New Foster Dog - Kit Kat

I went and picked up my new foster dog, Kit Kat, Friday night. Oh my, is he adorable!!!! Long beautiful blond hair with an under bite and one tooth on the bottom that pushes his lip out in the cutest way. I could really fall in love with this guy, oh wait, I already did. Ha Ha

Here is what I was told about Kit Kat. He is an adult from a puppy mill setting. He has fearful reactions to unexpected or unknown sounds. He liked being near his temporary foster mom, including being held. But never wagged his tail or acted joyful. He pulls away or tries to get away from strangers wanting to approach or pet him. He has shown no signs of wanting to bite or growl even when behaving in a fearful way (yay). Gets nauseated in car.

So.... I imagine a dog coming from an environment where they never learned about things like the sounds of washing machines, TV's, vacuums etc. must be a bit like if I was abducted and was aboard an alien craft where I didn't know what was happening and no one spoke my language. It would be scary. If the alien came and grabbed me with their big tentacle arms and started hauling me away, you bet I'd be putting up a fight. But what if the alien was able to explain to me that they rescued the people right before a disaster and that there are fresh brownies in the kitchen come and get some while they were still warm, and that they will show me the way. Having information would make a huge difference in my fear (even if I was a little weirded out)

So one of the first thing that I am going to do with Kit Kat is to start telling him what everything is. Thinking of his senses, what may he be hearing, seeing, smelling, etc. I'm also going to talk to him about his body parts, what I am doing, what other people are doing, his physical movements etc. and his emotional state. For example if he is shivering, I want to bring that up to a conscious level by naming it for him and acknowledging the moment he stops and starts. And one of the very important things that I want brought to a conscious level is him learning to relax himself with help or on his own.

You will soon discover my way of training may be a bit different than what you have done before. I don't worry about if science says a dog can learn "x" number of words and I also train in a more conversational tone. I do know that once the dog realizes that you are giving him/her information he starts listening for it. I know at first he won't know what I am talking about, and much of what I say will go into short term memory, unless repeated. But think about all the things your dog learned without being officially taught, just by listening to what you said and seeing what happened. Like: "lets for for ride / walk" "Time for a bath" "Who want's a treat?".

Following is a video. Let me give you an idea of what you will be seeing and to point out a couple interesting things.

This is is a video of me scratching Kit Kat on the head and talking about a few of his body parts. Because he is going to be going to adoption events and such where he will be having people reach and pet him. I'm working on him knowing what "reach and scratch/pet his head" means. Many dogs don't like people reaching over their heads and prefer a scratch under the chin. However, Kit Kat actually prefers his head scratched and that's what most people do anyway, so that is what I went with. Think about how much better it will feel for Kit Kat in a strange environment to have the information of what is going to happen when someone reaches toward him. It's just a scratch on the head..... he likes that. BTW, Kit Kat is not at all treat motivated, or at least I haven't found one yet that he doesn't just look at.

Before this video, I had all ready worked with Kit Kat about what "Reach" "Scratch/Pet" and where his "Head" is. So this video shows those things put together. You will also hear me making funny noises, those are bridges which are a way of giving information in SATS training. I'll write something up on those in the future.

There are a couple of interesting things that I want to point out is the video. I tell Kit Kat what is going to happen and give him a moment to process it and get himself ready. But as I am starting, you can see his anxiety in his moving feet and licking lips and then turning away. Notice that when I stop reaching toward him he reengages and there is no more feet dancing or lip licking so I can continue reaching toward him to pet him. Interesting, right? I have my thoughts on why that is and will be leaving it as a cliff hanger for another post:), but if you have your own thoughts please feel free to share.




Also please do not consider my videos as a lesson on SATS training, I make mistakes all the time, I can see one in this video, LOL. Also there is a whole lot that went on that you don't see on the video, which is why I have the Syn Alia (SATS) website easy to find on my blog, so if you want to consult the guru herself, Kayce Cover, it's easy to find.

My Story

I'm starting this blog to share my stories of being a foster mom, to rescued dogs and cats. I know there are lots of you out there who also take in these precious souls and give them a safe home and care until they can find their permanent family.

I am a trainer as well so hopefully my stories of rehabilitating or just having fun with training the animals that come through my home can help those of you who also take in foster pets or could use some tips on training your own pets.

At this time, I am fostering for Ay Chihuahua Rescue in Austin, TX ran by a very dear friend. In the past, I had fostered large dogs, but once fostering a chihuahua, I got hooked. They are so funny! And my indoor kitties, are less stressed with little dogs.

The type of training I do is called Syn Alia (SATS). I found SATS training about 12 years ago and fell in love with it. It's the closest thing I have ever seen to getting to be Dr. Dolittle and talk to the animals. It uses a lot of communication, gives the animals credit for being smart and capable and treats animals with respect. If you would like to know more about this type of training, check out the website at: http://synalia.com/