Vote for Ernie! - Monday, 11 October 2010

Ernie has an entry in the World's Coolest Dog & Cat Show!
Would you give a look at his entry in the "Naughtiest Dog" category and vote for E-Man?

http://www.dogster.com/show10/vote_pet.php?i=77288 1

The photo is from his masterpiece - "Hot Tub Cover, I Dig You," one of in the "Ernie's Creative Works" series. He's quite the artist, don't you think?
;)

A Year With Ernie - Friday, 10 April 2009

All that was in my mind was “Come on little guy. . . come on,” as I crouched on the back side of a crate, waiting for a skinny feral pup following the trail of hot dogs. It was my third day trying to catch him, and I was determined it’d be the last.

Once he was in the crate and I’d pulled the door shut, I had no idea what lie ahead of me. I didn’t intend on adding a third dog to my home. I had so much on my plate already. I had no idea how difficult it was to find a rescue or no-kill shelter that would take in a feral puppy. I had no clue how much time, energy and effort it would take to help this little guy in moving on from his very difficult start in life. All I wanted was to get him somewhere safe so he could have a chance at life.

The last year has been one of growth, frustration, progress, laughter and patience. Ernie’s challenges are greater than Jasmine & Hugo’s, and intern, have challenged me more than before. I’m proud of the progress he’s made. From a puppy no one could touch, to a dog that I can hold, carry and snuggle. He’s learned so many “tricks,” it’s hard to list them all.

Looking back at my journal entries, I found things I’d forgotten. Personality traits I started to see during the first month he was here are definitely still present:
- He is in deed funny and is quite a clown. For a while, we thought he might be a nerd and considered naming him Milton (a lot of you liked it too).
- He’s still earnest (where his name came from), particularly when it's time to "work."
- He’s smart and quick as ever.
- He doesn't just grumble now when he gets frustrated, now he stamps his front feet and whines.

I noticed a couple of other things too. When I first introduced Ernie to Jasmine & Hugo, I though E-Man loved other dogs. In hindsight, I think Ernie was good with meeting H&J because they had a gradual introduction. They smelled each other on our clothes for days. Heard each other, then saw each other briefly, then for longer periods of time. Hugo and Jasmine practiced “look at that” when Ernie was next door. It didn't take long for E-Man (who was having major separation anxiety) to see we lived with J&H, so that was additional inspiration. When I look back at pictures from the day they met, I can also see that Ernie (who was only 20-some pounds) was cautious/nervous with them, although happy too.

In less than a month, he first started showing signs of resource guarding and fear reactivity. He’d found his voice and started barking at scary things. In 2 months, he’s exaggerated startle response/PTSD began surfacing. My vet suggested that behavior modification medication might help E-Monster. I wanted to continue and pursue with his training and try more “natural” methods first. Looking back, I can see how much he grew, and I’m even more sure that we’ve hit a plateau in his learning and conquering his fears.

Taking stock in all that’s happened and working on Ernie’s new behavior modification plan, I'm looking forward to his continuing progress in the coming months. As my trainer/behaviorist says, "He's got a lot of potential!"

Mercy! It's been a while! - Wednesday, 25 February 2009

I have to go back and add some thing that have been happening to E-Man over the last few months!

One of the biggest is that he's had his first big snow! And then a second, and a third! At first, he had a hard time figuring out how to walk through the stuff. He was awkward and wobbly, using his tale as a counter balance. But then he got his snow groove going, and now he cruises through, hot on the trail of whatever smells he can find! Last week, I could see that he'd had enough of all the snowfall. We had 30 inches on the ground and he just seemed tired of it. He plays in it, runs around and goes on his walks, but he's not a snow dog who loves the white stuff like his cousins are. He's just not built for it.

This week he surprised me with a new "trick." I was working on the computer to finish something in time for a deadline, which was delaying the dogs getting their breakfast. Each dog came and reminded me that it was time for "comida"; Hugo came and nudged his nose under my arm, staring at me. Jasmine came up and put her front feet on my chair and licked my face. Ernie came and stood on the little step near the chair, stared at me and whined a little. Then he got down, hopped up with his front feet on the top of his crate, grabbed his food dish, carried it across the room, dropped it on the floor in front of me and stared at me.

After I stopped laughing, I got to feeding the beasties.

More Progress! - Monday, 14 July 2008

This week, on the 3rd month anniversary of his rescue, Ernie made it though his first thunderstorm. It was a bit scary at first, but Hugo, Jasmine, Ernie and I spent the rest of it on the floor playing with toys, and all was well. :D

We had another milestone yesterday when I took Ernie to town for socializing. We’ve been practicing sitting in the car with the door open looking at people and not barking. Well, he’s been practicing – I don’t normally bark at people. Ernie’s been too scared to set foot (paw, excuse me) outside the car, even in a parking lot with a few cars and no people.

He was doing really well, and I started having him come closer and closer to getting out of the car to get his treats. Then he surprised me and hopped on the ground and started walking around! We walked around the market and post office parking lot, and even along the street for a bit. He passed people, including someone in a wheel chair, a baby in a stroller and a few small groups and he did great! We crossed the street when 2 women were walking towards us with a baby because Ernie wasn’t ready to deal with them. There are also a number of big rocks in the lot, and he was more than happy to jump up on them, sit on and practice “shake”, “give me five”, and “touch”.

And, a man pulled over and asked me what breed my “cool looking dog” is! Ha! 100% pure rez dog! I get asked that about Hugo a lot, but this was a first for E-Man. Too bad he couldn’t understand and get a little confidence boost from the compliment. ;)

As we were leaving, I saw a friend who is one of the dogs’ favorite people, so we pulled over to say hi. Although Ernie was happy to see her, he barked at a few people again – he’d had enough for one day. So he had one more positive experience watching at a family getting in their van and ended the trip to town on a good note.

Rattlesnake!!! - Thursday, 19 June 2008

What a morning!
I let the dogs out into the yard, and as usual, Ernie started barking. Jasmine joined him, and I thought, "So and so is walking by . . . " I called out for them to be quiet as I made my way to the door to see who they were "greeting" this time. Hugo was right there on the porch. Ernie was down below, barking away. I wondered why he was barking at Jasmine. But it wasn’t Jasmine he was barking at, it was a rattlesnake!!! Jasmine was about 4 feet away from it on one side, and Ernie on the other side about 5 feet away!

I called them and Jasmine came. Ernie wouldn't come or stop barking at the snake. Fortunately, it looked like it'd eaten a couple of mice, it wasn't coiled and was looking pretty lethargic. When I went to get Ernie, he ran around me and all the way around the other side of the house to bark at the snake from the other direction. I was eventually able to lure him with some treats, scoop him up and get him inside.

My first worry was Jasmine, because she was closest to the snake and I wasn’t sure if it might have bitten her or not. She was acting kinda strange, but I think that’s because I kept looking at her, feeling her legs, chest and neck for puncture wounds and watching her for signs of pain and swelling. The snake was a juvenile, and it coiled and hissed at me when I put a bucket over it. I made a call and it was relocated for a mere $30.

I feel very fortunate and am happy to report that the dogs are all romping up a storm and everyone’s fine.

Finding a rattlesnake in your yard will wake you up faster than a cup of coffee!

Late Spring Update – 15 June 2008

Ernie, Jasmine & Hugo have had an eventful spring. We had a lot of friends in town in May for our 19th annual Earth Fair and during that time, I only tried to directly introduce Ernie to one friend. He’s a particularly calm and gentle person, so he was a natural choice. Ernie had a hard time and was only able to come within a few feet of him without barking. He was so scared he couldn’t accept treats either. As my friend put it, “He’s still fragile.”

It’s been 2 months since his rescue, and Ernie’s gained 11.5 pounds, putting him at almost 32 pounds. The vet still thinks he’ll be about 40-45 pounds when full-grown. His 2 month anniversary also was the day he was neutered and his first overnight away from home since we’ve had him. The vet exam went pretty well (thanks to the magic of “doggy downers”), and although he was scared, he didn’t bark, growl or snarl. He did shake, but all in all, it was better than our last visit.

Ernie continues to be comfortable at home, and Hugo & Jasmine are still pretty patient with him. Ernie’s resource guarding regarding food and J&H got a bit more intense, and he also began to guard us as resources, starting a few fights. That prompted a call to our trainer/behaviorist who gave me some tips on addressing the situation before it gets worse. The poor guy must have really gone through it when he was out on his own and may not have had positive interactions with bigger dogs. So the advise seems to be helping and I’m hopeful we’ll be able to teach Ernie a new way of reacting/behaving in these situations.

The last 2 nights have been hard as Ernest has taken to having barking episodes, and I can’t find the reason why. The worst was this morning from 4-5am. Each time, J&H were fine, so I know there wasn’t anything outside. I have no idea what was going on and I tried everything I could think of, but couldn’t find a way to help him. *sigh* These are the days I feel ill equipped to handle 3 dogs with “issues” and I hope things will improve.

Little Ernie's A Smartie! - Sunday, 11 May 2008

We've been working on heel (he's about 85%), quiet (this, will take time but is very important) and over (as in jumping over something). Today he learned down, stand, shake (with each paw), give me 5 (with each paw) and give me 10. :)

I also discovered that like Jasmine, Hugo and their siblings, he wants to climb every rock in the forest that he can and is now really good at walking across downed trees. It's kinda cute to see all 3 dogs clambering to walk across a log or to jump over one if we're hiking past it. :D

Ernie Was Rescued A Month Ago - Saturday, 10 May 2008

It’s been a month since I rescued the little guy. When I think back to that day and how he was, it’s amazing how far he’s come. A month ago I couldn’t touch him, now I can pick him up, hold him, carry him, hug him, rub his belly and give him a bath. He loves his cousins Hugo & Jasmine; playing with them/harassing them is one of his favorite things. J They are very tolerant of him and I’m so proud of them and their acceptance of the little guy. Ernest also loves going for hikes and unfortunately, like his cousins, he’s a turd eater too (yuck!) His leash walking is pretty good and he’s almost got heeling down.

While his progress with us is really remarkable, his socializing goes slowly. He’s scared of sooooo many things, including people and other dogs. This week he met my friend’s teenie tiny dog – that was a pretty frightening for him, but after a time, he calmed down. He also encountered motorcycles on a hike, and a big dog walking with his owner at night. Tonight, he was introduced to TV, for maybe the first time. That was scary too, and Jasmine & Hugo did a good job of showing him it was nothing to be afraid of, and we worked on “look at that” for about a half hour. After that, he went into his crate to lie down and we were able to watch the movie.

I’m curious what changes the next month will bring . . .

New Milestones - Sunday, 4 May 2008

Yesterday I was at an event at the place where I found Ernie almost a month ago. A number of people asked me about the little guy or commented on how much better he’s looking in his recent photos, including the guy who was with me and spotted him that very first day.

Ernie has “found his voice”, which I suppose is both good and not so good. He now barks when he’s scared or anxious instead of hiding. He often “sounds the alarm” and sets Hugo & Jasmine off. They usually join in even if they don’t know what the cause for alarm is. *sigh*

I took him on his first socializing visit to town this week and he was incredibly frightened of many things, so it’s going to be a slow process.

This week my friend came over and we walked Jasmine and Ernie together, then Hugo and Ernie. She had Ernie both times, which was helpful because he’s putting trust in another person, and I could work with J&H. Ernie did well, and we only had a couple of scary moments. The first was when we had to walk by a yard with 4-5 barking dogs. Ernie just froze and there was no getting through to him. I picked him up, walked quickly away, put him back down and he was able to move on. The other was walking by a house where we though we heard acorns hitting an oak tree. We were only a house away and a HUGE branch of the oak tree broke off the tree and came crashing down! It scared all 4 of us! Thankfully it didn’t fall when we were walking under it!

Ernie is also riding in the car well, both alone and with Jasmine and Hugo. They each seem to have their spots: Jasmine on the seat behind the driver, Hugo in the middle with his bum on the back seat, leaning forward with his arms and chest leaning on the armrest in the center of the front seats, and Ernie on the back seat behind the passenger. :D

It was my birthday this weekend and one of the best parts was Ernie reaching a few new milestones: no “accidents” in the house, he relieved himself while on a hike, and tonight he took a nap in my lap.

Feeling MUCH Better - Wednesday, 30 April 2008

The little guy has come out of his shell and is letting his true colors show. He’s definitely a puppy, with the energy to match! Hugo and Jasmine deserve more than I can give them for putting up with all they do from him. There are times that they come up to me and give me the “please, make him go away” look.

It turns out that “off” is the new necessary cue for E-Man (thanks Monte & Mokie for his new nickname) is learning. ‘Off’ the crate, ‘off’ the side of the counter, ‘off’ Jasmine and particularly ‘off’ Hugo (the humping is a little much). With all the running, romping and boinging that he’s doing, it’s apparent his back leg is doing just fine!

He’s also started growling at Jasmine & Hugo when food is in the picture. I’m not too surprised by this; H&J’s litter had major food aggression issues when we first rescued them. I think it comes from being a starving rez dog. Related to that is that he never seems to be able to get enough to eat. He’s putting on weight, but he’s still a skinny guy.

Yesterday I gave him a bath. He did pretty well and actually seemed to enjoy it some of the time. Most of his scabs have come off, but there are still a lot of places where his fur hasn’t grown back over his wounds.

Today we’re going to try a trip to town and see how that goes.