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.