Fear aggressive foot warmer????

A friend of mine was passing through town Sunday and was able to stop in for lunch. I was so looking forward for a chance to get together with her, but I was also worried about Valentin's reaction to strangers/invaders. Valentin does not do well with other people, and certainly not when they "invade" his home (in addition to the constant barking, he can get this "wild" look in his eyes and may give some warning snaps if they move too fast or come too close to me). If I wasn't housing a cat in my basement, I would have put Valentin and Pogo downstairs before "L" arrived. I would have spent some time squashing the barking, but there would be zero chance of any incidents with Valentin safely contained downstairs. As the cat is there, this was not an option.

He did bark at "L", especially when she stood up and moved too quickly to suit Valentin



BUT !!!!



at one point "L" was curled up on the sofa with Pogo on her lap and Valentin curled up warming her feet!!!! Granted this was after she came into the house (while Valentin and the others were confined to the kitchen), got seated and was armed with treats; but that is certainly not a receipe for complete acceptance. At best, this approach will stop most of the barking and challenging. Valentin will usually lay beside me "on guard". Having our squirt water bottle in view, will keep the last of the barking in check.

Valentin had met "L" once before, at least 3 years ago, when we lived in another city and visited "L" in her home. This is amazing for Valentin to take so quickly to an "intruder" in his own home. She did comment that, when we had visited at her home 3+years ago, it was my Valentin who taught her golden foster (now her adopted dog) that it was ok to jump up on the sofa and snuggle with humans.

Valentin is fine with his doggie day care folks, and will give one of the girls there kisses. It took him some time to reach that comfort level and they are professional, more attuned to doggie body language and techniques to handle situations. He enjoyed his bath there on his birthday, but this is astounding, for him to curl up so happily with a relative stranger in his own territory; especially when he had the option of my lap as well. His normal position is on my lap "defending" me.

A lot had to do with "L's" comportment around Valentin. She is very animal savvy, did not engage him, let him approach her, did not react to his barking at her, etc. She was relaxed, so he was relaxed; but still, this is a wonderful advancement for Valentin. My sister is an animal lover as well, but Valentin is not as relaxed with her, even though we have stayed at my sister's house for several months. He is "ok" with her, but not completely relaxed.

I had been worried about Valentin and this visit (the doggie gate was at the ready to contain him in another room), but it was a relaxed time and so wonderful to see "L", even for the short time we had to spend together. We chatted and caught up with each other's lives and I actually forgot to watch Valentin at one point.

I have consulted a behaviourist regarding Valentin. He did well in his session with her. I will admit that with our move, the mill seizure, etc, we have fallen down on our part of the homework. I have found that the bigger issue is getting visitors to understand and use the techniques prescribed for him. We have had some disastrous failures when visitors either completely ignored my instructions, or had their own version of how to execute those instructions. "L" did a lot of those techniques naturally, without my saying anything.

Sunday afternoon was a wonderful oasis; a too short, but good catch up with "L" and new hope that I can have more visitors in my home and not have to bann Valentin to barking in the basement.

Aren't all dogs "special"?

Yes, everyone's beloved pet is special.


I named this blog "... life with 3 special dachshunds" because each of my 3 are particularly special plus their special needs. I started this blog to show how dogs with special needs, be it physical or behavioural, can have happy lives.


Heidi's special need is obvious; her IVDD, her cart (or wheelchair) and her diapers. Her love of life and people make her "differences" fade away within seconds of meeting her. She is truly special rather than special needs.

Valentin's special need is an invisible type of disability or special need. Due to the lack of socialization and mistreatment during the first 18 months of his life, he has fear aggression issues with people. From the first moment I met Valentin, he was fine with me, but he is definitely not comfortable with the rest of the world. As long as I control his environment and exposure to people, he can have a happy life; but it requires a constant awareness on my part to ensure he is not put in a situation that would trigger him. I also work with him on an on-going basis following a desensitization program specifically designed for him by an animal behaviourist. As our behaviourist has said, "Valentin is as much as special needs kid as Heidi". He has improved. Valentin is comfortable at his doggie day care and gives at least one of the staff members kisses. I expect that he will be a "work in progress" for all of his life, and I am fine with that. With me, he is as loving a little furkid as anyone could ever ask for.

Pogo was an indoor dog 24/7 before coming to live with us. His special need is learning about the great outdoors. He is almost perfect at using pee pads, but his transition to also using the great outdoors as a bigger pee pad is very slow. Pogo will hold it until he gets inside to his papers. We were out travelling for the day and I did not realize that Pogo had not eliminated once, although we were outside for a great deal of the time. The poor boy was so happy to get home and rush into the bathroom to his pee papers. You could almost hear the sigh of relief. He is also still learning about the great outdoors beyond being the world's biggest pee pad. Wind is scary, this invisible hand that pushes him along. Rain, cold and snow are things to be avoided at all costs (although the silly boy LOVES to eat snow and will sneak snowballs into the house, hidden in his mouth). His dachshund pattern baldness is a special need in so far as he gets cold more easily and usually wears a t-shirt inside for most of the year. When he came into rescue, he was misdiagnosed as having a food allergy. We do want to raise the awareness of this phenomenon that is more common to dachshunds.
The other thing that makes Pogo special, is not a need, but a characteristic. This boy can JUMP!! So far, he has gotten two loaves of bread down from the kitchen counter top. He can jump straight up, shoulder height. I am so grateful that he has (so far) not been able to combine forward motion with his leaps. We are working on keeping him on the floor, as this behaviour will almost inevitably lead to back injuries if he continues. Some statistics say that one in four dachshunds will have some sort of back episode in their lifetime, while others say one in five. My hope is that through education, the use of ramps, etc, that the odds are slowly improving for this wonderful little breed.