Hands Off!

Throughout the time Kodiak has been in my life, I have struggled with others who want to discipline him or take control of him from me. It's bothered me emmensely since the very first time someone tried to assume authority of him.

My neighbor had a habit of coming into our yard, when Kodi was very small. He would walk between the houses, across the yard from where I was located supervising Kodi in the yard. Kodi would run to him and, of course, in true puppy fashion, jump up against him enthusiastically.

My neighbor would grab him by the collar and try to force him down onto the ground. Whether I was giving Kodi a command or not, he would insist on pushing him down to the ground telling him "down".

Another neighbor saw me walking Kodi down the street where she had her motorcycle parked. As we approached the motorcycle, she came to the sidewalk and took hold of the leash. She said, "Let me take him." and snatched the leash from me, walking him on the sidewalk around the cycle, rather than allowing me to walk him past the cycle in the street. To say I was appalled would be an understatement.

Even in my home, as I'm trying to correct Kodi, neighbors and friends will give him commands, as I am doing so. Why they don't understand that it is confusing to him to have two people giving different commands is beyond me, but that's what they do.

I believe in a positive reinforcement method of training. I don't believe in being physical with my pets, but rather rewarding them when they obey a command. I've also chosen to use different commands than some others might, as I've also encorporated specific commands for Assistance training.

I use the commands 'paws up' and 'paws off' asking Kodi to put his feet up on my lap when picking an item up off the floor for me and to take his paws off my lap once I've retrieved the item from him. I only use the command 'down' when I ask him to 'lay down'. "Off" is the command for putting his feet on the floor, getting down off the furniture, etc.

Others come into my home and want to command Kodi, without understanding what commands we use. They take him by his collar and tell him 'down', trying to make him sit.

These folks seem to believe that Kodi's training is lacking. I acknowledge that he requires a lot of repetitive reinforcement, as he's true to his breed's characteristic of being stubborn and willful.

He consistently listens to me, I believe because I am the one person who works with him routinely and we have a bond. I am patient with his progress, as long as we aren't regressing and continue moving forward, because as he's aging and maturing he's also calming down and being more consistent.

I fear that people believe since I'm using a power chair that I'm not capable of controlling such an energetic dog, that they have to do so for me, without knowing me or my relationship with Kodi.

I wish folks would respect not only me, my home and Kodi, but our relationship.

Migraine Treatment ~ Kodiak Cuddles

I’ve been living with severe, chronic migraine headaches for some 19 years. Along the way I have also been diagnosed with sinusitis and sinus headaches, as well as tension, cluster and ‘rebound’ headaches.

An Ultrasound of my face uncovered a previous skull fracture and bone fragments from a broken eye socket that were floating in my sinus. A CT scan and later an MRI confirmed the ultrasound results.

After years of treatment by a neurologist who prescribed a variety of medications that included home injections and being released from treatment after all his options were exhausted and he was at a loss as to what to do to help me, I was left to my own devices, dealing with the pain by laying down in a dark, cool and quiet room, putting moist heat on my head, trying to sleep them off.

Some days this strategy works, other days not so much. Sometimes my migraines cycle from one side of my head to the other for five or six days consecutively. On several occasions a single migraine has lasted for three weeks.

Today I had a particularly bad headache. I put heat on it, took some over-the-counter pain killers and went into my darkened bedroom to lie down. As soon as I was lying down with my pillow scrunched up under my neck Kodi came into the bedroom and jumped up on the bed.

He licked my face and nibbled my nose as he made soft sounds, much like a cat purring. He leaned his cheek against my cheek, slid down against me, leaning his shoulder into mine as he slipped onto his side with his back against my belly.

He looked back over his shoulder and licked my face before resting his head on the pillow next to mine. I put my hand on his shoulder and closed my eyes.

We rested there for a while. It was nice to keep warm with him, relax and de-stress.

A Neurologist couldn’t provide me with relief… because he wasn’t able to prescribe Kodiak Cuddles.

Sharing Your Bed or Four on the Floor?

I recently read an article about whether you should let your dog sleep in bed with you or whether four should always be on the floor.

It discussed how dogs are pack animals who sleep in 'dens' and how their sleeping arrangments can dictate their place within their 'pack'.

The article talked about how some dogs can interpret sleeping on the bed as being higher in the 'pack heirarchy' than they actually are, which can bring about some behavior issues and such 'characters' should probably sleep on the floor or in their own pet bed so the 'pack leaders' or 'alpha' members are clearly defined.

The article also talked about how sleeping on the bed can strengthen the bond between human and canine, as they can offer body heat and a sense of security to one another.

Kodi sleeps in bed with us, between us to be exact. He stretches out with his head always at the foot end of the bed, his hind quarters near our waists. He always starts the night with his shoulder on my hip, sliding down so his chin can rest over my calf or ankle. His body stretched out the length of my own with his back against my leg.

I've found that I can't go to sleep without him next to me, keeping me warm, supporting me so I lay in a comfortable position and allowing me to rest my hand on his hip or to wrap my fingers around his fluffy tail. He's become a soothing and comforting presence for me.

Because of my disability and pain level it is always difficult for me to get to sleep. I find that my body, my muscles, have difficulty relaxing. I sometimes have to consciously think about relaxing parts of my body. Petting or touching Kodi relaxes me, my breathing deepens and slows, I feel peaceful.

He also offers a sense of security, knowing he's there, that if he were to hear anything out of ordinary within the house, he would be alerted and because of our close proximity in bed, we would be alerted by his movements.

Though we are 'cozy' with the three of us in bed together, I don't think I could sleep at this point without him in bed. There's an emotional bond now, that I've become somewhat dependent upon.

Going for an Autumn Walk

This evening my husband and I were talking about taking Kodi for a walk before it got dark.

I stepped into the bathroom before getting my coat and power chair ready to go, as my husband got his shoes.

Kodi came into the bedroom and looked into the bathroom at me. I told him I was almost ready, then we could go for a walk. He looked at me, whimpered, looked at my sneakers on the floor by my night stand, then picked them up, one by one and brought them to me in the bathroom, putting them at my feet.

After he dropped my sneakers he went back into the bedroom and picked up one of my socks, which he took out to my husband. This makes sense, because he often helps me get my socks on when we are going out.

This evening he found a video cassette tape case on our bed where my husband left it when he brought some holiday cartoons out to watch. Kodi picked up the case and took it out to my husband, handing it to him.

While I was sitting in my recliner tonight, I finished looking through some catalogs that came in the mail today. I asked my husband if he wanted to look at them, to which he replied, "later, not right now."

Kodi took the catalogs, one at a time, off the arm of my recliner and walked them across the room to my husband, where he handed them to him.

Sometimes I think he's more human than some people I know.