Hey, that living room may not be so bad after all!

Today has shown some unexpected progress.  I say unexpected because Chopper was having some stress today.  Our neighbor was using power tools in the backyard and Chopper was scared.  His favorite room is the dining room, which is in the back of our house and closest to the sound.  I thought, how can I mitigate this.  So I grabbed my lap top and put in a cd for Animal Healing. I put it in front of the window where most of the noise was coming in.  Then I grabbed a blanket and put it in the hallway, which is the furthest away he usually goes.  He went to the blanket and thankfully the outside noise stopped.  I'm not sure what Chopper thought of the cd.

The rest of the day he was sensitive.  Sounds and sights would make him pause.  He was especially freaked out by Greg's drill that was set on the dining room table (I moved it after that for a variety of reasons LOL).  Well later in the day Chopper was still sensitive, shaking and scared.  He wouldn't eat dinner though he kept looking at it longingly and would eat what I put directly between his two paws.  Ok, time to pull out the big guns, the anxiety wrap.  He always gives me the saddest eyes when I put it on him, like he's incredibly disappointed in me, but it never fails to give him confidence. 10 minutes in the wrap and he was up and eating.  After that he went outside and spent a good amount of time exploring the yard. Score 1 for the anxiety wrap!  I took it off him at that point as we haven't gone through the protocol to get him used to wearing it for long periods of time yet.  He was grateful and itchy. A few shots of him with the anxiety wrap:

Kolohe (with a new haircut) on the other side of the gate so Chopper can eat in peace. He's relieved he doesn't have to worry about her, but still seems to miss her :).

Beautiful boy!

Felt safe enough to get up and eat, yay!

I went into the living room after that and sat down with my computer. Chopper kept coming to the edge of the room and looking in. So I figured we'd see what happens if I sat on the floor in the middle of the room. Well wouldn't you know he came up to me.  He'd leave after 30 seconds to 2 minutes, and then kept returning.  Remembering the advice of my most recent dog consultation I didn't try to entice him. I didn't try to keep him, but I did give him lovely scratches when he asked.  Now remember, this room is very scary to Chopper. It is outside his "safe zone."  But here he is entering and exiting on his own, building confidence that he has a say and can return to his safe zone whenever he needs. Next thing I know he is sitting when he comes in.  And then he sits but starts looking around at the surroundings. After awhile I returned to sitting on the couch, and Chopper came in and laid down on the floor relaxing.  Now that is amazing progress. And I have photographic evidence:

Holy moly he's in the living room, AND lieing down relaxing. 

We brought in his blanket to help make him feel safer, but it has been commandeered.  Kolohe has a knack for finding the most comfortable place to relax.  You should see her around laundry.

Next time Imma gonna lie and say he bites!

I had a consult this Monday with an amazing trainer, Debbie Jacobs.  She specializes in fearful dogs, having one herself.  Her blogs and ebook have provided me with a lot of hope.  One of the key things I learned is not to mistake Chopper's curiosity for wanting attention.  I think I just assumed that when a dog approaches me or smells me they are asking for pettings.  To think of all those times I've reach out and potentially traumatized Chopper!  I have been pretty good about not going over to him and forcing attention on him, but I have assumed that him coming up to me and smelling was a request.  We do have one sure way to see if he wants attention: we crouch down.  When we crouch down he'll come over and lean against us. Then he wants to be rubbed, usually around his shoulders.

I've started some other activities with him, hopeful they'll bring him out of his fear more.  One is increasing his opportunities to be a scent hound and instead of feeding him in a bowl, putting handfuls of food around the room.  He *loves* it.  You can hear his hound nose working from the next room.

Today we took Chopper in the car again.  This time it was to take him to a local park another wonderful dog trainer had suggested in an appointment last month.  He was pretty excited in the car, and pooped again.  Luckily we were prepared and covered the back with rubber sheets :). At the park we discovered wide clear trails, with very little foot traffic.  That meant Chopper could explore and smell without much stress. We even ran together a bunch!  In fact, we were enjoying our time together so much I got complacent and dropped his leash.  Well he was sooo excited he took off.  I think my heart stopped, I literally think it stopped.  I at least lost a few years off my life. I went running after him, but I'm no competition for a coonhound. He got 50 yards away then turned and looked at me.  I waved treats, crouched down and pleaded, but it wasn't until he saw Kolohe with Greg behind me that he came running back. Whew.  I need a back up leash.

On our way back to the car a friendly elderly couple got out of their car and saw us with the dogs.  Greg was in front of me with Kolohe.  She was all too happy to wag adorably and let them pet her.  When I walked by with Chopper I said "he's scared of people, I'm just going to keep him over here" and put myself between the people and him.  Well damned if they didn't move closer, baby talk him saying "oooooh he's scared of dogs" and try to touch and pet him anyways.  Would it be bad form if I lied and said he bites next time?

 Two curious dogs:

 Me with the happy dog.

 Smiley boy.

 Found a giant quartz rock and had to take a break there.

 Happy boy on the way home.

Is that a smile?

Chopper was up and down today, as has been the pattern lately. He was mopey and shaking when Greg got up to feed him.  He was better when I got up, but still not the full happy self we've seen.  Well we have a secret weapon that cures what ails him: walks in the woods.  We leashed up the dogs and headed up our favorite path.  It's a gorgeous early Spring day here;:, some sunshine, 50 degree weather and birds chirping.  Chopper seemed to enjoy himself extra today, because we saw huge smiles!  And luckily for us here in the cyber world Greg brought his phone so I could prove it.

It is my goal to help bring out that smile as much as possible.  What a beautiful boy.  I've been looking into other paths in our area, ones that require a short drive. One was suggested by a local dog trainer, and it apparently doesn't have too much traffic along it.  Hopefully we'll get out there this week.

Medication

When we first got Chopper we were warned that he may need medication to help him with his anxiety. We noted it, but thought we'd wait and see. Greg and I subscribe to the theory that drugs should be used only if necessary. We aren't anti-drug, but we do believe we should be thoughtful about what we put into our, and our pets, bodies. Well since Chopper has been backsliding and less resilient we figured now may be time to give it a try. Plus a trainer I am consulting with made a good point--he may be far more miserable then we realize, he just can't tell us exactly.

I made an appointment to take Chopper to the vet. This would be his third car ride with us. The first was when I brought him home, which was very traumatic for Chopper. He jumped around the car manically, not understand what was going on. The second trip was his initial check up at the vet, which he handled beautifully. The third time, this time, he relieved himself in our car. Poor dear. I am guessing that because the car ride wasn't a regular thing it was too traumatic for him. I also wonder if not having Kolohe with him was stressful. Needless to say we were late to the vet because we had to clean the car and put down blankets etc. Thankfully they still fit us in. Greg just wanted to reschedule my exact response: "Are you kidding?? We need medication more then ever now!"

At the vet we met a new doctor. She was filling in for one who called out sick. Well things often work out the way they are supposed to, because she has a fearful dog too! So did the tech who was shadowing her! I felt like we were in very capable hands. She examined Chopper, drew some blood, and walked us through what to expect with the anxiety medicine. We learned that it can take about a month to really work into his system. At that time we'll revisit how he is doing to see if any adjustments need to be made. I also learned that the first few weeks he can seem almost sedated, and that is normal. There is a chance he may be weaned off the medicine at some point to see if he doesn't need it anymore. I'm not counting on that, but it's nice to know it's an option--the medicine isn't cheap. Still, if it helps, it's worth it!! I want this pup to experience how wonderful life can be, and right now he can't.

On the drive home from the vet it started to rain. Greg was driving and he turned on the rear windshield wiper on our SUV. Well that turned out to be a mistake, Chopper freaked out. He jumped over the backseat and into the front seat where he stood in my lap shaking. I hugged him close, rubbing him gently. I think perhaps I was a human anxiety wrap at that point. We drove along until we could find a safe place to pull over and got him out of the car and into the very back where it was safer for him. I switched to the back seat to both keep him from jumping over, and to comfort him. I fed him cheese and gave him rubs on his shoulders and shank. While I'm not happy he was scared, I am happy to see that he sees me as a place of safety and comfort. Also happy that he didn't try to jump in the drivers lap.

Here's a photo Greg took of me acting as human Anxiety Wrap for Chopper.  It's early on, he got further and further in my lap until you almost couldn't see me anymore.