DaisyMae

[Jo&Tex]

I was fortunate this week to be able to scoop Daisymae off her chain and take her for a walk with Tex.

Daisymae is a purebred BC who leads a life of isolation, tied out on a chain. Her family is dealing with a serious illness and just don't have time for her right now. She's 3 and spent her puppyhood alone in an apartment all day. She was given to her current owners (relatives) when she became desructive.

We took the dogs downtown to the rehearsals for the Dragon Boat Races. There was lots of commotion and they were both fine. Daisymae only got excited near the falls and fountains and had a very entertaining Zoomie after I let her swim. She shot right off the end of the dock.

She likes to sneak over and give Tex a kiss on his jaw. He grins and puffs up like a toad when she does this. Tex is less reactive when she is with us and they make a pretty pair.

Theres something weird about her. She completely ignores people, including me. I throw sticks in the water for her and she pounces and then she goes back to chasing bubbles and ripples. She's almost like an autistic child, I don't thik she understands that I'm trying to play with her. Tex has a great understanding of the concept of Fetch, it just takes him all day to find the stick.

Soon I will have my hands full with Fargo. My young friend, Samantha (age 11) wants to continue trying with Daisymae and do alot of walking this summer. We have a great DogBeach nearby. It's very near the docks where the fishing boats unload so it's great for dogs and lousy for people.

Daisymae is obsessed with water. I have not been able to redirect her using either food or toys. Her people put the sprinkler on for her and she plays for hours.I certainly don't mind taking her to the beach just to play but I'd like to see her interact with us a little more.

Should I keep her away from the water and just stick to the bush trials? She doesn't have a great quality of life, should I just let her get wet and be happy? I've never dealt with an obessive dog before.

[kelpiegirl]

I think you should, if you are interested, keep working with her. She probably hasn't had the opportunity to play with people. She needs to learn that language, and she will given time. I would, if you are interested, keep taking her for walks, and interacting with her. She will blossom with some one on one, and will learn that humans are really cool. Keep us posted on her progress!

Julie

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

That's very similiar to Liberty, who also spent a lot of time kenneled or on a chain. She was obsessed with killing stuff, however, so it's been imperative with us to break through that. As I work with her, I'm realizing more that her behavior truly is habits created from the utter lack of any strong direction for her instincts. Today she allowed a kitty to stick his head in her food dish and only snapped and glared at him when he tried to steal some food.

 

Just a normal interaction - and a HUGE step in the right direction. When she first came here she'd lunge after anything that moved and wouldn't even acknowelege a human. Karen worked with her and after about half an hour got her thinking about the human at the end of the leash. Within two weeks she had Liberty recognizing her name and turning back to us when called. And it never took anything worse than a swat with a hat At the beginning, and then lots of praise for little steps. Now Liberty adores attention from people and would rather be in the house than out watching for the ducks/sheep/cats/cars/songbirds/cattle. I really wasn't sure we'd ever get this but it actually turned out to be easier than I thought. She didn't SEEM starved for attention at first, but she actually was and now she's just blooming (now I just wish I could get her to eat her food instead of guarding it ).

[Katelynn & Gang]

You have to think about it from the way she sees it right now . . . . .

 

What have humans done for her but lock her up all her life? There is no reason for her to give any human alive any time of day, let alone her "happy" wet free day.

 

It is really heart breaking when you think about it.

 

I'd just let her be wet and happy for now. She will soon notice that it is you and your young from that bring her that joy every time you come and get her to go swim.

[urge to herd]

DaisyMae sounds a lot like Shoshone, who came to us after a year or more of no human contact (the guy who had her and her brother literally left them in a pen at the back of his property, and threw some cheap kibble at them a couple times a mont.) With a lot of patience, and like Rebecca says, lots of reinforcement for tiny steps, she's made quite a turn around and is devoted to me.

 

If your young friend is interested, think about working with DaisyMae using Samantha as an apprentice trainer. If DaisyMae is so happy in the water, leave her on a long line, let her go in the water, bring her gently back out, reinforce by letting her go back in the water. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Reinforce anytime she actually looks at your face. Put a smelly treat in your hand, close your hand and offer it to her. Open your hand when she noses it gently or looks at your face. This is stuff that Samantha can do with her with your supervision.

 

And good for you and Samantha for taking an interest in this poor girl. At the very least, you'll be making her much more adoptable to someone who wants her and has time for her.

 

Ruth n the BC3

[Dal & Mad's Mom]

Theres something weird about her. She completely ignores people, including me. I throw sticks in the water for her and she pounces and then she goes back to chasing bubbles and ripples. She's almost like an autistic child, I don't thik she understands that I'm trying to play with her

 

We talked about this in the reverse for Frodo he wasnt socialized with other dogs. He has no concept of Pack levels. Everyone else including Buddy realizes Pep is the master there and they are submissive to him even though it isnt necessary.

 

I think if a piece is missing from their puzzle it takes something away from thier personality.

[juliepoudrier]

If DaisyMae were given plenty of time and attention from someone, she would eventually come around and behave more like a normal dog. Living in isolation is what's made her what she is, but that doesn't mean she's not "fixable." Someone just needs to have to time to work with her.

 

J.

[SoloRiver]

I had a foster dog like this. She was what I call a "free agent." Humans meant nothing to her. She'd never learned that they would do anything interesting or worthwhile (I think she was also neglected -- not abused, but just ignored). She was really difficult to work with because it didn't seem like anything I had control of could motivate her. She was motivated by novelty: whatever was newest in the environment set her off. A dog would bark, she'd be excited about that, then a leaf would blow, and she'd chase that, and then a motorcycle would go by, and she'd alert at that, etc. I figure it was a sort of defense mechanism to keep herself from going totally insane during her former life. She'd learned to amuse herself by any means necessary. She was remarkably stable and self-possessed. A dog less stable would probably have ended up like Solo instead.

 

I had her for three weeks and what I did, that worked, was totally control her environment to the point that I was the only interesting thing in it. She was either tethered to me or crated unless I was interacting directly with her. I'd take her into the bathroom with me (a small, boring, enclosed room) and taught her to make eye contact for really yummy treats. (She would have ignored these treats in a more interesting environment.) Once she got solid with that we started trying it in more interesting environments. When I got her she had an anti-recall (you'd call her and she'd take off), but by the time she left me she had a recall about 60% of the time, dragging a long line for insurance. This was at a dog run too, with lots of other dogs and interesting things to see and chase.

 

I think the "tough love" approach (or "Ruff Love" for Susan Garrett fans) can work well for dogs like this. If she doesn't think humans are interesting, you have to make it REALLY obvious that humans can be interesting and then relax slowly as time goes on. That's my opinion, anyway. She was a nice dog, and if she'd gotten along with Solo I might have kept her myself.

[Jo&Tex]

You all have a perfect understanding of DaisyMae. Fargo is so interactive and Tex is an extension of me so they are very good communicators considering they are both communication disordered. DaisyMae just frustrates me. I bought a clicker and Samantha and I will keep on trying.