Recovery

This is a post about Claire and her recovery. Sort of.

I made a video to document Claire’s progress. As I watched it and considered sharing, all kinds of emotions started to bubble up. The sorrow, the grief, the unfairness but also a fierce sense of protectiveness — as if people would not understand and respect they were looking at vulnerability.

I looked through photos, trying to find some that capture who and what Claire really is…

…because suddenly it felt important to say, “No — that is not the Real Claire.”

And yet, it is real Claire.

Coat shaved and blown. Still recovering from months of pregnancy, puppies, blown CCLs, a c-section, no appetite, and two TPLOs. That has been reality for Claire and so what is in the video IS Real Claire.

But she is so much more than her vulnerability.

My dad is in the hospital again. He is 83 and like Claire, it is easy for others to see him as his vulnerabilities. But my dad boxed with George Foreman. He is kind of a Bad Ass.

A member of our Berner Community is in hospice with a terrible disease process that has robbed her of movement and left her helpless to do the most basic of things — but that vulnerability does not define her. She is smart and fierce and wonderful.

I guess the challenge for me is to allow others to bear witness to vulnerability, and because I recognize that is indeed a challenge, I also know that I need to work on trusting others to understand and respect that those I love are so much more than what they cannot do and be right now — or maybe ever again.

And with that, here is a video that — strangely — reflects both vulnerability and trust…

Stranger Danger

A period of Stranger Anxiety in human babies is normal. Yes, it can hurt feelings and embarrass parents when the baby is shrieking like a teakettle because Grandma wants to say hello but there it is — biology is powerful.

Puppies can go through something very similar. Friendly and happy can turn to suspicion almost overnight, as if a switch was turned while everyone was sleeping.

Humans, eager to share their so-cute puppy, may well miss or ignore the signs of Stranger Danger and fail to protect the puppy from the forwardness of well-intentioned strangers. Worse, humans may think the puppy should be forced to interact with scary people so she can “get over” it.

So the first thing to keep in mind is that young mammals can indeed have normal development that includes Stranger Danger. The second thing to remember is that a Berner, according to the Breed Standard, “…may remain aloof to the attentions of strangers.”

A Berner puppy that prefers not to engage with strangers — and shows this by not engaging with said stranger — is being aloof with strangers. S/he may also be reflecting the normal developmental process of Stranger Danger, which is actually a process of awareness/discernment — a good thing.

Three generations: Claire, Capella, Sparkle

All that is to offer reassurance that a puppy who doesn’t love everyone is okay; it is not a problem to be fixed. AND we want a puppy who is confident and not shy — so how do we proceed? Here are some thoughts…

Forcing a puppy to interact is a TERRIBLE IDEA. If you want to create a shy puppy — do that. Force doesn’t mean holding the puppy down and allowing Auntie Susie to pet the puppy — force can be much more benign. Just remember — no means no, even in a puppy.

Confidence comes from mastery. Let the puppy master strangers one puppy step at a time. If the puppy doesn’t want to interact but is fine in the stranger’s presence — Yay! Reward that with YES (or click) and a cookie.

Puppy looks at the stranger — YES (or click) and cookie.

Puppy sniffs person — YES (or click) and cookie.

I like to teach a reliable hand touch — puppy bonks your hand and gets a Yes/Click and cookie; this can be transferred to a stranger when the puppy is comfortable. Person holds out hand and puppy bonks — and gets a cookie from you or if comfortable, from the stranger.

The goal is a puppy that is comfortable and relaxed around new people — that happens when a puppy is not terrorized by the new people, and remember: the puppy is the one who gets to decide what and who feels terrorizing.

Barking at a stranger says, “too much, too soon” in puppy language. S/he needs to be removed to a distance that feels safe. The build up to Stranger Mastery starts at the place that feels comfortable for the puppy.

Training the puppy is the easy part — it is managing other humans that can be tough.

If a puppy is concerned about a person, that person needs to completely ignore the puppy — no looking at the puppy, no talking to the puppy, no feeding the puppy, no petting the puppy — just ignore the puppy. All of those things — looking, talking, feeding, petting — are steps; doing them all at once constitutes flooding for a concerned puppy, and flooding is a Terrible Idea.

Bottom Line: Stranger Danger happens. It is a normal thing. Berners do not always love everyone — that is okay. Don’t let anyone force attention on your puppy. Start from a place of safety and work on having a relaxed puppy around strangers by reinforcing desired behavior.

If a puppy barks or tries to get away — you blew it. Not a huge deal — just info so you can do better next time. We are, after all, only human.

Maybe Not Too Feral

As some know, before a dog enters a tracking test, she has to pass an equivalent track under a judge or an approved evaluator. Our local test closes tomorrow so I set up a certification track this morning with a judge — the appointed location was in the middle of no where.

I was a bit puzzled when there seemed to be quite the procession on the mountain road to the middle of no where with a school bus in the front. The bus never stopped to pick up kids and so that was more confusing. Imagine my surprise when the whole line of us arrived at the same remote spot — yep, a school nature adventure in the meadow where the track had been laid.

As dozens of kids and adults frolicked on what was to be Pozy’s track, we made a new plan. Instead of a lovely meadow, Pozy ran a certification track in the forest.

That was brand new cover for Miss Pozy but she did it and is now certified to enter a tracking test. What a good girl!