Diary of a broken dog, September: games

Jax loves to play. We don't play a lot of tug of war with him yet, because it brings out the wild beast in him. While tugging, his eyes will suddenly change, and he will become extremely aggressive and start jumping around and biting at us.

Pat bought him a frisbee, and Jax loves it, leaping into the air and chasing it. Occasionally he catches it in the air and then prances around with it in his jaws, quite pleased with himself.

On a recent walk he saw some college students playing frisbee - he instantly became alert, and tried to head over to their play area. I let him watch for a minute, his whole body was vibrating with excitment. The frisbee! the frisbee - you could practically see the little wheels turning in his head. "I could get that frisbee!" This was one of the first times he responded to a group of people without fear - he was so distracted by the frisbee. I wondered what he might have done if I had let go of him? Might be worth setting up such a scene with some agreeable people.

He chases tennis balls and sticks, almost anything we throw for him. He doesn't give back, unless we "trade" for the item - offer a different toy or small treat. Then he drops quickly and snatches at the new item. Not very polite, but he'll learn.

We are teaching "wait" - hold an item in front of him, but remove it quickly if he snatches at it. He gets the item when I want to give it to him.

Diary of a broken dog - September

We continued to introduce Jax to each of the dogs with not much success. Jax lunged and snarled.
Each dog responded in a different way, but generally with curiosity, friendliness and tolerance.

Pat was in favor of just throwing Jax into the whole pack, as he had seen on Cesar Millan's show.
Finally he talked me into it. All six dogs were let into the yard, and Jax was led into the mix. For the most part our dogs simple wanted to sniff Jax, which he did not allow (whirling and snarling). The big dogs got bored with him in a few minutes and wandered off to take care of business or play with each other. Jax stood in the middle of all this, alarmed, worried looking.

At one point Beau trotted to Jax and did a play bow. Jax just stared. Beau bowed again, and again, and again, finally sinking into a hugely exaggerated deep play bow. "Do you hear me now?"
But Jax just stared...he didn't understand. I thought, "he doesn't speak 'dog'."Beau gave up and trotted away.

Jax trotted stealthily up to one dog after another to sniff and check each one out. Our dogs were patient, standing still for inspection, as soon as they turned to sniff Jax, he would dart away growling. I thought, "he has no dog manners."

During this month I took Jax for long walks 3 or 4 times a day. I tried clicker training, at first he was terrified of the clicker and would run from the room when he heard it. Finally outside on a leash, I clicked the clicker and dropped a greasy treat. Jax couldn't run because of the leash - after 3 or 4 greasy treats he figured it out and immediately lost his fear of the clicker.
Clicker= yum!

He was starting to enjoy walks, now he was pulling to go places. He was starting to sniff and inspect things he encountered, starting to behave like a real dog. I needed to change the pulling habit, so I used the clicker - clicking everytime he walked quietly next to me - but this turned into, "run ahead, fall behind, get a treat, run ahead fall behind get a treat." I felt clumsy with the clicker and I wasn't teaching what I intended.

I tried the "be a tree" method - if the dog pulls, the handler stands still until the dog returns to the handlers side. I spent a lot of time standing still in the middle of the sidewalk while Jax flipped and jumped and leaped and lunged and ran in circles around me.

I tried "turn and walk in the opposite direction". Everytime Jax lunged ahead of me I turned around and walked in the other direction. This was a little bit more successful. Still. We never got much farther than the sidewalk in front of our house. All that turning back.

I tried Cesar's method, with the leash up close behind the ears - that was better - but what really made the difference was ME. I remembered what Janice Wolfe (dog whisperer NJ) looked like when she walked dogs - confident & happy. And I remember her saying, "don't look at that dog!"
So I adopted her posture, looked up and strode forward, and Jax trotted alongside me.

But not every time. Not always. But it does say a lot about the human part of the equation.

Diary of a broken dog, week 2 (8/5 - 8/12/08)

I've noticed that Jax is considerably calmer during walks taken at night. Less stimuli? Don't know.

Have been using a Halti on him to give me more control. Applying the halti is a trick. He doesn't like his face handled and resists with his teeth. I hold a treat in my right hand, slip the nose loop over my treat-bearing fingers. As he takes the treat, I slip the loop over his snout. Then maybe a struggle to get it latched behind his ears.

According to Cesar, long walks are supposed to drain his energy, but taking Jax on a long walk only makes him tense. He is so relieved to be indoors again, he goes into ballistic play. How to drain his energy??

Behaving a teeny bit better about us going in and out of the door, and also eating more regularly. Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior recommends a low protein, high carb diet. Read this somewhere else too, dog food should be no more than 21% protein. Hi-protein encourages aggression in dogs.

Pat plays with him on the front lawn, and he's getting more comfortable outside. A little too aggressive during play, sometimes gets too excited and will start jumping up and biting. When that happens I hold the leash firmly and make him sit, then rub him behind the ears until he relaxes. It's like he suddenly turns into a wild fox or coyote and is quite disturbed to be so close to humans, so he starts biting. But he relaxes very quickly when massaged - almost melting into the ground.

Barks himself into a frenzy at the cats.

8/8 Friday Introduction to Mina, 2 year old spayed Lab/Dal mix. She was extraordinarily patient with him.

8/9 Saturday Walk for 45 minutes downtown and back. Saw Pat at Main Street, as soon as Jax recognized he rushed up to him and started snuggling and exposing his belly, tail wagging low. Then Daryl came out and he met Daryl - went okay, not exactly calm, but not so anxious

Sunday 8/10 Went for walk 1 1/2 hours across town to cemetery and back. Jax nervous and pulling the entire time. I think I'm calm. On the way back we encounter 2 small dogs, a corgi puppy and a terrier in their yard - they chase us along the fence yapping madly and Jax is terrified, trying to get away and manages to pull the halti off his nose. (Big advantage of halti over gentle leader halter - the halti has a safety loop that attaches the halter to the collar. So even if the halti slides off, the leash is still connected to the collar.) Anyway, a struggle with a panicky dog trying to put the dreaded halti back on, but managed. Finally reached home, me worn out, Jax relieved and playful and energetic.
Days later it comes to me: being quiet is not the same as being calm. In fact, I was not calm on that walk, I was grim, which is entirely different. I was worrying about all the different problems in my life and feeling anxious myself. Of course it wasn't a fun walk! How could it have been for him? I was all gloomy and angry, even though I was quiet, I'm sure he felt my mood.

Diary of a broken dog: the first week (July 29 - Aug 4, 2008)

7 month old male, neutered border collie

Situationally aggressive: when attempting to close into kennel; handling mouth/neck to apply collar or leash; on being restrained when excited. Will jump, bare teeth, mouth hands, bite hands (and hold teeth on hands with progressively more pressure).

Fearful: of outdoors (just the wide open space?), traffic sounds, other dogs, cats, people jogging, walking, bicycling, talking, wind, rain, thunder. Fearful of being alone in fenced yard. Symptoms exhibited: panting, pulling frantically on leash, cowering.

Indoors hyperactive but cheerful and playful. But rough or excited play incites aggressive, biting behavior.

Easily aroused to hyper-excited state.

Hyperactive: paces and pants continuously, barks excitedly, impulsive, cannot calm self. Cannot ignore external stimuli, when fed cannot pause long enough to eat meal - will take a bite, then dash off to check out noise or some other thing he's anxious about.

Uncertain around people, but if left alone will approach and behave submissively - low tail wag, sit, slouch down to back and expose belly. Enjoys being petted.

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First 3 days walks were very stressful. Jax pulled on leash and panted, trying hard to ignore all the sights, sounds, smells around him. Walks did not seem to tire him out physically, even though they must be very mentally challenging. At home he raced toward the door eager to be inside. Indoors he relaxed somewhat and became playful, until he encountered a cat, which terrified him. By the second day he was barking at cats and getting overexcited. Not met dogs yet, but certainly can hear and smell them.

Sleeping in Mary's room. Hard to leave him in room, he leaps to rush out, and will jump up and bite your hand as you attempt to open or close door.

4th day walk: Sniffed some bushes! Progress. He was able to ignore scary stimuli long enough to behave like a real dog. Learning to sit calmly when I stop at curb. Not so noticeably nervous as trucks roar by.

Met woman who knows him - her father used to own him. Dog and I were standing at a curb, he was sitting calmly, just received a treat for calm behavior, when woman pulled up in truck, got out and approached us. Jax sunk to sidewalk flat on his belly, ears drooping, whale-eyed, as she talked to me. When she tried to get close to him to pet him, his lips curled and he snapped the air. Don't know if he remembers her (sight, voice, scent?) or if she was intruding - but change in his posture was dramatic and behavior more extreme than I've seen before when he met the people in our family (he was sweet and submissive to each of us).

Started car trip to Texas - car too small for crate. Jax very excited, dashing back and forth in back seat. Figured he would calm down after an hour or so. Five hours later, still dashing back and forth occasionally barking. Very distracting and aggravating to us humans!
Had to put tags on collar - very mouthy, biting. Finally took collar off, attached tags, then Mary held him by slip leash, while I put collar on - very mouthy, biting.

Moods swing back and forth - from snotty bratty bitey behavior to sweet little puppy and back again.

Day 5
Very afraid of outdoors, new place (Missouri). Difficult to go in and out of door to pack car - he keeps trying to slip out. Eager to get back into car and out of scary outdoors. Somewhat calmer in car - dashing and barking only at cars going north, while southbound cars pass by without him reacting. At rest stops have to drag him out of car, he pees quickly and leaps back into car.

In Texas met 2 new people, my aunt and young cousin. Jax wary. Snout wrinkled when Tristan approached too quickly - I corrected with a gruff no, Jax looked up at me, then rolled onto his side, exposing his belly to me. Later we try again, I tell Tristan the no touch, no talk, no looking at the dog rule (Cesar Millan and Mark German), and this works better. Tristan and I talk, while Jax approaches, sniffs and calms down.

Jax must stay in family room, gets jumpy and mouthy whenever we attempt to leave him in the room.

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Remember:

Practice makes progress.
Be realistic - don't expect miracles.
Remain calm-assertive at all times.
Work toward a little progress each day - and quit while you're ahead, when the dog has successfully completed an exercise and can be praised for it.
Expect setbacks - don't be discouraged. View setbacks as opportunities to learn.
Be kind to yourself as well as to the dog.
Be patient - it took seven months to get him in this condition, it may take at least that long to recondition him, to modify behavior and develop new neural pathways in his brain.
Be positive.

Diary of a Broken Dog

Jax is a 7 month old border collie who is a ward of the Poweshiek Animal League Shelter. For most of his life he has lived confined in a crate. His previous owners claim that he is hyperactive. He was adopted once for a very short time, and was returned because of aggression and biting - he attacked a veterinarian who then recommended the dog be euthanized. Because of his bite history he was not accepted into a Border Collie Rescue group. At the PALS shelter he tried to bite at least two of the volunteers.

I didn't know any of this when I met Jax. The dog I met was a very sweet, submissive puppy, whom I had to coax out of his crate. When he finally was brave enough to venture out, he sidled up to me nose down, ears pinned back, with his tail brushing the floor between his legs, and rolled over, exposing his belly. On walks he lunged on the leash, tail down, panting, panicking at every sound, every rustle of a leaf, at the sight of cows, at the other dogs. Occasionally he would stop walking, sit, lean against my leg and point his nose toward my face with the most pleading expression in his eyes. I thought, "this is one scared puppy."

When I learned that Jax might be euthanized, I protested. I was not impressed by the pronouncement that a 7 month old border collie is hyperactive. To me, that's redundant. Border collies are one of the most active breeds of dogs, bred for stamina and agility and energy. One source I read described them as "high voltage." And a 7 month old puppy of almost any breed of canine is going to be active both because it is young and because it is canine. If you don't want an active, energetic pet, then don't buy a young dog. Get a turtle.
Or if you just want something that looks cute, then get a frickin' plush toy, but don't force your unrealistic wants on a living being.

As far as being aggressive - I confess I had only dealt with Jax three or four times, but I hadn't seen anything I'd label aggressive. Mark German, Arizona dog whisperer, told me that people are way too quick to label a dog aggressive, and it's unfair to the dog, because many of them end up dead as a result of one person's erroneous opinion. Dogs that look like they're acting aggressively are often in reality trying to defend themselves because they are afraid, he said, and it's up to humans to correct that behavior, to let the dog know it doesn't need to be afraid, that it can depend on a human pack leader for protection. Shelter dogs don't usually have a pack leader - they live in separate quarters, not in a pack, and I suspect many of them often feel threatened by the situation they're in, so they act out. Jax certainly was living in a state of fear. If he was biting, I wondered, could it be because he is afraid and trying to protect himself? I was told that his biting didn't resemble fear-biting, but was unpredictable and "mean".

I was distressed for this pup. He'd had a rough start and was coping in the only way he knew how, and that coping behavior was leading him toward death. On Tuesday, July 29, I took Jax from the shelter and brought him home. Though my skills and education about rehabilitating a damaged dog are limited, I thought I'd give him a chance.

For the next several posts, this blog will consist of a journal about my experiences working with this dog. May we all learn something, and may Jax learn to be whole again.

A bucket of kittens

A few weeks ago we offered to foster a litter of five newborn kittens. The animal shelter worker who was caring for them also had several other dependent animals in her care and was feeling overwhelmed. My daughter Catherine had the time and ability and desire to help, so she took the kitties.

For the first few days all seemed to be going well. Catherine loved the kittens and took great pleasure in feeding them, helping them to eliminate and keeping them warm and dry. She successfully transferred them from syringe feeding to bottle feeding. They were so cute, their little round ears twitching as they suckled at the bottle.

But then one of the smaller kittens began to fail. We had trouble feeding him and he cried piteously - this heartbreaking descending wail. His little face was bony, not round and cute. I took him to our vet, who thought he could still make it, and told me to continue to care for him. But he warned me, things could change very quickly. That night the kitty died as I held him in my hands.

By this time the other kittens were experiencing trouble too. They were constantly wet and dirty with feces. It was nearly impossible to keep them clean and dry and warm. One by one they stopped nursing at the bottle. We fed them with syringes, but they did not thrive, they grew weaker, frailer. Within a few days, all the kitties had died.

We were devastated, traumatized. Our little babies suffered and died. Why?

A little backstory: these tiny, fragile, babies were found inside a plastic bucket at the edge of a lake. Who knows how long they had lain in that bucket in the sun? Had somebody planned to drown them in the lake? Lost their nerve or been interrupted? What happened to the mother cat? Is she still alive? Pregnant again? We don't know. But we feel pretty certain that these kittens were treated with hideous disdain for their little lives.

What we've learned. We managed the care of the kittens poorly. People have said, You did your best, you don't need to feel guilty. But we made some very serious mistakes, and those kittens suffered for it. And yes, we do feel guilty, we feel responsible. Here is what we now know, maybe it will help someone in the future.

We already knew about kitten formula and feeding with syringes and bottles. We knew that very young kittens need to be stimulated to eliminate urine and feces (gently wash their genitals with a warm damp cloth). We knew kittens needed to be kept warm, clean and dry.
We had already raised one newborn kitten, and he thrived. But raising one kitten is not the same as raising more than one. Tommy, our bottle kitten, was easy to keep dry and warm.

How to care for motherless newborn kittens

Many, many thanks to my friends at the Ask the Vet Techs and Cat Lovers Group at Care2.com. From these wonderful people I learned so much about handraising orphaned kittens, unfortunately I learned too late to save my babies.

Keep the kittens separate from one another. This is counter-intuitive, but very important to understand. Our motherless kittens were always wet and dirty, which kept them cold - it took us way too long to figure out they were peeing and pooping on each other. We didn't understand how this was happening: if kittens need stimulation to eliminate waste, how were these kittens managing to pee and poop on each other constantly? Kittens, like all mammal babies, have a strong instinct to suckle, and will spend much time suckling on their mother. Motherless kittens who are kept together will suckle on each other - generally on each other's genitals which are nipple-like to the touch. When they suckle on each other's genitals they stimulate elimination, which means they end up peeing and pooping on each other. The kittens will get wet and dirty, then they will get cold. When they get cold, their systems begin to shut down, they lose their energy and strength, they will not suckle properly, they will not digest food properly.
So: Wrap each kitten in a warmed piece of flannel or fleece, tuck it into a small box. Put all the small boxes in a larger box (a styrofoam cooler or other insulated box if you have one). Tuck blankets or towels or quilt batting in between all the small boxes. Loosely cover the big box with a towel or light blanket.

2. Keep the kittens warm. We kept our kittens together, thinking they would keep each other warm. BUT a newborn kitten does not have the ability to keep itself warm, therefore newborn kittens cannot keep each other warm. (And as stated above, if kept together, they will suckle on each other, and make each other wet from urine & feces, which will make them cold.) They depend entirely on external sources to keep warm: a mother cat, a light bulb, a heating pad, a very warm room (90 degrees).

Put the big box with the small individual boxes in a small room - a laundry room, bathroom or closet, and keep that room heated to 90 degrees with a space heater. Or position a desk lamp with a 25 watt bulb over the box. For temporary heat you can also use socks filled with raw rice and heated in the dryer or microwave, and tucked between the boxes. (You can also buy pet beds that contain heating pads.)

3. Feed the kittens a commercial kitten formula like KMR. This is available at most pet stores, Wal-mart or your local veterinary clinic. Dilute the formula by adding about 1/3 water to 2/3 formula. You don't want the formula to be so dense that it causes diarrhea, or so weak that the kittens aren't getting nutrition. You may have to adjust the dilution over a few days until the kittens are eliminating properly. Add a drop of corn syrup or molasses to the formula in the bottle and shake it up. This will help keep the baby from getting constipated. Feed with either a syringe (ask your veterinarian for a couple, usually free) or a baby bottle for pets (available at same place you buy formula). You have to make your own hole in the nipple - this is the most difficult thing to do. Too small and the kitten has to work too hard to get a small amount of food. Too large, and the kitten will choke on the fast flow. Buy a few extra nipples if you can, to experiment. Then you have to practice patience and perseverance as the kitten learns to suckle from the bottle. Once the kitten figures it out, feeding is easy. A healthy kitten will stop eating when it is full - you can tell the kitten has enough formula if it drops off the bottle, its mouth relaxed and almost smiling, it's tummy round and full, and its body relaxed. The kitten will look drunk and happy.
An unhealthy kitten will struggle at the bottle and may never seem to get enough. If necessary, go back to feeding with a syringe. This takes practice!
Feed healthy kittens about every four hours. Weak kittens may need to be fed every two hours.


4. Help the kittens to eliminate waste. After the kitten has eaten enough you must wash its genital area with a warm damp cloth or cotton ball. The kitten will pee and poop. Healthy poop will be soft and mustard yellow. Tiny kittens may experience diarrhea or blood in their stool due to the formula not being perfect like mother's milk. (Occasional diarrhea or blood is not a cause for concern. If the kitten has constant diarrhea or bloody stool, take it to you veterinarian.) Clean and dry the kitten and wrap it up in a warmed piece of flannel and deposit it back into it's little box. If you have extra help, have someone else warm up some flannels in the clothes dryer, so you have them ready as each kitten is done eating.

5. Weigh the kittens. Determine your own schedule, but weigh the kittens at a consistent point at each feeding - either before or after you feed them. Use a small kitchen scale.
Keep a record for each kitten, at least for the first couple of weeks until you know they are thriving. Kittens should gain weight rapidly, and may show weight gain at each feeding. A kitten who is losing weight is in dire trouble.

6. Troubleshooting. Consult your veterinarian for constant diarrhea or bloody stool. If an otherwise healthy kitten is struggling with a bottle, check the size of the hole in the nipple - try different nipples. Eye infections are common in kittens. Gently wipe the the kitten's eyes with cotton balls dipped in saline solution or boric acid solution (in the pharmacy with contact lens solutions). You can also buy eye ointment from your veterinarian.

7. Love. Snuggle the kitten and stroke it gently (as it's mother would lick it). I tucked Tommy inside my bra and carried him around next to my chest. Tommy craved affection, as I'm sure our little motherless litter of kittens would have if we had been able to get past desperately trying to feed and warm them. Tactile stimulation is important, touch, hold, pet, nuzzle.

This is just the basics. For more information:
Raising Orphan Kittens
Orphaned Kittens
Hand raising the orphaned kitten

There are a lot of other websites - just key word "orphaned kittens".
And a book: Hand-raising the orphaned kitten, by Myrna L. Papurt, DVM

To finish up - I think most or all of our kittens would have survived if we had kept them separated from each other - they would have stayed warm and dry and would have eaten better as a result. I can't tell you how awful we feel about this.

Leading cause of death in healthy young dogs and cats

According to the 1996 Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the leading cause of death in healthy young dogs and cats in the U.S. was intentional killing in shelters.

In 1996, 4 million dogs were handled by U.S. shelters, of those 2 million were killed.

4 million cats were killed.

People who choose to work in animal shelters love animals. Imagine the toll on their hearts and spirits when they have to do society's dirty work.


Help prevent these needless deaths.
SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR DOGS AND CATS.