Dog:
“Amber,” a 9-year-old spayed female Sheltie mix
Problem:
Biting, aggression, anxious
and stressed behavior
History: Case Study
1: Biting and Anxiety in a Sheltie Mix
Client stated that Amber
came from a shelter in New York State. She
appears to be a mix between a Shetland Sheepdog
and ??? She is sable and white in color with
long fur and weighs about 30 lbs. She is the
size of a Springer Spaniel with big, soft brown
eyes and is very pretty. This is Amber’s second
home.
She was originally found
on the streets of White Plains NY as a VERY
young puppy. Attempts to find her mother and
siblings were unsuccessful. The shelter guessed
that she was approximately 6 weeks old at the
time when she was picked up (but was adopted at
8 weeks of age). They fed her puppy food at the
shelter and she did not have any interaction
with any other shelter animals at the time.
I observed Amber on my
very first visit with a lamb’s wool type of
stuffed bone. It was a HUGE bone shaped toy –
almost as big as the dog! Amber initially
brought it to me, then would chew and suck on it
as if trying to nurse from it. When I asked her
if I could pet her toy she jumped up and snapped
at me. I strongly suspected that she was
lost/abandoned/taken away from her mother at a
very early age because of this behavior.
Client stated that Amber
did exactly the same thing to her – she used to
reach down and try to take the toy, at which
point Amber would try to bite her. And,
sometimes she did connect. Client used to say
“no” and correct her with a jerk on the collar,
which seemed to only intensify this behavior.
Client’s Perspective:
As mentioned this was
Amber’s second home. She went to her first home
when she was 8 weeks old. It was a family with
two twin boys, 9 years old. Client said family
#1 kept her for about 4 months, and then brought
her back to the shelter stating, “she was biting
the kids and jumping up on them.”
Client admits that, when
she saw Amber in the shelter when she was 7
months old (and spayed) that she just ‘fell in
love’ with her. When she asked about why this
cute puppy was brought back to the shelter, the
worker said she needed ‘room to run.’
What would Client like
to change in her dog?
Client would like to see
Amber be able to calm down (not be so stressed)
and to stop biting her. She also pulls
vigorously while out for a walk.
What does the Client
feel is the best quality in her dog?
Client loves when Amber
will eventually curl up in a ball and sleep at
the end of her bed. She also said that her dog
loves to go for rides in the car and to play
ball.
June 1, 2002:
My first of several
visits. Amber in living room. I sat down .She
brought over large plush toy and put it at my
feet and started mouthing it. I reached down and
tried to pet the toy and she jumped up and
snapped at me.
From that point on, I
ignored her toy and started sending her
‘yawning’ calming signals. I also used ‘soft
eyes’ and dropped my shoulders a bit, letting
her know it was all right and I was not going to
hurt her. She ended up sitting on her toy and
looking at me, ears moving back and forth.
Over the course of a few
weeks, I ‘admired’ the long silky fur on her
ears and head. Client said she liked to be
scratched behind her ears. When I initially did
this she flinched away, so I sent her some more
calming signals. After a few more sessions I was
able to rub her ears and do some ear slides on
her ears and Clouded Leopard touches on her
head. At the same time, I found I was able to do
Llama touches on her back, but not her legs.
Several more weeks passed
when I was able to do Clouded Leopard touches on
her body, more ear work and gradually began some
mouth work on her; always putting myself in a
safe position. If she made an attempt to snap at
me I removed my hands, sent her calming signals,
waited for a minute and continued again.
It was at this point that
I started a face wrap using a 1” wrap. At first
she tried to remove it with her feet. However, I
knew she also loved treats and her ball, so at
first I had her on a balance lead and fed her
treats and tossed the ball with her face wrap
on. Amber seemed to get used to this pretty
quickly.
Soon, I discovered that I
could actually take a walk with her using the
Halti (with the face wrap removed) the buckle
collar and balance lead in the house. Quickly, I
realized that I had some control over her
pulling and brought her outside for a gentle
walk.
After we walked around a
bit, I put a half wrap on her. She seemed a bit
nervous at first, but never went to bite me. I
then put the half wrap on and a tee shirt. She
really seemed to enjoy the shirt and was
beginning to enjoy her time with me.
Conclusion:
I worked on this dog since
early June and continue to work with her. Amber
now walks beautifully with the halti and the
buckle collar. I suggested her client put the
tee shirt on her on a daily basis for at least
10 minutes a day (she seems to like the shirt
better). In the meantime, I also showed her how
to do mouth work and Clouded Leopard touches on
Amber’s body. This dog is beginning to relax.
She still gets a little nervous at times, but is
MUCH better. As she becomes more relaxed, her
aggression/anxiety is slowly subsiding. I see
tremendous progress using TTouch methods on her.
