Rip It Up

November 24, 2012

This was an intersting day.  Drake slept better last night and got up to start off on a wonderful day.  We got up did our morning routine, but I had a migraine starting abot 2:30 AM.  I had taking some Advil PM and was having a hard tie waking up.  The headache was still there.  So after I came p sof my morning nap I went into a deep sleep.  I could hear Drake barking and barking and barking.  However, I blocked it out and slept most of the day.  When I woke up I took him outside for a while and watched him very closely.  I came in the house a little after 4:00 PM.  I went to give the dogs their evening meal and then when into the little toilet area of my bathroom to sit.  The first thing I noticed was my toilet brush was moved and when I looked to where it had been sitting I saw that he had complete destroyed my soft sided toilet seat by chewing it up.  Likewise the over toilet cabinet had been chewed from the bottom up about 12 inches.  At first I couldn't breathe.  I looked at him calmly eating his dinner and felt a combination of anger and disgust with myself.  Why hadn't I put him in his crate.  How much damage do I have to endure from this one dog.  I knew that the toilet room was a trigger, but had removed the door becase I never closed it and it was in the way.  That was a long time before I got Drake.  I tried to pt a doggie gate up, but the opening was too small and I had not thought of an alternative idea of what to do.  So there it was.  An expensive lesson and just maybe an incentive to start crating him for naps or anytime I couldn't watch him.  It was going to be his new life and I was going to reclaim mine.

Even thogh he went to bed early again, I assured myself that tomorrow I would be a warrior.  He was going to get his training, the walks, sprayed with water, and locked in a damn crate for a while.  iIwould recrate trin him the proper way, but he would be retrained.  I would refer to the notes more ofter and call Shelly with any problems that I have.  Stay on track every moment and stop feeling defeated.  I think that he is feeding off of that energy and it is not getting the results that I needed.  I really do not mind the blind and deaf part of Drake it is all of his baggage that hs has picked up due to his impairment. 

Can't Get No Satisfaction

November 23rd, 2012

I decided to take some action instead of blogging that I had a horrible day.  The first thing I did was to call Shelly.  She was a trainer that had worked with Drake the last four months that he was in prison.  I wrote a note to a lady here in Austin that works with blind and deaf dogs.  I sent a couple of paragraphs describing Drake and our issues, asking her for to arrange for an evaluation of him.  I called my friend Debi, who has a blind/deaf double dapple named Chewy.  I discussed some problems that I thought we had in common with our dogs.  They are also both two years of age.  The difference is that Drake was rescued at one and a half years old.  Chewy has been with Debi since he was 5 weeks old.  I also reread the notes that Christi made for me through her time training Drake.

My best information came from Shelly.  We talked about an hour and I was sort of retrained on how to handle Drake.  Many of the things that she said rang a bell, but had been buried with me trying new things and listening to people that have no idea about Drake.  The first thing was the water spray bottle.  She emphasized that I had to have it all of the time.  Well, I never take it outside and she also suggested that I get a little water gun (child's) to carry when I take him to dog, grain or building stores so if he throws a fit I have a very quick remedy.  Somewhere along the line I had started saying no, no instead of spraying.  Then no, no starting becoming less effective I started removing him and putting a lead on him.  These things aren't bad, but April was right to say that I was the weak link.  I felt his respect dissolve and have not known hod to regain it.  However, after Shelly had candidly shared his bite history, I decided I had to get his respect or he would slip back to biting.

The other thing that I figured out as I listened to her was that I was letting the compulsive behavior go on too long before correction.  We share the feeling that Drake has a psychological problem, probably stemming from his breeding.  I am guilty of not keeping up with his trainig as I shold.  She reminded me that when he left he would stay in place for 45 minutes, now he bardly goes into hold,  Most of his problems are temper (frustration), overstimulation (compulsive behavior) or some small wire crossed in is little brain.  We neither think that he will ever just be a dog, but that a lot of his odd behavior can be changed with constant reinforcement.  Also, the crate has to be used again.

My conversation with Debi didn/t really get to the meat of any of our problems.  We are becoming good friends and I think that we will be a good source of comfort and infromation.  The notes revealed a lot and also are a valuable tool if I use them.  I know that I can do so much better with Drake now that I feel refocsed.

Thanksgiving

November 22nd, 2012

The Devil In Disguise Returns

November 21st, 2012

Perfect Day In Paradise

November 20th, 2012

Well, this wasn't a perfect day, but pretty good.  I decided to take Drake off all drugs, real or herbal.  He went through our schedule and due to me not letting him stay in the yard like yesterday, he did not throw one fit.  Towards the evening upstairs he did spin barking, but was able to redirect easily.

I did watch him closely and while talking to one of my other girlfriends, Carol Lea, she said that when she watched something on Animal Planet, that she remembers that is what dachshunds do.  Sans barking.  They ran and dug, very quickly.  I looked the show up on YouTube and there it was, Dachshund 101.  They said that a dachshund could dig one and a half feet in a minute.  What?  That their toes were web like and built for digging.  He showed them digging just like Drake.  No barking or spinning in between.  Digging like they were manic.  Yes, manic like Drake.  Well, George was partly right.

I had made a rookie mistake.  I did not research the breed.  I fell in love with the dog.  I started off by putting his impairment ahead of him being a dog or his breed.  I had hesitated because he was a male, but never even thought of what the breed was bred to do.  I never liked the look of the breed, so I knew less about them then I did many breeds.  Now what?  I couldn't change his breed anymore than  I could change him being a male.

Another Man's Opinion

November 19th, 2012

I had another stressful day.  I had to redirect him all day.  One fit after another.  About 3:00 PM I was dragging a hose around trying to get a little watering done.  Drake was on a leash in the front yard, when a friend of mine and her husband drove up.  We chatted for a few minutes and then I told them to join me in the back yard and we would have some tea on patio.  As we chatted  kept Drake in my lap.  For about thirty minutes he was quiet and very good.  Eventually he got bored and started to squirm and bark.  The husband, George, asked me why I didn't let him down.  I explained that he had been acting out and barking all day.  Due to me wanted to continue our conversation, I didn't want the barking or for me to have to jump up to redirect him.  He said, "Just let him go and see what he does".  So of course he did.  Within two minutes he was by the goats pen, spinning and barking.


To my surprise, George said that he was just playing.  That his tail was wagging and that barking was all he really had to define his self as a dog besides his nose.  The wife, Becky. thought that I was too aware of what the neighbors might think.  I admitted that I was concerned about the barking, but that ultimately I cared more about Drake and if I didn't think he was stressed I wouldn't react.  George said that the bark was just a bark and Becky agreed. 

As I continued or conversation, Drake begin to dig and pull at a clematis vine that I had for six years.  When I started to get up, George said to just let him have fun.  That he was probably having the best time that he had ever had.  I did not have a direct view of the plant, could only hear the barking.  I did look over occasionally and all of a sudden I saw Drake running across the yard with the entire plant in his mouth.  I stated that I could not let him do this to my yard and we all laughed.  That left shortly and tried to replant, with Drake of the leash of course.

I felt sick to my stomach.  Was George right, was I making a big deal out of play.  April said that I was the weak link.  Machelle that I should just love him the way that he is.  Debi admitted that their was problems, but she had Chewy (another blind/deaf double dapple) since he was 5 weeks old and he was as big of a mess as Drake was.  So is this what's up.  I was so over my head and all of these opinions only confused me.  I had tried so hard.  Been so patient.  Read, ate, breathed Drake for three months.  This was my very first feeling that I could not keep Drake.  Through every other frustration and bad feeling I have had, I was just frustrated with how slowly this was going.  This time, I was sick in a sad way.

Why Can't I Leave Him Alone

November 18th, 2012

The day was pretty miserable.  I did not work in the yard at all.  I let Drake out three times on his own for fifteen minutes.  At fifteen minutes I walked to where he was leashed him and walked him back into the house.

Things are getting worse

November 17th, 2012

Maybe I am being too rough, or too many changes, or I am just wrong about everything that I am doing.  I have to say it all felt really right when I made the changes.  I haven't done a wiener roll since April told me not to overdo them.  When I was outside the leashing did not completely control him.  How it could be like an empty threat in this short time I don't know.  The playroom seems to bore him more than ever.  The licking, spin/bark, digging in front of the toilet and seems to be getting an interest in the tub again.  He has completely ruined Maddie's dish by spinning into it and breaking it.  It is from her other home and loosing it makes me sad.  She still uses it, but it is chipped all over.  He can't relax in my bedroom, he lays in front of the door out of my room and cries.  I don't know what to do with him.

I had been planning a trip to go up to Dallas to visit Betty for a Christmas House Tour.  originally I was going to take Drake.  Betty voiced her concerns to me about having Drake in her house while we gone and I said that I would think about it.  In the meanwhile Debi asked me to pick up a blind 3 month old Aussie mix and I agreed.  This concerned me even more, but before I could get too worked up over it, she asked me to pick up a 6 week blind puppy.  Well, that was it.  no way I could handle Drake and all that on the way home.  Since my hurry home was to horse/baby/dog sit for April, I asked her to watch Drake while I was gone.  She agreed.  

I was teasing April about how much trouble Drake was going to be, when she reminded me that she had worked with several blind/deaf dogs.  At the very least she could evaluate him as a neutral party with a trainers eye.  It got me excited.  It was not the reason that I asked her to watch him, it was just so I could help out Debi.  However, it is going to work out better than I could have planned.  It had never occurred to me to have her evaluate him.  All of these other people really did not have her experience. So it is going to work out great.

Overstimulated and Bored

November 16, 2012

The morning was going good until I decided to work some more outside.  I noticed a few other things today.  The first thing was that he is really bored with his playroom.  I think I need to use it as a class room twice a day like when I fist got home with him.  I can only remember about a third of his commands and we have to make the YouTube film yet.  Another thing is the exercise.  I have been so side tracked by all of his issues, making sure that he knows where he is by area, I have discontinued the things that he needs to be constant.  Exercise and learning.  He needs to be using his brain.  I think that I will try giving my xanex to him.  A little stronger drug might help him to focus and settle down.  I read that it could do the opposite, cross my finger that one isn't happening and I don't want to give him too much.  So I discontinued his herbal and put him on xanex.  I put him on the lightest recommended dosage for now.

When he was playing on his own and because i was being more aware of his playing, waiting to have to leash.him.  I noticed that when he first goes out, he plays pretty good for fifteen minutes.  He runs with his head up and stops to smell the ground.  It is a beautiful sight.  i have always wondered at his confidence.  I never want him to loose that.  Then he goes to one of about five different areas that are triggers.  I think there is so much at my house and while that is good for the average dog, can be overwhelming for him.  I think that instead of waiting for him to start his spin/bark I will let him play and before he looses it leash him.  I am hoping that if these things are compulsive that by catching them, I can stop them and eventually curing that compulsion.  Big order, but at least I have hope again.  i was pretty much in a rut and beaten down for awhile.  I have to stay positive and keep trying new things.

More Tough Love

November 15, 2012

Today I was trying to plant some bulbs and transplant a few flowers.  As I dug, planted and crawled around, only to be interrupted every few minutes by Drake spin/bark. The up and down was taking a toll on me.  As things have been going just the tiniest bit better in the house.  I at least felt that I could control the situation, if I just wanted to sit there and do nothing.  I couldn't get much done in there, but at least there was sleep.  Plus he would play for a short time, and I could more easily correct him.
So about my twentieth time to chase him down, something from another one of those dog training show popped into my mind.  I remember in one of "The dog or me" there were a bunch of chihuahuas that a very spoiled girl had that peed anywhere, anytime.  Victoria Stilwell told her to put a leash around her waist and correct the dog, take him outside to get him trained.  Suddenly, I thought if he bark/spins I will attach him to me and make him stay still and follow me around.  First off, it just popped into my mind in the form of a recall of the tv show.  I can never think of anything if I am trying to solve a problem.

For the rest of the time I was out there I made him follow me where ever I went.  Like everything else I have tried since my tough love training had started, it worked.  I was shocked, he didn't fight me, just followed me around.  The thing that caught me off guard was he didn't have one fit.  He was like a perfect dog. 

Now I have spent the last couple of weeks trying to figure out one thing.  Why does he constantly have these spin/bark.  Are they caused by a birth defect, like his hearing and seeing?  Are they compulsive from being left in the back yard alone in his dark and silent world?  Are does he just have a temper and he throws them from anger, as well as frustration.  The digging/bark definitely seems like frustration.  However, the spin/bark is different.  It seems more like anger.   If I do not respond he spins out of control and it was physically very hard on him the one time I totally ignored him.  Temper or not, at some point he looses control.

After all of these past days observing and trying to decide, I believe I have part of the answer.  It is more temper and compulsion than brain chemistry.  If it was his brain, he would act out when on leash, but he does not.  To me that means it can be controlled.  I do hope that I am right.  If I am the tough love has to continue.  However, I do feel my temper starting to surge.  So far I have not lost it, but I worry that he can sense my state of mind.  I try to keep it in wraps, but the constant barking and never feeling like I can leave is driving me crazy.  My phsical health has taken a beaten and I am beginning to feel trapped by him.

It's Me Not You....No It's Definitely You

November 2, 2012

Today was a hard day.  I think I'm just tired of the constant supervision.  I am confused over what to do about all of his compulsive behavior.  When he barks in the house, is he looking for me?  The real question, is he training me to find him when he barks and reassure him?  I don't know if I should just touch him to reassure him, or should I ignore him, to show that I am not to be trained?  I know I have made so many mistakes, but I also know how forgiving a dog can be.  I don't want to make his behavior worse instead of better. 

I was reading another article to day about compulsive behavior in dogs and they said redirect and do not punish him.  Well, his compulsive behavior out side is the hardest to deal with.  I have not been punishing him, but I do tell him no, no every time he spins and barks out of control.  If I can interrupt him before it starts, I just redirect him.  The reason that I always no, no him, is because he responds to me and stops.  If something works I continue.  Like removing him from the bed or closing the gate on his playroom.  These things work so far and I don't think they are as much of a direct threat to him like the wienie roll can be.

I Own This Bed Now

November 1, 2012

I think that his barking at night in bed is because he thinks it is his bed. I have seen this a dozen times of the dog whisperer. He smells either the dogs that are on the bed at the time of barking.  Maybe he smells the dogs that might have been on the bed during the day.  Whatever, it has to stop.  He wakes me up and disturbs the only time that I Have away from him.  He is starting to drain me again.  I want so much to uncover all of his buttons, issues and pain so that I can live a normal life with him.  It has almost been two months and he just sucks all of my time away from the rest of my pack.  I enjoy all of my dogs and have different relations with each of them.  However, since I have brought Drake into my life, 1005 of my time is for him.  I miss my routine, other pets and my life.