Zorro the Graduate??

What could possibly be the icing on the cake today?

That icing was a wonderful update from Zorro's Mom! When we started working with Zorro he was very excitable (for good reason) and he had trouble relaxing. Because of his shelter background and concerns he might have with other dogs Jan has become proficient with rotating dogs in her home.

But Zorro is a changed dog. Over the past few weeks through TTouch, dietary changes and his much loved Thundershirt he is now a calm puppy! The next big hurdle was for him and one of the resident dogs, Buffy to become buddies. Well today was the day.

Here is the email that Jan sent:

I finally decided that Zorro was ready to be really meet with Buffy. Kathy and I have been walking the two of them and there was no aggression from either of them. And Linda has been here working with him(he has really started to mellow)We started out front, I had Zorro on a leash and let Buffy come out. It was love at first sight for Zorro--his little tail was wagging so hard I thought it would fall off. He tried to play with Buffy--who beginning the little Stuck up Princess she is would just stare at him then look away-as though to say "You are soooo far beneath me I have nothing to say to you". He has continued to follow her around the house and back yard in hopes she will give him some sort of recognition (this was the way she was with Teddy when he first arrived) I spent the last 4 hours with the two of them in the same rooms or back yard with each other, no problems. I am the happiest Mom ever, my kids can now be together. It will make my life a lot easier and it will be great for both Buffy & Zorro.

Note the Calming Signal that Buffy is offering to Zorro by turning her head. This is her way of letting him know she means no harm. Buffy is an excellent communicator.

I'm really excited to see that our biggest goals for Zorro have come to pass. He is a wonderful and happy boy. Thank you to Nicole from Just a Dog Rescue for springing him from the shelter and welcoming him into her private rescue. Thank you to Jan for opening her home and providing a safe haven to Zorro while he has undergone his transformation. And finally, thank you to our friend Kathy who is Jan's faithful sidekick and Zorro's Godmother! Together these ladies have made all the difference in a little dog's life.

I think Buffy is trying to get her new buddy to come out and play with her!

March 30 UPDATE

Isn't this latest picture of Zorro and Buffy a wonderful sight? I couldn't be happier for Jan and her pups!

Special Mentor

This post is a special Shout Out to my TTouch Mentor, Cynde Van Vleet.

I've been working with Zorro and Iggy and have made progress but was having trouble advancing them to the next level.

A couple weeks ago Cynde came down to Escondido to visit Zorro and his caretakers with me. Zorro has trouble relaxing.

Cynde suggested we use a Thundershirt on him and it worked like a charm.

Here is a picture of a Thundershirt that was designed by one of our TTouch Practitioners. You can read about them at www.Thundershirt.com

Yesterday Cynde came down to an appointment in San Diego with me. This time we went to visit Iggy.

Iggy has serious fear issues and really does not like anything new at all. Pictures of Iggy are few and far between as he really does not appreciate my camera. Because of his deep fear he is a challenge to work with. There is a fine line between pushing him enough for growth and too much which will break the trust we are building.

I enjoyed watching Cynde and the subtle things she did that made Iggy curious. Iggy allowed Cynde to do touches on him for very short periods of time. He really loves the TTouch and will lean his body into you in a very relaxed way.

The plan was to put the Thundershirt on Iggy. Iggy had other plans. We also had the thought that if we did get the shirt on him without causing too much of a fear response it was going to cause one for sure when he heard the sound of the Velcro when it came off!

Cynde worked very patiently with him for about an hour. At one point he had the shirt draped on his back but not secured. He ran away and went to his safe place behind the cabana to process what was happening. He would come out and look at us and run back. Eventually he got it off and stuffed it in the corner and came out victorious!

He is an interesting blend of fear and curiosity. He runs away in fear without even realizing he did it. Then as quickly as he runs away he starts working his way back. You can see he wants to trust and he wants to be with us. He just can't.....yet.

Thanks to Cynde I have some more ideas on how to proceed with him. We have a wonderful Yahoo Group for Practitioners and Students where we can bounce ideas off each other. So many people gave me wonderful suggestions but they are so far removed from what he is able to handle. Having Cynde come and see him for herself got me on the right track.

The damage that has resulted from whatever happened to him while in Michael Vick's "care" and the various moves he went through to make his way to a loving foster home in San Diego was more than this boy could deal with.

Love, patience, kindness and TTouch are teaching Iggy that the world is a good place and there are far more nice people in the world than mean ones!

No one could say it better than Iggy himself (through the help of his Foster Mom, Nicole). On my fund raising page for the Paws in the Park Walk-a-Thon to benefit Escondido Humane Society

www.firstgiving.com/lindatroup

Iggy made a donation and left the sweetest note:
"You are changing my world!"
And I have to say that he is also changing mine.

Now if that don't make me sleep well at night, nothing will.

A special Thank You to Cynde for being the best Mentor ever! Always willing to email, talk or come down and help me. Most importantly she shares her special gift with many students just like me!

Zorro - Noted Calmness

Today was the first I'd seen Zorro in a couple months. Immediately I noticed a level of calmness I'd not yet seen in Zorro.

Previously Zorro was uncomfortable with my usual Confidence Course. Fortunately Jan has a built in Confidence Course literally in her back yard. Although not a traditional Course it does have Cones (trees) and Obstacles (fallen trees) and passers by with dogs. Zorro takes his daily walks in this area and is happy here so we met him where he was and used a Natural Confidence Course for this session.

Our areas of concentration for Zorro are calmness, walking nicely on a lead and minimizing his reaction to other dogs.

Jan has been incorporating TTouches into her quite time with Zorro. She has noticed that he will now lay calmly and play with a toy or just relax. This is a very new coping skill for Zorro!

Today we focused on walking nicely on the lead and used the Step-In Harness with the Super Balance Leash configuration. With the "Ask & Release" signals on the lead Zorro walked more calmly and with more intention than I've seen. When we have our bodys in proper alignment with his and our signals are clear he is right on target.

Today I used some clicker training with him to build the "Watch Me" and "Touch" requests. We were given the opportunity to practice these with a redirection when I saw someone approaching with a dog. Zorro focused on the dog in the distance and I stood to the opposite side and asked him to "Watch Me" and gave a click & treat when he complied. Next I asked him to "Touch" my hand as I took his focus in the opposite direction of the approaching dog. As we redirected Zorro's focus we also changed the direction of our walk. Rather than force Zorro into a situation where he may not be successful we walked him another way and built upon the success we already had with him taking his focus off the dog and putting it back on us.

Jan was very pleased with how Zorro didn't become vocal with the other dog. I'm pleased that Jan has a some new tools in her tool box for working with Zorro with other dogs. We also talked about what happens when we, the handler, tenses up on a leash when we anticipate trouble. That tension transmits down the leash and to the dog. The dog reads this tension as a stressful situation that the handler cannot handle! If the handler is worried than the dog becomes concerned as well. If we can remain calm, lighthearted and loose in the leash while we redirect the dog we stand a very good chance of preventing the situation from escalating.

Between each of our learning opportunities and leash exercises Zorro enjoyed some TTouches!

A Better Day

Yesterday I revisited the handsome Zorro and we had a much better session.

Zorro had been to his socialization class earlier in the day and was over stimulated. I was glad to see he was able to leave that behind him and was far more relaxed and calm with me.

This time I worked with him alone in the back yard for a bit. He wore his TTouch Body Wrap and was fitted with a Step In Harness. Zorro was still an excited boy as we worked but with touches and a couple quick time-outs he was a willing student.

One way I worked on calming Zorro was to do some walking Touches. He was too excited to hold still so we'd walk and do a few touches and walk some more.

I'd set up some cones for us to use and a small ladder to step through. Zorro did really well with the cones and needed some coaxing to go through the ladder.

Toward the end of the session Jan came out and I showed her how to use the Super Balance Leash.

We talked about options for making his walks more thoughtful without having to use all the cones & poles. Jan is able walk him around trees and rocks, over different textures and do things out of the norm.

Today I got an update from Jan and she has incorporated a lot of what we talked about already today. I think Zorro is really set up on a path for success!

Plan "C" ??

We have all heard how important it is to have a Plan "B". This is nothing new.

Today I needed my Plan "B".

Plan "A" was to work with Zorro on some ground work at a near-by grassy area. Yesterday they forecasted a 75% chance of rain through the end of today! Nooooo! Not rain when I want to work with Zorro outside!

Well rain it did...and it rained hard, it hailed and we had thunder. Common sense said we should reschedule. My desire to work with Zorro jumped at the opportunity to "do what we can" in the garage.

I loaded up the truck with poles and cones and off I went in the pouring rain. Thankfully the sun had broken through the black clouds, somewhat. I set up my star and cones and then put a wrap on Zorro and fitted him with a harness. All of this was fine with Zorro after some initial jumping. Keeping in mind the reason I'm working with Zorro is because he is a very exuberant boy I didn't put much stock in the jumping and mouthing.

About the time we were ready to hit the mini course we noticed a Chihuahua running off lead through around the neighborhood, right out in front of the house where we intended to work. Zorro was quickly whisked away to the side yard while Jan, Kathy and I try to round up the rogue Chi.

When we bring Zorro back we find he is way over the top excited. He is jumping, spinning, mouthing and completely out of balance and out of his body. Thinking the star was too much for him I broke it down to a simple zig zag on the grass. That did not resolve the issue.

Realizing that ground work in the front yard was counter productive we decided to take him in the back and repeat the leash work that was so successful last time.

Zorro still was highly agitated and nothing I was doing was calming him down. Thinking maybe too many of us were with him Jan and Kathy left me alone with Zorro. He was not standing for the lead at all so I tried to calm him with slow touches and some easy walking in the yard without a lead. I rewarded him for calmness when it occurred.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize things weren't going well so I called it quits for the day. Calling it quits was Plan "C".

In discussing what was different this time we realized that the thunder really upset him and then the excitement of the loose Chihuahua and add to that our own stress levels about there being a loose dog on the street. Zorro did not have things lined up for him to be successful. It made sense to call off the session and let him recoup.

We will get together and try again next Saturday. If we have more rain and thunder we will reschedule :-)

The growl that almost killed....

Wow, there is a lot to be said about Zorro and the love of a few good women that stood by his side and fought for his life! I'm honored to have the opportunity to work with him.

Talk about a misunderstood boy! Zorro could be the poster child for misunderstood boys. Not only was he misunderstood but he was also a victim of both people and circumstances.

Someone cut off his ears right before he arrived at the shelter! Can you imagine! More than likely he was being prepared for a career in fighting. This tactic is used so other dogs can't grab the ears. Can't grab and bite what isn't there! Ugh. People like this destroy my faith in mankind...they really aren't that "kind" sometimes.

After he arrived at the shelter he was neutered and it didn't go well. Burst stitches and infection were next to plague Zorro. Long story short Zorro growled at the wrong person one day and was removed from public view. A well fought battle saved Zorro from being euthanized but he was no longer welcome to stay where he was.

Does this look like a bad boy to you???

I'm amazed that anyone had to fight for this dog's right to live a happy life.
All because he vocalized that he was uncomfortable with a situation.

I'm gonna hop up on a soap box now and say my peace about growling.
FOLKS please don't forbid or condemn a dog for growling!! Think about it for a moment...how else can a dog tell us he isn't happy? Sure there are facial expressions and body language they try to tell us with...but if we aren't "listening" and we don't get it....they need to growl. If that is taken away from them then they have lost a valuable communication tool and they have no choice other than to bite. If we teach a dog not to growl we are, in effect, teaching them to bite.
Okay, getting down from my box now...

Thankfully there are groups like "just a dog" rescue. They specialize in boys like him and he was whisked away to private foster care where he is learning what toys and chewies are for. He has a pretty good appreciation for a tennis ball and a wading pool.

Zorro is getting training and socialization at school on Saturdays and I hear he is a fast learner. But his Foster family wondered if there was something more that TTouch could give him.

Today we had our first session. Zorro is quite the high energy boy! We improvised some course work and weaved in and around plants and navigated stairs and had all sorts of fun. I found out first hand what a quick learner Zorro is! Talk about some serious leash manners. I was impressed.

Our plan for Zorro is to teach him to slow down and smell the flowers...and to enjoy belly rubs . Soon we will set up a full size course and watch him really come into his own!

He is such a lovable boy and he is really making the most of his 2nd chance. People that fight for dogs like Zorro - and rescue groups like "just a dog" that welcome them with open arms - restore my faith in mankind.