From the Styx by Peggy Tibbetts

This is Part 14 in the Crazy Bitch series about our Akbash/Lab mix Venus. She has Canine Compulsive Disorder (CCD) with aggression. Links to the previous episodes can be found at the end of this post.

Please note that the incidents described here are part of an ongoing investigation therefore some names have been changed and/or omitted.

How We Live Now

Some people would say we brought this on ourselves. Me and my snarky satire of public officials, including my own husband. And there’s Tod with his whole obsession with the rule of law thing. Just who do we think we are anyway?

If we brought this on ourselves, we have certainly paid the price. Venus and Zeus have suffered because of us. It’s easy to look back on the past 2 years and see the mistakes we made. What really matters is what we have learned from our mistakes.

Venus is doing just swell. She is still on 75 mg of Clomipramine twice daily. Veterinary researchers claim it can take up to 6 months of medication and rehabilitation before recovery can be fully assessed. We’re at 5 months now. She has not attacked Zeus or any other dog since November 3. We can let her off leash at Dogland and she socializes well with other dogs, like she did before her breakdown. 

Sometime during the winter her brain let go of the intruder threat. She forgot about it. Until March 1 we left her indoors whenever we were not home, not because we were worried she might attack Zeus. We were concerned that if something happened while we were gone, if she was harassed again, we would risk another breakdown.

We bought her the Illusion collar to help control her territorial behavior on walks. It helps us train her not to lunge at other dogs and kids. At home I took her outside the fence when kids and dogs walked by. Sometimes I let her meet the kids. Mostly I made her sit or lie down calmly. Now the frantic barking and anxiety dance are gone. She still barks sometimes when kids or dogs walk by, then she calms down. She always barks when someone comes to the door or parks in our driveway, but that’s normal behavior, and she always calms down. She also barks at Mr. Bully or his boys when they go to the mailbox. Her distrust of them is palpable.

She still goes to the office in the morning with Tod. She really enjoys it, so there’s no reason to stop. We were right about putting her food in the downstairs bathroom. Her phobia of bathrooms has disappeared. Even when the light is off, she will go in the bathroom and eat her food.

We learned from Cesar that stroking a dog under the chin builds self esteem, especially a dog that was smacked around in a previous life. Venus responds much better to chin stroking than head patting. The look of fear and anxiety is gone from her brown eyes, replaced by warmth and trust. She’s the same Venus, only better – calmer.

Venus and Yogi (Becky's dog) sharing calm energy

We’re still working on play. The oxymoron says it all. The problem is, Venus works too hard at play. She gets carried away and plays too rough. She needs to lighten up. For the past couple months we’ve been meeting up with our friend Jodie at Dogland. Her 1½-year old lab mix, Hunter is extremely playful. He gets along great with Venus. He’s showing her how to chill out and play again.

Venus playing fetch with Hunter and Jodie

She’s really getting the hang of it. She’s even playing tag again, which is her favorite game of all. 

Venus and Hunter playing tag

Venus and Zeus have come through this with a much healthier relationship. She respects his space He appreciates her companionship.

Before Venus’s meltdown, both dogs used to sleep on the floor in our bedroom at night. After her meltdown, Zeus slept downstairs on the rug in my office in front of the door, like an escape plan. One night in mid-January, Zeus walked into the bedroom and plopped down on the rug at the foot of the bed. Venus curled up on her spot next to the bed and it has been that way ever since. He trusted her again. Lately I have awakened in the middle of the night and found them sleeping nearly nose-to-nose. The way he communicates with his behavior fascinates me.

The Bullys are another story – the neverending one.

In December when Tod was walking Venus, Mr. Bully overran a stop sign like he was threatening to hit them. One night during the first week of January, I went out to get the mail. It was dark so I wore my nifty little headlamp. As I turned to walk back toward the house, Mr. Bully pulled out of his driveway and drove toward me. He sped up and his vehicle came within 2 feet of me, even though I was also under a street light.

During the last week of January when I left on a walk with the dogs, Mrs. Bully arrived home with her boys. When the boys stepped out of the car, the dogs fell apart in the middle of the street. Zeus sat down and started shaking. Venus spun in circles at the end of her leash, trying to flee. I calmed them down as best I could with the Bully boys watching, and eventually got them moving in the opposite direction. As we walked away, Zeus repeatedly turned around and looked back, checking to see if they were following us.

Even though we had been leaving Venus inside while we were gone, we wondered if the Bullys were harassing Zeus. We started paying more attention to his behavior when we returned home. A couple of times he didn’t meet us at the front door gate like he usually does. We found him in the garage and he seemed agitated.

Rather than jump to the conclusion that he was being harassed, we thought perhaps we should start leaving Venus out with him so he wouldn’t be alone. The weather had gotten warmer and we didn’t think it was good for her to be cooped up in the house anymore.

On March 1, we went downhill skiing. The plan was for Ema to come over and let Venus outside in the afternoon for a few hours with Zeus. When Ema arrived at 2:30 she found Zeus in the garage. He wasn’t happy to see her like he normally is. He was agitated and grumpy. He nearly knocked her over getting into the house and refused to go back outside, even after she let Venus out. That evening he was in a terrible mood, very nervous and agitated. He growled at Venus and snapped at one of the cats. He slept downstairs in my office. The next day at Dogland when Venus tried to play tag with him he knocked her to the ground and growled at her. Luckily she didn’t fight back. In all those instances I responded to his aggressive behavior with a “bite”, a poke on the neck with my two fingers. 

After our evening walk he normally goes in the house and eats his food. That evening, March 2, when we returned from our walk, Zeus parked himself on the grass patch next to the sidewalk and stared at the Bullys’ house. No amount of coaxing made him budge. He stayed out there for about 20 minutes and he continued the ritual all week.
 
His body language and the look on his face said it all. Vigilance. The ancient Inuit people relied on the Malamute for protection from the polar bears. Zeus was being a Malamute. Something happened to him on March 1. It had something to do with the Bullys. At first he was angry, then he became vigilant. After everything he’s been through he’s communicating stronger than ever. Because now he knows we’re paying attention.

We learned something else from the Dog Whisperer – the power of the video camera. I had resisted putting in a home surveillance system. We have a home surveillance system – Venus and Zeus. It took us a while but we finally acquiesced. If we ever hope to be able to return to normal life and leave our dogs outside when we’re not home, we have to protect them from harassment. The only way to do that is to put in a surveillance system.

When the system went live, Zeus stopped his after walk ritual. I don’t think he understands how cameras work, although he watched Tod put them up and string the wires so he knows something was added to the porch. I think he reads our minds. Cesar would say he senses our energy has changed. 

The system has been active for a month. We’ve been leaving both dogs out when we’re not home. Some dog experts and dog owners believe strongly that dogs should never be left unattended in their owners’ yard. We learned the hard way what can go wrong. We never dreamed that neighbors we’ve known for more than 10 years would turn on us and harass our dogs. We never would have believed that police officers would park in our driveway and provoke our dogs to bark. Never before in our lives have we experienced anything remotely like what has gone on these past two years.

I don’t think dogs should be left unattended in a fenced yard or kennel for long hours, day after day. And puppies should never be left unattended. Dog owners should decide what works best them and their dogs.

We feel lucky that we don’t have to kennel Venus and Zeus in the house while we’re gone. We have always given them the run of the house and they have always been well-behaved. Keeping them in the house is not the issue. Venus and Zeus have communicated to us that they would rather be outside. When we get ready to leave they don’t plop down in front of the TV. They both go to the door to be let out. They are watch dogs. It’s what they do.

Seeing the video replay has made that abundantly clear. When we’re gone they keep an eye on our property and the surrounding neighborhood. Nothing escapes their attention. We’ve fast forwarded through hours and hours of two dogs’ heads turning, eyes watching. Every now and then they take turns walking around the yard. They sleep a lot and they hardly ever bark. Our other neighbors were right when they told they are good watch dogs.

A friend asked me if Venus barks less now because she’s on the Clomipramine. The answer is no. When we’re home, she barks the same amount as she did before she took medication, so it would follow that she behaves the same way when we’re not home, and the video replay has proven our assumption. Clomipramine hasn’t made Venus stop barking. It doesn’t actually calm her down. Instead it allows her brain to focus so she can calm herself down. As I’ve said before, I’m not a big phan of the pharmaceuticals. But this stuff really works for Venus. I wish I could find a naturopathic or homeopathic remedy that works the same way. 

I don’t mean to be sappy but I have learned so much from Venus and Zeus these past 5 months. I wish every dog owner could achieve the kind of symbiotic relationship with their dog(s) that we have found with ours. Even though they depend on us for everything they have so much positive energy to give back when we let them. Their energy is life-sustaining. Learning to better understand their wordless communication through behavior and energy has been a gift. Perhaps my hearing impairment has given me a deeper understanding and appreciation of vibrational energy. Venus and Zeus have taught me how to use it – to communicate, to find answers, to improve my life and their lives.

Will there be more harassment in retaliation for telling this dog story? I expect so. This time we’re prepared for it. We’ve been told repeatedly that we’re being watched. Well now we’re watching back.

The next time Tod gets a barking dog citation he will plead not guilty. He resigned from the Town Board this week, for reasons other than the harassment we have endured, which he outlined in his letter of resignation. However as our dogs’ story has unfolded over the past 3 months and it became all too clear that the harassment had affected Venus and Zeus’s health, we saw the true cost of public service. It is too high a price to pay. For Tod, other issues culminated over the past few months that piled on top of the spiteful, vindictive things done to us and our dogs, led him to the realization that he doesn’t want to be a part of town government that treats people this way. I came to that conclusion last summer.

Zeus probably would have eventually become hypothyroid. Perhaps the CCD would have manifested in Venus anyway. We’ll never know. But her aggression was a separate issue. We do know it was redirected territorial aggression. She perceived a threat to her pack’s safety. She didn’t imagine the threat. She had been conditioned by harassment.

Aggression is not a death sentence and it’s no reason to give up on a dog. Aggression can be cured with medication and/or rehabilitation. Cesar Millan’s dog psychology method has been our guidance system and it works for any dog. Identifying and removing the source of the aggression is another important step toward recovery. Since we can’t move and we can’t remove our neighbors, we will keep Venus on the Clomipramine for longer than six months. We don’t want to risk a relapse, and history has shown that we don’t have any reason to trust the neighbors.

More than anything, this is a dog story with a happy ending. We see improvements in Venus every day. We’re more than optimistic about her recovery. We’re convinced of it.

Stay calm and assertive!

* Check for updates in the Crazy Bitch Series links on the left side of the page

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Update 1: 6 month check-up

Update 2: Vicious attack?

Update 3: Wild mood swings

Update 4: Thunderstorms & fireworks

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