Very few of my runs are “flawless.” I do have screw ups just like anyone else, but at last weekend’s Canadian Nationals I had a lulu of a fiasco, the likes of which I have not experienced in a while. Encore and I are pretty solid in our teamwork so when she has a jumpers run with 35 faults I had to do some hefty dissecting to try to find the source of the debacle.! To tell you the truth I did not, it was Lynda that suggested a possible reason for such a catastrophe.
Before I get to that, I need to give you a bit of background. Let me take you back to a Sunday night in 2006. It was 9:30 at night in Vancouver. We had just wrapped up the AAC Nationals and with a late awards ceremony I had just given DeCaff and Encore their dinner. About 5 minutes later Encore collapsed. To me it looked like she was having a seizure, she was unresponsive and her eyes where so dilated all you could see was black, she couldn’t move.
I of course freaked and called Lynda who called her vet (Alex Soltan who was also in Vancouver at the Nationals). Alex was staying with a classmate from Vet College, so the two of them went to her clinic for some supplies and came back to the hotel to look at Encore.
In the end, it turned out that Encore’s blood sugar had plummeted and she was diagnosed as being hypoglycemic. A bunch of cookies later she was almost back to normal. Since I raw feed my dogs they don’t get a lot of grains or carbs. However ever since that day I have experimented with various brands of dog cookies at Alex’s advise, trying to find one that would keep her blood sugar up during a weekend trial. I have been really good at taking Encore’s cookies to each trial and feeding her throughout the day. Problem solved.
Now lets go back to my disastrous jumpers run. To set the stage for you you need to watch the video. Normally I run my dogs with virtually no verbal cues at all. My dogs follow my body language without the need for me to help them with any supporting words. I do use a verbal release from control positions (like contacts and start lines). Other than that the only thing you may hear me say is the odd “check, check” cue where appropriate and the word “w-e-e-e-a-v-a-s” just because it still makes me smile and reminds me of my friends from down-under.
As you can see from the video, Encore does not follow my body at all. She is loopy! I came off the round at told Carol Smorch, (who at big events does Encore’s massage and energy work), “you need to put her brain back in her head, I think it is gone!” Take a look, to me during the run it was like I was running someone else’s dog. A dog that had never worked with me before so didn’t understand what I was asking of her.
I think you know where I am going with all of this. Before Encore’s next run Lynda asked me if I had given her cookies that day. It was hot, humid and the atmosphere was exciting. I admitted I had not. I had left them back at the RV. It was about an hour before my next run, Carol was working on Encore. I walked over and fed her a bunch of Lynda’s cookies (her Golden Spirit is also hypoglycemic and also has collapsed without cookies). About 10 minutes later Carol asked me what I had fed Encore because she almost immediately started to change and relax. For the rest of the weekend Encore got her cookies and her and I were flawless. Her only fault over her next 4 classes was 1 knocked bar in next day’s jumpers class where she tried to bounce a 17′ distance in the close (a bit optimistic bounce for her).
No one will know for sure if my diagnosis is correct. Perhaps Encore and I where just not communicating well enough with each other during that run I have labeled the “nightmare on Corkstown Road.” However I feel very strongly it wasn’t just a matter of a brain fart by either or both of us. Sure Encore didn’t collapse as she did in Vancouver but hypoglycemia isn’t an all or nothing affliction.
I felt it important to post about this in my blog in case there is someone out there that are having troubles explaining some of your own dog’s behaviour at a trial. Don’t immediately think your dog is a butt head, look for another source to this issue.
Encore is a dog that gives her heart to me any time I ask. I feel badly that I let her down and forgot her cookies that day, but I am grateful to Lynda for her suggestion and for the difference it made to my girlie for the rest of the weekend.
Hi, I know I’m going to sound like a party pooper but I just have to share this. You are very lucky Encore did not drop dead right there in front of you. Your dog was hallucinating because of severe Hypoglycemia. This is no laughing matter. My dog is diabetic, I monitor her blood sugar level regularly. If she has a day where she is a little more active then usual, her blood sugar level goes way down. Of course the cookie thing seem’s to be working for your dogs, but after doing much research and talking to many dieticians and vets, high sugar peaks and then very low sugar levels are really bad for your dog. Feeding raw is fine but if you have a working dog, that dog needs carbs too and you won’t get that from only Raw! You are playing with fire by giving cookies as a “fix”. You have amazing dogs and I am sure you love them and are very well intended, but please be careful, you would be surprised at how fast they can drop dead. You might want to by a glucose monitor, just like the humans have. You just need a small amount of blood, I take it from my dog’s elbow, it’s real easy. This can save the dogs life. Good luck.
As a Type I (insulin dependent) diabetic, I can tell you exactly what Encore must have felt like. Low blood sugar has caused some diabetics to be arrested as a DUI!! It’s very hard to think straight, your vision is affected, your body doesn’t respond properly and your brain is wired wrong. Similar symptoms to drinking alcohol. Also, after I have low blood sugar where I collapse it can take 48 hours for the head and body aches ache to go away.
I’m not sure for dogs, but in people the collapse can go into seizures and then a coma. I speak from personal experience in the seizure area. I travel with food and juice at all times. You may want to consider a honey or cake gel or some sort of liquid sugar that can be put under the tongue and carry it with you always.
I can’t thank you enough for this posting. For a year one of my dogs has been going totally spacey in the middle of the day at trials. She behaves exactly like Encore, not paying attention to me or the obstacles, gazing out of the ring, even jumping off the contact obstacles. We did have three terrific trials where we Q’d in everything, placing first in most. I couldn’t figure out the common denominator for those trials until I read your post, then ran to read my notes. At each of the good trials I had forgotten my treats (lean steak) and had to buy something at the show, usually hot dogs or cookies. Bingo! My dog, I am sure, is suffering from hypoglycemia in the middle of the day. I was thinking it was a stress reaction, and would have gone on thinking so if you hadn’t posted this. Thank you, thank you!!
BTW if you Google ‘hypoglycemia in dogs’ there’s a lot of information. Google Scholar had a very good article explaining the mechanism, the huge demand on muscle from the exercise plus the demand of the respiratory muscles used in panting, which makes it worse in warm weather.
Hi,
I am a newcomer to agility and your blog, but here are my thoughts, since I really don’t know a lot about your dogs like others probably do…
I will preface this with I have a lot to learn, and I know your dogs are well prepared for trialing, unlike mine! LOL
1) Can you chalk it up to a dog having a bad run? We all have bad days, for some – it’s weeks!
2) Is your dog one who is so in tuned to you that it knew that it made a mistake and kind of stressed thinking that, or perhaps and could see, hear or sense a level of disappointment from you? Again, I preface this with the fact that I don’t know anything of your dogs. Our dogs are smart enough to know when they’ve done something they shouldn’t have! 🙂 Although I see your dogs are lightning fast, I saw no energy issues on that video, but you would since you are with her 24×7. The fact that you were using verbals when you normally don’t probably indicated to the dog that something is wrong.
But I do think that you are smart to check the dog’s heath first.
Sometimes I think we overanalyze things. Just some novice thoughts.
A lot of interesting comments! Susan, I, too, commend you for putting up the video!
I am fairly new to trialing, but thought by November 08 my Aussie was focused and running well with me. Then suddenly in late June he shut down on me, ? change to outdoor venue ? heat ? distractions ? or just disinterested in “doing his job”… I have been playing detective ever since. There is a possibility is that my boy sustained an injury coming off the teeter at a trial in late May – not significant enough to cause visible harm, but affected him nonetheless. Some research has given me some new ideas for things to try out on trial days . And I am trying to give him a more balanced supplemental diet. (One thing I THINK has made a difference is I started adding a berry “sauce” (cranberries and blueberries) to his diet. As I said, I think I have seen a change since I started that one (antioxidants to the brain?) who knows?
BTW Susan, I was volunteering on Saturday at the gamble ring and saw both your runs! Brilliant!
Cheers,
/Abi B.
My little Papillon, Elle, also has the same condition as Encore. She is on a raw diet too. Ever since she was a puppy I have always made sure I carry a squeezy bottle of liquid honey and a tube of that gel you can get at the vet for lactating mummy dogs in our training bag. The few times Elle has had an episode, to bring her back quickly, I put some gel or honey on my finger and then get the stuff into her mouth. Of course, I also carry special cookies for her to help prevent a full on “floppy” occur.
A number of years ago I attended a canine sportsmedicine conference which had a number of interesting lectures on nutrition and sporting dogs. I can’t put my hands on the relevant articles right now (it’s 3am) but there were a couple of studies sponsored by Iams/Eukanuba that compared fat and protein levels as well as sources in hunting dogs. They found that feeding higher fat diets significantly increased the dog’s heat tolerance and performance. One of the speakers also recommended using a carb supplement after each agility run; he recommended a human product called polycose which came in a tablet that could be dissolved in the water that was offered the dog after a run; but also stated that karo syrup could be used in a pinch. After this conference, I switched my heat stress prone sheltie to a higher fat diet (I believe 20%) and we had no heat stress issues for years until as an older dog he had a couple of bouts of pancreatitis and had to be put on a lower fat diet again; the heat stress issues recurred for the first time in a long time. He actually would also come off the course and almost “tie up” in his rear muscles; but the initial presentation was as slight wobbliness and incoordination. He was also one of those high drive dogs who did not slow down ever, even at the verge of collapse; and who barked through the whole run which I believe did not necessarily allow for efficient air flow/respiration and cooling. We also used the karo syrup (couldn’t find the polycose) after runs for a while while we were still doing outdoor trials and I think it helped (although it also drew bees!). So you might increase the overall fat in her diet and look for the polycose tabs.
We’re just at the beginning of our agility career–complete beginners. This was a light bulb moment for me. Agility dogs are athletes and I’ll be taking care of Kharma as carefully as ever I did my soccer-playing son: warm ups, hydration before during and after, proper nutrition, cool downs, rest and massage.
Poor Encore. It must be quite distressing for you to watch her struggling through this course, not because she’s making mistakes but because even though she’s hypoglycaemic she’s still trying her heart out for you.
My husband is a diabetic and when his sugar gets low he says he, “gets stupid”. Sometimes it takes a few “stupid” moments for him to realise what’s going on. I hate his term but he thinks it describes the reaction perfectly, he forgets how to think through and accomplish even the easiest of tasks.
Hi Emily,
Thanks so much for your encouragement. 🙂
Hey Susan,
Thanks for sharing this video as I believe this will remind people about diet prepping for trial days. We tend to focus on the warm ups for the dogs and ensuring that they are in good ‘working’ order but sometimes have a tendency to forget about the diet and how this will also impact our dog on trial days.
I attended an obedience training camp years ago with Wendy Volhard and she made a point of telling us how important it was to ensure that the diet was ‘enhanced’ for trial days to help combat heat and stress.
As I feed a raw diet (Urban Wolf) my dog gets protein at each meal however in addition to this I add extra Vitamin B the day before and during trial days or all day workshops as it helps with stress, etc.
To quickly revive a dog the best thing to have on hand is pure natural honey (the hard honey is the purest), this is an instant reviver and you can just rub it directly onto their gums should they get overcome or need a quick pick me up and it’s full of Vitamin B. You can also add it to their drinking water!
We keep a jar of this in our emergency kit at our Agility club as it works for shock & heat exhaustion, you can even put it directly onto cuts to form a quick bandage.
I also like to provide mini meals of sardines packed in water or tuna and homemade treats ~ my dog loves it and she always gives me a fish kiss after!!!
On a side note I am entered into my first ever agility trial with my dog on August 22&23 and I want to say a big thank you for your 2×2 weaves. I ordered your video this spring and I was able to train my dog from this, she has a fabulous weave and I owe it all to your 2×2 video!!
It truly is the best method for teaching the weaves!!
Take Care!
Rose from St. John’s, NL
Claudia –
I’ve just read your comment. I’m so happy for you that you decided on the right thing! Maybe corrections can be a quick fix, but in the end you never really know what comes out of it. You could end up with an anxious shut-down dog or in the best case a dog that is only working with you because he’s afraid what’ll come if he doesn’t. Nobody deserves that (especially not the dogs). The joy of having a happy dog that is eager to work with you because it is fun is on the other hand glorious and that is what you get from shaping and positive reinforcement. So keep up the good work and believe in yourself and your amazing canine companion. Work on that ‘H’ step by step and set him up for succes. I believe in you!w
All the best from the tiny little kingdom of Denmark
Poor baby. But she’s lucky to have a mama (and Lynda) that cares ;o)
I’m a hypoglycemian myself so I know what it feels like. If I haven’t eaten for 4 hours or if I have been eating to many ‘bad carbs’ (i.e. white bread, sugar etc.) I can become dizzy or even faint. It’s a good thing that you raw-feed though, more protein and fat helps to keep the blood sugar stable for a longer amount of time, in stead of fast carbs which will make it rise way to quick and then drop to the bottom.
Today a part of you have been in Copenhagen. Or at least your dog-training. My puppy-class had a blast tonight doing collargrabs, tugging, teaching the verbal release, restrained recalls, learning how to build value + to have fun fast transitions AND we shaped tricks like puppy-yoga and puppy in a bowl. SO MUCH FUN!
I’m so grateful for somehow tuning in on your blog 5 months ago and discovering your books and dvd’s.
Well, I commend you for putting a run like that up! As a wannabe perfectionist myself I find it hard to watch my bad runs.
I have seen my dog run just like this and again, it is eery how you always touch on things I experience. I don’t feed raw but my dogs are very slim and my Morgan has longer hair so you can’t tell until she is wet that she carries no fat. I had runs like this when she was so steady most of the time and I also had a few small episodes of what you describe with Encore and hypoglycemia. Morgan would get so high waiting that the heat would get to her and after a run sometimes she would look confused and woozy on her feet. I was told to give a dog natural honey to see if this was the problem. It was an immediate cure. (She was completely checked out by a Vet and said to be in supreme health)
So, I also feed a little of their meals during the day and feed very early in the morning and I put water and chicken broth in their food to make sure they start out hydrated (and people food). they get 3 meals and cookies and still drop weight at a 3 day trial. I think it is more that they get so high.
Also… I just realize that my youngest, whom I have not felt connected with lately in some runs and is very very lean (I cannot get weight on him!), is much more connected and his runs after I have fed them are way better and back to himself!! I think you have just solved a mystery for me when the answer was there all along. Because I don’t have this probelm with Morgan anymore, I think I have been lax with Jag.
Thanks for reminding me. I will up the cookies and especially before a run. I know when I go to Outreach we work hard and I am constantly tryng to get food into them. I think most working dogs who get high can be like this… I know that I am the same at trials and have to remind myself to eat before a run (bananas are great!).
Thanks Susan. And how brave you are to post this!!!!! Posting a run like this makes me respect you all the more.
Kathy
In response to Mary’s question, yes indeed, both dogs and cats can be diabetic and require monitoring of blood sugar and regulation with insulin shots. I’ve never known of diabetic cats or dogs that could be regulated by diet alone, but the insulin shots are not a problem, since the dogs associate it with being fed.
No doubt the heat and humidity contributed to Encore’s drop in blood sugar. I had a friend years ago who was a very brittle diabetic, and had learned to read her own body very well as far as her sugar levels. She was always excited on hot and humid days, because she knew her blood sugar would be low enough for her to treat herself to ice cream.
Good observation on Lynda’s part, Susan, I hope you gave her a clicker coin for that! Or at least bought her a beer.
I wrote an article for Dogsport a few years ago on the subject of sports supplements and energy metabolism on trial days. It is important to supply and replenish carbohydrates in a timely fashion for the sprint athletes, as glucose will be the primary energy source for muscle cells in the short term. Protein, B vitamins and antioxidant replenishment is also important, but less critical to performance than the carb level.
Dogs do not geenrally have an absolute requirement for dietary carbohydrates, but sprint athletes probably do, at least for maximum performance.
My default trial day cookie routine is a McDonald’s sausage egg and cheese Mcgriddle, no cheese! I use the bun as a carb (simple and complex) source and the egg and the sausage as protein sources!
I would believe you are absolutely correct. I know, from personal experience what low blood sugar can do to a person’s brain. I hope others learn to always look at the physical first. to Take the time to process what happened, and like you – if you know that you and your dog run a certain way and it is not happening, for heaven’s sake, take the time to figure it out instead of blaming poor handling, or worse yet – the dog.
It’s another day to be grateful for true friend like Lynda, and a true dog like Encore who always gives her best despite how she’s feeling.
In people, hypoglycemia can cause visual disturbances such as double vision and blurred vision. If the same is true in dogs it would certainly explain how Encore could have a hard time reading your cues or why she would jump an imaginary jump. Poor girlie was probably seeing multiple, blurry Susans running out there. (Encore’s nightmare on Corkstown Road”!!!!)
This is really interesting because I’ve always wondered about hypoglycemia in dogs fed raw and/or low carb diets. Most of the body can cope with fat and protein as the primary source for energy, but the brain is an obligate glucose user for its energy needs. Dogs that don’t expend a lot of energy get by just fine, but it’s not surprising that a dog competing in sports might have this problem.
That is really interesting, I always give my Rivi a meaty snack once she has cooled down, and it really makes a difference. I think it is due to the sheer intensity of those few seconds running a course and of course the fact your at a competition. Thank you for the videos and your blog, they are so useful for us overseas.
Great read, Susan. It’s good to find out about these things. I’m sure Encore forgives you for forgetting the cookies, and she couldn’t be luckier to have someone who cares for her so deeply. It’s obvious that you are sincerely sorry and felt that you had to figure out what was wrong instead of “blaming” your dog like so many of us do out there. Guilty as charged. I guess it’s also these types of runs that make us appreciate the hard work we have put into our dogs and the bond that develops when one is able to run a dog without any verbal cues and you just have that connection. Encore is a wonderful girlie and you’ve done an incredible job with all of your dogs. They couldn’t be luckier to have someone than you. I’m sure Encore appreciates all that you do for her and will surely remind you next time that “Momma, befuz we runz, I vants ma cookehsssss!” =)
-Marcella and Shimmer
(Big fans from Texas!)
As Susan suggests there’s no magic cookie – but to experiment with what works for your dog. Alex had found Spirit the “perfect” cookie for her trial days called Second Wind by Greenies – unfortunately they stopped making them? (She bought every package she could find for us! and we have them in the freezer 😉 I also use Carinvore Cookies as Susan does and as well this past weekend I had EVO Treat cookies. Ive refined it down to 3 cookies after every run not that its a “for sure” but it seems to keep Spirit happy 🙂 (as Kathryn said!) and no collapses after vigorous work.
as well on feeding or not before / after / during – think about us as competitors when you don’t eat proper the morning before competition or you let too many hours go inbetween meals at a trial how you feel… I try and think about my girls like that…hydration and fuel. (me too – wish I could have cookies to do the trick!)
Lynda
Lov’n watching Susan’s girls run!
Wow, I have never seen Encore look like that, she almost looked drunk, the swinging from the chandelier kind of drunk!LOL! Poor baby. She really doesn’t have much body fat either so I bet she can’t afford to get low, I on the other hand could live for 2 weeks I am sure:o)
OK when I said I wanted to see the not so perfect runs I didn’t mean THAT! But really, I am glad you figured it out, I have always given my dogs treats afetr a run but not because of blood sugar but now I am going to keep that in mind and make sure I don’t ever forget! I feel bad poor Encore had to be the one to remind us of that!
Kim
Hey, Susan. Thanks for sharing. My dog turned into someone’s dog (whoever’s but just not mine!) this weekend at an OB trial. It was our first and sad to say, I was devastated. I didn’t understand why and how that could have happened. We were all so fine at practices.
For the next few days, I couldn’t deal with it. I realized then, irritation and devastation are 2 very different things. Irritation motivates you because you know you can do something about it. Devastation does not. It blocks out all senses and you wonder IF your dog is just too weak nerved for competition. (He was so stressed at the trials he totally does the opposite of everything required)
I picked up “Shaping Success” (yet again!) That has come to be my “rescue book” esp when it’s ALWAYS so easy to think of correcitonal methods. After the trials, lots of well meaning people came by to share their teaching methodologies and suggested how I could avoid the same problems (hiding his papa away from ring side, the prong collar etc)
It is so tempting to go correctional because results are fast. and I’ve seen the results on other dogs. But since day 1 that I’ve read Shaping Success, I’ve made up my mind to go only positive and I want badly to stick to my guns, even though I had felt like a total fool out there in the ring.
I just want to say thanks. Every page that I read, I am reassured that the experience we had out there was not a end-of-the-world-this-dog-is-simply-too-weak-for-this. I can only constitute it a lack of sufficient shaping. If I had not done my “H” well ENOUGH for all the distractions that were coming his way that day, then there is only one person to blame and that’s myself.
I know this comment is alittle out of point in this post, but I just want to share my experience and hopefully if anyone out there reading this is going through the same questions that I’ve had RIGHT after the trials, then it might serve as an encouragament for that someone.
I’ve seen how shaping has brought him this far and I know if we persist, we will make it someday. So I’m gonna stick with it and give him and myself another chance. Just for the record, I’ve and will never regret the day that I removed his prong and shock collar EVER from his training bag.
You do realize that you’ve just given me another ‘excuse’ for my failure to train my dog. “my dog was hypoglycemic that’s why he ignored me and went fishing in new Zealand”
This is something that I ( and probably many newer handlers) have probably never even considered while at a trial. When I first started trialling, I asked people what they fed before a trial. Most told me that they didn’t feed their dog in the a.m., gave them half rations midway through the day and then a full ration in the evening. Others told me not to feed at all as there might be the possibility of bloat with the large breed dog. Others fed very early and then upped the carbs in the evening (with an event that was more than one day).
Perhaps another subject for your blog…diet and its effect on the performance dog…when to feed and when not to…
BTW your ‘terrible nightmare’ run would be my ‘well it could have been worse’ run.
First, thanks for clearing up what gamblers class is! It looks like fun!
It sounds like a very probable cause. I know I’m a terrible handler for my dog when my blood sugar is low. Luckily it’s very easy to fix.
Fascinating post! I feed my dogs raw, too, and have been researching/experimenting with the right foods on trial days to bring out the best in their performance. One of my dogs is allergic to wheat flour, so I always check treat ingredients carefully. What kind of cookies do you use? Thanks for another thought-provoking topic!
There are very few problems that can’t be solved with cookies!
I would love to know the cookies you use.
Okay all, I don’t think there is only “one” special cookie. I use Carnivore Cookies but also Evo works for Encore and I am sure there are others as well. It is a matter of experimenting.
Makes me wonder about my own girl’s ‘not-like-herself’ runs at the Canada Cup, very valuable advice!
Do dogs get diabetes where regular checking of blood sugar is done and regulated by diet?
That’s very interesting about the hypoglycemia and the possible (probable) reason for the problems in the jumpers run. What is in the cookies that you give Encore?
By the way I love your blog and I recently read Shaping with Success for the first, second, third, and fourth times and absolutely love it too!
Watching the run Encore seems almost anxious in her drive….how nice to have a friend like Lynda to help you see the big picture.