New Years Resolutions...

Yes, for those of you who are counting, it has been roughly 10.5 MONTHS since my last post. What happened? Well, simply put, life happened! Due to the prolonged break between posts, I am going to consider this post the "re-birth" of the Hunt for Success, and write it as if this were my first post (Take two).
             It only makes sense that I start with the inspiration for this entire blog, which truly was Hunter. What began as a blog to update family and friends on Hunter’s rehabilitation, swiftly turned into a blog about my struggles through this crazy game we commonly refer to as life.

 Hunter is now 22 months old, and is living with his original "family" (which is also my family) in South Surrey, BC. Let's back track a touch...
            My Dad is a Vancouver Police Officer who works on the Dog Squad. When his reliable partner "Ace" retired in December of 2011, he received 8-week old Hunter as a replacement pup. Hunter was born to be a police dog, and showed a lot of potential early on.
          When he was 6 months old he developed a chronic limp. After a couple of weeks of attempting to "rest" Hunter (an impossible feat) my Dad took him in to the VPD's regular Veterinarian. Following multiple x-rays and a consultation with the local orthopedic specialist, Hunter was diagnosed with a unilateral Un-united Anconeal Process (if this is German to you, refer back to the post "Elbow Dysplasia - the bane of our existence...). With this diagnosis, Hunter was rejected from the VPD's up-and coming- K9 recruit list, and needed somewhere to go while he recovered from orthopedic surgery. That's when Hunter and I's paths crossed, and he joined my tiny family in January of 2012.
         To pick up where we (sort of) left off; after I left my local job in September of 2011, I had been looking for work out of town, as a "locum" (a.k.a substitute) technician at different veterinary clinics. I had scheduled a couple of work periods in Fort St John, and thus we had a dilemma on our hands. Chris (my husband) is quite busy managing the roads and bridges of Creston and its surrounding areas. I was currently going through the Karen Pryor Academy of Animal Behavior and Training (refer back to post on KPA to refresh your memories) and I needed to bring our dog Buster with me, so that we could keep up-to-speed with all of our training exercises. Chris was hesitant to be Hunter's sole caregiver while I was working out for town for 3 weeks, and I cannot say I blame him; I had developed a strict routine for Hunter and he required a lot of management and supervision in order for this routine to go smoothly.
         It was decided that it was time for Hunter to return to my Dad. As much as I knew this was going to be an extra burden for my parents, Chris and I had played our part in Hunter's rehabilitation - he was now able to go for regular walks, and even enjoy some "off-leash" time without any lameness or swelling of his affected joint, and he was really starting to understand what it meant to be a "house dog." At his next check-up with Dr. Kuzma at Canada West Veterinary Specialists, Hunter remained in the Lower Mainland, and we returned home, just the three of us (Chris, Buster, and I).
          Today, Hunter remains a member of the Forster household; although they claim this is semi-permanent (we’re not fooled). He is healthy and one of the happiest dogs I know! He has "stiff" days after he pushes himself running the fence with the neighbouring Great Danes, but he recovers quickly and loves his life!

So where does that leave me? Here's a quick 2012 recap.....

In July, Buster and I successfully graduated from KPA's Dog Trainer Program. I am now a KPA Certified Training Partner (CTP) and Buster is…...well, brilliant really!

            Shortly after graduating, I developed (what will be) my dog training business, Sit Pretty Pet Services. I cannot say this is something I have accomplished on my own. After 7 months of refining and perfecting my dog training skills, I felt confident and ready to take on the world. Starting a dog training business? No problem! Bring it on! Boy was I in for a reality check.
            Business and I, well, we are not familiar with one another. This is where Chris really comes into play. Who knew his Bachelor of Business Administration would come in so handy for me? With his careful assistance and encouragement, I developed my business name, employed a new, dear friend to create my phenomenal logo (I get goose bumps to this day whenever I look at it), and am developing my business website (with the help of a professional, trust me).

 I have a lot to learn, and many questions, but thankfully I have made some great friends within the dog training industry, and have an incredible mentor who is a wealth of knowledge and support! There is a lot of work to do before I can even think about "launching" Sit Pretty Pet Services (SPPS), but with every challenge I feel more confident that this is what I’m destined to do!

            Business and dog training aside, 2012 brought several new exciting changes to my life! In June, we adopted our second dog, Kaslo. Kaslo came from a small shelter in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. I had been pushing Chris to let me get a second dog for years and years. He finally warmed up to the idea, and I leaped at the opportunity. After contacting many shelters in BC and Alberta, Chris found Kaslo (previously “Sparky”) through petfinder.ca. We went down to the States to look at an older dog originally, and thought we would check him out while we were there. He turned out to be exactly what we wanted; quiet, polite, and of course, absolutely adorable!
          Kaslo’s back story goes a little something like this: In May 2012, his owner ditched him in a Safeway parking lot. That’s right, they drove into the parking lot, opened their door, pushed Kaslo out, and drove away. An eye-witness to this event waited for 20 minutes for the people to return for their pup, and they never did. He was taken to the local shelter, where he lived for a couple of weeks before we adopted him. When we brought him home, he was approximately 5-6 months old, and was just starting to lose his baby teeth. What started as an obvious Beagle cross, has grown into a very leggy, Heeler/Basenji mix (to the best of our knowledge).
           Kaslo has an endless supply of energy, and has not failed to present us with many of the typical puppy challenges. He is starting to grow into what we hope will be a smart, mature dog, and has been a great companion for Senior Citizen Buster, although he is known to “poke the sleeping bear” from time to time.
          It has been a great experience for us to raise our first “puppy” as a family, but more than that, we have really enjoyed seeing how simple puppy-rearing can be when using strictly positive—reinforcement training! Kaslo knows a variety of verbal and hand cues, rings a desk-bell at the back door when he needs to pee, has a much better recall than Buster (the apparent “superstar” dog of the family), and is a real pleasure to train with! As always, I have many lofty goals for this little guy; just need to find the time to do it all!

              What else did 2012 bring for us? Well, we will be returning to our previous Northern home in 3 weeks. Chris’s work offered him a transfer back to the Fort St John office, and  we have decided that this move is the right one for us.

 In November of 2012 we found out that our family would be expanding yet again, as we are expecting our first baby in July of this year. More on this chapter later….

            2013 is already shaping up to be an incredibly busy and challenging year for this family, but we would want nothing less. While life continues to surprise me with the hurdles it throws in my way, I am so blessed for all that I have. I wouldn’t (and couldn’t) be in the place I am today without the love and support of my incredible family, and of course my husband, who truly makes me the best I can possibly be.

 Wishing you all the best for 2013, and I am looking forward to my new blogging commitment!