Aurora progresses

Aurora walks best when concentrating on something in front of her.

Last week I discovered that Aurora moves easier and in a more organized fashion when there is something in front of her to follow.  The volunteers that worked with her this past week all used this to her advantage.  Some held a towel in front her her and others used cream cheese.

Today a couple volunteers met me bright and early at 8am to learn what they could do to help Aurora along her journey.

The first thing I did with Aurora today was use her existing harness and my double ended lead to create the Super Balance Leash.  This is a leash configuration that hooks on to her harness on the opposite shoulder of the dog from where I would be standing.  It is threaded through a loop on the front of the harness and the other end is fastened to the two rings on the back of the harness.  This configuration helps keep a dog in balance and is something Aurora needs.

The walk from the OK Corral to the Interaction area went quite nicely.  Aurora adjusted well to the Super Balance Leash and followed my wand.  There was some spinning but no falling down.  The volunteers commented on how nicely she walked with me.

After some TTouches to her face, head and all along her body to release some tension we got to work.

I tried using either end of my wand.  Aurora didn't have a preference

I had set up cones and encouraged her to walk along the outside of the circle, in the direction of her spinning.  Using the theory that I'd have her do something that comes naturally to her (counter-clockwise circles) but in a more controlled and organized manner.

When it was clear Aurora needed a break we would stop for some touches.  Tarantulas Pulling The Plow is her favorite.

Although she was overwhelmed when I tried a body wrap on her I decided to try again today.  I gently draped the wrap over her shoulders and she was fine.  After that I brought it in front of her chest and just held it in a mock 1/4 wrap.  Later I was able to tie it.  She wore the wrap about 1 minute before she got the wiggles and I took it off.  This was a huge step over last week.

As we sat there and I showed how to do the touches Aurora began to get mouthy.  She nibbled in my fingers, hands and knees.  She was gentle but this is not a habit we want her to develop.  I decided to put a calming band on her and bring some awareness to her mouth.  She took to it rather quickly and stopped mouthing.  Not only that but she was able to walk very straight with the calming band.  I'm really not sure why this is worked the way it did.

I made a calming band out of one of the thin wraps I had in my case that has Velcro on the end.  This wrap can be left at the shelter or with the volunteers that are working with her.


With all the love and attention Aurora is getting from people that really care about her and want to help she is seeing remarkable results in just a very short time.  You couldn't ask for a more loving and precious dog.

 A special Thank You to the folks at the shelter that are giving Aurora this chance and to all that are willing to work with her and help her be all she can be.....and more.