Goodbye Shaman my little buddy

It is hard to write much tonight about Shaman, who died at 4:00 today, with assistance from our vet after two days of slipping away when his Cancer seems to have taken a turn for the worse.

I love this picture of Thorn and Shaman my two bad boys. I figure that since Shaman has been so nice to Caden, he has learned his karmic lesson and Thorn will meet him to help him through to the other side.

I wrote about him last December when he was named #1 Rough Collie for CKC herding in Canada (arena trials) - this is the link (with some great photos of Shaman):

http://spiritdancedogs.blogspot.com/2008/12/way-to-go-shaman-1-rough-collie-ckc.html

Earlier today while waiting for the appointed time and sitting with Shaman I wrote the note below to my friends. Sitting here now, the house seems very, very quiet. He certainly had a presence. Thanks to those of you who have already written to say sorry. He was quite a boy. Here he is last winter playing with a toy.

Nothing builds character or demonstrates love like nursing a sick and dying dog for a few days. It is so hard to let them go but we know when it is the right time, and what is best for them. Still, it takes awhile to let it sink in that they are gone.

My note from earlier today explains it all:

For the past day I have been sitting with Shaman who is quietly slipping away.
This afternoon I am taking him in to our vet Ken, and I know I will be too
broken up to write something later. I just wanted you all to know about Shaman
because you know him, and because it is pretty hard to be alone in a new place
when something like this happens. Shaman was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma in
June 2007. That night the emergency vet suggested putting him to sleep but he
was already rallying so I said “I don’t think it is his time,” and I took him
home. Since then he has had small bleeds (that is what I call them), but a few
months later he earned the last leg on his HI CKC herding title under dear Bob
Vest, and miraculously that made him the #1 CKC herding collie (arena trials) in
Canada. Not only that, but he has mentored young Caden my GSD puppy for the past
year, and has made a big move to Alberta – where he came from! We now live only
20 minutes from where he was born and Nancy has been able to see him again.

Last week he was really sick and I made “the appointment” for him, but
by the afternoon, he had rallied yet again. He is the toughest, most resilient
dog I have ever had. Since yesterday I have sat with him, helping him out a few
times while he tottered around, and now he is lying in his favourite place – up
on the couch – head on a pillow. I am giving him water and just patting him and
kissing him and telling him how wonderful he is and how much I have learned with
him – even though he has been a hard dog sometimes with his bad boy attitude. He
and Thorn never really liked each other, but Shaman has fulfilled his karmic
lesson by befriending Caden with kindness – and the two of them have been great
buddies. Caden has been hovering around and licking Shaman too. It is pretty
interesting to watch.

Shaman finished his CH quickly with some great wins over specials under
specialty judges. His first win was to go Best of Breed over specials at his
first show at the tender age f 6 months under Virginia Lyne. I remember running
to the ring and on the way, he grabbed a pylon and carried it in the ring with
him (!) causing quite a laugh. That was how he was – always full of himself and
bigger than life. He earned his TD on his first attempt under tracking icon
Ilene Newman, but herding was to become his thing. If not for Shaman I am not
even sure I would be in Alberta because he was the dog who really got me hooked
on herding. I flew here in 2005 with him, for my first clinic with Scott Glen –
my life seemed to take a turn after that clinic…and here I am. Shaman did earn a
HIT in 2005 and that made me very proud. But mostly he was a dog who tried so
hard, and always came through for me. He forgave my inexperience and together we
learned and became a team

.

I was so proud when we were voted by our peers for Nancy Chase’s Raleigh Award
in 2005 for the team that most exemplified the bond between dog and handler. And
thanks to Nancy for handling him for his first herding titles the year I was too
ill to do it myself (just prior to my Cancer). When I had Cancer, Shaman was my
constant shadow – he emptied out his toy basket bringing toys to me while I lay
on the couch – and then brought me the basket too! As I recall he and Thorn
declared a truce during that time too, which was in itself pretty remarkable.

Every dog is in our lives for a reason and in the past day I have been
listing all of the things Shaman brought into my life and it is quite a list. He
has been a gift, one of those “soul mates” described by Wayne Dyer, who says our
best soul mates aren’t the ones that are just like us, they are the ones that
challenge us constantly to make us grow. Even though he has not been physically
strong since his diagnosis, he is still mentally tough and able to hold other
dogs at bay with the lift of a lip. Always such a presence, so it is hard to see
him slip away even though I have known it was going to happen eventually. He has
pulled through so many times, I keep expecting him to leap off the couch, but t
his time it will be his great soul that leaps out of his old body, and I will
give him a great send off.

Thank you Shaman for all of the blessings and
thanks to Nancy for placing such a great dog with a great heart into my life.
Well, I am sobbing enough now – so will sign off. Thank you for listening, I
know you all understand.

Donna

CH Tallywood Spiritdance Shaman TD HI STDs JHD
Teacher and Friend

1997 - 2009

"Get the sheepies, little buddy, you're such a good boy..."

Familiar face at the GSD Club of Calgary Schutzhund practice

Last Sunday I went to the GSD Club of Calgary with Caden. Well-known tracking judge Erich Kunzel is a life member of the club. He came out that afternoon to say hello. They had a big meeting to plan the May trial so there was a big turnout that day. Here is Erich (below) with Wayne and Diane Carnegie, (Erich) and SchH Judge and club member Jan (I am sorry, I did not get his full name! I have to learn names - so many new people...)

River earned her TD under Erich in 2004. Here I am with River and Erich in Thunder Bay. It was SO cold that day, we could hardly stand to be outside one minute longer! I had Cancer surgery the year before, so it was really good to get out tracking again and River loved it too.

It was so wonderful to see him! Now I am only an hour away as he lives in Calgary. Erich has been a CKC tracking judge for many years and was a frequent judge in Thunder Bay. He has also been the CKC tracking representative in Alberta for many, many years and is well-beloved by local trackers, many of whom he mentored. Below is a picture of one of the dogs in training - with the helper Mark, club trainer Wade and owner Dan who is also the club president (Dan has been helping me out with Caden!)

Later we worked with Caden, getting him started in Protection. He is such a nice dog and I am learning so much. I really am amazed at how rewarding this training is, and I am enjoying learning so many new things.

Flashback - Hartnagles visit Thunder Bay herding trial

These are pictures of Caden in April 2008 at Tanya Wheeler's Tucker Creek farm on the weekend Ernie and Carol Ann Hartnagle came to Thunder Bay. Caden was only 3 months old

Here I am with the very famous "Father of the Aussie" in North America, Ernie. He was very interested in Caden's pedigree, coming from a long line of Herding GSDs from Germany. I had just written a book review of his latest book The Total Australian Shepherd, so it was nice to meet him in person, and listen to his many fascinating stories.

Caden was very interested in the sheep. He grew up on a sheep farm in Pennsylvania, and when he came home to Thunder Bay, I also had sheep, so it was not new to him.

Oh, and I entered the trial with Ted, but this picture tells you everything you need to know about my run. I had to be pulled from the mud, while Ted held the sheep in a corner like a good boy. I wish I had been given another run, but they did stop the clock until I could get on firm ground. I didn't have a run under the Hartnagles but got a run in under Marie Murphy who said I got the "good sport" award. Thanks Marie!

By the time I got going, the sheep were not going to cooperate, I was jangled, and Ted was over-anxious. Ted wrote his own commentary about mud-herding that was sent to friends by email, as I was not posting on the blog during this busy time.

That's Jack, Tanya's FIANCE and another friend, helping me get out. The mud was like quicksand and literally sucked my feet in so strongly I couldn't even pull my feet out of my boots! I would have been there for a few weeks without help. Another girl actually did her advanced run in barefeet when her boots were sucked off. Did we have fun - heck yeah.

Fading out of the picture in tracking - creating independence

Yesterday I went out tracking with Caden and River. Because the snow is gone and the veg is crisp and dry, I worked on transition tracks to create confidence on this new surface. I always like things to sink in for awhile before I decide what actually happened when I train. As usual, today I was enlightened with a few thoughts that have to do with fading out of the picture.

I put a lot of freeze - dried lamb on Caden's track. Not so smelly that it was overpowering, but a good reward to keep him very motivated and something he had to work for. I also worked him on a 6-foot leash as I wanted to ensure he was pulling enough ahead of me the whole way, and working the footsteps. His track was a big zig zag that went along a berm between a road a parking lot, into the parking lot, back to veg, and then across a grass/cobblestone section of lawn at Red Deer College. It was hot and dry, but he did very well staying on track and in the footsteps. In the photo above, you can see he was very nicely nose-down on non-veg. I walked along the painted line as it holds a bit more scent along the paint ridges (so "they" say!).

In this photo you can see that he is turning his head as he goes from step to step. You can also see my shadow and my arm up taking the picture. This is what made me think about fading out of the picture. It occurred to me that for the entire track, I held the leash and took pictures but gave him no assistance AT ALL, and was really more like an observer while he did all the work. I kept the tension on the leash and tried my best to back away enough to get pictures.

This makes me realize he is taking the job into his own paws (nose?) and I will go back to a line next time we go out, to see how much line I can begin to give him. I always keep the line tight enough that my dog knows I am there, but experiment with my distance from a dog. When I get near my own corners (as I always lay my own tracks at this stage) I walk up the line, keeping the same tension, in case I need to help out. I never want my dog to feel anxious at a corner or leave him hanging out there.

And after we finished tracking? We PLAY of course! Here he is with his tug...his "reason" for tracking! Next I tracked with River, who is ready for her Urban Tracking Dog Excellent test. This is what it looks like when your dog is on the job and you are able to fade back and let them be completely in control...to me it is such a beautiful sight...I love her so! When your own dog reaches the stage where they take charge, you will experience such a feeling of exhiliration. But ALWAYS be ready to step in and play your part as a member of the tracking TEAM.

Tracking and Relationships

I always say that tracking success is relative to your relationship with your dog. Some dogs will track independently of you very well, but when the going gets tough, your dog pulls it out because they want to do their job and work WITH you, or please you. A lot of people will ask how to choose a tracking dog and the answer most experienced trackers come back with is to choose a dog that wants to be with you - that only has eyes for you - the pup that follows you and picks you! This will be your team mate.

At the tracking clinic in Cranbrook, everyone who came out had this kind of relationship with their dogs. Tracking is not an active sport there at the moment but I am sure it will make a comeback. The people who came to the clinic have been doing a lot of other things with their dogs and it showed in the dog's 'biddable' natures - they all picked up the activities so quickly and the handlers were all very in tune with their dogs.

I really like this photo of Mary and her Airedale Kinza. Mary has a soft spot and does fostering and rescue work. She was simply looking for a 'fun activity' for Kinza which I think is great and what better activity to choose than this...I think Kinza is saying "Mom, I like tracking..."

And this is Jeff and Cheryl's beautiful boy Brenner. Brenner has had a bit of tracking experience, but boy did he do a great job at the clinic, showing that dogs never forget how to track! I love the photo of Jeff at the end with Brenner (at the top of this post). I could feel the pride from across the field. ALWAYS take the time at the end of the track to praise your dog. Great job!

And here is Chris's 6-month old gorgeous girl Sydney - watching her mom lay a track. Does this spell devotion? Of course, absence makes the heart grow fonder and she really did well when she got to go find those "grass cookies..."