Getting In Touch -- November 15, 2010

A month ago, I had two TTouch practitioners come out here from NYC to work with me and Bing, and with Kim and Asher. Both dogs have issues with intolerance to touch. It was an exhausting day; had I not wanted SO badly to do this session, I would have cancelled due to my illness.

Our work was comprised of three main activities: body wraps, touches, and ground work. After 3½ hours, both Kim and I had mush for brains. It was exhausting work for the dogs, as well, and for Acacia, who served as the dog we could all touch. We went away from the session feeling overwhelmed but knowing that we had much more information to work with than we had before.

My travel schedule in October was horrendous, so I have had little time to spend on TTouch with Bing. I consigned myself to only a minute or two a day until things settled down. It would appear that that’s all it takes.

When Bing was a puppy, he played with everyone, and he quickly earned a reputation as the dog who got other dogs to play who never played before. I was so excited to have this quality in my dog…what a gem! Sadly, his behavior deteriorated over time, as his anxiety increased. He started humping dogs, and it took me a long time to realize that this is a function of anxiety for him. His behavior became so poor that for at least 2 years, I didn’t allow him to play at all. Since our TTouch session, he has, on four separate occasions, played completely appropriately with other dogs. I have no other explanation for this. (To answer your question about why I suddenly let him play with other dogs, it had to do with his body language upon meeting the dogs.)

Yesterday, I had back-to-back classes to teach, and Pete had Cyan out for Soccer Tots. We had at least 4 workmen here at the house, working on a construction project. I couldn’t gate the dogs upstairs because they needed access to the upstairs. I was going to put them in the van, but Bing would have barked. I was running late and frustrated, and I decided that I had no choice but to crate them and deal with the consequences. I called Acacia and she tucked tail and ran into Bing’s crate, in my office. I quickly closed it on her, and took Bing gently by the collar, leading him to Acacia’s crate in our bedroom. He willingly went in, which surprised me because Acacia fiercely protects her crate. Normally, Bing won’t even come into our bedroom.

I left the house and both were quiet. When Pete came home, I explained what was going on. We both knew there was a VERY good chance that Acacia’s bed would be shredded to smithereens. He texted me when he got to the house to tell me that Acacia’s crate was in perfect shape. This reduced me to tears. For 5 long years, Bing has not been crateable, with a few exceptions. This was one of those exceptions.

I did come back to the house in between classes and let them out. They had both started to howl when he heard me come in. I figured that since he had done so well, I didn’t want to push it. They ended up assisting me in the second class.

Today, I was working briefly at my desk, and Acacia was lying on the floor. Cyan was quietly and calmly playing between Acacia and the crate. Pete walked in and yelled, “Cyan! Don’t touch Bing!”  His yell was loud and made my skin prickle. I had NO idea that Bing was in his crate and she was playing and petting him. He was fully accepting of this. We both recognized that Pete’s reaction should have been something different, but we also both knew that that was a potential recipe for disaster. Of course, both dog and child were heartily rewarded for excellent behavior.

While my goals for Bing through the TTouch session were to help him with his anxiety around people and to help him accept touch more willingly  and to help him with his anxiety in the car, it is screamingly clear to me that the work we are doing is having an impact on him. I expect the process to be slow and meandering, and that’s what it is. I am LOVING the thought that I may actually reach my dog once and for all.

TTouch has the potential to do wonderful things…look into it!

Ali

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