Update from the Land of Fish and Chips

So much has happened since my last post. First, my beloved and I had the most wonderful anniversary trip. We are so lucky to have the freedom and resources to travel the way we do. I will tell you that when we returned to England it was raining......shocker! I covered up my pedicure immediately with close toed shoes :( It is any ones guess as to when I can wear my flip flops. They are back in a bin under the bed tucked away in the hobbit house just praying for some sunshine and warmth.

Our next scheduled trips are scheduled in June for Ireland and Amsterdam. Wahoo! Right now we are trying to decide what to include in our "customized professional Amsterdam tour". We need to choose from visiting a Dutch cheese factory (Edam, Gouda yum), a wooden shoe factory, diamond cutting, a cocktail and genever experience, tour of the canal, visit an old traditional fishing village, visit the windmills and flower fields, Van Gogh museum and on and on. We are like a pair of senior citizens headed out on a bus tour and wanting to jam everything in. I for one plan to vote for the cheese tour which is tied with french fries as my favorite food. Unfortunately, I have had to swear off the fries or chips as they call them. I have not had any in a long time. It is a combination of my advancing age and wanting to fit in to my clothes along with the fact that fries exist in every restaurant, pub, and cafe in England. Cheese I can justify because it is a calcium rich food and I am only doing my best to prevent osteoporosis.

I can tell you after a little more than a week on the job I am feeling that I have made the right decision. Deep brain stimulation is an absolutely amazing technology. I am fortunate to have found a solid manager and a brilliant partner. The product has not been released yet in the States by my employer so Europe is our evaluation ground. It is a wonderful opportunity for me. The physicians we are working with are among the world's thought leaders in movement disorders. I saw my first DBS implant this morning. The patient had evident tremors as a result of Parkinsons Disease but once the electrodes were implanted and turned on during the testing phase the tremors completely disappeared. This was a special case since the patient had been diagnosed with Parkinsons at an early age (mid 30's) and wanted to be able to keep working and maintain a sense of normalcy in life. I can only imagine being diagnosed with such a disease at my own age of 38. I am thankful that research continues to move forward for these patients. The deep brain stimulation technology is currently being used to treat Parkinsons Disease, Tourettes, Chronic Pain, Movement Disorders and significant studies are now underway for Depression, Obesity and Epilepsy. Click this link to learn more-

http://www.pbs.org/kcet/wiredscience/video/255-deep_brain_stimulation.html

In other news the dog has made zero improvements in his behavior around other dogs. I have watched Caesar Milan and the dog whisperer countless times. Every time we are out for a walk and he goes berserk at the sight of another dog I make the Caesar noise "chhh chhh schooh!!!" He simply ducks his head slightly, averts his eyes, refocuses on the other dog and continues to pull, strain and leap barking madly at his supposed adversary. I have started watching Victoria Stilwell who is the UK version of the "Dog Whisperer". She advises people that dogs can be trained based on a reward system and discipline is not needed. I watched her deal with another dog who was aggressive towards his/her peers. She was able to use treats to refocus their attention towards the correct calm behavior when they encountered another dog. I have duplicated her exact technique during recent walks with my own food motivated bad dog and here is what happens-

Bad dog lunges and barks wildly at the dog within his sight. I say "Shadow Treat" Bad dog refocuses immediately and sits within a nano second. Bad dog gulps down the treat faster than a nanosecond. Bad dog immediately refocuses on dog within his visual periphery and continues his erratic, embarrassing, jerking, howling, leaping and salivating behavior. After 7 such treats he has now gained weight and is still barking at the dog who is now a mile down the road. Saying "Bad Dog! Bad", pulling on his collar, smacking his nose, smacking his butt, cornering him, pushing him to the ground....... nothing works! Arghhhh! Immediately after aforementioned reprimand his tail is back up and he is back to his old tricks. It is so embarrassing when there are small children about and their parents pull them behind their backs to protect them from the vicious neighborhood Sheltie. Does anyone know if Caesar would come to England?