Moose's Story...
by Jovita Miller
Moose (formally named King) was an 8 year old male,
yellow Lab that came to LEARN on Sept. 11, 2003 from a shelter in
Illinois. Due to the shortage of foster homes at that time, he was boarded
at a kennel until a foster home opened up. Well my boyfriend, Brett, and I
decided to open our home to foster again and asked if anyone was at the
kennel that needed a home. We were told that Moose was still at the kennel
and we agreed to foster him and sprung him on Oct. 11, 2003.
From the outside he seemed just like an ordinary
"elderly" dog with no behavior or temperament issues. He rode
well in the car, had his first vet visit
for two ear infections, went to the local dog park, and met his new foster
sisters, our dog Shadowfax and two cats. He couldn't be happier. Then the
weekend was over...
The First Week
Since I did not have a crate big enough for Moose, we just gated him
in our kitchen. The first two days went well, no issues. Then on the third
day I came home for lunch to find that the garbage can was knocked over
and the trash was scattered everywhere. Dishes were taken out of the sink
and all over the floor, along with other items from the counter.
I figured it was boredom and tried to provide him
with various toys and treats to keep him occupied. On the following day
the same thing occurred, more trash and more dishes. He had also turned
our stove on, trying to reach for something on it. How long was it lit? We
will never know, but we were just thankful all our animals and our house
were safe. The weekend was coming, time for a crate.
Week Two
We got the crate over the weekend and we worked with
Jill Miller, LEARN's animal behaviorist, on introducing Moose to it. We
praised him every time he went in, gave him treats, and fed him in the
crate. All seemed to be going well, and then came Monday. I came home to
find a terrified dog that had been barking non-stop, urinated, defecated,
and vomited in his crate. This finally proved to me that he had an issue,
and it wasn't just boredom as first suspected.
The issue he has is called Separation Anxiety.
For the rest of the week, Moose barked constantly
when we left and used his body as a battering ram to get out of the wire
crate. We had to eventually use bungee cords to hold it closed and then
had to use snap hooks since he ate the cords. He still broke through and
when I would arrive home he was there to greet me at the door. Everyday I
would prepare myself for what kind of destruction I would find. Of course
he went for the garbage; the sink full of dishes, items from our dresser,
chewed on clothes, destroyed paperwork and relieved himself in the house a
few times. Well, the crate lasted less than a two weeks and what other
choice did I have for him. The only thing that made him comfortable was to
be near me and Brett.
For the remainder of the week, and into his third
week, he was placed in our half-bathroom. He couldn't get into any trouble
at all. Could he? Well he did! One day I came home to find a note letting
me know that he had barked again all night for 4 to 5 hours straight. So
that was trouble number one. Number two was I found him out in the living
room when I returned home. He had managed to chew a 12 x 8 inch hole in my
bathroom door. That was the last straw. I had tried everything imaginable
to help him out. We gave him lots of treats, toys, leaving a radio or TV
on, and even playing a lullaby CD. But nothing worked.
The Third and Fourth Week
It was now early November and Moose was still keeping
me at my wits end. My 2 1/2 year old Shadowfax has Separation Anxiety, but
not this bad. We were able to get her accustomed to her new environment
rather quickly but she still has it and always will. Thanks to Jill, we
were able to curb his barking at least. We used a Citronella Bark Collar
(sprays him with citronella whenever he barks). Boy did it ever work
wonders. I had been a little skeptical at first but when one of my
neighbors asked if we still had him, I replied "yes" and asked why. They
told me that they hadn't heard one bark out of him. Phew! But we still had
to deal with the anxiety.
While doing research on the web and talking with a
co-worker, she suggested Holistic healing... Sure I thought, it couldn't
hurt to try. I wanted to do everything that I could to help him out. I was
told to use a mix of Chicory, Heather and Rescue Remedy (all can be found
in a specialty health food store) in a small amount of water and have him
drink it. All these things were to help him calm down and ease the tension
and anxiety that he felt when we left. The Chicory and Heather were to
help with his urge for destructive behavior. I tried this treatment for
almost a week but it wasn't helping much so I scheduled him to see the
vet. He prescribed Valium. All it did was make one really dopey dog and
lasted for less than 2 hours and he was back to his old self. I called the
vet again and asked for something different. He said, "Come on in and we
will prescribe him some anti-depressants."
Week Five and Six
By this time there was a general meeting for all the
LEARN volunteers to attend. The guest speaker was Dr. Susan Krebsbach and
she is an Animal Behaviorist. Could she help Moose? Moose was prescribed
to take his anti-depressants for two weeks and then come in for a
follow-up and see if any changes needed to be made. During this time I set
up a phone consultation with Dr. Krebsbach and she gave me guidelines to
follow in working with Moose. Basically the main thing was for him to earn
everything that he wanted. If he wanted to go outside, he would have to do
a sit/stay first, if he wanted his food, another sit/stay, a treat, yet
another sit/stay. Then there was a 15 day regiment that I would have to
follow that had various exercises. Granted, it could take longer than 15
days, but we worked down the list until we were successful at completing
every task. If there were problems, we would go back to the previous day's
exercise and try again. If the dog completes the exercise, we would go on
to the next day. We also had to determine what the cause for his anxiety
was. For Moose, it was seeing me do my hair and brushing my teeth before
asking him to go into his crate. By this time I had gotten a new crate,
donated by another LEARN volunteer. Dr. Krebsbach suggested that we go
back to feeding, giving treats, toys and anything else Moose wanted into
his crate. This way it would be a happy place for him. Well, things seemed
to be getting better with him. A little extra training, some positive
reinforcement, and the medication seemed to be working. About two weeks
later I had a follow up call with Dr. Krebsbach and we talked about
Moose's progress. No more barking and no evidence of his anxiety. Well, we
had at least minimized it so that he would be comfortable home alone. The
next step was to desensitize him. Desensitizing involves mixing up your
routine that you do everyday. Maybe I would get all ready for work on a
Saturday or Sunday and not leave the house, or I would do my hair first in
the morning and then do something else last in its place. This is one
thing that we are still working on with him.
Week Seven, Eight, and To This Day
By the time we did the follow-up call Moose was so in
control with himself and trusting us that "Yes we do return home for him"
he finally started to make himself at home. He no longer needed his meds,
which he was only on for two weeks and he was always willing to walk into
his "home" when he was asked. We still continue to repeat the sit/stays
for anything he wants and we give him a little extra time and affection.
While we worked out his troubles, one trouble remained for me.
What was best for Moose? Could he be successfully
adopted out to a new family? Would he adjust? Could they accept his
"handicap" and work with him on his Separation Anxiety and make him a
loving family member?
I knew there would be someone out there for him. But
the more I thought and asked people for there opinions, the more I
realized I couldn't subject Moose to any more stress. Why make him go
through all that torment all over again and have him run the risk of being
returned and we would have to start from "ground zero?" The debate
continued on for me.
Four months had passed since Moose was brought to
LEARN. The cause of his problems was probably that he had lived with his
previous family for the first 8 years of his life and was then up-rooted
and taken to a shelter for whatever reason. He then was at a boarding
kennel for awhile before coming to us. Because of all of this shuffling
around, Moose completely lost trust in humans and didn't believe that they
would ever come back for him when they left. But we proved him wrong. We
showed him that "we" do come back and are coming back to see "him."
On Jan. 22, 2004, Moose became our new family member.
Since January is the month that we adopted him, it will also be his
birthday. So for Moose's 9th Birthday he was granted the
best wish of all – to have a wonderful, loving, and caring family,
that is willing to put up with his anxiety and never gave up hope. No
matter how much I felt like there was no hope, there always was. With
persistence, determination, and TLC I was able to turn around a dog no one
would want into a wonderful companion.
Moose now will live out his years with his sister,
Shadowfax, the cats, Star and Patches, an array of fish, hermit crabs and
with his new parents.
I would like to thank all of the LEARN board members
for helping me through these long 4 months, giving me the support that I
needed and allowing me to pursue anything that could possibly help Moose.
I would also like to thank both Jill Miller for her advice in crate
training and Dr. Susan Krebsbach of Creature Counseling in helping Moose
find his confidence and his trust in humans again. Kelly, thank you for
the crate, it was a real life and house saver. Oh, and I can not forget
about Bob Mudd for transporting Moose from the Anti-Cruelty Society to
Bark n Town Kennels.
Separation Anxiety
Separation Anxiety is caused by a sudden change in
schedules, a traumatic event, or a dog coming from shelters and or
rescues. A dog that never had any problems before could suddenly develop
it and here are some signs on how to tell if your dog has separation
anxiety:
Adopted
Labs
