Quincy, from Polish straydog to Dutch service dog

I couldn't agree more with you Glynda.
I've been fascinated by Quincy not only about her inspiring life story so far but also how much she reminds me of my Stella. No one was able to tell us what she is so far since she was a rescue and we've just been guessing with the least amount of certainty.:rolleyes:
So I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw Quincy's pics. To me they just look sooo alike. Maybe not their faces, maybe not their ears and DEF. not their personalities but look at their bodies; wide chested, small waist and the color. I uploaded a couple of Stella's new pics.

Sas, every time it read about Quincy or see her pics they make me so happy and warms my heart. You and Quincy are so perfect for each other. She's so smart and I just love her. Her DNA profile was very interesting.

Hahaha Leslie, she gets huge amounts of big ole bear hugs, trust me :D

Awww Glynda, thank you, you're so sweet :) But the truth is, I need the right dogs to be able to do what I do, couldn't do it with just any dog. So it's more about the dog then it is about me... :) If you want to participate in agility and are aiming to get to the top (for example) you go look for a Border Collie or a simular breed most likely or a dog with the same characteristics. And that's the trick, finding the right dog for the right task. Once you have that, you can go a long way..assuming you have the knowledge to train. But the type of dog you choose is the key whether you'll be succesful or not (in any area)

September 6th, we'll start with a course in "sports" at the local dogschool, will be a lot of fun for both Quincy and myself :) But she won't have to excell in that, that's not what I picked her for. We're just going to have fun... But I needed a dog that was smart, loved using her brain, calm, loved to work and do stuff with her owner and a dog that knows just "one" master...all qualities I want to see in a service dog. And that dog, that dog turned out to be Quincy :) If anything, I did well in picking her but the rest is mainly Quincy ;)

Thank you, Stella's mom :) They do share a very simular buidy built, I just went to see the pictures you posted, she sure is cute :) But I saw some Dachshund in Stella...at least, I think I saw it :D Maybe the floppy ears, maybe because her body is "longer" but especially in her face...I saw a Dachshund. But this is non scientific, no DNA was involved, just my thought for what it is worth ;)

Saskia and Quincy :)

ps could I ask your name? I wasn't able to find it, I think :)

Sas, the thing is in all of that, which I totally agree with, is that you have to be able to Tell when a dog is the right one or not. I'm not sure how many could do that and end up with the wrong combination, personality or something. See, that right there is an important component of doing what you do!

Stella's mom's name is Song. :)

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

Thank you Sharlene...I agree, the choice of the dog is the most important, the rest is a piece of cake :D What a beautiful name, Song :)

Sas and Quincy :)

Song also has a beautiful Soul. :)

- I'm not sure how many could do that and end up with the wrong combination, personality or something.
Lolol. Sharlene, don't look any further than my Stella. In 2011 the rescue person from TN told me that we were getting a mix of yorkie and chi and I thought she looked like one in the pic at 3 lbs. 10wks old. When she arrived she was so puny, malnourished and scared looking who I wanted for Flora's playmate who was 5 at the time and Ginger wasn't interested in playing with her anymore. The next two months she doubled her weight and by the time she was 6 months old she emerged as this the biggest, strongest, craziest and fastest, bar none. :eek::eek::eek: Totally, totally not the kind of pup I was looking for but she was so cute and so different from the other two it was rather refreshing especially to my husband and they are the best buddies now. All of us was forced into making adjustments to accommodate our new dynamics and unexpected life style.
She was way too much of everything for us to handle and we were not enough of everything to her nature. After three years we've settled into somewhat of a middle ground where everybody stays healthy and happy and mingle. Stella has blossomed into this beautiful, regal looking with very healthy and shiny coat with the personality not quite up there yet which maybe we don't want her to change because that is who she is who stands tall and firmly in her own right and a very important member of our family now and very much loved. I think she will win a lot of short dog races if we can somehow train her. She's that fast. It's a beautiful sight watching her run in the field like a wind.;)
Thank you for reading Stella's story.:) Song.

Love you, Les. :)

Here's a video of Quincy and me, roughhousing on my bed :D
http://youtu.be/8eBsxXZk6cg This is only the third time I heared her bark :eek: Although, bark might be a too big word for the sound she makes ;)

And Quincy peeling a banana....and almost eating it for me too :p :p :p
http://youtu.be/a_B0UXvyhpo

Sas and Quincy :)

Oh, now that's one fierce dog you got there! :p She is so undeniably happy and you sound the same.

Yes...hahahaha...don't mess with Quincy :D :p :D :p Her "bites" are ever so soft, she barely touches my skin and she withdraws right away. But in this video you can finally see the dog she was suposed to be but never had the courage to be....untill now :) Now I've unleashed "the beast" in her, hahahaha ;)

Have been on an old-fashioned "poop patrol" the past 3 days :D Since a week and a half now, Quins has been having pretty severe diarrhea. Appetite has been great, no fever, she's in great spirit, no indication she is feeling poorly...the Finidiar did not help, nor did the boiled chicken and rice. So now I have been collecting stool samples from 3 different days suspecting she may have Giardia :eek: But to cover our bases, the samples were send to a laboratory for an extended stool analysis. That would be internal parasites, Giardia of course, bacterial overgrowth, pancreatic enzymes, etc. The results will be back just before or...you guessed it, just after the weekend :D

But the girl is doing so wonderful :) Here are her latest accomplishments:

In the supermarket actually getting groceries (wich I point out to her with the help of a targetstick) from the shelves and dropping it in my shoppingbag :D
http://youtu.be/Fq1Mj3EoAJM

And helping me recycle by putting paper in the cardboard box to seperate it from the other garbage. She is becoming more and more pasionate about her duties... She jerks the second paper from my hand and throws in in the box with gusto, hahahaha. It won't be long before she starts running the household instead of me :p
http://youtu.be/ODEGyR_S60A

Sas and Quincy :)

Well, the results came back late this afternoon and everything was okay, no parasites, no giardia, no problems with the pancreatic enzymes, no yeast...but she did have a bacteria disbalance. Well, that's "peanuts" compared to a lot of other stuff that could have been wrong :D Hypo-allergenic kibble, salmon oil (both of which she already was getting) and some probiotics added to it all...and voila, that should be the end of this :)

This also means she (and I) can start the sports class at the dogschool tomorrow :D That will be loads of fun..;) And then Wednesday, she'll be taking her service dog exam :) And Monday is my mom's 84th birthday so it's going to be a fun week :)

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend,

Sas and Quincy :)

I'm glad it was nothing major and hope she's right as rain very soon! Happy Birthday to your mom! Enjoy your week, Sas!

Oh good, glad nothing major and easily fixable. Molly gets the run every so often as everyone on here knows by now. I give her probiotic and increase the fiber and so far that has been working when she gets out of whack, which she is the last couple days. It usually takes anywhere from a day to a few days to get it back under control.

Love how smart she is and laughed at the banana peeling. I'm sure she'll do just fine on her exam.

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

If you have Slippery Elm Bark available there you might try some of that. If you do, be aware it can work both ways like pumpkin but I have had great success using it with my babies, even Trink with her colitis, as well as on myself (IBS) and for my brother.

Today, a week ago, september 10th, Quincy (and myself) had our Service Dog exam. We were being watched by a trainer and had to perform several tasks so he could "judge" if Quincy had what it takes... :D Ha! She left him flabbergasted :p So, we passed our exam with flying colours and Quincy now is an official certified service dog :D He told me that he was absolutely speechless at the performance of this dog...and that in his opinion, after being a service dog trainer for over 35 years, Quincy must be a one in a 10,000 dogs that could pull this off :) It took me and her, 5,5 weeks of training and that is unheard of. He had never ever before encoutered a dog like Quincy and...a combination that was soooo extremely suited for each other :) Quincy posseses all the qualities it takes but I am capable of bringing them out....so it's the combination that makes it work so well. Needless to say I am very proud of her and me...

It's the start of the day here and I have a busy day ahead of me but I will return later today to upload some new pics :)

Saskia and Quincy :)

Oh Sas, what a great start to my day, too! :D :D :D

I am so happy for you both, so proud of you both, and so grateful you are part of our family!

Hooray for Sas and Quincy!! :) :)

Marianne

Wonderful news!!!! Of course you both have what it takes, together!
You're a really awesome combination.

Congratulations!

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

A compilation of some of the tasks Quincy does for me... Not even 7 weeks ago, this little thing knew nothing, not even a basic command like "sit"...it's amazing everything she has accomplished in the past 7 weeks. I am sooooo very proud of her, words cannot describe how I feel about her :)

http://youtu.be/68d27T6YXDU

Recently Quincy also started to point out little wounds and/or scratches I have, she will point them out with her nose and then she'll look at me. I think a really, really strong bond and sensitivity towards each other is forming here...it can make me cry at times, so special this is :)

Sas and Quincy :)

awww, I got choked up reading about her pointing out little booboos. What a special friend you have. And very smart to boot!

She is so wonderful and really do think you have a very special bond with each other.

She is just amazing, you both are.

hugs
sharlene and molly muffin

Hi Saskia

You have both accomplished so much since Quincy arrived not so very long ago, watching this video brought tears to my eyes to see they joy you have brought to each others lives. Quincy in the grocery store was so sweet, walking along with her tail wagging and so obviously happy in her work!! Love how she gently picked up the groceries and deposited them in your bag, what a delight she is!! Loved it!! She is so clever and she looks at you like she would walk over 10 mountains if that was what you wanted!

Trish x

Thank you Leslie, thank you Sharlene and thank you Trish :) About Quincy, tail wagging in the grocery store, can you imagine that she peed on my pants (laying on my lap) the first few times we went to visit the grocery store? She was that scared :) Hard to imagine now... :D

Leslie, can I ask you a personal favour? I just returnd from the vet and Quincy now has a bacterial skin infection...meaning more anti biotics :( So we had an earinfection, a bladder infection, skin infection, intestinal infection... In her past she had a very severe demodex infection. The "usual" puppy demodex is not that bad. You treat it and that's it. But the really severe Demodex infections (hard to treat, long period and many many different medications to get rid of it) are usually a sign of an underlying immune system problem. Do you know of any supplements/herbs that could be benificial to strengthen Quincy's immune system? You have so much knowledge in that area, I wouldn't know who else to ask. If it is too much for you, I understand and that's okay :) I love you no matter what... :)

Sas and Quincy :)

Sas, I'll be happy to do a bit of research and let you know what's available that may help. ;) There are many immune-boosting herbs. :)

:) Thanks a bunch!

Oh, Sas :) I hardly ever come on the forum anymore but when I do, the first thing I do is look for your posts. I've just been reading through your thread here, trying to catch up.....and I couldn't be happier for you and Quincy. She looks (from your video) and sounds (from your posts) like the perfect girl for you. And nobody is more deserving of such a wonderful assistant/companion than you are. The video has brought tears to my eyes and joy to my heart, for you both. Of course, now I will have to check back more often to see your updates, for sure! I am glad you have gotten past the dental surgeries of last winter and that sweet Quincy has come into your life! Sue

First and foremost of course is nutrition. Take a good hard look at what Quincy is eating now and if needed get her on a higher quality feed, the highest you can manage. Ideally you can get with a canine nutritionist or nutritional consultant and work out the best diet for her.

Carotenoids can increase serum lutein which can boost the immune system. A mixed supplement of beta-carotene, lycopene, and Vit A and E in particular can be helpful. Dose according to Quincy's weight in proportion to the human dose. The minerals zinc and selenium can improve the immune system and help prevent infections. Dr. Susan Wynne recommends and uses a product called Moducare in patients with chronic demodicosis (demodectic mange).

http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/produc...ET/110005.aspx

Herbs that can help need to come from three main groups -

Immune-enhancing = Astragalus, Echinacea, Usnea, Ginseng, and mushrooms like Reishi, Maitake, Shitake, and Cordyceps. (astragalus is the one I would start with)

Tonic and adaptogenic = Panax, Eleutherococcus, and Ashwagandha (use these after the acute infection is under control)

Bitters = Oregon grape, Burdock, Wild Yam, Echinacea, Goldenseal, Chamomile, Dandelion, Thyme, Prickly Ash, Ginger, Yellow Dock, Barberry, Bupleurum, Forskohlii, Fringe tree, Fumitory, Picrorrhiza, Biacal skullcap

Hope that's enough to get you started.
Hugs,
Leslie

EDITED TO ADD: This info came from Drs. Susan G. Wynne, Steve Marsden, Barbara J. Fougere

Sas, just wanted to add that Dr. Wynn is the nutritional consultant at the specialty veterinary clinic here in Atlanta where Barkis was treated for his Cushing's. I have never met her, but I am really glad to know that she's locally available to me should I ever seek a referral to her!

http://bluepearlvet.com/georgia/doctors/

Oh Sue, how wonderful to "see" you again! :) And thank you so much for your kind words :) You and sweet Zoe are still such a big part of my life and time here on the forum...from day 1 and all days after that :)

Big hugs from me to you,

Sas and Quincy :)

Dear, sweet Leslie I am grateful beyond words <hugs> You have so much on your own plate and nevertheless, always available to those of us who need your help, thank you! :)

About Quincy's food, right now she is on Royal Canin Hypo-allergenic dry food, twice daily, to see if that will bring a change (food-allergies) and I supplement it with salmon oil for the omega's 3 and 6. We're 3 weeks on the way now...so need to keep it up another 3 weeks. The vet gave her a cortisone injection and a 2 week course of Cefaral and a shampoo Sebomild-P. He did a skinskraping and found some dead (so, NOT alive) parasite eggs but he couldn't tell which parasites. Quincy has been treated with Stronghold in case of parasites and the finding of dead eggs suggests she did have some parasites but they now are killed by the Stronghold. It's not Demodex since she doesn't have the hairloss at the typical Demodex areas...
The vet said that for now he wants to see if this course of treatment will do the trick and if not, if it returns, he wants her to be seen by a dermatologist. All her infections are more than likely secundary and it's key to find the primary source of her weakend immune system.

Tomorrow, it's close to midnight now, I will look into all the info you gave me and start translating all the different herbs. I recognize a few like echinacea, ginseng and chamomile but the rest is abracadabra to me :) Just like the slippery elm you mentioned previously... When I finally found out what it was, it turned out it isn't available here :)

So thank you, thank you, thank you, Leslie :D And Marianne too...I'll make sure to check both your links :)

Big hugs,

Sas and Quincy :)

Good evening to all :)

So far, things are going well here. Quincy is her usual, happy, loving to please, cudly self :D She took her last antbiotics last Monday evening and so far she is still doing well, itch wise, I so hope it stays this way...at least for a while :) I supplemented her food with the help of all the tips Leslie gave me and she now gets echinacea, chamomile and carrot flour in addition to the salmon oil.

Today we had our weekly class and Quincy did some jumping :D
http://youtu.be/XoaFD5qWCOM

Also, we keep training and she now also gets the dry laundry of off the rack :)
http://youtu.be/eqaVgI_8_dw

Last week, a cute teenage girl came to my house asking if I wanted to help her...? She's in her final year of "vet tech" school and she is supposed to do a presentation on a subject she could choose. She chose "service dogs" and asked if I wanted to help her...answer questions and be there the evening of the presentation (in front of fellow students, parents and teachers) and if possible, if I could give a demonstration with Quincy... Well, of course I will help her and come give a demonstration :D This will be January 15th, 2015.

And, this evening, a Facebookcommunity (in the USA), called "For the Love of Service Dogs", featured Quincy...so now she is going international ;)

So we're keeping busy and happy, hope the same goes for all of you!

Sas and Quins :)

What wonderful and fun news. Some very exciting things coming up for you and Quincy. She is certainly our star, and yes international! How exciting. She is definitely a leader in her field. I'm so glad that she and you are being recognized for such stellar progress. Hopefully this will encourage others to look to the rescues for their service dogs and find that fit, to not give up when it seems that there isn't one and keep on trying.

So happy and proud of both of you.

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

Oh, I love these updates on our girls!!!! :) :) :) :)

Just as Sharlene says, so proud of you both! ;) :D :D

Marianne

I am so glad she is feeling better and that you found things available there for her to try. I love the FB tribute, too, and shared the story on my page. ;)

Well, we did end up at the Dermatologist...which is okay :) This way we can hopefully find a treatable cause for her itching and recurring ear/skin infections.

The dermatologist is a very kind and sweet young lady (not too young though) and she took one look at Quincy's skin (which according to me looked very well...) and immediately said "yes, this is a dog with at least hypersensitive skin and probably allergic as well :eek: I mean, that skin looked perfect to me...nevertheless she saw right away there was a skin problem :)

So anyway, she gave me the allergie lecture, causes, treatment options etc and then said that it was the wisest thing to first rule out (or include) food allergies. So now, Quincy is on a 8 week strict diet of only RC An allergenic kibble. The newest version of dehydrolysed diet with the proteins cut up in the smallest possible parts (even smaller then in the time I had the allergie issues with Sogno) Smaller also then the Hill's Z/D, also a hydrolised diet. It's hard on her and difficult for me to watch her...:( But it's the way it is and I will stick to it for the next couple of weeks, no other option.

On a much brighter note...today we had our sports course again and it's so much fun :D I made a short video of 3 different elements we did today. In the first you see a "boring yet needed exercise"...quincy laying down in a marked square while I drive around it in my wheelchair :) The second clip is a personal touch I have added to the training to prepare Quincy on "working with distraction around her" :D In this case she needs to take off my wrist brace and hand it to me... The third clip...was her favorite and something we hadn't done before...crawling. She has to crawl underneath a plank but the puppy class is right next to us so you'll also see her going for it (Quins and "other dogs", thats a bit of an issue, hahahaha...she just loves other dogs and to keep her attention can be very hard. She just wants to run over and say hello :p) Anyway, it was a fun class :) And mind you, October 18th, still no coats required, that's crazy but awsome :D

http://youtu.be/SWN5g31-chY


Also, I uploaded a bunch of new pictures of Miss Quincy, the adorable one :D

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/album.php


And Thursday, the mantrailing instructor is coming for coffee and to talk about ways that I and Quincy can enrole in the "fun trailing" course she will be giving this winter. It takes some adapting for her mostly but she is bending over backwards to find a way to make it happen for Quins and myself...how kind is that? :) So hopefully we can add funtrailing to our "things that are fun to do" list ;)

Have a wonderful weekend all...we love you!

Sas and Quincy :)

Quote:

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And Thursday, the mantrailing instructor is coming for coffee and to talk...

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Soooo, "mantrailing"..... is that like speed dating? :p

Your girl is absolutely gorgeous and coming along so well. But who's surprised at that?! Look who her mom is! ;)

Hehehehe Leslie!

I agree completely Quincy is just so smart and has so much fun doing all the tasks. This must be heaven for her living with you. It's like the two of you have come together at the right time and right place.

Fun trailing should be a blast, hope you guys can figure that one out too.

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

Hahaha Leslie...:p I thought it was an English word and didn't think to clarify, sorry :) Mantrailing is a seperate division within the SAR (search and rescue) branch. And with a nose like Quincy's, it will be soooo much fun to put it to good use :D It's the division that specialises in lost, living, humans. In forrests but also in urban area's etc. So it's not after disasters like an earthquake or something but simply missing persons. The lady who runs the hydrotherapy where I have been with Sogno, Yunah and Mhina, is thé expert and leading authority in the mantrailing field in The Netherlands (and far beyond) And she is coming to talk about if we can make it work with my wheelchair :) Of course we're not going to take the course (well, hopefully we can) to become an official mantrail team... It would be just for fun. (ask me again about the fun part when we're training in the middle of winter with temperatures below zero and the wind howling through the trees :eek: )

Hope this has convinced you I am NOT going speed dating...geezzzzzzzzzzz :rolleyes:

Sas ;)