Toby

Now that I’ve finished working with Jack Final Update on Jack | The Animal Nerd, I’ve begun handling a new dog at the shelter.  Toby is a large, handsome, one-eyed (his injured eye was recently removed) mixed breed with a number of behavioral issues that need to be addressed.

Prior to my meeting him, all I knew about him was that he had shown a distinct tendency to grab and bite his leash, and that he was inclined to treat handlers’ clothing as a tug toy.  So when I started working with him, I took him outside for quiet walks (no excitement or play) with an appropriate tug toy for him to grab and carry.  I limited the time that I held onto the tug, or that I engaged in play with it, to control his excitement level.  He began each session acting like a tornado, almost impossible to harness, pulling on the leash and grabbing at me, but the treatment worked and he calmed down after a while.

When he calmed down and we sat for a while, I noted that he was actually very insecure.   When we found a bench in a quiet area, he sat with his back to me and pressed up against my leg for security, while watching everything that went on around him.  He was showing signs of being a little apprehensive, but had it under control.

He began sitting with his back to me, pressed against my leg for security.

 

It became clear that his problem behaviors were not “learned” but was a reaction to the stressors of being in the shelter, being handled by strangers and (probably) the changes in his vision.  It also became plain that he likes people and readily affiliates with new handlers.   This made his treatment very easy.  In our next session, upon entering his run I spent ten minutes just being quiet, friendly and positive with him, kneeling down close to his eye line; when he began to ramp up, I added calm pets and body rubs, then quietly worked on straightening out his twisted Freedom Harness.  By the time I was done, he was sitting quietly, ready to go.  His walk went much more smoothly with no leash biting or grabbing, and he interacted with me in a normal way.

Volunteers and handlers have reported that he is doing much better with this approach and is becoming more relaxed in general.  I think this is a positive outcome and that he’s ready for adoption.

 

Final Update on Jack

After seven weeks of treatment, Jack ( My New Project Dog, update. | The Animal Nerd ) is continuing to do very nicely.  He is interacting very well with the kennel staff and the two volunteers who have been working with him.  His leash manners are very good, he is relaxed while being harnessed and he is continuing to relax and enjoy trips outside – responding to verbal prompts and interacting with his hander.  His reactivity to strangers is much reduced, and he has progressed to the point that he is interested in potential adopters who visit the shelter – approaching the front of his run and getting their scent.

Jack’s anxiety is greatly reduced and he is enjoying contact and petting from his human friends.

Jack is now inviting pets and scratches from the people he knows, although he is still cautious around strangers.  He is also easily startled by sudden movements and retreats when people bend over him for any reason.  However, he is gaining confidence on a daily basis.  I’ve recommended that we increase the number of volunteers that are allowed to interact with him and walk him, with the provision that all human interactions be completely positive (no verbal corrections and plenty of positive reinforcement).

He is now available for adoption and the shelter is carefully screening applicants so that he is placed in the right home.   I don’t expect that I will be making any more posts about him, although I’ll be spending time with him until he’s adopted.

My New Project Dog, update.

In as recent post, I described my initial contact with a new shelter dog that had been displaying significant anxiety with people. My New Project Dog | The Animal Nerd After a few days, I’ve made some progress with Jack and, as he began reacting more “normally”, I’ve noted some behavioral characteristics that had not been apparent before:

First, he is very reactive to other dogs.  Our runs are glass-fronted, and whenever another dog is walked past his “space”, he charges up to the glass and barks very excitedly.  (He has a wide range of vocalizations, but his rapid “Stay Away” barks are particularly shrill.  Mariah Carey wishes that she could his high notes like this little guy can.)  However, he does not completely lose control when reacting to dogs and does not redirect his excitement to people or objects.  I suspect that a good part of his reactivity may be due to barrier frustration and that we may be able to socialize him with at least some other dogs.

Second, he is definitely more comfortable with women than with men.  He readily approaches women and invites contact with them.  However, once contact is made, he exhibits appeasing signals, such as rolling over, having a low posture, and submissive grinning.  He is making headway with meeting new humans but has a long way to go before he feels confident with us.

I’ve noticed that he tends to urinate in the center of his fabric bed, which leads me to think that he had previously been housetrained using pee pads.  This is just something to note for his eventual owners, as they may need to restart housetraining from scratch, depending on their desires.

He has accepted additional handling and is visibly more relaxed.

As I mentioned, I have made progress with the little guy.  In a recent session, I was able to increase the level of physical contact that he’d allow.  This included increasing the area that he’d permit scratching and petting, as well as calming rubs and massages.  He became more inclined to lean into pets and ear-scratches and allow me to touch him with two hands.  He still maintained a “personal space” with me, however it became much smaller than previously.

Most recently, I was able to put an Easy-walk harness on him and take him outside for a walk.  He accepted the harness and leash easily and, once he got past his initial excitement, walked well.  This was an important development, as he began to “check in” with me while walking – looking at me for social referencing and direction.  He was also visibly relaxed and became more responsive to verbal cues from me.  I had to be careful with my posture and actions – for example, he became apprehensive when I bent over him to untangle the leash from his front legs – but he was overall much more confident.   I think this is something of a breakthrough that needs to be repeated and reinforced.

My treatment plan is developing to increase the level of contact with him and to have more men involved with his daily activities, to include feeding and handling, and gradually increasing their contact with him.  He has become available for adoption, and I will recommend in-home support post-adoption.

My New Project Dog

My latest “project” dog is a small mixed, breed named Jack – I’m guessing that he’s a chihuahua/border collie cross.  I’ve had one session with him so far, consisting of two thirty-minute visits with a one-hour break in between.  Jack is neutered and it about 18 months old.  He came to us from another shelter with very little information.

After a little while, he was able to lie down in the furthest corner, but was tense and ready to bolt if I approached any nearer.

When I entered his run, Jack fled to the back corner and gave me a warning growl along with some other distancing signals[i].  He was extremely stressed and alternated between pacing and being frozen in place.  I responded by turning 90 degrees to him and sitting down, making myself as small as possible.  I didn’t initially engage with him or speak to him, but simply relaxed and gave a few calming signals (yawns, deep sighs)[ii].  After about five minutes, he relaxed enough to lie down in the far corner.

He eventually accepted light petting on his chin, neck and chest, and began giving small consent signs for further contact.

At this point, I tossed some high value treats in his direction.  He sniffed, sampled and left them on the floor.  I got a little closer, within arm’s reach, while staying in a seated posture facing away from him.  He allowed me to touch his chin, throat and chest, and accepted petting.  After a few times, he gave small consent signs when I paused, eliciting more contact.  However, he still startled and retreated every time I moved.  At that point I considered that I had made enough contact and ended the session.

When I returned an hour later, I found that he had eaten the high value treats that I had left scattered in the run.  I entered and sat down as I had before, whereupon he approached and started sniffing my clothes and shoes.  He began taking treats from my hand and ate them immediately.  He was less inclined to accept petting and would retreat when touched, but immediately returned for more treats.  At this point, I began interacting with him by speaking in a light, positive fashion and looking directly at him.  I showed him a leash and Easy-walk harness, which I placed over his head without attempting to fasten it.  He responded by freezing in place, at which time I removed the harness and put it out of sight.  By the time I ended the session, he was approaching within a few inches of me and accepting treats from my open hand but would still startle and retreat when I moved.

At this point, Jack is less afraid of me but is not comfortable with my presence.  He’s begun to associate me with high-value treats but hasn’t progressed much further in socializing with me or with men in general.  I can touch him, but I am nowhere near being able to put a harness on him without overstressing him.

My treatment plan is to continue to treat-bomb him and gradually increase my interaction with him to the point that I can touch him with two hands at the same time (a necessary step to harnessing).  Then I’ll reintroduce the harness while giving him treats.  At that point, I’ll introduce more postures, such as standing, before taking him for walks and seeing how he interacts with outside stimuli.

[i] https://pethelpful.com/dogs/-Distance-Increasing-and-Distance-Decreasing-Signals-in-Dogs

[ii] Rugaas, T. (2006).  On Talking Terms With Dogs:  Calming Signals.  Wenatchee, WA.  Dogwise