Animal Behaviorist Appointment

We scheduled an appointment for a behaviorist to come to our home to evaluate Darlin'. He's a Professor at a widely recognized school of Veterinary medicine in Alabama with more than 35 years experience. He was here two hours last Saturday, however, he made a recommendation for Darlin' within seconds of entering our home.

I put the dogs outside, but left Toby, our broken coat Jack Russell, in the house so he wouldn't bark for me to let him in. Toby is a velcro dog and doesn't want to be away from me very long.

Darlin' doesn't usually bark when a stranger enters our home. I thought she would run and hide. Not this time. She barked her head off when I invited the behaviorist inside. She was loud and the hair stood up on her neck so I walked over and had her sit and told her to hush, which she did. He watched her out of the corner of his eye. Darlin' then ran to the couch and jumped up turning her body side-ways away from him. She sat quietly on the couch, she turned her head in avoidance and was trembling fiercely as I told him a little about her history with us. He remarked that she was probably born feral and probably didn't have any socialization with people. He was surprised when I let him know that she was spayed sometime before I trapped her. We agreed that given she was spayed and so afraid of people, she was probably on her own a long time and may have suffered some abuse. He handed me some papers to sign and we sat together at the kitchen table. Once he sat down at the kitchen table, Darlin' ran back to our bedroom.

I discussed our concerns about her barking at my husband and kids. If this is your first time reading this blog, Darlin' has become very attached to me, but she barks at my family. Her barking started about a year ago, after living in the house about 6 months. She doesn't only bark when they come home from school or work. She barks every time they move in the house. She barks when my son comes home from school, when he opens my office door, when he goes to the bathroom, when he fixes a snack, if he helps bring in groceries, or if he's downstairs and comes back up. Literally! It's like that for everyone in the house except me. It doesn't matter if they are home all day. If she hears or sees them she barks at them. Darlin' does not bark when she's in the backyard unless my husband or one of my children open the back door. I also told him about her body language when she's barking. She appears to be in an excited state; her tail is high and wagging back and forth. Sometimes her hair stands up the back of her neck. He told me not to worry about her body language unless her ears are straight up and tail is high and centered between her ears. I'm familiar with that posture from books on canine behavior. The dog may be aggressive or even dangerous. Darlin' does not show any aggressive behavior. I think if she were going to bite we would have seen this long ago. She did bite me during a fight with Bonnie, but I do not believe she knew she bit me. She's been living with us for 18 months. I just realized this last week that I have known Darlin' for two years!

I asked his opinion about the dog fights between Darlin' and Bonnie. I showed him the scars on my arm from the fight a few months ago. I felt like he brushed it off. He said he wishes he had only been bitten once in his life and that "you're going to have the fighting as long as you have a dog that is anxious."

He also viewed a few videos that I have on youtube and my computer. He was surprised when he watched a video on youtube where I pointed to Darlin' and told her to hush and sit outside. Darlin' listens to commands unless she is aroused. Usually I walk over to her and tell her "that's enough" and to "sit down" and she will. He ask me to continue to document her behavior using videos. He told us that most people need to see him twice --an initial appointment with a follow-up, but that we will probably need to see him more than that. That's when my husband told him about the extensive progress Darlin' has made since we brought her home.

He was surprised that I asked for a home visit. That was his secretary's idea after I told her how fearful Darlin' is and that she would probably cower under my chair at his office. I will take Darlin' for an office visit and follow-up in three to four months.

His diagnoses was that Darlin' is in a constant state of anxiety and his recommendation for Darlin' is anti-anxiety and antidepressant drugs. The anti-anxiety medicine is actually another antidepressant. She is not in a constant state of anxiety. She is a very calm and well behaved dog when no one is around, but she shows a lot of anxiety when my family members are home. He mentioned several drugs, but we are going to try something mild to begin with per my request. I want her to calm down, but I do not want her to experience weight gain, dizziness, or any possible negative side effects. Of course we can wean her off of the medicine after a while. He will contact my vet so I'm sure I'll need to see him with Darlin' as well. Once I have the prescription I will update that we have started the drug therapy. The drugs are Wellbutrin or the generic form of Bupropion, and Elavil, also known as Amitriptyline.

The crate has been a life saver! All of the dogs enjoy napping in it. Now, instead of rotating Darlin' and Bonnie during the day using bedrooms, I ask one of them to go in the crate while I let the other outside. It took about two days to teach Bonnie and Darlin' to go in the crate. I will never use it as punishment because I do not want them to associate it with something negative. My dogs are good dogs. I can't remember having to "punish" them for anything. I correct them daily if they get loud or too rambunctious in the house. I try to rotate them in my office so that they each have time with me. I'm pretty certain that Darlin' has claimed my office as part of her territory. I bought another crate for my office because eventually I want to leave my office door open again and allow all of the dogs to be with me at once. Right now all of the dogs get along in my office as long as I remove Darlin' or Bonnie. One has to stay out to avoid conflict. I did put Darlin' in the office crate once and she whined because she couldn't see me! She also whines if I leave her in the crate in the living room and go in my office. She shows signs of anxiety when I am out of her sight. She's fine in the crate if I'm in the kitchen because she can see me. She's also been jumping at my bedroom door, barking and whining when I arrive home. She's fine when I leave though. The behaviorist said the separation anxiety will get worse so hopefully the medications will help that as well.

First bath

Yes, Darlin had her first bath yesterday. I've had her seven months, but by the time I brought her indoors, I'm sure most of the road grime had fallen off of her. I applied Frontline Plus her second week home so I didn't have any concerns about fleas. She has never smelled either. She didn't want to come to me when I called her to the bathroom. Toby had just had a bath so she seemed to understand what was coming. She ran to her bed in the bedroom. I had to carry her and put her in the tub, but she was no worse than any of our dogs. She just stood there not especially happy about it, but she did well. Most dogs shake like crazy when you give them a bath. Not Darlin', she sat in the corner and allowed me to dry her. She only shook once after I allowed her to leave the bathroom.

She was still damp. Her winter coat is starting to come back.



Her barking isn't any better. Some days it's worse than others. Yesterday she started barking and acting territorial when my husband came home so I told her to "Go" pointing by finger and watched as she ran to the bedroom. I didn't close the door. A minute later she came back and was quiet.

I took Chloe to get her hair cut a few days ago. When we came home Darlin' ran up to her and nipped her! I snapped my finger and told her to knock it off and she does, but she continued to show some anxiousness. She did the same thing to our blue heeler (Sam) when he came home from the vet. It's like she didn't like it that I had them with me. She does not like me to leave her.

We went out of town over the weekend and I was gone almost 10 hours. My son tried calling her to go outside, leaving the back door open, but she would not leave my bedroom. I arrived home and called her to go out. After her barking and whimpering at me she ran down and pottied immediately after her feet hit the grass. I don't know how or why a dog that lived on the streets is able to control her bladder (and bowels) the way she can. She wouldn't mess in the house for nothing. Poor thing would go on herself in her bed if it came down to it, but someone would carry her outside first. If I had been away any longer, I would have asked my daughter to carry her outside and put her in the grass.

She's getting big. I'm anxious to see how much she weighs now. I'll have her weighed when the mobile vet checks to see if her heartworms are gone in a few months.



Darlin' gets along with all of the dogs, but Toby is still her favorite playmate.



She still watches the back doors when she's outside, but not nearly as much as she has. There are times I see her acting like one of the pack sniffing the yard without any signs of fear or anxiety.





I bought the book, Help for Your Fearful Dog by Nicole Wilde. I haven't had a chance to read through it yet. I'll let you know if I read anything helpful that applies to a dog like Darlin'. Right now my only concern is getting past her territorial barking and guarding.

Six month trap-aversary!

Six months ago yesterday, I brought Darlin’ home! During my search about trapping dogs I came upon www.lostdogsearch.com. There I read stories from people who had lost their own dogs and met Lisa and Brandon. Trap-aversary is the term Lisa used when I emailed her asking about the trap that was used to catch Brandon, a rescue dog that had been transported cross country and got lost after running from his new owner. It was his two year trap-aversary that day. You can learn more about Lisa and Brandon here.

Darlin’ is doing well. She’s walking around the house, not afraid to come in the kitchen even when my family is putting away groceries. She’s getting much better around noise such as when I take pots out of the cabinet or drop something, however she shot out of the kitchen like a bullet when I tore some foil off last night. She use to hide when I vacuumed, now she’ll run back and forth from room to room. That shows me she’s more curious.

Darlin’ does not like to be alone. She usually lies under my chair or near me under the table at dinnertime. She follows me wherever I go in the house, including when I go downstairs, she’s right behind me. She lays at my feet when I’m watching a movie in my recliner downstairs. I always cover up with a blanket so many times she’ll crawl under the blanket at my feet or she’ll scoot under the foot rest of my recliner when it’s extended. She sure makes it hard to get up from my chair! Upstairs she’s usually on the couch next to me. When I fix the dogs bowls for dinner, she’ll sit right next to my feet the entire time. Toby will sometimes go over to her bowl and stick his noise in for her gravy; she’ll eat out of the same bowl with him or walk over to his and eat. From a distance her appearance may appear normal, but she’s still fearful – that’s why she’s usually under my chair. She does the same thing outside if I’m sitting with my children. She’ll scoot on her belly under my chair. She seems relatively calm during those times with no heavy breathing or panting from anxiety.

She is very normal during the day. What is normal? I have to ask myself that after watching some dogs with real issues on animal shows recently. Her fear issues are minor now compared to what some people go through with their dogs.

Darlin’ runs through the house, tail up high, alert and playful looking when we are alone. She goes out with the other dogs and it takes very little coaxing to move her from room to room. I say, “Let’s go” and she is at my heels. At night she’ll sometimes go to her bed in my room as I’m turning out the lights! She usually sleeps in her dog bed, but sometimes she’ll sleep under a piece of furniture or stretched out in the floor. She’s so cute now when I pass out treats. Darlin’ is the tallest dog here so sometimes she’ll stretch her head across the other dogs to get their treat. I look at her and tell her to sit and she does. She gets a little excited and forgets her manors, but once I say sit, she’s on that butt. Oh, she usually backs up to sit or she’ll go to the rug in front of the stove where she learned to sit! Like she doesn’t realize she can sit anywhere! She brings me a lot of joy.



She still won’t go down to the yard without me. Yes, she’ll go out with the dogs, but if I don’t follow she’ll stay upstairs. Sometimes I’ll sit down in a chair on the deck and she’ll go down to potty, but she’s fast and comes right back up. If I let her out with the other dogs and I close the door, then she’ll stand at the back door waiting for me. This is something I hope will change soon because these ole’ knees of mine can’t take another six months of running up and down those back steps. I’m hoping as the weather cools off soon and the flies die down that I can leave the back door wide open and it will give her a sense of freedom to come and go. This house means everything to her and she still watches the doors when she’s in the yard.




One day I went shopping and left her home with my husband who was working on his computer. He said she stood up on her hind legs after I walked out and looked through the glass. Then she sat on the rug at the front door looking up as though she was looking out of the glass then entire time until I returned home. She still whimpers, yelps, and whistles through her nose when I come home after leaving her. All of my dogs are excited to see me; sometimes she’s the first dog I meet when I enter the house. She hasn’t done anything destructive, but I do check the door because I’ve heard her scratch after I walked out.

When I leave home and my kids are home with Darlin’ they say she walks back and forth from room to room through the house. That she doesn’t bark or show signs stress. When I am home she behaves differently.

She is very attached to me, too attached at this point. Her demeanor changes when my son walks in from school or when my husband comes in from work. She’s barking now, in the house and outside when my family comes around. She has a loud deep bark too and you can hear the hound in it.

Her head on my leg.



I’m not sure how to correct her barking. It’s so strange because she was so quiet and submissive, however now that she’s not afraid to go where I go in the house, she behaves territorial. Maybe it’s an expression of her anxiety and fear, certainly it’s related to her insecurity. She barks when my family comes in the house and as they approach she’ll bark louder and sometimes low growl. No one has any fear that she will bite. Sometimes they approach her sideways and sit next to her and pet her. She’ll stop barking, but it starts all over when my husband comes home. She’s worse with him. I asked him to walk naturally as though she doesn’t bother him because he was walking slow and guarded which I think may have been more intimidating to her. I’ll sometimes give him cheese to pass out which calms her down, but she still shakes during those times. If he offers her cheese at night when we are sitting on the couch she is calm and doesn’t seem stressed at all. However it could be because she’s sitting right next to me. If my dogs bark when the kids come home (I have two noise barkers) then Darlin’ will jump up and bark too, but she makes sure she’s close to me. If anyone walks outside when we are there, she’ll immediately alert me by barking. I do think it’s territorial and I’ve been reading about how to correct this behavior. I don’t want her barking at my family or guests in the future.

When this started a few weeks ago I would tell her to hush, but she didn’t. I read to remove myself from the situation because she is so attached me. So I would leave the kitchen if it started with her sitting next to my feet while I’m cooking (her favorite place). That didn’t help. I stopped telling her to hush because I didn’t want to condition the behavior, such as I bark, Mom speaks to me. However this last week was so bad that I ended up poking her to get her attention and telling her “enough” or “knock it off”. I ask my husband or kids to ignore her and come on in the kitchen to get what they need. The barking doesn’t last long, but it’s something I have to correct. My next step is to get her to hush and immediately offer her cheese, her favorite treat. That’s going to take some work too because she ignores food when she is nervous or anxious.

Remember the post where I told about Darlin’ slipping her collar when we were out walking? Well, Victoria Stillwell mentioned on one of her shows that the best way to get a dog to come to you is to get them to chase you. I actually did that the night she got loose, I started running for our house, but Darlin’ took off between the houses. Occasionally she’ll give me a play bow in the yard and I play with her, but I have chased her so last week I changed it up. She was in a playful mood and started running in circles around the yard so I ran and she chased me! We did it about three times and it works! That was all I could do before I was out of breath. Why couldn’t I have had 5 dogs when I was in my 20’s or 30’s when I had the energy! Oh well, everything in its own time.

Other than her barking at my family and going outside without me, Darlin is doing exceptionally well. If it takes six more months then so be it. She is a joy to watch when she’s comfortable in her surroundings. It’s been extremely rewarding for me to look at her in a dog bed or standing in the kitchen eating dinner knowing that her life has completely changed for the better. Words cannot express the joy I feel for her and her new life.