Happy Doggies Make Happy Humans

Graduating From Being Afraid of Other Dogs

I've got happy news to share. My dog Krystal has graduated from being afraid of other dogs!

Her "final exam" was doing the K9 3K walk sponsored by the Wake County SPCA. She passed with flying colors.

As we drove into the parking garage, I got a little nervous. There were dogs, humans and kids everywhere. Krystal had never been in the company of so many dogs or humans. 

I decided the only way this could work was if I had a positive attitude and was ready for fun. Before I got the car parked, I started telling Krystal what a good dog she was, and singing songs to her.

Krystal was amazing. She took it like a champ.

The first sign that things really were going well came as we walked down the stairs of the parking garage. We passed several dogs who weren't used to going down stairs. Krystal is fond of stairs, and she kept on task. She didn't start barking or get all territorial. She just kept going down those 4 flights of stairs. All that time I was letting her know what a good dog she was.

The bigger challenge was just ahead. We had to cross the street and go into Moore Square, which was filled with thousands of dogs and their humans. 

Krystal held her own. When we got to the corner, I followed our normal routine and told her to "wait." She waited. When I told her to "cross," she trotted straight across the street. She totally ignored everyone else--her little ears were back in full obedience. It was a sight to see.

As we stepped into Moore Square, I admit to more than a little trepidation. I'm not overly fond of big crowds, so I gave myself a talking-to about remaining grounded and calm so this could become a good experience for Krystal.

Once again, she surprised me. She's always been frightened of big dogs, but she didn't bat an eye. She walked right with me over to the line for the registration tent. There she stood calmly taking in the scene. I was feeding her treats and singing to her.

When the SPCA started the 3K walk, humans and dogs started moving together. I was flabbergasted at the sight of my self-confident little dog walking so peaceably and happily among all these other dogs. Never a whimper or sound of a fear-bark. She was so self-confident that she just moved away when she encounted a dog she wasn't comfortable with.

After about 1/3 mile, the pack energy took over, and all the dogs and their humans began moving in sync. Krystal was smiling, clearly enjoying herself.

I was floating with joy.  Krystal completed the walk with nary a fear-bark or display of territoriality. Our lives were transformed with every step.

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When Krystal came to live with me 2 1/2 years ago, the shelter told me she had been found as a stray. They thought she had been on her own for 6 weeks. I truly admire her ability to survive that ordeal.

In the world of stray dogs, and 11 lb dog doesn't have much clout. She clearly survived on leaves, twigs, and acorns. The big stray dogs did her no favors, and our first year was filled with massive fear-barking when we encountered any dog on our walks.

I'm very grateful for my obedience instructors at Bon-Clyde Learning Center, who taught me how to work with Krystal. And who stayed for an extra hour one evening to teach me about terriers, and give me techniques to build Krystal's self-confidence and reduce her fear.

Thanks very much. It took us 2 years of love, dedication and training. I used your techniques the entire time. We're a much happier family now.

TTouch Massage for Senior Dogs

Here's a second Tellington Touch video for you, focusing on techniques for senior dogs and dogs recovering from surgery.

I particularly like the body wrap for the senior dogs, and will suggest it for my dog Krystal's BFF Winnie the Pooch. Winnie's got all sorts of aches and an injury to the muscles of her right hind hip. She's had physical therapy and meds, so I'm thinking adding that body wrap might just help her feel a little more comfortable in her own skin.

I'm guessing this body wrap might also be helpful for a fearful dog. Swaddling can be powerfull.

This video shows several different massage movements (called TTouch) to go along with the body wrap as well as injury recovery. I'm delighted to see these additional TTouch methods so I can add them to my repetoire of body work techniques with Krystal.

If you've tried TTouch on your dog (or even on your cat), it would be great to hear about your results.

(To view the first video demonstrating the basic TTouch method, see my previous blog post TTouch for You and Your Dog.)

A New Pack Member

We had a major event in our household this weekend.

My dog Krystal became a member of a dog pack.

A little background might be helpful. Krystal had been rescued as a stray, and I adopted her from a shelter. After the honeymoon period, Krystal began to show her intense fear of other dogs.

She would go into an absolute frenzy of fear barking. The dog on the receiving end would respond accordingly. I began to cultivate dog walking routes and times when other dogs wouldn't be around.

We went to obedience school, which helped a lot. I cannot say enough about that wonderful experience. We learned some new tactics for dealing with fear barking (more detail in later blog posts.)

These tactics worked (sort of,) so I kept them up. Over the last few months I've noticed them finally taking hold--consistency does work! Lately, I could see that Krystal was moving out of her dog-fear based world.

Then my friends came to stay for a week--Anne, John and their dog Winnie the Pooch.

Winnie's a very large Bearded Collie. Elderly, grounded and gentle. Krystal was wary and tetchy. Thankfully, Winnie was unflappable, regardless of Krystal's tetchiness.

There were no major incidents. I regarded the visit as a major success. With Winnie, Anne and John now living nearby, we had more visits and dog-sitting sessions.

Last weekend started out pretty normal. Krystal was pleased to see her new friend Winnie. But not especially overjoyed.

After all, Krystal was still a bit afraid of Winnie. If Winnie were sprawled in a doorway Krystal wanted to walk through, Krystal would consider for a long while before making several false starts to walk around Winnie and through the doorway. Eventually, Winnie would tire of Krystal's fretting and get up and move, so Krystal could go where she wanted to go.

The atmosphere began to change on Saturday. I was at the computer when Winnie decided she needed to go out. I didn't see her standing at the door. Krystal leaped from my lap, barking up a storm. She ran to Winnie at the front door, ran back and forth barking away, until I got up to see what was happening.

Suddenly, Winnie had her own personal "alert dog." It worked quite well. Krystal was pleased to perform the service. There was a new respect between them. I noticed Winnie did not devour the food Krystal left in her bowl.

Sunday morning I was in the kitchen, putting honey in my oatmeal. Something made me turn around. And there they were.

Two dogs standing side by side. Staring at me. A pack. Exchanging information in that silent unfathomable way dogs do. Four feet on the floor, in a standard dog stance, staring at me. Without any discernible signal they turned as one, and moved on to a more interesting part of the house.

I was breathless. Taken by surprise, my prayers had been answered. Krystal had found companionship among her own kind.