Casey Laurie
06-04-2005, 11:58 PM
Lilly had another temperment test on Friday. I was really hopeful that she would pass it..I suspect that if I had been the one giving the test she'd have passed with flying colors, but; she trusts me, and I am her POGT(provider of good things).
I was able to have a nice discussion with the behaviorist, and exactly what each element of the test was for, and, I also found out why she had failed the first time; what that "worst I've ever seen" actually meant. Apparently, the first time the test was given, she not only growled and snarled at the hand, but bit it several times leaving several puncture wounds to the hand. She did nip at people's heels as they walked past the cage, >AT FIRST< but then toward the end of her stay there had escalated to attacking the cage door when people went by. Neither would she allow physical handling.
Lilly failed on food aggression again, and also on handling. But; there is very good news :)
Lilly did a lot of warning growls. The behaviorist did not push her(not wanting to get bit of course), and said that the growling was a good sign because it showed that she did have bite inhibition, and had learned a great deal while staying with us. Also, Lilly recovered quickly. She had "forgiven" the behaviorist within a matter of minutes and was her tail wagging/kissy-faced self once again. The first test required a half hour or more of the woman sitting all the way across the room from her before she calmed down and relaxed. This time she was able to stay within inches of her, and was doing tricks; plus no more "shark-mouth".
While Lilly is still ineligible for the our shelter at this time, she may be appropriate for another, smaller shelter in a non-urban setting, that will often take "borderline" dogs. The shelter manager is recommending her to the other shelter, and we should know by Monday. We're also going to get her some Clomicalm to take the edge off her anxiety so we can do more socialization without other dogs around. Lilly is fairly comfortable with people who either have dogs with them, or have dogs at home (they still have a doggy smell so they must be good folks!). Both the manager and the behaviorist agreed that if Lilly is adopted into an experienced home, that is willing to make the commitment to continuing her rehabilitation, that she will be just fine.
This much progress in such a short time is very promising. I'm so proud of her!
We broke down and bought her her own bed last night. She'll be taking it with her whenever and wherever she goes, but at least all those blankets came up off the floor, lol. Josie and Rusty were a little freaked by that. Josie tried to claim the new bad for herself too! Sort of like the bed must mean she is no longer a houseguest but a resident. They seem to have recoverd now though, and are behaving much friendlier to her.
Now come 2 really hard parts. First of all, Lil has been with us long enough to get comfy. She is now testing me on a LOT of things. Her recall has gone from 90% to 10% :rolleyes: and she is mixing up her directions (I say "sit" and she lays down, I say "down" and she sits, and she seems to have completely forgotten "give me ten") Just now we went out for last potties and yes, she sat nicely while I removed the leash, but when I opened the door she just looked up at me and wouldn't budge, even after telling her to go in. I had to push her in the door. She looked very confused. I didn't pull her collar, but pushed her rump through the doorway as she sat there looking at me, lol. I'd have let her sit there but I was risking someone coming in the front door or downstairs unexpectedly, and either her or Rusty doing something unfortunate.
Second...letting her go. As much as I cannot wait for her to have another place to go, and a good forever home, I will miss her terribley. We will never see her again once she goes, and in all likelyhood, we will never know what becomes of her. We keep asking ourselves why she came into our lives.
We wonder sometimes what Rusty would have been like if he did not have the issues he does; if the rest of the world could see just what a wonderfull little goofball* he is. It also occurred to us that if he did not have these issues, we would have had absolutely no idea how to deal with Lilly. I dare say we would have sent her back to the shelter because we would not have been able to handle her at all, and she would have been euthanized.
*Heh. This reminds me. Art told me that my mom was by while I was out with Lilly. Rusty was on the long lead in the yard with him and somehow got off the leash :shock: and just ran right up to her...his little goofball self. No aggression, just happy to see her ;)
I was able to have a nice discussion with the behaviorist, and exactly what each element of the test was for, and, I also found out why she had failed the first time; what that "worst I've ever seen" actually meant. Apparently, the first time the test was given, she not only growled and snarled at the hand, but bit it several times leaving several puncture wounds to the hand. She did nip at people's heels as they walked past the cage, >AT FIRST< but then toward the end of her stay there had escalated to attacking the cage door when people went by. Neither would she allow physical handling.
Lilly failed on food aggression again, and also on handling. But; there is very good news :)
Lilly did a lot of warning growls. The behaviorist did not push her(not wanting to get bit of course), and said that the growling was a good sign because it showed that she did have bite inhibition, and had learned a great deal while staying with us. Also, Lilly recovered quickly. She had "forgiven" the behaviorist within a matter of minutes and was her tail wagging/kissy-faced self once again. The first test required a half hour or more of the woman sitting all the way across the room from her before she calmed down and relaxed. This time she was able to stay within inches of her, and was doing tricks; plus no more "shark-mouth".
While Lilly is still ineligible for the our shelter at this time, she may be appropriate for another, smaller shelter in a non-urban setting, that will often take "borderline" dogs. The shelter manager is recommending her to the other shelter, and we should know by Monday. We're also going to get her some Clomicalm to take the edge off her anxiety so we can do more socialization without other dogs around. Lilly is fairly comfortable with people who either have dogs with them, or have dogs at home (they still have a doggy smell so they must be good folks!). Both the manager and the behaviorist agreed that if Lilly is adopted into an experienced home, that is willing to make the commitment to continuing her rehabilitation, that she will be just fine.
This much progress in such a short time is very promising. I'm so proud of her!
We broke down and bought her her own bed last night. She'll be taking it with her whenever and wherever she goes, but at least all those blankets came up off the floor, lol. Josie and Rusty were a little freaked by that. Josie tried to claim the new bad for herself too! Sort of like the bed must mean she is no longer a houseguest but a resident. They seem to have recoverd now though, and are behaving much friendlier to her.
Now come 2 really hard parts. First of all, Lil has been with us long enough to get comfy. She is now testing me on a LOT of things. Her recall has gone from 90% to 10% :rolleyes: and she is mixing up her directions (I say "sit" and she lays down, I say "down" and she sits, and she seems to have completely forgotten "give me ten") Just now we went out for last potties and yes, she sat nicely while I removed the leash, but when I opened the door she just looked up at me and wouldn't budge, even after telling her to go in. I had to push her in the door. She looked very confused. I didn't pull her collar, but pushed her rump through the doorway as she sat there looking at me, lol. I'd have let her sit there but I was risking someone coming in the front door or downstairs unexpectedly, and either her or Rusty doing something unfortunate.
Second...letting her go. As much as I cannot wait for her to have another place to go, and a good forever home, I will miss her terribley. We will never see her again once she goes, and in all likelyhood, we will never know what becomes of her. We keep asking ourselves why she came into our lives.
We wonder sometimes what Rusty would have been like if he did not have the issues he does; if the rest of the world could see just what a wonderfull little goofball* he is. It also occurred to us that if he did not have these issues, we would have had absolutely no idea how to deal with Lilly. I dare say we would have sent her back to the shelter because we would not have been able to handle her at all, and she would have been euthanized.
*Heh. This reminds me. Art told me that my mom was by while I was out with Lilly. Rusty was on the long lead in the yard with him and somehow got off the leash :shock: and just ran right up to her...his little goofball self. No aggression, just happy to see her ;)