Basil got scared yesterday.
It was a bleak reminder that however confident he now appears, the fear is still there, and he has not forgotten his past.
His beautiful new waterproof, windproof, posh winter coat arrived yesterday morning. Putting it over his head was almost like his fleece, so he thought that was fine, and the belly strap was a bit like clipping up his harness, so that was ok too. However, the back leg straps that are designed to stop the coat billowing out like a cape were a different story.
Somehow Basil got his foot caught on the elastic.
When he realised his foot was caught he screamed, then turned and grabbed my thumb, panic panic panic, grrrrrrrrrrr grrrr grrrr, bite bite bite, retreated into a sit with his caught up leg folded under himself, and simply shook. I have to give him credit, even in this state he didn't hurt me, I don't have a mark on me. His bites were perfectly inhibited, he made his point that he was scared and wanted my hands off him, he had no intention of wounding me.
It was so horrible, to see him shaking, ears flattened back, eyes wide, terrified, all because of a strip of elastic stuck between his back toes. He didn't dare move, as every time he tried to stand up the coat pulled the elastic tighter. He was vibrating so hard I could hear the fabric of the coat rubbing against the wall, so so scared. He was confused, he wouldn't break his stare away from me, on one level he wanted me to help him, but he didn't want my hands anywhere near his feet. His two greatest fears - humans hands and things touching his feet, all rolled into one.
It was a bleak reminder that however confident he now appears, the fear is still there, and he has not forgotten his past.
His beautiful new waterproof, windproof, posh winter coat arrived yesterday morning. Putting it over his head was almost like his fleece, so he thought that was fine, and the belly strap was a bit like clipping up his harness, so that was ok too. However, the back leg straps that are designed to stop the coat billowing out like a cape were a different story.
Somehow Basil got his foot caught on the elastic.
When he realised his foot was caught he screamed, then turned and grabbed my thumb, panic panic panic, grrrrrrrrrrr grrrr grrrr, bite bite bite, retreated into a sit with his caught up leg folded under himself, and simply shook. I have to give him credit, even in this state he didn't hurt me, I don't have a mark on me. His bites were perfectly inhibited, he made his point that he was scared and wanted my hands off him, he had no intention of wounding me.
It was so horrible, to see him shaking, ears flattened back, eyes wide, terrified, all because of a strip of elastic stuck between his back toes. He didn't dare move, as every time he tried to stand up the coat pulled the elastic tighter. He was vibrating so hard I could hear the fabric of the coat rubbing against the wall, so so scared. He was confused, he wouldn't break his stare away from me, on one level he wanted me to help him, but he didn't want my hands anywhere near his feet. His two greatest fears - humans hands and things touching his feet, all rolled into one.
If I'd written this last night, it would have been called "Fear". It would have been about how dogs remember the bad stuff, mental scars that can last a lifetime, how sad that he was like this, how awful that dogs can have such baggage. After all these months with us, one little thing and all his handling fears seemed to be back, I was cross with myself for allowing such a stupid thing to happen, and cross for the demons in his past that had destroyed his trust in me.
Last night, it took him a couple of hours to forgive me, before he would climb up and curl into his usual tv-watching postion under my left elbow, and another hour before he would be stroked without tensing up.
This morning, he had the new coat on for his walk with only a small worried wrinkly-nose face, after all, he is used to his fleece coat on for morning walks, so I didn't attempt the back leg loops, and he wore it cape-like. I could almost hear the music in my head as he galloped up the field... Suuuperdog.... dah dah du-daaaah! His front must have been warm, but his back must have been freezing - I didn't pay all that money for you to have a cape, you silly dog.
Later, I put his new coat on him again, without the leg loops, armed myself with some stinky treats, and we sat down on the sofa, Basil next to me, Alf on the floor. Alf sit, treat, Alf down, treat. Basil sit, treat, stroke your head, treat, down, treat, touch your back, treat. Basil are you looking a bit worried? No problem, Alf will do a couple of things till you decide you do want treats too, Basil sit, treat.
Slowly we continued, sometimes Alf is so useful, I picked up his feet, treat, rubbed his belly, treat. Basil watched intently, and from the first tiny touches on his legs we yo-yoed back and forth from his head down to his feet, then I started touching the coat and the elastic. Every time Basil looked worried, I threw him a treat over by the fireplace, so he scampered off to get it, and every time he made the choice to come straight back and watch me prodding Alf, and within seconds he was sat by my knee, wagging his tail asking me to prod him too.
It was his choice, it wasn't bribery, he wasn't held still or on a lead, I wasn't shoving the treats down his gob and trying to touch his foot while he was busy chewing, that wouldn't have achieved anything at all, expect maybe put him off taking treats, or taught him to grab and run away. He didn't get the treat until after I'd touched his foot. He made the choice, I trust you to just touch my foot, not hurt me, and I understand that's how I earn my treat. And when a dog sits there and wags their tail and says please touch my foot, yes the same foot I wouldn't let you near yesterday, that is trust. So fragile, but he chose to trust.
I felt so relieved, the relationship I thought we had was still intact. The work of the last few months had not been wasted, he had learnt that bad things sometimes happen, but that you can bounce back, that I will listen when he says he is worried, and that I don't trick him into things. His little face focussed and intent on me and his tail wagging told me he still trusted me.
So, within a few minutes he was wearing his leg straps, nothing worth mentioning for many dogs, but after such a scare the day before this was a big achievement for Basil, and I am proud of him for giving me his trust.
