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!

Since September

Since my training session last September, I have been administering regular doses of Ttouch on my own dogs. Even brief contact is done in a mindful way as well as snuggle time. I also do actual sessions just as I would do on a client. Even my own dogs teach me a lot and they seem to really dig it. Here's Jazz's example:
Jazz requests her Ttouch sessions on a weekly basis. This is displayed in a subtle manner of canine body language screamed at me from the bed, her favorite place to be worked on. Her sessions last on the order of 30 to 40 minutes. So, to date I have worked on her a total of 3 hours, roughly guessing. Have I noticed any changes?

Behaviorally, Jazz has ceased barking at passing boats, birds and cars. She acknowledges passing cars with nothing more than a brief glance , where she had been an avid chaser. Fishing boats coasting by our dock are still fair game, and that I find quite reasonable, but the large cruiser way out in the channel is now free to pass in the world according to Jazz. Birds flying by used to cause quite a fury of barking .... that I don't miss. Barking at clients or delivery personnel entering our little store is an increasing thing of the past. Fears are greatly reduced, confidence is much increased.

Physically Jazz shows improvement in her range of motion and balanced use of both back legs. Jazz's right hip suffers from genetic degeneration. Symptoms cropped up at 18 months of age and were severe enough to warrant surgery. Adequan injections improved mobility so dramatically that a full hip replacement was postponed indefinitely. She would still carry her leg down stairs and would play cautiously. She also slept crooked. ..... You're probably expecting me to say that all those symptoms are gone, just like the excessive barking and car chasing. That now she runs, bolts & jumps again with reckless abandon, soars down stairs with no favoring of her hip, and she now sleeps with relaxed, straighter legs.

Yes.

This is an odd angle but Jazz's left leg is clearly visible in what appears to be propped on Nestle's face. Actually her leg isn't touching his face, that's how far the lower leg would stick up in the air when she's laying on her side. She received Ttouch on her hips during the Chapel Hill training session and I have focused two session on her hips. While still quite cow-hocked, this uncomfortable looking sleeping position is much reduced.

(As soon as I have a picture of her new sleeping position, I'll post it)

Peace, love & Light,
Kat

Case Studies

What is a Case Study?
A kind human volunteers their companion animal for me to work on and learn from. Ideally, not only do I learn lots, but the animal benefits from the Ttouches. For a formal study the owner agrees to commit to three sessions. The owner also agrees to any publishing of the study and/or images by Tellington Touch as copies will be turned in during my training.

Not everyone I work on need be a case study. I'll keep records for my own self, of course, but you get the gist. The real need for me is to practice, practice, practice! Folks with Foster animals in need of emotional/behavioral help are of special interest as well.

How much? Three easy payments of $0.00 - typically 90 minutes per session. A deal!

Where?
What I love about Ttouch is that it helps the animal where they live in their every day life. It's up to the owner where they would feel most comfortable ..... within a reasonable driving distance, of course.

Why?
Case studies do several things. One, they demonstrate to the Ttouch instructors that I'm actually studying, learning, and progressing. Two, by going over case studies with an instructor it furthers the learning process by gaining valuable feedback.

How?
During my 2 year training program, I will need to submit a total of 15 case studies, one of which should be someone other than a companion animal. The first 3 case studies will be due during my 3rd training session in May/June.

My area of study is companion animals.... which is not limited to dogs. I just happen to be a dog person. I'm also a horse person... but that's whole other Ttouch training program... which I'll do after completing the companion animal training! Then there's working on humans: My final frontier!

Dorrie

Beautiful and elegant, Dorrie, is my first "official" case study. She is a warm hearted 5 year old Golden who came from rescue where she was rather traumatized by the entire event, of which she still displays issues stemming from separation and stress. Her symptoms include pacing, panting, eye rolling, excessive barking and leash pulling.

I love this little fur-girl. She willingly warmed up to me right away and easily allowed me to work Ttouches all over her while she melted into deep relaxation.

After a short break while I set up the confidence course, Dorrie walked along with me very willingly while smiling all the while!
Dorrie thinks her way through the "star" (above) and the "ladder" (below). My leads are a bit snug... shudder timing wasn't the greatest. She was able to walk with the leads in neutral most of the time. A big change for her.
After our session, Dorrie was quite the relaxed and contented gal. I hear tell that she has since been sleeping throughout the night rather than waking and pacing as she's done in the past. Everyone is sleeping better!

Elvis - session 3

The basics of the confidence course are coming together! Here is the labyrinth. I used PVC because it's light and portable in my little red car and stows easily in a carry bag.

Here's "most" of the ladder. I can flip it around for small dogs, partially prop it up, or prop it up completely once I have the other side of supports done (Home Depot, here I come!). I'm very pleased with the outcome, thus far.

I chose to guide Elvis through the confidence course using a super balance lead and scrunchies on his back legs (instead of a wrap, which I used last time). The scrunchies aid in bringing awareness to his back legs - he wasn't even sure he could raise one leg for the application of these little jewels.

Here we are going through the ladder. I have my unfinished sides offset to present a bit more challenge to him. Elvis really liked this. Towards the end of our session I switched to using a simple balance lead (instead of a "super balance" lead pictured above). He walked well with me and in much better control of his once ungainly body. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

Since Elvis's first session a couple weeks ago, he has become much more comfortable in his rather large body and negotiates his way through life with much less clumsiness (much to our relief). His aggressive attitude towards being handled along his rear, legs and feet has gotten much better.