The Dog Walks Me

learning what she’s bred for

No, not that Birdman (great movie), this is the birdman that Whiskey LOVES. We are working to train Whiskey with birds (trying to get her to hold a point right now). Eric has been our very informative trainer and this time Whiskey recognized Eric’s car and just jumped right in. It smells like birds, fun, and dog. We met up with, his brother and Yoffi, his now-junior champion Vizsla. Yoffi ranked 7th in puppy field trials (dogs up to 1.5 years of age) out of all pointing breed dogs in Canada and was the only Vizsla to place! I was so stoked to watch Yoffi “work”. Now we don’t want to compete with Whiskey because it’s a full time commitment but it’s really nice to see the dogs work and learn. They are happiest doing the work they are bred for and I just love learning.

wading into the field

Yoffi, handsome junior champion

Puppy in training

We went out to a big field to practice and Eric brought some birds. He set up a bird tied to a string that was fluttering around and both dogs were so excited. This is expected in an experienced dog, but really key for Whiskey. I then tried to walk Whiskey in a big loop around the bird to a pre chosen position, then encouraged her to stay still and hold a point, lifting her back into place when she lunged ahead. After a couple rounds, she got much better and understood what we wanted.

initially Whiskey was so hard to hold back

Putting Whiskey in a “suitcase” and learning how to handle

these dogs are so beautiful

getting better!

Yoffi showing us how it’s done

birdman and birddog

watching from the sidelines

Switching to something else before the dogs lost interest, we kept Whiskey while Yoffi got to go “find” and point a bird. Eric took a bird in a launcher 500m away, came back to Yoffi and released him. It was pretty crazy to see Yoffi run full speed tracking the bird and pointing it out way before we could catch up to him. He held the point until the bird was released and is currently training to keep his point while the bird takes off and flies around.

Yoffi finds the bird and holds point

walking up and he doesn’t move

Still holding point while Eric encourages good style

pointing another bird

I’m really excited to continue her bird training as I just love to see these dogs point. I can tell Whiskey loves it and she’s so keen to learn.

Happy tired Whiskey

very focused Yoffi

We’ve had a couple minor health problems since spring rolled around. We’ve had a couple bumps crop up and are currently finishing up another case of Giardia (Giardiasis) so I thought it might be of interest to keep a diary of small problems should they crop up again.

Bumps

I self-diagnosed these as hives which was caused by an allergic reaction to physical contact (in this case) with something in the environment (a vet would later confirm, but was unable to see the bumps). A couple small bumps would come after a walk in the park and last several hours only appearing on her lower muzzle. I was pretty sure it wasn’t food since I hadn’t been introducing anything new to her diet and it was a specific area (the part she shoves into everything interesting on the ground). Her appetite didn’t change but because she was a little swollen she looked miserable. They were slightly itchy but otherwise didn’t seem to bother her. The bumps appeared on and off for about a week and even her worse case of it had the swelling go down quite fast.

the worst case she had that lasted just hours

Bumps on ear- bumps all over just one ear after a play at the park. Gave her a ear mite treatment just in case, but they disappeared and never came back.

Treatment

I boosted her immune system by cutting out the kibble entirely (she only has at most a cup a day) and giving her a spoonful of local honey every night. Honey has been my go-to when Whiskey has a problem. It’s great for infection and wound healing (applied to the skin) and in this case local honey helps both humans and canines for allergies. I also sprayed on some Burts Bees Anti Itch Soothing Spray because it seemed like she had a mild itch. We also washed all bedding just in case and gave her extra cuddles.

Giardia

A week after the bumps went away completely, there was one evening when I noticed she was less energetic at the park (walking to retrieve the ball, not running). I kept an eye on her and she happily ate dinner and but then was super sleepy. An hour later I noticed her tummy gurgling more than usual (I was lying down with her because I felt something was off) and she didn’t even seem interested in some cantaloupe which she normally loves. Overall it wasn’t a huge change in temperament, because even my partner thought she was just tired from her hike that day. That night she woke us up whining and when we took her out, she pooped twice (soft) and went back to sleep for the rest of the night.

My sleepy girl with gurgles in her tummy

The next day her energy level seemed better but she vomited during a car ride. In the evening again she seemed ok, but in the middle of the night woke us for another poop. After that she was fine with no symptoms since I changed her food back to home cooked and added extra probiotics. We weren’t too concerned at this point because everything went back to normal and we had assumed that she just ate something bad at the park.

energy level is quite normal

Then several days later the wake-up calls to soft poops started again. After a couple days of getting progressively worse it got to the point she was straining to go but couldn’t and would try over and over again. She would also wake us up 3 times at night to go out. At this point we took her to the vet.

waiting at the new vet

During the wait for the vet, she tried to go poop 5 times in an hour. Because it was last minute, we tried out a new vet closer to home that was available (her normal vet was booked up that day). This one was much more thorough in the examination, but asked to do more expensive (and maybe unnecessary) tests. He noticed her heartbeat was slower than normal and did an EKG (she’s just really fit). We also ordered a very comprehensive parasite panel and diarrhea panel, but needed to wait a couple days to hear back. That night I went to Costco and bought a ton of ground chicken and sweet potato so I could start her on a bland diet.

during the day she is normal

We went back to the vet the next morning after 2 rounds of vomiting (mostly bile) and waking up 4-5 times at night for poops. Strangely she was eating fine and her energy was good at the park, but more subdued at home. This time they did a full blood test, gave her extra electrolytes, a subcutaneous fluid injection (fluids injected under her skin) to help elevate any dehydration, and got her started on antibiotics and some special super canine probiotics. Her blood test came back with everything normal, which was a relief because with home-feeding it’s good to have the feedback she’s doing well. Within an hour Whiskey had perked up again has been getting better ever since. Eventually a couple days later we got a call about the poop results and confirmed she had Giardia and I could come pick up more medication.

the lump is the fluid injection, disappears over the day

Whiskey’s had Giardia before as a puppy but this time didn’t present the same as last. As a puppy it came on very fast and was obviously a problem. This time the illness was non-continuous and harder to tell it wasn’t just something she ate in the park.

a bit skinny, needs more food!

Treatment

Vet bills were over $900 so it’s good we were insured!!! If we weren’t insured, we wouldn’t have agreed to all the tests and treatments. So Whiskey had a heart test (EKG), bloodwork, poop test, electrolytes, a subcutaneous fluid injection, probiotics, prescription probiotics, antibiotics, and a small change of diet. The last time we had Giardia we only had a poop test, with quick feedback (40 mins vs 4 days) and antibiotics so the price to treat and diagnose this can vary like crazy depending on the vet!

extra velcro these days

Lessons Learned

-Insurance pays off, especially moments where you don’t want to make decisions based on money
-Even though we spent more at this vet and did more tests, it took longer to get a diagnoses because the fecal test was sent to another lab. Our other vet would have been quicker because they can do it immediately, even though we would have had to wait an extra day to get an appointment.
-A sick dog plus two working parents make for a very hectic week and lots of worrying

Photographing dogs is like photographing babies that can run faster than a bike… It’s just not easy. We recently hiked up Eagle Bluffs again in snowy, freezing rainy, and cloudy conditions. It was cold and dark and wet but I’m really happy I still got some decent shots in. I am no expert and have tons to learn, but if you do like my photographs, here are some tips from what I’ve learned along the way:

TRAINING the dog

Train a good Sit/Stay and Stand/Stay. Your job will be 20x easier if your dog can stay for 20seconds rather than 1 second

Whiskey automatically poses for us now. Her “stays” are great for photographs

You can train them to pose (reward only when you are happy), also train them to respond from afar (freeze from a distance, and walk a bit forward, stay again, go up on that log, look at me, etc). I use treats all the time and though I’m all for treat-less training, I find them really useful especially when you have more than one dog. You can also use them as a way to focus their attention from distractions and where to look (have an assistant hold the treats)

directing dogs for a photo is not always easy!

When taking photos of 2 or more dogs, it’s exponentially more difficult so have patience and keep your camera ready.

Getting both dogs to look at you and stay at the same time can be difficult, especially from a distance

TRAINING the human

Take lots of photos. This is the best advice I have! Also, LOOK at your photos, what should you do better next time? What should you repeat?

Try different angles, get down at their level, or put them up higher and take a shot from below

getting down to their level

Always take multiples (dogs blink and pull weird faces)

Look at amazing photos and get some inspiration. I’m also on Packdog and follow some great semi-pros for ideas:

THE DOGIST
SERENAH
SETH CASTEEL
NICOLE MLAKAR
SARAH MCGRAW
PACKDOG’s WENDY DEVENT (check out other dogs here!)

Anticipate where they are going to go and set your shot up ahead of time, repeat the same photo several times if you can  (get your dog to go back and forth the same path).

We saw a nice place for a photograph and set it up

Learn to multi-task: you will need to be able to walk while looking at a lens, holding treats, checking the light, and also ensuring your dog is behaving.

multitask taking photos while walking and directing dogs

CAMERAS

Understand your own camera- you don’t need an expensive one, though it helps but only if you have knowledge of how to use it. I would suggest to only bring one lens along because switching lenses while hiking is a hassle unless you have loads of time, and don’t mind the extra weight. We hike a lot under the forest canopy so it tends to be really dark. Mix that with the rainy days in Vancouver, plus a fast dog and most of our photos are blurry, even though we have a pretty good lens. A “sporty” camera is great – one that stands up to the elements, and especially if you are going out in the rain, the beach, and generally harsh conditions. Insurance is also great! I’m really hard with my cameras and they always need fixing.

MY GEAR:
Canon S110 (shoots RAW, great video, tiny and compact)
Canon D90 (DSLR, old model but still works fine and I don’t feel bad when it gets sandy and muddy)
Fuji X-T1 (mirrorless, newer, less heavy than D90, good in the dark, slower than D90)

I have a 35mm fixed and a general zoom lens for both cameras.

Use the light that you have. I never use flash because it ruins their eyes and I can’t imagine a dog that is ok with blinding light. If it’s very dark, I’ll make do with silhouettes. For running shots, set your camera to a fixed shutter speed (1/250 and quicker) and don’t attempt unless it’s bright enough. For shots in the rain, or dark locations, don’t shoot slower than 1/60 (for a still dog).

It’s a dark day but against snow, we get more light for faster shots

If you don’t have a seriously quick lens, try to manually focus ahead of time and take the shot when the dog runs past that focus area.

I had to take this shot several times to get the eyes sharp enough

Take practice shots and set up your camera BEFORE trying to photograph the dog. Their attention span is not long enough for you to get them to stay and twiddle with your camera.

POST PROCESSING

Taking the picture is half the work. There’s so much more you can do on the computer (or if you’re old-school, in the darkroom).  I use Adobe Lightroom for my post processing so I can process batches of photographs with a few clicks. Normally I only spend about 2 minutes per photograph because I never have enough time in the day. I always shoot in RAW and use what room I have to fix up problems and mistakes.

the shot I took straight from the camera

targeting the greens to be more saturated, and focused sharpening