A Pupdate

I totally stole "pupdate" from someone else--it's adorable isn't it?

Anyways, it was an interesting day yesterday. When I got home from work I let the dogs outside first thing.  A neighbor was in his backyard on the phone, which made Kolohe bark. Normally if Kolohe barks and/or if someone is talking near by Chopper runs back inside.  This time he got scared, moved low to the ground, but still went outside to pee!  It was an interesting and positive change.  When he came back inside he was still thrown off.  He didn't want to be in the back of the house, and when he was, he was staring out the kitchen window towards the direction of the sound. Never mind the fact he never actually saw anyone, he was looking for them!  But he didn't go into completely Chop-down.  Usually he gets on his blanket, goes internal and won't interact.  He just got scared this time, though he did lie on his Spongebob blanket :).  I had to feed him from there, but by the end of the night he had stopped looking out the window.

Here he is on the blanket with his eyes clear and body relaxed:

This morning he was in a great mood--a spring in his step with everything he did.  Eating, going outside, even when he came to tell me he had to go back outside (which he isn't too confident at yet typically).  When I went to put the dogs back in the bedroom to go back to sleep with Greg, his tail was doing a small but quick excited wag at the door. 

Life is good

I have been traveling for work again, just returning home last night.  I was away for work, and then later at an annual conference I attend for a health community I am a part of.  The work went well, as did the conference. And as you can see from the pictures, I fit in time for puppies, too :). A girl has to have her priorities.

The puppies are rescues, and as I write this the one closest to me is on her way to her new home, but the curly haired one closest to the camera is still looking for a home. If you are interested, contact me privately and I'll pass on the information of the rescue agency she is at. She is just darling, would do with a quieter home, and some company during the day--people or animal. She is very perceptive, watched me quite a bit for clues, I think she'd do great at training.

Anyways, me being gone means Greg was left by himself with Chopper. Just like last time, Greg made incredible progress with Chopper while I was gone.  I'd be upset by that except I'm just happy Chops is improving.  While  I was gone Chopper was able to progress going down our wooden stairs unassisted. In the beginning he tried  to run down them as fast as possible and with wooden stairs that's pretty dangerous! Now he takes it really slowly and deliberately, which is the behavior we were waiting for before letting him off on his own. 

Another improvement Greg made was figuring out a way to bring Chopper out of his fugue state (aka Chop-town).  He discovered that if he crouched down next to Chopper, reached underneath his chin and rubbed his neck and chin soothingly it would bring Chopper back to the present with a pretty good success rate.  I had been operating under the principle that you never touch him unless he asks, but clearly there is an exception. 

Chopper has also taken to the dog bed in our bedroom. At first he only slept on his blanket, but then one day Kolohe usurped it in the middle of the night and Chopper returned the favor by taking her bed. Greg got photographic proof:

Now Chopper sleeps there almost exclusively.I may leave town more just so I can see the progress when I return :).

Speaking of returning, Chopper was so excited when I came home from the airport I got play bows, dancing, and I even heard a tiny excited whimper!  It's the most animated I've seen him in a long time.  Also his eyes were so clear and present for the longest time. I think between the work I've been doing, Greg's been doing, and the higher dose of his medicine we are starting to see some real change.

walks are the new prozac

Today Chopper was in Chop-town a bit more again.  It all started this morning right when he was about to eat--I dropped something on the ground. (Nothing informs you about your real level of klutziness like having an anxious dog).  It was a small cookie cutter I used to make bite sized sandwiches at a party this weekend. It didn't make a lot of noise, but it had a lasting effect.  He was on his way to his food bowl when it happened, and stopped and went to the bottom of the stairs to our bedroom instead of eating. I've learned that you shouldn't force him, and him having a say in what he does can be helpful. So I put his food up for Greg to try when he woke and helped Chopper upstairs.

Well Chopper didn't eat breakfast. And when I came home from work, he wouldn't eat dinner either.  He would eat his favorite dog biscuit though. An interesting change. Normally when he is in Chop-town he won't eat anything.

Chopper finally ate something this evening but went right back to his blanket. He wouldn't go outside. Knowing what that means for our hardwood floors we got our secret weapon--the leash.  The second I said the word walk he perked up. When we pulled out the leash he jumped up and started wagging, even did play bows and a few hops.  Suddenly, we have a different dog! Outside it was tail wags right away. And here is where the progress kicked in: he wasn't bothered by cars driving by, not even the loud ones!  A stranger walked by and he tried to run to her!  The whole walk he was feeling the joy.  I love seeing this side of him. I wish I knew how to bring it inside.

One thing a trainer suggested was to do some of his training outside when he is happy.  I thought that was a great idea. We could do some basic obedience training outside--sit, stay, etc. And then hopefully create some new neural pathways that could work inside.  I'd need one of those running leashes that hook onto my waist first, though, I'd want both hands free.

Picture time! When we got home from our walk and Chops got spooked again he looked up at Greg with big pleading eyes.  I told Greg, he wants you to comfort him.  So Greg did, and look at how Chops reacted:

I don't think I've seen a more relaxed dog. 


Oh wait, maybe I have:

Couldn't you just snuggle up to him?  One day, maybe :).

Small changes

We are seeing some small changes with Chopper.  Less time spent in total Chop-down is a big one.   He still has a few a day, but maybe only two spells for example. 

I've been continuing my protocol.  This morning he wasn't that into the hand targeting/clicker training, but he gave it a shot.  I did the anxiety wrap twice today. He doesn't seem to like it, and I hate having to touch him so much to put it on, but it makes a huge difference.  When he has it on his eyes are normal and clear. He relaxes and lays down. When I take it off he comes over right away for scratches, often wanting to go outside. 

The walks are making a huge difference, too.  It seems that the ones at night are when he's most relaxed.  Less people and sounds are probably the reason there. Fine by me!  His tail goes up immediately, and he gives the "let's run" move earlier and earlier.  Greg happily obliges. And Chopper cracks me up when he runs, he's just so innocently joyful. I know the feeling, being a runner myself.  

Kolohe loves the walks, too. I'm starting to think about enrolling her in an agility class. Not that she's a natural athlete--she's not--but she'd love it.  She certainly loved climbing up the jungle gym with me at the park the other day:

She was less enthused with going down the slide, but she gave it her all. I also think she could use a little special attention.  Chopper gets a lot because he's special needs, but Kolohe is confident and settled and goes with the flow. Still, it isn't fair to her and I've love to do something special with her.

Anyways, I'm feeling more positive with the changes in Chopper, even if they are small. I remember reading about fearful dogs that that's the way it is--but they do add up. 

Back to Basics

So in an effort to stay focused on a few small basic steps I started off the day with the anxiety wrap on Chopper. It did not go well. He was lieing on his blanket in Chop-town (our name for when the lights turn off in his eyes). I tried to put him in it as he was laying down but it required a lot more handling then he normally gets. He shook while I was putting it on, and right after I took it off. Ok, so lesson learned, not appropriate at this point in time.

This evening we attempted our focus #2: walks.  The second we pulled out the leashes Chopper transformed. He was happy and playful--that dog I knew in our 3 week video again! He was just so cute running around and doing play bows.  When we took him outside his tail went up and he was trotting along. He even did this little head jerk motion that I've learned means: I just gotta run!  So we did. Ok, so Greg ran with the hound dog and me and the golden mutt did our best to not be left in their dust.

When we got home Chopper was smiling and in a great mood. I took this time to do focus #3, the hand targetting clicker training. He knows this game so it doesn't require the stress of figuring out what I want, and since he was already in a good mood I though maybe it could do some help.  Our neighbors were moving out at the same time and he was distracted from time to time, but overall, he did great.

Finally, to cap the night off, I went back to the anxiety wrap.  The protocol is to put it on him twice a day for 20 minutes at a time. He was standing up this time. In fact he was pacing the house, going from his safe place in the dining room to the landing at the bottom of the stairs up to our bedroom. I put on the anxiety wrap and he settled right down.  First he stopped pacing and started smiling again from his walk. Ignore the eyes, the angle makes them look creepy LOL.

Then he settled down on his blanket.  Look at how relaxed he is. And cute.  Not that I'm biased or anything.

So my focuses are: 1) Anxiety wrap, 2) walks, and 3) easy clicker stuff.  I'd like to add 4) post on this blog regularly, it really helps me stay focused and think about his rehabilitation in a more wholistic way then when I don't post. 

And, just for fun is a picture of us on our walk in a local park on Sunday. It's so pretty this time of year.

Starting over

We've been struggling quite a bit with Chopper still. It seems like we never really make progress on certain things.  The worst of it has been him eliminating in the house. For the first 3 weeks we had him he was completely house trained.  Then, he started peeing and pooping in the house at night.  Greg figured outt he way around that was to put Chopper in our room at night.  That required teaching him stairs, which Greg did when I was away for a conference.  Turns out Chopper settles down ok in our room. Often times when he gets super spooked he'll run up the stairs on his own to go where it's usually quiet.  But, there are still times Chopper is left alone in the house and he eliminates. 

Take today for example.  He got pretty spooked by something. We couldn't figure out what had happened to set him off, but he was definitely having a hard time.  Once he goes down that path every little thing makes him jump.  Well, we finally got him downstairs and into the dining room where he is gated when we leave.  Off we went to a party and when we came back the dining room was covered in pee, and the kitchen had two piles of poop in it. Not really sure why--he went out not long before we left.  We have hardwood floors, however, and the pee has started to soak through into our basement. This is a big problem.  I really wish we had a solution.

I've reread a lot of the things that the trainers I've consulted with suggested.  I'm going to try backing up and starting at the beginning.  That means simple games, do hand targeting from the start, and get him used to the anxiety wrap once and for all. I hope it makes a difference.