Lonely Lucky Gets a New Friend
Finally, Lucky has a fenced backyard where he can run around and feel free as a dog can be.

Only he hates it. He whines and cries. He has no one to play with or pester. What’s a dog to do by himself?

So I looked at my options. What kind of dog can I have that would work with Lucky? Another big dog I was not up to at this time. What other hair dogs would work? A Bijon Friese would work until I found out how expensive they were. More than a standard poodle. Oh well, back to the drawing boards.

Then, one day, my friend, Pat, was saying she had to give one of her dogs away because he was too noisy while she was at work. I asked what kind was he. A Bijon Friese.

I almost fell off the chair. “I’ll take him,” I shouted. It is the only dog that would work for me. Lucky needs a buddy.

So we decided to have the dogs meet at her house.

The day arrives and I have Lucky on his halti. We get into Pat’s house. Lucky is all excited. There are cats to talk with, two dogs to inspect and no fights took place. Lucky loved being with all the animals. He was just a social butterfly. Here, there, over here, over there. Sniffing away at everything.

Lucky’s new buddy was a 15 year young Bijon named Chardonnay. He had come up from Florida where his previous owner was too ill to take care of him.

Off we went with the crate, more food, Chardonnay, Lucky and lots to look forward to with these two dogs.

Right away Lucky shows his dominance, Chardonnay wouldn’t have anything to do with it. Growl and snap. Lucky moved off.

That was how it was going to be. Chardonnay only weighed 12 pounds at that time. Small but feisty.

Lucky was so happy to have a friend with him in the house and in the yard, his whining stopped and he became a training dog to Chardonnay.

You see Chardonnay hated being in the crate and howled when he had to be in it. When he wanted to be let out he yelped and screeched. “Let me out NOW!” screech. His sound was piercing. I can see why the neighbor wanted him out of the duplex.

Patrience and time were the two virtues that I had to learn. One, patience in ignoring the howls and praising the silence were slow as I thought Chardonnay was more deaf than he was. I think Lucky clued Chardonnay in to the procedure. “Keep your mouth shut, you get a reward,” said Lucky.

Two, it took a year.

That little dog was finally able to catch on and keep quiet when I put him in and took him out of his crate. He loved the treats that he got when he got into the crate. Yep, you got it, I bribed them. It works.

What was Chardonnay’s problem when he had breakfast with Lucky?

To Be Continued.

Patricia Lewis
http://www.bloggal.wordpress.com

Keeping Lucky From Becoming A Pill Head!

I did not like giving Lucky a pill in the morning and evening. I felt it made him a zombie. Lucky’s personality was one of alertness and listening to what you said. He really did participate in your relationship with him. When I gave him the pill he became withdrawn and slow. I didn’t like it. I didn’t take medicine for myself. I found healthier ways to deal with any problem I might have.

So I did the same for Lucky.

A friend introduced me to the Halleluia Acres in Selby, NC. During the Q and A time, a person mentioned that the carrot, barley and beet helped their child with his seizures. I thought, “Iif it helps a child, it could help a dog.”

I bought the powder.

I began to sprinkle the powders on Lucky’s breakfast. I used a quarter teaspoon. He chowed down. Now, he has the healthiest hair, nails and attitude. I give him his phenobarbital at night so the pill is worn off when he gets up.

This has worked for 3 years.

Lucky changes his pre-seizure aura sometimes where he goes immediately into the seizure. Or he has an hour long pre-seizure frantic behavior. Once he did it longer than an hour and I was exhausted and had to get some sleep. So I put Lucky into his crate so both of us would be able to get some sleep.

I heard noises out at the crate door. I thought he was just pawing at the gate. The next morning I found he had had a seizure and the floor of the crate had been shoved out into the room. He did not hurt himself. However, I was not there to help him through the recovery. He had slept most of the trauma off by the time he was let out of the crate. That was good.

I don’t know what triggers these seizures on Lucky. My good friend, Pat, stated that a neurological doctor she knew said, “Football season! Great fewer seizures. More exercise and less seizures.”

When Lucky is out in the fenced backyard he gets some exercise. However, I must enlarge the portable fencing so he has more space to run and bark. I know the firecrackers set him off when we are walking around the unfenced backyard while he is out doing his nightly work. He hates thunder, firecrackers or unusual loud repeated noises.

I have been told, “most dogs do!”.

What have you done to help your dog with seizures? If you liked this story please contact me at my blog: www.bloggal@wordpress.com.

Life Goes On!

We finally got into a routine of once every two months Lucky would have a 1:15 AM seizure time in the bedroom. Sometimes, he would become pre-seizure restless. He would want to jump up on my bed to have the seizure there. I made certain he didn’t as I was terrified of him falling to the floor during the seizure rom that high mattress and frame.

He would attempt to squeeze into the smallest space possible, which I prevented for fear of his breaking his leg(s) with his thrashing. This wrestling match for a place to have the seizure continued until Lucky fell to the floor and actually had his seizure. I made sure that he was clear of any obstructions, cords or blankets.

Sometimes his head would be under the bed and he pounded it so hard, while his legs jerked and jumped eradically. He often came out with a bloody jaw as he had bitten his tongue. Fortunately, it was always a small amount. Sometimes, he lost control of his bladder and bowel. All of that was cleaned up while Lucky lay there panting in his recovery. In the beginning, I just spoke to Lucky quietly to bring him back.

As I got more familiar with how Lucky had his seizures and his recovery, I attempted other healing methods. Almost every seizure started with Lucky waking me with his restlessness. I give him his phenobarbital pill before bedtime. He, therefore, is a very sound sleeper every night. Until this pre-seizure sensation comes on him. He will jump the wooden gate to find a place to hide. I’d get him back into the bedroom to have a smaller place to keep clear.

Then, I began to stroke him down his spine. I found it slowed the restlessness down. I had been taught by a massage therapist how to massage a dog. He loved it normally and during the pre-seizure it seemed to give some calming moments to him also.

After the seizure was over, Lucky was exhausted that day. He just wanted to sleep or he might be the opposite very restless. It never seemed predictable.

I later discovered that after his seizure if I stroked his spine he came out of the fog and exhaustion faster. I spoke gently that he was doing fine and that this was one had passed. I stroked him for easily 15-20 minutes with one hand overlapping the other so he never was without a hand from his head down his spine. I discovered that his heavy panting cleared up much faster and he returned to near normal breathing before his attempts to stand. I noticed that his getting to his feet was stronger, though wobbly.

He still gulped down the water in his hurry to replace all that he lost in his exertion. He was able to go to sleep quicker also.

I further noticed that Lucky returned to his normal routine and alertness that day without side effects from the seizure. I liked that for his sake.

What else would Lucky and I encounter?

To Be Continued…

Patricia Lewis
www.bloggal.wordpress.com

That First Seizure

One day in March, I returned from work at the Spa to find Lucky’s crate almost falling apart. I thought someone had attempted to get into the house when Lucky had barked and fought so hard to get out to get the intruder that he dislodged the crate. I put the crate back together. Then I noticed that Lucky had hard crusted jaw hair on one side. Again, I thought it was the intruder scene effect.

Around 1:15 AM in June, I heard this loud thumping noise where Lucky was sleeping. I flipped on the light to find Lucky thrashing around on the floor. I jumped over the wooden gate at the bedroom door and watched the thrashing.

I called the Emergency Animal Hospital to ask for help. I described the action as I thought it might be distemper, my reason for jumping out of the way. As I described the action, I said it looked like a seizure a person would have. I knew those. I never knew dogs got seizures. The reassuring female voice said, “Yes, dogs do get seizures.” She had a dog that had them. She recommended that I take my dog to my vet in the morning.

Lucky had stopped by now and was panting in complete exhaustion. Just gasping for air. He attempted to get up and fell back. Now, I knew what to do. I talked to Lucky to get him back from that terror. I stroked him, wiped his mouth and cleaned his area so he would recover faster. He kept attempting to stand up and only fell down. I gently held him down until his breathing became more normal. Then he started to drink water. He was dried out. He drank and drank. I had to watch that he did not over drink. So many things to watch and not really know if I was doing the right thing. I just wanted to help this poor dog feel better.

Then he started to pace and was terribly restless. I needed sleep by now. So I put him in his crate and covered it with a blanket so he would rest. We both slept exhaustedly.

When the vet’s office opened, I had Lucky there. Lucky still seemed out of it. The vet checked him over. He asked if he had had any seizures before. Then I recalled that March event with the crate being knocked apart. I explained it to the doctor, who confirmed it probably was a seizure.

The really sad hindsight I had was that I believe Lucky aka Simon was dumped at the Humane Society because the owners saw one of his seizures and got rid of the dog without telling anyone about “Simon” having seizures. That family thought he would not be adopted. Probably so. Or worse, put to sleep.

Lucky was lucky again. I was used to special needs, because of my fourth son’s seizures and special needs, I had gotten a Learning Disabilities degree to teach my son as well as LD kids (now called ADD and ADHD).

Lucky got to stay at the vet’s hospital for observation, where he did have another seizure for them to actually diagnose and do the tests for his level of medication. Lucky became a pill taker — phenobarbital. The drugstore did not require his paw print signature.

What happens next?

Patricia Lewis
www.bloggal.wordpress.com

To Train Or Not To Train
Dog training started in two days. Lucky was a very strong dog and pulled me around the yard on his cloth leash. I was pooped out with just walking him in our open yard on his leash. I was glad he was going to training.

These two students arrived early for class. We were ready for anything. Being pulled by Lucky was not my idea of fun dog walking. My daughter-in-law, Birgit, was bringing their new Golden Retriever puppy, Max, so the two dogs would get to know each other in a neutral area. We looked forward to better control of our dogs.

Lucky was the funniest student Rob had ever had. Lucky would do the drill in the beginning and after 3-4 times, he sat down and said, “Enough, I got it!” That was it.

Lucky loved to be with the other dogs. No size was a threat to him. He showed his kindness and friendliness even to the bigger dogs. He was a very sociable dog to begin with and wanted to be with the other dogs.

We practiced and practiced at home until “he had enough” and sat down to do no more. He really did have it. I had to learn it and get the signals right so we both were on the right page. I was the slow learner.

Kindergarten Graduation Day came for these Beginners. Lucky looked great in his newest groom. He really liked all the attention and pictures being taken.

We were going onto the next level. I needed more help with this big dog.

Some of his other dog buddies were also going on to the next level. All were big dogs and frightened owners. What a match we all were.

I was still being dragged by Lucky as we walked around. I had even taken Lucky up to Troy, OH to visit my widowed sister-in-law. I tried several different types of chains, collars, chokers on Lucky to see what would slow him down. Nothing! Not even my full body weight. He was only 50 pounds and I was 3 times that. I needed to do something about that. Not my weight, his pulling me.

Back to class. Rob helped me with a Halti for dogs. It is very similar to the halter for a horse. Lucky got it. With his nose down, he couldn’t drag me. It was perfect. Except for those times, he cleverly pulled the Halti off with his paws. It was a duel for a while until Lucky really got the command, “Uh Uh!”.

He walked slower and closer to me, even did “heel” for me. It became a pleasure to walk Lucky from then on.

Lucky To The Rescue

Shortly after Lucky’s arrival to his new home, we had an ice storm. Lucky did not like it at all. Where were his smell spots? What was a dog to do? He had a terrible time knowing where to do his business.

One lunchtime during the freeze, I was walking Lucky in the backyard. He suddenly bolted, yanked the leash from my hand and took off toward the house. I quickly walked after him and put my foot out to step on the leash. Down I went, kersplat…. Man, that ground was hard.

I yelled for Lucky. He stopped, saw what had happened to me and came running back. I was able to grab the leash and use his strong shoulders to get myself off the ground. He was so good. He got a goodie for that rescue.

My jewel of a dog started to show other traits.

To Be Continued.

Patricia Lewis www.bloggal.wordpress.com

Have You Had A Dream Dog You Always Wanted?

I found him. Oops, I found my dream dog, a standard French poodle.

He had a lame name, Simon. Oh, you’re right. It probably was for Simone, the French version.

I had been referred to the PetFinder.com website and there was this rag tag poodle named Simon. I called the Humane Society in Tifton, GA. Where was that city? I had to see if the dog was still there. Simon was.

The Society was just about to do all the testing for heartworm, any illnesses and to neuter him. They would know about the heartworm in 2 days.

I waited breathlessly for the results.

Two days and I was on that phone, “Well?” No heartworm and he had already been neutered. “Whew,” my heart stopped racing.

“I’ll be down to Tifton on January 19, 2004.” I raced out to buy a crate to carry Simon back to Spartanburg. I got his bowl, bed, leash etc. and there was $200 spent right away. That beat the cost of $200 for a cleaned up standard poodle. I next made an appointment for Simon at the groomer as he would have to be cleaned up before he was going to be able to live indoors with me.

I was allergic to dogs so I have to be aware of which dog I can have. I had a choice of 5 breeds. I wanted a big dog, only one was big, the French poodle.

I posted the picture of Simon at the Ladies Only of Spartanburg Fitness Center, where I worked. I told everyone, “I was going to get Simon on the 19th and would not be there.”

Everyone was excited about my future dog. “He looked so big,” so many said. Since it was going to be only “Simon” and me, I didn’t care. He was my standard poodle.

The day arrived. I left around 8:30 a.m. and arrived to meet Simon around 1:00 pm. The ladies bought out a very bewildered Simon. He allowed me to pet him. Yes, he was as dirty as his picture. I think he smelled a little. The benefit of my poor smeller.

I paid $60 for Simon and someone said, “he is so lucky to have you get him.” That’s when the name Simon went out the window and in came Lucky Louie as the new name for my new dog. Had to keep some of the French!

Getting him in the car was our first barrier. The staff and I found out right away the crate was too small for him, big but not big enough for movement. He got in and I felt he was at least safe for the drive back to Spartanburg.

Off we went! Lucky said nothing.

I got him out of the car at a rest area after passing through Atlanta so he could stretch his legs. Or rather because of the carpets I had put on the car seat, he fell out of the car. Lucky did not want to get back into the car when it was time to go. I had to lift him up and push him into the crate.

“Is this what I have to look forward to, picking Lucky up to get him in the car?”

I stopped off at the Spartanburg PetSmart to see Lucky’s future dog trainer, Rob, who gave me some tips on getting Lucky in and out of the car. That worked wonderfully the next day.

That night Lucky howled and cried in his crate. He could stand up and he touched the top with his back. Rob said Lucky smelled really bad (I couldn’t smell it much). I had to leave him on the enclosed porch until he was groomed. I put a blanket over his crate so he felt safer and quieted down for the night.

The next day, Lucky was scheduled for his grooming at 8:00 am and would be kept all day as I had to work. It would have been his first day without other animals around so this proved best.

I went to the groomer’s place after work to pick up my big dog. What came out of the shop was this skinny, tall white dog with his cowboy scarf hanging loose around his neck. I asked if this was Lucky. I was assured that it was. That he had been all hair when he arrived. He was too dirty and matted to keep any of it. He had a crewcut. He looked great I told him and he seemed to relax. He wanted to go and we did.

What would the training do for both of us?

To Be Continued….

Patricia Lewis
www.bloggal@wordpress.com

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