Tinsel's Journey

[Calliesmom]

The new school was not at all what I wanted for Tinsel so I talked to Mirkka about it. She suggested I bring him to her Shy Dog class as often as I can. It's almost 2 hours to her other hall. I wondered how on earth I was going to be able to do this when I got an email from her today. She's decided to run a class at the hall we were going to on Saturdays. It took us about 1 second to enroll him. He's doing well, his ear issue is cleaned up, his tear duct is partially opened and his attitude continues to improve. We took him on a bush walk last weekend and he acted like a normal dog. His nose was working overtime - that's a first on a walk. Usually he just stops once or twice but this time he made sure he smelled everything.
He has started to "bark" while he spins when I get his food ready. Since barking can be a bad habit I interupt him with an UH UH and as soon as he stops he gets praised. Before I give him his food he must sit quietly for 10 seconds. He still sounds like a sick seal pup when he barks. Never the less, I won't encourage by giving him his food until he settles. Mean me eh??? Can you believe it is almost a year that he has been here?

you have made such great progress over the last year
that is great that the class will be closer to you- makes it so much easier to actually go.

my pups get very excited when I get their food ready- at one point, I had been stopping if they barked but I gave up. we are back to doing that- they have to sit and be quiet while I pour kibble into their bowls and while I add whatever on top. if they jump up and/or bark, I stop and wait for them to sit again. they are getting much better in the last couple months. then they have to wait until I tell them to go to their crates which they run to. then they have to sit again before I bring their bowls over and then they have to wait until I tell them they can eat. I guess I torture mine just a little more

 

[Sharon7]

Amazing progress that Tinsel has made. Can't believe it's been almost a year. I hope looking back you are amazed yourself at what you have been able to accomplish with such a damaged little guy. I love hearing all about his progress and adventures. Go team Tinsel!

 

[Tagg]

Had to share. My blacksmith was just in and as usual came in for a coffee and chat after he was done with the horses. He just walked in, sat at the island and ignored the dogs.
Rhi, the terv, did her usual "I want to sit with Terry and get scratches the whole time he is here" and Phoebe stood up at his chair and demanded attention too. Tinsel normally lays at the other end of the room observing but not this time. This time he bounced across the room wagging his tail, did a spin in front of Terry and rammed between the other two so he could get lovings too. Terry reached down to give him a scratch and then looked at me and said with surprise " Is this the little scared dog you had before???" When I told him it was he said he never expected to see this dog get overtly friendly. I am soooooooo proud of our boy child. This promises to be a good day. Now I'm off to an aggressive/reactive dog seminar with Mirkka. Maybe I'll learn something today that can help someone one day.

 

[Sharon7]

Grinning from ear to ear, here. And now.... ahem.... pictures of Tinsel???? Pleeeeze?

 

[mellie]

Grinning from ear to ear, here. And now.... ahem.... pictures of Tinsel???? Pleeeeze?

Yes pictures of Tinsel and a "report" from the reactive dog class...Sally is sometimes reactive with other dogs lately and I need to work on this. Your life with Tinsel has been an encouragement to me and I often tell discouraged pet parents how you have given Tinsel a new life- a great life and that it IS possible to open up a scared and closed up heart with love and patience.

 

[Tagg]

As always, Mirkka was really informative and her experience showed when she discussed these behaviours and ways to deal with them. If you want to PM me with what you are seeing I will try to regurgitate what she said. Some interesting points were:
On leash dogs cannot use their body language (calming signals) effectively.

Being tethered, escape is not possible so forces a fight or flight response.

It is a learned behaviour that is reinforced easily: it works to make the trigger go away either by the stimulus leaving or by you making the decision to move.

Often exacerbated by the handler's reaction, e.g. tightening of leash, scolding, you becoming upset.

Dogs end up getting a lot of learning opportunities each time they are exposed to the stimulus and the reaction of the owner remains the same.

Behaviour change does NOT happen at the moment when "the dog is behaving badly" the homework has to be done when the dog is in a non-reactive state.

You can have a very obedient dog that is reactive/aggressive. We need to change an emotional response which means managing as opposed to training.

Stress leads to an upswing in stress hormones that can last up to 72 hours. During this time the dog is more likely to react badly repeatedly to stimulus within or outside of it's home.

I suggested that the students of this seminar go visit one of our larger dog shows to watch the terrier group. This is a group of dogs that have a high likelihood of dog aggression as they are bred to stand up for themselves in order to do their jobs. Judges call them out in groups to "spar" which is to face another dog or dogs and NOT BACK DOWN. They don't want fights but they want to see that the dogs have the confidence to stand their ground without erupting into violence. Now watch in the group were the breed winners of each of those breeds, already stimulated in the breed ring, chase each other around a ring being tethered only by a shoe lace of a lead. What are the handlers doing to keep them under control and not turning to fight with the dog behind them. Watch closely and observe the body language of both the dog and the handler. It's really interesting and you will see the calming signals, the close monitoring of doggy body language and the subtle management that the handler uses to keep the dog under control.

 

[Tagg]

It's been awhile since I tried to upload pictures so bear with me please. We are 2 days shy of the day my Tinsel came to us. These are from today.

 

[Mr.B's Mom]

After seeing these wonderful pictures, I went back to your first post. This is truly an amazing story. Thank you for all you have done. And thank you for reminding me what love and patience has the power to do.

 

[Sharon7]

Awww, love the toothy smile. Thanks for sharing the pictures. He looks very content and calm to me. What an enormous change. Happy Anniversary to you and the Tin Man!

 

[mellie]

Fantastic pics !! He is very handsome and happy looking- love the bridge shot. Thanks for showing us your sweet boy. I will pm you with Sally's issues as soon I can get my thoughts in order about it.