# Sookie Updates (in photos!)



## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

In the thread I started introducing Shooter, several people asked about how Sookie was doing. For those who don't know, more info about Sookie and her story can be found here: 

http://www.poodleforum.com/3-poodle-pictures/15717-goodbye-sonya.html

and here: 
http://www.poodleforum.com/5-poodle-talk/19582-guess-whos-coming-home.html

Sookie has been home for about 10 months now. The question that was posed is this: 



peppersb said:


> How well I remember the wonderful story of Sookie coming back to you. I love to hear that she is your soul mate and that you are thankful every day to have her! I don't want to hijack the Shooter thread, but I think PF needs to hear more about Sookie! Would you consider starting a Sookie thread, and giving all of us Sookie fans a full update about how she has settled in to life in your home? Any adjustment problems after months of living in a kennel? Or did she just fit in as if she'd never been away? I'd love to hear any/all details that you would care to share about this wonderful little girl and your great love for her.


Once Sookie came home, she did settle in well. There were a few odd occurrences, like pooping in the floor for a couple of weeks. I think this was due to the kennel set up where she could go to the "outside" part of her run any time she wanted to use the bathroom. This was resolved quickly once she settled back into the routine of being a house dog. At two years old, she had never been allowed on furniture but it took her all of one invitation up onto the bed before she figured it out. 










Sookie was also very, very overweight (weighed about 53lb and her appropriate weight is about 30-32). Many of you will remember the photos where she looked like this: 










But lots of off leash hikes and walks, and good (smaller portions of) food helped get her fit and trim again in no time. She's now a healthy 32lbs: 










Soon after she got home, I signed Sookie up for a CGC exam. Of course, she passed with flying colors: 










Then, a few months ago we took the TDI therapy dog test and passed it as well! 










Last October, Sookie got her 3 passes toward her UKC Rally 1 title and one pass toward her Rally 2 title in a single show weekend, bringing home first place ribbons in all 4 classes entered. 



















She also earned 2 passes toward her BN obedience title and RN Rally title (AKC) in November, and we are hoping to finish those up in a couple weeks. Sookie has been in agility classes since August. She's graduated from beginner and intermediate and is now in a transitional advanced class. We hope to start trialing in agility in the next couple of months.


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

*Sookie Updates (cont.)*

Sookie also discovered the thrill of lure coursing. We have our first CAT tests this weekend and I am SUPER excited for her. She loves coursing and it will be a fun way to add a few more letters to the end of her name. 




























Sookie's biggest hurdle that we've been working hard to overcome since her return is a severe lack of confidence and sensitivity that wasn't present prior to her guide dog training. She did not handle the kennel environment well and that, combined with the intensity of the training really did a number on her. We've been taking training slowly, working on confidence building exercises, doing slow but deliberate exposures to new environments, doing lots of counter-conditioning with things that made her nervous, and overall just letting her learn to relax and enjoy life. I've seen a dramatic improvement in her confidence in the last 10 months. She still isn't where she was when I said goodbye to her at 18 months old, but I hope with time we will get there. Here are a few more photos for your visual enjoyment  



















and her absolute most favorite activity in the world, napping:


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

*Sookster*: Poodle owners like, and stories like Sookie's, are what makes it so special to part of the PF community. _Thank you_ for being you, for contributing all you do to the world of dogs, and for sharing Sookie's unforgettably touching and wonderful story. And oh how I _love _the happy ending!! I look forward to future installments, more photos and videos! ~from a "Sookie and you" fan in New Jersey and her silver mpoo.


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

Thank you for the update. She is doing so good, melts my heart.


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## Dallasminis (Feb 6, 2011)

She is doing so well and is SO beautiful now that you've got her weight right. Such a beautiful story...thanks for sharing all her accomplishments.


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## peppersb (Jun 5, 2011)

Sookster said:


> Sookie's biggest hurdle that we've been working hard to overcome since her return is a severe lack of confidence and sensitivity that wasn't present prior to her guide dog training. She did not handle the kennel environment well and that, combined with the intensity of the training really did a number on her. We've been taking training slowly, working on confidence building exercises, doing slow but deliberate exposures to new environments, doing lots of counter-conditioning with things that made her nervous, and overall just letting her learn to relax and enjoy life. I've seen a dramatic improvement in her confidence in the last 10 months. She still isn't where she was when I said goodbye to her at 18 months old, but I hope with time we will get there.


Thanks for sharing! I am a huge Sookie fan.

It just breaks my heart to think that after 10 months, she is still struggling with confidence and sensitivity. But then you think of all of the people in this world who have had sad experiences that shape them ....maybe some of us. So glad that Sookie is now in an environment where she is being healed and restored. I love the way you have the knowledge, experience and time to work with her. Does she still connect with you the way she used to? Love the way you said in the other thread that she is your soul mate. Sweet poodle! I love hearing about her.


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

peppersb said:


> Thanks for sharing! I am a huge Sookie fan.
> 
> It just breaks my heart to think that after 10 months, she is still struggling with confidence and sensitivity. But then you think of all of the people in this world who have had sad experiences that shape them ....maybe some of us. So glad that Sookie is now in an environment where she is being healed and restored. I love the way you have the knowledge, experience and time to work with her. Does she still connect with you the way she used to? Love the way you said in the other thread that she is your soul mate. Sweet poodle! I love hearing about her.


Yes, she's probably more connected with me than before. Sookie is a pretty aloof and independent poodle, but she definitely focuses on me, wants to be near me, watches me and follows me around. Sookie is so lucky compared to so many others. She was never abused or mistreated, she was just born into a life and career that wasn't right for her and it took some time for everyone to figure that out. Unfortunately, she is such a sensitive dog that the 8 months she spent in guide dog training were just too much for her to handle. Now she's happy and content, though still a little nervous in some situations, but she's come a long way. I do consider her my "soul mate" in canine form. We met randomly, through an act of fate (I made the decision to return the guide dog puppy I was raising at the age of 8 months due to some behavioral problems that, at the time, I wasn't qualified to deal with; I was prepared to wait months on another poodle, but Sookie's breeder just happened to decide to donate her the same weekend the previous dog was scheduled to leave and I was able to get her). We bonded immediately. I'd never bonded with a dog like that before, and I knew from the moment I met her that she was special. The rest is history  

I did forget to mention a scare we had a few weeks ago. Sookie had a seizure, nearly scared the wits out of me. She was and has been fine ever since, and I hope it was just some fluke of a thing that will never happen again. For now, we are just monitoring her, but I can't help but think that maybe she had a seizure while in the kennel and that could have caused some of the personality change.


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## Locket (Jun 21, 2009)

Sookie is looking fabulous, and look at all her accomplishments!



[re: the seizure, Matrix has epilepsy and after his first seizure, he became much more fearful. We've worked through it mostly, but he'll always been our scaredy dog. So sorry to hear that Sookie had seizure, it's so scary and heartbreaking!]


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## fairhavenmagick (Jan 19, 2011)

I always follow your posts with such interest! I'm glad to see you back on the forums. I'm always interested in your training tips and posts. I'm sorry to hear about Sookie's seizure, and I hope it was her last. That being said- she's looks amazing and you should be so proud of what you guys have accomplished so far. And congrats on your new puppy! He's a beaut.

I do have a question I hope isn't too intrusive- Did something happen to Nova? I followed her story so avidly and I couldn't help but notice she isn't in your signature anymore.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Sookie looks terrific. I just love her whole story and am sorry she had a seizure (maybe more than one?). I know there are some other people on the forum with poodles that have seizures.  Did the vet have any reason for it? She is amassing an impressive array of ribbons and certificates! What out Finnegan!


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

fairhavenmagick said:


> I always follow your posts with such interest! I'm glad to see you back on the forums. I'm always interested in your training tips and posts. I'm sorry to hear about Sookie's seizure, and I hope it was her last. That being said- she's looks amazing and you should be so proud of what you guys have accomplished so far. And congrats on your new puppy! He's a beaut.
> 
> I do have a question I hope isn't too intrusive- Did something happen to Nova? I followed her story so avidly and I couldn't help but notice she isn't in your signature anymore.


Thank you, I'm very proud of how far she has come. It's frustrating at times, when we've practiced so hard (and so perfectly), to walk in the obedience ring and have someone make a noise or a dog bark and make her nervous to the point of shutting down, but we work through it and I try to keep it happy and fun, not work for her. 

As to Nova, she's healthy and happy, and that's as much as I can share here. If anyone is curious about Nova, I'm happy to answer questions and tell her story via PM  



outwest said:


> Sookie looks terrific. I just love her whole story and am sorry she had a seizure (maybe more than one?). I know there are some other people on the forum with poodles that have seizures.  Did the vet have any reason for it? She is amassing an impressive array of ribbons and certificates! What out Finnegan!


Thank you! Vet said since I only know of it happening once, there's really nothing to do and it could have been caused by any number of things. For now, we are just monitoring. I do have his emergency number to call if it happens again, and we will determine whether to try and rush her in for bloodwork during the seizure, but that's really hard to do. For now, we wait and cross our fingers that it doesn't happen again. 

As to the awards, I don't know if *I* am up for all of the accomplishments Finnegan has, but we are going to go as far as we both can


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

Locket said:


> Sookie is looking fabulous, and look at all her accomplishments!
> 
> 
> [re: the seizure, Matrix has epilepsy and after his first seizure, he became much more fearful. We've worked through it mostly, but he'll always been our scaredy dog. So sorry to hear that Sookie had seizure, it's so scary and heartbreaking!]


Thank you, and I hate that for Matrix. I really really really hope this was a fluke thing, but I worry that it wasn't. It was terribly scary for me and her (she was mostly conscious and terrified during the whole thing). I've had several vets look at it (I was able to think through my panic and catch it on video) and for the most part they think focal seizure. I'm not sure what that means exactly, but it wasn't the worst kind.


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## cavon (Aug 10, 2010)

*Goo Sookie, Go!!!!*



Sookster said:


> As to the awards, I don't know if *I* am up for all of the accomplishments Finnegan has, but we are going to go as far as we both can





outwest said:


> What out Finnegan!


Hi Sookster, I'm sorry to hear that your babe had a seizure, but evidently there are no lingering side effects!!! :bounce: You can achieve anything that you want to and Finnegan and I will be right here cheering you on!!! :cheers2:

In fact, maybe one day the Big Red Devil will have to come down to Georgia so that we can trial along side you & Sookie!!!! :devil: :car2:

O/W, there would be nothing that I would love more than for every member of this forum to get out and have fun and earn titles with their poods of all sizes! We're happy to cheer for everyone, whether they are just starting out or they have way more titles that we do!! In fact, one greyhound that we compete with regularly has more than 85 titles!!!He is amazing and he has a whole cheering section of owners and dogs no matter what he does!!

Training with your dog is so much fun, it strengthens the bond between you, is helping to extend your pups life by keeping him/her fit and helps the Mental Outlook of both the dog and the handler. It's hard to let things get you down when you are watching one of the most beautiful creatures on this planet run, play and work!!

Finnegan has been training really hard, and if all goes well, he might just have some surprising new titles to share with his forum friends by the end of the summer...stay tuned!!!! :spy:


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Cavon, what could it be? I love the little spy guy. I hadn't seen him before.


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## cavon (Aug 10, 2010)

Mum's the word, O/W!!!

All that I can say is that if we are successful, jaws will be dropping not only on the PF, but Youtube and maybe even all over the world!!

Everyone remember, these dogs are capable of ANYTHING!! Their only limitation is our lack of imagination!!


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## Rhett'smom (Sep 23, 2012)

I will say that this is the most positive supportive group I have come across. As has been said before we all cheer for each other. Training our poodles is so very rewarding even on bad hair days. I sorry that Sookie has had seizures but at least you know and it can be treated if needed. We all love our babies and hurt for them when they are not well . Many hugs and poodle kisses


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

cavon said:


> Mum's the word, O/W!!!
> 
> All that I can say is that if we are successful, jaws will be dropping not only on the PF, but Youtube and maybe even all over the world!!
> 
> Everyone remember, these dogs are capable of ANYTHING!! Their only limitation is our lack of imagination!!


LOL! What are you going to do? Throw him out of a plane with a parachute? :airplane:

Bonnie starts a tricks level 3 class on Saturday.  She LOVES doing tricks, more than agility, more than obedience, more than anything. She can do so many now. I should take a video. I wish they had a title for tricks!


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## Milo :) (Mar 10, 2013)

Beautiful story and even more beautiful dog!


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## Ms Stella (Aug 16, 2010)

She is so sweet and beautiful...LOVE her face. I cant imagine how she got to be 50+ lbs!! She looks 10 years younger at the proper weight!!
So happy for your both..


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## fairhavenmagick (Jan 19, 2011)

I know how frustrating it can be to have things go wrong in the ring after training so hard. Note: DO NOT let you husband potty your dog for you- you'll end up with a dog who poos in the ring because hubby didn't think to give her time to do anything more than pee! *sigh* At least it was a sand arena.

Have you experimented with her in outdoor and indoor training venues? Maybe outdoors the noises will dispate more and she'll be less likely to shut down or indoors will be less distracting for her. Then you'll know which shows she'll do better at or how she might need to be managed differently at each.

Regardless I know you guys will get through it and she'll shine for you (she already does!).

Oh, and I forgot to mention- She looks go good now. I can't believe the kennel let her get to that weight! She looks fantastic now and soo much happier & healthier!


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

outwest said:


> LOL! What are you going to do? Throw him out of a plane with a parachute? :airplane:
> 
> Bonnie starts a tricks level 3 class on Saturday.  She LOVES doing tricks, more than agility, more than obedience, more than anything. She can do so many now. I should take a video. I wish they had a title for tricks!


Trick Dog Title

It's not an official AKC title, but it's a title! Sookie loves tricks too. I teach her a lot, but I wish there was a tricks class around here. That would be so much fun! 



cavon said:


> In fact, maybe one day the Big Red Devil will have to come down to Georgia so that we can trial along side you & Sookie!!!! :devil: :car2:
> 
> 
> Finnegan has been training really hard, and if all goes well, he might just have some surprising new titles to share with his forum friends by the end of the summer...stay tuned!!!! :spy:


You should! I also trial some in North and South Carolina. I have to trial on a budget, which is why my titling happens a little slowly, but we get it done, one way or another. 

Now I'm dying to know what you and Finnegan are up to! Can't wait to hear how he does  I'm sure it will be great, regardless of what it is! 



Ms Stella said:


> She is so sweet and beautiful...LOVE her face. I cant imagine how she got to be 50+ lbs!! She looks 10 years younger at the proper weight!!
> So happy for your both..


Thank you, I couldn't believe it when I saw her either! Even her face was fat! And I've always thought she had the most beautiful face. She's so expressive and is always smiling. 



fairhavenmagick said:


> I know how frustrating it can be to have things go wrong in the ring after training so hard. Note: DO NOT let you husband potty your dog for you- you'll end up with a dog who poos in the ring because hubby didn't think to give her time to do anything more than pee! *sigh* At least it was a sand arena.
> 
> Have you experimented with her in outdoor and indoor training venues? Maybe outdoors the noises will dispate more and she'll be less likely to shut down or indoors will be less distracting for her. Then you'll know which shows she'll do better at or how she might need to be managed differently at each.
> 
> ...


Thank you! No husband to speak of, though if I had one I'm sure I wouldn't let him do ANYTHING with my dogs. I'm such a control freak and want everything done exactly my way LOL. So far we have only trialed indoors. Seems most trials around here are inside, probably due to the annoying weather habits of the SE (blistering hot summers and then rain all winter long with hardly any spring or autumn to speak of). Her confidence is getting better. The biggest problem I noticed in the beginning was that in trials, she would start getting nervous the longer we were in the ring. I think she thought since she wasn't getting treats that she was doing something wrong then that would worry her and all went downhill from there. But she's doing better and better with this. 


There are two contributing factors to the weight gain in the kennel. 
1) They are so used to labs and goldens (and not very used to poodles) that the kennel staff and trainers tend to not really have an eye for what a poodle at a proper weight looks like. They don't get that you can see their hip bones, and sometimes even the spine, on a poodle that's at an appropriate weight. So they tend to put a few lbs on them because of this. 
2) A lot of the poodles they work with are very finicky eaters, especially in the kennel, so they are in the habit of pretty much feeding them as much as they will eat to try to keep weight on them. Sookie is a chow hound, and despite how stressed she was she apparently ate every thing they would give her. 
3) OK there are three reasons. After she was dropped from the training program, she sat in the kennel for about 3 weeks with minimal exercise, and lots of people would stop by and give her treats because they felt bad for her, so that probably packed on a few extra lbs too. 

I was sick when I saw her, but I'm glad she's back to her proper weight now. It came off quickly, and hopefully she won't have any long term issues due to it. I sure wish I could lose weight as quickly and easily as she did!


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

*A little update*

Sookie has had an exciting few days! First, Thursday she got her spring haircut. Though, I must say a day too early. It was COLD Thursday and we had agility in the evening outside in the rain! She wore her coat but was still shivering. Thankfully, it was much warmer Friday and Saturday and today has the makings of a beautiful day as well. 

Despite the cold and the rain, Sookie had her best night at agility yet! She was super enthusiastic, jumped at 20 feet (we have been doing 16 mostly but she must jump 20 at trials), and did 12 off-sides weaves for the first time ever. So proud! 









If you follow Shooter's 52 weeks thread, then you saw photos of him at the Vet School Open House, but Sookie went too! She also got lots of attention and got to meet some interesting exotic animals. She also participated in the agility demo, and got the zoomies rather than running the course properly. However, one of my biggest worries was that she would get nervous in front of a crowd and shut down, which she didn't do, so I was still thrilled, even though we did look a little silly. 



















And of course, yesterday we did CAT tests. Check out the thread I started on that for more photos and some video, but here is one:


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## plr (Oct 20, 2012)

Thanks so much. I have really enjoyed reading about Sookie. She is such a special dog.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

I don't recall Sookie's face looking so beautiful! Maybe i didn't pay attention before or maybe now that she is an adult her face shines, but she has a really pretty face!


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

outwest said:


> I don't recall Sookie's face looking so beautiful! Maybe i didn't pay attention before or maybe now that she is an adult her face shines, but she has a really pretty face!


Did you maybe get new glasses recently? Sookie has always been *silver* beauty!


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

outwest said:


> I don't recall Sookie's face looking so beautiful! Maybe i didn't pay attention before or maybe now that she is an adult her face shines, but she has a really pretty face!


I've always been obsessed with her face! It's so petit and delicate and expressive. You should see her when she's smiling (which is 90% of the time).


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