Anara's first week

Anara has found her voice. It is all German Shepherd. Anyone who has ever had a German Shepherd for a companion can relate to this. She didn’t have a lot to say all week. Today she found her voice. She has a lot to say. Rightfully so. She is safe. As safe as any dog in this world can be. Safe under the umbrella of a rescue. Safe means a lot when you are feeling unsafe. Safe though is only part of the bigger picture. Safe doesn’t mean having someone committed to you. Safe doesn’t mean a lifetime guarantee. Nothing is guaranteed though.

Anara loves her babies. She tends to them carefully. She cleans them, nurses them with the small amount of milk she has. Anara is still young and full of puppy energy. She wants her puppies to be safe. She wants to run and play. She wants to be loved, petted and paid attention to. She wants to be close to humans, despite what she has seen, experienced and heard. It would be perfect, if Anara’s story ended here. Anara still needs to find a forever home. A home that will love her, work with her, train her, care for her medically and be there for her, no matter what. The reality is that those kind of homes are not easy to find.

Eliminating and reducing normal canine behaviors that are not acceptable in our society will help Anara find that home. Jumping, barking, digging, chewing, mouthing, resource guarding, etc while normal canine behaviors are common reasons why dogs are surrendered. Replacing “negative”  normal behaviors with more acceptable behaviors will help ensure any rescue dog’s success. Socialization, training and human commitment will complete Anara’s story.

Anara’s story picks up again here.

Anara likes to hug. She likes to jump. She finds comfort in having hands or arms held gently in her mouth. She is traumatized, she is needy and she doesn’t feel secure. She is trusting, she is loving and she has a beautiful spirit. She is house trained. She does not like to go to the bathroom on leash. She does like to go behind a bush and use the same spot every day. She will hold her urine and her stool until she is comfortable. Today she had an accident in the house. It was human error, not Anara error.  She walked two miles on leash and came back inside. As her trainer, I made the assumption she didn’t have to go, when in fact she would have gone had she been given the space to go. She had time alone in the yard but was insecure being out alone. She needed someone to be in the yard with her and then she would have been able to see me, go behind the bush (where she can still see me), go to the bathroom and then come running back when she is finished.

She might be afraid that I would disappear if she lost sight, so she stayed close and disregarded her own need to use the bathroom. She might have been yelled at or hit in the past for house soiling mistakes. Dogs who are yelled at for making mistakes in the house, often learn that they shouldn’t go to the bathroom in the presence of humans but should go and hide to complete their business. Behaviors just don’t appear, they are inadvertently or advertently reinforced.

Knowing her needs, allows us to work with her and manage behaviors as well as train new behaviors. I cleaned up the mess and spoke lovingly to her.  I am human, I learn from my mistakes, I accept responsibility and I move forward.  Anara is beautiful, trusting and still learning.  This week she will be working on her sit, touch, loose leash walking and beginning nosework.