I haven't updated in a while because I've been posting so many pictures lol. I posted some cute pictures of Chrome on his blog (click here) yesterday if you want to check them out. I went back looking at his training journal and I've stuck with the clicker training almost every single day for a month now. :) Maybe I can keep the motivation to work with him everyday all summer. I've worked with Zeppelin four days straight now. :) He's doing well with it. I've been posting his progress on Chrome's blog too.
I've worked with Jackal a little, but probably not as much as I should. I need to get back to it because he's finally started offering the shy behavior all by himself. I only have four more days to work on it before I put up a new poll for our next trick (although that won't stop me from continuing to work on it). My plan is to teach him twelve new tricks this year and post a video at the end of the year showing all of his new tricks. :) So far that's kept me motivated to actually do some training instead of stressing me out with deadlines. I also like having the poll to get you guys involved and I also have a training partner Jen over at Black Dog Blog. It's helping me to stay motivated, now I just need to work on consistency. I'll get there though. It's so worth it when we learn something new together and have fun doing it.
Poor Stormy has a yeast infection in both ears, so a groomer friend of mine came over to shave the hair out of her ears. Siberian Huskies have so much hair it can be difficult to clear up infections. With no hair her ears will stay dryer which will help them heal faster. She hates her treatments but she's actually doing well. My groomer friend also trimmed the hair between her pads. She did not like the clippers at all! It went much the same as the hair dryer experience of 2002 lol. She just doesn't like anything that resembles grooming. I wish I'd known about clicker training when she was a puppy. Once the ear infection is cleared up I'm going to use clicker training to desensitize her to clippers. :)
My husband's back still isn't any better . . . :( In fact his doctor has finally admitted they don't know what to do and so have referred us to somebody else. It's really frustrating as it's been six months now and no progress. I'm going to try to convince him to try acupuncture so if anyone has success stories to help me convince him to go bring them on lol.
Other than that I guess there isn't much else to report. Things are quiet right now which is a good thing. I'm just working as many hours as I can and I'm looking for a full time, better paying job although it's going to kill me to leave the job I have now. I'm considering a second part time job just so I don't have to leave where I am now. We shall see. Anyway I'll post Storm's snow pictures tomorrow. Night everyone!
My husband is an acupuncturist, and I can attest, it works!!!! For something like back issues, it is definitely worth a try if nothing else Western medicine has to offer has made an improvement. Sometimes it is something that our Western medical procedures just can't pinpoint, but the different approach that acupuncture takes can make a huge difference. Please try and convince him to at least go for a few sessions. For something like back issues, the improvement can be amazing. It's a shame people sometimes wait until the last straw to try it, but I have personal experience that when I thought nothing else would help, acupuncture (and massage) turned everything around.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
(P.S. make sure he goes to see a licensed acupuncturist, not just a chiropractor or MD with some acupuncture experience; it does make a difference in the training. They should have L.Ac. after their name)
Poor Storm--first her ears hurt and then you torture her with clippers! I hope she gets better, soon.
ReplyDeleteThat is terrible about your husband. He should try anything to get some relief. Men can be so frustrating.
I don't think you did anything wrong by leaning on Chrome's back. Leaning or even sitting up there is nothing like riding. I know a lot of people will disagree with me, but I don't see anything wrong with very light riding at about 2.5 years. If a horse gallops around on his own, what would walking around with a riderfor a few minutes harm? Just don't overdo it.
Oh my goodness, you've had a lot on your plate - you poor thing! As someone who also has a husband with back issues, I can totally sympathise. Paul also struggled with trying various thing for months before his doctors finally decided that surgery was the only option in his case. It did 'fix' the short-term problem (& remove potential threat to his spinal nerves) but he still has to take great care of his back to prevent a similar thing recurring. He does special exercises every day and has to avoid certain activitis that might jar his back (eg, no more horseriding ever!) I don't know surgery is an option in your husband's case but sometimes it might be the only solution in the end.
ReplyDeleteAs for poor Storm - I hope her ears get better soon! I know what you mean about wishing you'd started things earlier. I concentrated so much of my time on Honey as a puppy that we hardly spent much on socialising/training Lemon - so like for example, we never got her used to grooming and she really hated it as an adult cat and used to struggle and try to get away. So now we're trying to get Muesli used to it as early as possible!
Hsin-Yi