She told me that Shasta looked like a cross between Lucky and Natalie and that it warmed her heart that Shasta looked like a combination of our two girls. Natalie was an aussie, so I was anxious to see what an ausie/shepherd would look like. When I got to their house yesterday, I understood what she was talking about. Shasta is definitely an aussie . . . in body style and fur, her tail . . . . she was all aussie . . . but she was black and tan in coloring, just like a shepherd and she had shepherd ears that stood up, instead of a normal aussie ear that flops down. She grabbed my heart immediately, not just because of how much she looked like Natalie and Lucky, but because she had the most incredibly soulful eyes.
My clients were concerned about her anxiety and having never had a rescue dog before, they were also worried about how to correct the unwanted behaviors she was exhibiting, as the last thing they wanted to do was cause anymore stress for a dog who had been through so much in her first 3-4 years.
Fortunately, Shasta was incredibly receptive to the energy and she immediately laid down and started to soak it up, while I talked with her mom and dad about their concerns and questions. She even fell asleep for a while, which shocked her parents, as they hadn't seen her that relaxed since she came to live with them two weeks ago.
As is very common with rescue dogs, they have a fear of being given up, especially if they have changed homes more than once and they can experience a lot of anxiety. Shasta spent the first few years of her life living with a woman who worked all the time and she spent almost every day alone in the backyard. Eventually, she figured out how to get out of the yard and would wait on the porch for her guardian to come home and while it didn't concern her guardian, it concerned the postal worker who came to the house every day. Lets just say, Shasta didn't make him feel welcome, and her guardian was forced to give her up. She went to the shelter, then to a rescue group, was adopted out, and then returned, then back in a foster home. She was experiencing a lot of fear that she wouldn't get to stay in this new home very long either, which was why she was being "velcro girl." We talked to her about how she was never going to have to change homes again, that this was her forever home. I could feel that a lot of her anxiety was tied to this fear, so I knew it was important to assure her that she wasn't going to have to change homes again.
I realized that Shasta didn't have as advanced of a vocabulary as most dogs her age, probably because she spent so much time alone in her first three years. (Since animals learn our language from being around us, just like babies, they need to be exposed to hearing people talk if they are going to learn the language). I talked to her guardians about keeping the communication simple for a while, until she has a chance to expand her vocabulary. It made sense to them, as they knew she was really smart and had shown she could learn some things quickly, but sometimes, she didn't seem to understand them at all. They realized that when she didn't understand them, they were probably using too many words and talking too fast.
We discussed the delicate balance of correcting behavior in an animal that is already fearful. It is something that is very important to be aware of when you have adopted a rescue animal. If you come on too strong, you can make the animals behavior worse, but if you are too soft, you can end up with a situation that is equally out of control. Between my experience with Lucky, as well as the years I volunteered for the German Shepherd Rescue organization, I learned just how important it is to find that balance.
One of the key ingredients to me is redirection. If an animal is doing something you don't want them to do (i.e. chewing on one of your shoes), it is not helpful to just yell at the dog for chewing the shoe, nor is it helpful to just ignore your now destroyed loafer. You need to show them what they CAN chew on. Sure, tell them "no" as you take the shoe away, but then you need to help them understand what IS acceptable to chew on. Animals learn incredibly fast when you use redirection as a method of training.
Anyway, back to Shasta. She soaked up a ton of energy and her parents said she looked like a different dog by the end of the treatment. She was so calm and relaxed. They all walked me to the gate together and when her dad opened the gate, he asked her to sit. She sat immediately but then a couple seconds later, she got up and started exploring the front yard. Her dad called her back and she immediately responded. He asked her to sit and she did. However, two seconds later, she was up exploring the front yard again.
I smiled at her dad and said, "Do you mind a little feedback?" and he said, "Absolutely, I'm open" so I pointed out that he wasn't telling her how LONG she had to sit, which was why she came to him and sat each time, but only for a second or two. We all had a good laugh and her dad said he'd start working on a release command so that she could learn that she needed to sit until he said it was OK to go. He tried it before I walked away and Shasta sat and stayed while I walked down the driveway and to my car. (Talk about a quick learner!)
As I drove away from their house, I knew everything was going to be OK. I smiled as I thought about what a beautiful new beginning it was for all of them. For my clients who were welcoming a new family member into their home and hearts and for Shasta, who was going to learn that she was now truly "home." I have a feeling they are all going to live happily ever after.
No comments:
Post a Comment