Here's Mud in Your Eye...

I rediscovered this photo when I was organizing my picture files. The breeder kept us up to date on the litter prior to us taking our puppy home. We didn't know which one we were going to get, so seeing Hank in hindsight has been fun. Here he is with the breeder's pet Dasch---Dachsun---Weiner Dog, Trixie!

Hankday started with a trip to the vet's office. He's had really red eyes for about a week now, which the constable and I thought might just be a result of some sand that was causing some irritation, as we take him to the beach quite often. Last night at puppy school, Hank's eyes were almost completely red, which caused me a great deal of concern. This morning they were more pink, but his one eye has been weeping pretty badly, and as gross as it is to say it, turned into a very discoloured puss over the last few days.

His trainer suggested that it might be a food allergy, but I wasn't totally convinced. The hubs came home last night from his shift and said that he could see Hank's weeping eye from the doorway, in the dark. So we thought it best he take a little trip to see the doctor.

The first thing they always do is weigh him. He's 58 lbs. Fifty----eight. I've never really parented a dog all on my own before. My mom had a Lhasa Apso when I was growing up (small dog), which they said they bought for me, but it was clearly my mother's dog. Then the constable got Maury, the wonder Jack Russell ('nother small dog) when we were dating and though I wasn't directly involved in his care, I was around a lot. I mostly just played with him! So good 'ol Hank here is my first dog that is entirely mine. Well, ours I should say. And he's 58 lbs, at not quite five months old. This just blows me away. I don't know how my husband talked me into getting a small horse as a house pet.

I knew he was in the fifty-odd pound range, as it's been getting quite unmanageable when I take him out for his business trips on the leash. But I had no idea that he was breathing heavily down the neck of sixty pounds. It's a good thing we're in training. Though you wouldn't know it from this morning's performance at the vet's office.

There was this sweet little black lab puppy sitting there, being good, and the minute Hank walked in the door, he went practically apeshit with the barking. And he's got a big, bad bark. I knew he was being playful. He was just saying hello, in a very unavoidable and attention getting manner. Had he been off the leash, I don't know as he would've barked like that. After seeing his behaviour at puppy school these last three weeks, I'm starting to learn more and more about his behaviour and dog behaviour in general.

Then another dog walked in and Hank's mood changed dramatically. To me, his bark and his stance changed. He seemed to get a little more aggressive. Which I did not like at all. The woman with the new dog was quite gracious about it, and waited outside until Hank was no longer in the waiting room.

So he's darting all around the waiting area and barking like a mad fool and I am just mortified. I get quite upset about this kind of stuff. I know he's only a puppy still and we're working on the behaviour, but ya know, I want my good natured Hank to be a model of good behaviour when we're out in public. I might know that his bark is benevolent, but it sure doesn't sound like that to everyone!

Getting his eyes checked was a bit of an adventure. He's still very bitey, which I also don't like at all, and neither did the vet. He's quite soft about it, but definitely too old to still be doing it.

So, as Hank is on March Break next week from puppy school (the trainer also boards dogs and has a full house next week) we have a few issues to work on. One; separation anxiety. We did a hand off exercise last night which did not go very well for Hank. I feel very badly for the other participant who were dragged around the room by a very stressed out and desperate dog wanting very badly to get back to his mama.

Two: watch me. This is an essential first step to controlling all other behaviour problems. He's fine in the house of course, so we need to step it up a notch and include some distractions. Once he knows to look at me before making a decision on how to behave, we'll be away to the races. This should help with barking at new people and new dogs.

Three: walking using the Halti. I tried out his Halti head harness last week for a quick walk and Hallelujah, what a difference. We bought it when Hank was little wee and of course it didn't fit his head. The whole point of the Halti is to discourage pulling while walking, as it fits around the snout. If he starts to pull, his head will automatically turn, and he stops pulling. He's not a big fan of putting it on, and fusses quite a bit while we're on the walk, but he really likes being out, so there's more progress than regress.

Four: mouthing and biting. This has got to stop. As evidenced today, I've been putting up with it for too long. He's gentle, but you just never, ever know. Not sure how to remedy this one.

I'm off to get some really irresistible Gucci dog treats. Something that he absolutely can't ignore. Maybe he'll get a little something special for having to get salve in his eye twice a day for the next week. Poor Hank.