Nosework class (2/39)

Gimme was better at searching than the week before, but still not quite her usual self. I did discover this was her special day - she was flagging her tail as I was putting her panties on. She was really goosey about everything Monday and Tuesday, which is explained by it being her special day.

Since then we met Nadine for tracking and did article circles again. She laid two circles and Gimme was a bit blasé for the first one, but got into what she was doing for the second circle. This makes me wonder if she is having trouble with the grass pollen, even though she's taking bee pollen. Perhaps her nose isn't it's usual excellent self and in combination with her other concerns, it's enough to throw her off her game.

Exterior 1 video - The search area was a large exterior, which was freshly bulldozed and trees removed. There were three hides. A dog before Gimme peed and I tried to avoid the area, but I marked it wrong in my head. She did a lovely job getting to the nearest hide so quickly. Gimme and August were the only dogs in class to go straight to the rock pile at the back after finding the near hide. Gimme got back there quickly, but it took her a little bit to source the hide since the breeze died down as we got there. It took her 28 seconds to decide exactly where the hide was, but then she was very clear. Unfortunately from there she got to the pee spot. The sharp "no" is just a reflex, but it's just as well and I ended the search and took her away from the search area - to make sure she always understands the rule. This is only the 6th time she's ever marked during a search in her whole career of 8 years.

Exterior 2 video - There were two hides in this area. The same person's other dog marked in this search at the very end of the area. You'll see Gimme moved wide of the spot, being careful to avoid it - she doesn't make the same mistake twice, even in her special condition. We quickly walked the length of the search area (with one brief diversion) and she went right up the side of the dumpster to indicate the hide. It was interesting that she went a bit past the mailboxes, then swung back. She sniffs high on the chainlink and must've caught some scent, since she went directly to the hide from there. Way to go Empress...

I'm glad to see she's getting her nose back, since she needs some positive outlets. She's been in a weird place mentally for several weeks and getting worse. I've thought it was this thing or another, but have come to believe it's really this whole period of time, starting in late June through the present.

• It started with two sore/jammed toes on her left front paw.
• Then her atlas vertebra (the top one) was out of alignment. Doc said this often feels like a migraine - I know I get migraines when mine is out. This likely contributed to what came next...
• I've already talked a bunch about the grand mal seizure
• I took her in see the chiropractor, Dr. Powell, to double-check her atlas, only to discover her shoulder was badly locked up and quite painful.
• Yesterday we went in for another checkup and found the atlas and shoulder were fine, but her toes are still bothering her. I already noticed one toenail has a bit broken off and Doc saw a long crack running the length of it.

Right now Gimme is worried about many things, including being concerned about me (which hurts my heart). She is more uncertain than I've ever seen her. Compared to how bold and confident she normally is, it's a huge difference. I think if these pains were more constant, she wouldn't be freaked out by them. Instead they happen unpredictably and it must seem like some invisible monster is biting her. She doesn't understand what is happening and so she blames it on the one person who is almost always there - me. Last night she had two more episodes of hurting her toe. One was walking across the floor - she ran from the room and hid in the bathroom for two hours. Then she had to go in the middle of the night and I heard a squeak while she was out. Poor baby.
 
I plan to keep her on relatively smooth surfaces, though my yard is anything but smooth. And, honestly she hasn't had any trouble field tracking. I am planning to make her a set of steps onto the bed, since hopping up has caused a few squeaks. I think as she "lands", her weight pushes into the soft bed, but the bedding forces the toenail upward, thus the pain. I have a lot of cinder blocks I can bring in to form a set of steps (left from when other dogs have gotten very old).
 
Can't wait for this nail to heal - just wish there were something I could do for it.