Friday, February 10, 2012

Beckett is off to new adventures

Well, it has been just over a year now and so much has taken place with Beckett. I hadn't posted much on the background because, in all honesty, it wasn't going well and we didn't feel it was appropriate to "air our laundry" as they say.

Right now Darrin is home with the dogs, probably having a very difficult time with it all. I'll post much more at a later date but this blog entry is for John who is beyond wonderful for opening his life to Beckett. John lives in NS in a rural area and works with dogs already. There are puppymill survivor dogs already in John's life and Beckett is going to be a new addition to that little pack of John's very own. It breaks my heart to believe he wasn't going to be better off with us regardless of how we adjusted things around his condition. With John he has what will be a perfect setup for his long-term recovery. Some day I hope he is that happy dog that jumps up on your and licks you. It is the quintessential hook that every adoptive dog owner dreams will be their experience.

So, for John, here are some of the things we want you to know about Beckett and his current level of experiences.
Beckett will surprise you with how quickly he catches on to new things. For anything that he has had a bad experience from his past, well, that will be something to forgive him for.

Beckett is still very afraid of anyone coming at him face on. Always approach him with your side to him. Even better, let him see your back first. He will not stand directly in front of you. I'm thinking he was kicked a lot when he was in the puppymill.

He has been taking Resolve medication every other day to level out his "edge" response and he may be fine to take him off this once he has a bit of comfort at your house. We thought it best to keep him on it until he was with you because it has an uptake of about 3 weeks before it seems to kick in.

Beckett is very afraid of anything chasing him. If you drop a long lead he will run from the rope or lead.

Beckett loves other dogs, especially male dogs. We have never seen him aggressive other than in the play mode.

Beckett will stay on his bed and at night we sort of corral him into a smaller fenced area. You may eventually be able to crate him but please do not try it for a while. Any trauma takes him about two weeks to recover from. Immediately after he will act normal but within a day or so he is showing stressed actions such as peeing or chewing on things.

He loves to sit on the sofa and on occasion he will hop up on the end of the sofa if you are at the other end. Ignore him or he will hope down just as quickly.

Beckett will walk on a lead but must always be on the right side. If he gets on your left he will circle around behind to get back on your right again.

He has been trained to "touch" meaing if you want him to come to you, you kneel down and turn sideways (again not face on) and say "Beckett touch" and he will come to you and touch an outstretch hand. It is his way of interacting but on his terms.

To clip on his collar, and I've placed a small lead that will hang down to allow you to get clipped on without having to search for the ring, you need to call him by asking if "Beckett, go for a walk?" He will come behind you and you will need to kneel down again. Touch the floor where you want him to be and say, "Beckett come" or "Beckett collar" . He'll come to you but do his dance of 3 steps to you, two steps back.. a few times.
(If he is rushed or too nervous he will poop a bit.. don't try an use paper towel while he is unclipped.. he has issues with it from his past)

Beckett loves the car and going for a run. He is fine in the car and when you want to clip on to him to get out, you touch the consol and say "Beckett Collar" and he will step up on to the consol between the front seats and allow you to clip on. He then recoils to the back seat again until you are out of the vehicle and he'll then launch himself past you and the door until he is out in the open.

So many little things that are Beckett and know I'll think of a dozen more once I post this. That means watch for Beckett II postings!

Once again, we thank you for opening your home and your heart to a very important part of our lives.

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