Testimony of Patricia the adopter of ZARA, advice, exercises ...
Bully (ex Zara) is a tri-paw who left Alina and Anda's refuge on November 3, 2018 at 5 years old, after a year and a half of waiting. She was an extremely fearful dog, who would not let herself be approached.
I contacted a dog trainer cynologist, a discipline based on positive education, observation of dog behavior and the absence of punishment. But how does he understand that what he is doing is wrong if we don't punish him? By making him understand that the reverse is much more interesting for him ...
Before the arrival of Bully we studied the videos sent by Alina to understand the calming signals that the dog sends when he is very stressed and to prepare for his arrival.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
https://www.facebook.com/RefugeDeAlinaEtAnda.SabineAdoptionChiensDeRomania/videos/1246795965463336/
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
Indeed, it is very important not to force our Romanian dogs on their arrival, that is to say not to try to approach or touch them. They would experience it as an assault. His dogs have always lived in packs, so their warning signals are very visible because the faster the other dog understands what he is feeling, the faster he will act accordingly. So if the dog licks his lips profusely, looks and heads away, is hunched over, it is clearly that he is afraid and uncomfortable and he must back off.
It should always be kept in mind that most dogs have never had any affectionate contact with humans. For them Men represent wounds and death ... Some dogs will therefore seek to move away as far as possible from Men and therefore to flee. It is imperative to have a solid fence and never leave it alone unattended in a garden ...
The repatriation was a great source of stress since during the various manipulations (veterinary checks), Bully panicked and was aggressive. It was impossible for the transporter to place the collar and harness that we were asked to bring to him. It was therefore installed directly in the transport crate and then released at home. She immediately went out to relieve herself and drink plenty of water, then lay down on the pillow that had been prepared for her. Some dogs are even afraid to get out of the transport crate, so don't force them… For the moment this crate is their only almost safe place. Make sure he has enough water and let him sleep, he needs it.
The first three days, Bully only slept and ate, that does not reveal the character of the dogs ...
The first problem I encountered was that she started screaming at night or when she was alone. I don't have any other dogs, the presence of a fellow dog can help but not always. By following the educator's advice, I managed to stop his howling in two weeks: You have to ignore the dog when it howls. If we come to reassure him or ask him to be quiet, he will associate his howling with a call to which we answer and he will continue. By ignoring it, the dog understands that even if he howls with all his strength, nothing happens ... So why continue? I also made the meal times random. Bully was never fed at the same time, it saves him from setting his internal clock on his stomach and screaming to call the bowl ...
About meals, my educator explained to me that Bully is a so-called free bitch, a wild dog who has always lived without needing humans by her side ... She spent about 40% of her time looking for and defend their food, 20% to sleep and the rest to various activities. It must therefore be stimulated. For that, Bully was never fed in a bowl. I offer him his croquettes in a research mat of this type:
Sniffing and searching for a dog is as much as a walk in terms of intellectual and physical expenditure. So for a dog that cannot be taken out yet, this is the ideal activity.
You should also know that to relieve stress, a dog needs to lick (this is why we find a lot of licking wounds in stressed dogs). To mimic this activity and keep it busy again, I bought a Kong toy that I filled with minced meat and cheese and then put it in the freezer. Bully spends a lot of time licking this toy, she loves it:
The day after Bully's adoption, we began to work on trust with the educator. Always respecting the rhythm of the bitch, I started by squatting a few meters from her and delicately tossing her pieces of ground beef. Obviously she got up and the purpose of the exercise was to make her eat from my hand. She quickly agreed to do it and every time she approached I said her name to teach her. I didn't try to stroke her at first, to give her time to acquire this action and come down from the stress of the trip.
As she ate from my hand on the ground, I gradually raised my hand and then approached the other until I could lightly brush her cheek, my hand still in her field of vision. When she accepted the touch of my hand on her cheek, I simulated the action of a stroke and deflected it towards her chin and chest, two areas dogs love. It took about 3 weeks for Bully to accept my still contact with food and a few more weeks to be able to touch her without reward.
You may notice that your dog is not interested in toys or certain treats to chew on. Indeed, even in the shelter the dogs had to defend their portion, the fact of chewing without eating has no interest at the beginning for our Romanians. So I opted for braided bones with a smell and taste of chicken or beef:
Later and to keep it busy again, I chose the calf hoof which has the advantage of having a very attractive smell and which is strong enough to last for several days, inspired by this article: https: // www.cynochon.com/post/friandises-%C3%A0-m%C3%A2cher
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
Now that confidence and contact were acquired, I still had a Bully without a collar… I introduced the object into her living space and I handled it regularly next to her or by feeding her so that she was get used to the noise. As and when I offered him food in my hand, holding the necklace in the other and bringing it closer. At first when the collar touched her she pulled back but with time and patience she finally agreed to put her head in it loosely until completely ignoring it. After about 15 days of work I was able to install her for a session of caresses, she completely let it go.
In parallel with the work with the necklace, I introduced a level 1 intelligence game which aimed to strengthen our bond. So I offered her a game board, showed her for several days how it works and today, as soon as she sees it, she jumps for joy and follows me everywhere.
I also wanted her to associate this object with something positive and more interesting than any other source of stress, noise, smell… In short, a Joker object.
We then started the outings in the closed courtyard which overlooks my garden and where we are likely to cross the neighborhood but no one else from the outside. I used a 5 meter lanyard and trained him to follow me with treats slowly, at his pace. Dog trainers have excellent exercises to learn how to recall well and avoid mistakes. What is common to everyone is that no matter how long it takes for the dog to approach or return, it should ALWAYS be rewarded. Bully quickly realized that when she followed me, she had a treat or a caress.
One day a neighbor's cat appeared and Bully tried to chase him. She was of course stopped by the lanyard and she returned immediately to my recall, I rewarded her for coming back (and not punished for having chased the cat) ...
Obviously, being outside is super stimulating, the time to go home was always difficult. I had prepared her game board before, placed high in the garden, and as soon as she saw me take it, she came in and the lanyard exercise was over.
The dog trainer then stopped by to work on the leash and the first kind in the street, a little stressful for Bully but she managed to ignore the passers-by, the cars, the noises around her. The hardest part was going through the doors ...
Our Romanian dogs are intelligent, strong and resourceful, Bully learned the “lying down” order in a few days, but they are still fearful and mostly traumatized dogs. One day I bought a new radiator, a big black object that I forgot to present to her, she was scared to death and we did not work for a week the time to regain confidence and accept the 'object…
There will always be backtracking, missteps. The best advice I can give is to be accompanied by a professional and to be very attentive and very patient with your Romanian. Everything is new, everything scares him and he just has to learn that you are there for him now.
After two months of adoption, apart from me, only two other people were able to touch Bully (my dog trainer and my brother) ... The presence of a dog trainer reassures, at the slightest question or doubt, he will be there to help. you and your dog. Instant results are not to be expected, dog training takes time, it is not magic ... It will take a long time for our dogs to live the life they are meant to have.
I would conclude my testimony on what I repeated to myself to encourage myself at the beginning, when I couldn't even approach Bully because she was so terrified:
"Dogs were created and programmed by Man to live with him, to love him ... Bully forgot him but this instinct is there somewhere and I will help him find it ..." ... C ' is what some of the Romanian dog adopters call "the click".
So even if the work seems impossible and hard, don't forget that this dog that you adopted, you saved his life….
Pat '& Bully
