Dog Training and Dog Obedience

Having just lost our adored Wolfhound to bone cancer, my husband John and I decided that instead of having a new puppy, we would rescue a dog. The Flatcoated Retriever breed rescue society had two older dogs to rehome -- a five-year-old bitch, and four-year-old Oscar. I really intended to have a bitch this time, but ended up with Oscar. I'm sure that decision was made by Fate, not us!

When we first met Oscar, he was half bald and covered in almost-healed sores. He had had a terrible skin and anal infection when the rescue society found him, and he'd bitten himself half to death. We were told that his first family had physically abused him very badly for about 3 years. Then they had gone on holiday for two weeks and left him with a very poor, elderly neighbor who lived in a tiny high-rise apartment. His family never came back for him! The old lady couldn't afford to feed him, and he lived on her meagre leftovers. Consequently, he was slowly starving to death. I don't know how this lady could possibly have heard of a breed rescue society, but someone suggested she ring them and ask for money for Oscar's food. Thank goodness! Someone from the society made a home visit and was able to persuade the lady to give Oscar up for rehoming.

When we first saw him, Oscar had been at the rescue kennels for about a month. The society people told us they had thought Oscar was mentally ill when he first arrived because he would freak out in the exercise yard. They later realized that Oscar's freaky behavior was because he had never had his feet on grass, and it terrified him! He had only ever known inner-city housing and streets, and always on lead. By the time we were approved to adopt Oscar, a month had passed, so the skin was healed and the fur was beginning to grow back. But Oscar was still stick thin. I also had to take him to a chiropractor because his spine was totally out because he had been kicked around so much. The first and biggest hurdle showed itself the moment Oscar was put in my car. For some reason we've never been able to find out, he was totally hysterical in the car. Once home, he was totally terrified and stuck like glue to me. But he was surprisingly good in the house. He never jumped on furniture and never chewed. I had a crate for him in the kitchen so that he had his own space and so that I knew where he would be if I had to go out shopping, etc. Oscar had the most awful nightmares. In the early hours of the morning he would scream as though he were being tortured. The first time it happened I thought he must be badly injured, but when I checked on him, he was still asleep in his crate. I just stroked his head and talked quietly to him, and he calmed down. Now the nightmares still happen, but usually only twice a month!

For the car hysteria, we tried everything: feeding him in the car, sitting in there with him while the car was on the drive, going very short journeys, etc.,--everything my doggie friends and I could think of. Nothing helped. By this fall, life with Oscar had gone on for four and a half years. We had made enormous progress, but the car hysteria and much anxiety remained. During her October trip to Europe, Judy stayed with us for just two nights to try to "wave the magic wand of Dialogue" with Oscar. He made immediate contact with Judy and couldn't snuggle close enough to her! His response to the "bubble" was spontaneous. It seems such a simple concept, but it WORKS! Oscar and I worked with Judy at a feverish pace to get through the essential steps. On the final morning we were determined to try the car! Judy's husband Jim drove my car while I sat in the passenger seat and Judy sat in the back seat with Oscar. It was just a short trip, but for the whole time Oscar lay down! No slobbering, no hysteria! This was the first time Oscar had ever managed to lie down in a car for one minute. Success indeed! John and I were determined to keep working on this. The very next day we were able to have Oscar in the very back part of the estate car while John drove and I sat on the back seat. For the very first time in the four and a half years we've had Oscar, our dream of taking a stress-free dog along with us on our retirement trips has a chance of becoming a reality! Thank you, Judy!!

Pat Holloway, Windsor, U.K.