Kylo's Ascension

As much as we love Kylo, it hasn't exactly been smooth sailing. He's highly intelligent, but he is by no means obedient. He was stray for a good while, he's savvy, knows how to figure stuff out, and therefore, doesn't have a whole lot of "need" for humans. He likes us, he wants to be with us, but that doesn't mean he's going to do what we say just because we say it.

He's been pretty good about listening to me when not distracted. But when distracted, it's a whole other story. And even for me, when I come in after working all day, if he's out of the crate, but not outside, he turns into a Tazmanian Devil, jumping and mouthing me, trying to get me to stop walking and crouch to the floor so he can be close to myself. So, I could solve the problem by just crouching to the floor the moment I walk in the door. But that's not my style. (If he's in the crate and I'm the one to let him out, it's fine. If he's outside, and I'm the one to let him in, it's fine. It's just if he's free ranging in the living room that it's an issue.) He also still goes berserk at the doorbell, is still fearful of the vacuum, and still tends to jump on adult guests. He also still eats the kids' toys if given the opportunity. So what HAVE we accomplished so far?

A lot, actually! You see, until we got him into our house, we had no idea he'd never lived in a house before. He was a bull in a china shop. He was all over the furniture, counter surfing, knocking the kids down, mouthing the kids, and within a week, I had realized he wasn't even housebroken! He would relieve himself outside if he happened to be outside, but if he were in the house when he got the urge, he wouldn't communicate his intent to relieve himself before doing so. And when I would let him outside, he had no sense of urgency about relieving himself. He also had no sense of urgency about relieving himself on walks, either, instead storing it all up until he found a neighbor to greet - he'd jump to great the neighbor and then open the floodgates on the neighbor's shoes. There were lots of destructive behaviors, some escaping behaviors, as well as a ridiculous obsession with retrieving and chewing on kitchen towels and bedsheets, until I gave up on the "leave it" command and simply found new, inaccessible places to store said items.

He aced beginning and intermediate obedience classes. I warned the instructor and the other classmates, "He's smart, but he's not actually obedient." Finally, in the advanced class, the instructor got to see just how untrained he actually was. Both he and another little dog - maybe a lab-beagle mix, were exhibiting identical behaviors - jumping up on people, and reacting to nearby dogs. She dedicated the entire series to teaching them not to react. We practiced standing outside of Petsmart and not reacting to the dogs walking in and out. We tried practicing walking our dogs together, and still not reacting to the other dogs.  We had good days and bad days. The other dog stopped attending. We kept going, well past the 6 weeks that were designated to the class. She invited me to bring him back to an intermediate class, just to practice the skills in the presence of more dogs.

Meanwhile, Kylo began having random moments of fearfulness towards Tyson. He at times would act as though he wanted to "protect" the rest of us from Tyson. So off to the vet we went. The vet explained that since it was clear Kylo had separation anxiety, the protective behaviors may also be due to anxiety. Even his jumping and mouthing could be anxiety related. The vet gave me prescription medication and a referral to a behaviorist, stressing that the medication wasn't the cure, that behavior modification was necessary to fix this.

The medicine made a huge difference - suddenly, walking Kylo around other dogs was a breeze, and he initially stopped mouthing and jumping on me. But while we waited for the appointment with the behaviorist, Kylo's fearfulness increased. He was now trembling around Tyson, and even leaking urine in front of him. The behaviorist explained, "His behavior is VERY submissive. You have a dog who is afraid of you." She taught us a lot about fearful dogs. She showed us numerous pictures of dogs and people's emotional states, teaching us to find the similarities. She showed us lots of pictures depicting the many ways dogs can display fear. She increased the dose of Kylo's medication, and taught us new ways to address Kylo when he is experiencing fear. She couldn't identify the cause of Kylo's fear, just "something is spooking him." She said instead of trying to get him to face his fear, Tyson should just redirect Kylo's attention elsewhere. Meanwhile, she noted that Kylo was "both pushy and fearful" and worked to address Kylo's attention-demanding behaviors.

Next, she had Tyson feed him freshly cooked chicken while working to establish trust.Then she worked on teaching Tyson some relationship building skills, through "Touch" and "Watch me." She explained that by getting Kylo to make eye contact with Tyson, his oxytocin levels would increase, strengthening their bond.  Lastly, she recommended Tyson teach Kylo "environmental agility" to strengthen their relationship.

Kylo had already figured out how to climb on the swingset on his own...

After just one practice session with Tyson, Kylo easily climbed the wall.

Suddenly, Kylo is so much more interested in Tyson. One day, Tyson said, "Look at him, he's weird again. He won't come when I call him." He squatted down, held out his hands, and Kylo walked straight into his arms, and gave him a kiss. While he always seemed restless until every member of his pack came home, now he actively seeks Tyson for affection.

I am so glad that he and Tyson are back on track. But I also really get a kick out of Kylo's new skills!