I walked Pooh into a meeting with three strangers today, using a leash and a bag of treats. She was her typical skiddish self and would have preferred to not enter the room. I joined the others who were already seated around the table and got Pooh to settle down next to me. I removed the leash and assumed she would stay close. As the meeting went on she laid down in various positions around the table and monitored the attendees at a distance. At one point I looked down and Pooh was standing nearby letting the woman next to me pet her! This woman was a complete stranger, but Pooh looked calm...not as joyful as a typical dog receiving that much attention would be, but still relaxed enough that I didn't interfere. I think she may have let someone else in the meeting pet her too. This was an ideal training opportunity because the strangers in the room were not focused on Pooh at all and she does a lot better with strangers if we aren't at home. It's strange how progress can sneak up on you when you aren't even trying!
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January brought new challenges, but still great progress. I kept a journal of notes almost daily and there was good progress with staying home alone and taking longer to open her gate when I returned. She even began to take interest in food toys and her Himalayan chew, which had all been sitting around untouched for quite some time. When her anxiety is high she is not at all food motivated, but as anxiety decreased she began to use some of the toys/chew treats I had purchased over the months. One note reads "first ever quick turnaround, dropped Pooh off in her room and went out to dinner to meet a friend for dinner." Another says, "pees in backyard with me inside!" which is pretty exciting news in the January when it's cold.
Pooh also showed progress in going to work with me, even laying quietly on the floor during meetings. Taking her to work was sometimes stressful for me, but Dr. Erion said it was great training for her because of the exposure to people and all the little times I would go in and out of my office during the day. In theory, teaching Pooh to wait patiently by herself until I return (still working on that one). Notes throughout the month reference bit of destructive behavior, such as a fluffy blanket left in her room. Then, we went away for our anniversary weekend and took Pooh with us to small pet-friendly inn. The weekend as a whole went pretty well. We had a ground floor room with grass right outside, which made standing around waiting for her to go potty a bit more convenient. It was pouring down rain though and we had to pretend we had all the time in the world to get her to pee in a new place. We played cards in the common area while Pooh laid under our table. She was on leash at all times to avoid panic incidents and also to help guide her from room to room with less work on our part. (She is better about following instructions on leash. We don't pull it, but she just "hears" better.) She was with us every minute except when we ate in restaurants and stayed in the back seat of my car. While I was nervous the whole time, she seemed do fine in my car. We stayed two nights and she was a bit "off" the morning we packed our stuff to check out. We took her to dining hall to eat breakfast and returned to our room to gather up our belongs. When we walked into the room it was a bit stuffy so I opened the sliding glass door, not 5 minutes later there was a sound that spooked Pooh and she BOLTED through the screen door out across the grass toward a huge parking lot down below. My heart stopped as I chased after her in the rain thinking...this is what Dr. Erion is always warning us about... "we lose these dogs"...when he says it I think it's his nice way of saying they get hit by cars or we have to put them down because their behavior often causes them harm. Part of me in that split second thought I might not actually FIND her though. We got her back quickly and all in one piece, but I learned many things in that moment. Also, the inn was truly pet friendly and only charged us a minimal fee for screen door repair. As I write this in October 2011 that was still the last destructive day we had, which is what I tell myself whenever we have a "tough day" so that I remember how far we've come. I've tried to catch you up on Pooh's progress, but haven't provided a lot of specifics so let me give you some journal notes from February 2011. Keep in mind, she had lived with us for 8 months and been on medication for 2 months when these were written.
-Put Pooh in her room, went puttered in garage, returned to get her, definitely anxious, didn't touch peanut butter -overall tail wags! prances and likes love -still really nervous in all doorways -sits before outside, before getting in car etc, going really well- AMAZING how she is less scared of door simply because we tell her OK, like she knows it won't slam on her -got Tug-A-Jug yesterday, bit of interest today, but not producing for her-trying to find mind/energy burners (bad weather) -doing meds "in your room" loves pill pockets! in your room still hesitant, but lays in there and waits for me sometimes...so I bring more treats...she training me? I told my co-worker that I was stuck again with Pooh and we talked about some of my struggles, like always, she had an idea and told me about Help for Your Fearful Dog: A Step-by-Step Guide to Helping Your Dog Conquer His Fears by Nicole Wilde. I read about it a bit online and decided it sounded perfect for Pooh. On a Friday in late February I got Help for Your Fearful Dog: I got it on my Kindle because I couldn't find a physical copy in town and I had some time on my hands. The book is over 400 pages and I absorbed nearly half of it in a weekend. There is SO much information and it's a book I refer to over and over because as Pooh progresses I use different sections or try another step in section we worked on before (wish I had bought it in paper). In the book Nicole did a wonderful job breaking things down so it isn't one size fits all. She explains how to identify different anxiety levels and adapt early stages of training based on your dog's reaction to situations. I realized that while I had the right ideas in how to deal with Pooh's anxiety I was not starting at a low enough training level for her. For example, her issues with strangers were so strong that I needed to start at a distance (literally) watching people in the park, letting them walk past us on other side of street, without any approach or contact at all. I didn't even know what the first stages of training should be until I read her book. If you have a dog like Pooh GET THIS BOOK and read it. One of my favorite take-aways from the book...don't be polite to people who insist on trying to pet your shy dog. Tell them your dog bites if they won't listen to a polite no. When I tell people not to approach/pet Pooh they say things like "dogs like me" and try to chase her down. Since reading this book I am VERY clear with people. One day in March my husband and I were running errands and trying to figure out how to work through our next hurdles with Pooh. We looked at the DAP room plug ins ($50+/-) and some herbal remedies because we needed to attend a surprise birthday party out of town in April. Taking Pooh wasn't an option for this trip. My husband didn't want to experiment so we decided to go see our vet and talk to him. We didn't even bring our dog...just two people who we out of ideas and beaten. Dr. Erion talked to us about the fact that there had been NO DESTRUCTION in two months and what a huge victory that was. We agreed, but told him that we were feeling trapped and that her threshold was so low we were unable to utilize training tools I had learned from the book. (The threshold idea is that if the anxiety gets too high you have to stop/bring it down because the dog can't handle/isn't benefiting. If someone stopped by our house Pooh was done...probably hide in her room for rest of day.) He told us about DAP collars (different brands, we used Calming Collar) and we found that those calmed her quite a bit to allow us to bump up training or function in daily life. We used them for a couple months to get through the out of town birthday party, a June vacation, and July 4th. After fireworks ended we didn't buy another one. They last about a month, make the dog a bit more sleepy/relaxed than normal, but aren't intended for permanent use. I will certainly consider using again in the future though if needed. It seemed to be money well spent and ok to add along with Pooh's medication. Shy Dog class was another huge leap for Pooh. Annie Ingersoll, the trainer at Willamette Humane Society developed a class that specifically targets dogs like Pooh. It's a small class that teaches skills to help work through the issues these dogs have. I think my number one take-away from Annie's shy dog class is that teaching shy dogs tricks is actually USEFUL. It gives them something to do instead of focusing on anxiety. For example, if I need Pooh to wait patiently and there is a stranger near us we'll do some Sit Pretty, Stand, or if room allows, Spin so that she is busy and not focused on factors that would stress her. I had previously discounted tricks because Pooh had so many issues I didn't want to spend time teaching tricks. Annie teaches the humans tricks too. The best trick Annie taught me was not to "baby" Pooh...get to her "puff up", be proud of herself, and confidently take pats to help build her confidence. (Consider the difference in how a parent would talk/interact with a newborn compared to a teenage boy.) DAY ONE June 2010: We chose Pooh and planned to foster her for a few days since she was recovering from kennel cough. Pooh wouldn't go back into the shelter door so after our outdoor visit we took her directly around the building and convinced her to get into the cab of the pickup. She laid down in the extra cab and rode home politely with us. We even stopped at the Beavers store to buy her a new collar and leash because she had been sent home with a green collar, deemed unacceptable by my husband. We took her home, let her settle in on the couch, and it seemed she was instantly blended into our home. She didn't pee in the house, didn't bark, didn't get into anything, or bother the cats. THE FIRST WEEKS The first week with Pooh was easy. We thought we had hit the jackpot in choosing a dog. She laid around while we watched tv, walked politely on a leash for her short potty walks,went back to sleep right after her walks, knew commands to lay down, leave it, clearly understood no, and created barely a ripple in our lives. I did her adoption paperwork with a co-worker after a few days and she was officially a new member of our household. She wasn't cuddly or playful, but we figured she would warm up to us once she got relaxed. We took her to the vet for the visit included in our adoption package and he noted a few concerns right away after talking with us. When I asked how often a dog her size should pee he looked at me oddly. After clarifying he explained that she should pee several times a day, not once, and that we should make getting her to pee more than once a day the first priority or there would be health problems. (Though we let her outside frequently she did not pee in the back yard...only in the field near our house.) He said that Pooh was very attached to my husband and made it clear that Pooh needed to be left alone for at least 30 minutes a day. As a teacher, my husband had been home consistently with Pooh and our vet was concerned that Pooh was too bonded. He coached us on deferment training and explained that she needed a safe room and should not be allowed to roam in the house if we weren't home. He also talked to us about separation anxiety, the hint of destructive behavior we had seen, and considering medication for Pooh. He instructed us to come back if there were problems, not to let things get out of hand. (At this point it's important to note that Dr. Erion has been the vet for all of our "kids" for the past 15 years. I've sent numerous referrals to him and he is like a member of our family. He took care of our sweet little doxie right up to the end and knows my husband and me very well. It might also be helpful for you to know that our prior dog ate everything, pottied if left unsupervised in the house so he was gated in bathroom or left outside, and was a food motivated little bundle of happy energy.) I'm not sure what my husband was thinking when we left the vet's office that day, but I know that I did not fully understand the warning we had just received. I thought it was weird that our long time vet was so concerned with our new dog. Perhaps he was leery just because she was a "shelter dog"? Medicating Pooh was not the relief that I thought it would be. Instead of happy go lucky and relieved, we were just dealing with new issues. She was a bit hazy and groggy so we had to work even harder to convince her to do things. Instead of not being able to "hear" us because of her anxiety it was like we had to fight through the medication haze too. After a few weeks on the medication I saw huge improvements in "hearing" instructions. There was noted improvement in getting in/out of doorways and less impact if something did cause her anxiety. I began keeping a journal and there are notes about my husband coming/going twice during the day with "smooth transitions" and that she even ate dinner alone. We defined, and still do, smooth transitions as not having to physically contain, not having to "talk her down" or resolve an issue, but simply asking her to go in her room and getting out of the house before any whining or problems. For months we operated on the "can't go back" system when we left. If we forgot something it was just too bad because getting out the door took at least ten minutes and going back in the house could set her off. She had shown huge progress in spending day alone in her room and not being stressed out for the rest of the night when we came home. While we were thrilled with the progress we were concerned about how lethargic she was.
After nearly a month on the medication my husband and I decided to decrease the dose down to 20 mg (the lower dose for her weight) after a call to the vet's office one day, even though our vet was out of the office and didn't get to vote. Pooh was still hazy, sleeping a lot, and my husband was concerned that she was "twitchy"...in a different way than before. So we lowered the dose a week before her medication checkup. Her appetite returned within 24 hours after lowering the dose and she became more bright eyed/interested, which she hadn't been during that month. When we went in for her medication checkup Dr. Erion explained to us that we probably should have waited it out another week because Pooh's body was still adjusting and would likely level off once accustomed. He also explained that even while she was lethargic she was learning that the world around her wasn't quite so scary because the new experiences were being recorded without her typical panic. Still, we decided to stay at the lower level of medication since we had already made the change. He said that if she began to amp up again to call right away and we would try modifying medication level. We talked about concept of CALM dog and how important that is for her...not just following commands, but that her manner must also be calm. Don't talk to her if she isn't calm, no treats, no sweet talk to calm her because it only reinforces the anxiety. He explained that we were striving toward calmly telling her to go in her room, giving her treat, shutting gate, saying goodbye calmly, and leaving. I could hardly imagine such a day would come!! (It has and I'm so glad he explained that it was possible.) Dr. Erion was very patient and explained simple things like, just because you're home doesn't mean the gate to her room has to be open. Why didn't I think of that?? Instead of hurrying in to open gate before her panic amped up I began setting down my keys. Then, I worked up to taking off my shoes. After several weeks I could take off my shoes and walk to the kitchen to drop stuff onto kitchen counters before there was an whining. Sometimes the simplest things make such a difference...for Pooh and for me. During the fall of 2010 we took Pooh to basic obedience classes to learn additional commands and get comfortable out in the world, let her "get comfortable" in our house, and tried to wait through many of her issues. She was only comfortable in a couple of areas in our house (not whole rooms, just areas). We noticed that she was quite antsy all the time, was scared of strangers, noises, reflections, the vaccuum, washing machine, loud music or tv, any change in furniture layout, clothes hanging in doorways, the front door, and pretty much every single thing. We spent a large portion of our time walking her and waiting for her to potty, watching her eat because if we moved or left the room she would stop, and wondering when things would get better. She didn't let anyone except my husband and I touch her. We went away for one night in September to an annual event and our house sitter spent the night with her, but it took half an hour for our house sitter to leash her up for potty walk. Pooh still wasn't peeing in the back yard regularly so the walk wasn't optional. Pooh's anxiety level was higher than normal for the whole week after that.
Every aspect of our life was revolving around Pooh and her issues. Her anxiety threshold was SO low that one little incident would ruin her for the rest of the day. So, we lived with a dog that was scared of everything and if upset, would stay that way all day. Cleaning the house was stressful for her because of the movement and noise, going away for weekends was nearly out of the question, having company sent her away cowering, and things were not improving. By December 2010, I was exhausted, my life had been become structured around my dog to an extent that I never would have imagined, and we had been doing this for six months. It was simply too much combined with the demands of my job. I had been asking a few dog people who knew Pooh about anxiety medications or additional treatment options. My husband and I had bounced the idea around and it seemed ridiculous to medicate our dog for anxiety issues. I began making a list of the "destructive behavior" incidents that had occurred over the months...and it was quite an eye opener. How quickly we forgot! My little piece of paper filled up with incidents I had discounted with statements like,
"Well, that cat tree was old anyway." "We weren't using that poker table." "It was an old sheet anyway." "She's a larger dog so she needs a sturdier gate." I reached my limit one day. I'm not sure what it was exactly that made me decide it was time for medication. Perhaps the approach of our wedding anniversary and the hope that medication would allow us a weekend getaway? I made an appt with Dr. Erion and took my list and Pooh in to see him. In his usual style he was calm and informative, but I was embarrassed that I had not accepted defeat sooner and called him for medication. In my mind, it was defeat...I was unable to "fix" Pooh and could never have imagined that I would medicate a dog for anxiety. After discussing some options we decided on Clomicalm (40 mg) for Pooh. Her 30 pound weight put her right in the middle of 20 or 40 mg dose. Based on her constantly present anxiety we ruled out short term or as needed options. Nearly every single minute of every day presented something that was scary for Pooh. Dr. Erion gave me articles to read, reminded me to strengthen deferment training so that Pooh understood she had to sit to go out, sit to come in, always wait to be released, sit & wait to eat, that each of her actions must require asking me before she did it. He explained that removing her decision making would also decrease uncertainty and anxiety. He went over all the same topics from our talk in June, deferment training, safe room, NO excitement at coming/going just basic hello or bye. Then, he coached me about "triggers" what are her triggers? Well, nearly everything was a trigger for her and I didn't understand how to identify triggers. He said to identify the main ones (whatever was setting her off in the morning was big one) and work through it. He explained to me that it wasn't that Pooh was afraid of me vanishing into the shower, but that it was a trigger because she associated it with being left alone. So, I had to work through that with her by taking shower and doing every single thing the same as if I was leaving for the day...then just go in garage for a minute and return. Work up to getting the mail or walking around the block. He explained that since nearly every action I performed in the morning seemed to be a trigger that I needed to do it exactly the same. Get ready, get the coffee from the kitchen, open the fridge to get the lunch, put socks on by the door, put her in her room with treat, shut gate and leave. I speak from experience when I say that getting up and performing your entire weekday routine on the one day you have to relax is not ideal! Let alone, doing it again that same day! |