Twinkie and Krystal

A few days ago I was asked to work with a dog named Twinkie.  Twinkie is at the shelter and has not yet passed her behavior test so she can move into the adoptions area.  It would seem that she does not care for any one to get near her mouth.

Twinkie

Friday night I stopped by to introduce myself to Twinkie and to get a feel for where we would need to begin on Saturday morning.  I had made several different plans on what I might do to gain Twinkie's trust and get her to allow me to do some gentle touches on the outside of her muzzle.

When I met Twinkie she was very friendly.  I did a few basic introductory touches as I offered her treats.  Never did she show any signs of discomfort.  It was only a matter of minutes before I stroked her muzzle with the back of my hand.  Twinkie was fine with this.  We alternated play with TTouch.  We'd do some TTouches and then play.  Then we'd play some more and do some TTouches.   Twinkie wasn't the least bit concerned when I lifted her flew and stroked the inside of her lip area.  I was able to do circle TTouches on her gums, even if she had a toy or treat in her mouth!  No sign of protecting her mouth at all.

I didn't have any clicker equipment with me but I used my word marker "yep" to do some very basic clicker training with her.  We worked on "Sit" and "Look At Me" quite a bit.  What a smart girl she is.

Saturday I spent an hour with her doing more TTouches as she crawled onto my lap and cuddled with me as I worked on her.  Knowing how well she responded to my modified clicker training the night before I came prepared!  We worked on "Sit", "Stay", "Look At Me", "Touch", "Come" and even loose leash walking.  Again I was able to do any mouth work on her that I wanted to.

One of the most fun things we did was work on "Sit" and "Stay" while I threw her stuffed Hedge Hog for her.  Then she would run and retrieve it for me.  When Twinkie would return with her stuffy I was able to take it from her without any protest.  She would willingly trade the toy for a treat or allow me to gently remove it from her.  Of course she wanted something in return so I'd always offer her a treat or some TTouches.  Either were fine with Miss Twinkie.


My guess is she should be moving to Adoptions very soon!  She is going to make someone a wonderful companion.

Krystal the Beauty

Krystal is another dog I was asked to see if I could help.  Isn't she a beauty?

Owieeeee baby!

Turns out this lovely little girl has a horrendous case of Demodex Mange!  Demodex is not contagious but it sure can get pretty raw and sore.  Knowing how painful the lesions can be I decided to do distance TTouches on her back end.  With my hand a couple inches over her sore area I did TTouches that would help reduce pain and inflammation.

Sandy, a friend from French Bulldog Rescue Network has had wonderful results with a specific home cooked diet that has worked miracles on Demodex dogs.

While at my training in Portland in November there was a dog with very bad Demodex.  One of the students, that later adopted the dog, made a strong chamomile tea and when it cooled used it as a compress for the sore and inf lammed skin.  I shared both of these tips with the shelter to see what might be incorporated into her routine and speed up her healing.

Poor Krystal was turning to her back end and chewing on the open sores.  Obviously they itch and hurt but allowing her to do this will only hamper her healing.  I recommended a soft donut type collar for her so it could prevent her from chewing without the rough edge of an Elizabethan Collar roughing her up every time she turned her head that way.

This particular shelter has very dedicated volunteers and one would her her collar right away.

I've been told that as bad as Krystal looks in this photo she was far worse upon intake a week or two ago.  Demodex is an amazing malady for a dog to have.  Mites that are normally on the skin get out of control in stressful situations and eating the skin results in these sores.  I have seen dogs with horrible Demodex that is so bad you really aren't 100% even what breed they are.  Recovery with the right treatment and care can be swift and very dramatic.  Let's hope this is the result we see for darling Krystal.