On Friday March 20th, Diego showed me that the months of work we have done really has made a difference. A huge difference. Not just in a training situation either. He was actually relaxed while we casted him for his orthosis (a custom made brace for his front left leg, to support it because he has carpal hyperextension). It involved standing up and having measurements taken of his legs, testing the degree of collapse in his left wrist (which was painful), and lying so very still while the cast hardened. He let Dr Julia and I do all of this without a single lip lift, growl, or snarl. He lied quietly on his side and when he wiggled, stopped when I asked him to. The video we sent
OrthoPets of him moving around the room shows him relaxed and comfortable, despite something very different going on.
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| Orthosis casting day! |
Diego's consultation at my work was... not pretty. He was worried about everyone and everything. His consult was done not long after he came to live with me so we could determine the best plan for him. We had to forego a lot of it because he wouldn't allow it. Either by thrashing or by stiffening up so much we couldn't get very accurate measurements of his limbs. Most dogs we see are a bit nervous, but are with a person/people they trust. Diego didn't have anyone he trusted yet.
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| Whenever I sit down I get a dog on each side. |
Nearly every day since he arrived at my house, I've done some sort of handling practice with him. And every day even though it was paired with food, I felt like he was getting worse instead of better. This went on for months. I'd see a little improvement in his handle-ability but not in how he felt about it. I don't know what his life was like in his previous home. Based on the behaviors I've seen from him, I suspect he didn't have much structure in his daily life or interaction with strangers. He is not a fearful dog in the general sense, but he also didn't appear to have the trusting nature of a typical springer. The more I got to know him, the more I realized his extreme reactions were all related to him feeling like he had no control over a situation.
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| He wants to learn how to drive now! |
So I started making it about massage and relaxation under my hands instead of offering behaviors for food. The change was not immediate, but I saw progress. Consistent progress. He
really likes massage, he will flop on his side and lie very still while I work my way from his head to his tail. When I need to roll him over to work on the other side, he just stays limp.
When I made my handling about massage, I saw progress in our sessions at home. I could handle him confidently. We started making progress on "collar grabs" which used to be his biggest trigger. And now he routinely leans on me (literally) out in public.
It took me a while, but I finally remembered the
lesson from Ruca.
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| Learning to track |
He's not "fixed" and he isn't perfect. But he looks to me when he's worried about a situation and trusts my judgement now.
I am so proud of him. And I can't wait to see what the rest of his life holds for him.
