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November 23, 2007

Since it’s been 3 months since Lilly started taking an anti-depressant, I can probably stop naming Friday’s entry with a number. So suffice it to say that Fridays will continue to be a big picture update on our progress and the week’s work.

As a preface to this week’s update, I want to revisit something conceptually, and that’s why I chose to try medication to help with Lilly’s behavior problem. For those just catching up, I spent 2+ years trying to help Lilly in other ways, including new ideas, new training venues, near constant training, all-natural supplements … you name it.

The decision to try drugs was HUGE for me. It’s not something I did lightly. It’s not like I expected miracles. It’s not like I’m not busting my @#$@# to work through Lilly’s worries. But, just as I would not withhold pain medication if Lilly or Ginko were hurt, I certainly would not withhold medications for other problems, if they might help. Ginko, for example, takes essentially the same thyroid medicine I take for low thyroid. From where I sit, and how I live, that’s not anthropomorphizing. That’s good medicine. To me, it’s the same with the drugs used to help with behavior.

The results after 3 months are both encouraging and NOT. Lilly is indeed snarking at other dogs less, but she’s also still having panick attacks now and then. Just this week, she survived a passing skateboarder on the path. She got nervous, but did not react with her voice or body. Then, a free-ranging springer on a flex-leash came bombing down the path, so I asked Lilly to get OFF TRAIL while he passed. My mistake? I asked her to sit near a bronze statue of a man with a gun. There are many bronzes in Golden, the town closest to us, and Lilly indeed used to have full-blown freak-out sessions about all of them, but over the last 2 years, she’s gotten much better. So, her total panick caught me off guard. It’s been at least 18 months without a statue-related incident.

So, I was pretty discouraged.

What it says to me, in terms of the drug’s effectiveness, is that it’s helping Lilly deal with 1 or 2 triggers at a time, but if 3 or more come in quick succession, then she still goes over threshold. Is that progress? I’m not sure.

Class notes
Before the others arrived, we worked on re-orienting after she’s released from her crate. Since we were in public, I had her leashed, but it was a long training one, and Lilly quickly learned to pop out and turn into me. So that’s good. I’ve tried training it at home too, with less success. At home, she’s far more likely to blow me off.

There were only a few dogs at class this week, several of them young and wild. Lilly did really well. I could tell that she wanted to “correct” them, but she didn’t. Still, if she nearly took action, I praised and treated her like crazy, then I moved her farther away so that she’d be less tempted. For example, we were sitting about 5 feet from the fence when a dog charged the fence while playing inside. Lilly fidgeted, but did not react. Still, we moved further back and settled again on our mat.

We played a little LOOK this week. She doesn’t seem to think it’s hilarious, so I’m not sure she sees it as a game, but she will look at people, dogs, bikes, geese, whatever, when I ask.

The challenge this week, in addition to the dogs and such, was that one handler brought her 2 children so that they can learn to work with the dog too. I could tell that their noise and quick movements bothered Lilly, but she hung in there. Until … at one point, the son decided to play with the PVC goal on the soccer fields we were using. It was maybe 30 feet from us, and he tipped it over.

Lilly didn’t have a direct response, but in the next exercise (flatwork of sorts) Lilly was slow and disinterested, which is the early stage of shutdown. Thankfully, Gigi and I were able to jolly Lilly out of it, but it cast a tinge on the day. Later, Lilly’s recalls were perfect but S-L-O-W.

She seems to like having her mat to lay on, though. If plops before I get her mat on the ground, then I just say NEST and she scoots at least part of her body on to the mat. I’m sure some of my classmates think I’m goofy.

Relaxation Protocol
We’re into our second 15-day round in the protocol. Now, we’re working in the entry hall, so that I can use the front door and doorbell, etc. As I’ve mentioned, I’m training the sleepy eyes and lowering of the head in a down as separate pieces because I’m NOT getting them naturally through the protocol. Lilly is pretty mellow (for her) while we work the protocol, but I wouldn’t say she’s getting progressively more relaxed. She still follows me with her head and eyes when I circle her or move away, for example. But, other than the talking and knocking problem last week, she doesn’t pop up.

I dread the doorbell, which is coming, though. Wish me luck.

In Public
Lilly went holiday shopping with me last weekend. It was cool enough that I didn’t have to worry about leaving her in the car. She’s a real trooper, hanging out in her crate while I shop. Then, when I return, we worked a little bit in each parking lot or on the sidewalk outside the stores. She seemed anxious to get back to the car each time, but she did work and not freak out at the people or cars going by. She didn’t even seem to care when dogs in other cars barked at her as we passed.

About the Author Roxanne Hawn

Trained as a traditional journalist and based in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA, I'm a full-time freelance writer for magazines, websites, and private clients. My areas of specialty include everything in the lifestyles arena, including health and home, personal finance and other consumer interests, relationships and trends, people and business profiles ... and, of course, all things pet related.

I don't just love dogs. I need them in my life. Seriously.

  1. Nothing wrong with experimenting with drugs (well you know what I mean). If Lilly’s got something up with her brain chemistry that could be helped by drugs then why not? It’s no different than a person with a genetic chemical imbalance that they have no control over and many people have greatly increased quality of life thanks to drugs. Obviously you’re working very hard with the behavior modification, why not take advantange of every tool you have available to you? It may or may not work but it’s certainly worth a try.

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