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Kitty the Dog
Kitty the Dog
The hardest part of Kitty's reactivity wasn't the barking and lunging, although that certainly wasn't easy.
The hardest part was witnessing the hypervigilance and anxiety that came with feeling so unsafe.
In this photo, we have begun the work of desensitizing Kitty to our neighbourhood at the time.
Eventually, we learned that Kitty is pro-social but dog selective.
That means she has the capacity to make dog friends, but little tolerance for rudeness or shenanigans.
Here, Kitty is out for a walk with Molly--her very first dog friend!
Kitty's herding genetics made her very skilled at 'switching off' her prey drive for specific species!
Kitty even helped us socialize foster kittens with dogs before they went to their forever homes!
But the most rewarding part of working with Kitty was seeing her learn to relax.
The pacing, panting, whale-eyed dog I met was gone.
In her place was a dog who could enjoy the dog park, meet new humans with grace and, finally, feel safe in her back yard.
Archie
Archie
Little Archie is a chihuahua mix who was adopted from the streets of Mexico into a pet dog's dream home!
His moms have a gorgeous back yard, many dog-loving human friends, and a love of Ontario's gorgeous trails and lakes!
But, no one had taught Archie how to be a pet dog.
All of the experiences and activities that pet dogs are socialized to enjoy were brand new (and very frightening!) to street-wise Archie.
Although he is a very social dog, the shock of his relocation and alien surroundings led to Archie becoming intensely reactive.
If triggers couldn't be avoided, Archie second choice was a fawn response. He would crawl and climb over guests bodies, offering frantic licks.
This was understandably confusing to his human guardians, who only understood this request for space as 'hugs and kisses'!
Alongside desensitization, the key to helping Archie was remedying his guardians' assumptions about dogs.
We stopped trying to push through things that dogs are 'supposed' to like such as car rides, store trips, and dog parks.
Instead, we focused on what Archie liked: Opportunities to forage, track, shred, and eat!
Providing enjoyable and successful enrichment was the key to building confidence in this nervous little dog!
Miika
Miika
At just four months old, Miika was already exhibiting reactive behaviour, barking at movement and at anything she deemed 'out of place'.
Miika's behaviour is not unusual for herding breeds. Without careful desensitization and socialization, herding breeds are very prone to reactivity. For generations, humans have selectively bred them for hypervigilance and suspicion.
These traits make a dog an excellent candidate to mind a herd of sheep, but become challenging in a busier town setting!
Beatrice
Beatrice
Pain is present in over 80% of reactivity cases and is always on my mind when I work with reactive dogs. Beatrice was my first client to receive an official medical diagnosis that was tied to her behavioural challenges.
Although Beatrice showed slight gait and posture changes, there was no limp to suggest she was experiencing chronic pain. In fact, one of Beatrice's favorite games was taking a flying 'Superman leap' from the sofa onto the hardwood floor.
Instead, her chronic pain showed up as unsual intensity in her reactivity and a struggle to moderate her play.
Chronic pain elevates a dog's baseline cortisol, which means that they are less equipped to deal with external stimulus.
Painful dogs also actively seek out sources of endorphin release (like intense play), because endorphins dull pain.
Luckily for Beatrice, her family had pet insurance and the drive to investigate my concerns.
Although imaging doesn't always provide a definitive answer, for Beatrice it did: She required TPLO surgery to repair malformations in BOTH knees!
Once Beatrice's medical needs were met and her pain was under control, there was a significant improvement to her reactivity and her ability to self-regulate.
Just as important, her family learned to recognize unwanted behaviours as communication of a need rather than a problem to be corrected!
Birdie
Birdie
Reactivity can come from negative stress (anxiety) or positive stress (excitement!).
In fact, reactivity surrounding excitement can be harder to manage!
Birdie is a great example of a dog struggling to regulate excitement.
She is a springer spaniel, which means that her drive for chasing and retrieving feathered friends can be intense!
Before being taught to manage her excitement, Birdie would become overwhelmed when she saw waterfowl. The dainty, well-trained little dog her parents knew would turn into a lunging, barking beast.
By monitoring and moderating Birdie's level of excitement, she was able to watch the ducks with a nice loose lead!
Theo
Theo
Little Theo is my very first Orillia client!
Like Archie, Theo was undersocialized and not prepared for all the cuddling, smooching, and pampering that comes with being an adorable long-haired chihuahua!
Although well-intended, this attention was overstimulating and unwelcome to Theo.
He came to anticipate unwanted contact at every turn, and would pre-emptively snap, snarl, and bite to avoid it!
Introducing the ability to opt out of touch and using recall instead of physically moving Theo helped him re-develop his trust in people!
Now he visits pet stores and greets the staff along side big sister Nina!
Soleil and me, working hard at her ability to cope in public places!
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