TRIGGER WARNING - this post is about behavioral euthanasia. I posted about Elke, our GSD, when she passed away in December. What I could not write then was that her death was a behavioral euthanasia. Even though I know that the decision we made for Elke was the kind and humane thing to do, I still felt like I failed her.

Today I had to practice what I preach when it comes to sniffing walks. We went to a location that we had not been to in a couple of weeks and a spin about this park usually takes us 15 minutes. Today, the sniffing walk lasted 55 minutes! Clearly, Gibbs had some catching up to do in this park.

This photo is not put up to let you see how beautiful this sunrise is; it is shown to be a reflection of what life has been like with our sound-sensitive GSD Elke this week and to talk about forgiving yourself when you make a training mistake.

When you live with a reactive or fearful dog, you live a life of hypervigilance. If you’re lucky enough, your dog might have a tell or outward sign that shows you when he or she is reaching their threshold or state of over-arousal.

Leash Lock, Control Position, Back-Tie, Leash Quick Control – these are four defensive leash handling techniques that I had to use on an early morning walk with one of my fearful dogs. When you have to employ these techniques, it is typically because you have run into a potentially dangerous situation for you and your dog.

Let’s start this with me sharing that I avoid confrontation at all costs. I am a people pleaser, a retired nurse, and I look for peace and harmony all the time. I tackle tough issues privately with people but never in a public forum. As such, I am more than a little scared of where this blog post may take me. Here we go……

Elke had her annual checkup at the vets yesterday and by doing some very simple things we were able to make her visit less stressful and even a bit enjoyable.

Let’s set the stage, I am the quintessential Type A person. I like to work. I thrive on having a project and setting goals, Excel spreadsheets and check lists make me feel warm and fuzzy.