Shasta - Coming to understand a misunderstood pooch

Shasta is an interesting dog, and that's an understatement for a lack of better words. The opportunity to learn from her is continually unfolding with new levels.  I'm fond of her, VERY fond of her.  It's difficult to not love her, and she's teaching me a great deal about training, behavior issues, diet and biochemical imbalances, too.  As time passes and our relationship strengthens, I'm coming to understand her more and more.

One of my first steps in her training was writing a full training program for her.  It starts with remedial steps for anxiety, leading to our goal which will take time.  What is that goal?  For her to show the world what a sweet girl she can be! ...and to pass the AKC Canine Good Citizen test.  I won't feel comfortable adopting her to someone else until she can pass that test.  Yes, yes, she may stay with us forever, but I want her to get the CGC either way.  For now, we're focusing on the remedial training.  She's comfortable with me and Sean, and with that trust, we can continue to work on her relaxation, basics and build to the advanced training later.  Notice the key word there is "trust."  To be able to train a dog, you need their trust, especially nervous pups like my Shasta.

Now, for a progress report.  :-)

When Shasta first came to my house, she was reactive to Sean and the cats, and I couldn't trust her loose in the house because she might have hurt one of our kitties.  Today, she's madly in love with Sean, and as I type, she's sitting at my feet, untethered and with cats lounging a few feet away.  It took several passbys, pull-to's, tTouch, relaxation exercises with cats nearby and time outs for inappropriate behavior, but she did it.  She learned.  Shasta still explosively reacts to strangers, but there's hope.  Her change in behavior around the cats tells me that she can learn -- one day, she'll be able to walk past a stranger without yelling at them.

It's not going to be easy, and it's going to take time, likely months.  Shasta is a special case, and after reading her history, I'm beginning to understand her a little better.

Here's a brief back ground.

Shasta was rescued from Bastrop in the spring of 2011 and was sickly.  Her health began improving, but APA quickly realized that she was pregnant.  They did the usual care for her, which was great, but they spayed her only seven weeks after she had her puppies.  That was too soon.  After a dog has a litter or a heat, the wait time for spaying is THREE MONTHS, and some behaviorists even recommend six months.  This allows the uterus to return to a normal size and for the hormones to level out. Because of the early spay, her progesterone levels weren't allowed to normalize, and progesterone affects the brain's ability to produce serotonin.  Of course, spaying later also removes estrogen and progesterone from the system, but her body should have been given a chance for those hormones to return to a normal level before they yanked them out.

Moving forward.

As frustrating as it may be, nothing can be done about it now.  All we can do is press on and use this knowledge.  After some research and brain picking of some helpful trainers, I'm going to supplement her diet with anti-anxiety and serotonin boosting foods.  There's Rescue Remedy, which has calming herbs.  I'll also give her fish oil daily since fatty acids help with brain health and mood regulation.  In addition to this, I'm adding chamomile for her stomach upset.  She still vomits after getting overly excited or nervous.  As a good friend put it, she really feels it, not just mentally but physically also.  I'll add bananas to her yogurt-peanut butter-kibble kong, too, because bananas contain high levels of tryptophan which the body converts to serotonin.  So, she'll be eating like The King!  Minus the fried bread part.

Adding these to her diet won't fix her behavior, but it'll make her more susceptible to the training.  Shasta can learn, as she proved with the cats, and I'm going to give her every advantage possible.  Like Lee Mannix would say, "If you're not cheating, you're not trying hard enough."

Shasta relaxing in the backyard. As lovely and sweet as she is, Shasta isn't the dog for a casual dog lover.  She needs a dog enthusiast who will take her training seriously and keep up with it for her entire life.  It's a tall order, and it's also a reason for her to stay with me.  Unless I can find an adopter who has experience with special dogs like Shasta, I'll continue the campaign for her adoption at my home.  I'll keep telling myself that, too.  My love for her and not wanting to let her go has nothing to do with it.  Right?