# Nibbler's Journey



## Kismet (Jun 18, 2014)

I have decided to use the diary function here to write about Nibbler's Journey as we both work through his fear and anxiety. He is seeing a Behaviour Vet, is medicated and undergoing rehabilitation training. He has already improved so much but there is still a long road ahead of us...

Nibbler came to me at 3-4 weeks with his Mum and siblings and was an almost instant foster failure. Even my husband held each of the pups, yet only planted a kiss on Nibbler's head when he put him back in the puppy pen. This is something he does with each of our dogs before he puts them back on the ground. It was a sign.


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## Kismet (Jun 18, 2014)

Nibbler's Mother Sirella was extremely fearful as she had been seized from an Urban Puppy Mill. The puppies were all fearful of anything new, including people to begin with and I worked hard to socialise them at a pace that allowed them to be in control and paired all sorts of yummy treats with each new experience. 

First his siblings and then his Mother found new homes and while he was great with people he was really frightened of other dogs. Nibbler would bark, growl and lunge at any dog within a 100m and he didn't even weigh 1.5kg!

We took part in an online puppy class after it became apparent that he couldn't attend a real class. There was no way that I could be far enough away from the other puppies to keep him under threshold. 

Nibbler loved training and excelled in his online class while I worked on his fear of dogs separately. 

This is the graduation video from his online class:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31Bpag9FPYs


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## michele (Jan 12, 2009)

So pleased Nibbler is improving,you're doing a great job with him.Can't see the video i'm afraid


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## Kismet (Jun 18, 2014)

Thank you Michele.  I think the link to the video is working now.


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## michele (Jan 12, 2009)

oh he's wonderful,he's learnt so much and you can tell he's loving it ,little tail doesn't stop wagging .Well done to both of you


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## debrawade10 (Oct 10, 2013)

Kudos to you for finding a way to train Nibbler! I put all of mine through obedience, it's on of the best gifts we can give out sweeties. I never heard f an on line class, sounds perfect for him. Good luck


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## Kismet (Jun 18, 2014)

Things were moving along well with Nibbler's training and he was confident with most things, loved new people and was able to enjoy free-run with my other dogs. 









Other dogs were still a problem, we were keeping our distance and creating good associations but sadly other people would make mistakes. One woman let her dog run up to him at Agility, another came up and threw her dog into a drop right next to him thinking that she was 'helping'. I got really tired of people saying 'sorry' after their dog had invaded his space. 

Then he broke his leg. He was just in my kitchen alone and started screaming and when he ran to me was holding his right front leg high in the air. the screaming went on for a few minutes and we rushed him to the after hours vet clinic. 










He had surgery by an orthopedic specialist and this is where our problems really began.


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## Kismet (Jun 18, 2014)

I wish that vets knew more about Behaviour! I wish that they understood that some dogs can take harsh handling but that those with a genetic predisposition to anxiety cannot! 

This Vet fixed his leg by putting a plate on it and broke his brain when he was just a year old. The worst thing is that working as a professional trainer I KNEW IT WAS HAPPENING!!

They didn't give him enough pain relief so that he would wake several times per night screaming. I'd let him out of the crate to soothe him and he would hurt himself on me, scream and run away from me. He started to be frightened of *anyone* touching him. When I questioned them they said that he was getting as much as a 1.5kg dog could get. I have since found out that he could have been given other drugs which would have helped much more with the pain relief. 

He had to have regular bandage changes and the nurse would bring him back saying that he had vomited and pooped during the bandage change. When I asked for sedation because this was destroying his trust in people I was told with a laugh "we don't even sedate the ones that try and bite us, we are not sedating him".

I really tried to explain what was happening to his brain but they smiled at me, patted me on the leg and told me not to be a worry wort, they knew what they were doing. I cried, I screamed, I threw a tantrum in the waiting room trying to get them to understand. I will forever feel guilty that I didn't do enough. 










Weeks of crate rest and then physical rehabilitation left me with a dog with a perfect leg who was terrified of everything including me.


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## Kismet (Jun 18, 2014)

Thanks Debra.  I agree that training is such a gift for them, it allows them so much more freedom than without. There are some truly amazing online classes available now. Silvia Trkman, Susan Garrett and Denise Fenzi are all incredible.


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## Kismet (Jun 18, 2014)

After trying to help him but seeing that he was scared every day I finally took him to see a Behaviour Vet. He was diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety, Separation Anxiety, Fear of touch and Fear of Strange Dogs (he'd always had this one). He was put on Trazadone and Fluoxetine (Prozac) and at the 3 month mark the below email is what I sent his Vet before she saw him for his recheck. 


In thinking about Nibs progress, he has made some huge strides and has a long way to go. He is still very frightened of dogs and will bark and lunge at them when they are a long way away or if he hears them barking. He can be easily distracted by calling his name or a 'click'. I'm trying to make sure he doesn't see dogs but we got surprised by a kid and her Cavoodle last week and it was pretty much a nightmare. It's not something I've really started working on yet.

He still cowers, ears back, lip licking, tucked tail when I pick him up but recovers quickly once on my lap. He usually does a shake off and then settles down for a nap, begs for a chest rub, licks my arm like I'm a lollipop (bedtime) or dances off to explore the lounge or bed. I don't pick him up unless he asks to be picked up and have recently started to give him food every single time he is picked up or put down off the lounge or bed (again only when he asks). Now he's asking to be picked up anytime I sit on the lounge or bed but is still cowering. I don't actually pick him up until he stops cowering and he pushes up with his back feet. The picking up hasn't improved but the recovery time after a pick up is much faster.

He still doesn't really like being petted and will often have his ears back, look-away and lip-lick. In the last month or so he rotated from look-always to alien face hugger (look me in the face and lick my lips). In the last few days he's had a few times that he's looked me in the face and done nothing which is exciting. 

He has stopped following me all over the house and during the day will spend time outside alone even when Craig and all of the other dogs are inside. This is something he wasn't able to do previously. He's also started to sleep further away from me in our bed or *sob* in his own bed on the floor when previously he spent the entire night in my arms. 

He has also stopped lip-licking and paw-raising when I go out to feed the Guinea Pigs and instead wanders around looking for stray piggie poo to snack on. Previously he would come out lip-licking, freeze and paw-raise, take a few steps to follow me and repeat. I stand there watching him hunt for poo for way longer than a sane person should and do it with a dopey grin on my face. 

He will still lip-lick and paw-raise fairly often when I'm in the kitchen so I've taken to sending him to his mat when I go in there and that has helped a lot.

The most obvious improvement has been with strangers. He approached Craig's parents and asked to be picked up and another time jumped in Craig's Dads lap. He cowered when they touched him but recovered quickly and continued exploring their lap when I said "Don't touch him!" We also met a lady who didn't speak English (so didn't keep her distance when asked) on a walk who called him with happy chat and he walked on over to her happy as can be. He was on lead and she didn't touch him but he stood up on his hind legs to see if she had any treats for him.

About a month ago he started to sneak out the front door when I've taken the others for walks. I'm not walking him daily and trying to stick mostly to free-runs in empty parks which he handles really well with very few fiddles and leash walks with Chad on the bike path to do counter-conditioning and desensitisation to people. He is now sniffing and peeing on the leash walks, looks to me when he sees a person and has approached a couple that have come close to ask me about the dogs but I haven't let any of them touch him.

He also one good day at Agility where he was able to free-shape an exercise in front of people and dogs, off-lead at a distance from me. Yeah, let's not talk about my stupidity that day, I thought no-one would be there and was chatting to someone after doing a demo of luring him through the weaves and he ran off and put himself back through the weaves. It was pretty amazing!

I'll be interested to see how he is with you and what you think of him tomorrow. I couldn't be happier. He still has a long way to go but I'm cool with that. I asked Craig if he had anything he wanted to tell you about Nibbler and he said to "say thanks because he's much more chilled out than he used to be". If Craig noticed, it can't be my imagination!


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## Kismet (Jun 18, 2014)

His 3 month recheck went really well and the Vet has doubled his Fluoxetine in preparation for weaning him off the Trazodone. I am continuing with the counter conditioning and desensitisation and the rest of his rehabilitation exercises. It is 1 year today since he broke his leg and it makes me wonder where we will be 1 year from now. 

He is enjoying walks with Chad but is quite worried and hyper-vigilant when walked alone. The difference in his body language is amazing so I won't be walking him alone again for a while.



















He is a work in progress. My goal is that he live as happy a life as possible and so each day I work to make sure that he is not afraid and that good things happen to him. I will continue to update our story that may be interesting to other people but if not will be a place where I can see my beautiful boy get happy.


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## debrawade10 (Oct 10, 2013)

You are doing a fantastic job, it sounds to me that he got the perfect Mom..<3


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## Kismet (Jun 18, 2014)

Naw thank you Debra.  He's a very special boy and deserves the best life as do all the Chi's here.


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## Chiluv04 (Dec 19, 2013)

Wow Nibbler has been through a lot. It is wonderful that you've stayed strong and positive for him through everything. He is lucky to have you.


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

The poor little guy has been through so much! How horrible it is that he broke his leg at such an inopportune time in his development but he is lucky to have landed in your home with you.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Kismet (Jun 18, 2014)

Thanks guys!  I feel lucky to have him too, he really is a great dog and he deserves to be happy.


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## zellko (Jul 3, 2013)

I really enjoyed reading Nibbler's story. Please continue.


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## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

Nibbler is so very adorable! I'm so sorry he has to deal with such issues, but how wonderful it is that he has you who is so willing to work so hard to help him positively overcome them. I can only imagine the satisfaction you feel when you see improvements that bring him closer and closer to a normal, happy life.


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## Kismet (Jun 18, 2014)

Thank you, I will try to keep updating his story here, hopefully with more fun things that he can experience and enjoy. I'm feeling very thankful for all of the beautiful posts here. It is very satisfying when he does something that he previously wasn't able to do. I have to remind myself to celebrate each small step because some days it seems like such a steep hill for him to climb.


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## zellko (Jul 3, 2013)

I thought about sweet little Nibbler all day. Such a heartbreaking story, but hopeful, too. He couldn't be in better hands. You are so dedicated. His story may help other chi owners (and maybe some vets), too.


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## Kismet (Jun 18, 2014)

I haven't updated this for a while. Last I wrote, Nibbler's Fluoxetine had been doubled in preparation for weaning him off his Trazodone. I waited until my Christmas break to start the weaning and as we have no children this is generally a quiet time of year for us. 

The increase in Fluoxetine made a big difference and he was generally more confident in the real world with less fiddles (ears back, paw-raising, lip-licking, hyper-vigilance etc.) We even had a couple of closer than I'd have planned dog incidents and he handled them well staying under threshold. 

The weaning however did not go well and so many fiddles returned in his daily life. He started sneezing every day again and I had forgotten he used to do that. After a week it was decided to put him back on the full dose of Trazodone because he wasn't ready to come off it. This indicates that he will probably require medication (not necessarily both) for life. 

Since then we've had lots of wins.  Chad (my mentally healthy Chi) had a commercial shot and I took Nibbler along so I could do some training with him in a novel environment. He was really great. He approached strangers and allowed them to pat him, he even let one girl pick him up for cuddles! I have a photo of that day that I will try to find later. I'm still waiting for Chad's commercial to be aired but will share the YouTube link when I have it. 

We've also had some tough times. He went massively over threshold when I tried to walk him in fog and I made the bad training choice of trying to help him recover rather than just taking him home. Fog is something that can be easily avoided so there was really no point in continuing the walk and trying to counter-condition him to the fog. It was a good reminder that some days anxious dogs just can't do it and I need to take things with him day by day. 

We have our 6 month check-up soon so I will have some more details then. Overall he's doing really well and is still my cutest work in progress.


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