Gill Tuxworth Ltd Canine Consultant T/A Top Dog

Part 6 November 2011

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:10:00 +0000

Well, here we are in November 2011, where has the time gone?

Jed is still part of the family and his forte is in baby-sitting, he plays and cares for all our young visitors. He may still have difficulty in interacting with humans, and who can blame him after his start in life, but he speaks canine and has an affinity with every dog he meets, especially the younger ones

He is still psychologically damaged but is making progress all the time. He is no longer frightened of visitors; he just takes his time to get to know them but will allow them to interact with him after a few minutes He does not like his collar being held but, given the option of flight, he will choose to stay with you and be brushed, ears cleaned and teeth examined. We respect his wishes and do not hold on to him and he respects and trusts us not to hurt him

He is gradually moving into another phase of his life where, instead of shutting down and not allowing himself to feel or react, he now reacts to situations and responds to our leadership. He barks at perceived danger but is happy to give the role of decision maker to us. He reacted, for the first time this year to fireworks but responded beautifully to our response and he now wags his tail in pleasure or anticipated pleasure and allows himself to smile, as only Jed can.

We do not focus on how far we have to go but on what he has achieved in his time with us. We wait to see if we can eventually take him out on a lead as at the moment he still reacts, but not as severely, to the sight of a lead. We can only imagine what has happened to him for him to react in this way but he will walk with us around the house and garden without a lead.

He is a wonderful boy to live with and continues to teach me canine every day.

Part 5 June 2010

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:14:00 +0000

Jed was really beginning to relax, his inquisitive nature and mischievous personality was blossoming.

When visitors came to the house Jed would take the opportunity to go up to them and sniff and much to our delight not one person made eye contact with him or tried to touch him. He would then retire to a respectful distance and lie down and instead, as before, of watching them he would often sleep on his side.

When we were playing in the garden with the dogs he would join in, at a slight distance, and really enjoy chasing the balls or other dogs. If one of the dogs dropped the ball he would charge past them, collect the ball without stopping, throw it in the air and catch it whilst still on the move. Eventually he would drop the ball for another dog to collect and return to us. Jed was particularly talented at digging holes and he encouraged the rest of the pack to join in, much to Col’s despair!

The dogs in the garden with me and my niece Emma. Emma has initiated play with Jake whilst stroking Lily and then becomes engaged in a conversation with me as Jake brings the kong back and deposits it at my feet. When this action gets no reaction from me Jed and Jake continue to play on their own.Notice how Jed rebounds off Jake... as usual.

At about this time Jed began to bark at us when we emerged from the house or left the property whilst he was in the garden. Each time Jed barked at us we would go back indoors, wait until he was quiet and then try again. What a test of patience and perseverance this was as sometimes we could attempt to go out, maybe only intending to put the washing on the line or down to the garden shed, ten times before he would allow us to leave without barking. When we left the property he began to whine behind the gate so we performed lots of gesture leaving. This could be very time consuming as often it could take ten minutes before we could leave the house without him barking but it was what he needed to reinforce our leadership. The last thing we wanted was for Jed to exchange fear for leadership.

Jed and Toby in the garden.

Jed had certainly found his voice and also barked when he played and when anyone came to the house but responded beautifully to ‘thank you’.

He had stopped destroying his bed, soiling at night, he would also sleep through and could no longer be heard playing in the dead of night.

If anything different happened, visitors or illness, human or canine, Jed still had a tendency to circle, not spin, and to scent mark indoors (but this was becoming very infrequent) and his confidence was growing.

We took the opportunity to go away on holiday, taking Jake and Lily with us and leaving the elderly Cassie, Megan and Toby at home with Jed in the capable hands of my mum. Mum only lives five minutes down the road and was (is) a frequent visitor and carer if we are not available.

Mum reported that Jed was quite happy, playing and eating as usual but she could not persuade him to go into the kitchen at bed time. He refused to leave his bed in the lounge at night or when she left the property so she left him there where he felt safe. Unfortunately, he destroyed the hearth rug, his bed and urinated on every item of furniture. He was obviously stressed and struggling to cope with the change but mum didn’t scold him. She removed the hearth rug, the filling from his bed and was constantly cleaning after him. We felt very sorry for both of them.

When we returned it only took Jed 24hours to revert to is previous behaviour and he spent the first six of those playing with Jake. If he was not pestering Jake to play he was with him, mirroring his every action and had obviously missed him very much. We are due to go away again in October and it would be nice to think that Jed will be ready to go away with us but this depends totally on his progress.

On the 29th July, a day we will never forget, something amazing happened. I called Jed to me, as I often did, and instead of him stopping inches away from me, he came to my hand and pushed his face into it.

Jed and I had our first contact which progressed to a cuddle. I cannot put into words how that felt, his coat was so soft as he has not had this interaction before and had no human oil on his coat, his eyes were soft and his body so well-muscled despite never having been for a walk in his life!

What a wonderful day!

Jed watching Pam Shaw and Ruddi.

Part 4. March 2010

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 12:16:00 +0000

Jed was continuing to make progress despite the fact that we lost Luna in February. It has been sad times for us all as we had become very fond of her and she was due to go to her forever home on the day she started fitting and never recovered.

Jed would now go in and out of the house on his own and would happily go into the kitchen at bed time and when we were leaving the house if we just called him, turned our backs and walked a few steps up the stairs. You can gather by this that we continually had to find new ways to show him that we were not a threat.

By April he would relax within 6 feet of us outside and parallel walk with us as we went about our business in the garden. When called he came to within six feet immediately and was praised for this but any attempt to move or lean forward would mean that he would back off and feel threatened. In the house he was much more settled in his bed and would sleep on his side close to my feet. Occasionally he would leave his bed and fetch toys from another place (where he had left them or one of the other dogs had taken them) and return with them to his bed. He didn’t mind the other dogs taking them, sometimes from underneath him, and if one of our other dogs claimed his vacant bed he would relax and lay on his side on the rug between the sofas.

These improvements seem so small when writing them but to us, and him, they were huge.

We could see the beginnings of trust that have continued throughout his time here. He was relaxing more, lying on his side, snoring and dreaming, and each week was getting closer to us each time we called him. He would still parallel walk but now two feet away and when called, by early June, he would come to us and sniff our hand but not allow us to stroke him, look at him or lean towards him.

One day in early June Col was walking down the garden with Jed and the other dogs in close proximity and Jed began barking and play bowing to him, started circling Col and then raced up to him, nipped his tee shirt and ran away again. We couldn’t allow this lack of respect and the very next time Jed did this Col turned and looked him straight in the face and gave him ‘the look you mother gave you’ (remember?). Jed had asked the question ‘you are part of my pack but where do you fit when we are outside?’ and received the answer ‘higher than you and I deserve respect out here too’ Jed never did this again and continued to interact with us as before.

We had noticed that previously and very occasionally Jed smiled at us with his ears slightly back in a respectful manner and now he was doing this more and more. When we spoke to him, as we often did because this was one form of interaction that he was less threatened by, he started tilting his head from side to side with a lovely smile on his face and very soft eyes. This, of course, made us smile and laugh at him so he did it all the more. It almost became his ‘party piece’ but we resisted showing everyone that visited. Those that saw it were very privileged and extremely amused.

Lily sharing Jed's bed June 2010

Jed was becoming a real character and his true personality was starting to blossom. All our pack loved him even though, at times, the older ones had to put him in his placed and he accepted this with grace. After this he would find at least one of the dogs to play with and ultimately end up with a rough and tumble around the garden with Jake, the 10- year old German Short Haired Pointer. Jake was and still is so tolerant of Jed’s behaviour and seemed to understand that he did not have the opportunity to learn ‘pack manners’ before he came here. When Jed acted like a puppy and pushed a little too far Jake reprimanded him, as though he was a puppy, with no aggression. Jed often wore a bemused expression after charging up to Jake, hitting him square on the side and ricocheting off leaving Jake just standing there! Often, after shaking himself Jed would return just to stand next to Jake and wait until Jake was ready to instigate play with him.

Jake and Jed relaxing in the sitting room May 2010

My pack has taught me so much and reaffirmed time after time that Amichien Bonding comes from the canine. Jed, in particular, has taught me patience and the value of appreciating every improvement, however small.

A much happier Jed in his bed June 2010

Jed's blog part 3

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 11:22:00 +0000

5th January 2010

I awoke the next morning and Jed was still quiet, had something happened to him in the night, was the stress of carrying him into the house just too much for him?

Why do we worry?

I came downstairs, let our dogs outside, went into the kitchen without glancing in Jed’s direction opened his crate door and he shot out into the garden with the rest of the dogs. That was the easy part, how was I going to get him back inside? It was literally freezing out there and not even a new dog would keep our pack outside when they had done ‘their duty’.

Getting Jed in was so easy, Jake, our German shorthaired pointer, came back inside closely (and I mean very closely) followed by Jed. Jake came into the kitchen and Jed shot into his crate soon to be joined by Toby, then Megan ( brother and sister Jack Russell x Yorkshire terriers) who hadn’t had the luxury of a crate for quite some time and were determined to share it. Jed was happy to be safe in the back of the crate with his two new friends guarding the entrance.

I carried on my normal morning routine and although I was desperate to keep an eye on Jed I knew that I had to just ignore him……which as we all know is easier said than done but I just did it. I really had to practice what I preach and it would do me (and our dogs) good to apply 101% AB for Jed’s sake.

Feeding time for the dogs was interesting as we gesture ate for them all and as Toby and Megan came out of the crate for their food I popped Jed’s meal in the crate, fastened the door and stood back, playing at the kitchen sink whilst watching his reflection in the kitchen window. He ate every morsel and I removed his bowl and left the crate door open. Jake ‘asked ‘to go outside so, I opened the door and all the dogs went out with Jed following close on Jakes tail.

This was going to be the key to Jed’s rehabilitation.

A still very worried Jed pictured in his bed in the living room

I called the dogs back inside and, true to form, Jake came in and Jed followed.

The day went well and Jed just followed Jake until Jake came inside without Jed noticing resulting in Jed going frantic in the garden racing around and circling flower pots and beds. It was a sorry sight to see. I asked Jake to go outside and fetch Jed in……… and he did it……… really, I opened the door wide and indicated for Jake to go outside and when Jed saw him he attached himself to his shadow and happily came inside. Poor Jed, he lay in his crate and his head was moving to the rapid beat of his heart!

Night followed day, as it does, and Jed began to get used to the routine and was spending more time in ‘his’ bed, which Lily gave up a little reluctantly, in the sitting room only retiring to the kitchen at bed time to avoid any destruction and soiling in the sitting room. Jed played at night and as we lay in bed we could hear him throwing toys around the kitchen, maybe this was the only time he felt ‘safe ‘ enough to play. If we left toys with him he was less likely to destroy anything else in the kitchen although he still soiled every night.

After about two weeks Jed was showing signs of relaxing a little and would approach us, when we were sitting and quiet, to sniff and occasionally lick our limbs. We, of course, ignored this, but with great difficulty as we really wanted to stroke him and show our growing love for him.

It was about this time that we heard that his owner, the vet who rescued him had found him a new home!

We had to make a realistic judgement now and not let our hearts rule our heads. Would his new home give him that extra something that we could not? Would he have canine company and would he get more attention (although this would not be a good thing at this time but may be in the future) than he could get from us as we had to divide our attention between six dogs.

This was a real dilemma for us and it was so difficult to object because he wasn’t our dog and his rightful owner, as we were constantly reminded by a Dog Listener who would support his new owners, had the right to move him where she wanted.

It was at this point that we realised how much we did love him and that we would do whatever it took to keep him, believing that this was the correct decision for him.

I tried to get in contact with his owner but was unable to speak to her, as I found out later, she was so busy setting up and opening a new veterinary practice herself and barely had time to eat and sleep let alone speak to someone whose name she didn’t recognise.

Thankfully Jan Fennell , the original Dog Listener,managed to get to speak to her, explained Jed’s circumstances and assured her that he was receiving the rehabilitation he required and at last he was happy amongst a pack that understood and cared for him.

I have often heard it said that ‘it is not what you know but who you know that matters’ and we shall be forever grateful to Jan for enabling us to keep Jed.

It was agreed that Jed could stay with us but we’ll never know whether he was as happy and relieved as we felt! We hope so.

A great cloud had had been lifted and we settled into life with our pack of six dogs and one very special foster dog Luna. Jed pictured safely behind Luna

3rd January 2010

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:37:00 +0000

On the 3rd of January with Jed’s only companion, Luna, fighting for her life in the excellent hands of the local vets we set about bringing him home with us.

We took everything at Jed’s pace, very, very slowly, and after 2 hours we set off for home with Jed, in his crate, in the back of our vehicle. Jed was then carried in his crate into the workshop at the bottom of the garden. This was a difficult procedure as he was a good weight but it was made more difficult because Jed moved around his crate in an agitated fashion, every back breaking step of the way.

Eventually we reached the workshop, opened the crate door and exited, leaving the workshop door ajar so Jed could venture outside into a secure garden when he was ready. Jed remained in his crate for the next few hours probably enjoying the warmth of his new surroundings.

Jed eventually emerged and we watched from the kitchen window as he investigated his surroundings, attended to his toilet needs and sniffed the air. He kept looking towards the house and then retreated back to his den.

We let our five dogs into the main garden, separated from Jed’s garden by a wooden trellis like fence, and he immediately emerged, tail wagging and whining and very happy to be in the company of our pack. Our pack was surprised to see him in the ‘forbidden’ part of the garden but never the less very pleased to meet him. After a while I called our dogs into the house and Jed, once again retreated to his den but re appeared, as before, every time our dogs were in the garden.

At feeding time Jed flew to the furthest corner of the workshop to watch me gesture eat and didn’t venture out to eat his meal so his meal was removed untouched. Jed couldn't yet cope with even the briefest glance or eye contact.

Later in the evening I went and secured the workshop door and left Jed curled up in his crate next to the radiator.

It felt very much like having a new baby in the house as I spent all night listening for any sound that might mean he was distressed. Not a sound came from the workshop overnight and when I got up very early the next morning to let him out he had not soiled and after I had left the enclosure he dashed out to relieve himself. He was very pleased to see our dogs in the main part of the garden and ran up and down the fence whining. When I went to ‘poop a scoop’ Jed dashed into the safety of the workshop and emerged again once the coast was clear. At feeding time he, once again, refused his meal and I removed it untouched.

We noticed that while our dogs were in the garden Jed would not go inside the workshop and tried to escape from his garden to join them, deciding that canine company was the best way forward for him we introduced him to each of our dogs in turn. Well, to be truthful, Jed and Jake introduced themselves initially because if we moved at all Jed would panic and fly around the garden in sheer panic. One by one we let our other dogs out of the house and Jed interacted with them as though he was part of their pack.

After a while we called our dogs into the house and Jed raced for the safety of the workshop so we closed the garden gate and Jed seemed happy to spend some time inside.

We reintroduced them later in the day but if we attempted to move or glance in his direction Jed would charge around the garden in panic.

At feeding time Jed ate half of his meal before leaving the bowl when he heard a noise outside so once again he lost his meal….but only half of it!

We followed the same routine as the night before and I secured the workshop door to allow the warmth to build up inside. Jed did not agree with my decision and barked and howled for 10 minutes and then seemed to settle.

We retired to bed as before and I was very tired as I seemed to have spent the whole previous night awake listening for Jed. Tonight I did not have to listen hard at all for at 10 30 Jed began to howl and bark and had no intention of stopping. What were we going to do?

How do you reassure a dog that isn’t reassured by human presence and won’t let you within 10 feet of him? My tired brain was trying to find the solution but my body just wanted to go to sleep. We decided to go down to the workshop, in our night clothes of course when the temperature was minus 4, and try to secure him in his crate and carry him back to the house.

So……..we entered the workshop and Jed flew to the back of his crate and stayed there……..I hadn’t dared hope that Jed would co-operate and here he was in his crate. We secured the door and proceeded to carry him out of the workshop across the two gardens, down a 12 inch drop onto the patio and in through the door of the cottage. I couldn’t believe how heavy he was and this was made worse by the fact that he was spinning in the crate despite it being covered over. My poor back, fragile at the best of times, was breaking, it was freezing cold and we had to keep putting the crate down every few yards as I couldn’t carry it any further. I knew at once that I was not Antarctic Expedition material!

We eventually navigated ‘through’ our five, very interested, dogs and manoeuvred the crate into the kitchen where we removed the cover and left Jed in the company of Toby. With all the dogs settled again we went back to bed where I, once again, laid listening for Jed. There was not a sound from anyone apart from Lily snoring .

The picture below shows a very worried Jed in the garden with Jake, Toby and Cassie.