As I look back on the early posts about Sofi's Journey it is hard to imagine that the dog we have now is the same huddled, broken, stinky, matted, antisocial basket case that we brought home 9 months ago. She has overcome so many issues to become a sweet and loving participant in our strange little tribe!!
Her latest triumph has taken the better part of 2 months to get through, we realized very early that she would most likely never be able to go for walks. A bad hip and generally a complete wreck when attached to a collar and leash!!
Challenge one: she does not like to be caught, that makes sense considering her experience with people and whatever happened to damage her body so badly. She also had issues with being in confined spaces, since she most likely spent most of her life before coming to us in a cage. She does not like to be followed or chased, and finally she is afraid of open spaces and trash cans!
The idea of teaching her to go for walks really started as a remedy to my frustrations with her potty issues(read previous posts for details) and wanting to be sure she was not eating what she was making. This was more an issue for me than her.
When I first started using the leash she would pee on the floor, shake, and generally freeze in her tracks. The first three or four days I just hooked her up, encouraged her, gave her treats, and got her outside(then came back in to clean up the mess).
After about five days we were able to go outside and then she would pee. At this point I decided that I was going to invest whatever time was needed to get her to go on walks. The first step was to go out and pee, then walk around the yard. She did not like the walking, she would pull and desperately try to get away, I kept reassuring her and giving her cookies. Finally after about a week of doing this for 30 to 45 minutes a day she was able to complete a circuit in the yard without freaking out. I realized through this process that certain areas of the yard scared her more than others. We focused on those scary areas, by moving very slowly and stopping and having cookies to show her that nothing bad was going to happen. We also had a safe place that she always got a cookie so that she had something to focus on.
One day she seemed to be at ease so I marched her up to the back gate and out we went, we made it to the front of the house and she froze up, I had to almost pull her to get her going again, but once she started moving she was ok for about half a block, then she put down her anchor. We turned around and went home for lots of cookies.
I kept up with this routine for about 10 days and we progressed until we could make it around the block. Now going around the block was one thing, but she is up to 65 pounds now and was still pulling my arm out of the socket, or leaning on my legs like we were magnetized!!! She was not enjoying it, she was not sniffing or wagging her tail. The next step was to add Tucker, the other dog of the house, he added a new distraction. He is not known for being an exceptional walker, and has a tendancy to start and stop often, and bark, and squeak, and pee every 5 feet. Amazingly though he helped Sofi keep moing forward and provided just enough leadership to calm her, or more likely to distract her. After about a week she started sniffing every once in awhile, and finally she started wagging her tail!!!!!!
We maintained the same walking course for a week or so and then I started changing the map, at first this threw her off, but with time she began to trust me. We have also addressed many of the situations that used to frighten her--cars parked in driveways, trash cans, barking dogs in yards, and loud noises. When something frightens her we slow down and then stop so she knows that she does not need to run away. She has stopped pulling on the leash at this point and I would say that she is one of the best walking dogs I have had the pleasure of knowing.
I look forward to our nightly walks, and I know she enjoys going out too, but she is still frightened every time I go to put the leash on her, which makes me think that what ever happened to her before she came to us must have been truly unimaginable!!!! Shortly after she is on the leash she will be happily wagging her tail as we cruise around the neighborhood facing new and exciting challenges!!
She and I have become close and I am very proud of her!!!!
Andre'
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