Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Aliens Took My Dog

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That’s exactly what I thought yesterday morning.

While I was in the bathroom getting ready for work Delilah came in.  I pulled out my rug and threw it on the floor and said, “Down.”

Down she went.

I told her to stay, so she got herself all comfy and stayed.

Granted it wasn’t good enough for a show stay, but she did stay.  Even when I left the bathroom and went to check to see if my eggs were boiling.

Once I released her we went to the kitchen to get breakfast.  Even though she was dancing and jumping until we got there, she sat at the edge of the kitchen and waited while I got her breakfast.

She didn’t move once.

After breakfast the eggs were ready to be peeled. This can take me about 10 minutes because 1) I peel them while they are hot and 2) I make all my breakfast eggs at the beginning of the week, I also make a few for Hubby which means I made 14 eggs yesterday morning.

I peel the eggs directly over the garbage can.  Sometimes Delilah’s right there with me, trying to reach into the garbage and take out what I’m putting in there.

Not yesterday morning.

While I was peeling eggs Delilah sat in the doorway watching me.   At one point a piece of shell flew off and landed on the floor, I watched her from the corner of my eye.  She looked at it and then made the decision to leave it.

A minute or two later she looked at it again and I saw her head move as if she was going to get up and I said, “ACK,” and she left it alone.

I had no other options than to 1) reward her for such excellent behavior and 2) come to the conclusion that aliens had taken my dog.

Never fear, they brought her back late in the afternoon.

Just in time to help me make dinner.

How did your Monday go?

TTouch

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Yesterday I wrote how I have been giving Delilah massages and it seems to be something she really enjoys.

I was inspired by a post at Peaceful Dog, in the post Kirsten had included a link to a previous post where she wrote about TTouch with her reactive dog Lamar.

If you haven’t heard of TTouch here is a brief explanation “TTouch can help you understand and influence your animal with your heart and hands in a way that develops trust, creates a harmonious relationship, and changes unwanted behavior.”

There is something in the TTouch that releases endorphins which we all know are what helps us with our moods.

While I was reading Kirsten’s post about TTouch I realized I have been doing this with Delilah without even realizing it!

I probably do this three to four times per day, Delilah will come up to me and I place one hand under each of her ears and rub in a circular motion.  After 30 seconds or so I get a really deep sigh, like she is relaxed or content.  Which is exactly what Kirsten described.

First thing in the morning as I am trying to get ready for work, she comes into the bathroom looking for attention.  I rub her ears.

When I come home from work, before or after her massage.  I rub her ears.

After we are settled in bed, I reach for Delilah and rub her ears.  She stretches out across my feet and looks up at me.  I drop a kiss on her head and rub some more and then the deep, contented sigh.

All is right in her world.

What do you do when your dog is amped up?  Is there something special you do to help calm him/her down?

It Takes A Blogville To Raise A Delilah

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Sampson and Delilah go to daycare twice a week for half days.   They don’t do a lot at daycare, they like to lie around and sleep (much like they do at home) and occasionally they get up and play with the other dogs or interact with Sara or her mom, Sue.

Hubby and I know this, which is why we dropped them to half days.  I feel that even though they lie around much of the day they are stimulated more by the comings and goings at The Mellow Mutt then they would be by sleeping their day away on our couch.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned this here, but Delilah has issues with dogs behind fences.  In the case of daycare it is dogs in crates or dogs on the other side of certain gates.

The Mellow Mutt is set up as such:

(I hope you can get the idea from this ‘drawing’.)

The drawing is not to scale, so along the right wall of where it says “fenced area” there are crates.  These are mostly used for the grooming dogs but sometimes someone needs a time out or certain dogs just like to sleep there.

When I drop Delilah off I have to make certain there are no dogs in the fenced area or in a crate with the door shut, if there are she will charge up to the crated dog, and bark like a lunatic, baring her teeth and snarling.  To say this is disturbing to me is an understatement.  To manage this I just make sure that she remains on leash and is guided through to where she needs to be.

Lately she has continued this behavior at the gate. Which brings us up to Friday.

When I picked them up on Friday a man was coming in with his big yellow lab, Tyson.  Dianne (one of the groomers) had to hold Delilah back as Tyson went through the fence, once he was through she was fine.  Sara clipped her on leash and handed her out to me.  I keep her on a fairly short leash in the retail area because she likes to shoplift shop.

Typically I’ll stand there chatting for a few minutes before I leave, which is what I did on Friday.

While I was standing there, Tyson came up to the gate and Delilah charged him.  I was so caught off-guard that I reacted poorly.  I yanked her and I pushed her down and told her NO! ( I’m not proud of this, but if I’m to help her overcome her issues I need to be honest with myself and with you on how I handled this.)  We left almost immediately after.

Yesterday while working the Labs 4 Rescue adoption event, I had the opportunity to really sit down with Sara and discuss Delilah.  I found out that when Delilah went at Tyson on Friday, she actually bit him through the gate.  Sara said he had a puncture in his lip and two teeth scratches on his face.

I feel horrible.  I offered to pay for any vet bill but Sara says the owner was ok with it.  Really?  (I wouldn’t be, but that is a topic for a different post.)

I told Sara that I don’t think me pushing Delilah down is the proper way to deal with this issue and I don’t believe it helps Delilah with whatever is bothering/scaring her about the fence/gate.

Since Delilah is like the biggest Alpha female I’ve ever heard/seen, Sara thinks she is disciplining the other dogs at the gate.  Sara thinks that Delilah thinks she owns the place and it is her responsibility to monitor it.

We decided it’s in Delilah’s best interest to not go to daycare for a week or so and see if that doesn’t help alleviate the issue.  I’m not really sure a break will work but I’m willing to give it a shot.

I’m anxious to hear what you think about this?  Have you heard of dogs with this issue?  Have you heard of any solutions that work?

I have no problem keeping Delilah permanently out of daycare, but I know Sampson enjoys going and once again it would be Sampson who misses out on something he enjoys because I just can’t get a handle on Delilah.

Whadda ya say, Blogville?  How would you help this dog?

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