Good-bye My Sweet Boy... Sunny’s Story Sunny came to us in late July of 2018 at the age of 11 months. A year after losing our second Pomeranian, Scooter, I started looking for another. I found Sunny on Craig’s List. No – this is not the place I generally send people to look for dogs, but this was a rehome, not a Craig’s List breeder. I contacted the person who had posted the ad and sent her my website link. She had already placed him in another home – but she said she had looked at my website and if the first home didn’t work out for some reason, she would love for us to have him. A week later I contacted her again, just to check in, and she said the adopter was returning him – they were afraid he was going to kill their cat. She was picking him up that morning – could she bring him over to meet us? OF COURSE SHE COULD!!! She arrived in a big red pickup truck and stepped out, dressed in Mennonite garb and holding a 25-pound Pomeranian in her arms. Larger than I expected! (Although we always thought he was a mix of some kind, a later DNA test confirmed he was 99.9% Pomeranian!) We invited her into the training center and she set Sunny down. (His name wasn’t Sunny then, but I don’t remember what it was.) Sunny was fearful. Paul sat on a chair, and I sat on the floor. Sunny made his way over and warmed up to me but wanted nothing to do with Paul. We suspected that the men on the Mennonite farm didn’t have much to do with him, and if they did it likely wasn’t positive. The woman said her teen-age daughter had a female Pomeranian and thought she wanted to breed her, so they bought Sunny from an Amish farm (read “puppy mill). Then her daughter changed her mind, so they were looking to rehome him. After about 20 minutes, Sunny still wasn’t any happier about Paul. The woman looked at the clock on the wall and said, “I have an appointment I need to go to… what do you think?” I glanced at Paul – assuming he would say no. Instead, he looked at me and nodded his head. Sunny was home! And in case you were wondering, the woman didn’t ask for any payment – she just wanted a good home for him. We named him Sunny – short for Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows. He sure lived up to that name during his too-short life! (And he never tried to kill our cats…) He bonded to me immediately – and showed some early mild separation related behaviors (SRBs), although never severe ones. He of course was not crate-trained. We put an exercise pen next to my side of the bed so he could be near me at night, but even that wasn’t enough. For two weeks I slept with my hand dangling in the ex-pen touching him, then gradually began to withdraw it until he could sleep in the pen without my hand in it. Meanwhile I was working on crate training, and soon he was able to be crated at night – yes, near me on my side of the bed. That’s where he slept for the rest of his life. Over the next couple of years Sunny gradually became comfortable with Paul. He also attended some of our Behavior Modification Academies where we worked on counterconditioning and desensitization with our male students. He became more confident with our boarders in the barn when they came to visit their horses and eventually lived up to his name; he was Sunny with pretty much everyone. Of course I was always his main squeeze until the very last moment. So, What Happened? Sunny had always been our healthiest dog. No issues whatsoever. He would run full speed doing zoomies with KC and Kai in the barn aisle, the arena and our back yard, and chasing rabbits in the woods. He could leap from the ground into my arms and I would catch him. He followed me everywhere, and if we left him in the house he always greeted my return with happy excitement. 20241124_093216.mp4 Then, in mid-February of this year he threw up a few times. Not super alarming, but when our mobile vet (Dr. Snyder, Stone Marsh) came at the end of the month for everyone’s annual well-pet check-up we asked her to do a senior blood panel for him. Just in case. He was seven, so it was time to start those anyway. The blood panel came back normal, but starting in early March the vomiting was happening more frequently; 3-4 times a week. We started him on chicken and rice and some anti-nausea meds, per our vet’s instructions. When that didn’t seem to help – and in fact he was getting worse – Dr. Snyder, who only does basic vet care, told us to go to a full-service vet, so we took him to North Paws Animal Hospital – a new vet clinic for us, but was had heard very good things about them. Dr. Bellerive at NPAH examined Sunny and did a GI Panel, and radiographs and an ultrasound. She was concerned that the pictures showed abnormalities, including a thickened stomach and intestinal walls, and gave us a low-fat diet, anti-nausea meds and more instructions. The GI panel showed a couple of abnormalities, and we started medication for those. He quickly got worse. He stopped eating his low-fat diet and we had to tempt him with anything he might eat. Vomiting increased to every day, then multiple times a day. Dr. Bellerive referred us to Partners Veterinary Emergency/Specialty Center in nearby Fredrick. We had an appointment for the following Wednesday with the Internal Medicine Specialist. But when our boy – who had always had a voracious appetite – stopped eating altogether we took him into the ER at Partners on Saturday, where Dr. Wilson examined him, gave him fluids, and said he needed to stay there. On Monday he was seen by Dr. Kakar, the specialist. She did another more detailed endoscopy and found a mass of necrotic tissue in his stomach – possible cancer. She did biopsies – results of which can take 1-2 weeks to come back. They had a tube in his nose and were withdrawing fluids from his stomach every few hours, and placed an IV tube in his leg to give him fluids. By Monday evening he was eating a little and definitely brighter. They said we could come visit on Tuesday, and if he was still brighter and eating, he might be able to come home with us. SWe went. He still wasn’t his normal, happy bouncy Sunny, but his tail was wagging and he was definitely happier than when he had left him there. I walked him outside and he brightened up even more. Yay! We brought him home, and he was pretty cheerful. He ate some various foods – not his normal diet, but Dr. Kakar said give him anything he will eat. So he got some hardboiled egg, chicken, roast beef and cheese. He even ate his pills in cheese, which would be necessary for us to keep treating him at home. But it didn’t last. By Thursday he was quite depressed, would not eat anything, and his stools were black and moist, meaning blood – the mass in his stomach had probably ruptured. We agreed we had to let him go. Dr. Snyder came out and helped us say good-bye so Sunny could leave us in the comfort of his own home. I’m still crying. Because he followed me everywhere, everything I do reminds me that he’s not here. He was only 7 years old. He should have been here at least twice that long. Here's some happy Sunny photos from his years with us: All of the dog trainers, clients and other contacts in my network have been incredibly supportive through our ordeal. Many of them knew Sunny personally and shared their stories about what a wonderful boy he was. I am so grateful for their support and kind Sunny words. Here are some of their comments: “I am so sorry for your loss. My wife and I first met Sunny when we brought our dog to you for consultation. He was so happy and proud to be with you and to collaborate with you and your work.” “Oh no! I am so very sorry to hear this! I remember his awesome little presence at PPaws and that fabulous bounce/jump. Run free, little man! Always loved – never forgotten!” “RIP Sunny, thank you for all the help you gave us during our training classes.” “Oh no, Pat. I'm so sorry. He was such a special guy. I'm so grateful I got to partner with him at one of the academies. I bet he's already spotted at least a hundred bunnies.” “I'm so sorry to hear about Sunny. He was such a sweet, loving dog, and I feel really lucky to have gotten to spend time with him and see the special bond that you two shared. He was truly one of a kind.” Pet Loss and Grief He truly was one of a kind. Being able to write about him has been cathartic for me… Thank you for listening. We will be burying him this afternoon on his favorite bunny-chasing hill along with several of his favorite toys – including his best stuffed bunny. Good-bye, sweet Sunny… I know that many of you have endured the impossible pain of losing a beloved animal companion. There are some wonderful resources available to help us during these dark times: https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/grief-and-bereavement---loss-of-a-pet  https://www.aplb.org/  https://www.petmd.com/blogs/fullyvetted/2009/march/ten-ways-you-know-its-time-euthanize-your-pet-6745 https://www.lapoflove.com/Quality-of-Life/How-Will-I-Know-It-Is-Time  And I wish for you that when the time comes you can help your beloved companion leave this earth gently, that you have as  much support as I have gotten, and that your own grief passes with time. This Week at Peaceable Paws As you might imagine, not much going on here this week – just sending you peacocks and flowers. Warm Woofs, Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA www.peaceablepaws.com ; info@peaceablepaws.com ; 301-582-9420

FEARFUL CANINE CLIENTS IN ONE WEEK!!! So – Last week I had three canine clients with significant fear-related behaviors all in one week – definitely not the norm for my practice! I get fearful dogs, sure, but not usually this fearful and not usually three in one week! The dogs were Rose, a Border Collie; Orvie, a Rat Terrier/Chihuahua/Dachshund, and Harvey, a Chihuahua/Italian Greyhound. I make it a point to be seated when clients enter the room with their dogs. This helps the dog become comfortable with me much more quickly. I normally very soon invite the client to remove their dog’s leash so they can approach me if they want (agency!) The dog will often approach me very early on to investigate. It’s important to know that when they do this, they are checking me out, not inviting me to pet them. A lot of people misinterpret that “checking you out” behavior and try to pet the dog – and may get bitten as a result. Usually, by the end of a two-hour session the dog has decided I’m okay and is inviting interaction. Not one of these three dogs became comfortable enough to interact with me. Best we could do was a little Treat and Retreat. Note: If I do have to get up and move around the room for some reason, I ask the client to put the leash back on the dog and move far enough away that the dog doesn’t feel threatened by my movements. Here are last week's dogs: Rose, the 4.5-year-old Border Collie Rose’s humans report that she was very shy/reserved when they adopted her from a rescue group in August of 2023. She had apparently been used for breeding for the first three years of her life – obviously not by a responsible breeder (she is now spayed). She became more comfortable with George and Jade over time but is still quite wary of company. There was extra company visiting over the 2024 holidays. Rose started coming out of hiding more but began acting aggressive – and is now nipping at shins, snarling, growling and lunging when daughter and son-in-law drop off baby granddaughter for the day. Rose also has occasional seizures, which may be stress/anxiety-related. (She is on medication for the seizures.) It is not unusual for a dog who starts out fearful and shut down to become aggressive when they get more comfortable in their environment and are bold enough to start making editorial comments. Rose was clearly very worried when she entered the training center – her tail was down and her head was lowered. Ten minutes into the session she came up and sniffed me to investigate but never became comfortable with me. It even worried her when her Jade stood up (after a little struggle with the chair), and she stayed closest to George throughout the session. Orvie, the Rat Terrier/Chihuahua/Dachshund Mix Orvie is an adorable 1.5-year-old wiry black-and-tan Terrier mix. (Of course, ever since my wonderful Josie I have been a sucker for black-and-tan Terrier mixes…). Ruth brought him to see me (accompanied by her friend Julie who also walks Orvie 2-3 times a week) due to his fear-related aggression toward other dogs and sometimes humans. She adopted him as a puppy from a shelter in Alabama. Mom had been surrendered to the rescue while pregnant. This was probably a very stressful experience for her, and we know that when mom is stressed with puppies in utero, the pups are washed with excess cortisol, and studies have shown that this can resulted in those puppies having stress-related behaviors throughout their lives. So probably not the best start in life for poor little Orvie. Orvie investigated me briefly but was not affiliative (did not invite interaction) and did not warm up to me at all during the two-hour session. He was quite friendly with Jackie, however, the friend who comes and walks him several times a week, and sat on her lap for much of the session. Harvey, the Chihuahua/Italian Greyhound Mix Harvey, now 7 years old, has lived with his current family since the age of 4 weeks – when he was given to them by a friend of a friend because her boyfriend was abusing him. I know. So much wrong with this picture… 4 weeks old – too young to leave Mom – and who abuses a 4-week-old puppy??  Viviane and Terry (mother and daughter) were most concerned about Harvey’s non-stop barking around animals or humans who don’t live in their home. He is also very sound sensitive. Harvey was quite nervous in the training center – he trembled noticeably for the first 45 minutes of the session, and then off and on for the remainder of the 2 hours. He did approach me once, early in the session, just to investigate – he did not in any way invite interaction. He was happiest sitting on Terry’s lap, where he was able to start relaxing, and even closed his eyes. His humans were quite pleased, however, that he did not bark at me once during their session. MAybe because I am pretty good at not making dogs uncomfortable? Protocols As you can imagine, protocols were somewhat similar for all three of these cases. We incorporated counter conditioning and desensitization (CC&D) – a mainstay in almost every case involving strong emotional responses to stimuli, to change the dog’s association to the stimulus, and hence his behavioral response. For Ovie we are doing CC&D with strangers and other dogs, with his crate, and with his leash and being reached for; for Rose, with visitors, sudden movements, and Ruthie, the grandbaby who stays with them several times a week and for Harvey, just people and dogs. And again almost always – some operant protocols. These can be useful for managing behavior – keeping the dog busy doing something when a stimulus might be coming too close. These are usually simpler than CC&D and the dog’s human can see results more quickly – so the human is positively reinforced for her work with the dog. We know that behaviors that are reinforced are repeated and tend to increase; our clients are more likely to keep working with their dogs if they can get some early success with these protocols. And while operant behaviors involve the cortex – the “thinking” part of the brain, if you get your dog really happy about an operant behavior you can also move the emotional part of the brain (the amygdala) from “worried” to “happy” when you ask them to do something they love to do. Operant and Classical Conditioning are happening together all the time. I heard Bob Bailey say once, “Pavlov is always on your shoulder.” I like to say, “Pavlov is always on one shoulder – Skinner is always on the other.” With these three dogs we are doing: 1.     Find It/Search: I tell my clients this is the easiest thing they will ever teach their dogs. “Find it” means you just dropped a treat at your feet. (If they already use “Find it” to mean search for treats in the environment we use “Feet” instead.) And “Search” means you’ve tossed a treat “out there” somewhere. (Again – a different cue if they already use “Search” for something else. 2.     Pattern Games: This is Leslie McDevitt’s marvelous collection of pattern-based protocols. Patterns are helpful for fearful dogs because routine is reassuring to them – they know what to expect. My favorites are 1-2-3 and Two Cookie – but I give my clients a handout with all of them and tell them to focus on the ones that work best for them and their dog. 3.     Treat and Retreat: This one is good for dogs who are worried about people – the person can interact with the dog but the dog gets to stay in his comfort zone. 4.     Targeting: “Touch” (nose to hand) can be very useful for confidence building. Lots of dogs love it – it’s simple, and they get happy/excited about “I push the button (the hand) – I get a treat – Yay!!!” It’s a great way to move a dog past something they are worried about – they get focused on and happy about touching the target as you move past the monster garbage can or the senior with the walker. I have all my clients practice these behaviors first in the safety and comfort of the dog’s home until his eyes light up when he hears the cue or engages in the behavior, then outside at home, and eventually out in the “real” world. Management Management is always a critically important piece of a successful behavior modification program. If the dog continues to practice the behavior he is either continuing to be reinforced for it (behaviors that are reinforced continue) and/or continuing to be sensitized by the stimulus, which makes it difficult if not impossible to change his association/opinion and his emotional response. My Whole Dog Journal article on management (from long ago!): https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/behavior/upper-level-management/ Anti-anxiety medication is a form of management. Harvey was already on Fluoxetine for anxiety and had been for some time (with a recent increase in dosage) – I suggested they ask their veterinarian about Sileo for thunderstorms. (Note: I don’t usually mention specific medications, but I feel comfortable suggesting Sileo because it is widely marketed specifically for sound sensitivity.) Orvie had just started on Fluoxetine two weeks prior, so too soon to have a noticeable effect, but also was getting Trazadone prior to known anxiety-causing events – such as coming to Peaceable Paws. Rose is on Keppra for her seizures, so George and Jade were going to ask their veterinarian if she could also take anti-anxiety medications. Fingers crossed – especially since her seizures appear to be triggered by stress/anxiety! Other management measures we put into place for these three dogs include: 1.     Cover windows to prevent arousal barking at people and dogs walking past house 2.     Put sign on the front door asking people not to ring the doorbell 3.     Remove the dog from the room/yard before bringing out or starting appliances – vacuum cleaner, washing machine, lawn mower 4.     Use white/brown noise or calming music to muffle sounds: https://icalmpet.com/ 5.     Put in another room before visitors arrive 6.   Put up Yellow Dog posters and educate community about the meaning of the color yellow: None of these are going to be quick-and-easy cases, but all of the dogs’ humans appear very committed to helping their dogs have a good life. Fingers are crossed…   This Week at Peaceable Paws FLYING MONKEY I had reported a couple of weeks ago that Flying Monkey, our 10-year-old feral barn cat who had become reasonably social with me (as in – rubbing all over me, letting me pet him and vaccinate him) and normally showed up for breakfast every day, had for no obvious reason suddenly become very feral again. Days, even a full week would go by between Monkey sightings, and when I did see him it was just a brief glimpse before he would dash under the shed. Well, it seems he’s back. This past week I’ve seen him every day, and the past three days he was back to being friendly, talking to me, rubbing on my hand and letting me pet him. I have no clue what was going on, but welcome back, Monkey! SICK SUNNY On a not-so-happy note, Sunny, our 20-pound Pomeranian, has been vomiting almost daily since the beginning of the month – mostly yellow bile, but sometimes his whole meal. We tried chicken-and-rice – didn’t help at all. We were at the vet a week ago – she took x-rays, saw lots of white specks in his stomach and intestines, and started him on low-fat Purina (sigh) and anti-nausea meds. Less vomiting for a couple of days, but now back to every day, sometimes twice a day. Our giant Pomeranian has lost several pounds in the process, and we’re headed back to the vet on Monday for more x-rays and ultra-sound. Sunny (short for Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows) is still his happy-go-lucky self in between vomiting episodes, but we are quite concerned. Please send good thoughts! On the happier side – it’s supposed to reach 80 degrees today – YAY!!! Headed out now to weed flower beds and play with horses. Hope you are having a good weekend!!! Warm Woofs, Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA www.peaceablepaws.com ; info@peaceablepaws.com ; 301-582-9420  

A HUSKY MIX PLAY STYLE IS CONFUSED WITH DOMINANCE I always have a “moment” when I read dominance in a client’s behavior history form. Then we have a discussion about why "dominance" isn't what most people think it is. There is a real construct of dominance in behavior - but it is solely about gaining access to a mutually-desired resource. That's it. My client used this term with her dog Ashley, a 4.5-year-old spayed female Husky mix. In addition to “dominant behaviors with other dogs” Ashley was described as being nervous of human strangers and nervous of bangs/loud noises. So we had the dominance discussion. I like to be seated to greet my clients and their dogs. A high percentage of my canine clients have stress/anxiety and/or aggression behaviors, and this helps the dogs be much more comfortable with my presence. (My staff go out and greet them in the parking lot and give them instructions for coming in.) Asley and her human, Karen, entered the training center, came over to where I was seated, and Karen sat down at the other end of the six-foot table. I invited her to take off Ashley’s leash (which I normally do unless I see very unsafe body language from the dog). Ashley came over to me and I ignored her – again, my normal practice unless I see very affiliative body language. As I explained to Karen, many people don’t realize that when a dog comes up to you, they may be investigating you, not inviting interaction. I completely ignore my canine client investigators until they let me know with soft body language that they have decided I’m okay. Even then I proceed slowly, with brief eye contact, and an occasional comment to the dog. Then it’s usually the dog who makes contact first and I will scratch under the chin. And yes, treats happen, eventually. Once we are on “speaking” terms, if I need to get up for some reason I will often ask the client to re-leash their dog – depending on how comfortable the dog is with me. Ashley warmed up to me quite quickly, sniffing out my treat pocket and resting her head on my leg, and I was able to move around during the session without any issues. I don’t use treats at first because often, if you lure a dog to you with treats you are, in effect, coercing him past his comfort zone because he really wants the treats. Then when the treats are gone, he goes, “OMIGosh I am way too close to this scary person!” and a bite happens. It is not a good idea to ask scary strangers to feed treats to your fearful dog. Karen was already aware of this, as well as the importance of not letting strangers come up to try to pet Ashley. Karen was mostly worried about Ashley’s play behavior with other dogs. She had been taking her to the dog park (we agreed to stop this) and had observed Ashley doing what she called “bullying” other dogs there. “She enjoys charging and deflecting at the last second or pouncing with her open mouth over the back of the other dog’s neck.” She said this had also happened at other private home and neutral locations, and (surprise!) many dogs no longer wanted to interact with Ashley. She was especially concerned because she has several friends with small dogs that she wanted Ashley to be able to play with. One couple had a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and when they visited Ashley kept pouncing on the little dog. She had also done this with other small dogs. Not good! Even if she’s not being aggressive, the mere size difference can cause injury to the smaller dog, and her high arousal play style can result in the smaller dog being defensively aggressive, which is also not likely to end well. Play Styles I explained to Karen that this was about differing playstyles and size incompatibilities, not about dominance. Different dogs have different playstyles, and while some dogs (a minority, I believe) are able to adapt well to a variety of styles, most dogs prefer playing with dogs who like to play the way they do. Ideally, you want to find canine playmates for your dog who appreciate and reciprocate your dog’s play. If you know your dog’s preferred play style, you can narrow his playmate pool to potentially suitable dogs without attempting risky introductions. Here are common canine play styles: •        Cheerleaders: These dogs like to play on the fringes around other dogs who are actively engaged with each other (see Body Slammers, Chasers and Wrestlers). They are often from the herding group (Collies, Shepherds, etc.) and are usually quite vocal, often engaging in non-stop barking. Cheerleading is related to behaviors that have been enhanced for herding – herding dogs tend to be “control freaks.” They may also nip at heels, and at the assertive “fun-police” end of the cheerleader behavior continuum, will actually try to break up the fun. If they do this with dogs who take offense, there is potential for dogfights. Playmates for cheerleaders need to be tolerant of these dogs’ sometimes irritating efforts to control play activities. •        Body Slammers: These are the demolition derby dogs of the canine playground. Labs and Boxers are prominent in this group, although there are plenty of others for whom “play” means “run full speed into other dogs and see if you can knock them off their feet.” This can also include mouthing behavior. Body Slammers play best with other Body Slammers, but can also be compatible with some Wrestlers and Chasers. They don’t generally do well with Cheerleaders and Soft Touches. There is risk of minor to major bodily damage when big dogs run into each other at full speed. Think “T-bone” collision. A lot of the breeds who fall into the Body Slammer category seem to suffer from a higher-than-average incidence of ruptured ACLs. Hmmmmmmmmm. •        Wrestlers: Wrestlers are into full, prolonged body contact. These dogs are most likely to take turns being on top, and also tend to engage in rousing games of chew-face. This is a comparatively low-risk play-style, as long as both dogs are happy wrestlers. If one dog insists on pinning another who isn’t comfortable there, however, it can turn ugly. Watch your wrestlers to be sure both are having a good time, and be prepared to intervene if you see emotions rising. A time-out followed by a Consent Test is a good strategy if arousal levels are getting high – it gives both participants time to chill out and brings arousal levels back down, and you can see if they voluntarily choose to re-engage. •        Chasers: These dogs just love to run. It’s great fun to watch dogs play “catch me if you can.” Some show a strong preference for the specific role of chaser or chasee, others are happily willing to take turns. A variation of Chase is Keep Away, where the chasee grabs a toy and invites the other dog to chase after her and try to get the toy. Keep Away often morphs into a mutually enjoyable game of tug. •        Tuggers: Just like it sounds, these are dogs who love to play tug, and are happy to do it with a canine playmate. Dog-tug is a fine game – just watch for resource guarding that can turn tug into war. •        Soft Touches: Some dogs are very tentative about play. These may be dogs who were not well socialized and aren’t yet sure how to interact confidently with other dogs, they may be dogs who have been injured or are arthritic and it hurts them to play hard, or they may just be dogs who don’t like to roughhouse. Soft Touches should definitely play with other soft touches – they’re likely to find any other kind of play too mentally traumatic or physically painful. •        Self-Play: It always makes me chuckle to watch a dog engaged in self-play. This is the dog who tosses a toy in the air for herself, catches it, and tosses it again. My Corgi, Lucy, would carry a ball to the top of the stairs and push it off so she could run down and catch it, carry it upstairs and do it again. My wonderful Terrier mix, Josie, when she was alive, could entertain herself by rolling onto her back with a chew-toy in her mouth, lifting the toy by grasping it with both front paws, hold it in the air and study it for a while, lower it back to her mouth and chew some more, then lift it and study it again, all while staying on her back. Like children, there’s a certain joy in having a dog who can keep herself entertained! So – Ashley was definitely in the Body Slammer category. Cody Comes to Visit We had arranged for Karen’s friends with the Cavalier to come to the session, and about an hour in, they arrived. We had the dogs on opposite sides of an exercise pen barrier so I could observe body language. Ashley was definitely excited about Cody’s arrival, but her body language was all “happy excitement” – I did not see any aggression. She stayed at the barrier, gazing eagerly at Cody. Cody, on the other hand, moved away from the barrier and showed no interest in interacting with Ashley. After fifteen minutes of observing the dogs, I proposed attaching leashes (for management) and putting both dogs on the same side of the barrier. Both families agreed, and so we did. Ashley definitely wanted to play. Cody clearly did not. After a few minutes of Ashley bugging Cody, the little dog gave a clear “back off!” snap. I was happy to see that Ashley respected that communication – for a moment – but then tried to reengage. The Plan We then separated the dogs and had them lie on blankets about 6 feet apart. I was very pleased to see that Ashley was able to settle and relax on her rug. This gave us our plan for going forward: 1.     Karen would seek out appropriate canine playmates for Ashley who appreciated her rough play style so we could meet her canine social needs. We would help Karen with this endeavor. 2.     Walk Away – at least 3 times per week, practice “Walk Away” (Ashley did beautifully with this when we practiced in our session) so Karen would have a way to move Ashley away when she was getting too aroused about other dogs. 3.     Practice the UPenn Relaxation Protocol at least 3 times per week to enhance Ashley’s “Calm on the Blanket” behavior 4.     Sessions with small-dog friends at least once a week – practice having Ashley calm and controlled as we did in the session, including parallel walking. 5.     Do Nose Games at least 3 times a week, as fun enrichment time for Ashley. I did let Karen know that it is highly unlikely that Ashley will ever be able to have small dogs as playpals, but that it is a realistic goal for her to be able to self-regulate and be calm in the presence of her friends’ small dogs, eventually even off leash. This Week at Peaceable Paws It has been an interesting week here at Peaceable Paws. The weather has seesawed back-and-forth between 70’s and 20’s – the birds are nesting (including the sparrows that come back every year to nest in our stove's air vent), and some of the spring flowers are trying to convince us that the warmer weather is here to stay. FLOWERS BIRDS A couple of years ago I discovered the Merlin app for my phone. It does sound ID as well as photo ID – you just point it at the singing bird, push the button and it tells you what bird it is. I love it! Thanks to Merlin I found out a while ago that the crows we have here are Fish Crows (had never heard of them). And just last week I discovered that what I thought all these years were Downy Woodpeckers are actually Hairy Woodpeckers – who know? (Another one I had never heard of!) I now know that Carolina Wrens are everywhere around here, thanks to Merlin identifying their song. We have Red Tail Hawks, Red-Shouldered Hawks (those I ID'd without Merlin's help) and one of my favorites - Pileated Woodpeckers! (Also ID'd without Merlin). I do have a very birdy dog trainer friend who tells me that Merlin is not 100% accurate, but so far it hasn't steered me wrong! Check it out!!! FIRE IN THE WOODS!!!!! My husband Paul is a Fire Police volunteer, which means he responds to fires, wrecks and other emergencies to do traffic control for the fire and police departments. So – imagine my surprise when one of our boarders came in the driveway last week and said, “There’s a huge fire in the neighbor’s woods behind your outdoor arena!” Sure enough, the neighbor was burning a wood pile from trees he’d been cutting down and piling up for the last couple of weeks – the pile was about 20 feet high and 40 feet long… We already weren’t happy with all the loud machines (he was also bulldozing the ground) and now this! You’d think he might have had the courtesy to let us know he was going to burn… We called our local volunteer fire company (we’re members) and they came out and said it was a controlled burn, they had people there watching it, and it was okay. An hour after we called it in the county declared a burn ban for dry conditions. Great. So it smoldered for a couple of days and all seemed well – until Sunday, when two of our dog training students came in for class and said it was flaming again. Sure enough, the wind had come up and the fire had re-ignited. This time the brush truck came in and the Deputy Fire Chief said, “Wait. This isn’t even the burn pile the guy showed us the other day when we were here – that was just two small piles behind his house. He never told us about this one!” 20250316_152922.mp4 The re-ignited fire wasn’t threatening anything at the moment, but the firemen thanked us for calling – if it had gotten out of control and set the woods on fire, it would have been nasty! So they put it out with water and rakes and said they would be billing the neighbor’s insurance company for the cost. Good! Never a dull moment!!! But for now, all is back to peaceable at Peaceable Paws and Pastures. Hope you are enjoying the beginning of Spring as much as we are!!! Warm Woofs, Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA www.peaceablepaws.com ; info@peaceablepaws.com ; 301-582-9420