Happy Thanksgiving!

One of my favorite holidays .... as it simply celebrates all that is good with no expectations other than the joy of company punctuated by a good meal of Biblical proportions. And on rush the holidays! Take time out to unwind with your favorite fur friend.

We entertained family who hadn't visited with our dogs since last June, when I began Ttouch training. They certainly noticed changes! All the dogs were non-reactive to their comings and goings and much more willingly affectionate as a matter of choice.

I visited with the local animal shelter before coming down with strep. I'm looking forward to donating time and doing Ttouch work with the dogs.

Thank you to the Universe for guiding me towards Ttouch and many heartfelt thanks to Linda Tellington-Jones for sharing her gift of Ttouch. And most of all, my deepest love and thanks to a wonderfully supportive family.

Peace, love & light

What the dog taught me

Dachshunds are such interesting creatures! Bred for hunting a rather voracious creature such as badger takes a being of great courage and determination. Is it little wonder that Doxies have a big heart in addition to such an active mouth? Being of diminutive size does not do justice to their large way of being in the world.

My own Doxie, Nestle, goes through various unwrappings of emotional reactivity stemming from birth to recent events of his choosing. His latest "deal" has been to stare at the corner of his crate and growl while his dinner is being prepared. Now, his crate is on the "second story" where only he can access. Well, the cat can, but what cat wants DOG food when his own CAT food is one floor higher (and accessable only to him)? Nestle is secure, to be sure, but apparently NOT in his own mind! Meanwhile, Jazz, who's waiting in HER crate down on the main level is getting aggitated and growling in response to Nestle. Then, Elvis, waiting waaay over yonder in the hall and being so good, laying down patiently.... will eventually get up and bark his big, boistorous bark. By the time we get to this stage, I'm pretty edgy too. Dinner time should not go like this!

So, with determined calm (not easy at times!) I went to Nestle and gently took his face in my hands. His eyes glanced about wildly and his growls were punctuated by whines. He didn't have any idea what he should be feeling right now! Poor guy. We know that "alpha growling" hasn't worked. Yelling hasn't worked. Asking him to calm hasn't worked. Sending calming signals hasn't worked. Time for Ttouch! His lips were taught and his face tight, so I wen't straight into doing Ttouches about his face and quickly moved to his lips and gums. I found chilly areas along his gumline where I spent time doing Ttouches as well as gentle belly lifts and leg touches. Nestle has taught me that when he stresses, he stresses (physically) all over.

After only 3 minutes or so, Nestle was much more relaxed. His eyes were calmer and his shaking had stopped. So, I went back to completing the doggie dinner bowls. To my surprise, Nestle followed me and stayed at my feet, wagging his tail and smiling! Thanks to his quiet, the other two were happy and calmer as well. Whew!

Nestle has taught me that for him, Ttouches are most effective for his stress.... WHEN his is stressing. Quiet Ttouch sessions lay the foundation and help him to be calmer in the world and not stress/react so easily. But when he's stressing, the Ttouches really do their magic in reminding him that he can go ahead and calm.

This phenomonon has happened before. I was walking all three dogs down our street one afternoon when we encountered the (electronically enclosed) yard of three Weimeraners. A bark-match ensued and Nestle went into hyperactive reactive-stress mode. I maintained my calm and simply reached down and applied some well placed Ttouches along with gentle belly lifts to remind him to breath. In no time, all three of my dogs were calm and quiet. The weimeraner's calmed down too as their owner looked on in utter amazement.

To Date

Dorrie
Dorrie taught me a lot from our second session and my own Nestle confirmed my intuition. Dorrie has quite the separation anxiety issue, our chief area of focus to help her be more confident and comfortable.

During my Ttouch time with her, her human went outside to entertain "Cash", the other dog. Dorrie was so caught up in the separation issue that it took a long time for her to begin to relax (but she did realize that relaxing was okay!). I found myself feeling rather concerned about this and have felt less than successful with the session. ..... Nestle (my own dog of diminutive size) has his own separation issues which have been somewhat satiated with Ttouch. Then, it became clear to me. It's okay for the human of focus to be part of the Ttouch for reducing stress and separation! Dorrie's human should be with her. Dorrie's human can help her reduce her stress.

Thank you, Nestle. We'll do that in our next session.

I was pleased to hear from Dorrie's person that during a thunderstorm (after the second session) she asked her person for reassurance and did experience noticeable relief. Dorrie's learning to self-calm is a very good sign.


Elvis
Elvis, my hound of substantial size tends to walk on lead with a focus all his own... which can lead to lunges and discomfort for the human walking him. Having had two sessions with the confidence course has had positive effect.

Elvis was uncomfortable late last night, so I chose to take him for a walk. I don't have a step-in harness his size, except for the one in my "kit". Not wanting to use that, I took a narrow lead and made a surcingle (a strap around his chest) to accompany his buckle collar lead. This made a sort of balance-lead for walking him and gave me two points of contact. He walked beautifully. He walked with me better than he ever had previously. Ever. Only my competition dog from years ago walked on-lead better.


Check out the video on You Tube explaining TTouch. I met dear Marsha last June up in Maryland at the one-day workshop with Linda Tellington-Jones. Nifty lady!

This weekend is the area "Smoky Mountain Cluster", a 4 day AKC show event in downtown Knoxville. I'll arrange to have a booth there next year. Excitement!