Lucky Pet of the Week! From Apr. 27th till May 4th 2002 Sport
Name: Sport
Born: June 11th 1994
Gender: Female
Breed: Flat
Coated Retriever mix
Owner: Tresa
Favorite Activities: agility, running
through the woods, retrieving, pointing (birds)
Web Site: Sport's Page
Sport was born in Chesepeake, Virginia on June 11,
1994. I got her when she was five months old from a
"back yard breeder". She was very timid with
strangers from being kenneled 24/7. The only human
contact was with people she knew well. I remember the
first time I tried to walk her. She wouldn't even
leave the backyard: I had to carry her for a while
then set her down and she would drag me all the way
home. She would cower and scream when approached by a
freindly stranger! After a week of being carried like
that, she started going willingly with alot of
encouragement. Finnally, she figured out that nothing
bad was going to happen on walks and began to enjoy
them. Actually, she started dragging me for a walk.
In the summer of 1998, while I was away, she jumped
the fence and was hit by a car. Her pelvis was tilted
around and fractured and her spine was boken close to
her tail. The vet was worried that she could never
walk again because she had no feeling in her feet were
talking about euthenasia! But miraculously she could
sort of walk with a towel supporting her hips. She
finnally recovered enough to come home. She had to be
supervised 24 hours a day and needed frequent trips
outside with a towel to support her. Months later she
was able to walk a little without the towel but still
hadn't moved her tail. The vet did a pinch test on
her and she didn't react. They said that some times
their tail would sort of die and have to be amputated.
The hair started falling out and I was getting
worried. Then she started chewing on her tail until
it bled, luckily that was a sign that the feeling was
coming back. She had her tail bandaged and medicated
and finally the hair grew back and she can now move
her tail but only to one side.
By late fall she was able to go on walks. We would
take her to a quiet beach for walks. Since she had
been confined to a bed all summer, she was really out
of shape and a little chuby! She couldn't run very
much and tired quickly. She would bunny hop because
of the pain and was snappy towards other dogs when she
would have normaly wanted to play.
I allways have found it frustrating that all that
every book said about shy dogs was don't get one.
Well, untill I found the book Help For Your Shy Dog by
Deborah Wood. This is a great book that I highly
recommend to anyone who has a shy dog or teaches
obedience classes. I found out that my dog needed
lots of socialization. I began taking her to the park
for walks and to Petsmart. First she would shake
violently the entire time but eventually would calm
down after a few visits. Then I took her to a basic
obedience class at Merrimac Dog Training Club. The
whole first class she just tried to escape. But after
3 classes she clamed down and began to ignore the
distractions and do well. Except for one thing; there
was a yellow lab named Baxter and she hated him! She
allways growled and snarled when he tried to make
friends.
Since then she has taken many agility and obedience
classes. I have since joined the club and plan on
showing her this spring in obedience and agility.
Recently, Sport took 2nd place at an agility trial in
Novice A, perfect score in 53 seconds.
Tresa
