Iggy - Session 3

Tonight we continued to stretch Iggy's comfort zone.

I set up the backyard before Iggy came out by spreading a blue sheet on the ground and tossing a lead and a body wrap on it. These are things Iggy is not comfortable with and were certain to get a reaction from him. In addition to the sheet, his Foster Mom had a friend over that works in the rescue with her. So he had 3 people to keep an eye on.

We were all hanging out on the back porch when Iggy came out to join us. As soon as he noticed the set up in the yard he did his slow laps around the fence line. This is a typical nervous behavior for him. During this time I tossed treats on the sheet and some more on the scary things (wrap & lead) and I went back to the porch to talk.

I watched as Iggy ate the easy treats and tried to lean over to get others without actually stepping on the sheet. Soon he gave in and walked on the sheet to get treats. I was pleased to see him walk on a new and different surface.

Dobby was out with us and we all moved to the sheet and settled in. Iggy would come to me and get touches and treats. I held the wrap in one hand and asked him to touch. He'd touch the wrap with his nose and then get a treat from my other hand. I would make the wrap bigger each time by dropping more out of my hand, making it longer. We continued the game and at one point Iggy ran away but quickly returned.

As frightened as Iggy gets he is also just as curious. This curiosity confuses me sometime. Last week he was super curious about the lead and after some time we clipped one to his collar only to have him freeze. Tonight something similar happened. He was curious with the wrap. I did touches on him with the wrap folded in my hand and he also touched it with his nose for treats. At one point I draped it over his back a couple times and he was fine with it. Then I took the end and wrapped a 1/4 wrap and he was okay for about 5-10 seconds. Just as I was about to take it off he ran. I gave him a minute or so to come back but he didn't. He stayed hidden behind the patio. I went behind the patio slowly and talked softly while removing his wrap and encouraged him to come out and join us again.

Iggy came back to the sheet and allowed touches. At this point I gave him a complete break and we brought out his buddy, Ben. Ben was fitted with a harness and the Super Balance Lead and we walked around the yard. Iggy walked with us. Ben would stop and Iggy would stop. We would walk and so would Iggy. He interacted with us and sat for touches. He would interact with the lead while it was on Ben. Iggy will be a perfect "off lead" dog when we are done!

The session ended with Iggy getting lots of touches~ He allowed touch all over. I did mouth work, raccoons on the feet, python lifts and a little tail work. When I stopped for him to process he made it clear he wanted more! If I didn't know better I'd have sworn at a few points that Iggy was cuddling with me! He was really leaning his body into me and also would walk away and come back seconds later.

Although he isn't okay with a wrap or lead yet I'm amazed at how well he is responding to the TTouches! I wonder if the effect on his central nervous system will help him become more confident and more accepting of a wrap and lead down the road.

As we booked our next appointment I'd switched gears and was focusing on Nicole and reached for my day timer. I'm not sure which I notice first, that I'd made a fast move with Iggy close by or the fact that he didn't react. He came over and looked at my book and was fine. This is the same boy that was frightened of a pen not that long ago.

When it was time to leave Nicole had put the dogs in their crates in the living room. As we talked she mentioned that Iggy wasn't barking at me. Apparently it is his custom to bark at people while in his crate. Tonight he was lying in there completely at rest and peaceful.

I'm learning so much from Iggy and can tell there is so much more that he plans on teaching me.