Holistic vet and heeling

Today was our trip to the holistic vet. I was motivated to go mainly by the ongoing allergies. They aren’t major enough to want to “treat” but they are constant. So she now has homeopathic and herbal brews which are designed to help her anxiety, boost her immune system and get rid of the itch.

She was pretty good at the vet’s but did show off her sep. anxiety when I had to leave the office to get something from the car. One interesting comment the vet made is that possibly Amika could have something like mild autism. This was in regard to her inappropriate (or lack of) greeting behaviour.

Oh, and the killer bees were in the vet’s front yard and I got stung in the neck on the way in. Homeopathic apis and some herbal cream stopped my usual nasty reaction (I get local swelling, pain and itching so intense it hurts, which lasts for days). Tonight the side of my neck is a bit sore and mildly swollen, but there is no itch.

The only training we did today was sit on the front porch in the evening while the hawk-let finished her dinner on her perch. Amika and I played LAT with various neighbours and the grazing cavies (ginea pigs). She did very well with this.  I did a little heel work with her out to the path at the end of the drive. She looses focus at the point (sniffs, looks around, becomes more vigilant)  where there is more of the street to see. Within the yard, her heeling has improved, so now I am taking 3 or 4 steps between rewards.

It was interesting to see her go over a threshold *quietly*. After going on to the path a couple of times, her mental ability seemed less, having difficulty getting back into heel position (this is new for her) as well as taking treats harder. Mini-walks are definitely a good thing for us right now.