Ellie came to me in October 2007 at the age of 4 years. I am her third home. She was attacking other dogs and if a person tried to intervene, that person got bitten as well. I would describe her as trying to protect all the time. She would see other dogs not in her pack as a potential threat to the survival of her own group so she would attempt to scare them off and if that didn’t work she would attack. It is risky to attack, it risks your own life as well. It shows how seriously she was taking her role as leader and how much of a panic she was in. She was constantly patrolling the garden perimeters. Indoors always looking out of the window ready to bark at anything coming near her territory. Her eyes were wide and staring, she would startle easily. Ellie and Buddy took a great dislike to each other and for 5 months I had to keep them apart. In the early days I had to have 2 doors between them. If they saw each other it would result in barking and rushing at the door. Ellie did not like Bobbie either so they also had to be kept separate.
It was a difficult few months! I made a decision that all needed to experience some peace and quiet to allow each one to become less stressed and anxious. Ellie needed to know, as they all did, that they do not need to take responsibility for the pack. That is my responsibility.
I used doors, pet gates and cages to facilitate this indoors and for a time Ellie was taken into the garden on lead to do her ‘business’, so that she didn’t revert to her “looking for danger” behaviour.
She is one that would show her belly to people and some dogs. She would leak urine if she still felt worried by having someone rub her belly.
On the positive side, Ellie was friends with the setters! And when she was relaxed enough to cope she loved a cuddle.
She ‘loves’ the cats and seems to mean them no harm. But she is very energetic in her greeting and likes to clean their ears. When they have had enough the cats just stretch out their paws as if to say, I have weapons here and I can use them but I am choosing not to at the moment.
After three months Ellie and Bobbie were playing together. After 5 months Ellie and Buddy were able to move freely in the same room together. They began to show positive signs of becoming friends. They had a common enjoyment of sitting in the back of my van together! They were not left together alone when I was out in case the old animosity flared up. Also Buddy was a old man, his infirmity would make the pack vulnerable. If left to her decision making Ellie may have tried to rid the pack of that vulnerability.
Ellie is no longer wide-eyed and high on adrenalin. She can now rest without needing to watch from windows, and can take herself to a quiet space to do so. She has lost her need to border patrol but that remains true only as long as she sees us as capable leaders. We need to be on top of our game all the time.
She started to learn to walk outdoors with me more than a year after her arrival. She first needed to trust us indoors where the threats are least. In the garden there are more potential threats. Off the home territory the number of threats can be overwhelming so we have to be leaders she can trust to keep the pack safe. I don’t want her to feel that frightened so we go gently, only doing as much as she can cope with. |
