Post by ShariMurphy on Aug 28, 2014 21:18:51 GMT -5
Jake the Defender
I was contacted by the George family in regards to their 6 year old Labrador retriever, Jake. The family comprised of Kathy, Scott, Robbie (3), and Lilly (2). During our initial phone consultation, Jake's mom explained to me she didn't understand why he was acting as if he was indifferent to her and Scott, but very over protective of the kids. Her concern was what if she was out walking with Jake and her two small children, and she wouldn't be able to control him if a stranger were to approach the children. Jake's mom told me that she was scared so they attempted to correct the problem on the advice of a couple of family members. After hearing her say these things to me, I told her I wanted to set up a face-to-face appointment and meet the family and Jake.
Before the day of the appointment, Scott and I met up and I gave him some paperwork to fill out. It's easier to have them fill out the paperwork prior to the actual meeting. Scott and Kathy filled out a Canine Behavioral History Form (BH). This form covers questions regarding breeder information, medical history, types of training, types of corrections used, home environment, success of such training and correction methods. I also had them include some examples of his most recent behavior. I find that honesty comes on paper, not necessarily when clients are talking directly to you. I also use this form to help parents see a pattern of behavior. The idea to create and use the BH form came from a friend, who happens to be a psychiatrist who specializes in children. She gave me a blank copy of one of her history forms so I customized it to be used with dogs. You can tell a lot more about a dog's home situation by analyzing this information, as it acts like a snapshot into your dog’s mind.
After reading through the BH, I asked Kathy and Scott quite a few questions about Jake. I explained that every bit of information they provided me with would help me diagnose what is causing Jake's behavior and, in turn, how to correct it. Some of our conversation was hard for me to hear and you could see how hard it was for Kathy to talk about. With tears in her eyes, she ran through their history together from the day he came home. Spanning six years of behavior, changes, and the birth of their 2 kids. Listening to Kathy and Scott explain their life with Jake, you could see how much they loved him and how guilty they felt about how they “ruined him”.
Jake's birth mom had complications while giving birth. She had to be rushed in for an emergency Cesarean section because one of Jake's brothers presented as a breach. The puppy had gotten stuck in the birth canal, and unfortunately, he didn't survive. Out of the 5 puppies to be born, Jake and one sister survived. His sister only lived for 3 weeks, than passed away. The breeder decided that the cost of the post-surgical care was something that they we're able to pay for, nor had time for. So Jake and his mom were dropped off at a shelter. Kathy said the moment that she and Scott saw his face, they knew he was the dog for them. Jake was only 9 weeks old when he was adopted and brought home. Like many couples who do not have children, Jake became their “first born”.
By the time Jake was 4 months old, he had all the typical puppy behaviors, nipping, jumping, barking, counter and table surfing, stealing than running away, demanding behaviors, and potty incidents in the house. These, although annoying to the humans, are all typical for puppies at that age. Most of these behaviors happen as they explore the world around them. At this point, Kathy told me that she was talking to her mom about Jake's behaviors. Mom suggested she talk to her uncle Gene about Jake. Uncle Gene used to raise Labrador Retrievers for duck hunting, 30 years ago. So Kathy called Uncle Gene and talked to him about Jake. Kathy said “my uncle told me that if I put a pinch collar on my dog, it will stop him from acting out. I bought one and he showed me how to use it”.
What the Georges found out is that the pinch collar didn't stop Jake from pulling, it only made him pull more. Uncle Gene told them that if Jake fought the collar, they should throw him to the ground and “dominate” him. So Scott did. This was the first time Jake bit a family member, although he didn't break the skin, Jake had bitten Scott on the face. Scott's reaction to the situation caused him hit Jake relatively hard. Scott said that Jake skidded across the floor and into the wall. Jake was only 6 months old and from that day forward, Jake didn't want to associate with Scott. He would obey his basic commands but Jake always looked at Scott with reservations. He wasn't excited when dad came home from work or even approached Scott to play ball. He withdrew from Scott and attached himself to Kathy. Every time Scott would approach, Jake’s eyes would widen, he would excessively lick his lips, cower a little, and lift his left paw. These are what we call “Calming Signals” and are meant to diffuse a hostile or scary situation with other dogs. Unfortunately for Jake, Scott isn’t another dog and, therefore, doesn’t understand dog body language.
Six more months went by and the decision was made to find a trainer because Jake's indifference towards Scott was causing problems between Kathy and Scott. The Georges hired a local trainer to come out to the house and work with Jake. I asked them if they did any kind of research on the trainer before they signed on with him, their response was they had not. This would be a decision that they would end up regretting both financially ($2,000) and psychologically.
Jake was 15 months old the first time that he met Bob, the trainer. When Bob walked into the house, Kathy said that Jake ran and hid in his crate. He didn't want anything to do with Bob. Scott said that they should have known and trusted Jake's judgment but hindsight is 20/20. I explained to the Georges that dogs instinctively know when something isn’t right with another person and will act accordingly. Jake showed all outward signs of being afraid of Bob. Kathy and Scott were convinced of this fact due Jake's body language and his behavior. After a 15 minute conversation, Bob instructed Kathy and Scott to go sit outside on their deck while he “got to know” Jake. Kathy said she didn't want to leave Bob alone with Jake but Bob convinced them that he wouldn't harm their dog. They believed him. As Kathy walked out the back door, she turned to see that Bob was opening up his bag of training tools. When she stopped to see what Bob was removing from the bag, he stopped and looked up at her and waited for her to walk out the door before he continued unloading his bag.
Once the Georges stepped out onto their deck, they were nervous. They didn't speak to each other, they just listened to what was going on in the house. Scott said that he heard Bob demand a “sit” from Jake. Ten seconds later, they heard Jake squeal then not another sound for about a minute. Ten more minutes elapsed before Bob opened the door to the deck. When he walked through the door, he had some paper towels around his hand. Bob told them that Jake had bit him and that he was sure that Jake needed some “heavy one-on-one training”. The Georges trusted what Bob was saying so they watched as Bob walked Jake out of the house, placed him in his van and drove off, after-all, Jake had bit Scott in the face a few months ago, so they had no reason to doubt that Jake would do it again.
I asked Kathy and Scott what made them trust Bob wouldn't harm their dog or that he was the right trainer for their situation? They said that Bob was a professional trainer, that's why they trusted him. Even though they hadn't checked up on him, or spoken to anyone of his clients, they took his word for it. The reason why the Georges believe that Bob could help them with Jake was that Bob guaranteed the Georges that he could “fix” Jake. The guarantee made them feel as if he knew what he was doing.
Three weeks went by before the Georges got to see Jake again. When Bob walked Jake into their house, they said he “seemed different, he was calm and laid back”. Now that Jake was back home, Kathy and Scott felt relieved. Their house was empty without Jake and now they felt complete again. Bob started talking to them about how much of a challenge Jake was, how he had to resort to a strong form of training on him. According to this trainer, Jake had serious aggression issues and “he needed to be dealt with accordingly”. Kathy said that when Bob made that statement, she felt anxious. When Kathy asked Bob what he meant by that statement, Bob was very vague in his answer. He just said “I had to work harder than normal with Jake”.
From the day that Jake came home, he wasn't the same dog. He rarely interacted with the Georges, he didn't get excited to see either Kathy or Scott when they came home from work. He barely lifted his head to acknowledge them when they walked into the room. Kathy said that on numerous occasions, she would try to get Jake excited about going out for a walk or to play ball with her but Jake barely cared. She took him to go see the veterinarian after about a month. The veterinarian said that Jake was “depressed”. Other than acting “depressed, the veterinarian had given Jake a clean bill of health. Kathy and Scott were concerned for him so they made an appointment to see the Veterinarian Behaviorist.
The Georges couldn't get an appointment with the Veterinarian Behaviorist for two months. As far as Kathy was concerned, it wasn't fast enough. Jake seemed to be falling deeper into his depression. He had stopped socializing with the family and mostly kept to himself. Three weeks after their veterinarian visit, Jake stopped eating. He wouldn't even accept his favorite treat in the world, which was cheese. Just getting Jake out of the house became an issue for Kathy. Jake didn't want to leave his crate, so when Kathy tried to remove him, he snapped at her. He didn't seem interested in the Georges at all. Kathy took Jake back to the veterinarian. The veterinarian took x-rays, blood, and did a wellness check on Jake. She prescribed Reconcile (Prozac) for Jake in hopes that it would help him cope with his stress. The veterinarian also put Jake on an appetite increaser in hopes that he would get hungry enough to eat on his own. The medication seemed to work for Jake as he started eating the next day. The Georges were eventually able to take Jake off the appetite increaser. Jake stayed on the Prozac even after his appointment with the Veterinarian Behaviorist.
The day of the appointment, Jake refused to come out of his crate. Scott decided the only way to get Jake out was to lure him out with pieces of bacon, and amazingly it worked. They started noticing what worked and what didn't. Kathy started to keep a journal on Jake's behavior for the two months leading up to the Veterinarian Behaviorist appointment. The day of the appointment, Kathy read through her journal and started to see a pattern to Jake's behavior. Thankfully, Kathy was able to give that information to the behaviorist.
Kathy and Scott didn't want to be honest with the behaviorist because they were embarrassed by what they had done to Jake and didn't want to be judged for their decisions. The Georges did not tell the behaviorist about Jake's stay with Bob, they said that they consulted a trainer but decided to seek a behaviorist instead. Because the behaviorist did not know the whole story, she was unable to help Jake the way he needed it. The Georges gave the impression that Jake went from being aggressive to being “aloof” almost overnight. The decision to leave out such important information would be the brick wall in Jake's rehabilitation. It is very common that owners lie to the professionals out of embarrassment and self-preservation. If the behaviorist had received the truth from the Georges, Jake might have had a better chance at coping with his emotional stress. Unfortunately for Jake, that was not the case.
Without the proper information, the Veterinarian Behaviorist was unable to diagnose the real reason for Jake's behavior. She instructed the Georges to keep Jake on the Prozac and continue what they were doing. She wanted to see Jake in three months for a re-check. That was an appointment that the Georges did not keep for Jake. They felt that the behaviorist couldn't help them and that they would have to figure out how to fix him.
Two weeks after the appointment with the behaviorist, Kathy found out she was pregnant with their first child. Kathy was scared that Jake wouldn't accept the baby and that they were scared. The Georges went about their life, medicating Jake and managing his problems. Jake became a prisoner in his own body. He rarely left the house unless he went to the groomer or the veterinarian. When Robbie was born, they had slowly introduced Jake to all the new changes in their lives. Jake's first interaction with Robbie went really well. Robbie was only nine days old when he met Jake for the first time. From that moment on, Jake began wagging his tail and sitting by Kathy and Robbie through all his baby needs. He watched as Kathy fed, changed, and nursed Robbie. If Robbie cried, Jake would come and get Kathy to let her know that Robbie needed her. She said Jake had a purpose again, he was Robbie's nanny. By the time Robbie was able to walk, he and Jake were inseparable and Kathy was pregnant with Lilly. Every morning Jake would be so excited to start his day with Robbie. Robbie could do anything to the dog and Jake took every bit of affection that Robbie gave him.
After Lilly was born, Jake was an experienced nanny. He kept Robbie busy as Kathy cared for Lilly. When Lilly would cry, Jake would also let Kathy know. They were a great team! During this time, though, he became very protective of the children. Jake could not go places with the family, especially if the children were going to be there as Jake would not let anyone near them. He kept strangers and family far away from his children. When Kathy's mom went to pick up Lilly, from her play yard, Jake knocked her over and growled at her for touching the baby. From that day forward, Jake had to be crated if anyone came over to visit with the family. He was very protective and the Georges feared that Jake would bite someone.
For the next year, Jake spent about 18 hours a day in his crate. They rarely walked him because he would not leave the children. If the Georges attempted to leash him to take him out of the house, he would fight them to go back into the house. As far as Jake was concerned, it was his job to protect the children. He couldn't do that if he wasn't with the children all the time. Kathy and Scott became increasingly more worried about Jake's behavior but they had no idea how to help him, so they just kept managing his behaviors and addressed them as each one popped up.
The final incident made them reach out to a mutual friend of ours. Kathy told our mutual friend that she was scared for her and Scott's safety after Jake “attacked” Scott for disciplining Robbie. Robbie had thrown a toy at Lilly during a temper tantrum. The toy he threw could have badly hurt Lilly so Scott raised his voice to Robbie in an attempt to discipline him. When Scott told Robbie not to throw the toy again, Jake appeared in the doorway and challenged Scott, face-to-face. Scott said that Jake's hair was standing up and he had this menacing look on his face, his ears were fully forward and his tail was in the air. It seemed as though Jake was stalking Scott. As Jake moved closer to Scott, his behavior escalated and Scott became frightened. Scott yelled at Jake to “STOP!” but that make Jake angrier. Robbie stood up and told Jake to stop and Jake turned around and walked back down the stairs and into his crate. Scott said he had never been so scared in his life, he really thought Jake was going to bite him. Jake had, in fact, come to defend Robbie because he thought Scott was going to harm him.
I was contacted by our mutual friend and asked if she could give my phone number to the Georges. Not knowing the full situation, I told her to have them call me as soon as possible. That's where our story begins. Learning about Jake, getting to know Jake, and working with Jake was one of the most interesting experiences of my career. Jake is a fascinating, sweet, motivated dog who just needed to understand that the world wasn't as scary as he thought it was.
Jake is not the same dog he was the day he came home to the Georges, he is not the same dog as the day I met him, he is a better dog, a dog who is now understood, trusted and admired. Jake is finally a balanced member of the George family.