Yeah, Yeah

I know, I am waaaaaay behind on this. I’ll try to get caught up, one critter at a time. Let’s start with Duncan, since he always has something going on. Since his last update, he’s done some agility, started training for a draft test, lost weight, joined an epilepsy study at NC State University Vet School, and had a whole lot of seizures.

Duncan earned his VALOR Intermediate Jumpers title in November, and started working on Snooker and Perfect 50. There are a couple of VALOR fun days coming up and Nationals will be in late April. If all goes well, he’ll have a lot of qualifying runs, add a few more titles and have a ton of fun.

We’re planning to attend a draft workshop in early March to help us prepare for a draft test a couple of weeks later. Duncan’s been practicing his maneuvering and working on his weight training, since he has to pull a 20lb load during the off-road portion of the test. Granted, 20lbs isn’t much for a big fellow like him, but he still needs to get used to it. The hardest part for him is backing up, although he only has to move the cart 12 inches at the Novice level. I’m sure he’ll be ready for it by mid-March.

Now for the not so fun stuff…

Thanks to the Phenobarbital, Duncan packed on about 24lbs between January and November. That’s a lot more weight than is healthy for him. I started weaning him off the Pb in November, and he was completely off by late December. He’s now taking Zonisamide twice a day, instead. Being done with the Pb has been wonderful for him in the sense that he’s back to being the dog he used to be. Unfortunately, his seizures are coming more frequently and have been getting more severe. His last set was 7 grand mals in 21 minutes a couple of days ago, with 6 in 20 minutes just a few days before that. He had 10 grand mals in 31 hours over New Year’s. We’ve started a new cluster-buster protocol with Keppra that really seems to work, but the meds make him extremely ataxic so it takes a couple of days to recover from the treatment. We did get the great news in January that he’d lost 12lbs since November 1st. With luck, we’ll have him back down to a sleek 115lbs in another month or so.

Duncan was asked to participate in a study being done by the vet school (well, I was asked if I’d put him in the study, but you get the idea). They’re testing to see if external electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve will help increase the time between seizures and decrease the severity. I have a small device that I put against his neck two to three times a day for 90 seconds. We’ve been doing it for a few weeks now, and so far I’d say its not helping at all. Maybe after a little more time… One thing we have discovered is that Duncan really hates the thing for about 24 hours after a seizure. I think that’s pretty interesting, especially considering he’s actually slept through the treatment before.

Other than the seizures, Duncan’s doing pretty well. I’m going to give him a run at barn hunting in the next few weeks, and I’m hoping we’ll be able to attend a rally trial in May. It just all depends on how his noggin is doing, since he’s pretty much comatose for about 48 hours after a cluster. Paws crossed for the big pup!

What A Weekend

This past weekend was a mix of good and bad, fun and frustrating. We started with plans for Duncan to do an agility run. Duncan has recently joined VALOR, which is a virtual agility program. You get the course maps, rent the space, videotape the run and submit it as an entry. Since you can try as many times as you need, every entry should be a Q for the dog. VALOR has a series of levels through which the dog can progress, or you can stay at the beginners level forever. Kodiak will also be joining the league, which I hope will help with a lot of his fear issues.

Brother John had agreed to man the video camera for Duncan's run and then we were going to go to lunch. Unfortunately, an hour before John was supposed to arrive, Duncan had a grand mal seizure. I'd been hoping to lower the dose of phenobarb that he takes - he's still having trouble with the side effects - but it doesn't look like that's an option now. I'm still going to talk to the vet about it, to see if there's something else we can try that might not have such strong side effects on my poor pup. What really worries me this time is that his last pair of grand mals was just about two months ago, when he had about seven months between the first pair and second pair. I say pair because that's what he's done before - a second grand mal a few hours after the first. Saturday was different - the meds must be doing something useful because he only had one grand mal this time. Assuming he didn't have one outside after I'd gone to bed, of course.

Since we'd already made plans, John and I decided to go out for brunch. The rest of my Saturday was quiet, spent doing chores and keeping an eye on Duncan.

Sunday was a busy day. Reyna had a tracking session that morning. She did very nicely - when she felt like it - especially considering she hadn't done any tracking in a long time. The silly girl would show no interest at all, then tear down the track straight to the glove, and then become totally distracted by anything and everything. The trainer just kept shaking his head, looking bewildered. Despite that, he's agreed to continue working with us in hopes that we can get Reyna ready to take a tracking test.

Back home, a quick lunch, and then it was time for yard work. But first, play time! Duncan seemed pretty together so I hitched him to his wagon for some drafting practice. He grinned the entire time we cruised the cul-de-sac. After unhitching Duncan, I took Kodiak for a walk through the neighborhood. He did very well - only once did his tail start to tuck under his belly. We managed to do about a mile and a half before his brain started leaking out his ears. That's huge progress for him. I spent about 30 minutes throwing the ball for Reyna (she was feeling good that day) and then actually managed to fit in some yard work. Not surprisingly, all four of us crashed early.

Drafting Dog

I'm exhausted, sun-burnt, and my foot is killing me, but it was SOOO worth it! Duncan and I attended a drafting workshop near Charlottesville, VA, yesterday. We left the house at 5:15am, got home at 7:30pm, and were passed out on the couch by 8:30pm. It was a long day but so much fun. The Bernese Mountain Dog Club of Central Virginia hosted the workshop and allowed all breeds to attend. Duncan was the only GSD, but we also saw a Siberian husky, a poodle, two corgis and a Cavalier King Charles spaniel. The workshop was geared primarily towards new dogs and handlers, but there were several advanced handlers there to both help and show their skills. Duncan and I were assisted by Jerry, a fellow who's had drafting dogs for many years - several of them with Master Draft Dog titles.

After taking Duncan through the basic steps of pulling a drag, a sled, and walking with shafts near his face, Jerry quickly realized Duncan was ready to be hitched to a wagon. Duncan definitely liked this wagon a lot more than the cart that was made for him a couple of years ago. This one was much, much lighter and very nicely balanced. Before the morning was over, Duncan was handling bumpy terrain and making turns like he'd been doing it for ages. After lunch, we put Duncan through the paces of a Novice Draft Dog test (without the additional 20lbs he'd have to pull). He did everything just fine, including the weave poles, the narrows, and even backing the cart up. There's a two day Draft Dog test at the end of September near DC - I really hope Duncan and I can get there.