Xenophobia

We went to see a well known, highly regarded Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist named Kathy Sdao today. Xeno cooperated fully by refusing to go through the door, sitting down as he does on our walks and freezing, and then barking and growling at Kathy as she stood outside with me. It was a highly effective display that did more than anything I could write in the bio form could. We finally got him inside and he hid behind my chair, barking and growling before finally settling.

After an in depth discussion of triggers, behaviors, his background etc. Kathy gave me a rundown of her take on Xeno. She feels that he has the potential to be a dangerous dog due to his background, genetics and size. She explains his current behavior as mostly likely a result of him being on the cusp of a mature adult. He no longer fits the profile of a helpless, juvenile victim but is starting to realize he is a mature adult and he is going to do something about the things that cause him fear. She does not believe he would be a dominant aggressive dog looking for a fight but that if he were to bite, it would be once to get away from the scary thing if he has enough triggers piled up on top of one another.

To add to the difficulty in treating him, it is extraordinarily difficult to discern what all his triggers are. For instance, on our way to meet Kathy, we stopped at a stop light and there was a tall, heavy set man standing on the sidewalk next to us. He was the epitome of "doggie hell": hat, full, flowing beard, big bulky jacket and backpack. Xeno was sitting up in the car and gazed at him with complete lack of concern. Not a peep out of him and only curiousity emanating from him. Three miles down the road and he spied a man 3 blocks away on a cell phone and he went postal. I could hardly even tell it was a guy from that distance. The point being I am often completely in the dark as to what it was that set him off. Kathy pointed out that it could be a smell or something I can't even perceive. Thus with so many triggers that are impossible to pin down, she feels (and rightly so) that it will be next to impossible for me manage his triggers to the extent that I can prevent a bite.

She also strongly felt I should no longer take him to the dog park but rather find a field somewhere and pay the land owner a small pittance to let him run for an hour on his own. This worked well for M and I have begun looking into it. We discussed talking to my vet about medications. Kathy feels that given his level of fear about the world in general, his quality of life is relatively low and while she is not a huge proponent of meds, it is worth exploring. I agree and we will make an appointment. I recently switched his food to Innova which is made by Evo but much higher in carbs and lower in protein. After a great deal of research on line, it seems that this combination is highly recommended for Maremmas. I have cut him back food wise quite a bit as he has put on more weight than I'd like and since we are working so much with treats, he only gets about a cup and a half of food a day. Again, Kathy recommended discussing the carb vs. protein issue with my vet.

We discussed continuing to try to find foods that motivate him. We discussed the benefits of taking him to work which she felt I should continue (with a muzzle), continuing to take him running (with a muzzle) etc. It was very reassuring to find that I have been correctly applying all that I have been reading and that she is as baffled by his behavior as I am. To wit, he stood growling at her, tail wagging, eyes soft and no tension in his body. She noticed his bark and growl are not "aggressive" in tone but more talkative. However, his commisure is forward and I have seen him look highly aroused and tense yet ambivalent in his body language. Kathy agreed that he is obviously extremely ambivalent about strangers, fearful but insistent they go away. We agreed there is not much to change in my current training but she advised against any classes for him in the future, feeling that he will not learn and will be too "triggered" to do anything. I agreed and will attend seminars and classes on my own as needed. We will continue to work on commands and behaviors at home with the clicker.

Kathy believes that his ability to improve is fairly limited but she also feels that he should continue to be exposed to the world and not made a hermit. This was in response to my question as to whether it would be better to just buy a house farther out on some land and allow him to live his life out there without really interacting with the world. She and I are both very realistic about his potential, the amount of work this will take and the degree to which he can tolerate normal activities. Despite my realism, I have more hope for him than I sense that Kathy does. I believe that he has shown a remarkable ability to adapt, to be curious, to learn and to perform. I do not see a dog that is so rooted in his past that he cannot move forward. Do I see him growing into a dog like Hudson? Absolutely not (thank god - two is too much!). But I believe he will go farther, faster than she thinks.

On our nightly walk today, he did beautifully. As always, just when I think all is doom and gloom, he is a saint. As a leashed dog passed us, he clearly wanted to jump, pull and bark but he instead he sat, focused on me with clicker in hand performing all that I asked him to while ignoring the dog. He was rewarded liberally with lamb lung (yummy...ugh). He has progressed so far in three months, that I absolutely refuse to give up on him nor will I ever entertain the notion of putting him down.

As we got further along in our walk, a woman passed us on the other side of the street. Normally he would just look and ignore from that distance. This time his tail was wagging frantically, he was very excited and he actually jumped up on me in his excitement. Inadvertently as I got him back in a heel, I brushed my jacket with my hand as I went for a treat and, still excited from seeing the woman, he cowered and fled from me which he has never done before. Clearly the swishing sound of my hand on my jacket terrified him. I realized quite suddenly and with great certainty that his behavior in this phase is not an increase in aggression, it's an experiment with emotion that he can't control yet and hasn't been allowed to feel before because his fear was so dominant. Now that he doesn't have to be afraid all the time, more emotion is coming to the fore. Sometimes it is all in a rush as it was in this incident: he was excited to see the woman, he jumped on my as though to do his high 10 trick because he knows people love it, his fear was primed though out of habit so when he heard my hand on my jacket, he reacted instinctively before he could realize it's me, the person he trusts and adores the most in the world. His emotions took over before he could control them and I see that happening more and more. I think Kathy's right in that as he is maturing, he is trying out these new "adult" parts of him but I disagree that they primarily take the form of aggression. I do not see aggression per se in his growling and barking. It is more like a stern voice but not a threat. This could change of course and I realize I must be prepared for that. But as of right now, I am certain that he is expressing a myriad of doggie feelings. Thus all these emotions come out as the ambivalence I see so clearly in him right now.

This phase does make it hard to train as he is entirely unpredictable right now. But we take each day at a time and just as with the shaping, as he learns self control, so do I. The fury I felt at the idiot who drove within inches of us on our walk today as we walked well off the roadway just to prove a point? had to be controlled and dispelled in a way it never had to before. Hudson would be clueless and I could get away with seething for the next 10 minutes about someone who recklessly chances hitting my dog but Xeno knows immediately if I am tense or angry. As he learns self control, I have learned not to let things anger me, even if it means I have to sing out loud to him (maybe that's why he's afraid!) as we walk away. As always, I get more from him than he does from me.

Perhaps it's this dialectic that creates such an overwhelming, indestructible bond between us. Being told today that hope for him is limited is like being told your child is autistic and may learn to cope but will never be normal and even coping is asking a lot. I realize most parents would be horrified that I compare a dog to a child but to me he is my child and he requires as much work as one. But like the parent of a special needs child, you just do what you have to do and it never occurs to you to wish you could give them back. I even had a choice in this matter and I knew what I was getting. Because Xeno does require so much more of me, I am much closer to him than I am to Hudson though I love my Boo as much as Xeno but in a much different way. I am incredibly protective of Xeno in a way I am not of Hudson because I know Hudson can handle anything, Teflon dog that he is. But Xeno and I live for each other and no anger is harder to deal with than that which comes with the thought of him being hurt, mentally or physically. The Xeno I know is playful, affectionate, adoring and polite and although others rarely see him as he is with me, that is the dog I am defending.

Ironically, in having to be Xeno's defender, I am more in my work mode while out with him than I think I am at work! I am constantly looking blocks ahead for potential triggers, people, strange objects, noise makers etc. As we walk I am searching every car parked on the street to be sure no one is inside and about to get out. I am constantly on the lookout for anything that might startle or frighten him so we can avoid it or take preemptive measures. I am far more alert now in my off time as a result of having to be his trusted defender.


What I got out of today's session is simple: I will never give Xeno up; I firmly believe he will excel beyond everyone's hopes and I will continue to train as though this is not only possible but inevitable; and I will do everything I can do to mitigate him being in a situation that will result in aggression, even if that means muzzling in certain situations. There is hope - I see it in his face every day. In a year I hope to go back to Kathy and show her a different dog for our follow up. I know she hopes for the same.