Monday, February 15, 2010

Autism and Dogs..

Now, I have said for awhile now that having an autistic child is like having a dog. Autistic children may seem like they can't do what we can, but they will shock you with just how much they are in tune with you when you least expect it.

Of course, we have a 12 week old puppy in the house, and this has never been more apparent than today.

When a dog gets unruly, especially a puppy, it's generally a lack of attention or lack of proper physical and mental stimulation. The dog cannot tell you when it needs to run, so it chews on your shoe. The dog cannot tell you when it's bored, so it tears into your sofa cushion while you are away. The "secret" is: A tired puppy is a well behaved puppy. Keep them exercised and have multiple training sessions, and play sessions, with them every day and watch how calm and well mannered they become. (This is also why it's so important to research the breed of dog that best suits your activity levels.)

How doest that relate to autsim? Well, autistic kids cannot tell you when they are upset, bored, or have penned up energy, either. So, you have to get in tune with their non-verbal signs......just like a dog. When that kid starts getting angry, frustrated, and down right belligerent, it is often a sign of lack of mental stimulation or physical exercise. (Of course, it could be hunger, or a broken DVD, or a number of other things.) But, this is where it is up to us parents to get to know our child on a deeper level. We can't count on, or take for granted, the things that our "typical" children can tell us or infer from just hanging around. WE have to watch for the cues in our autistic kids.

Today, our son was very "on edge." All day long. He screamed, stomped, cried, hit, at the drop of a hat. Our dog was chewing on everything, barking (begging to play), jumping on furniture, etc. Both hit me like a light bulb. They are trying to tell my wife and I to take action......DO SOMETHING. So, I grabbed the leash, and Matthew's snow boots, and we headed out for a nice long walk and jog. Matthew really got into the jogging. He thrives on deep pressure techinques when hyperactive, so a good pounding of the pavement was probably great for him. The dog loves her walks, too.

Within 20 minutes, we had the desired affect. I came home and we had two much calmer family members.

I don't mean to compare my autistic son to a dog. Quite the contrary. But, one can't help but notice what works for one often times works for another. And, tuning in to the non-verbal aspects of communication often times reveals a lot.

This time, we learned a lesson: When one or the other acts up.........go for a walk. It's amazing how theraputic a walk can be on everyone involved. Try it sometime.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Wish I had a photo....

...but, I am wondering how much true is to this winter hanging tough through a lot of March? I gotta admit that I am beginning to doubt what the "experts" (and I use that term loosely) are saying. They are talking, locally, about winter being "far from over." I don't know how much of that I am buying. I am starting to see some other signs......by Mother Nature.

And, we should all know that animals know nature better than a meteorologist thinks HE does. And, I am witnessing large flocks of geese starting to migrate around here. For over a week now, I have noticed flocks of about 50, some over 100, flying north.

Big deal, you say? Well, I am not seeing them just above the treetops, as if they are heading over to another pond or to their night spot to roost. I see that a lot around here, too, and they can fly south in spring and north in fall when doing that. It really means about squat.

However, currently, I am seeing them flying 500-1000 feet high. How am I guessing? Well, they are higher than the STL Arch, for sure, but lower than the cloud decks. And, I am also guessing an individual goose would be hard to spot anywhere over 1000 feet up. And, I can see individuals within a flock almost well enough to count them.

It is really neat to see them alternate the lead as they fly. They have a rotation, and you can also see them ripple as the wind currents hit them up there. And, of course, the honking. OMG, the honking. That is the only way I notice. I will be outside with the dog and hear the honking. I look up and can't see anything. I look higher, and there they are.......WAY up there.....and flying north.

Maybe I'm a dork for noticing this stuff, but I am telling you, it's how the Farmer's Almanac used to do things (watching nature's signals), and it's how the Indians knew what was going on, too. I probably should have lived back then.......but, I couldn't live without the internet.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Getting bigger now..


IMG_7556
Originally uploaded by chipnjo1999
i have had problems getting the dog to eat......but not anymore. i had contemplated the BARF diet (raw food diet like whole chickens and beef bones, etc.), but that isnt any less expensive than commercial dog food. i have thought about pouring butter and gravy in her food. she is just so thin.

but, today, the light bulb went on!

i was in petsmart pricing different brands of food. after all i've read about kibble, its all crap. corn, wheat, oats....filler, filler, filler. some of which cause allergies in boxers. purina....crap. science diet....crap. iams, eukanuba, nature's science.....all crap. too many fillers and not enough actual meat. some are $20 a bad, some are $50, but all are crap.

so, if you are going to have to feed your dog crap, you may as well save the money and feed the cheapest crap you can find.

however, i looked at the canned food. how can they put corn in canned food w/o it looking like stew? well, most of them dont. they dont have the fillers. so, we are getting somewhere. and, again, they are all about the same independent of price.

so, why not supplement? you are supposed to vary the diets anyway. so, i bought a can of beef chunkies with gravy.....for a buck....and brought it home.

do you remember the smell of ALPO when the can opens? JACKPOT! an actual meaty, dog food smell. that got her going. but, canned food is not cheap when compared to dry, is it? so, you BLEND the two.......haha YAHTZEEEEEEE!

two tablespoons of meat chunkies and gravy mixed into a 3/4 cup of kibble, and presto. she ate like a freaking champ. she woofed (pardon the pun) that down in less than 5 minutes......licked clean. you couldnt tell the bowl had food in it...ever. a big drink of water, 15 minutes later a big you know what in the backyard, and 30 minutes of romping in the snow, and one hell of a nap!

now, i have a near perfect dog. and, that isn't likely to change soon. there will be no problem getting her to eat 2-3 cups of food per day now. she will fill out and i can easily control the intake now so she wont get too fat.

huge weight lifted off my shoulder because she was looking like one of the Serangheti Lions on nature shows that a vulture can kick the living crap out of. sort of like the kind of target they were looking for in my grandfather's cartoon.

"Patience, hell, let's kill something."

PHEW!!!!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Still working on it..

Puppy training is still consuming every waking minute of the day. However, we have begun to see some patterns emerge thanks to logging potty breaks and feedings.

We haven't had accidents in the evening since we've known what to expect. OUR dog goes pee w/in 20 minutes of a huge evening drink. The more she drinks, the more often she needs to pee. Pretty simple, but took us awhile to catch on since she had been going an hour or more during the mornings and afternoons. But, I think we have it under control for the most part now.

She is up to about 3 cups of food per day, but some days she doesn't eat quickly. So, the solution is to put her on a time restraint. She has 20 minutes to finish her food, or she misses the meal. It won't take her long to get with that program because, eventually, she will be so hungry she will scarf her food right down. Today may be that day. She didn't eat well this morning, and she is not interested in eating lunch. So, in about 6 minutes from now, up goes the food. And, I expect she will eat a huge dinner. In a couple weeks, I need to get her to 2X per day anyway, so it isn't as if I am starving her. She is still eating between 2 2/3 and 3 cups per day....plus treats while training. This is well within the guidelines our vet suggests and the guidelines on the bag of food we are using.

Still a bundle of energy, Allie plays hard, and rests harder. The training is going well. She sits nearly 100% of the time w/ or w/o treats. It may be time to introduce distractions now. She is pretty good at "lie down." We, however, still need to use hand signals, as she won't lie down on a verbal cue alone....but we're getting there. I have also introduced "stand" to her so we can break up the monotony with a game of mixing the three commands together randomly. She gets bored easily.....both a puppy and a boxer thing. And, if the darned weather would only improve, we can get better on our walks. She is doing well on the leash, but it is hard to find 2 times (5-10 minutes each only at this stage) every day to walk her around the neighborhood. We didn't get out at all yesterday, and we didn't play in the yard like we have either. If I can get the time to do so, we will get a dog that sleeps through the night. If not, she cries a little when we put her to bed because she just isn't that tired.....and, of course, we are leaving her for the night. She really is glued to us, and this is the only time we spend away from her while we are home. I don't blame her, but as with all else, she will get used to this because there can be no exception. She is NOT sleeping in bed with us.

BTW, I have noticed her beginning (and I use the term loosely) to sit by the door when she needs to go out. It may be more of a coincidence, but I jump on the chance to help her make the connection. (Kind of the "magnet game" trainers use to catch dogs doing something good in everyday life and reward them for it profusely to get them to catch on quicker.)

More later....and maybe a pic.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Looking Good..


Allie
Originally uploaded by chipnjo1999
After a day of logging her movements, I realized how much she goes out. WOW!

Here is a copy of the log I took down:

02/02/2010 - 10 weeks 15lbs.; 14”.

6am - potty 1 and 2. 620am - feed 2/3 cup 715am - potty 1 and 2. 1230pm - potty 1 and feed 1 cup. 1pm - vet visit. 240pm - potty 1. 4pm - potty 1 and 2. 615pm - potty 1 and feed 1 cup. 7pm - potty 1 and 2. 730pm - potty 1. 9pm - potty 1 and 2. 1030pm - potty 1.

Total for day… 1 = 10, 2 = 5. 2-2/3 cups food. 1 minor accident, but interrupted and she finished immediately outside.

Now, we just work on getting her to WANT to go outside. However, on the brighter side, she is pretty good on a leash, knows sit and lie down, and sure is a load of fun. Oh, and quite the lap dog, too. Although, I hear that is never going away. Boxers are 70 lb lap dogs...lol.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Changing Directions...

Well, the photo-a-day challenge really fell by the wayside once we bought the puppy. Boy, talk about your full time job! I can always come back to the photo-a-day thing, but for now, this little piece of cyberspace is changing direction.

Since we have bought the dog, and I need to "log" some of her actions, I will be writing a journal of sorts regarding her potty training. Who knows....someday some of this may help someone.

We are crate-training the dog. She has fallen in love with her crate, as predicted. However, bladder control leaves a lot to be desired in a 10 week old pup. We have had numerous accidents in the house. Some due to no muscle control, but a lot due to not watching her closely enough.

I am also "tethering" her when I can't keep my eyes on her 100% of the time. I would highly recommend tethering a puppy because it doubles as leash training. I was having trouble getting her used to the leash......until i tethered her to me. Tethering fixed that issue in 10 minutes...no kidding.

So, to log today's actions:

Allie is 10 weeks old. She can make it for about an hour in the mornings and about 30 minutes in the evenings (when things get more hectic around the house) without going potty. The goal is to start stretching those times out, and to get her going to the door when she wants to go outside.

I reward her for going potty outside with yummy treats w/o fail. I make sure to give the treat to her WHILE she is doing her business....making it easier to associate the action with the reward. We are using the same words, too. "Go outside" is for heading to the door. And, "go potty," is for actually doing the deed. The long range goal is to have her going on command.

Some patterns have already begun to emerge. She will #1 and #2 in the morning when she first wakes up. And, will often do so again after a little breakfast. After that, however, it's pretty random.

I have not been as consistent as I should have been so far with "timing" her potty breaks. I have gone from thinking I was not taking her out often enough to thinking I was taking her out too often and back again. But, this is the reason for blogging the patterns. It will help tone me down and keep me from getting ahead of myself, hopefully.

So, today's goal is to get her on a timer. I have already taken her out twice, as of 8am. Once at 6am when she woke up, and again at 715am after breakfast. Both times #1 and #2. So, off to a good start. (Like I said, the days aren't a problem....it's the evenings.) But, I will still put her on a 45 minute timer for the rest of the week. I plan to stretch it to an hour if all goes well by next week.

The only things that get in the way are naps. When she falls asleep, I take her immediately after waking, and will start the timer after we come in. The problem I anticipate is when she comes back inside and drinks a gallon of water. That usually triggers another potty break, but I can never tell when. So, hopefully paying closer attention will knock that little issue out.

If you read all this, you are a trooper. Entries should stay a little shorter from here on out.