Tethered

Well, Harley continues to flea bite me today so I put him on tether. I can't let him bite me anymore. It's no fun having him tethered but what else can I do. David wants me to give it a few more weeks to see if the Prozac helps at all. I know I can put up with a few more weeks but the question is do I want to put up with more. I guess that today I'm feeling like I just haven't done enough with Harley and I need to give him time to let the Prozac take effect. I have him tethered with the chain leash so he can't chew it apart. It does have a leather handle so I have to keep an eye on him anyway. I know that I've given up on Harley and I can't do that. I need to keep working with him and give him the opportunity to change.

Every day I wake up and tell myself that I'm going to give 100% to Harley but then he starts biting me and I just give up. Like I've said before, I've spent a lot of time, effort and money on Harley and I don't know that I'm ready to throw the towel in on him. I thought that a lab/retriever mix would be an awesome combination for a dog but that has not proved to be the case with Harley. I'm sure he's got something else mixed in there. I wanted a dog that had the temperament and personality of a therapy dog. Harley is the polar opposite of that.

I'm going to have to put him in his kennel now so I can take a shower. I'd leave him tethered but I'm worried that he would chew on the couch or the leather handle on the leash. He's safe and won't get into trouble being in his kennel. This situation is really getting me down today.

If you're not part of the solution...

David told me to tether Harley to the couch tonight. Not only was he trying to bite me, he was trying to bite David too. When he seemed calm we let him off the leash but he just went right back to biting again. He's in his kennel now sleeping. I felt so much less stress with Harley on the tether but what's the point of having a dog that you can't interact with? I've got to figure out what the solution is to this problem.

It doesn't get any easier

I spent my whole hour with Marianne talking about Harley. I cried a few times. Deciding how to handle things with him is not easy. It just comes down to this - I don't want him biting me again. Maybe he'd be okay with someone else but having him just doesn't work for me. Right now he's tethered to the couch so he can't go after me. That's not having a pet. When I got home today I let him out and he was okay for a few minutes. Then he started jumping on me and biting me. I literally had to push him out the back door to get him to go out. I'm just sick of him going after me. Of course right now he's laying down, looking oh so innocent. But I know that within minutes of letting him off the tether he'd be back at me again. I just want to be able to sit in my chair and work on my laptop without Harley getting upset and going after me.

The question I keep asking myself is have I made enough of an effort with him? Am I just giving up because it's difficult? How much longer should I let him bite me before it's okay to say I'm done? He's not a vicious dog. At times he can be really gentle and sweet but the majority of the time that he's in the house and out of his kennel or off of his tether his is biting me or jumping up on me. How much more of this do I have to endure? Would I be a bad person if I found someone else to take him? He's very high maintenance and I don't have that much to give. I end up giving everything I have to Harley and having nothing left over for myself.

I don't know that I would ever feel like I worked hard enough with him no matter how much time, effort and money I put into him. So do I do what's best for me or do I keep trying to make this situation work and keep getting bitten in the mean time. I felt so sure when I was talking to Marianne and now I'm second guessing myself again. Maybe I should give it more time. Isn't that what I do with everything though. How much time am I supposed to give it and how much abuse am I supposed to put up with. I want to be a dog person but I don't think that will ever work out for me. Harley senses something in me that tells him that he can take advantage of me. He seems to have no boundaries with me. If he wants to attack me, he attacks me. End of story.

David doesn't seem to be too concerned about what Harley is doing to me physically, mentally and emotionally. I think that he thinks that I'm just giving up, that I don't want to put in the effort that it would take to get Harley to behave (if that's even possible with me). But I'm the one who has to deal with Harley 24/7, not David. He gets to go to work and not deal with this all day. I don't have that option. I want to be able to make decisions based on what I want to do not on what is best for Harley. I'm not sorry that I got Harley. I have learned a lot about myself on my adventure with him but maybe now is the time for me to move forward. No matter what I do it won't be easy. Keeping him and having him biting me stinks. Letting him go would make me very sad.

I guess I was hoping that David would have some sympathy for me going through this but I don't really see that from him. I'm not saying he's bad because of that or that I'm mad, I guess I was just hoping he would make this easier for me. I'm going to have to figure this out on my own, well with Marianne's help. Do I even want to make this work anymore? I don't think that I do.

His behavior tires me out!

So, I ended up going back to bed for a couple of hours. When I woke up I let Harley out of his kennel. I'm making him sit at the door before he goes out and before he comes in. If he's sitting there and takes more than 5 seconds to go out or come in I will shut the door and go sit down. I won't get up until I'm ready to let him in or out. The thing is, that I've been doing this, it's just that now I'm doing it with attitude and purpose. Harley must finally be hungry - he's eating kibble from his Buster Cube. That's good to see. He didn't empty the cube but he did eat a good amount from it. He is standing at the door but not sitting so he doesn't get my attention. When his butt sits down mine will get up. There he goes, he's sitting. I'll go attempt to let him out.

I opened the door, counted to 5, he didn't go out so I closed the door, came in and sat down. I reached for my laptop and he started licking it so I set it aside. He started to flea bite my legs, which I just have no tolerance for today. I turned away from him but he continued to bite me. I got up and he still continued to bite me. I brought him down to his kennel and put him in it. That's where he is right now. I know that he is just trying to get my attention but I pay too much attention to him as it is. He needs to learn how to deal with things without getting my attention.

I'm going to re-read the handout that Dr. J sent to me about stopping attention seeking behavior. I'm going to go over it again with David too. I want to make sure that David and I are doing our utmost to deter Harley's attention seeking behavior. That's going to be our focus for the next few days. I can't do anything else with him until we get his attention seeking under control.

I'm falling asleep again so I'm going to take a nap before I jump in the shower. He's being whiny but that's his issue to deal wit, not mine.

Not starting off very well

Harley and I got up at 7:30am. It's just before 8am and he's back in his kennel because he was trying to bite me. My upper arms hurt so much that I can't fend him off very well. There will be no playing with him today. I'm going to try to take him out for a walk. It's hard though because he'll go after my shoes, after the leash, bolt out the door and pull (which my arms just won't take today). I just want to go back to bed and hibernate until it's time to go to my appointment this afternoon with Marianne. That certainly won't help anything though. What to do? What to do?

From bad to worse

I haven't blogged recently because I haven't been working with Harley. All I'm trying to do right now is survive Harley. For the most part, when Harley is in the house and out of his kennel, he is biting me. So, he's been spending a lot of time outside or in his kennel. Thankfully the weather has been nice and he can be outside more of the time. His biting is now at the ridiculous stage. It's like it's the only way he knows of to communicate with me. He usually starts by flea biting my legs, around my knee caps. Then he'll start going for my stomach and arms. I'm supposed to turn away from him but that just makes it worse. I'm doing that though. When I get up to remove myself from the situation he follows after me and attacks my back. If I try to walk out of the room, he just grabs onto my arm and clamps down. All of this biting is frustrating me and making me want to cry.

I sent a whiny email to Jennie last night. I was so frustrated I didn't know what else to do. I'm desperate for something to change or improve. I'd have to say that this is the worst it's ever been with Harley. My arm is bruised and cut in two places, small cuts but cuts nonetheless. I want to walk Harley but all he does is go after the leash or after me. Walks are terribly frustrating. Most days we're not making it out the door. I feel like I've failed Harley. I'm obviously doing something that is contributing to his behavior. He doesn't act this way with David. Just with me.

I'm still considering going back to school this summer but the worse Harley gets the more I think that trying to get school work done at home will be impossible. He goes after my laptop when I'm trying to use it. He bites at the power supply at the back of the laptop and he licks the keyboard. Very bizarre behavior. He'll also stick his nose under the laptop and try to push it off my lap. I just want a normal dog who can lay around sometimes and give me a break. I feel like I'm on call every minute of the day when Harley is up. Changing his attention seeking behavior is proving to be much more difficult than I thought it would be. He is totally rebelling against me turning away from him or not giving him attention when he demands it.

It was so bad yesterday that all I could think about was not having Harley. I love him. I would miss him, but I don't think I can stand one more bite. My arm hurts all the time now because of him biting and clamping down on it. I must be the runt of the litter and Harley is always putting me in my place. That's the way it feels anyway. I know that I just need to be purposeful with Harley to get him to start acting better. I can't give up or give in because then he'll know that he's won and then it will never get better.

One of the things I'm hoping for is for the Prozac to kick in any time now. The DAP collar isn't doing a thing, at least not that I can tell. The Prozac could still have weeks to start kicking in. In the mean time, I'm frustrated, bruised, cut and feeling hopeless. I'm also very annoyed. He bites me all the time. He's got to weigh about 65 pounds now and fending off a dog that size isn't easy. And he's only going to get bigger.

~sigh~ I just don't know what to do. I feel like I need to start over with everything that Dr. J told me to to and not move forward until he is very comfortable with what we are currently working on. He seems to be frustrated by having to work with me. He's become very obstinate too. I have a hard time getting him to do anything he doesn't want to do because he sits down or lays down and rolls over so he doesn't have to do what I need him to do. He's playing this game with me now that when I come to the door to let him in, he walks away. I'm getting tired of that game pretty quick. I know I'm just going to have to persevere and continue to work with him. What alternative do I have? I think that if someone else would take him, I would gladly give him up. At least that's how I feel right now after him biting me all day yesterday. There are moments though, when he's not biting me, that I look in his face and know that he's my dog and we were meant to be together. I just don't know if we're meant to be together for the long haul.

If he was like this with everyone, I wouldn't feel as bad but he doesn't do this to David. He is overly aggressive playing with other dogs though. He hasn't played with another dog for months now because I can't trust him to behave. Because he's getting bigger, he's getting harder to control. Honestly, I just don't want to spend my whole day fending off a dog. I can't relax with him anymore. I know that I need to get up later this morning and just take him for a walk around the cul de sac for at least a half an hour to get some of the pent up energy out of him. I can't get the gentle leader on him by myself though. But I'm not going to use that as an excuse. I can just hook one of the chain leashes to his collar and get him out there. I've got to do something or I'm going to lose what little of my sanity that I have left.

One thing that's I've noticed since he's been on the Prozac is that he's less interested in eating and treats. I used to be able to distract him by giving him a bison bone but as much as he loves them he has seemed to figure out that a bison bone means I'm not paying attention to him. He's not eating his kibble very much which renders the Buster Cubes and Tug a Jug obsolete. I can't leave him with a black Extreme Kong because he takes those apart now. All of the compressed rawhide sticks I got for him are all gone. He went through 10 of them already. I'm really starting to think that I need to get some blood work done on him to see if there isn't some underlying cause for all of this.

So, here I am at 3:30 in the morning, up because it's the only time I can do anything without Harley going after me. I'm so grateful that Harley sleeps through the night and isn't up too early in the morning. I'm going to do my best to not approach this day with dread but to instead approach it with hope. Maybe yesterday was the worst "getting worse before it gets better" day. Maybe today will be different somehow. I don't believe that but I can still hope for it.

Harley has been the biggest challenge of my life. I've dealt with lots of things in my almost 50 years but this has to be one of the most frustrating, annoying and hopeless situations that I've ever come across. I'm just glad that I love Harley and can still see sweetness in there somewhere. Otherwise, I don't know how he or I would survive this.

So that's it for right now. I'm going to go back to bed and hopefully sleep for a while before Harley wakes up. Then I'll start all over again with him. What else can I do?

Harley destroyed an Extreme Kong!

I just went in to let Harley out and saw that he had torn apart one of the large Extreme Kongs (the black ones). I don't even know what to think about that. I have 3 more (2 large and 1 xlarge) but now I'll have to watch him with those too. The only thing I can put in his kennel without worrying is a bison bone. He seems really anxious right now. I'm going to leave him in his kennel and bring treats in to him every 10 minutes or so. If I let him out he'll just go after me. Sometimes it's very frustrating.

Keeping Harley Calm

Harley usually does pretty good most of the day while he's home alone with me but once David gets home Harley starts biting me. I wonder if he thinks that I'll pay attention to David instead of him. I don't know what it is, but it's annoying nonetheless.

Harley is outside right now. We got a lot of snow and he's enjoying running around in it. The dogs behind us are out and he always goes out when they are out. Well, now he's inside. David let him in. Harley has a piece of one of those compressed rawhide sticks. He likes those. He can eat a whole stick (10") in a couple of hours though. Doesn't seem to be bothering his stomach at all. And he's having no problems doing his business.

I had to stop typing for a few minutes because Harley was going after me. I tried sit-stay with treats but he's just too wound up. So, he's in his kennel with a Kong that has cream cheese and Zukes in it. He clamped down on my arm really hard. It hurt. He always seems to be worse in the late afternoon and evening.

I just got an email from Dr. J. She said that she thinks Harley is getting excited when David gets home and his way of dealing with it is to flea bite me. I'll obviously have to find something else that he can give his attention to when David gets home. I think one thing that would help is to have David ignore Harley completely when he gets home. He always says hello to Harley and I think that gets Harley amped up. We need to keep him in a settled state at all times, but especially when either of us are coming or going.

I'll let him out of his kennel in just a few minutes. He would just go after me right now because I'm on the laptop. ~sigh~

Chuckit Ultra Ball

The Chuckit Ultra Ball is one of only two toys that Harley has not been able to destroy. The other is the Buster Cube. This ball is made of rubber and as much as he chews on it it does not tear. I have 2 of them but I'm only letting him play with one at a time. Yesterday he chewed a piece out of a black (Extreme) Kong. I couldn't believe he did that. But this ball seems to withstand the awesome chomping power of his jaw. He loves to play fetch with it and he's getting better about dropping it so we can throw it again.

So, if you have a dog that is an extremely aggressive chewer, that destroys almost every toy he gets then try the Chuckit Ultra Ball. I'm sure there is a dog out there that can destroy it so if your dog is the one, let me know. Also, if you buy this ball for your dog and he's not able to destroy it, I'd like to hear about that too.

I get no compensation for recommending this toy. I recommend it because it works.

Edited to Add: Here's the link for the Chuckit Ultra Ball on Amazon.com.

Tiny bits of progress

I sent an email to Dr. J last night letting her know that Harley is showing some improvement. He seems to be a bit calmer this week. I was able to get my shoes out of the closet, put them on and leave without him going after me. I had him do a sit-stay and he did it! Woohoo! I'll take any progress I can get.

Harley is still biting me daily but it's a little bit better too. He goes after me 2-4 times/day instead of it being an all day activity. Mostly he is "flea" biting me. It still hurts though. When he gets really excited he still clamps down on my arms. Usually a treat will calm him down though. I haven't been carrying the treat bag around with me but I will start doing that today. Sometimes, if I get up to walk away from Harley biting me, he'll follow me and jump up on me and continue to bite. If I had a treat ready every time I know I could minimize this behavior.

I still have a lot of work to do with Harley. I need to put in even more time and effort with him. I want him to progress and become a more normal, well-adjusted dog. He'll be 10 months old in just 2 weeks. I can't believe he's almost a year old. I guess if I can make it through his first year, then I can make it through anything.

It snowed out last night. Harley had a great time going out and playing in it. There's quite a drift at the back door that I'll have to knock down (or maybe Harley will knock it down for me!) I'm sure that once he's up he'll be interested in going out to play.

It's almost 6am (I've been up since 5am) so I'm going to head back to bed. More later.

What a good boy Harley is...

Most of the time I forget that I have fibromyalgia. Then a day like today comes along and I remember all too well. Just walking around the house hurts and I'm so fatigued. The good news: Harley has been wonderful today. He's kept himself busy most of the day inside and outside. It's a nice day so he's been out on the deck a lot napping. He's in the house right now chewing on a bison bone. Days like today scare me because I think "what if I feel this way everyday? how will I be able to work with Harley?". Then I remind myself that it's almost always temporary, that I'll feel better tomorrow. I'm just grateful that Harley didn't suffer any adverse effects from me not feeling well today. I wonder if the Prozac is working already because he seems so much calmer than he used to be. He's sitting at the door now so I'm going to go let him out. I'm too tired to type much today anyway.

Dakini

Here's Dakini, a retriever mix, who lives with Diane in Utah (Best Friends Animal Society/Dogtown). Diane and I have been in touch by email about Harley. Diane has been quite a wonderful resource for me and for Harley. I sent an email to Dogtown when I didn't know what to do about Harley and Diane was nice enough to respond and give me tons of information. Diane says that Dakini is a handful just like Harley but also like Harley worth all the time and effort. I think Dakini looks so happy in this picture. She's a beautiful dog who is lucky to have Diane as her owner.

He seems different today

It's been a very good day with Harley. He seems different today somehow. David was working with him on waiting for treats and he was actually waiting. Maybe he's getting some impulse control. He spent a lot of the day outside or in the house at my feet. He only got mouthy twice today. I think that both times it was because he was tired. He's in bed right now. I can definitely tell when he's getting tired now because he gets mouthy. He also took offense to me studying today but I was able to keep him settled by having him sit or by me turning away from him. I've learned to turn sideways from him instead of with my back to him. When I have my back to him he thinks that's a clue to attack. I'm learning a lot about him just by paying closer attention to what he does and noticing any patterns. He's getting more predictable.

I'm going to do some reading tonight of the handouts that Dr. J sent me. It's supposed to be nice tomorrow so Harley and I are going to go for a walk with one of his new leashes, probably the short one. I'm going to bring treats to keep him focused on heeling. We'll walk around the cul de sac until he gets more controlled with his walking. I don't mind going in circles if Harley doesn't. lol

Video

Here's a video of Harley going after me. I had taken my shoes out of the closet and he thought I was leaving. I was trying to put them back in the closet when David recorded this little movie. I'm doing all the wrong things - reacting to him, pushing him, etc. Instead I should have just ignored him and turned away from him. This was before we had him evaluated by Dr. J. The less I react to his behavior, the less fun it will be for him to go after me. Right now he thinks it's a game that he always has to win. He is definitely trying to control me and make sure that I don't leave him.

We had a good day on Friday

I had a good day with Harley Friday. It's not because he didn't jump up on me or because he didn't bite me, because he did both. No, it's because he actually dropped things a couple of times to do an exchange for a higher value treat (whether it was food or a toy). I was actually able to keep him busy with toys and bison bones so I could get some math work done. It felt like a little glimpse into what could be. I went out twice Friday (once to do errands and once to get dinner) and he saw me get my shoes and he didn't pitch a fit. Do you think that he finally is getting it that I'll be coming back? He did whine when I got home. He wanted out of his kennel to say "hi" to me (read: jumping up and biting my shoes) but I let him sit in there for a bit so he'd settle down and he did. I try to get him to get something out of his kennel to carry with him so his mouth is full and distracted from me. So far it's been working. If I take away his opportunity to be mouthy then he's not mouthy. He's still excited but I don't reward that behavior. I wait until he calms down and sits or does down before I give him any attention. I want him to know that calm behavior gets him what he wants.

I've been having Harley sit inside the door when he's coming in from outside. I'm trying to make it clear to him that he has to settle before he can go into my house. He's been doing pretty good with that. It seems that the sit breaks the connection for Harley and he's able to let go of the excited feeling a bit easier. Whenever he is doing something we don't want him to do, instead of saying no, down, off, etc. we ask him to sit or down. We give him something to do instead of what not to do. He can easily give a sit but it's harder for him to stop doing an unwanted behavior just because we want him to. He responds better to having an alternative behavior to do.

I'm still in touch with Diane from Best Friends/Dog Town. She has a female retriever mix named Dakini who is a lot like Harley energy wise. We've been swapping stories and she has been giving me lots of good advice, links and handouts. Yesterday it was funny because I was watching Dog Town and got an email from Diane at the same time. That was kind of cool. She sent me a picture of Dakini. I will post it once I have permission to do that. It's great being in touch with Diane because she's so knowledgeable and has so many resources. I'm grateful that she takes the time to email me and ask about Harley.

I returned the DAP diffuser and ordered a DAP collar instead. I'm anxious to get it to see if it has a calming effect on Harley. I think I should get the collar by Monday (although I'm hoping it will get here today). Everything else has arrived and I'm making use of it in my training with Harley. Except for the 2 new leashes. It was in the 20's Friday with blowing snow so I didn't take Harley out. Instead we played fetch in the house (thank goodness for our long hallway). He went out quite a few times though and ran around the yard and said hello to Zeus and Freckles who live behind us. He was always coming in with a snout full of snow. It was cute.

Harley loves having his bison bones again and he loves the bison jerky treats that T. Rex and Lula Bear send to him. He always has to be chewing. I'm trying to work with him so that he can realize that he can relax without chewing but since chewing calms him down and relaxes him I don't take anything away from him if it's settling him down.

I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the handouts from Dr. J. I felt like there was so much that I had to be doing with Harley right now. Then I realized that this is about taking baby steps with Harley not winning any kind of contest for getting through it the quickest. I can take as long as Harley needs to be successful at modifying his behavior. The handouts are there to help me. I appreciate Dr. J taking the time to gather all the information and email it to me. We're going to start getting into a better routine beginning today. It was kind of a crazy week with no schedule at all for me or Harley so I'm looking forward to getting back on track with him especially now that I have so much awesome information to use. Being on a schedule can only help Harley and me. So I'm going to take some time this morning to re-read the case report and go from there. I want Harley to be successful. I don't want him to feel like he has to perform like a circus animal.

I looked at the book I got, 101 Tricks for Dogs, and it starts out with having them sit, down, stay and come. It dovetails nicely into where we are with Harley. I want to keep things fun for him so teaching him a new trick every once in a while will be great. He's so smart that I know that he can do just about anything once he puts his mind to it. I'm sure hoping that the Prozac will make a difference too. If it can just take the edge off of his excitement level, I think it would help us out more with the training. I don't expect to see any changes in him though until the end of the month.

Well, it's 4:15am. I'm updating the Dog Blog and Harley is in his kennel asleep. I think I need to take my cue from him and go back to bed so we can get started on our day together later this morning. I am so grateful that Harley sleeps through the night and doesn't get up until after 7am, sometimes even 8am. He's a good boy when he's sleeping. LOL

American Gourmet site

Forgot to mention in my last post that along with the raw bison bones, T-Rex and Lula Bear sent Harley some buffalo jerky treats . He loves those. If you're interested in the raw bison bones check out American Gourmet's website. Their customer service is excellent and they seem like really nice people. I love doing business with them. Harley loves them too. If you go to their website you'll see that Harley is their bison bone model. He has his trademark "bent back ear" in the pictures. His ears bend back more than any other dog I have ever seen. Anyway, check out the site and get some raw bison bones for your dog. Harley says that they are the best!

Case report and handouts

I got the case report from Dr. J today. She also sent me a boat load of handouts. I love getting all this information. Anything I can get to make things better with Harley is appreciated.

The gist of the case report and handouts is ignoring bad behavior and rewarding good behavior, continuing the sit-stay program and using treats, toys, chews and DAP to calm Harley down. I mean it's obviously a lot more involved than that but you get the idea. His treatment program, including behavior modification and medication, is very thorough. I'm really impressed with what Dr. J has given us to work with. It's going to take some time to really see progress but I'm willing to give it 100%. Now that I have the case report and handouts I'm going to start from the beginning with Harley so that David and I will be on the same page with how we interact with Harley. There's lots to read and lots to do to help Harley learn how to manage his separation anxiety and stress. It's already been 11 days since his evaluation. I feel like I haven't done much with him but I know that every little step I take is helping.

Today we got packages galore. I got about 20 pounds of bison bones and 2 leashes. That after getting about 3 packages yesterday too (tug a jug, kongs, 101 dog tricks book). I'm very impressed with the leashes that I got. The short one from dog.com is great. I can't wait to start using it. The 6' one from Ruff Wear, with the locking carabiner will make me feel so much better about Harley not being able to get out of his leash. I think I've received everything I've ordered except for the DAP collar that I ordered tonight. That should be here by the beginning of next week. I really have hope that the collar will help Harley to chill out.

I was hoping to take Harley for a walk with his new leashes tomorrow but after reaching the 70's today, it's going to snow and reach a high of about 30 degrees tomorrow. Saturday and Sunday should be better though. I know that I have to get into a routine with Harley. I need a routine for myself too, especially if I'm going to start school in May. I want Harley to be able to make it through a few hours while I go to a class without freaking out or attacking me when I get home.

Today was a rough day for Harley. He was really demanding attention from me. I ignored him and then tried to get him to sit-stay. He finally came around but he jumped on me and bit me quite a few times today. I'm not sure why today was worse than yesterday. I'm trying to go over it in my head and the only thing I can think of is that I must not have been giving him the attention he wants and he basically had a tantrum. One of Dr. J's handouts says that it may get worse before it gets better (extinction burst) and I'm thinking that's what's going on today. He purposely goes after me when I try to read or work on the laptop. He's going to have to stop doing that or I'll never get through school. I'm only going to take 2 classes so I won't be gone all day but the separation anxiety and stress could be an issue.

The case report focuses on Environmental, Behavioral and Medication changes. The environmental section has to do with the separation anxiety and the "leaving cues" that Harley picks up and how to deal with those. The behavioral section focuses on changing his attention seeking behavior and the sit-stay program. The medication section talks about the Prozac for a longer lasting effect which we've already started using and also mentions Xanax for a quicker, shorter lasting effect. I'll have to call Dr. McKenney and see what she thinks of prescribing the Xanax. I'd like to be able to give it to him until we can make some headway with the behavior modification but only if it would be appropriate in this situation.

I think I'm most excited about the "Changing the rules: No more attention seeking behavior" handout. It really details exactly what we need to be doing with Harley. I don't think I understood completely what we needed to do until I read that handout. I'm much more clear on the concept now. Harley is going to have to work for everything - food, going out, attention, treats, etc. Nothing in life is free for Harley anymore. And we have to be super consistent or this program will not work. David and I have to be on the same page. It's a must.

Here are a few things that I noticed today:

1. Harley starts jumping on me and biting me just before he needs to go to bed
2. Harley starts jumping on me and biting me when he wants attention
3. Harley starts jumping on me and biting me when he thinks I'm not paying attention to him
4. I can see the anxiety in him when these situations arise
5. Getting him to chew on something or eat something definitely helps calm him down
6. Harley starts jumping on me and biting me when we are finishing up a work session

I'm going to do my best to blog every day about working with Harley and the progress (or not) that he is making. I want to be able to look back and be able to say that I can definitely see the progress he has made. We have until the first week in June for follow-up with Dr. J and I want to make the best use of that time. If needed we can do a follow-up evaluation (we'd have to pay for the evaluation and the travel fee) but I'm hoping we've made enough progress by then that I can handle Harley. It's good to know that Dr. J is there for us though if we need her after the 3 month follow-up period.

One of the things that I think doesn't help is not having a routine. It's not that I want to do everything the same way every day, but if I could have more of a week to week schedule of things being the same I think it would help me and Harley. I know that I get kind of lost when the weather is bad (my issue, not Harley's) so I need to come up with something I can do on those bad weather days to make up for not being outside as much. I'm not sure what that will be yet but maybe just doing all of the program that I can do each day will suffice. I know that what I do or more importantly, don't do, has a major effect on Harley. I've been honest and said that for a while I had given up on Harley because he had become so difficult but I'm back on task and will work with him to make him a happier, more well-adjusted dog.

I've been emailing back and forth with Diane at Best Friends (Dog Town). She has been very encouraging and has been sharing her successes with her dog, Dakini. He seems like he has a lot of the same issues that Harley has and Diane has been working with Dakini and seeing lots of progress. I appreciate that she keeps in touch with me. I've asked her to send a picture of Dakini if she has one available. I'd love to see what he looks like. Beside Dr. J, Diane is the only one who had kept in touch with me about Harley.

I'm hoping that DAP collar will get here by Saturday but I'm sure it will probably be the beginning of next week. I'm so anxious to see if it will help Harley relax and calm down. When we used the diffuser for that short amount of time, he seemed to react well to it. I just don't like that the diffuser gets so hot (I worry about a fire) and that it leaks the DAP. I'm going to write to the company I got it from and see if I can return it. I hope they'll allow me to do that and to get a collar instead. There is also a DAP spray and DAP wipes. If I find the collar to be successful, I may invest in those down the road. I'll have to see how things go.

Okay, that's it for tonight. It'll be a whole new day with Harley tomorrow. I'm going to start at the beginning and work the program the way Dr. J has outlined it in the case report. I feel much better armed to deal with Harley now.

Goodnight.

Frustration

I'm feeling really frustrated right now. We went out for lunch and when we got home I let Harley stay in his kennel for about 15 minutes so he could calm down. He was pretty good at first then he started biting me. I tried "watch", "sit", "down", with and without treats (his appetite is low probably because he's taking the Prozac so treats aren't luring him as well) and I tried standing up, backing away, going down the hall and going into the bedroom and closing the door. As soon as I would head back to the living room he would go after me. I need a few minutes to rid myself of this frustration so he's in his kennel right now.

I tried bringing him to his kennel with the leash on but he just lays down now so he doesn't have to take the walk of shame. I finally got him down there by offering him a small piece of a blueberry muffin. He's in his kennel and taking a nap.

I've ordered some more appropriate toys for him (another Buster Cube, Kong Extreme, Tug-a-Jug) and chews (compressed rawhide sticks) but they are not here yet. Today he's not interested in his Kong or the Buster Cube anyway. We're out of bison bones so I'll need to get another box of those ordered this weekend so they'll ship on Monday. I also ordered a diffuser with dog appeasing pheromones (DAP). I don't know if it will help but I'm willing to try it. So the only thing I can do right now is give him the Prozac (30mg/day), keep up the training and try to settle him or distract him when he tries to bite me.

I think part of the reason I have less patience right now is because I have a headache (which actually could be a migraine). I'll probably go take a nap and hope the headache is gone when I get up. I'll let Harley out of his kennel then and try working with him again. I know he doesn't mean to act this way and he's not happy about it. He seems anxious when he's biting me. He hasn't been grabbing my arms quite as much as he had been. Mostly he's "flea" biting my legs and hands. The tethering gave my arms a chance to heal but within a week they are back to being bruised and scratched. They are not as bad as they have been though.

Tomorrow it's suppose to be 60 degrees so walking him 3 times shouldn't be a problem. Today is was about 50 but there was a cold wind. I already have a headache so walking in the cold wind just didn't appeal to me. I've got to do it for me and for Harley though. He's not going to get better if I don't get him out there 3 times a day. I don't want him to be totally dependent on the Prozac. I don't mind him taking the Prozac but if he could go off it in the future or cut back on the dose, I'd be happy. I'm sure he would be too.

Okay, a nap is now calling my name. I'll update again later when Harley and I get up.

It's a blueberry muffin kind of morning

It's 4:45am. I'm up making blueberry muffins. I let Harley out of his kennel but once he got into the living room he rolled over at my feet and starting biting them. I was filling the dishwasher while he was up too but he kept wanting to get in it. It's too early for him to be up so I put him back to bed. He'll probably sleep until 8am now. I'm sure I'll be heading back to bed before long.

I was thinking about the similarities to having a puppy and having a small kid. When there is a kid/puppy in the house it's difficult to get things done because you always have to be watching them and they usually are doing their best to thwart whatever activity you are trying to complete. They are not being mean, just being super curious. Harley wants to be involved in everything I do. If I really need to get something done I have to put him in his kennel. He doesn't know sit-stay or down-stay well enough yet to get him to actually stay where I place him. But that's what we paid Dr. Jamtgaard for, to give us a program to work on with Harley. Now I just need to put the program on a routine so that I'm doing it at least 3 times/day. That would add up to 12 sessions/day at a minimum (3 sit-stay; 6 orienting; 3 door practice). They are all so interrelated. I can definitely see where one leads into another. Since they are quick sessions (5-15 minutes) it won't take up all of my day either.

So what schedule should we get on? First let me say that it's not going to be a strict schedule but more of a guide for the day. We'll start off by getting up between 7:00 and 7:30am. He usually doesn't want to go out right away so we can begin working as soon as we get up and are awake. I want him to be working for his food. I'm cutting down on the treats and using kibble for the training so I can be sure that he's getting proper nutrition and not just snacks all day. He's only been on the Prozac for a couple of days but he seems to not have much of an appetite already. I know that will change as he adjusts to the Prozac.

Back to the schedule. Sit-stay and door exercises will be done at about 8am, 12pm and 4pm. We'll do orienting after each of those sessions in addition to doing orienting at 10am, 2pm and 6pm. I'm going to get in the habit of walking him 3x/day - morning, afternoon and late afternoon. Once I can get him walking okay around the neighborhood I can start thinking about bringing him up to Palmer Park. I'll be working with him on walking respectfully too. I will also try to add in 2 play times/day (fetch, tug, etc.). I'm just going to have to incorporate all of this into my days. Once I start school it will be a bit harder but I know that Harley and I can do this.

Hopefully when we are home, after his sessions, he'll be tired and just conk out so I can get some stuff done around the house (laundry, dishes, reading, homework). I want him to be out of his kennel as much as possible but I need him to have the ability to settle down so I can get things done. I have high hopes for Harley and for me. Sometimes I get nervous and worry about all the money I'm spending on Harley on evals, toys, chews and training and wonder if it will all pay off. I hope it will.

Well, I think it's time to go back to bed. After having a muffin or two that is. :-)

"greetings"

I was out for about 5 hours tonight. When I got home I stopped in the laundry room and took off my coat and my shoes in anticipation of Harley "greeting" me. He was so excited to see me. He jumped all over me, mouthed me and general just went nuts. I started right away asking him to sit. He tried but was so excited that he could barely contain himself. I asked David to get a treat so I could calm Harley down with some sits and downs. David said that Harley had behaved all night. I don't know why it is that he goes after me the way he does. I know he's treating me as an equal or subordinate instead of a leader. I'm hoping that continuing on the program Dr. Jamtgaard has given us will make a difference. I'm also hoping that the Prozac will be effective too. Harley is in his kennel for the night. He never fusses about going to bed and he's so calm when he wakes up in the morning. It really makes me wonder why he has times like he does when he basically loses it. I've got to get the Gentle Leader fitted on him so I can take him out for a walk. The only leashes I have right now are the chain ones so I'll use one of those to take him out. I wish I could take him up on the Mesa but I don't think he's ready for that yet. We'll probably just walk around the cul de sac. That way if he acts up I can get him home quickly. I'm hoping that the Gentle Leader and the chain leash will help him to walk better. I've got to get him out there no matter what though. I need to get him into a routine so that he can count on things each day. It would be good for me too.

Well, it's late and I need to go to bed. Harley will probably be up at his usual time of 7:00 - 7:30 a.m. Then of course we'll take a nap later in the morning. Okay, beddie bye time. Goodnight all.

Harley has been evaluated

It's Friday already. Where did this week go? We had the evaluation by Dr. Jamtgaard done on Sunday. She was here for about 2 hours. She said that Harley has separation anxiety and impulse control issues (nothing I didn't already know but it was nice to have it confirmed). She worked with Harley most of the time that she was here just having him settle down. He did settle quite well while Dr. Jamtgaard was here. He settles down for me too but then he gets this burst of energy and starts attacking me, not in a vicious way, but it hurts nonetheless. Anyway, here's what we're doing at this point to modify Harley's behavior:

no more tethering
sit-stay program (we practice this multiple times/day)
orienting and attention training (we practice multiple times/day)
varying my leaving the house routine to lessen the separation anxiety
ordered toys that he's less likely to destroy (Tug-a-Jug, Buster Cube, Kongs)
ordered chew sticks for him (compressed rawhide)
he has been started on Prozac (30mg)
bought him a Gentle Leader
bought him new leashes (2 chain ones that he can't bite through)
now that I have the Gentle Leader and chain leash I can start walking him again
staying in touch with Dr. Jamtgaard
trying to record his behaviors (biting, jumping, chasing his tail)
ordered a D.A.P. diffuser (dog appeasing pheromones)

It seems like a lot but it's not really. It's slow going though. Since he's not tethered he's been jumping up on me and biting me every day, multiple times/day. I try to turn my back to him but that just makes him pissed off and he attacks my back. I try walking away from him but he follows me and continues to jump on me and bite me. If I can safely get to the bathroom, I'll go in and close the door for a short time but as soon as I come out he's jumping on me again. At Dr. Jamtgaard's suggestion I'm trying to get Harley to sit when he starts acting like that. Having him sit will hopefully deescalate his behavior.

I did get in touch with Janice to let her know that we won't be working with her at this time so that Harley can adjust to being on the Prozac. She was very gracious about my change of plans.

I think that once I can get him out there on long walks his behavior will improve. A tired dog is a good dog. I'm also looking forward to seeing what effect the Prozac and the DAP diffuser has on Harley. He definitely needs to settle down, especially when I'm leaving the house. An interesting thing that I noticed is that he always seems to go after me once we finish a behavior modification session. I'm not sure why that is. I'm also trying to figure out what triggers him to bite me in the first place but haven't seen any obvious patterns yet. I'm sure they're there but I'm just not seeing them. I'm just glad that I got him on the Prozac. I'm praying that it will help him not be so anxious.

It still bothers me that Harley goes after me but not others. Again, he's not being vicious but he still bruises and cuts me. At the time he's doing it he's just so persistent and it's difficult to get him to stop. I'm going to work with him though and hopefully that persistence of his will transfer over to the behavior modification. I'm hopeful.

Here's a link to Dr. Jamtgaard's website (Animal Behavior Insights).

I'd given up

I guess I need to add that in the last few months I've basically given up on Harley. I haven't bothered training him or walking him. Mostly I've just been in survival mode. I just try to get through the day without him chomping on me. He exerts so much pressure on my arms that it feels like he's going to break a bone. Thankfully he doesn't break the skin very often but the bruises I have are ridiculous. I have them on my feet, legs, stomach, chest, arms and hands. Pretty much anywhere he can sink his teeth in. But that's still no excuse for me giving up on him. I felt like my whole life revolved around Harley and that it still does. I want him to be a part of my life, not my whole life. I want to go to school this summer and that won't happen if Harley's behavior doesn't change. I need to make changes to me too. I can't let him run our lives. He does right now though.

After Dr. J does her evaluation and comes up with a diagnosis and plan of attack, I'll have phone and email access to her for 3 months. I'm hoping that will be long enough to make a difference. I can also Skype with her so she can actually see Harley. There is a follow-up consultation if need be but I'm hoping that there won't be a need for it. The worst that could happen is that she tells us that we are stuck with Harley the way that he is. I don't think she'll do that but I am nervous that she will tell us that.

At this point I feel trapped by having Harley. I don't feel trapped by him. He's still adorable and cute when he's not misbehaving but this situation makes me feels like I'm suffocating. I wanted Harley to be my hiking buddy but that hasn't happened yet. Now i don't go for walks because I'd have to leave him alone and he doesn't like being without me. I don't want him barking and howling and disturbing the neighborhood. I don't take a shower until I have to so I don't have to put him in his kennel and listen to him whine. I can't relax taking a shower because of his whining. When I go out I have to limit myself to about 3 hours. I'm afraid he'll get destructive if I leave him longer (tearing up his bed, trying to get out of the kennel). This is the 3rd bed we are on because he chewed up the other 3. I sleep more because he's in his kennel when I'm sleeping. He's not allowed up on the bed but when he has got up there he goes right to attacking my head, pulling my hair out and nipping at my ears and face. He's over 60 pounds now and can inflict a lot of damage.

And now it's 4:30am and he's still settled in his kennel sleeping. That's one thing that I love about Harley - he's always slept through the night, since he was 8 weeks old. Sometimes I get up in the morning and he stays in his kennel until he's ready to come out. He doesn't run to the door to go do his business either. He usually plays for a bit and then goes out. I guess I should come up with a list of things I love about Harley to balance this all out.

• I love that Harley sleeps through the night
• I love that Harley is a slow riser
• I love that he is so cute
• I love when he smiles at me
• I love that he is exuberant
• I love that he loves to play

The list isn't very long but it's also 4:30am in the morning and I'm not thinking too straight right now. I guess I should head back to bed. More to follow when I'm up at a decent hour.

Behavior problems with Harley

I can't believe how long it's been since I've blogged about Harley! Mostly I haven't blogged because things have not been going well. Harley seems to have some behavior issues that we are getting professional help for. Today, a doctor from CSU-Fort Collins is coming to the house to evaluate Harley. We are also have been working with a CPDT. It's costing a lot of money to do this but it's that or get Harley put down or re-homed. It really is that bad. I still love Harley and consider him to be my buddy, my companion but it's not enjoyable having him in the house at all. I have to tether him to the couch like I used to do with Moped and Skooter so he won't jump up on me and bite me. His biting was getting so bad that I ended up bruised and cut on my arms and feet. I took him to doggy day care for a little vacation. I dropped him off on a Monday and picked him up on a Thursday. He had to stay in a pen by himself the whole time he was there because he plays too rough with all the other dogs. He does not heed their warning to stop, no matter what the size of the dog is. It all makes me very sad. I wonder how much of this is my fault and how much of it is Harley's bad behavior. I guess it doesn't really matter at this point. We can only start from here and keeping moving forward. Harley and I still know what we are doing and I know that we can get through this together.

I contemplated re-homing Harley but I couldn't do that in good conscience because he's so badly behaved. I even considered euthanasia. I wouldn't do that but it did go through my mind when things were at their worst. This isn't just puppy problems. It's definitely more severe than that. He is 9 months old now and we've had him for 7 months and things are just getting worse. I don't have any friends over because of Harley and I don't bring Harley anywhere because he doesn't know how to behave (jumps up on people, plays too rough with dogs). I can't even walk him anymore because he chews through his leash and chews on my shoes so I can't walk safely.

We've had Harley in basic obedience classes since he was 11 weeks old. He knows sit, down, high five, roll over and up. He's smart enough to get those things. It's the behavior he can't help. It's like having an ADHD dog. I've got to be very serious about this and turn things around or I don't know what will happen.

Here are the issues I deal with:

• he bites me when I try to leave if he's off his tether or out of his kennel
• he bites me when he wants my attention
• he's a destructive/aggressive chewer; he destroys all of his toys
• he follows me from room to room
• he whines and howls when I leave him or he just waits for me to come back
• if he notices that I'm doing anything to signal that I'm going out he goes after me (taking a shower, pulling up my socks, getting dressed, getting my shoes, going toward the door)
• he chases his tail and bites it
• he plays too rough with all other dogs and with me; he does not heed a warning to stop (doesn't respond to yelping, growling, snapping, etc.)
• at doggy day care he has to be in a pen by himself, he can't interact with other dogs
• it's very difficult to get him to stay or wait
• he has no bite inhibition or impulse control
• he chews on his leash and on my shoes when we try to go for a walk
• he bolts out the door
• he plays keep away with whatever he has in his mouth, won't "drop it"
• I've adjusted my schedule because of Harley (when I take a shower, when I do laundry or dishes, I've stopped going for a morning walk, when I go out)
• I can't leave him in the house when I'm taking a shower so I put him in his kennel, he usually comes into the bathroom with me
• he'll get a sudden burst of energy and run through the living room and dining room, including behind the couch, he'll do a couple laps and then quit
• he steals things (cell phones, receipts, paper, fabric, food)
• he jumps up at me when he's coming in the back door
• he gets out of control just before bedtime (jumping up, biting, running around)
• he bites my head, ears when I bend over
  

Those are all the things I can think of right now. The list is oh so long. I know it's all interrelated and that once we start working on one thing it will have an effect on other things.

Here are some of the suggestions I've had from people I know in regard to how to deal with Harley:

• basket muzzle so he'll stop biting me
• tethering him to me or to furniture
• exercise him/wear him out
• give him stuff to chew on
• do more obedience training
• put him in doggy boot camp
• use an ecollar on him (shock collar)
• use a gentle leader on him
• do the alpha roll to establish dominance
• swat him
• ignore him
• euthanasia
• re-home

Those are just some of the things that have been suggested. There are probably more that I'm not thinking of right now.

After Harley got home from his 4 day incarceration at doggy day care he started biting me again almost immediately. I was so desperate to get help that I sent emails to:

• Cesar Milan
• Victoria Stilwell
• Dr. McKenney, his vet
• Dog Town (Best Friends)
• K9 Companion Inmate Dog Program
• Denver Dog Works
• Tenderfoot Training
• Ted Terroux
• Christine Kelly, CPDT (obedience trainer)
• Janice Mann, CPDT (colleague of Christine Kelly)
• Rocky Mountain Lab Rescue
• Jennie Willis Jamtgaard, PhD
• Sit Means Sit (ecollar)
• leerburg.com (prong collar)

I had responses from almost everyone. Rescues won't take him because of his history of biting and because he has to be separated from other dogs. Training programs are more than willing to work with him, at a cost. Everyone had suggestions as to how to handle this situation with Harley. Christine wouldn't work with him anymore because she doesn't have the time or expertise. Janice Mann (CPDT) is willing to work with Harley. So is Jennie Willis Jamtgaard (animal behaviorist).

I have found that there are as many methods of training as there are people. Everyone has their own idea of what will work to get Harley through this. The bottom line is that I have to decide what is right for Harley and what will help. So, we are going to have Dr. Jamtgaard evaluate Harley today and continue working with Janice Mann on his obedience. It's costly but Harley is worth it.

I've been posting about Harley's situation a lot in the Water Cooler of the financial forum. There are a lot of dog people there (including vets) who have tried to help me get some direction on this. It's also been great to have someone to vent with. The biting got really bad just before I put Harley in doggy day care for 4 days. I posted about it and got a lot of caring, supportive help. Again, as many opinions as there were people. I even had the Sit Means Sit people come out and evaluate Harley. I considered a shock collar. I don't want Harley to be afraid and operating out of fear. That's not a good relationship to have with him. I want him to behave because it's what works best for him. Right now misbehaving works best for him. He's gets tons of attention, even though it's all negative.

I just got a fresh shipment of toys in and he's already destroyed some of them. The only toys he had left were his Buster Cube and his Kibble Nibble (which had to be taken away from him when he wasn't using it because he chewed pieces off of it). He's very interested in the new toys but mostly he wants to destroy them. I got toys specifically for aggressive chewers and he still takes them apart within hours or sometimes even minutes. I spend a lot of money trying to get good toys and he just destroys everything. He can't have his toys out anymore because of his destructive nature. I'm afraid he's going to swallow something that he shouldn't (especially those plastic things that make the squeaking sound) and end up like Skooter. I don't want to have to go through another $2,000 surgery like we did with Skooter.

So, here it is 4am. The animal behaviorist will be here in about 10 hours. She will take about 45 minutes to evaluate Harley and then we'll discuss what his diagnoses are and what the plan of attack will be. My only qualm is whether Janice's and Jennie's techniques will clash. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Harley can be so loving at times. He can be so gentle. He chooses to be neither most of the time. I'm willing to work with him though. I want a happy, obedient, well-adjusted dog at the end of this. I know there's not really an end, that I'll always be working with Harley but I want there to be a point when I'm just living my life and Harley is just a companion who makes life even better.

This is where things are at with Harley. His original owner stopped contacting me about Harley. I wonder if she still has Harley's littermate, Hazle. It would be interesting to see what the other puppies are like. Sometimes I think that it's all me, that I just shouldn't own a dog. I'm willing to be without Harley if it is what would be best for him and for me but I'd rather keep him and love him. He was only 8 weeks old when we got him. He was too young to be taken away from his mother and his siblings. There is a lot he didn't learn from them (bite inhibition, impulse control, manners, etc.). I would never get a puppy that young again. The puppy would have to be about 3 months old before I'd take it. That would give it plenty of time to learn things and figure out how to socialize with other dogs. But that's neither here nor there. We have Harley and we need to work with Harley. He's our dog now.