Star update: Muzzle as calming band

More confirmation the other day that Star's adopters are the coolest adopters in the world.

In the midst of my TTouch training, I received this email from Star's mom: 

We found a cure to her craziness, biting and being wired! When she gets crazy, we immediately put muzzle on and not only she stops biting because physically she cannot, it works like pacifier- it soothes her and make her calm- she lies down and relaxes!!!" 

I had not spoken to these adopters about calming elastics, which as I learned from TTouch are a magic trick for helping a dog calm and focus. Pressure around the muzzle releases tension and helps mouthy, barking dogs settle, and it also releases endorphins. 

These adopters found out on their own how great they work, through sheer intuition and innovation. Pretty cool! Star, you lucked out. 

Fozzie goes to TTouch Class

Though I wanted to bring all the dogs to this TTouch session for help with their various issues, I was especially excited for the opportunity to see what I could learn to better manage Fozzie and help him feel less anxious. I knew Fozzie would really enjoy the chance to be in a big room with a bunch of people who would pet him liberally, although I also knew that it would be a challenge managing my big hunk of dog in a room with other dogs, and was worried that he would be disruptive throughout the course of an 8-hour day. 

But when I registered for the training, the helpful people in Santa Fe told me that they welcome reactive dogs, and that it is always nice to watch them settle down over the course of the training. 

The first day I came with Fozzie he helpfully showed the teacher, and the rest of the class, exactly what he needs to work on. After he loudly announced our arrival and proceeded to lunge and bark as I escorted him across the room, a couple of my wonderful classmates joined us and Lamar, whom I had brought as well, into our little enclosure. 

Both dogs were happy to be in our safe spot with a couple of friendly humans, and Fozzie relaxed his vigilance once he realized the other dogs were a safe distance away. 

The nice thing about Fozzie is that he'll make an intimidating, intense, nutty display like that, and then when a human comes along with good intentions toward him, he'll flop over and turn into a big puddle of brindle on the floor. 

Fozzie loved being the demo dog. Linda showed us how groundwork, the other part of TTouch besides body work, can be incredibly helpful for anxious, reactive dogs. 

As we learned in our TTouch session with Pam Wanveer a year and a half ago, a PVC labyrinth laid on the ground gives a dog something to focus on navigating through when he is in the presence of his triggers. As he focuses on moving his own body through the labyrinth, he is not focused on the trigger. Over time, this teaches him a new way to be in the presence of his triggers. 



You can make your own TTouch groundwork setup very simply, with ropes or PVC laid in a labyrinth, tires laid on the ground that the dog can step in and out of, a PVC ladder that he can walk through, a board laid flat that makes him have to focus in order to walk along it. Walking through all these obstacles requires physical flexibility, and physical flexibility produces mental flexibility.

Fozzie adored the attention, and Linda worked on getting him to relax all those stiff muscles. 

We learned how to wrap a dog up in a "suitcase," which is a leash wrapped around the dog's waist in such a way that he feels pressure around his hips and ribcage. 

The pressure acts to help the dog focus in his body, and is calming. Like a container to his energy when it is in danger of exploding beyond his physical boundaries, or like swaddling a baby. The same idea as the calming band Fozzie was wearing around his muzzle. 

It also gives you another place to issue a gentle "reminder" to the dog that you are present, if you're on a walk and he is so focused on his environment that he's forgotten about you.










 
Fozzie was certainly vigilant about the large dogs in the room--though he was quite calm about the small dogs--but he had no trouble relaxing when he was in his enclosure or when someone worked on him. 

He and Diane were in love! 
















As with Lamar and Lady, this class was a wonderful opportunity for me to connect with Fozzie and reflect on what I appreciate about him. 

Just like I knew he would be the first day I met him, he is a massive, powerful, overwhelming force of nature and a challenging dog in just about every situation. 

What's changed is the fact that I fully accept that challenge, and I do so with a sense of joy. 

I'm used to Fozzie, I know what makes him react. I know he'll make a big fuss when he sees a dog or a horse or a cat or a squirrel or a skateboard, but I know he loves people. I will continue to work on all these triggers, and use a head collar and a face wrap and treats and a suitcase and whatever else helps manage him until he gets better. 

Linda remarked of Fozzie, as she watched him eagerly come forward to be demo dog, that he really wants help. I feel that from him, that he wants to learn to be calmer and easier and to go through life with less anxiety. We know he can relax, we know he responds well to touch and training, but for some reason he just carries himself on hair-trigger alert much of the time. 

I just need to be consistent and calm in working with him. 

So expect more Fozzie training and TTouch posts in the coming weeks!

You ready Fozzie? 

A Week in the Wonderful World of TTouch

Last week, I finally did a six-day TTouch training after thinking about doing so for the last three years. I first learned about TTouch when I was living in Santa Fe in 1997, and I found a practitioner who showed me how to use these little circle-and-a-quarter motions on my little grumpy cattle dog Tashi's skin to help bring calmness, groundedness, integration, and healing. 

I used TTouch on Tashi once when she got literally run over by one of those big wheeled trucks. The truck went right over her and she ran all the way to the Wabash River (not from Santa Fe. I was already in Indiana) and when I found her, she was pretty shook up, to say the least. TTouch was the only thing that made her relax her rigid posture and start to breathe again. (She lived another 11 years).

So last week, I brought Fozzie, Lamar, and Lady to explore the potential for TTouch to calm reactive dogs, reduce mouthiness, promote well-being and harmony among dogs, and alleviate the pain and inflammation of arthritis.

This training was led by Linda Tellington-Jones, the founder of TTouch whose center is in Santa Fe. Lamar, who is also from Santa Fe, came with me the first day and got to bond with several wonderful aunties, who helped watch over him on the days when I brought him with Fozzie or Lady. 

Photo: Debbie Bauer

Lamar was definitely a bit ill-at-ease with being in a different place with all sorts of new people and some new dogs, and he didn't really want a lot of people handling him. 












I was glad I brought him though. Seeing him through my classmates' eyes, I appreciated him in a way I haven't for years. I saw how stressful it is for him to live with all these foster dogs, especially Lady, since she's got that growly Chow thing going. 



We got to do some TTouch for Lamar's arthritis, and in the evenings when I got him home, he seemed really happy, doing that happy growling, gurgling, groaning noise that I love. 

Like he was feeling some relief and a new relaxation.






Most importantly, there was a shift in my connection with Lamar. I'm afraid that in all the excitement and revolving door of foster dogs over the past few years, I have lost sight of some of the magic of Lamar and that happy, silly energy that used to be at the forefront in our relationship. 

Now I feel it again, and it feels like Lamar does too. He's doing more of that happy paw lift that drew me to him the day I first saw him in the shelter, and he's even giving me more kisses. 

I am determined to help him get the most enjoyment and magic he can out of life. Instead of getting frustrated when he growls at a Lady or Fozzie near him, I go over to him and do little circles around his nose and ears to release endorphins and help him feel safe. I'm also making more of an effort to put his needs first, and keep Lady and Fozzie away from him when he feels like having his own space.

Lady seemed to enjoy coming to class, being handled by all those new people, and we got set up in a nice little enclosure so she could see out and be included in the center of class, but not be overwhelmed by the sight of other dogs. 

That was one of the things I loved about this training, was how Linda wanted everyone--reactive dogs, arthritic dogs, nervous dogs, terrified dogs, 

Treasure, a double merle sheltie, is blind and deaf

and a blind and deaf dog, to feel included.





















Everyone was in the circle, with barriers if needed, and everyone made progress. 

The first day, there was a small dog in the enclosure in the far corner who would just go crazy when anyone--human or canine--went near him. 












He spent the next two days in class with a calming wrap around his head, his person doing calming TTouches. 

By the third day, the enclosure was down, Buddy was in the circle, and he was much less reactive. 












Lady didn't have any huge transformation, but I did gain a new thoughtfulness and respect about her arthritis. How amazing is it that she maintains such a sunny outlook on life--always ready to go for a walk, always wagging and eager for kisses when she sees a human (any human)--when it is clearly so difficult for her to get around? 

Though Lady liked being around all those new people, it was clear she didn't want to get up and move around so much. As with Lamar, having Lady with me there brought me a new appreciation for this little being who is sharing my life right now. How it's OK for her not to get much exercise, and to lose weight slowly. 

Photo: Debbie Bauer

What a gift to be surrounded by these little teachers, and to get to spend such a transformative week with them.

As always, the experience I had with Fozzie will occupy a chapter of its own. Stay tuned later this week for more on our TTouch journey.

Wordless Wednesday

Nature Walks in the Big City

When I was living in Portland, OR and thinking about coming back to my childhood home of New York City to go to graduate school, I thought it would kill me to be back in the city after so many years living in places where my life revolved around being in nature. Now, would you believe it that when I think of New York, one of the things that comes to mind is all the cool, relaxing natural areas there are to explore. 

Last weekend I went up there to see my parents, as my Dad has had a small stroke. He's doing really well, and has moved to rehabilitation from the hospital, but both he and my Mom could use some some love if you wouldn't mind sending some their way.

I brought Lamar with me, which ended up being a great choice since it meant that I had to go out to Morningside Park. 

This is the park I grew up walking the dog in, and I made sure to go by the pathways I used to take when I was a teen.












The stunning layout of the park is a function of its natural geography, which consists of a cliff of Manhattan Schist. 

The city put a park there instead of undertaking the impossible task of turning such steep topography into city streets. Good thinking!

One thing that was not there when I was a kid was the pond and waterfall.

How cool that I can walk right out of my parents' apartment and find scads of ducks, 

some very threatening geese,  and loads and loads of turtles. 

Not to mention doggie friends like our buddy Captain, 



whose mom Dottie we used to talk to a lot back in my grad school days. 













There is a statue that makes me very happy, of a bear and a little faun with his Pan flute.


Some Pagan made that statue, and the park put it right there down the hill from the dog run and in the shadow of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. 

I love it. 









I always have fun adventures when I walk along Morningside Park. One evening, I met a guy out for a walk with his huge white parrot Cocoa, who climbed on my arm and fluffed his feathers and screamed in delight. According to his human, he loves the ladies. 

There were more mellow pleasures, like walking along the park with my Mom and learning from her all the plants in the planters. 













And letting Lamar roll around in the grass. 



















I like thinking about the nature that lies hidden beneath the city, like the natural spring that must have been there all along, but that I didn't know about until they funneled it into a waterfall. 

Or the smaller spring that Lamar loves to stop at for a bevvie and a paw cooldown. 















Then there's the wildlife viewing. I loved watching this one duckie and a turtle sharing a rock, and seeing the turtle's expression. 

OK, I guess you can't really say that a turtle has much of an expression. 

But doesn't he look like he's gazing at this duck with love?

All fun and games until the male duck comes back. 

And the lady duck tucks her head demurely as if to say, What turtle?

Whoa-ho, Madame Duck! You don't fool me. But your secret is safe.

The turtle didn't seem too worried. Or maybe he just wasn't about to leave because all the other rocks were taken. On this afternoon, I counted 22 turtles. Twenty-two! I kid you not. 

Back home this week, and I am in a Tellington TTouch® training, learning more about this great healing modality with both Fozzie and Lamar. So it may be a few days before I have time to post. In the meantime, we are the featured blogger on Pet Blogs United this week! Go on over and check us out there, and support this neat pet blogger network. 

Tug of war for teaching impulse control and bite inhibition

Many of us, especially those who have worked with bully breeds, have heard the advice to never engage in tug of war with a dog, and if you do, never to let the dog win. Usually the argument is that the dog will learn that he's dominant to his people if he ever wins the object of the tug game, or at the very least that the game can get out of control easily and result in teeth making contact with human--something we certainly want to avoid. 

Recently I went to a free workshop with Your Dog's Friend, where I learned not only how to engage in tug of war safely, but also how to use it as a great training aid to exercise dogs, bond with them, and teach them to control their impulses. 

 






 


The basic outline is this:

• Get your dog engaged in tugging with a sturdy toy
• With the hand that's tugging with your dog, go limp. The hand remains on the toy but stops providing any resistance. With the other hand, reach out and hold your dog's collar.
• With the hand and the toy limp, the dog will realize that the game is much less fun. Be patient and she will most likely drop the toy.
• The second she does, say "Yes!" and take your hand off the collar, and start engaging in tug again. Encourage your dog and make it happy and fun. 
• Repeat until you are both tired. When its time to stop for good, drop the toy, say All done!, and walk away.

This game is an example of the On-Off Switch game for impulse control. The idea is that many dogs can dial up to a frenzy in no time, but can't easily dial back down. If you can teach them to engage in intense play, then stop and relax, and get rewarded for relaxing by playing again, and so on, you will teach them a very valuable tool in getting along in a world where sustained dog intensity is generally frowned upon. 

You can find a very detailed, more complex outline of how to use tug of war as a training tool here. 

What's been YOUR experience with tug of war? Do your dogs like it, and can you get them to disengage when it's time to stop?

A little reunion

Last week, my friend Jodi from Heart Like a Dog asked if I'd like to meet her and a bunch of dog bloggers at the Blog Paws conference. How could I pass up an opportunity like that? It was so fun to meet Jodi and a bunch of the other ladies I know only from their blogs. Dinner and drinks with a bunch of people I've never met before, but who already felt like old friends....just what the naturopath ordered.

And, the visit took me very close to a certain adoptive home I've been wanting to visit. 

Yep, that one. 

Star hasn't changed much. When she saw me outside her building she of course proceeded to grab her leash in her mouth and yank it around like a madwoman. 



Fortuitously, I had brought a bag of stuffed toys and stuffed one of them in her mouth, which allowed us to get inside. Where she zoomed around and spent most of my visit on her back, 








or chewing on my arms, or zooming around some more. 

Her people report that she still has two settings, nutty or comatose, and that she is affectionate and loving with them. 













The best part is how devoted they are to her. They go on long walks, sleep with her at night, and kiss her a lot. They have told neighbors in their building about her origins, and are doing a great job of introducing her to lots of humans and making sure everyone has a chance to experience her kisses. They are undaunted by her issues, as the last dog they had was unpredictable around people. They are glad that Star loves every human she meets. 

Visits like this restore my faith in humanity. There really are angels among us!

Spring flower postie

Around this time last year, I remember doing a spring flower post to show off my little foster dog Collette among the azaleas and roses. 











Actually, it was a little earlier last year, as its been an unusually cool spring. Last year, there was a blast of color as everything came into bloom all at once. 

This year, things have been trickling into flower gradually. 

So this is a slightly more mellow post, as is fitting to accompany a much more mellow foster dog. 














There is quite the profusion of intense purples and blues.



















I was sure I wouldn't have Lady for long, as she is a mellow older non-pittie in a town of hyperactive young pitties. I sure thought she would be adopted at the adoption event we went to last weekend, but it was a rainy day and very few people ended up coming to the event. 





All that rain is good for the flowers, but has also cooled things down and slowed the flowering. Which is kind of nice, as we get to enjoy them for longer.

I would not say that I have a very green thumb, as I seem to get distracted easily and I can't focus on the garden long enough to get it thoroughly weeded and looking organized. 





But I maintain it enough that it brings me joy to look at it. 








OK, you inspired me. Time to go weed for a bit!

Strollers vs. safety, convenience, public health and the environment

For the past few weeks, the street I live on has been undergoing major "improvements" to slow traffic and supposedly make the street more hospitable for pedestrians.  

There is a new traffic circle at the intersection of my street with a tiny, dead-end street that ends at the neighborhood mulch pile. 

There are new sidewalks and sidewalk extensions that create a one-way street at some points. This is all in addition to the three 5 mph speed bumps that were already there, which are so sharp that they would make the stuff in my bike basket fly out if I went over them at a reasonable rate of speed. 

My street is not a major street, and traffic on it is sparse enough that I have always just walked in the street, dogs and all, on our daily walks. 




























But I guess this was not a viable option for people pushing strollers. The city ripped out  the sidewalk plot that I had planted with lilies last summer, to widen the sidewalk from 4 feet to 5. I am not sure which strollers are greater than 4 feet wide, but then, I am not an expert in such things. 

Although they do slow down traffic, I am of the opinion that traffic circles are dangerous, confusing, and increase emissions. Sharp speed bumps destroy your car's suspension and also increase emissions. It would have been nice to have some notice that my little "devil's strip" was going to be ripped out to accommodate the strollers, rather than hearing it from the nice road worker dude who happened to catch me in time to warn me so I could transplant my lilies. 

I recognize that this is not a clear-cut issue. That streets made for pedestrians, with slower, more sparse vehicle traffic, with neighbors who walk with their families and interact with each other, are things that I support and things that are compatible with the world I would like to see. So why does this "road improvement" project irk me so much?

I think it's because of what it says about the power of the Mommy Lobby. What if all the dog walkers lobbied for the city to install treat dispensing stations every few blocks, so those of us with reactive dogs are never caught empty handed? Can we have a dog park, off-leash for those who want it and with designated areas for on-leash walking for the rest of us, where we never have to fend off endless pleas of "can I pet your dog?" when we are trying to mind our own business and just manage our dogs as we try to get past careening skateboarders, soccer players, scooter drivers and their parents? 

I guess what I'm really trying to say is, why are we dog people continually marginalized when we are the ones who save lives and try to make the planet better for other species, and we are not the ones who bring into the world a source of 9,441 metric tons of CO2 emissions who will destroy wildlife habitat foul clean water supplies and ultimately lay waste to the planet?

Where's MY $200,000 neighborhood improvement project?

Fozzie, where's YOUR tax deduction?