Post #30: Queenie Goes to School

Queenie Goes to School

Queenie, Jon and foster sisters

Queenie's been with us now a little over a month. While she has made huge strides in some areas (she's eating like a champ now!!) she continues to have issues with feeling comfortable in her own fur. It's like she doesn't know what she wants. Well, actually, she knows what she wants, it's just that her "wants" and real life, don't exactly mesh. If Queenie could have it her way, she would lay on the living room rug, at a vantage point where she could see everything that is happening in the house, but not be involved in it directly. She would never be left alone, she would never be crated or put in her dog pen, she would be allowed to chew anything and everything her heart's desire, her humans would be satisfied with her giving "drive by" kisses and not ask for any other attention from her and she would always have her sister Iris, the only creature she seems to really trust, right by her side. Hm...yeah, there are just a *few* problems with Queenie's ideal life :) 

I am ok over here!

Whenever we are rehabbing a rescue dog there is always that balance you have to strike between letting them go at their own pace, but then also challenging them to reach further so they can actually make progress. You want them to feel comfortable, but you can't baby them. Every dog is different and every foster job requires that you learn what your dog can and can't handle so that you keep them moving forward in the direction of being ready for adoption one day. In this regard, Queenie has probably been our hardest foster case. She also came to us at a time when our house was already full (with 6 other dogs), so the amount of time we are able to spend with her has not been optimal. It was with these things in mind that we reached out to a fellow rescuer for help. 

Queenie considering a dip in the pool

Enter Keith. Keith is not your average rescuer. In fact, he kind of fell into this rescue gig. He fosters and trains service dogs but in the course of his work he was put in touch with someone who could no longer care for their GSD. Long story short, Keith started working with the dog (Joe), contacted GSRA and Joe was rescued by GSRA. However, that experience prompted Keith to want to work more with the breed, especially more timid GSDs that would benefit from the kind of training he was familiar with. It seemed totally serendipitous that I worked with Keith to find Joe a foster home and then Keith wanted to work more with shy GSDs. I mean, what better subject could Keith hope for that our very own Miss Queenie? This seemed like the perfect win:win situation for everyone and so we agreed that Queenie would start visiting with Keith a couple of times a week to see how she did.

The first visit she had with Keith was last weekend. She went along with big sister Iris as we thought she'd feel more comfortable that way. Keith and hos family took Queenie, Iris and their dog Macy to Umstead Park in Raleigh and went for a hike. Keith reported that Queenie did GREAT! He noticed that she is a naturally curious dog who has all the traits of a great GSD. She is attentive, obedient, great on leash when directed how to walk and she has the kind of nose that picks up scents...and the drive to want to follow those scents!! He said her timid nature definitely gets in the way of her natural curiosity, but all the same he was very happy to see this side to her. 

Queenie going to get the leash

Last Friday, Queenie went for her second visit with Keith, and her first on her own. Naturally, she was more nervous than the first time, but even so, Keith was very, very impressed with how she handled things. He worked with her on "waiting" at the front door before going out and he also continued to work with her on her issues with stairs (yes, she is still completely uncoordinated when it comes to either going up or down stairs!!). They went for lots of walks in a near by park and, once again, she had a great time sniffing things out. When we went and picked her up she was calm but very happy to see us. Today, however, was the best visit yet. Keith started out by trying to do some very basic obedience exercises with her but he said that she wasn't quite able to relax enough to the point where she could focus for these lessons. So he just let her be and let her hang out in the house and get used to new surroundings. He noticed that, when she would get antsy (as she often does during the night at home) she would start to almost panic and want to get outside. She paced, she jumped up on furniture, scratched at windows etc... Keith told us that taught her the word "NO" today in response to these antics. It seems obvious, I know, to want to reprimand a dog for this kind of behavior (especially when they are jumping at the windows hard enough that they could, conceivably break them), but until now, we have not been sure of whether or not she was ready for this kind of reprimand. In reality though, I don't think *we* were ready for *giving* this reprimand to our delicate (so we think) little Queenie. 

This goes along with what I started off this blog by saying: it's really hard to know how to balance love and teaching when dealing with some foster dogs. Anyway, probably not surprisingly, Queenie didn't melt into a puddle of shaking fear, or self-combust with terror at being told "NO", she simply stopped doing what she was doing and went and laid down and observed... And what she saw made a big impression on her! Macy, Keith's Golden Retriever puppy who is in training to be a service dog, knows that, when she wants to go out, she has to pick up her leash and bring it to Keith. I guess Queenie had watched this a couple if times over the course of the morning and so, after her window antics hadn't gotten her the outside time she was hoping for, Keith said he saw her walk over to where her leash lay on the table. He said he watched Queenie look at the leash, look at Macy, look at the leash, look at Keith...and then she slowly picked the leash up in her mouth and looked at Keith. She didn't manage to bring it over to him but the message had been clear: Queenie was asking to go outside...please :) How about that???

When we went and got our little protege Keith talked to us about taking Queenie through the Canine Good Citizen training. He said that, in all honesty, he doubted she would be able to pass it, but he said the lessons and skills she would learn, and the self confidence she would gain during the training, would really help her develop. We are absolutely THRILLED with this idea. Imagine that, our little girl Queenie is going to school :)