Even Chance Rescue

Recently I was asked to work with a couple Pit Bulls with Even Chance Rescue. These two are a little different from others I've worked with.

Both of these dogs have compromised immune systems.

Nico is a little girl with a family waiting to adopt her. She has had a rough go of things. In her short lifetime she has had Kennel Cough and Demodex Mange. Nico is an active little girl that came in to the shelter as a stray and hasn't had much guidance in her life. She is adorable and full of energy.

With Nico, since her Demodex is just a couple small break outs I was able to put a body wrap on her to try to calm her but still she bounced. I pulled the back end of the wrap down over her tail in an effort to "calm the tail, calm the dog".

We also did "walking touches" where we would walk around the living room and stop for touches and walk some more.

Nico had moments of calm during our session but you needed to be observant to really appreciate them.

I found that saying "good girl" even on the calmest of voice was enough to set her off into a happy dance with ears bouncing. What worked better for Nico was a very slow and light Zig Zag touch.

Working with dogs is so much fun because each is a little puzzle to figure out. What works for one dog ("good girl") will not work for another. The challenge is learning what each dog needs to be successful.

An interesting thing happened. When Nico went back in her crate and it was Brogan's turn she was very calm and even napped. Nico's foster mom is going to continue doing some touches on her and I also recommended a book by Nan Arthur called "Chill Out Fido!: How to Calm Your Dog".

More than likely Nico will have gone to her new family by the time can see her again but her foster mom is already doing a wrap on her and more touches tonight. I have the BEST people to work with and I love how they really want their dogs to succeed.

Now meet Brogan.

Brogan came into the shelter a mess! He had Yeast & Staph infections in addition to a very serious case of Demodex Mange. His foster mom told me that thankfully his Yeast & Staph are all gone but his poor immune system is shot.

First thing we talked about was diet. Fortunately Nicole is totally on top of things and feeds a dehydrated raw diet by Honest Kitchen. Good nutrition is critical to boost the immune system.

For Brogan's regime I used a sponge you would use to apply auto wax and did lots of tiny raccoon touches all over his body.

He was quite interested in the sponge so we gave him toys to work with during his session. I also tried to use a soft paint brush but that was too stimulating for him and we were unable to take his focus off the brush. The polishing pad was perfect.

We kept Brogan's session short so we didn't over tax him in any way.

I think Brogan liked the work. What do you think?

Brogan will be going to a new foster home this week and I will also work with them to make sure they know how to do his touches! Did I mention what a super sweet boy Brogan is? Even with his raw skin he is full of love and joy.