When our behaviorist suggested that we make the switch from Clomicalm to Prozac, we had the option of doing a slow wean or a fast wean. Not knowing what the medication was doing for Abby, we had opted for the slow wean since we felt we had time to transition her onto the Prozac. We began on September 5th, and within a week had already noticed some slight changes in Abby's every day demeanor. Don't get me wrong, she still is the sweetest girl in the world. But her ability to live with change in an ever-changing world had obviously been compromised.
About a week into the decrease my husband had worked from home and found that Abby had been nuisance barking a bit more at things every day. I suppose on some level I wasn't surprised as we had noticed something similar when we tried to decrease the Clomicalm once before under the advice/judgment of our previous veterinarian. The second week while working from home he noticed even more barking in combination with an inability to settle down. My realizations that things were changing were a bit slower in coming, particularly since we had avoided most of the world during our walks.
Then I had several walks in a row with Abby that made me realize just how much had changed for her with just a 5mg decrease twice daily. Abby has always been one to notice other dogs, and during the worst of her fear reactivity would seem to react to most dogs. However, she is now reacting to every dog. And by reacting I mean that she is pulling, bouncing, barking, growling, panting, etc. If before she could tolerate a dog from 150 yards away, she now would be panting at the same dog from 200 yards away. And it wasn't just dogs. She was reactive towards people walking past, joggers, people on bicycles, and inevitably even cars. Sounds that my husband would make from the other room in the house, or me from the kitchen, immediately caused her hackles to raise and for her to bolt from her bed in a full Hound howl. It is clear that the Clomicalm does quite a bit for Abby so that she can be calm in her world.
So we are now in the fast wean process, and I'm noticing a bit more barking today as she is home with me. She is able to enjoy some quiet nap time, but periodically will hear something that I don't hear and have difficulty not barking at it. Though I queue her to "leave it" there are times where there are quieter barks here and there. So presently we're on 5mg of Clomicalm twice daily until 10/3/13 and then we'll decrease to 5mg once daily for a week. She'll then be off the Clomicalm for 3 days before beginning the Prozac.
Everyone cross your fingers that the next few weeks fly by for her and that it goes relatively smoothly.
Showing posts with label reactivity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reactivity. Show all posts
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Sometimes it is OK to Say No
Do you remember when you were a kid and you had that relative or friend of the family that your parents made you give a hug to? You know the one I'm talking about. The one who wreaked of perfume or cigars and would squeeze your cheeks. Sometimes they'd ask you to pull their finger or make them their favorite cocktail. I had several of these relatives that weren't my favorite, and no matter how prepared I thought I was for these interactions, there were times when nothing could have prepared me for what was about to come. The story I'm about to share with you is absolutely mortifying, and I swear there is a point to it.
One year my family decided to have Easter dinner out at a restaurant. I don't remember what age I was exactly because I've tried to erase most of this day from my memory. But I do remember that I was at that awkward stage where clothes fit differently and suddenly you have bumps and curves that you swear everyone can see. When you're a girl who hates dresses, the idea of being in one for Easter is bad enough. Being in one when you feel awkward about your body is even worse. So when my father's aunt held me at an arm's length in the middle of a crowded restaurant after the obligatory kisses and hugs and announced loudly, "Oh my gosh, you're getting little bazooms!" you can imagine the horror that went through me. In my mind everything stopped and panic set in as I waited for the reaction of strangers around me.
Humiliation aside, almost every dog goes through a similar experience in their lifetime. Anyone who walks a dog outside knows exactly what I'm talking about. The moment where someone wants to greet your dog. There are many people that have dogs who thrive on this attention. But there are some dogs that have problems greeting others. Maybe they lack manners and they jump on someone who is in their vicinity. Maybe they do well once someone ignores them long enough, and settle down to give a sweet greeting. And maybe the idea of someone staring at them and touching them freaks them out. Think about something that makes you uncomfortable when you meet someone. Maybe they stare at you too intently, or perhaps they step into your space too much or are too touchy-feely. Not only do you have things that make you uncomfortable, your dogs do, too. And while you have the ability to make excuses and leave a situation, most likely your dog doesn't. If your dog is uncomfortable, or if a situation presents itself that you know will make your dog upset or uncomfortable, say no. It really is OK!
But surely everyone who asks to greet a dog should be able to, right? Nope.
I used to be the sort of dog owner who cared about what other people thought of me. I was worried about the interactions that Abby had with people and how people would perceive us. I worried that if Abby jumped and barked seeing another dog in the neighborhood that it was a reflection of me and my training. I was worried that if Abby seemed fearful of children in the neighborhood that people would worry about her being in the neighborhood. And I worried that if Abby didn't say hi to someone that wanted to say hi to her that it would leave them disappointed. And inevitably I thought about these interactions and I realized that the opinions of others after these interactions didn't matter to me. The only thing that mattered is whether or not Abby trusted me to keep her safe.
Abby may not be able to turn to me and say in my language, "Hey, I'm uncomfortable in this situation," or "This person makes me nervous." But with time I've come to know the things that make her nervous (children, things with wheels, more than one person wanting to greet her, more than one dog, etc.). These are scenarios that will in most instances not be successful, and by successful I mean interactions where my dog seems relaxed and is soft in her posturing. If I can avoid these scenarios I do. Either we change our route or I try to give Abby enough space where she can tolerate those things. But sometimes things happen and you're suddenly confronted by things out of your control.
Last month I was out for a nice walk after work with Abby. My husband was going to be a bit late getting home, and I decided to enjoy the first bit of nice weather with a longer walk. The after work hour can sometimes be challenging as people let their dogs out, but often times those people are letting their dogs out on quick walks and so the trails in our development are virtually empty. We went through one trail that opened out onto a side street, and we began to walk back. I could see a child that appeared to be about 4-5 years old, and she was out with her mother playing on their lawn. As soon as she saw me and Abby she screamed "Puppy! Puppy! Puppy!" And with that she took off at a full run towards us as the mother yelled after her to stop. Now there are a few things I know about my dog. She's petrified of children, and she's petrified of people of any age running *at* her. When you combine both of these things it was not going to be a successful interaction. I instinctively turned with Abby and started to walk away. The mother caught up to her daughter, picked her up, and apologized. She then asked if her daughter could greet Abby, to which I said no.
Did I feel guilty? Did I feel like I let this child down? Nope. Not even the slightest. Chances are that at some point there will be a dog she'll get to pet and that dog will be fine with her enthusiasm. But if I had tried to let this exuberant child greet Abby and Abby was uncomfortable, would I have felt guilty? Absolutely. Because not only is it unfair to put Abby in this position, each interaction I force her to have further diminishes the faith that she has in me to take care of these situations that make her uncomfortable. By taking charge of who she greets, I take away the anxiety over what is going to happen when she sees people or dogs coming towards her. When I take that pressure off of her, her ability to handle escalating situations is greatly improved because she's not already amped up at the idea of whether she'll have to hi to someone. She can simply trust that I'm going to take care of whatever is coming towards us.
And for those wondering, the mother was not upset when I wouldn't let her daughter greet Abby and completely understood my reasons for making that choice.
One year my family decided to have Easter dinner out at a restaurant. I don't remember what age I was exactly because I've tried to erase most of this day from my memory. But I do remember that I was at that awkward stage where clothes fit differently and suddenly you have bumps and curves that you swear everyone can see. When you're a girl who hates dresses, the idea of being in one for Easter is bad enough. Being in one when you feel awkward about your body is even worse. So when my father's aunt held me at an arm's length in the middle of a crowded restaurant after the obligatory kisses and hugs and announced loudly, "Oh my gosh, you're getting little bazooms!" you can imagine the horror that went through me. In my mind everything stopped and panic set in as I waited for the reaction of strangers around me.
Humiliation aside, almost every dog goes through a similar experience in their lifetime. Anyone who walks a dog outside knows exactly what I'm talking about. The moment where someone wants to greet your dog. There are many people that have dogs who thrive on this attention. But there are some dogs that have problems greeting others. Maybe they lack manners and they jump on someone who is in their vicinity. Maybe they do well once someone ignores them long enough, and settle down to give a sweet greeting. And maybe the idea of someone staring at them and touching them freaks them out. Think about something that makes you uncomfortable when you meet someone. Maybe they stare at you too intently, or perhaps they step into your space too much or are too touchy-feely. Not only do you have things that make you uncomfortable, your dogs do, too. And while you have the ability to make excuses and leave a situation, most likely your dog doesn't. If your dog is uncomfortable, or if a situation presents itself that you know will make your dog upset or uncomfortable, say no. It really is OK!
But surely everyone who asks to greet a dog should be able to, right? Nope.
I used to be the sort of dog owner who cared about what other people thought of me. I was worried about the interactions that Abby had with people and how people would perceive us. I worried that if Abby jumped and barked seeing another dog in the neighborhood that it was a reflection of me and my training. I was worried that if Abby seemed fearful of children in the neighborhood that people would worry about her being in the neighborhood. And I worried that if Abby didn't say hi to someone that wanted to say hi to her that it would leave them disappointed. And inevitably I thought about these interactions and I realized that the opinions of others after these interactions didn't matter to me. The only thing that mattered is whether or not Abby trusted me to keep her safe.
Abby may not be able to turn to me and say in my language, "Hey, I'm uncomfortable in this situation," or "This person makes me nervous." But with time I've come to know the things that make her nervous (children, things with wheels, more than one person wanting to greet her, more than one dog, etc.). These are scenarios that will in most instances not be successful, and by successful I mean interactions where my dog seems relaxed and is soft in her posturing. If I can avoid these scenarios I do. Either we change our route or I try to give Abby enough space where she can tolerate those things. But sometimes things happen and you're suddenly confronted by things out of your control.
Last month I was out for a nice walk after work with Abby. My husband was going to be a bit late getting home, and I decided to enjoy the first bit of nice weather with a longer walk. The after work hour can sometimes be challenging as people let their dogs out, but often times those people are letting their dogs out on quick walks and so the trails in our development are virtually empty. We went through one trail that opened out onto a side street, and we began to walk back. I could see a child that appeared to be about 4-5 years old, and she was out with her mother playing on their lawn. As soon as she saw me and Abby she screamed "Puppy! Puppy! Puppy!" And with that she took off at a full run towards us as the mother yelled after her to stop. Now there are a few things I know about my dog. She's petrified of children, and she's petrified of people of any age running *at* her. When you combine both of these things it was not going to be a successful interaction. I instinctively turned with Abby and started to walk away. The mother caught up to her daughter, picked her up, and apologized. She then asked if her daughter could greet Abby, to which I said no.
Did I feel guilty? Did I feel like I let this child down? Nope. Not even the slightest. Chances are that at some point there will be a dog she'll get to pet and that dog will be fine with her enthusiasm. But if I had tried to let this exuberant child greet Abby and Abby was uncomfortable, would I have felt guilty? Absolutely. Because not only is it unfair to put Abby in this position, each interaction I force her to have further diminishes the faith that she has in me to take care of these situations that make her uncomfortable. By taking charge of who she greets, I take away the anxiety over what is going to happen when she sees people or dogs coming towards her. When I take that pressure off of her, her ability to handle escalating situations is greatly improved because she's not already amped up at the idea of whether she'll have to hi to someone. She can simply trust that I'm going to take care of whatever is coming towards us.
And for those wondering, the mother was not upset when I wouldn't let her daughter greet Abby and completely understood my reasons for making that choice.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
There may be no such thing as a stupid question...
... but there certainly is such a thing as a stupid idea, or at least one that is misinformed.
We have been working recently on bringing our girl for random appointments where she comes in, gets treats and love from staff, and settles on her mat. We always try to keep our visits short and light, and we always try to end on a positive note. I cannot tell you the world of difference this has made to Abby. She gets excited to enter the vet and see the friends she has made.
On our last visit, we pulled in and shortly after two cars pulled in. In one vehicle appeared an owner and her mixed breed dog. In another vehicle was someone who advertised themselves as an animal behaviorist and described that they helped to modify and correct some canine behavior. It was at this point that I noticed that the self-described "behaviorist" got out to greet the other woman and her dog. I could not see what was going on from the other side of the caravan, but I did notice what sounded like multiple dogs barking from the business van the behaviorist drove. As the women were talking, I heard the behaviorist tell her dogs to "settle" quite often, and I heard her dogs completely ignore her. I allowed them a few minutes to get inside our veterinarian's office before I took Abby out of the car.
We do a great deal of mat work with Abby, and this truly has been one of the keys to her success. Abby has a safe place that she can go to and settle, and she knows that the only expectation for her when she is there is that she relax. Certainly getting her to understand that was its own challenge, but now it is her default. So when we came inside, I put her mat down near a half wall in the waiting area and gave her the cue to go to her mat. Abby laid down very easily and put her chin down while we waited for them to finish at the scale. When they were done, I brought Abby over to the scale so she could practice getting on it and then we returned to our mat. This is when the dog who was on the other side of the wall put his paws on the half wall to peer over. Abby took interest and popped up off her mat and tried to look around the wall. I cued Abby back to her mat, and as she was returning the "behaviorist" said to me, "Do you think they can say hi so they both can settle?"
What? "Do you think they can say hi so they both can settle?"
Allow me to rephrase this in the way I heard it. "Can my anxious dog get in the face of your reactive dog and hope that chaos doesn't ensue and they get it out of their system?"
I do not believe in the idea that a reactive dog can go face-to-face with another dog and find anything calm in the interaction. Many non-reactive dogs would likely feel some level of excitement after such an interaction. For a reactive dog, they learn that they worked themselves up about this big scary thing, and thankfully this time nothing happened. And while I am not a fan of clearly reactive dogs greeting other dogs, more importantly I am thoroughly against introducing dogs in stressful situations. Abby is a smart girl. As much as we have a new place, and a new MO, she knows what she's there for. We're working on counter conditioning this experience for her. And so while your dog is clearly amped up for this appointment, and my dog is clearly amped to be in the door, this is the time that you as a self-described professional think is a good opportunity to greet?
My answer as as polite as I could make it. "No, she will settle on her own because we have worked on that. Face-to-face greetings will cause a reaction from her."
While I can respect that she at least asked instead of allowing her dog to barrel around the wall, I was absolutely astounded by the "solution" this person came up with. It was a day that made me truly grateful that everything aligned the way it needed to be so that Abby could find us, and we could find the trainer that we have. She was meant to find us, and we were meant to be her voice.
And at the end of all of this, Abby just continued to be a rock star. She came to work, got good love from her favorite receptionist, and left on a high note. I could not have asked for more.
We have been working recently on bringing our girl for random appointments where she comes in, gets treats and love from staff, and settles on her mat. We always try to keep our visits short and light, and we always try to end on a positive note. I cannot tell you the world of difference this has made to Abby. She gets excited to enter the vet and see the friends she has made.
On our last visit, we pulled in and shortly after two cars pulled in. In one vehicle appeared an owner and her mixed breed dog. In another vehicle was someone who advertised themselves as an animal behaviorist and described that they helped to modify and correct some canine behavior. It was at this point that I noticed that the self-described "behaviorist" got out to greet the other woman and her dog. I could not see what was going on from the other side of the caravan, but I did notice what sounded like multiple dogs barking from the business van the behaviorist drove. As the women were talking, I heard the behaviorist tell her dogs to "settle" quite often, and I heard her dogs completely ignore her. I allowed them a few minutes to get inside our veterinarian's office before I took Abby out of the car.
We do a great deal of mat work with Abby, and this truly has been one of the keys to her success. Abby has a safe place that she can go to and settle, and she knows that the only expectation for her when she is there is that she relax. Certainly getting her to understand that was its own challenge, but now it is her default. So when we came inside, I put her mat down near a half wall in the waiting area and gave her the cue to go to her mat. Abby laid down very easily and put her chin down while we waited for them to finish at the scale. When they were done, I brought Abby over to the scale so she could practice getting on it and then we returned to our mat. This is when the dog who was on the other side of the wall put his paws on the half wall to peer over. Abby took interest and popped up off her mat and tried to look around the wall. I cued Abby back to her mat, and as she was returning the "behaviorist" said to me, "Do you think they can say hi so they both can settle?"
What? "Do you think they can say hi so they both can settle?"
Allow me to rephrase this in the way I heard it. "Can my anxious dog get in the face of your reactive dog and hope that chaos doesn't ensue and they get it out of their system?"
I do not believe in the idea that a reactive dog can go face-to-face with another dog and find anything calm in the interaction. Many non-reactive dogs would likely feel some level of excitement after such an interaction. For a reactive dog, they learn that they worked themselves up about this big scary thing, and thankfully this time nothing happened. And while I am not a fan of clearly reactive dogs greeting other dogs, more importantly I am thoroughly against introducing dogs in stressful situations. Abby is a smart girl. As much as we have a new place, and a new MO, she knows what she's there for. We're working on counter conditioning this experience for her. And so while your dog is clearly amped up for this appointment, and my dog is clearly amped to be in the door, this is the time that you as a self-described professional think is a good opportunity to greet?
My answer as as polite as I could make it. "No, she will settle on her own because we have worked on that. Face-to-face greetings will cause a reaction from her."
While I can respect that she at least asked instead of allowing her dog to barrel around the wall, I was absolutely astounded by the "solution" this person came up with. It was a day that made me truly grateful that everything aligned the way it needed to be so that Abby could find us, and we could find the trainer that we have. She was meant to find us, and we were meant to be her voice.
And at the end of all of this, Abby just continued to be a rock star. She came to work, got good love from her favorite receptionist, and left on a high note. I could not have asked for more.
Monday, July 23, 2012
It shouldn't be this hard
It shouldn't be this hard to find a vet that meshes with our beliefs and commitment to the physical, mental, and emotional care of our dog. Yet somehow this seems to be a challenge. We switched practices last year and while the new veterinarians are fantastic, the staff is less than pleasant and it has become a real challenge as of late.
More often than not our vet ran at least 20-40 minutes late for every appointment. While I don't care about a wait if someone tells me, I also have to keep Abby's best interests in mind. That timing of an extra 20-40 minutes waiting in the lobby is the difference between Abby being able to tolerate her appointments and the services the staff will provide, and her becoming a pacing and panting wreck who looks to bolt at every opportunity.
Most recently we have tried to take a proactive approach to her appointments. I came to the realization that it is my job in life to try to alleviate Abby's fears, and if I cannot do that I must do everything I can to limit her exposure to those fears and give her coping strategies that set her up for success. We do that presently with a whole host of things. We ask Abby to wait at a door while we open it and look outside to make sure the coast is clear and we avoid an ambush. We limit her exposure to other dogs, and only when she expresses genuine interest and calm posturing do we briefly allow contact. Why is the vet different? The answer is that it shouldn't be.
I don't know about you, but every dog I have ever owned has been afraid of the vet and displayed this in a wide variety of behaviors. Some have paced or panted, some have whined, and some have even growled at anyone appearing in scrubs or a lab coat. And when you really think about it, is it any wonder they're scared? Think of how you would feel if you were brought someplace where people spoke in a language you didn't understand, and tried to touch you right away? Maybe you liked being pet on the head, or maybe you didn't, but either way it quickly becomes a process of doing strange things to you. Sounds terrible, right? And then imagine how you would feel the next time you went back and it was exactly the same. No wonder dogs are scared of the vet!
Throughout Abby's entire GI issues of last year, I grew convinced that I needed to be an advocate in her health. But most recently I've realized I need to be her voice in advocating for emotional and mental well being. There are several components to that. The first thing I tried to do was to go to the vet for things other than appointments where she would just go and get treats. I realized the first time I went to do this that I had an uphill battle with this one. The vet is sandwiched between landscaping and construction companies, and at any point in the day there are a wide variety of sounds that are deeply unsettling to her. Clearly treating her even for just getting to the parking lot was going to be the way to go and it would go very slowly from there.
The second thing comes with respect to the waiting times in the lobby. Although we do a lot of mat work where Abby has a mat we throw down and she knows she can relax there, that only goes so far in stressful situations. In light of the delays of our vet, I spoke with the office staff about taking a proactive approach to this wait time. I could not rely on them to adequately communicate any delays the office experienced, and even if they had communicated those delays I had limited ways to deal with this. I decided that if I had any hope of helping Abby not to become distressed waiting for her appointment, I needed to check in without her present. Sometimes this is realistic if my husband comes to an appointment with us, and one person remains in the car while the other person goes in. But sometimes he can't be at every appointment and I am by myself. I typically try to avoid leaving my dog in the car even for something as quick as this. So I spoke with someone in the office about being able to call from the parking lot and check in for our appointment. If the staff had her exam room ready I would head right in. If not they could either wave to me from the window or call me back on my cell phone when her exam room was ready and I would head right in. I tried this approach on a couple of occasions and it worked fairly well depending on who was on staff that day. That is until my husband tried to bring our girl for a vaccine.
Now admittedly, Abby is sometimes vaccine reactive. Not only is she missing fur where her Rabies vaccine was administered, but she once got violently ill after receiving her Lepto and Lyme vaccines. Now we break these vaccines up, and we also administer a Benadryl injection before she receives these vaccines. After massive confusion regarding checking in from the parking lot, and waiting to be seen for the injection, my poor husband and Abby had to wait a long time for the vaccine, and wait to check out. It was that appointment that hubby said he was done with this vet.
The more I thought about the requests we've made of our current vet, the more I realized that I wasn't asking for a lot. I was asking for my vet to become a partner with me in making sure that my dog's anxiety over her visit was lessened. Can you imagine if you were a parent with a child who was afraid of the dentist, and your dentist insisted on strapping down your child in a chair each time they went in? No parent would tolerate that, and no owner should allow their veterinarian to contribute to their pet's fears.
Your vet and their staff should be approachable. They should not only value the relationship they have with you, but the relationship that they build with your pet. Not only should these offices be willing to work with you on some of these requests, they should encourage you and empower you to do these things if for no other reason than selfishly wanting these appointments go smoothly and quickly for them.
It is quite apparent that the current staff is not on board with some of these requests, and unfortunately our ability to be patient and work through some of these growing pains is rather limited given how much Abby's fears paralyze her when they occur. Given some of these problems and limitations, we have chosen to seek out another veterinarian. Although we asked for some recommendations from people, read feedback on Yelp and even emailed users privately to ask questions, inevitably we had a recommendation that we just couldn't pass up.
One of Abby's favorite things about going to the first veterinarian was the staff. Unfortunately during her time there the majority of them left. However, her favorite Vet Tech is working at a hospital that is about half an hour from the house. At first I was concerned with it being out of the way, but then I realized that closer and convenient for me doesn't always mean that it is the best choice for Abby. I called and spoke with the Office Manager, who gave me a tour of the facility, and I was so impressed by her warmth. She answered all of the questions I had, was excited to help us give Abby a fresh start, and truly made an effort to let me know that if we went there they would want to get to know our pet. During the tour of the hospital I could see that the setup was great. The exam rooms had a window on the door so you could see out before leaving to make sure the coast was clear and you wouldn't be faced with a dog immediately upon exiting. The waiting area was huge and had a center divider that allowed for some privacy while you were waiting in case you need separation.
We brought Abby for the first time on Saturday and she was so excited to be able to sniff the entire place, and even more excited to see her old friend. We are really excited for this next chapter in Abby's care, and we truly feel that we have found people who not only understand our commitment to our pet, but want to work with us to make sure that we can make her appointments as stress-free as possible.
More often than not our vet ran at least 20-40 minutes late for every appointment. While I don't care about a wait if someone tells me, I also have to keep Abby's best interests in mind. That timing of an extra 20-40 minutes waiting in the lobby is the difference between Abby being able to tolerate her appointments and the services the staff will provide, and her becoming a pacing and panting wreck who looks to bolt at every opportunity.
Most recently we have tried to take a proactive approach to her appointments. I came to the realization that it is my job in life to try to alleviate Abby's fears, and if I cannot do that I must do everything I can to limit her exposure to those fears and give her coping strategies that set her up for success. We do that presently with a whole host of things. We ask Abby to wait at a door while we open it and look outside to make sure the coast is clear and we avoid an ambush. We limit her exposure to other dogs, and only when she expresses genuine interest and calm posturing do we briefly allow contact. Why is the vet different? The answer is that it shouldn't be.
I don't know about you, but every dog I have ever owned has been afraid of the vet and displayed this in a wide variety of behaviors. Some have paced or panted, some have whined, and some have even growled at anyone appearing in scrubs or a lab coat. And when you really think about it, is it any wonder they're scared? Think of how you would feel if you were brought someplace where people spoke in a language you didn't understand, and tried to touch you right away? Maybe you liked being pet on the head, or maybe you didn't, but either way it quickly becomes a process of doing strange things to you. Sounds terrible, right? And then imagine how you would feel the next time you went back and it was exactly the same. No wonder dogs are scared of the vet!
Throughout Abby's entire GI issues of last year, I grew convinced that I needed to be an advocate in her health. But most recently I've realized I need to be her voice in advocating for emotional and mental well being. There are several components to that. The first thing I tried to do was to go to the vet for things other than appointments where she would just go and get treats. I realized the first time I went to do this that I had an uphill battle with this one. The vet is sandwiched between landscaping and construction companies, and at any point in the day there are a wide variety of sounds that are deeply unsettling to her. Clearly treating her even for just getting to the parking lot was going to be the way to go and it would go very slowly from there.
The second thing comes with respect to the waiting times in the lobby. Although we do a lot of mat work where Abby has a mat we throw down and she knows she can relax there, that only goes so far in stressful situations. In light of the delays of our vet, I spoke with the office staff about taking a proactive approach to this wait time. I could not rely on them to adequately communicate any delays the office experienced, and even if they had communicated those delays I had limited ways to deal with this. I decided that if I had any hope of helping Abby not to become distressed waiting for her appointment, I needed to check in without her present. Sometimes this is realistic if my husband comes to an appointment with us, and one person remains in the car while the other person goes in. But sometimes he can't be at every appointment and I am by myself. I typically try to avoid leaving my dog in the car even for something as quick as this. So I spoke with someone in the office about being able to call from the parking lot and check in for our appointment. If the staff had her exam room ready I would head right in. If not they could either wave to me from the window or call me back on my cell phone when her exam room was ready and I would head right in. I tried this approach on a couple of occasions and it worked fairly well depending on who was on staff that day. That is until my husband tried to bring our girl for a vaccine.
Now admittedly, Abby is sometimes vaccine reactive. Not only is she missing fur where her Rabies vaccine was administered, but she once got violently ill after receiving her Lepto and Lyme vaccines. Now we break these vaccines up, and we also administer a Benadryl injection before she receives these vaccines. After massive confusion regarding checking in from the parking lot, and waiting to be seen for the injection, my poor husband and Abby had to wait a long time for the vaccine, and wait to check out. It was that appointment that hubby said he was done with this vet.
The more I thought about the requests we've made of our current vet, the more I realized that I wasn't asking for a lot. I was asking for my vet to become a partner with me in making sure that my dog's anxiety over her visit was lessened. Can you imagine if you were a parent with a child who was afraid of the dentist, and your dentist insisted on strapping down your child in a chair each time they went in? No parent would tolerate that, and no owner should allow their veterinarian to contribute to their pet's fears.
Your vet and their staff should be approachable. They should not only value the relationship they have with you, but the relationship that they build with your pet. Not only should these offices be willing to work with you on some of these requests, they should encourage you and empower you to do these things if for no other reason than selfishly wanting these appointments go smoothly and quickly for them.
It is quite apparent that the current staff is not on board with some of these requests, and unfortunately our ability to be patient and work through some of these growing pains is rather limited given how much Abby's fears paralyze her when they occur. Given some of these problems and limitations, we have chosen to seek out another veterinarian. Although we asked for some recommendations from people, read feedback on Yelp and even emailed users privately to ask questions, inevitably we had a recommendation that we just couldn't pass up.
One of Abby's favorite things about going to the first veterinarian was the staff. Unfortunately during her time there the majority of them left. However, her favorite Vet Tech is working at a hospital that is about half an hour from the house. At first I was concerned with it being out of the way, but then I realized that closer and convenient for me doesn't always mean that it is the best choice for Abby. I called and spoke with the Office Manager, who gave me a tour of the facility, and I was so impressed by her warmth. She answered all of the questions I had, was excited to help us give Abby a fresh start, and truly made an effort to let me know that if we went there they would want to get to know our pet. During the tour of the hospital I could see that the setup was great. The exam rooms had a window on the door so you could see out before leaving to make sure the coast was clear and you wouldn't be faced with a dog immediately upon exiting. The waiting area was huge and had a center divider that allowed for some privacy while you were waiting in case you need separation.
We brought Abby for the first time on Saturday and she was so excited to be able to sniff the entire place, and even more excited to see her old friend. We are really excited for this next chapter in Abby's care, and we truly feel that we have found people who not only understand our commitment to our pet, but want to work with us to make sure that we can make her appointments as stress-free as possible.
Friday, May 25, 2012
There's a reason I train my dog
People are often surprised to hear that we still work regularly on training with Abby. While I typically refer to the weekly class we take Abby to as puppy school, we regularly work with her on a wide variety of concepts aimed to shape various behaviors with her. Most people will typically joke that at this rate Abby should have a PhD.
But there's a reason I train my dog: I don't want to be that person.
You know the person I'm talking about. The person that in any situation shows complete disregard for either their dog, those around them, or both. They are the person who often utters such phrases as "Don't worry, they're friendly," or "They're a good dog but they don't listen," or they simply don't say anything at all while their dog is the poster child for continued education. I'll give you an example.
Today I needed to bring Abby to the vet. A few months ago she had a problem with an interdigital cyst between the toes on her back paw, and sure enough one flared up between the toes on her front paw. I am trying to take a proactive approach to Abby's vet appointments because I know that she gets nervous about them. Let's face it - Abby has had a series of not so fun appointments that have included UTI's, anal abscesses, and a tooth extraction. If this were me I'd need copious amounts of alcohol to face the exam room. On top of these appointments, our girlie has often had instances where over the top dogs have been right in her face. If vet visits are not well thought out they can be a recipe for disaster.
Since the TACT Seminar, I have decided that I need to take a proactive approach to the vet. With the first vet Abby would visit, we lucked out in one regard. Because Abby went there for routine checkups, daycare, grooming and training she truly never knew what was going to happen. I realized that I needed to take a similar approach with this vet because her generalization wasn't transferring in light of the more scary visits. First, I need to take her to the vet for all sorts of random things. Perhaps one day we will go there and Abby will just walk through, get a treat, and leave. Another day we will drive into the parking lot and Abby will be treated for walking around. Another day we may go in, get on the scale, and leave with treats. It's important that I mix these things up. Additionally, in the event that Abby does need to be seen I need to work with our vet to make these appointments less scary. Sometimes our vet runs late. Rather than subject Abby to being in a waiting area building her anxiety, I will go and check us in and she can wait in the car. When her exam room is ready they will wave to me and call us in.
This is what I did with Abby today and it worked out really well. Abby was very patient with the vet while he checked her toes and expressed her anal glands. At the end of the appointment Abby sat by the door waiting for it to open. I asked her to wait while I opened the door and I checked to be sure no dogs would bombard us as we left and Abby waited patiently until I gave the OK. She then was praised by the staff at the reception desk. However, there was a slight timing issue and her invoice was not ready when we approached the desk. I laid Abby's mat down while she waited so she could relax. It was at this point that I heard the lobby door open. I figured the best course of action was to move Abby from where she was and walk to the opposite side of the waiting area because inevitably this person might seek to leave via the same area we were standing in.
I gathered Abby's mat and focused her attention on me. It was at this point that the little dog that had come in had rounded the corner and went right up to Abby in a very forward way. I still had Abby's attention so she didn't notice at first that the other dog was coming. It was at this point that I literally stuck my leg in front of the incoming dog to block her. You could tell the other dog didn't expect it because she ran into my leg trying to get to Abby. The owner said at this point, "Oh, sorry, she's friendly." I replied, "She's not." With that Abby and I turned and walked to the other side of the room. Abby had her eyes on me the whole time and she sat proudly on the scale and worked on targeting my hand. Another stressed dog entered the waiting area and huffed and puffed while trying to pull towards Abby. My girl sat on the scale and looked from that dog to me as if to say, "Do you see that dog?"
This is why I train my dog.
Abby is sometimes friendly towards other dogs, but often hates when dogs are over the top in their greetings. She doesn't like aggressive face to face contact at first and sometimes prefers manners in approaching her. Now Abby did not show any signs of aggression or distress in the first dog ambushing her to say hi, but that doesn't matter. You should have eyes on your dog. You should know where they go and what they're doing. And you should ask me if your dog can greet mine and not be surprised or hurt when I say no. Because I have to be honest when I tell you that if your dog wants to greet mine in a vet's office it isn't going to happen. I have no idea if you are picking up food, seeking treatment for conjunctivitis, or are there for any myriad of reasons in which I would not want your dog to greet mine. It's a veterinarian's office, and in most instances you are not there just to say hi.
This is why I train my dog. So that she can go out into the world without being a menace, and in the face of uncomfortable situations look to me to fix them. So that she is not that dog who rounds the corner and ambushes other dogs or people who are reactive or fearful of her. So that I am not that person who shows no respect for others and causes panic to owners of reactive dogs. So that I am not that person who risks my dog's safety because she misreads a cue from another dog and is bitten.
Today was a day where I took great pride in the work we have done with her.
But there's a reason I train my dog: I don't want to be that person.
You know the person I'm talking about. The person that in any situation shows complete disregard for either their dog, those around them, or both. They are the person who often utters such phrases as "Don't worry, they're friendly," or "They're a good dog but they don't listen," or they simply don't say anything at all while their dog is the poster child for continued education. I'll give you an example.
Today I needed to bring Abby to the vet. A few months ago she had a problem with an interdigital cyst between the toes on her back paw, and sure enough one flared up between the toes on her front paw. I am trying to take a proactive approach to Abby's vet appointments because I know that she gets nervous about them. Let's face it - Abby has had a series of not so fun appointments that have included UTI's, anal abscesses, and a tooth extraction. If this were me I'd need copious amounts of alcohol to face the exam room. On top of these appointments, our girlie has often had instances where over the top dogs have been right in her face. If vet visits are not well thought out they can be a recipe for disaster.
Since the TACT Seminar, I have decided that I need to take a proactive approach to the vet. With the first vet Abby would visit, we lucked out in one regard. Because Abby went there for routine checkups, daycare, grooming and training she truly never knew what was going to happen. I realized that I needed to take a similar approach with this vet because her generalization wasn't transferring in light of the more scary visits. First, I need to take her to the vet for all sorts of random things. Perhaps one day we will go there and Abby will just walk through, get a treat, and leave. Another day we will drive into the parking lot and Abby will be treated for walking around. Another day we may go in, get on the scale, and leave with treats. It's important that I mix these things up. Additionally, in the event that Abby does need to be seen I need to work with our vet to make these appointments less scary. Sometimes our vet runs late. Rather than subject Abby to being in a waiting area building her anxiety, I will go and check us in and she can wait in the car. When her exam room is ready they will wave to me and call us in.
This is what I did with Abby today and it worked out really well. Abby was very patient with the vet while he checked her toes and expressed her anal glands. At the end of the appointment Abby sat by the door waiting for it to open. I asked her to wait while I opened the door and I checked to be sure no dogs would bombard us as we left and Abby waited patiently until I gave the OK. She then was praised by the staff at the reception desk. However, there was a slight timing issue and her invoice was not ready when we approached the desk. I laid Abby's mat down while she waited so she could relax. It was at this point that I heard the lobby door open. I figured the best course of action was to move Abby from where she was and walk to the opposite side of the waiting area because inevitably this person might seek to leave via the same area we were standing in.
I gathered Abby's mat and focused her attention on me. It was at this point that the little dog that had come in had rounded the corner and went right up to Abby in a very forward way. I still had Abby's attention so she didn't notice at first that the other dog was coming. It was at this point that I literally stuck my leg in front of the incoming dog to block her. You could tell the other dog didn't expect it because she ran into my leg trying to get to Abby. The owner said at this point, "Oh, sorry, she's friendly." I replied, "She's not." With that Abby and I turned and walked to the other side of the room. Abby had her eyes on me the whole time and she sat proudly on the scale and worked on targeting my hand. Another stressed dog entered the waiting area and huffed and puffed while trying to pull towards Abby. My girl sat on the scale and looked from that dog to me as if to say, "Do you see that dog?"
This is why I train my dog.
Abby is sometimes friendly towards other dogs, but often hates when dogs are over the top in their greetings. She doesn't like aggressive face to face contact at first and sometimes prefers manners in approaching her. Now Abby did not show any signs of aggression or distress in the first dog ambushing her to say hi, but that doesn't matter. You should have eyes on your dog. You should know where they go and what they're doing. And you should ask me if your dog can greet mine and not be surprised or hurt when I say no. Because I have to be honest when I tell you that if your dog wants to greet mine in a vet's office it isn't going to happen. I have no idea if you are picking up food, seeking treatment for conjunctivitis, or are there for any myriad of reasons in which I would not want your dog to greet mine. It's a veterinarian's office, and in most instances you are not there just to say hi.
This is why I train my dog. So that she can go out into the world without being a menace, and in the face of uncomfortable situations look to me to fix them. So that she is not that dog who rounds the corner and ambushes other dogs or people who are reactive or fearful of her. So that I am not that person who shows no respect for others and causes panic to owners of reactive dogs. So that I am not that person who risks my dog's safety because she misreads a cue from another dog and is bitten.
Today was a day where I took great pride in the work we have done with her.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
What do you mean you need to learn about tact?
There were a few people who first misunderstood when I told them I was going to a class on TACT. They took it to mean tact. And for better or worse there were people who weren't surprised when they thought that I was going to learn about the latter. Boy will they be disappointed!
Touch Associated Clicker Training (TACT) is a new protocol from Julie Robitaille that helps rehabilitate reactive, shy, and aggressive dogs using clicker training, learning theory and massage therapy. I first learned about the program when reading the Facebook page for Dogs In Need Of Space (DINOS). DINOS is a wonderful community I discovered a few months ago that allows people with reactive dogs to share stories, ask questions, and offer support to owners of reactive dogs. As soon as I saw that TACT was created by Emma Parson's teaching assistant, Julie, I was on board.
Admittedly I was nervous about going because I am not a professional dog trainer. And if I'm to be totally honest I didn't previously think of myself as a trainer either. Sure, I train Abby. But I had previously classified myself as her owner and did not necessarily think of myself as her trainer. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that although there were professional trainers and recent Karen Pryor graduates, there were also fellow owners, vet technicians, and animal massage therapists to name a few. The idea behind TACT came from Julie's work in massaging canines. She had clients who would want her to work on their dogs but they were worried. Given the dog's reactivity the owner did not feel as if this was possible. What began as Julie asking them to still come to her booth so she could click and treat dogs for entering, looking at her, walking towards her, etc. transcended into protocols aimed at giving repetition and structure to the interaction reactive dogs had with strangers.
So much of this program seemed similar to the Protocols for Relaxation that Abby and I have used previously in the sense that you start with very small steps and build from there, increasing the difficulty as the dog is comfortable with it. Additionally the Relaxation Protocol has a very ritualized series of movements that you do while the dog is in a default down or default sit. TACT is very similar in how it builds the predictability of this protocol and later adds distance or challenges. But additionally what I liked about TACT was that it builds the idea of generalization and applying this to other environments and other strangers.
The seminar showed actual footage from private lessons between Julie and one particular dog, Finch. There were points of Finch's story that reminded me so much of Abby - the alarm barking at strangers and other dogs, hackles raised. There have been plenty of times where Abby has done this, even with people she sees regularly in our condo development. But then there are other times where Abby bounds happily over to people to greet them and give them hugs and kisses. Although Abby's reactivity seems relatively low these days which I credit in part to her not doing daycare anymore, it is something I am always mindful of. The seminar was great at explaining Displacement Behaviors and how to identify them and has given me some criteria for identifying when Abby is at or beyond threshold. Beyond that it has given me a series of protocols that we can work on, as well as some Foundation and Emergency Behaviors that we can use for situations where we see things that could trigger Abby to move past her threshold. It also left me feeling empowered and believing that Abby and I have a relationship where I am also her trainer and handler.
For those who are interested in checking out TACT but don't have the ability to attend a seminar, Julie has a comprehensive 5-disc set available for purchase on Clean Run. The DVDs are 5.5 hours long and walk you through an introduction to clicker training, the TACT protocol, and massage therapy techniques. I highly recommend them!
Touch Associated Clicker Training (TACT) is a new protocol from Julie Robitaille that helps rehabilitate reactive, shy, and aggressive dogs using clicker training, learning theory and massage therapy. I first learned about the program when reading the Facebook page for Dogs In Need Of Space (DINOS). DINOS is a wonderful community I discovered a few months ago that allows people with reactive dogs to share stories, ask questions, and offer support to owners of reactive dogs. As soon as I saw that TACT was created by Emma Parson's teaching assistant, Julie, I was on board.
Admittedly I was nervous about going because I am not a professional dog trainer. And if I'm to be totally honest I didn't previously think of myself as a trainer either. Sure, I train Abby. But I had previously classified myself as her owner and did not necessarily think of myself as her trainer. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that although there were professional trainers and recent Karen Pryor graduates, there were also fellow owners, vet technicians, and animal massage therapists to name a few. The idea behind TACT came from Julie's work in massaging canines. She had clients who would want her to work on their dogs but they were worried. Given the dog's reactivity the owner did not feel as if this was possible. What began as Julie asking them to still come to her booth so she could click and treat dogs for entering, looking at her, walking towards her, etc. transcended into protocols aimed at giving repetition and structure to the interaction reactive dogs had with strangers.
So much of this program seemed similar to the Protocols for Relaxation that Abby and I have used previously in the sense that you start with very small steps and build from there, increasing the difficulty as the dog is comfortable with it. Additionally the Relaxation Protocol has a very ritualized series of movements that you do while the dog is in a default down or default sit. TACT is very similar in how it builds the predictability of this protocol and later adds distance or challenges. But additionally what I liked about TACT was that it builds the idea of generalization and applying this to other environments and other strangers.
The seminar showed actual footage from private lessons between Julie and one particular dog, Finch. There were points of Finch's story that reminded me so much of Abby - the alarm barking at strangers and other dogs, hackles raised. There have been plenty of times where Abby has done this, even with people she sees regularly in our condo development. But then there are other times where Abby bounds happily over to people to greet them and give them hugs and kisses. Although Abby's reactivity seems relatively low these days which I credit in part to her not doing daycare anymore, it is something I am always mindful of. The seminar was great at explaining Displacement Behaviors and how to identify them and has given me some criteria for identifying when Abby is at or beyond threshold. Beyond that it has given me a series of protocols that we can work on, as well as some Foundation and Emergency Behaviors that we can use for situations where we see things that could trigger Abby to move past her threshold. It also left me feeling empowered and believing that Abby and I have a relationship where I am also her trainer and handler.
For those who are interested in checking out TACT but don't have the ability to attend a seminar, Julie has a comprehensive 5-disc set available for purchase on Clean Run. The DVDs are 5.5 hours long and walk you through an introduction to clicker training, the TACT protocol, and massage therapy techniques. I highly recommend them!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
My little girl is growing up
There are moments in life where you look at your dog, see a behavior and think, "Wow, I remember when she used to do the complete opposite." Sometimes you notice behaviors your dog never used to do and reflect upon a time when you didn't have to figure out how to correct it. And then there are those awesome days when your dog takes you by complete surprise and they do what you never expected, and you remember how important it is to trust that they can do what you hope for.
We don't have a tremendous amount of foot traffic to our condo. For the most part, Abby's routines are such that she is home with us, and her interactions with people outside of our family unit come outside of our house. But when that changes and people come over, she becomes unhinged. She becomes a razorbacked girl on patrol, barking her head off at everyone. Presuming that she does stop barking, she sits rigidly waiting to pounce and stares them down. If they offer the slightest movement - even shifting in their chair - she goes right back to barking and patroling.
One thing that we talked about with the behaviorist was the idea of using her mat as a tool for when people come over. We've built our training on the idea of mat and giving Abby a place where she can feel relaxed and safe; a home base of sorts. We've used this within the framework of our classes, and when in class Abby's default work mode is to lay down on her mat and chill. The behaviorist suggested utilizing this for when she greets people.
Today my father was coming over to meet my husband and go to the Patriots game together. Immediately I had flashbacks to the last time my parents came over where Abby barked virtually the entire time, wouldn't approach them except to get closer for barking at them, and finally she laid down with her body rigid and tensed as she glared at them. I was really hoping to avoid this situation if at all possible. So out came the mat, and we worked on some relaxation. We had about 20 minutes in before Dad came over, and as soon as Bill went downstairs Abby was barking. I was unable to call her to her mat with her queue, so instead I tried to walk her over to it. She did not want to settle on her mat. By this point Bill and Dad had come upstairs, and she was off her mat and barking. I told my Dad to completely ignore her, not look at her, and pretend she wasn't there. I hugged him, he sat down, and in under 2 minutes Abby was completely different. The fact that my Dad had completely ignored her made her super interested in him. You could see a shift where she suddenly was like, "Why isn't this person paying attention to me? Doesn't he see me?" So instantly she approached him, jumped up to greet him, and give him kisses. She settled down nicely, and even walked out of the house with us to say goodbye.
So on days where you think back to just how far your near two-year-old companion has come, and you smile. Today was a reason to smile.
We don't have a tremendous amount of foot traffic to our condo. For the most part, Abby's routines are such that she is home with us, and her interactions with people outside of our family unit come outside of our house. But when that changes and people come over, she becomes unhinged. She becomes a razorbacked girl on patrol, barking her head off at everyone. Presuming that she does stop barking, she sits rigidly waiting to pounce and stares them down. If they offer the slightest movement - even shifting in their chair - she goes right back to barking and patroling.
One thing that we talked about with the behaviorist was the idea of using her mat as a tool for when people come over. We've built our training on the idea of mat and giving Abby a place where she can feel relaxed and safe; a home base of sorts. We've used this within the framework of our classes, and when in class Abby's default work mode is to lay down on her mat and chill. The behaviorist suggested utilizing this for when she greets people.
Today my father was coming over to meet my husband and go to the Patriots game together. Immediately I had flashbacks to the last time my parents came over where Abby barked virtually the entire time, wouldn't approach them except to get closer for barking at them, and finally she laid down with her body rigid and tensed as she glared at them. I was really hoping to avoid this situation if at all possible. So out came the mat, and we worked on some relaxation. We had about 20 minutes in before Dad came over, and as soon as Bill went downstairs Abby was barking. I was unable to call her to her mat with her queue, so instead I tried to walk her over to it. She did not want to settle on her mat. By this point Bill and Dad had come upstairs, and she was off her mat and barking. I told my Dad to completely ignore her, not look at her, and pretend she wasn't there. I hugged him, he sat down, and in under 2 minutes Abby was completely different. The fact that my Dad had completely ignored her made her super interested in him. You could see a shift where she suddenly was like, "Why isn't this person paying attention to me? Doesn't he see me?" So instantly she approached him, jumped up to greet him, and give him kisses. She settled down nicely, and even walked out of the house with us to say goodbye.
So on days where you think back to just how far your near two-year-old companion has come, and you smile. Today was a reason to smile.
Monday, September 12, 2011
You mean I'm not crazy?
So we had our meeting with the vet behaviorist. Prior to meeting with her, I completed a ten page questionnaire about Abby's behavioral issues, complete with real life examples of her behavior. Admittedly I was a bit worried about this appointment for a few reasons. Perhaps based on some of the judgement we've received, I was worried that the work we've done with Abby would somehow not have been correct or enough. I know I've spent lots of time working with her on her relaxation and general behavior, and you never want for that investment to be incorrect. But I was even nervous that I somehow had fostered some of her reactivity. I take the issues of Abby's behavior very personally, and when analyzing some of the things she does I think on some level you are doing a disservice to your pet if you don't at least consider your behavior and reactions to at least rule out that you aren't fostering some of the behavior you're working to correct.
In a word the vet behaviorist was phenomenal. Our trainer was so awesome and met us at the facility to be part of our discussion, and she was also able to inject some of her observations into the conversation, which truly ended up being helpful at several points. I should tell you that the appointment that we had scheduled for Abby was a two hour consultation. My first thought was "How the heck am I going to keep her attention for two hours? She's going to try to bolt out of the room in under 20 minutes." So I came prepared.
Over the last few months, we've been doing mat work with Abby. We have a mat that we use for her to relax on and chill out. We bring it to class, we bring it to the vet, and we use it anywhere where she could possibly be overwhelmed by what is going on around her. We gave it a queue - "Places!" - and she knows that she can just relax and hang out on her mat. I also brought some toys for her to chew on and play with, and plenty of treats.
So when we met with the behaviorist she brought us downstairs to her office. Essentially it was a big open basement that was divided in half. On one side of the room chairs set up in a U-shape for training, and the other half of the room had couches, a rug, and a desk for consultations. We sat down and I put Abby's mat down, and Abby immediately went down on it. We spoke for awhile about some of her behaviors and the things I had completed on the form, and the entire time Abby is just chilling. I thought, "This woman is going to think I am crazy! Abby is so well behaved and chilling right now that she's going to think I have the dog owner's version of Munchausen Syndrome." After a little while Abby heard a noise, and then everything I was saying had been confirmed. Abby was on patrol, hair raised, and we were unable to call her back to the area we were sitting in. And it didn't just end there. Once she had the first reaction, it did not take much to prompt further reactions.
The appointment was just so positive though. The behaviorist reinforced that Abby's dosage of Clomicalm is considered a light dosage, and she praised us for the work we've done thus far in light of the light dosage. I felt like I didn't have to defend the choices we've made for Abby or the work we've done because she already understood where we were coming from and communicated her desire to help us.
What a change!
So we're going to do a slightly small increase with her Clomicalm, and we're going to work with her on the relaxation protocols and continue the mat work. We've started working on down stays so that we can try to have Abby not freak out when people come to the house, and I feel like we have a clear direction on where we're heading with Abby's next phase of training.
In other news, a few weeks ago I had received a call from the vet's office that we bring Abby to for her routine care because I had previously ordered a few cases of the Purina OM but I hadn't picked them up. While trying to figure out what we were doing for her food, I just figured that I would leave them there because I didn't know if we would possibly use that food in combination with something else. I explained some of the food issues we've been having and that I was going to wait on picking it up, and the receptionist asked if she could try running Abby's GI issues past one of their other doctors that she has not seen. I told her that it was OK to do this, but that with all due respect I wasn't necessarily feeling a need to make more appointments or follow ups with nutritionists because at this point they've picked a food that did not work for her on any level, and frankly I can pick foods on my own at this rate through trial and error. So she said she would try the other doctor's opinion.
A few days later I got a call from one of the technicians saying the doctor had reviewed everything, and that without doing an intestinal ultrasound it is possible that she could have IBD. But that he was really recommending that I do a month of Tylosin to kill any bacteria that could be in the intestine. I told her that I needed to think about it. I said that without trying to sound defensive or dismissive, I've yet to have anyone be able to explain why Abby would have perfect stools for a period of time, then have diarrhea, then have the loose stools again. I explained how I felt like on some level that this could possibly be anxiety related, particularly given the timing of the reactivity, and the way in which she seems to be generally anxious as we try to taper off the clomicalm. We continue to throw tests, medications or diets at Abby under the hopes that they will work, and I never get to the root cause of her issues and again the diarrhea reccurs. This is when she reiterated that she felt the Merrick food was too fatty and the pancreas and intestine pretty much can't handle it anymore. I guess I'd buy into that if I hadn't just done the malabsorption tests on the heels of this diarrhea getting kicked off. Additionally when I bought into the idea of Abby having IBD, my questioning of whether or not it could have an anxiety component to what triggered or aggravated it was dismissed.
What was interesting to me was that she mentioned that although the Tylosin could work, there was a possibility that Abby could have this happen again even with the Tylosin, and then in which case we'd be back to where we started where we would do another course of treatment.
Those who have read with any regularity can already guess my answer to this treatment: No. A resounding no.
I'm not sure what I was more astounded by. Even if I did an ultrasound on Abby to see if she had IBD, what would I learn? That my dog is prone to diarrhea? I already know this and I didn't have to spend $1,000 to figure that out or put her through the testing. Second, what person just gives a month long treatment to their dog without having a test to prove that she needs it? We wouldn't do this with our children, and I'm certainly not doing this to Abby.
Throughout her reactivity, anxiety and digestive issues I'm starting to learn that doctors, and in particular veterinarians, are not Gods. Sure, they're educated people who have spent thousands of dollars earning a degree certifying them to answer the questions and solve the problems we encounter with Abby. But they don't live with us. They don't see Abby day-to-day, and they don't know what she struggles with day-to-day. Abby can't answer questions to tell me how she feels, why she gets nervous, or why her food isn't agreeing with her. The only voice she has is ours. The only advocate she has is us. And these experiences have taught me that I need to remain dilligent in asking questions to insure that she gets adequate care. Not treatment - care. There is a fine line between these that I think is often lost.
With that said, onwards and upwards. We will continue to search for people committed to Abby's care, who support the decisions we make for her, and who appreciate and trust the total focus we give to helping her. The camp of people we have in Abby's life who do this only continues to grow.
In a word the vet behaviorist was phenomenal. Our trainer was so awesome and met us at the facility to be part of our discussion, and she was also able to inject some of her observations into the conversation, which truly ended up being helpful at several points. I should tell you that the appointment that we had scheduled for Abby was a two hour consultation. My first thought was "How the heck am I going to keep her attention for two hours? She's going to try to bolt out of the room in under 20 minutes." So I came prepared.
Over the last few months, we've been doing mat work with Abby. We have a mat that we use for her to relax on and chill out. We bring it to class, we bring it to the vet, and we use it anywhere where she could possibly be overwhelmed by what is going on around her. We gave it a queue - "Places!" - and she knows that she can just relax and hang out on her mat. I also brought some toys for her to chew on and play with, and plenty of treats.
So when we met with the behaviorist she brought us downstairs to her office. Essentially it was a big open basement that was divided in half. On one side of the room chairs set up in a U-shape for training, and the other half of the room had couches, a rug, and a desk for consultations. We sat down and I put Abby's mat down, and Abby immediately went down on it. We spoke for awhile about some of her behaviors and the things I had completed on the form, and the entire time Abby is just chilling. I thought, "This woman is going to think I am crazy! Abby is so well behaved and chilling right now that she's going to think I have the dog owner's version of Munchausen Syndrome." After a little while Abby heard a noise, and then everything I was saying had been confirmed. Abby was on patrol, hair raised, and we were unable to call her back to the area we were sitting in. And it didn't just end there. Once she had the first reaction, it did not take much to prompt further reactions.
The appointment was just so positive though. The behaviorist reinforced that Abby's dosage of Clomicalm is considered a light dosage, and she praised us for the work we've done thus far in light of the light dosage. I felt like I didn't have to defend the choices we've made for Abby or the work we've done because she already understood where we were coming from and communicated her desire to help us.
What a change!
So we're going to do a slightly small increase with her Clomicalm, and we're going to work with her on the relaxation protocols and continue the mat work. We've started working on down stays so that we can try to have Abby not freak out when people come to the house, and I feel like we have a clear direction on where we're heading with Abby's next phase of training.
In other news, a few weeks ago I had received a call from the vet's office that we bring Abby to for her routine care because I had previously ordered a few cases of the Purina OM but I hadn't picked them up. While trying to figure out what we were doing for her food, I just figured that I would leave them there because I didn't know if we would possibly use that food in combination with something else. I explained some of the food issues we've been having and that I was going to wait on picking it up, and the receptionist asked if she could try running Abby's GI issues past one of their other doctors that she has not seen. I told her that it was OK to do this, but that with all due respect I wasn't necessarily feeling a need to make more appointments or follow ups with nutritionists because at this point they've picked a food that did not work for her on any level, and frankly I can pick foods on my own at this rate through trial and error. So she said she would try the other doctor's opinion.
A few days later I got a call from one of the technicians saying the doctor had reviewed everything, and that without doing an intestinal ultrasound it is possible that she could have IBD. But that he was really recommending that I do a month of Tylosin to kill any bacteria that could be in the intestine. I told her that I needed to think about it. I said that without trying to sound defensive or dismissive, I've yet to have anyone be able to explain why Abby would have perfect stools for a period of time, then have diarrhea, then have the loose stools again. I explained how I felt like on some level that this could possibly be anxiety related, particularly given the timing of the reactivity, and the way in which she seems to be generally anxious as we try to taper off the clomicalm. We continue to throw tests, medications or diets at Abby under the hopes that they will work, and I never get to the root cause of her issues and again the diarrhea reccurs. This is when she reiterated that she felt the Merrick food was too fatty and the pancreas and intestine pretty much can't handle it anymore. I guess I'd buy into that if I hadn't just done the malabsorption tests on the heels of this diarrhea getting kicked off. Additionally when I bought into the idea of Abby having IBD, my questioning of whether or not it could have an anxiety component to what triggered or aggravated it was dismissed.
What was interesting to me was that she mentioned that although the Tylosin could work, there was a possibility that Abby could have this happen again even with the Tylosin, and then in which case we'd be back to where we started where we would do another course of treatment.
Those who have read with any regularity can already guess my answer to this treatment: No. A resounding no.
I'm not sure what I was more astounded by. Even if I did an ultrasound on Abby to see if she had IBD, what would I learn? That my dog is prone to diarrhea? I already know this and I didn't have to spend $1,000 to figure that out or put her through the testing. Second, what person just gives a month long treatment to their dog without having a test to prove that she needs it? We wouldn't do this with our children, and I'm certainly not doing this to Abby.
Throughout her reactivity, anxiety and digestive issues I'm starting to learn that doctors, and in particular veterinarians, are not Gods. Sure, they're educated people who have spent thousands of dollars earning a degree certifying them to answer the questions and solve the problems we encounter with Abby. But they don't live with us. They don't see Abby day-to-day, and they don't know what she struggles with day-to-day. Abby can't answer questions to tell me how she feels, why she gets nervous, or why her food isn't agreeing with her. The only voice she has is ours. The only advocate she has is us. And these experiences have taught me that I need to remain dilligent in asking questions to insure that she gets adequate care. Not treatment - care. There is a fine line between these that I think is often lost.
With that said, onwards and upwards. We will continue to search for people committed to Abby's care, who support the decisions we make for her, and who appreciate and trust the total focus we give to helping her. The camp of people we have in Abby's life who do this only continues to grow.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in
So Abby's progression with us has been really interesting to watch. We've gone from a girl who literally would be pulling me and bouncing towards any object that she saw, to now sometimes getting a bit mouthy with some dogs. It also has been a progression that has only recently occurred, and I'm really hoping that we'll be able to make some positive improvements for her so that she doesn't feel so overwhelmed and reactive.
As we had worked with Abby on her relaxation and general anxiety, we also tried to put her into daycare for a few reasons. Not only was it clear that she lacked all social graces, but we also were able to give our neighbors some relief from her all day barking. Daycare made a huge impression on Abby, and certainly helped with some of her anxiety. The days we did crate her very slowly began to go a little bit better, and inevitably we sent her to daycare to tire her out and also so that I wouldn't have to race home at lunch to let her out. She always seemed excited to go to daycare, and we were also excited to send her.
Last month my husband and I went on our long overdue honeymoon, and we sent Abby to stay with a petsitter. On her usual Thursday Abby went off to daycare, and when she came back the feedback was that she had a few little scuffles in daycare, at least one of which she caused. My immediate reaction was to be worried, but then I balanced it out with, "Well, she was in a new environment and she was out of her routine with my husband and I."
The same day that Abby had a great reaction to Caitlin the week after returning from vacation was twofold. On one hand I was excited by her reaction and interaction with Caitlin. However, there was something at the end of our interaction that did concern me. As I previously wrote she had played with Dexter and was having fun being rowdy, and she even let the little girl, Caitlin, throw a ball to her and went to sniff her. Towards the end of her interaction, one of our neighbors came home with his dog. He let his dog out of the car and the dog approached Abby. Now Abby has played with this dog in the past, although I sometimes limit their time because this dog plays a little rough from time to time. However, as the new dog approached Abby instantly got mouthy with him and started to bite at his mouth. She even made a sound as if she was hurt while biting him, yet he was very clearly not doing anything to her. I was shocked! I took Abby back, made our apologies, and went homeward bound.
Admittedly I was worried about sending her to daycare, but with it being month-end at work I wouldn't have been able to get home for lunch. So Abby went to daycare, and the feedback was positive: she had fun playing and romping and was a joy to have. Phew! Maybe those incidents were just flukes!
Nope.
The next week she met a new Boxer puppy in the neighborhood. She did not seem to like the immediate rear sniffing from the puppy, but she didn't get mouthy. Instead her tail dropped between her legs and she tried to scoot away. But then she would go right back to play wrestling and seemed to have fun. After a few minutes a newer puppy in the neighborhood, Cooper, approached. Abby has been very patient with Cooper in the past and has enjoyed playing with him. Although Abby is not a big dog, she sometimes is unsure with smaller dogs because she usually is the smallest dog in daycare. This day when Cooper approached, the Boxer puppy went to greet first. Abby watched without moving, her tail in a high arch over her back as is her normal posture when any dog approaches. Cooper was focused at first on the Boxer puppy, and after a minute turned his attention to Abby. Abby promptly bit him in the mouth. I pulled Abby back, apologized again (as I'm starting to get used to) and Cooper's mom continued Cooper on his walk.
The thing is that there are times throughout these weeks where Abby has great interactions with other dogs, and so it is just so hard to tell what is going on.
However, last week things came to a head. Abby went to daycare on Thursday and it did not go as well as it should. The wonderful thing about where Abby goes to daycare is that they write up blurbs about how the dogs did in daycare. I always enjoy reading these as I wait for Abby to be brought up from daycare. On this particular Thursday I did not enjoy reading this. It said that Abby likes to start scuffles in daycare and most of the other dogs ignore this, but today she started one with Zoe, a Boxer around Abby's age, and it escalated before the staff could intervene. Abby ended up with a scratch on her head, and later I found one on her leg.
My husband and I joke that our children have four legs, and as I waited for Abby to be brought up from daycare I felt my heart sink as I waited to see her and wondered how bad it was. My initial thoughts as I saw her were, "Oh my gosh, my poor girl, she has a scar!" In retrospect the cut really wasn't that bad. When Abby's mouthiness first started I talked with Jessica about it and she said that some dogs don't do well with daycare longterm, and perhaps I needed to consider removing her from it. My confirmation that this was the appropriate course of action was being mulled over in my head this Thursday. Part of me thought, "Well, this feedback seems to come on Thursdays. Maybe there are particular dogs that seem to spark Abby's reactivity." I realize now that the fact that there is reactivity at all means I need to work on it.
I brought Abby to class on Saturday and immediately became aware that we needed to work with our girl. We brought Abby inside to wait for the previous class to finish up. Abby was waiting on her mat, when a small dog came around the corner and instantly went up to Abby to give kisses. Abby was fine with this, and barked as the dog left as if she wanted the dog to stay to play. Then Abby made her way up to the working area and I put her mat down. She was sitting calmly until she heard Morgan, a Chocolate Lab. Morgan is high energy, and her in-your-face style in recent weeks has left Abby unsettled. Abby had actually tried to bite Morgan before, and I hadn't thought much of the incident largely because of Morgan's over the top nature. However, as soon as Abby heard Morgan approaching she was at attention and ready to defend... or attack, I'm not sure which. Morgan tried to approach and Abby instantly lunged. I got her back to her mat, but unfortunately the next dog to come in tried to sniff Abby and she again lunged. It was clear that daycare was completely off the table, and honestly I'm OK with that.
After class I spoke with Jess, and left armed with a book to begin to understand how to shape Abby's reactions and perceptions of other dogs. All dog interactions are off the table at this point, and frankly it makes it easier. As I began to really look at Abby this week, I had a bit of a revelation. When we first got Abby she was instantly reactive and barking, pulling, hopping, and lunging towards whatever she saw. However, as we worked with Abby on her reactivity, I began to take anything that didn't resemble that over-the-top reaction as a step in the right direction. It dawns on me now that while Abby doesn't bark, pull and hop in the presence of something to watch, she does have a reaction. She freezes. Her body is tense and her tail is arched high over her back. Nothing about that posture seems relaxed to me.
So at this point I have a lot of work to do with our girl. I swear just when I start to get one thing sort of figured out, she throws another challenge at me. But I know that she's in the best possible place for her to display these behaviors because I'm committed to understanding them and working with her.
As we had worked with Abby on her relaxation and general anxiety, we also tried to put her into daycare for a few reasons. Not only was it clear that she lacked all social graces, but we also were able to give our neighbors some relief from her all day barking. Daycare made a huge impression on Abby, and certainly helped with some of her anxiety. The days we did crate her very slowly began to go a little bit better, and inevitably we sent her to daycare to tire her out and also so that I wouldn't have to race home at lunch to let her out. She always seemed excited to go to daycare, and we were also excited to send her.
Last month my husband and I went on our long overdue honeymoon, and we sent Abby to stay with a petsitter. On her usual Thursday Abby went off to daycare, and when she came back the feedback was that she had a few little scuffles in daycare, at least one of which she caused. My immediate reaction was to be worried, but then I balanced it out with, "Well, she was in a new environment and she was out of her routine with my husband and I."
The same day that Abby had a great reaction to Caitlin the week after returning from vacation was twofold. On one hand I was excited by her reaction and interaction with Caitlin. However, there was something at the end of our interaction that did concern me. As I previously wrote she had played with Dexter and was having fun being rowdy, and she even let the little girl, Caitlin, throw a ball to her and went to sniff her. Towards the end of her interaction, one of our neighbors came home with his dog. He let his dog out of the car and the dog approached Abby. Now Abby has played with this dog in the past, although I sometimes limit their time because this dog plays a little rough from time to time. However, as the new dog approached Abby instantly got mouthy with him and started to bite at his mouth. She even made a sound as if she was hurt while biting him, yet he was very clearly not doing anything to her. I was shocked! I took Abby back, made our apologies, and went homeward bound.
Admittedly I was worried about sending her to daycare, but with it being month-end at work I wouldn't have been able to get home for lunch. So Abby went to daycare, and the feedback was positive: she had fun playing and romping and was a joy to have. Phew! Maybe those incidents were just flukes!
Nope.
The next week she met a new Boxer puppy in the neighborhood. She did not seem to like the immediate rear sniffing from the puppy, but she didn't get mouthy. Instead her tail dropped between her legs and she tried to scoot away. But then she would go right back to play wrestling and seemed to have fun. After a few minutes a newer puppy in the neighborhood, Cooper, approached. Abby has been very patient with Cooper in the past and has enjoyed playing with him. Although Abby is not a big dog, she sometimes is unsure with smaller dogs because she usually is the smallest dog in daycare. This day when Cooper approached, the Boxer puppy went to greet first. Abby watched without moving, her tail in a high arch over her back as is her normal posture when any dog approaches. Cooper was focused at first on the Boxer puppy, and after a minute turned his attention to Abby. Abby promptly bit him in the mouth. I pulled Abby back, apologized again (as I'm starting to get used to) and Cooper's mom continued Cooper on his walk.
The thing is that there are times throughout these weeks where Abby has great interactions with other dogs, and so it is just so hard to tell what is going on.
However, last week things came to a head. Abby went to daycare on Thursday and it did not go as well as it should. The wonderful thing about where Abby goes to daycare is that they write up blurbs about how the dogs did in daycare. I always enjoy reading these as I wait for Abby to be brought up from daycare. On this particular Thursday I did not enjoy reading this. It said that Abby likes to start scuffles in daycare and most of the other dogs ignore this, but today she started one with Zoe, a Boxer around Abby's age, and it escalated before the staff could intervene. Abby ended up with a scratch on her head, and later I found one on her leg.
My husband and I joke that our children have four legs, and as I waited for Abby to be brought up from daycare I felt my heart sink as I waited to see her and wondered how bad it was. My initial thoughts as I saw her were, "Oh my gosh, my poor girl, she has a scar!" In retrospect the cut really wasn't that bad. When Abby's mouthiness first started I talked with Jessica about it and she said that some dogs don't do well with daycare longterm, and perhaps I needed to consider removing her from it. My confirmation that this was the appropriate course of action was being mulled over in my head this Thursday. Part of me thought, "Well, this feedback seems to come on Thursdays. Maybe there are particular dogs that seem to spark Abby's reactivity." I realize now that the fact that there is reactivity at all means I need to work on it.
I brought Abby to class on Saturday and immediately became aware that we needed to work with our girl. We brought Abby inside to wait for the previous class to finish up. Abby was waiting on her mat, when a small dog came around the corner and instantly went up to Abby to give kisses. Abby was fine with this, and barked as the dog left as if she wanted the dog to stay to play. Then Abby made her way up to the working area and I put her mat down. She was sitting calmly until she heard Morgan, a Chocolate Lab. Morgan is high energy, and her in-your-face style in recent weeks has left Abby unsettled. Abby had actually tried to bite Morgan before, and I hadn't thought much of the incident largely because of Morgan's over the top nature. However, as soon as Abby heard Morgan approaching she was at attention and ready to defend... or attack, I'm not sure which. Morgan tried to approach and Abby instantly lunged. I got her back to her mat, but unfortunately the next dog to come in tried to sniff Abby and she again lunged. It was clear that daycare was completely off the table, and honestly I'm OK with that.
After class I spoke with Jess, and left armed with a book to begin to understand how to shape Abby's reactions and perceptions of other dogs. All dog interactions are off the table at this point, and frankly it makes it easier. As I began to really look at Abby this week, I had a bit of a revelation. When we first got Abby she was instantly reactive and barking, pulling, hopping, and lunging towards whatever she saw. However, as we worked with Abby on her reactivity, I began to take anything that didn't resemble that over-the-top reaction as a step in the right direction. It dawns on me now that while Abby doesn't bark, pull and hop in the presence of something to watch, she does have a reaction. She freezes. Her body is tense and her tail is arched high over her back. Nothing about that posture seems relaxed to me.
So at this point I have a lot of work to do with our girl. I swear just when I start to get one thing sort of figured out, she throws another challenge at me. But I know that she's in the best possible place for her to display these behaviors because I'm committed to understanding them and working with her.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
We represent The Lollipop Guild
Most recently I've realized that Abby has grown into a fear of children. I'm not sure that I can pick a point where it changed because I don't know that there is one. Rather it was a slow evolution based on her lack of opportunity to meet kids and be around them. My husband and I don't have children, and the majority of our nieces and nephews are older. The few kids in our neighborhood often were not out during the hours we took Abby on our walks, and on the few opportunities where they were it did not go well.
The first time Abby saw a child was when we were walking down our street, and she saw two young kids on Hot Wheels. Have you ever tried to walk a dog past something on wheels, particularly a reactive puppy? If not, let me tell you what goes down. There is a moment where your dog will stop and assess the collateral damage. Rather quickly she will decide that she wants no part of the situation whatsoever, and as if she is suddenly Spiderman, she will try to repel herself away and swing from her imaginary webs to safety. This ends up displaying as her tucking her tail between her legs, straightening all four legs, and trying to pull herself out of her harness as she backs away quickly. As a new dog owner I had no idea this would be her reaction or else I would have turned before she had the opportunity to see the kids on Hot Wheels. Instead at the same moment Abby saw the kids, they saw her and wanted to play with her. The only problem was that they didn't abandon the Hot Wheels. Instead they lead a pursuit after Abby as she tried to run away to safety. Now there were little people on wheels giving chase all culminating into a recipe for disaster.
On a separate occasion we were walking down the same street a month later when suddenly four kids carrying swords came running out of their house. And just as suddenly as I saw them came the cries of, "Doggie!" and "Puppy!" and they came running towards us. Abby freaked out. Now there were four of them, and they were brandishing weapons! Abby was petrified; you could just see it on her face and posturing. One of the kids was older and had a developmental disability and asked if he could pet her. I told him that she was very nervous right now and said it wasn't a good idea. One of the youngest kids, Kevin, did not hear me and came running over. Abby had her tail between her legs, which I noticed in particular because Kevin said that with her tail like that it looked like a turd. Yes, clearly NOT my target audience for teaching Abby to be tolerant of children. It was with that I took her back to the house.
There have been times where Abby does OK with kids. After a particularly harrowing Christmas Eve where Abby was followed around by our youngest niece who just wanted to befriend her in the worst way, Abby showed considerable interest in our friends' children one Sunday at football. The youngest of the boys was about the same size as our niece, but considerably calmer. He went to play video games, and the other sat down to watch the game. In Abby's estimation they had ignored her, so now they were interesting. She actually approached them and wanted attention from them, which was really cool. However, that would remain one of Abby's last positive interactions in the coming months.
This week Abby has had a particularly great week with kids. The other day I took her for a walk and she bumped into her buddy, Dexter. Dexter is a Portuguese Water Dog/Australian Shepherd mix who is insanely sweet and so darn goofy. He loves other dogs, and he cries if he can't see them. Abby was really interested in Dexter, and nearby was a younger girl from the neighborhood who seems to be really good with dogs. Caitlin and Dexter were playing with a ball, and Abby didn't immediately growl and run away from Caitlin. It is really hard to find kids that are patient with reactive and scared dogs, and who don't run around. But Caitlin instantly got that Abby was a bit nervous and she made an effort to make sure Abby didn't feel scared around her. Instantly I loved this girl and have decided that whenever she has time for Abby I will make sure Abby has time to say hi to her. Abby was still very tentative at first, but inevitably when Caitlin tried to give a ball to her Abby did at least target the ball. Finally some forward progress! Abby stayed to play with Dexter and Caitlin for about ten minutes before I brought her home to eat dinner.
But Abby's true test came today after a long walk through the condo where we checked out every bird and squirrel flying and hopping through the place. There is a new dog in the condo, Charlie Brown, and Abby has been very tentative in her interactions with Charlie. I know the reason for this is because Charlie has typically been on a leash held by Kevin, the same boy who has scared her over the summer. Abby typically welcomes any opportunity to play with a new dog, particularly puppies. I don't know if she feels a need to show them the ropes, but she definitely is a bit of a welcome wagon to dogs that are a bit shy or socially awkward. The first time we saw Charlie Brown I could see that she was excited to see a new dog... and then she saw Kevin holding the leash. All excitement was gone, and she really just wanted to get away from the situation as fast as she could. The few encounters we've had with Charlie have typically been with Kevin and his dad, and all have ended with her wanting to flee.
At the end of our walk today we saw Dexter playing with Charlie Brown, and Kevin and his dad were close by. Abby stopped near them and watched them playing. I stopped with her just to see what she was going to do. I didn't want to take her away from the situation because I didn't want her to be fearful or think that she can't play, but I also didn't want to force it on her. So Abby watched for a solid 3 minutes before she started to sniff the ground near her. About a minute after that she took a tentative step towards them, so I did also. Then she began walking towards them. Now her tail was down upon approach, but in under a minute her tail was wagging and she was enjoying playing with the other dogs.
Then she noticed Kevin. In fairness to Kevin, having Charlie has definitely helped him mellow out. In the past he would have come running towards a dog full speed, but now he is much more calm around dogs. You can tell his dad, Ken, has worked with him to understand that not every dog enjoys being greeted this way, and Ken has been very patient with understanding Abby's unique needs. So today Abby was a little bit hesitant, but she did go up to Kevin and touch his hand lightly with her nose. I cannot begin to tell you how proud I was of her! One of the biggest things we've worked on with Abby and her stranger anxiety is the ability to "go say hi," where I can ask if she would like to say hi, and she will touch the stranger's hand and come back to me for her reward. There have been times she hasn't wanted to, and today I was so proud of her for wanting to try and for feeling as if she could.
There are days like today where you reflect back upon where you were, and how far you've come with your dog. Honestly, I could not have possibly dreamed that at some point I would have a dog who is just slightly less reactive and wanting to approach children. I feel so proud of her progress, and her ability to trust me as her touch stone to come back to in these situations. My girl works very hard. And her progress, while sometimes maddeningly slow, is forever moving. The ability to look at where she is today versus nearly a year ago is truly awesome.
The first time Abby saw a child was when we were walking down our street, and she saw two young kids on Hot Wheels. Have you ever tried to walk a dog past something on wheels, particularly a reactive puppy? If not, let me tell you what goes down. There is a moment where your dog will stop and assess the collateral damage. Rather quickly she will decide that she wants no part of the situation whatsoever, and as if she is suddenly Spiderman, she will try to repel herself away and swing from her imaginary webs to safety. This ends up displaying as her tucking her tail between her legs, straightening all four legs, and trying to pull herself out of her harness as she backs away quickly. As a new dog owner I had no idea this would be her reaction or else I would have turned before she had the opportunity to see the kids on Hot Wheels. Instead at the same moment Abby saw the kids, they saw her and wanted to play with her. The only problem was that they didn't abandon the Hot Wheels. Instead they lead a pursuit after Abby as she tried to run away to safety. Now there were little people on wheels giving chase all culminating into a recipe for disaster.
On a separate occasion we were walking down the same street a month later when suddenly four kids carrying swords came running out of their house. And just as suddenly as I saw them came the cries of, "Doggie!" and "Puppy!" and they came running towards us. Abby freaked out. Now there were four of them, and they were brandishing weapons! Abby was petrified; you could just see it on her face and posturing. One of the kids was older and had a developmental disability and asked if he could pet her. I told him that she was very nervous right now and said it wasn't a good idea. One of the youngest kids, Kevin, did not hear me and came running over. Abby had her tail between her legs, which I noticed in particular because Kevin said that with her tail like that it looked like a turd. Yes, clearly NOT my target audience for teaching Abby to be tolerant of children. It was with that I took her back to the house.
There have been times where Abby does OK with kids. After a particularly harrowing Christmas Eve where Abby was followed around by our youngest niece who just wanted to befriend her in the worst way, Abby showed considerable interest in our friends' children one Sunday at football. The youngest of the boys was about the same size as our niece, but considerably calmer. He went to play video games, and the other sat down to watch the game. In Abby's estimation they had ignored her, so now they were interesting. She actually approached them and wanted attention from them, which was really cool. However, that would remain one of Abby's last positive interactions in the coming months.
This week Abby has had a particularly great week with kids. The other day I took her for a walk and she bumped into her buddy, Dexter. Dexter is a Portuguese Water Dog/Australian Shepherd mix who is insanely sweet and so darn goofy. He loves other dogs, and he cries if he can't see them. Abby was really interested in Dexter, and nearby was a younger girl from the neighborhood who seems to be really good with dogs. Caitlin and Dexter were playing with a ball, and Abby didn't immediately growl and run away from Caitlin. It is really hard to find kids that are patient with reactive and scared dogs, and who don't run around. But Caitlin instantly got that Abby was a bit nervous and she made an effort to make sure Abby didn't feel scared around her. Instantly I loved this girl and have decided that whenever she has time for Abby I will make sure Abby has time to say hi to her. Abby was still very tentative at first, but inevitably when Caitlin tried to give a ball to her Abby did at least target the ball. Finally some forward progress! Abby stayed to play with Dexter and Caitlin for about ten minutes before I brought her home to eat dinner.
But Abby's true test came today after a long walk through the condo where we checked out every bird and squirrel flying and hopping through the place. There is a new dog in the condo, Charlie Brown, and Abby has been very tentative in her interactions with Charlie. I know the reason for this is because Charlie has typically been on a leash held by Kevin, the same boy who has scared her over the summer. Abby typically welcomes any opportunity to play with a new dog, particularly puppies. I don't know if she feels a need to show them the ropes, but she definitely is a bit of a welcome wagon to dogs that are a bit shy or socially awkward. The first time we saw Charlie Brown I could see that she was excited to see a new dog... and then she saw Kevin holding the leash. All excitement was gone, and she really just wanted to get away from the situation as fast as she could. The few encounters we've had with Charlie have typically been with Kevin and his dad, and all have ended with her wanting to flee.
At the end of our walk today we saw Dexter playing with Charlie Brown, and Kevin and his dad were close by. Abby stopped near them and watched them playing. I stopped with her just to see what she was going to do. I didn't want to take her away from the situation because I didn't want her to be fearful or think that she can't play, but I also didn't want to force it on her. So Abby watched for a solid 3 minutes before she started to sniff the ground near her. About a minute after that she took a tentative step towards them, so I did also. Then she began walking towards them. Now her tail was down upon approach, but in under a minute her tail was wagging and she was enjoying playing with the other dogs.
Then she noticed Kevin. In fairness to Kevin, having Charlie has definitely helped him mellow out. In the past he would have come running towards a dog full speed, but now he is much more calm around dogs. You can tell his dad, Ken, has worked with him to understand that not every dog enjoys being greeted this way, and Ken has been very patient with understanding Abby's unique needs. So today Abby was a little bit hesitant, but she did go up to Kevin and touch his hand lightly with her nose. I cannot begin to tell you how proud I was of her! One of the biggest things we've worked on with Abby and her stranger anxiety is the ability to "go say hi," where I can ask if she would like to say hi, and she will touch the stranger's hand and come back to me for her reward. There have been times she hasn't wanted to, and today I was so proud of her for wanting to try and for feeling as if she could.
There are days like today where you reflect back upon where you were, and how far you've come with your dog. Honestly, I could not have possibly dreamed that at some point I would have a dog who is just slightly less reactive and wanting to approach children. I feel so proud of her progress, and her ability to trust me as her touch stone to come back to in these situations. My girl works very hard. And her progress, while sometimes maddeningly slow, is forever moving. The ability to look at where she is today versus nearly a year ago is truly awesome.
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