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How a nightmare became a dream
Louise
Downing fell in love
with Belgian Shepherds when she first saw them at Crufts about seven years ago. In subsequent
visits, she would search out at least one wonderful BSD owner who would spend time talking to
her about the breed, their qualities, their quirks, and their requirements, until she finally
decided that it definitely was the breed for her.
I wanted to re-home an
adult dog, as I work during the day, and to leave a puppy alone for four hours or so at a time
would be totally unfair. Through Jane Curzon of Belgian Shepherd Rescue, I finally found out
about a three year old red bitch with a black mask, who was living in Cornwall and needed a new
home.
Due to her severe
problems, I had to really convince Jane that I was up for the job of offering this beautiful
girl a new start and a good home. Eventually she relented, and the details of her foster mum
were sent to me, so off we went, Steve, my wonderful supportive partner and me, on an 800 mile
round trip, to see if this Terv would like us.
Meeting Shannan
We first met Shannan running free with her foster brother Snoop, an English Bull
Terrier in a beautiful coastal park. Armed with pockets of treats, I nervously held my hand out
to her, my heart was pounding with the fear that she would not take to me. I need not have
worried. The bond was instant. I avoided direct eye contact with her and called her name, and
up she came straight to me and leant against my leg. I looked down into the most beautiful
brown eyes that I had ever seen. I gave her head a gentle stroke, put my hand in my pocket and
handed her a treat, she took it, and stood looking at me expectantly for another.
Her foster Mum, Sue, was
amazed 'She is so nervous of strangers, I can't believe she came straight to you like that, I
think you two are going to get on very well together.'
We carried on walking
for a bit, and Sue filled us in on Shannan's history. When Sue had taken her off her neighbour
a couple of months earlier, the dog had been in a terrible state, both physically and mentally.
Her coat was very thin and wispy. She had been left outside in the back yard for at least the
last six months of her life, apparently due to her 'destructive abilities.' She was terrified
of any sudden movements and noises, and was basically a nervous wreck.
All
I wanted to do was to bring her home, and try to convince her that not all humans were bad! We
had arranged to stay for the weekend, to ensure that Shannan got to know us a little bit before
the long car ride to her new home. It was Steve's birthday, and so we had originally thought it
would be nice to have a quiet meal for two in a sea-side restaurant, until Sue suggested that
we might like to take Shannan out by ourselves. We jumped at the opportunity, and decided to
make our way into the sea-side town to get some fish and chips.
It was my first glimpse
of how desperately fearful this beautiful creature was of everyone and everything. The lead was
the first object of terror. Her eyes rolled and she nearly collapsed when I first attached it
to her collar. We stood quietly and allowed her to gain her confidence, slowly left the house
and made our way down the street. She 'wall-walked' all the way. By this I mean she pulled away
from the lead, pressing herself against the walls and fences down the street, as if she wanted
them to swallow her up. Realising how frightened she was, we returned to the car and opened the
rear door. She jumped in gladly.
A chance encounter
We drove to the harbour and I decided to risk bringing her out again for the short
walk to the fish and chip shop nearby. While we were waiting outside for Steve, a woman came up
to us and said 'Is that Shannan?' assuming she was a friend of Sue's.
I replied, 'Yes'
'Why have you got her?'
she asked
'We are her new owners.
We are taking her home tomorrow,' I replied.
'New owners? Where are
you from?'
'Birmingham.'
'Birmingham? that's
miles away!' She responded.
The next words she spoke
chilled my heart 'She hasn't changed a bit - always had her tail tucked between her legs when I
brought her out myself'
I looked down, and was
horrified to see that this woman was right. Shannan's tail was curled right under her. Up until
this meeting, despite her nervous state, she had not done this with her tail before. Shannan
looked up at me and stepped backwards. I then knew with absolute certainty that this woman was
Shannan's original owner. I felt sick. What if she changed her mind and decided that we could
not have her. Luckily she left, but I was in a terrible state when Steve finally came out of
the shop.
To see how my dog
cringed before this woman in such a fearful state was just stomach churning. We sat and ate our
meal in silence on the harbour wall. Shan sitting quietly beside us. We returned to Sue's and
told her what had happened, and she promised that she would not let her neighbour take her
back. She had already signed a note to give up her ownership, and Sue was not going to allow
Shannan to go back to her former life.
Going
home
After a very fretful night at the hotel and an early breakfast, we arrived at Sue's at 8am in
the morning, just in case! All was well, and Shannan leapt straight into the back of the car.
It was a tearful goodbye for Sue - and for me - but we soon started on the long drive home. We
stopped off at various moorland and woodland sites to let Shannan stretch her legs, and finally
arrived home at about 3.00pm.
My poor cat Amy ran
straight up a tree on first sight of her new house mate, totally unimpressed. We knew that
Shannan was used to living with cats, so Amy would be alright once she had got over the initial
shock. They happily tolerate each other now!
We let Shannan settle in
to her new surroundings at her own pace as she was so nervous. On her third day with us,
though, I saw a completely new side to her! I had just put her food down in the kitchen, which
she was eating, when I accidentally brushed against her. In a flash she spun round - jumped up
and pinned me against the wall, paws on my shoulders, teeth only centimetres from my face. She
was really growling and her eyes were filled with rage! For what seemed like an eternity she
held me there, and then left me to resume eating. I still did not move. My mind was racing, I
knew I should show her who was boss and remove her food, but I also knew that she had been half
starved and tormented with food in her former life. There had to be another way.
I scoured my behavioural
books and the internet, and I found what I was looking for! With dogs as aggressive over food
as Shannan was, the worst thing I could have done was to remove her food, as all her worst
fears would have been confirmed. Instead, for every subsequent meal I stood near her bowl and
put in a handful of food, waited for her to finish it - then added some more - and continued
like this until her whole meal had been served. I did this for about two weeks! She now
associates me near her when she is eating as possibly providing more food, so I am no longer a
threat. Steve followed my lead and did the same thing. She has never reacted to anyone in such
a manner since!
Every
day brought new challenges
When she first arrived she had chewed and scratched her stomach and legs until they
were raw and bleeding. The vet initially suggested grass allergy, but she did not respond at
all to the treatment prescribed. Once more the internet gave the answers, intolerance to
additives etc. in dog food. She is now on a BARF diet of bones and raw food, carefully
supplemented and she has never looked back.
Because of her
incarceration in the backyard, she had very little muscle tone, so we started taking her
swimming at our local indoor dog pool at Hopwood. She was apprehensive at first, but now she
adores swimming. We built her health and physical being up slowly, with good food, and careful
exercise until at last she started to resemble the true beauty of her breed. She put on weight,
gained good muscle tone, and her coat which started to grow has now become thick and a true
rich colour.
She
even started to wag her tail! The first time she did this she actually looked round at it in
surprise, because I don't think she realised that it could do this!
Her previous owner and her 12 year old son had obviously
not been very loving, and treated her very badly. She was terrified of any kind of flame,
flickering light, reflection, movement or noise. We built her nerves up just as gradually as we
did with her fitness, and I spent many, many, many hours sitting outside the house,
supermarkets, shops, and markets just getting her used to traffic, people and every day objects
such as pushchairs etc. At first she used to panic and try to pull away at the merest sight of
anything she deemed as frightening (everything!!) but by introducing her to things slowly, and
without making a fuss about them, she now accepts most everyday things without fear. She does
not even leave the room when we vacuum now - when she arrived, even the sight of the hoover
turned off would send her diving for cover in a different room!
So all was going well until I had her spayed! To this day
I have still not found out what went on at the vet's surgery. All I know is that my beautiful
girl nearly died shortly afterwards. We brought her home after her operation and, as expected,
she was very quiet and subdued. She was like this for a couple of days and refused to eat. In
less than a week, she lost over 2 kilos in weight. I voiced my concerns with the vet, and they
had a quick check over her and told me there was nothing wrong! On the fourth night I heard her
moving around the kitchen and came downstairs to find diarrhoea and blood all over the kitchen
floor. I just sat on the floor and cried.
Shan had not eaten for several days and just lay in her
bed looking as though she had literally lost the will to live. After everything we had been
through, I could not believe I was going to lose her like this. She would get up as though she
was in agony and would potter across the floor, every step as though the floor was on fire, and
still the vet denied there was a problem!!
My friend, Wendy, is a veterinary nurse (from a different
practice), and she took my desperate call at 4.00am in the morning. She told me if the blood
was bright red, this was not as dangerous as if it was thick and black - at last a tiny glimmer
of hope! She came over with her partner Gary at 7.00am and had a good look at Shan. She thought
that she had hurt her back, possibly from struggling when being anaesthetised, or falling off
the operating table, which can sometimes happen! The vets must have known about this. Why did
they not tell me the truth? They still deny anything happened. I have since changed vets!
I took Shannan to Paula Yates, an animal chiropractor,
and she confirmed Wendy's diagnosis! Shan's shoulders were out of line. Her left hip was an
inch higher than her right, and she had several trauma sites along her neck and her back, some
of which could be attributed to her former abuse, but which could have been severely aggravated
from her trip to the vets.
Even after our first visit to Paula, a huge improvement
could be seen. Shannan lost the wild, agonised look in her eyes and started to take pilchards
from my hand! In four weeks my dog was back. She had regained her weight and once more loved
life!
Enter
agility
After we had Shannan for about a year, we booked some private lessons. It took a VERY long
time to introduce her to every bit of equipment safely. If it had not been for the extreme
patience and support of Ian Smith, I know I would never have taught Shannan that agility would
be fun. At the time, she would never have coped in a class environment, so we spent about six
months of private lessons, alongside Gary and Widget, his little white collie, teaching her the
basics. Now she is a member of both Barkaway Agility Club and Bromsgrove Agility Club and she
LOVES it!
Unfortunately, after the spaying incident, another
problem occurred. Shan became very nervous of other dogs. The thought of ever doing
competitions with her was just a dream, as the worry of her running out of the ring after
another dog was so great.
I have studied the methods to ensure that Shan sees me as
pack leader without any force or confrontation, and I am glad to say that these have worked to
the point that we can now compete safely because she is so focused on me. We won our first
place in an agility competition at Dogs in Need last year - 15th place (and first clear round
of the day!) She has gained several clear rounds at other shows we have attended! She will
never be the fastest dog off the block, due to her physical limitations, but she is generally
accurate and rarely misses her contacts or knocks a pole!
Unfortunately after an accident involving a spread jump,
Shannan was out of training for about five months, but we are now starting to work again,
mostly at two foot, as full height is still a bit of a struggle. Thanks once again to Paula
Stokes for putting her back together.
As you can see, the last two and a half years of owning
Shannan have been a real roller coaster ride, and she has tested me to the absolute limits on
many occasions. She has, however, taught me more than all the books and reference material I
have read, although they have been very useful in pointing me in the right direction with her.
There have been times where I thought I would never be
able to cope. It felt like we would solve one issue, only to be confronted with another... and
another ... and another! It was times like this that I realised that I would never have been
able to get where I have today with her without the continuous care and support I have received
from family, friends and professionals alike, including Steve, my Mum, Gary and Wendy, Jacqui -
our daily dog-sitter, Helen, Ian Smith, Paula Stokes and Jan Fennell. Thank you all!
I hate
to see handlers smack their dog hard across the muzzle for growling or lunging at another dog!
I have never hit Shannan for growling, she had too much of that in her former life. If she
growls, I heed her warning and move her away to a safe distance. We have reached an
understanding. I do not put her in a situation which she feels threatened, and she need not be
fearful of another dog. At Dogs in Need, there were over two thousand dogs, and we did not have
a single incident over the course of the five days, because I was very careful with her, and
she trusts my judgement.
She has also gained the Kennel Club Good Citizen Awards,
Bronze , Silver and Gold! Not bad going for a three year old that had no understanding of
general training and who was terrified of her collar and lead. Now she jumps up and grabs the
lead in excitement when I pick it up. This could be considered by some as a bad habit which
should not be encouraged, but I see it as a mile stone in how far she has come in 2 1/2 years -
an article which caused her to hit the floor in panic is now viewed with great excitement,
because she knows it means we are off to do something together!
She will be six in June 2005, and I know that the first
three years of her life have damaged her greatly, it takes very little to destroy a dog's
confidence, and it can take a life-time to try and put it right! She is the light of my life,
and I love to see her bounding through the woods near our home, or charging round an agility
course, because these are the things she loves, and these moments make all the tears and
heart-break we have been through - worth it!
Of course, I must not forget the courage and intelligence
that Shannan has displayed throughout our time together. I have been there to help her, but at
the end of the day it is she alone who has accepted the adjustments in her life, and allowed me
to show her that life can be fun, if she would just learn to trust in me, which I honestly
believe she does now!
In the last couple of shows we has attended Shannan has
won third, two fourths and a seventh place in Elementary events. I am so very, very proud of
her achievements!
Hope I have not bored you to tears with her life story!
But thanks for reading!
About the author...
Lousie Downing has now been able to pass her knowledge and experiences to
other people who have similar problems with their dogs, and helps to run Wyndsend DTC with Gary
Chetwynd.
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