Jeri Wagner, Dog Behavioral Therapist & Master Trainer with Bark Busters Home Dog Training chronicles her dog foster experience in the hopes of inspiring and helping others on their dog foster journey. Read along for Jamie ‘s progress!
Jamie is starting to settle in and show us glimpses of her quirky personality. When she feels she has been in her crate too long, she makes funny noises and sounds like a Porg (those little creatures from Star Wars: The Last Jedi). We also heard DNA test results from her sister Junebug’s adopted parent: Jamie and her siblings are a mix of American Pitbull and Australian Shepherd. Jamie’s Shepherd side is coming out more regularly, between trying to herd the birds in the backyard and jumping on and over furniture, onto counters, and on me when overly excited.
Although Jamie is slightly more comfortable in our home, her fearfulness of anything new is still very much part of her. Any incident affects her for hours afterward; this week, it was a pile of boxes waiting near the door to go out with the trash. For the next few hours, Jamie was reactive to Jason anytime he moved, barking or running past him to the opposite side of the room.
Jamie has been doing a great job during backyard leash training, so we decided to attempt a new milestone: a walk on our street. Jamie looks to Zoey for direction around new things, so I had Craig take Zoey out front first. Unfortunately, the newness of everything – going out the front door for the first time, walking in unfamiliar territory, and dealing with loud trucks – stressed Jamie immediately. She tried to run to her crate and hide, then attempted to plop down like a pancake and “melt” into the floor.
After 10 minutes of calm coaxing from the entry step, I got Jamie out the front door. Once she got there, we sat quietly for a few minutes so I could get her to relax. As soon as Jamie spotted Zoey, she stood up and pulled as hard as she could to get to Zoey. The moment I took a step into the street, however, her fear came back. I had Craig and Zoey walk ahead of to see if Jamie would follow, but she froze and pulled back, front legs in the air – her “bucking bronco” from the first day in the backyard had returned.
I had Craig take Zoey around the block while I worked with Jamie, one step at a time. We were making good progress after about 10 minutes until my neighbor drove down the street in his work truck. He stopped to talk, thinking that we had adopted a new dog, and the idling truck compounded Jamie’s fear. I explained she is a foster dog and she is afraid of new things; he understood and continued on his way home.
By the time I was able to bring Jamie back to reality, Craig and Zoey were making their way back to us. As soon as Jamie saw Zoey, she pulled towards her, so I seized the momentum and started walking with Craig and Zoey. Jamie did okay if she could walk next to Zoey, but her stress was evident. Still, we were able to finish the block – progress! Back at home, Jamie’s pent-up stress meant she was extremely reactive to Jason. She charged him, barking and growling, and clearly needed time to decompress, so I placed her in her crate and gave her dinner.
In our new shelter-in-place routine, everyone goes into the family room after dinner to watch Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. For the first time since Jamie has been here, she climbed into Craig’s chair and laid next to him! He was able to pet her, though he was careful not to startle her. At one point, Jamie woke up and seemed surprised to be where she was, but after she growled at Craig, she put her head down and went back into a light sleep. After about an hour, Jamie and I left the family room and headed to the front room of the house. Jamie barks, growls, or charges if Craig and Jason leave the family room to enter another part of our home, so I gate the doorway to manage her while working on her fearful behaviors.
Since the Wednesday walk, Jamie has been okay with Craig and not okay with Jason. She occasionally barks at Craig when he moves around the house (mostly at night), but she continues to willingly climb in the chair with Craig each evening – he can even move slightly with no issues.
The more reactive Jamie is with Jason, however, the more stressed Zoey gets; I had to start her on the melatonin calming treats I use with Jamie to help her stress levels. Jamie also still growls at Zoey if Zoey approaches her crate, even with a blanket over it and no food inside, so I am working with her to create boundaries.
Later in the week, we tried another front yard walk with Jason taking Zoey – their first walk together! Getting out the front door only took a few minutes, and Jamie willingly stood next to Zoey and Jason. We managed one full trip around the block before stress took over – as soon as Jamie saw our house, she froze in the street and would only move to go towards the house. I had Jason and Zoey go around the block without us while we sat out front, giving time for Jamie to relax before going in.
I’m still managing Jamie around all human and dog food with either crate time or gates. We are keeping her on four meals per day, two of which are mini-meals in interactive toys to get her brain working more constructively. Hopefully, this regimen will mean she is not as food-focused and consistently hungry, and we can use her high energy in better ways.
Week Two featured some good successes, some learning moments, and some stressful experiences for Jamie. Despite some challenges, I am mostly pleased with her progress – it may not be linear, but I feel she is moving in the right direction.