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GZ BREED COLUMNSnon-sportingtouchier than a Shiba about its feet, it’s ascared and worried Shiba with a sorefoot! Dr. Laurie had three tools sheneeded that day to work with my nervousShiba: compassion, tolerance, andpeanut butter. A little screaming, a lot ofwiggling, and some barking when shereached out to him were eventually followedby friendly kisses, especially afterthe frozen peanut-butter cups. Althoughshe never forced him, she never backeddown, and Koshou decided that dignifiedtolerance was his best course ofaction.Koshou is still receiving chiropracticadjustments and laser therapy on aweekly basis, and I continue to see moreimprovement—both in his tolerance ofthe treatment, and in the results. Latelythere is no perceptible abnormality inhis gait, and he shows no hesitation touse the stairs, He will often initiatechasing games with my other Shiba.In hindsight, I believe the allergymedication Koshou was taking for anextended time was most likely maskingchronic pain he may have had earlier. Inessence, we had an acute injury on topof a chronic problem. When his leftfront was injured too badly to bearweight, he compensated by overutilizingthe rear.Signs pointed out by his veterinarianfor example were that Koshou wasstanding with his rear legs almoststraight down under his hips, ratherthan the natural angling back as when adog is stacked in the show ring. (I guessyou conformation people stand themthat way for a reason!) I recalled I hadseen that odd stance before many timesover the past year. Similarly, when holdinga treat over his head, Koshou wouldangle his head to the side, rather thantilting his head straight back to take it.Once I began thinking about howKoshou does things now versus oneyear ago, I also realized his “getting upfrom a nap” stretches had becomeabbreviated as well.A bit of important advice for anyonewith an injured dog is to have thewhole dog evaluated, not just the apparentinjury site. Koshou’s rehabilitationhas been extended because I unknowinglydidn’t take that step soon enough.I’d also suggest watching your dog for achange in his pattern of normal activity.A dog who gets surly and lacks energymy not just be getting old but may beinjured.As Koshou and I look forward toreturning to the agility ring—we arevery close to our PACH title—we hopeour story helps others who might befacing a similar problem. —M.E.Thank you, Mary. —PatriciaDoescher; hi_jinx@chorus.net; NationalShiba Club of America website:shibas.orgTibetan SpanielsHow to Make Your DentistRich While Breeding Dogs(or Why I Now Have OnlySmall Dogs)As I’m facing surgery for my secondreplacement part, I’m reminded ofone of the reasons I switched to a smallbreed: self preservation.Within in a year of getting into thesport of dogs, I had a spare partremoved from my left knee. After that Icould never kneel, which is the normalbody posture for handling the breedingof large dogs. In those situations Iwould sit on the floor instead, with thebitch standing over my leg, and thatway I was able handle breedings bymyself. (My husband has done abirthin’ but wants no part of breedin’.)My mentor once told me, “If youown a stud dog, you better be able tocover the bitches when they need to bebred. It is your responsibility to get thejob done.”So I devised a method that workedfor me and trained my dog, and thanksto the biddable nature of my thenbreed,it worked. From his initiationinto manhood, he had been taught tomount and dismount the bitch oncommand, with “Get the girl” and “Offthe girl”—simple, easy and effective.Since it had been sometime since hehad a “date,” he was very eager to getdown to business. Acting like a youngsterrather than an experienced, 9-yearoldstud dog, he tried to breed herright leg, then her left leg, and lastly herhead. Not helping matters was the factthat the bitch was nearly as big as hewas, and a little high on leg, and notoverly enamored with his advances.After another futile attempt to breedher right leg, I called a time out.He was still frantic to breed her, but Imanaged to get him to drink a littlewater and calm himself, and as soon ashis mind seemed back for a moment Itold him, “Get the girl!”Seventy-two pounds of muscle andflying fur jumped straight up in the airby the time Get was out of my mouth.As I said the girl, I felt his occiput makecontact with my mouth and saw bloodand my tooth on my shirt—but bloodand pain be damned, she was tied! Sothere I sat for his normal 20–25–minute tie … as my lips swelled to proportionsthat a Hollywood starletwould envy, but with a gapped-toothmouth that would only earn a role in aremake of The Beverly Hillbillies.When I called my dentist’s office andsaid it was an emergency, telling themI’d broken a tooth, they willingly gotme in that day. When I arrived at theoffice, their first question was how Imanaged to break off a capped tooth atthe root, to which I replied, “It happenedduring sex with dogs.”The bitch whelped a litter of 10puppies 61 days from that breeding.That was her first and only breeding, ason our second try she was less thanenthusiastic, and his interest had wanedas well. That was fine by me; I had nodesire to repeat the performance of theprevious day.That was his final breeding, and henever earned enough in stud fees tocover the cost of a dental implant toreplace that tooth. —Dianne Tyree,Di24kk9s@wexfordgold.com; TibetanSpaniel Club of America website:tsca.wsTibetan TerriersPride and Prejudice“By definition a prejudice is aprinciple that its owner does notA K C G A Z E T T E • 27 • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 2