasia (CHD). If you had asked me about hip dysplasia two months ago, my know-it-all answer would have been: A congenital infirmity of poorly and over bred dogs commonly seen in the larger purebreds such as German shepherds, sheepdogs and golden retrievers. I’d have told you to make sure you have your purebred puppy OFA certified before you bring her home from the breeder and to ensure that the breeder will take the dog back in the event it develops.

That was then, this is now. This week I learned that Jake, my handsome, agile, active, border collie -Australian cattle dog mix from the shelter, who lives to run has hip dysplasia. I’m shocked, I’m worried, and I’m very, very sad. How could this be? He doesn't fit the profile.

Less than two months ago, I took Jake on a weekend holiday to a remote part of Wisconsin. Jake has been going there since he was a new puppy in our household and he enjoys his time in the northwoods immensely. He loves running in the woods, bounding over obstacles, and chasing all the other critters away (although I’m always worried about the coyotes and porcupines). He loves running on the beach there and swimming. The beach is part of a bay that stretches as far as the eye can see to the north and south. We both like that beach and, frequently, we have it all to ourselves. Jake is a happy camper there.

We were returning home one Sunday, and with a five hour drive ahead of us, it seemed a good idea to give Jake all the exercise he demands. We did just that. Even if it was spring, the weather was still winter, so it was not time for Jake to swim in Lake Michigan, other than to walk in around the shore. So, we played with Jake’s obsession – the ever present tennis ball – most of the way up and back to the tip of the bay from the midpoint. Jake hustled for that ball, as he always does. Hustles to go get it, hustles to bring it back to me. On the shoreline. Into the dunes. He was going to be one tired doggie, that was for sure.

And, he was, indeed, tired. He slept most of the way back to our home. We stopped along the way, and as he arose in the back seat, it was a clear he was in no hurry to get out. On the ground, it looked like he had pulled a muscle. My first thought was that it isn’t easy being a “weekend warrior” and I considered whether he had worked too hard in comparison to the week. Still, Jake’s always running about, chasing squirrels, tennis balls and frisbees in the backyard.

In retrospect, it was as if someone had just flipped on the pain switch that day - and I wish I could find the switch and turn it off.

Jake seemed to improve during the week and, so, we visited the local dog park on the weekend. Normal visit to the park – chasing tennis balls, running with other dogs, a swim in the pond. By the time we were home, Jake was having trouble walking away from the car. I told myself that perhaps the pond had been too cold. No more cold ponds for Jake. That would fix it. And, I thought, he just hasn't recuperated yet from overdoing it in Wisconsin.

Then, it began to happen after our evening walk – no run, no chasing balls, no real exercise. Just a nice walk. It was more subtle at first – a slow movement to standing, a bit of extra stretching. I couldn’t tell if it affected his left leg or his right, until the day, after being at the dog park, he held his left rear paw up off the ground. But, I thought, it seems to be his right leg, too. I called his vet, Dr. Grogman, and we agreed to wait a little while to see if it would clear up on its own. It didn’t occur to me that he could have hip dysplasia until the evening I massaged his legs and confirmed Jake wasn’t sensitive at any point on them. It was then that I knew the trouble must be with his hips.

Dr. Grogman agreed it was time to diagnose his problem. Under general anesthesia, Jake’s hips and legs were x-rayed, and the doctor could manipulate his legs to see the range of motion. The tests confirmed hip dysplasia in both hips -- with the worst of it on the right side. The doctor reviewed the x-rays in detail with me. Not the worst case she’d seen, but on a scale of 1-10, about a 4. Any number on that scale would upset me in light of the difficulties Jake was having.

I listened carefully to Dr. Grogman as she covered the alternatives for treating Jake. Frankly, it was difficult to hear her because my mind, at that moment, was focused on what will become of Jake if he can’t run? if he can’t stand? and how can this be? why? In any event, I had researched hip dysplasia before our visit to the vet and knew that none of the solutions seem very good for Jake.

In future blog entries, I’ll describe the treatment we’re going to follow. Whatever comes next, we'll do it together. Jake deserves the best -- he's such a fine doggie. He loves running and we're going to keep doing that for as long as possible. Meanwhile, if you’ve had experience with canine hip dysplasia, please share it with us – especially if it will be positive! You'll find below some general information on CHD.

Your dog can give blood too!

My sister e-mailed me about an animal blood bank in Seattle which I had never really considered before and once I did, I thought (as did she) this would be an interesting thing to mention on the blog.... who knew???

Learning about dog blood banks caused me to see if there was a similar service in Chicagoland. Somewhat unsurprisingly given the size of the city and the vast number of dogs who live here, there is at least one local canine blood bank: Chicago Veterinary Emergency Services has a blood bank and actively seeks canine blood donors.

During my research I found a report in the Chicago Tribune that there is a national shortage of dog and cat blood, particularly dog A negative blood. While I suspect this story is an example of public relations cleverly packaged as news, the story also serves to raise awareness. The link to Hemosolutions is a giveaway that they have "created" news to promote their services, but at least now people know about an apparent shortage of dog blood for transfusions, at least in Colorado.

Animal blood banks seem to be a fairly new phenomenon. This raises the question of where most of the blood needed for surgeries or transfusions comes from. There is a clue on the Hemosolutions website where they write "rather than using kennel kept dogs as many blood banks do" they seek out dogs that live with people. I'd really just as soon not think of special kennels for doggie donors....

Alas, dogs need to be at least 50 - 55 lbs to be a candidate for giving blood, so unfortunately Phoebe doesn't qualify.... which is probably just as well because I don't think she would be a willing participant. But if you have a dog of the right size and temperament, being a donor is definitely something worth considering.