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Ed’s new Mal puppy, Bart, playing tug with Ed.

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How Your Dog Changed Your Life
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Nanaw's New Blessing
Epilepsy had come between me and my grandchildren.
By Gayla

Fourth of July, and my sister-in-law was having a cookout. Once I would have looked forward to a gathering like this. Today my husband, David, had to convince me to go.

Since the spring I’d withdrawn little by little from the world. I’d become a prisoner of my epileptic seizures. I never knew when one would sneak up on me and knock me clear off my feet.

I tried different medications, but they only made me zoned out, less in control than ever. Doctors didn’t know what to do for me. How could I keep from injuring myself?

David came up with the idea of my wearing protective gear. “When you get up in the morning, slip these foam pads onto your elbows and knees, and wear this helmet,” he had said as he pulled the equipment out of a sports bag. I was desperate, ready to try anything. David helped me strap on the helmet and stepped back to take a look. “You’re suited up for the game now,” he said.

I had to laugh, catching sight of myself in the mirror. But it was hard to laugh when people stared at me in public, and the pads didn’t stop the convulsions. Seeing other people, especially strangers, became something to fear. At least today I’m with family, I thought. They understand. I’m still the same to them.

“Come say hello to Nanaw,” my daughter said, leading my young grandchildren up to my chair. I reached out my arms for a hug, but the children shrank back, not sure what to make of my strange getup. Who was I kidding? This is no kind of life, I thought as we drove home that day.

Epileptic seizures were nothing new to me. Despite my condition, I got married, raised children, held down a job at the supermarket for 14 years.

One simple blessing made all that possible. A few minutes before every seizure I experienced an “aura,” an unmistakable feeling that told me a seizure was coming on. My mind raced. Sounds, emotions and movements were magnified. I’d let my supervisor know and slip into the ladies room to sit down—safely—until the seizure passed.

Having epilepsy wasn’t easy, but God had given me a means to deal with it. He wanted me to have a full life, and my aura was what allowed it.

Then in May 1999 I had a seizure. No aura had warned me it was coming. I was caught completely off guard and fell where I stood. In the next few falls, I suffered a mild concussion and terrible bruising. Doctors couldn’t tell me why.

It was as if God had taken his gift away and left nothing in its place. Has he forgotten me? I wondered one evening a few weeks after the cookout. I had barely left the house since then. David grew more and more concerned about my isolation.

David turned to me from the desk where he was working at the computer. “I’m going to do some research on the internet,” he said. “We’ve got to find a way to help you.”

What could the internet possibly tell me that my doctors couldn’t? “I know all this,” I said as David pulled up yet another page of information on my condition. Then I noticed an icon over in the corner of the screen. “What’s that?” I asked.

“A chat room,” said David. “For people with epilepsy.”

Click here to finish reading this story.

The problem with the
“drive-compulsion-drive” theory of dog training

*At checkout, enter coupon code NOV16 into the comments section at checkout to receive savings. An email will be sent after you have placed your order specifying the new total. This special is valid until Sunday, November 22nd 11:59 P.M. Central Standard Time only on dog treats on http://leerburg.com/treat.htm. Order must be placed, received, and be dated for before that time. Orders placed before or after this date will NOT be given the price discount. No Exceptions!

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Leather Slip Lead	Dumbbells with Covered Center Available in Jute or Leather!
Soft Synthetic Bite Bar with Leather
FREE Featured eBook Training Puppies Not to Bite By Ed Frawley

This Week's Featured
Question & Answers
Our newsletter will always contain several featured customer Q&As from that week.

Have a question for Ed & Cindy? Try the Leerburg Search Engine. This search engine was written specifically for Leerburg by our in house IT manager. Our search engine is specific to Leerburg and only searches leerburg.com and the Leerburg web forum.

If you can't find the answer to your question by using our search engine,
you can email Cindy here at Leerburg at cindyr@leerburg.com
If you have your spam filter on, make sure you set it to receive our replies!!!

Question: How much work can a young dog do without being physically or mentally stressed?

Hi Cindy,

First I want thank you the hard work you, Ed and the rest of your team all the long hours you must put in to make this world a better place for dogs and their handlers. I was lost trying to do training with the new fad of  trainers using halties and other training methods that were not working. I had a young mal and she was a handful.  I stumbled on your site and was saved from daily frustration. Between you and Michael Ellis I now have a wonderful SAR wilderness dog. My question is about how much work a young dog should do when training for searching in the wilderness and be physical stressed or mentally for that matter. I've seen few people try to finish their pups at just barely one year of age. The test is a 3-4 hour 100 to 120 acres over rugged terrain. I would appreciate your guidelines of this. My thoughts are it's a little to much training for young developing pups.

Answer:

Since I’ve never trained a dog for SAR, I’m not sure I can answer accurately but I wouldn’t work any 1 year old dog for the length of time you describe.  I don’t see the reason for it.  I see the same thing in many dog sports, people push the youngsters because they are impatient or because the dog shows a lot of ability and as humans we sometimes put our goals in front of our principles.  I personally would rather take an extra 6-12 months to accomplish something and not burn my dog out mentally or physically.

For more questions on this topic, see our Q&A on Working Puppies.

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Question: My beagle sniffs all the time, could she do search & rescue?

I have a lemon beagle with the nose-from-hell... she won't potty if she scents something on the wind or ground. I watch her sniffing the air/ground, and wonder if she could do SAR. It's a waste of an excellent nose otherwise. She is very friendly (TOO friendly sometimes) to people and other animals. She has a cat of her own but I believe would chase strays. She does not appear to fear loud noises, like thunder, but rather is intrigued by them. Nose to the air... nose to the air or ground is normal for her. Wind increases this, I can only think because more scents come her way...

What do you think? Can beagles do this?

Answer:

I think many breeds can be taught to SAR, BUT there is much more to it than just sniffing.  The dog has to be able to focus on a task, not be distracted and be biddable and have a good work ethic. 

If you are interested in finding out more about SAR, you can do a search on our website.

Check the search function in the upper left corner of the website.  It will find posts, articles and Q & A’s that deal with your search terms.

For more questions on this topic, see our Q&A on Search & Rescue.

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Question: My 14 week old puppy has a biting problem.  I’m trying to figure out if this is aggression or prey drive.  Do you have any suggestions?

Hi Cindy,

My question is related to a 14 week old German Shepherd Puppy, who has a biting problem.  He is constantly chewing on hands, feet, arms, etc., and occasionally nips at the face. I can’t figure out if this is an aggression problem or an over stimulated prey drive that needs more of an outlet.  Regardless, it needs to stop before he gets uncontrollable.  I’m trying everything (e.g., stiff correction, redirection, treats for positive behavior, exercise, putting him in submission, etc.), but all of these seem to only have a temporary effect. I’d raised many GSD’s and never had a puppy with this much drive/aggression. There has been progress… just not as much as I expect. Am I on the right track… just need to be consistent and more patient…or are there obvious things that I’m overlooking? 

Thank you.
Jamie

Answer:

It’s not possible for a puppy this young to have real aggression.  This is simply very strong prey drive.

I’d use marker training and get this pup engaged with me in a way that he can be reinforced A LOT for good behaviors. This training will also give him an outlet for all of the energy and drive he has. I’d also keep this puppy on a leash at all times, and would not put myself (or anyone else) to be bitten. So much of successful puppy raising is managing their environment and access to situations and people.  I try not to let my puppy repeat and practice behaviors I don’t want

The Power of Training Dogs with Markers
The Power of Training Dogs with Food
The Power of Playing Tug with Your Dog

We also have a section on puppy biting on the website.
Learn to use the search function (located in the left hand corner of every page on our website). Simply type in your search terms or key words and you will be directed to articles, question & answers, free streaming videos and posts on our forum.

For more questions on this topic, see our Q&A on Puppy Biting.

 

*If you have a training question – write Cindy here at Leerburg at cindyr@leerburg.com

*If you have your spam filter on, make sure you set it to receive our replies!!!

*Our newsletter is a big success and we would like to send out a huge THANKS to our wonderful customers! Since beginning this newsletter our volume of email has greatly increased and you may have a longer than usual wait for a reply to your question.  We will answer; it just may take us a bit longer than you are accustomed to. In order to speed up this process, please condense your questions to a paragraph or two. This will make it MUCH easier for us to answer in a timely fashion. Your questions are important to us and we always appreciate receiving them. If you have a medical issue or emergency, please consult with a health care professional right away. We can’t diagnose or treat sick dogs via email. Also, try using the search function on our site - it now searches the site AND the web board. Thank you. Ed & Cindy

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Love all your products. You continue to provide fun and exciting toys and treats for my dogs, and very helpful and educational item for us all.

Thank You,
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Ok so your sick of me, but I had to give you the latest update on a puppy that you and your formula helped save. Today she just started nursing off of Mom. I'm so excited I can't tell you. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we could have such a great outcome. Thank you once again for helping me in my time of need.

Bonnie

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