Tank’s Journey Home

12/06/2024

Hi all!

Long time no post! I apologize, I just got off of a really long Facebook ban for posting a “nude” of a guy wearing clothing… And many other equally confusing ways of not actually breaking any rules… But anyways!

Tank’s been adopted!!!!!!

He was adopted by the same person who picked him up the airport and arranged for his being sent over here.

I’ve been told that he's asking for affection and treats. He goes on 2 hour walks every day. And he shares a mom with two other Jindos and a female Lab, who are all from the meat trade in Korea.

Thank you all! We couldn't have done this without you!!!!

Treat them with patience, kindness, nurturing, and understanding, and most will come around!

29/02/2024

Hey guys!

Long time no see. I’m sorry about that.

I’m in Florida for two weeks, and Tank is staying with Molly back in Maryland.

He’s doing GREAT! Look how relaxed he is!

She says that he’s eating well and he even went on a walk, and seemed to enjoy it.

Molly has three other meat trade dogs, a male and female bonded Jindo pair, and a female lab mix. The hope is that Tank and her lab mix will bond together.

Same s*x aggression isn’t unusual in some dogs, so it seems like the perfect set up for him.

Most dogs are dog-selective, meaning that they get along with some dogs but not others. Kind of like us with people!

Tank wasn’t a fan of my dog, he yelled at Bort when he rushed over to try to play with him. That’s considered “rude” behavior in dog social etiquette.

Our dog is a puppy do**us, and is still learning manners with other dogs, as he only started to be social this past summer and Tank is the biggest dog he’s tried to be social with yet. I could go on and on about our dog… But I won’t. This isn’t his page!

Molly hasn’t put all the kids together yet, so we don’t know yet if they’ll get along.

Molly’s dogs trust her and she’s able to be affectionate with them without their fearing her, so that’s a really great thing for Tank to be able to observe.

When I get back, I’d like to start working with Tank on his grooming and veterinary care handling and skills.

18/02/2024

😮‍💨

That is a huge relief!

The vet came out today and tranquilized Tank, so we could get his gear on and take advantage of the situation and trim his nails.

He’s in a very comfortable harness that he can’t escape from (even my escape artists haven’t gotten out of this kind of harness!) and two martingale collars.

There’s two leashes, one to the collars and another one to the harness. I taped the two leashes together so that he doesn’t get his leg trapped between them.

I’ve added a safety clip from the collars to extend it and make it longer than the leash to his harness. This way, any leash pressure will first go to his harness and only go to his collars if he pulls really hard, or manages to get the harness off.

I don’t know why there’s charcoal on the carpet by his feet, or where it came from. 🤯

Tank had a healthy appetite when he was coming out of the sedation and ate his breakfast that he didn’t eat before. He was also really gassy today, so I gave him something for that to make him more comfortable.

I haven’t been really training Tank for husbandry (animal care taking tasks) and handling, I’ve just been letting him decompress and get him used to daily life here.

When I come back, we’ll have to start working on those!

18/02/2024

18/02/2024

“Get me the heck out of this snow!”

He’s become brave enough to come up onto the deck and go inside with me holding the door open for him. Then he takes himself back downstairs.

Most of the time, my family and our dog are around, so it’s too soon for so many dogs and people to socialize.

17/02/2024

Whew boy!

Today was stressful for EVERYONE!

It started off well enough, then I gave Tank his extra anxiety meds and Molly came over.

We tried to get an escape proof harness and martingale collar on Tank with no success. Once we came so close! But then he moved and it was no longer aligned.

I think I can safely say that Tank is probably the most difficult dog to get into gear than I’ve experienced before. He’s even more difficult than a lot of the wild animals I’ve worked with! Although… Most are smaller than he is.

At one point, we just had to stop bc we were afraid that he was hurting himself. He whomped his noggin on the pool table, made his gums bleed (lightly) by biting the leash, and was choking himself. Enough was enough, we had to call it quits. We were out of ideas.

Tomorrow we have to call the vet and see if we can get something to immobilize him again. Only this time, he has anxiety medications on board, so it shouldn’t be so terrible for him as it was last time.

The harness and martingale are really important, bc Tank is going to be staying with Molly for two weeks when I’m away, and these are the most comfortable and the most secure things to have him in. The last thing anyone wants is to lose Tank!

If I had more time, I might have been able to train him to be geared up by shaping, but unfortunately I didn’t.

Shaping is breaking down the sequence of graduated steps that make up a behavior.

So instead of luring Tank right into a harness, you’d possibly start by rewarding him for just looking in the direction of the harness, then for taking a step in that direction, taking two steps in that direction, and so on.

So anyways, Tank looked beautiful out in the snow, his coat made him blend in just perfectly! The snow falling all around him was framing the sweet dog that we know is in there, but still has to find his way out of his fear.

He needs more time, more consistency, patience, and kindness, and he’ll come around.

16/02/2024

Good evening everyone!

Today was pretty boring. Which is better than bad experiences, so I’m happy.

I’m still figuring Mr. Tank out.

He does NOT like the cold! After going potty and having a quick sniff, he just kind of stands there on really cold days, and he’s learned to go back up onto the deck, where the doors inside are.

But he still hasn’t gotten past the point of coming up and past me to go inside on his own yet. Although, he tends to find his way back downstairs once we get into the house.

Tank will sometimes panic as we’re walking through the basement to head upstairs, so I tried taking the leash off of him and attaching it only when we get to the door to go out. That seems to really help! And vice versa when going back downstairs.

Tonight, he sampled some yogurt in the kitchen as I put away some dishes.

And then he had a really disgusting smelling bison tripe chew. Which he seemed to really like, at least until he got bored. Or overwhelmed with the stink. I’m not sure which.

I’ve been tossing a piece of meat to him every time I come into the room, but he’s still grumbling under his breath. So we’ll just stay patient and continue to give him space, and make some disengagement signals to let him know that I don’t want anything from him.

Disengagement signals are what dogs use to try to stop and separate themselves from an uncomfortable social situation. Such as looking away, turning their body away, giving a wide amount of space, etc. It means I don’t want any trouble.

If I punished Tank for growling, then the reason for his growling would still exist. But he’d be much more likely to skip right to biting in the future.

Additionally, punishing him for giving me a growl, which is a peaceful warning, would most likely make him feel even worse and he’d possibly become aggressive.

I hear from clients a lot that a dog bit for no reason, but dogs give smaller signals before a growl to warn that they’re uncomfortable. But unlike a growl, these signals are much easier to miss.

Dogs generally follow what we call The Ladder of Aggression. You can see it here:https://ontariospca.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Canine-ladder-of-aggression.pdf

Besides that, I feel like I’m really boring him because there’s not much going on, but it’s also a struggle to keep him from getting anxious from even small things in day-to-day life.

Tomorrow I hope to pick up his new prescription and I hope that will work better than what he’s on now. This one has a fast acting effect, but less sedation. Which may or may not be better for him. We’ll just have to see.

Peace out ✌️ .

15/02/2024

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

Happy Valentine’s Day, I 🚂 🚂 🚂 oose you, puppies!

They had a special dinner, fawn tenderloin (from my roadkill hookup), oven baked potato, and eggplant with a yogurt dill sauce.

Bort and Tank were together in the backyard for a couple of minutes today. Our dog really wants to play and Tank is very unsure of Bort.

I hope that Bort will win him over, bc it would be so great for Tank to have the nurturing and fun that a friend can provide.

Tank is starting to expect me to throw him treats, and is grumbling under his breath less.

I gave Tank half a Xanax and am going to try to get his harness on tonight! Wish us luck!

14/02/2024

Right before bed, after his last potty trip outside, Tank hung out in the kitchen with me as we made a bunch of meats for training- and a snack.

He started by pacing around me and the counter, but eventually slowed his pace and stopped nearby to beg for more!

It’s just so boring! Bc it’s so normal! 😃

By no means was he stress free, but it’s reducing.

And either he associates me with tossing meat to him… Or he associates me with yummy meat and he’s going to eat me.

I sure hope it’s the former!

😆 I kid, I kid. He’s great and really goes out of his way to avoid biting. I think he has a bright future ahead of him.

I’m excited to see what time and the medication changes will bring.

Good night everyone! I hope you’re all as safe, warm and dry as Tank is. One day, he’ll realize how good he has it now and that he no longer needs to worry. He’ll get there. 🙂

https://caninehumane.org/how-to-help/donate/

13/02/2024

Last night right before bed, Tank got to see the kitchen for the first time and the world wonder called The Refrigerator.

He was in awe when it produced a snack of cottage cheese, which he decided he adores.

So I’m off to the store tonight to get some low sodium, low fat cottage cheese for him, and other yummy things.

I can’t get him Chocolate for Valentine’s Day bc it’s toxic to dogs, so I’ll just get him meat instead. Do you think he’ll mind? 🤔

The top picture is catching him just as he’s licking his lips clean.

He had his appointment with Jessey from Mindful Mentor Behavior Consulting, https://www.mindfulmentorbehavior.com/. (She also has a FB page https://www.facebook.com/people/Mindful-Mentor-Behavior-Consulting/100094227082992/.)

I’ve always been impressed by Jessey, but this was my first appointment for one of my own foster dogs.

She suggested some medication changes that will make him less tired than what he’s currently taking. She explained why she suggested those specifically for him, and how they work. She really knows her stuff!

She’s realistic and very knowledgeable, a pleasure to work with to help Tank.

Tank is going through the house a lot calmer, so it’s becoming less stressful to take him outside.

And he ate almost an entire bowl of kibble when I was sleeping! With nothing on it to tempt him.

I really like that he’s not only eating super duper high value food anymore, it means progress!

13/02/2024

Tank’s only interested in his dinner on one side of the gate and our dog, Bort, is only interested in his venison chew on the other side.

I’m the only one who doesn’t have food. 😭

I’m excited to have them out together, maybe in a few days.

I’m really hoping that Bort will help to bridge the gap between Tank and me, and also provide some social companionship and support to him.

13/02/2024

Good evening!

Today was a rainy, boring day. Which is great! No unpleasant surprises.

Tank hates a lot of things and that definitely includes rain!

I asked him if he wants me to hang up his fur coat to dry too, but he gave me this dirty look.

I think my bad jokes make him like me even less. 😭

He’s done great today!

He explored the backyard when it wasn’t raining at that moment.

He has concerns about me following him, and he’s right about that, bc I have to hold the leash.

I can’t wait until he has a harness on and we can use a tether instead.

I want him to trust me, and it’s hard for him to do that if he wants space and I don’t listen. Which is why I’m using such a long leash in the meantime. It’s better than nothing.

He’s getting a lot calmer about going upstairs and through the house to get to the backyard, so I’m really happy to see that. This is SO much better than across the driveway to get to the backyard.

And tonight…. He told me he wasn’t ready to go back inside yet bc he had to go do something over in the corner… And he flushed a rabbit out of hiding! (Don’t worry, the rabbit was much faster.)

😱 This may not seem like it, but it’s actually a HUGE deal! It’s just so normal!

The more natural, “normal” behaviors he does, the better he’s getting.

Anxiety and fear can get in the way of all of that, and reach into so many different parts of your life, like it’s an infection that takes over your whole body.

Tomorrow he has an appointment with the behavior vet tech for medication management.

Part of this includes a pain assessment, which can help us to determine if he’s in any pain.

It’s thought that up to 80% of behavioral problems have a correlation to medical issues, like pain.

We’re going to turn in a lot earlier tonight. We’ve been staying up way too late!

Good night everyone!

As always, we appreciate your moral support and donations to help cover his care.

https://caninehumane.org/how-to-help/donate/