Maddy: In the Swim

In June Maddy and I traveled to Prescott Valley in northern Arizona. What beautiful country! Our host, Susan, and her Siberian Husky Gracie, took us to a lovely lake for a late-afternoon hike. Maddy decided to jump into the water. She was clearly delighted by this new sensation. I tossed a stick and she was soon swimming out, fetching the stick, and swimming back to deliver it. What was cool was that she watched and waited to see where the stick would surface before swimming out to get it. If she couldn't find the stick, she grabbed the leash in her mouth so she would have something to show for her efforts.

Maddy's Mate: Sherlock

Maddy now has a buddy. My other dog Sherlock, who for the last year had been living with my boyfriend, his Poodle and our horses on a 20-acre ranch around the mountain, decided he had to come home with us after a weekend of wanton romping through the pastures of Rain Valley. He planted himself in the driver's seat and that was that.

Sherlock was another "doorstep doggie" who came into my life in May 2001 in Escondido, Calif. He's a big dog, and he's really a good boy and a great protector. He loves to patrol the perimeter and takes his job seriously. 

Now Maddy and Sherlock are here with me, and they are inseparable. They roll around and chomp on each other all day. Maddy does the cattle-dog bitey thing with Sherlock and he loves it. Poor Sherlock is still trying to figure out the cholla deal here in the Sonoran desert... tonight he got a mouthful of the nasty barbed spikes, and it took two of us with pliers to free him from his misery.

Maddy rang the doorbell tonight to be let into the house. Such a smarty pants!

Maddy: Crate-Trained!

Maddy has an issue with separation anxiety. Okay, a big issue, which I understand is not uncommon with rescues. I tried leaving her alone in the house, and she nearly trashed it. (I didn't know dogs ate avocados!) My friend Nancy Williams loaned me a large dog crate, and I figured I'd get her used to it slowly...

So I sought the advice of my dog-trainer friend Maryna Ozuna (www.dogbodycare.com) and she said: "Stop thinking about the crate as punishment, cuz it's not to the dogs, and just crate-train her. Keep it small, keep it simple, and life will be a lot easier for her. Simplicity, structure, clarity -- dogs thrive on it. She's absolutely darling, and structure won't take away that quality. Feed her in her crate, let her sleep in her crate, all good things like bones can be found in her crate. And slowly increase the privileges."

That sounded great! And Maddy was enjoying popping into her crate for bones and food and stuff. But when I actually locked her in there and left her alone for a couple of hours.... well, the crate was still upright when I got back, but the water bowl had been dumped and she was beside herself with anxiety. She was even physically ill that night....

So we will keep working on it, and I will order some calming flower essences from Anaflora... beginning with "Return to Joy" and following up with a formula for separation anxiety. I will take the essences as well, since I'm just as glued to her as she is to me.

After all, I'm the one who pulls the cholla spines out of her paws (they hurt!) when she accidently encounters those nasty barbed spikes, like she did tonight in the dark. 

Maddy: The Arrival

Maddy appeared on my doorstep 10 days ago. She looked and acted like "my dog" from the beginning. Soulful eyes met mine and said "I'm yours!" I haven't had a one-on-one bond with a dog like this for a very long time. Suddenly I was swept into a land of unconditional love, a wonderful country to be in.

Maddy is very compact, with a black body highlighted with merle and copper points. Her ears stand up (and go in all directions) and she has a long tail. I don't know if she's purebred, but she is cattle dog to the core. I've known a few. They have a rep of being hard-headed and tough, in constant action, as busy as a Border Collie except they'll smash right into and over you. 

It only took two days for Maddy to take over the bed (and my life!). Fortunately my cat Isabel isn't afraid of dogs; she likes them better than cats, I think. They have become fast friends.

Her leaping prowess is quite amazing. She loves to sit on the patio table where she can keep an eye on flocks of birds that visit the feeder less than 30 feet away. She stared at them with an intensity that's admirable. In the car, she wedges herself into the back window and gazes soulfully at me, or sticks her head way out the window to emulate a drinker of the wind. In my truck, she likes to ride shotgun on the center console, but it's slippery and she's taken a dive more than a few times. (Need to get a nonslip surface up there.) And when the rear sliding window is open, she'll poke her head out and if the truck isn't moving, she'll shoot in and out of the truck bed.

Maddy comes when called, sits and is generally a "good dog", although I think we'll be in for some obedience training. She could be a star in Agility, and we'll work toward that goal. She's bright and always thinking several steps ahead of me.... she intuitively knows what's going on.

My friend, animal communicator Sharon Callahan (www.anaflora.com) says that "An angel just pushed her off a cloud." I believe that my kitty Sophia, who made her transition at age 18 on Christmas Eve, may have had something to do with that. I'd been thinking that a new cat might be coming into my life, but the Universe had other plans.

Got cattle?