Sniffing out a greyt weekend

Greyhounds may be sight hounds but they also have a great ability that they share with every other dog - their nose and sense of smell.

Practising the box drill on day 2. Photo courtesy of Tony Cruse

Mina's eyesight is beginning to deteriorate. She has had several major eye operations over the last few years and has the beginnings of cataracts and I want to make sure that when/if her eyesight fails that we can still do fun things together and this is what led me to the first UK Sirius Sniffers Seminar, organised by the Oxfordshire Animal Behaviour Centre with the founder of Sirius Sniffers - Kelly Gorman Dunbar being the trainer.

Whereas humans rely on sight more than smell, and even though sight hounds predominantly hunt by sight, the dog's sense of smell is perhaps the most important of their senses. Every dog has from the smallest Chihuahua to the largest Deerhound has a great nose for smells - around 10,000 to 100,000 times better than the human sense of smell.  Dogs have twice as many functioning olfactory receptors than us mere humans, meaning they can distinguish between odours that may smell identical to us, as well as sniffing out odours we can't even detect with our distinctly sub-standard noses (when compared to a dog's nose)!

Sirius Sniffers aims to make nose work accessible to pet dogs.  I'm not particularly competitive (remember, I'm not competing in agility with Mina) and I just want to have fun times with my dogs without the stress that competition would put me under. The Sirius Sniffers approach seemed ideal for my needs and it also meant that I got to meet Kelly along with the chance to catch up with lots of other doggy friends over the course of the weekend.

Day 1 - Mina is introduced to nose work - Sirius Sniffer's style

During day 1 the dogs were introduced to the idea of nose work, by using their favourite food or toy (primary reinforcer) and then hiding it in a cardboard box. Cardboard boxes were used as (a) they're easy to get hold of and (b) they contain the scent/odour quite well.

It did take Mina a while to relax and suss out what she was supposed to do. However, with Kelly's guidance and encouragement and with the fact that Mina can self-reward/reinforce by finding and eating the food in the box, it made it much more fun for her (the box contained my homemade liver cake).

Day 2 - Box drills and a hidden search

We started the day with a box drill where the boxes were lined up against a wall and the food hidden in one of the boxes.  Mina was walked up and down the line, on lead, with a chance to stop when she found the scent.  We were instructed to make sure we gave our dogs space and if they were investigating a box but it didn't contain the scent/food to keep moving or move around in an arc to encourage the dog to move.

We ended the day by being divided into groups with 3 dogs per group and each dog being set a different task - appropriate to their age, breed and ability.  The group Mina was in had a lovely 6 month old Vizsla puppy and a Corgi who was (I think) around 4-5 years old.

Mina's task was to find the food bag which was hidden in one of the boxes.  It was a blind search for both me and Mina.  The group set up the boxes and hid the food without either me or Mina in sight.

I loved the whole seminar - it really opened my eyes (or should that be made me flare my nostrils?) to the fun that can be had with nose work.  It really is great for any dog - it can help increase a dog's independence and confidence and can certainly help with reactive dogs providing focus and an alternative, acceptable behaviour outlet.

Mina and her 'fans' Photo courtesy of Claire Goyer

I'm pretty sure Mina enjoyed the weekend.  We had some 'greyt' 1 on 1 time and she won over a whole new group of fans, who obligingly provided her with attention and cuddles.

I can't wait to start trying out nose work with Stevie and Jasper too and looking at how I can factor it into some of my training classes.

My Metaphorical and Actual Black Dog

This is a post that I've been umming and ahhing about writing for a while now and hopefully the title may give you an indication why this has been the case.

For most people who know me - both in a personal and business capacity - they probably wouldn't think that many things get me down in life.  I tend to focus on the task ahead and 'crack on' and it has to be said, I'm a pretty hard taskmaster (more so on myself than others).  I'm definitely goal orientated, which has meant that generally when I set my mind on something - and to quote NASA - failure isn't an option.

Life, however, sometimes has a way of pulling the rug from under your feet when you least expect it, as I've discovered over the years.  I've always been a bit of a perfectionist (actually, who am I kidding, not so much of the 'bit') and set myself pretty high goals, which in turn can add a certain amount of pressure to everyday life and impact on health, as I have found out over the last few decades.

1 in 4 people in the UK are likely to experience a mental health problem in the course of a year and of these depression and anxiety are the most common.  Despite the fact that mental health problems such as depression are relatively common place they still remain a taboo subject.  Often they are simply swept away under the carpet, ignored like the elephant in the room or worse still, seen as an admission of weakness.

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill famously likened his depression to a black dog and this is what my post title alludes to. I have had several bouts of clinical depression over the last two decades.  These aren't cases of  'being down in the dumps' or 'feeling blue'; these are mind numbing, self-esteem and confidence robbing periods, where 'normal service' cannot be resumed and my decision making capabilities seem to evaporate into thin air.

When work colleagues have learned of my depression (I'm pretty open about it), I tend to get one of two reactions: one being - "I'd never have thought you would suffer from depression, you just don't seem the type"  or two - embarrassed silences and people hastily changing the topic of conversation.  Depression doesn't discriminate - age, gender, race, 'class' or social standing are no barriers.

Depression is personal and is not the same for everyone.  I can only describe my depression as a perpetual fog that surrounds me and deadens the world I inhabit. No sunlight makes it through this fog and without help, it won't lift. Over the years this has meant extended time off work (each time progressively less, but nonetheless not just a few days off work) and both medication and counselling to help ease the symptoms.

These periods have lessened over the years, as I've become better at spotting the signs, preventing and managing the causes, however at times I still find myself on the precipice of the abyss -  some days leaning more towards it and others leaning away.

During my last period of depression, back in 2009, the black dog that had been following me suddenly became real and surprisingly a turning point. There is plenty of scientific evidence of the benefits of owning a pet and no matter how bad I felt, the hounds needed walking. They gave me a reason to get up and get out of the house and were a constant source of non-judgemental companionship.

Magic, aka Jasper, at the greyhound charity kennels

I also found that helping out at the kennels of the local greyhound charity I volunteered at, was very therapeutic.  It was at these kennels that I fell in love with a real black dog who to me was the pooch equivalent of Prozac. Magic, as he was then known, was a 5 year old handsome, if not a little snaggle-toothed, black greyhound. He'd finished his last race about a fortnight before coming into kennels and there was something about him that drew me to him instantly.  Within minutes I was smitten and knew that, subject to Mina & Stevie's approval, Magic had found his forever home.

Thankfully both Mina and Stevie approved of Magic and he came home with us in May of that year, just after a week's holiday with hubby and the two hounds in Cornwall.  Magic became Jasper - so named after the character in the Twilight novels who had the ability to calm and influence emotions - and has been a calming (and at times very cheeky) character ever since.

Jasper

During the last three years since Jasper joined me, the tide also seems to be turning with more (high profile as well as 'ordinary') people being open about experiencing depression.  There are some great support organisations too.  I received a great deal of help from Mind, found the Black Dog campaign from SANE to be inspirational and am an avid follow of the Blurt Foundation on Twitter - @BlurtAlerts

I no longer see my depression, or mental illness, as a failure on my part and I take steps to keep my mental health in the best shape I can.  This does not mean I'm immune to the odd relapse (a bit like physical health and not going to the gym) but the 'latent muscle memory' is there, providing me with coping mechanisms and the tools to get back on track.

Writing this blog post is cathartic and sharing conversations with like-minded friends has proven to be a godsend along with letting go of my 110% perfectionist streak (for some things - not all - but for a good number of things).

In my experience once you open up and let people know that (a) you have experienced depression and (b) it's nothing to be ashamed of, it's amazing what comes back.  So many people I speak to have experienced their own black dog and most people are extremely supportive and understanding.

So, if you have ever experienced depression, anxiety or any other mental illness, please don't feel you're alone.  Depression doesn't need to be an invisible illness and the chances are if it hasn't touched you, it will have touched someone you love or care for.



References:  Mental Health Foundation: http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/help-information/mental-health-statistics/
SANE, Black Dog Campaign:  http://www.sane.org.uk/what_we_do/black_dog/bd_faq/
The Blurt Foundation: http://blurtitout.org/
Mind:  http://www.mind.org.uk/