The Fear Factor

The first few weeks of our relationship were pretty smooth. Peanut, as it turns out, was completely housetrained. She loved my roommate (and still does), allowed me to touch her feet, ears, body, and mouth (modeled after a routine vet visit). Peanut was eating well, all things considered. She was never a hard puller when out for a walk, or exceedingly destructive (I did however, leave some things a bit too close to her crate). There was one thing that happened after those first couple of weeks that brought the ‘honeymoon’ period to a quick close.

At this point, I knew I was a goner.

Peanut did NOT like the vet. Normally this wouldn’t be concerning. What animal likes the vet? Peanut for her part, had been tense, but polite during our visit. I chalked that up to the standard “being at the Vet’s office” stress. At the very end of our visit, the vet went to say goodbye to Peanut, and Peanut jumped up, snapped at the vet, and began to growl and snarl. At this point there was nothing the vet or I could do to make Peanut feel more comfortable, and she continued to snap at the vet. In the end, the vet left and Peanut and I waited several minutes before heading into the lobby. The front desk staff invited Peanut up to the counter and she hopped up, gave kisses, and took a treat nicely before we left.

So, in a nutshell, our first vet visit was like going from a sunny day, to a thunderstorm, and back to a bright, cloudless sky in a matter of minutes. I was more shaken than Peanut. I felt like I had failed her, and wondered if I was really equipped to handle a dog with the reactivity that Peanut had. Thankfully for me, I had a group of awesome people willing and able to help!

"Look lady, that vet was nuts!"

I contacted a friend of mine, who is a Certified Pet Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) and specializes in nervous/anxious/fearful dogs. We met in neutral territory, and did a brief assessment. Her opinion was that Peanut was an unconfident dog who had never had someone whom she could trust to keep her safe. Therefore, Peanut took it upon herself to make sure she kept herself, and her people safe. My friend suggested that I work on using physical cues to help Peanut learn that I was the one who was taking care of our safety. She also suggested looking into K9 Nosework, as a way to help build Peanut’s confidence.

To be honest, I didn’t think much of K9 Nosework at first. It wasn’t the “high octane” “super charged” dog sport that I was looking to do. Just about a year later, I’m very happy I decided to give it a try! After doing a couple weeks worth of research, I finally decided to email the instructor that my friend suggested. Looking back, I may have over exaggerated Peanut’s reactivity! Either way, the instructor was kind and asked that I sit in on a couple classes before deciding to sign up. I ended up sitting in on each of the different levels, and decided to give it a go!

I won’t go into too much detail about those first classes, other than her change during that first class was incredible! I went from having a dog who wouldn’t take a treat from a shallow box, to a dog who would walk into a room with an unknown man, say hello, and go back to work. If someone had told me that six classes over eight weeks would have my dog becoming a confident, less reactive dog, I would have told you that you were crazy!

In the course of the year, my fearful, anxious dog has become a happy, outgoing girl, always ready with kisses and cuddles for her friends. We aren’t quite there yet (‘wild’ plastic bags and mylar balloons are still problems among other things), but we are out of sight from where we started! Personally, I think a lot of it has to do with Peanut gaining the confidence to trust me more than anything I’ve done.

Obviously not super keen on bags...

If there is one thing that anyone, myself included should take away from this ramble, is to be willing to ask for help. Knowing your limitations and inexperience, and being brave enough to seek help and grow, is incredibly important! I am so thankful to the people (you know who you are!) that have helped me learn to be the person Peanut needs! I have no intention of stopping with K9 Nosework, and we might even pick up Rally and Agility, but that’s a story for another day!

Up Next: A year in a post…

Until Next Time!

Begin at the Beginning

Well, I have no clue how to start this off, so here it goes. My name is Mackenzie, and I am the proud owner of a Carolina Dog (AKA: Dixie Dingo, American Dingo, Yaller dog) named Peanut. Admittedly, I will likely never know for sure if Peanut is a true Carolina dog, as there are (currently) no genetic tests available. That being said, Peanut does show nearly all the physical and personality traits of a Carolina Dog, so that’s what I’m going with!

   

    I wanted to start this blog primarily to help me track all of the milestones Peanut and I achieve together. I want there to be a way for me to look back and see how far we’ve come as a team and what I’ve learned from our adventures together. If other people take enjoyment of these posts, then, that’s awesome!

    My goal at the moment, is to post at least once every other week. Fair warning, I’ll likely forget… I’m also trying to improve my long term time management skills, so I hope you (and I) will bear with me! Anyway, let me start with a bit of background on Peanut and how we became a family!

    I first heard about Peanut in late August of 2014. I had been volunteering with a rescue organization in NoVA and had mentioned starting to seriously look for a dog. I had told the rescue that I was looking for a medium size dog with average to high energy, and the conformation and intelligence to do agility. One of the longtime volunteers came back with a sheet of paper and a picture of a red-brown dog with a pair of big “bat ears” and lovely brown eyes. They listed her mix as German Shepherd and Lab and told me that she did have some fear and anxiety issues. Looking back, it’s funny, the anxiety and fear issues were not what concerned me, what concerned me was her size. No German Shepherd Lab mix I had ever seen was under the 50lb weight limit that my apartment had. They gave me a few other options and suggested that I look around the other rescues, since one dog rescued from anywhere meant one more dog that could be pulled from a kill shelter. Looking around didn’t really work though, I couldn’t get my mind off of that red dog with the soulful brown eyes and giant ears...

Peanut’s Petfinder.com picture, I would later learn that her pink nose was just hidden “Snow Nose”

   

I kept asking for more information about Peanut, and I soon learned that she had been pulled from a West Virginia kill shelter at 12 weeks old, and was adopted out at 7 months old. She was returned by her first family at 1 ½ years old for being “violent, vicious, and destructive”. Which, turns out, was just fear and anxiety. By early October, 2014, I had realized that I wasn’t going to get that red dog out of my head until I met her, and organized a meet and greet for October 12th.

Finally the day came! After several timing mishaps and location changes, I turned onto a gravel road and wound through the wooded drive to the house where Peanut was located. I parked the car and chatted with the volunteer who reminded me that if it wasn’t the right fit, I was under no obligation to take her. I waited on a retaining wall while they went and got Peanut. I had been warned that she would take a few minutes to warm up to me so I wasn’t expecting much in the way of a greeting. After what seemed like an eternity, I saw a pair of ears bob up over the hill with the poor volunteer floundering behind, it turns out that Peanut had some gas in the tank! She got to the gravel of the parking area, stopped, and let out her ‘big dog bark’. I turned sideways, looked down, knelt, and put my hand out for her. Looking down meant that I didn’t see her about to lick my face until it was too late! So much for the ‘aloof’ and ‘suspicious’ dog! Peanut was happy to sit on my feet, give kisses, and show off how good her ‘sit’ and ‘down’ were! I smiled at the volunteer and said “I’ll take her! She’s perfect!”. The volunteer didn’t seem to be expecting that, and was a bit speechless! What really sealed the deal was Peanut jumping into my car and refusing to get out as I leaned in to get the adoption fee! While I was finishing paperwork, another longtime volunteer drove up. Peanut stuck her head out and around the car to look, and we told the other volunteer that Peanut was going home. She broke into tears, she thought Peanut would never have a home!

Right before Peanut hopped into my car the first day we met!

Now it’s been 13 months, and I am so glad to have brought this incredible, wonderful, loving creature into my life! I am grateful everyday for Peanut choosing me!

Next Up: The trials and tribulations of learning to work with a sensitive and fearful dog.

 Until Next Time!