SUSIE
BREED: Brittany/female
Behavioral Problem: Attach to one person and aggressive to all others. OK with other dogs.
Cause: Emotional, Visual, and Physical flashbacks
At the age of 3 ½, Susie came into foster care with Bill and Dorene Glotz.
Rescue knew that she was originally purchased as a puppy for hunting only. At a field trail, a few months earlier, her owner advised the organizer that
she would not leave his side and would not hunt so he was going to shoot or dump her as she was no use to him. Dan asked, rather than get rid of her,
leave Susie with him. He experienced in training and would try to train her for hunting. If it didn't work, he would find a home for her. At both places she
was in a kennel environment. Dan had the same problem and called rescue. He advised Betty Hedquist that when he put a tracking collar on Susie, she
went crazy which probably is a result of severe over use of a shock collar. When his wife would visit her in the kennel Susie was fine and very
affectionate but we don’t know if any other persons were with her.
Susie’s first day in her foster home, she was friendly with everyone from a 3 year old up to several adults. She then became very attached to Bill. He
was with her 24/7 because he was home on sick leave. By mid week, she was showing her aggression to everyone that came into the house, frightened,
growling and going after anyone except Bill. She became so attached to Bill that I couldn’t go near her when she was by Bill nor could I go by any item
that had his scent on it. She guarded Bill and anything that belonged to Bill.
She was attached to Bill like Velcro.
Because neither of us knew how to handle this situation, we called Betty Hedquist, of Brittany Rescue Illinois
Coordinator. Betty got us on a three-way phone call with Deborah Walker. After explaining everything to Deb, she felt Susie was in a very delicate
situation. Deb wanted to work with Susie as soon as possible. Arrangements were made for Deb and Betty to come to work with Susie in two weeks. In
the meantime, Deb advised me to just ignore Susie and not to have anyone over. I also kept a daily journal of Susie everyday until Deb got here. The
journal gave Deb some insight on Susie’s behavior before she got here. Deb and Betty would spend the weekend at our house to work with Susie and
other rescue dogs in the Chicago area that had problems that needed a behaviorist.
Deb and Betty arrived at our home around 10 p.m. on Friday night. There were no introductions. Deb walked in the house and immediately started to
work with Susie.
Susie went by Bill and started growling and snapped at Deb as she approached Susie. To get away from Deb, Susie went to hide under the kitchen
chairs and table. (This was Susie’s low confidence and attaching to an object.) Deb moved the chairs and table away from Susie to break the
attachment from these objects. After much commotion, Deb ended up having Susie backed up against a gate in our front hallway. To get down on the
same level as Susie, Deb was sitting on the floor in front of Susie. Susie was growling and would not let Debbie touch her. Deb was talking to her and
moving her hands up and down the walls making a tapping noise with her fingernails. Deb also slowly moved her hands back and forth in front of Susie.
This was to bring Susie back to the present as she was having flashbacks to her past. Susie was not there at all. Susie’s eyes were completely dilated,
almost popping out of her head. Her head was shaking back and forth to the point it looked like she would have a seizure. Deb worked with Susie in this
same manner for at least 3 hours before she was able to touch Susie. They even went through the house up to our bedroom bath as Susie tried to get
away from Deb. They went through the same procedures as in the hallway and back down to the hallway. Though all of this, Bill could not let Susie see
him. He had to be totally out of the picture.
After about 4 hours, Deb had Susie on a gentle leader and leash. With much resistance, she finally had Susie walking with her. Susie could hardly walk.
She looked like she was crippled. Her back was curled up and her front and hind legs were stiff and could hardly move. Susie’s head was shaking so
badly that Deb was watching her closely in case of any seizure activity. She was so emotionally upset that she also had no control over her bladder. Deb
then gave us instruction on how to massage Susie by putting her on her back between my legs to try to relax her and to have her submit to me. Deb
wanted to sleep with Susie tiled to her in a room that did not have Bill’s scent all over it. Finally at 3:30 a.m., Deb and Susie slept together on the living
room floor. Most of the night, Susie tried to pull herself and Deb out of the living room, but probably after about 1 hour of actual sleep it was early
Saturday morning and time to start working with Susie again.
The next day instructions consisted of Bill and I going to all the areas in the house where Susie would be with Bill and growl at me. Deb instructed us on
“back” “wait” and “settle” placement commands. Bill has to use this with Susie when she gets to possessive of him. We also use this at the back door
when the dogs go in and out. When Susie would growl, the gentle leader would be put on as a tool we would use to correct her. When she would growl,
we used the command “no growl” while pressing on the sides of her nose. We also had to expose her daily to different people and situations.
Deb explained that Susie had always been mistreated so when she got into a home where she received love and kindness, it was like a punishment to
her. Susie had only known this one man all her life and not well socialized so even though he abused her, it was all she knew. That is probably the
reason for her attachment to Bill. At this time Susie was not noticing any of the things a dog her age should notice. She didn’t see birds, she didn’t see
food when held in front of her. Susie couldn’t look at you and she would curl her front paws up into her body. Deb thought this occurred from the severe
physical training that was done on Susie. This had caused Susie’s physical flashbacks. Deb would put food in her mouth and let Susie take it out. This
was positive reinforcement to have Susie look Deb in the eyes and not be frightened. It would take time and patience for Susie to learn to trust other
people. Also, being with our 2 Brittanys gave Susie other dogs to feed off giving her more confidence. This is why Deb also worked with our Brittanys on
the placement commands.
Because we were going on vacation in two weeks, Deb was afraid that being boarded would put Susie back to where she was at the beginning. Susie
stayed with Deb 24/7 for two weeks. This gave Deb the chance to study and work with Susie even more. Susie never left Deb’s side. Deb tried to expose
her to as many different situations as possible. On an overnight trip, that Deb took Susie with, at a rest area, Susie had an issue with a black car. When,
by the black car only, Susie started to flip out when on the grass, but when off the grass on the asphalt Susie was okay. After Susie was back home on a
nightly walk, we came by a big dark dumpster on the street. When Susie was on the parkway grass, she flipped out; but when I walked her on the street
by the dumpster, she was all right with it. She was afraid of going down stairs. Everything seemed to scare her. When situations like this happened, we
walked her around whatever she was afraid of to help her learn to deal with her issues.
To expose Susie to more people, we invited friends over to the house. Now when people come over, they can walk into the house. We do ask that they
totally ignore Susie. In time she then will come up to them and sniff them out. Treats are used to help reinforce in Susie’s mind that people are good.
She will now go to other people besides Bill and I, but it is in her own time and that is okay with us. We walk her through the neighborhood and to the
park to again expose her to more situations. To build Susie’s confidence, I took Susie to obedience class. This gave Susie a chance to bond with me,
see other people and dogs. She did very well and of course, I thought she was one of the best dogs there. During class, the instructor used Susie as an
example many times and talked about where Susie came from and where she is today. To build her confidence even more, Susie and I have been
attending an agility class weekly. She does very well and is getting better each week. Susie still has some issues to deal with, but they are fewer and she
is learning to deal with them.
If Susie had ended up in a shelter or Betty did not know Debbie Walker, she most likely would have been put down because of her aggressiveness
toward people. Most important, if Deb Walker had not evaluated and worked with Susie and us, we never would have been able to keep Susie. When we
first got Susie, she didn’t even see or notice birds or leaves blowing in the back yard. She couldn’t even look at anyone. She is now living a very good
life making us happy. She is now chasing birds, playing and exploring areas she would never go before. Bill and I are amazed to see Susie progress
every day even now almost 2 years later. Susie’s story is proof that a dog can be turned around. Best of all Susie has won over our son and daughter-
in-law, who would not let the boys stay at our house or be with Susie. With Susie’s beginning, we could understand their feelings and concerns. Joe and
Bryan can stay overnight again and when they come over they don’t ask to have Susie put in the basement. During Joe’s last overnight, Susie jumps in
bed and gave Joe a good night kiss before we went to bed.
Because of Deb Walker’s knowledge and love of dogs and our willingness to follow through with her training, this is a very big success story. Debbie is
the only person I have ever seen that seems to be able to get into a dog’s mind and know what the dog is thinking. It is totally amazing to watch Deb
work with dogs that have behavioral problems of any kind. She has been blessed with a very special gift. It is proof that if owners would use a qualified,
experienced behaviorist when a problem occurs with their dog and have the patience and follow through, there would be fewer dogs in the shelters and
rescue groups would not be on overload all the time.
BREED: Brittany/female
Behavioral Problem: Attach to one person and aggressive to all others. OK with other dogs.
Cause: Emotional, Visual, and Physical flashbacks
At the age of 3 ½, Susie came into foster care with Bill and Dorene Glotz.
Rescue knew that she was originally purchased as a puppy for hunting only. At a field trail, a few months earlier, her owner advised the organizer that
she would not leave his side and would not hunt so he was going to shoot or dump her as she was no use to him. Dan asked, rather than get rid of her,
leave Susie with him. He experienced in training and would try to train her for hunting. If it didn't work, he would find a home for her. At both places she
was in a kennel environment. Dan had the same problem and called rescue. He advised Betty Hedquist that when he put a tracking collar on Susie, she
went crazy which probably is a result of severe over use of a shock collar. When his wife would visit her in the kennel Susie was fine and very
affectionate but we don’t know if any other persons were with her.
Susie’s first day in her foster home, she was friendly with everyone from a 3 year old up to several adults. She then became very attached to Bill. He
was with her 24/7 because he was home on sick leave. By mid week, she was showing her aggression to everyone that came into the house, frightened,
growling and going after anyone except Bill. She became so attached to Bill that I couldn’t go near her when she was by Bill nor could I go by any item
that had his scent on it. She guarded Bill and anything that belonged to Bill.
She was attached to Bill like Velcro.
Because neither of us knew how to handle this situation, we called Betty Hedquist, of Brittany Rescue Illinois
Coordinator. Betty got us on a three-way phone call with Deborah Walker. After explaining everything to Deb, she felt Susie was in a very delicate
situation. Deb wanted to work with Susie as soon as possible. Arrangements were made for Deb and Betty to come to work with Susie in two weeks. In
the meantime, Deb advised me to just ignore Susie and not to have anyone over. I also kept a daily journal of Susie everyday until Deb got here. The
journal gave Deb some insight on Susie’s behavior before she got here. Deb and Betty would spend the weekend at our house to work with Susie and
other rescue dogs in the Chicago area that had problems that needed a behaviorist.
Deb and Betty arrived at our home around 10 p.m. on Friday night. There were no introductions. Deb walked in the house and immediately started to
work with Susie.
Susie went by Bill and started growling and snapped at Deb as she approached Susie. To get away from Deb, Susie went to hide under the kitchen
chairs and table. (This was Susie’s low confidence and attaching to an object.) Deb moved the chairs and table away from Susie to break the
attachment from these objects. After much commotion, Deb ended up having Susie backed up against a gate in our front hallway. To get down on the
same level as Susie, Deb was sitting on the floor in front of Susie. Susie was growling and would not let Debbie touch her. Deb was talking to her and
moving her hands up and down the walls making a tapping noise with her fingernails. Deb also slowly moved her hands back and forth in front of Susie.
This was to bring Susie back to the present as she was having flashbacks to her past. Susie was not there at all. Susie’s eyes were completely dilated,
almost popping out of her head. Her head was shaking back and forth to the point it looked like she would have a seizure. Deb worked with Susie in this
same manner for at least 3 hours before she was able to touch Susie. They even went through the house up to our bedroom bath as Susie tried to get
away from Deb. They went through the same procedures as in the hallway and back down to the hallway. Though all of this, Bill could not let Susie see
him. He had to be totally out of the picture.
After about 4 hours, Deb had Susie on a gentle leader and leash. With much resistance, she finally had Susie walking with her. Susie could hardly walk.
She looked like she was crippled. Her back was curled up and her front and hind legs were stiff and could hardly move. Susie’s head was shaking so
badly that Deb was watching her closely in case of any seizure activity. She was so emotionally upset that she also had no control over her bladder. Deb
then gave us instruction on how to massage Susie by putting her on her back between my legs to try to relax her and to have her submit to me. Deb
wanted to sleep with Susie tiled to her in a room that did not have Bill’s scent all over it. Finally at 3:30 a.m., Deb and Susie slept together on the living
room floor. Most of the night, Susie tried to pull herself and Deb out of the living room, but probably after about 1 hour of actual sleep it was early
Saturday morning and time to start working with Susie again.
The next day instructions consisted of Bill and I going to all the areas in the house where Susie would be with Bill and growl at me. Deb instructed us on
“back” “wait” and “settle” placement commands. Bill has to use this with Susie when she gets to possessive of him. We also use this at the back door
when the dogs go in and out. When Susie would growl, the gentle leader would be put on as a tool we would use to correct her. When she would growl,
we used the command “no growl” while pressing on the sides of her nose. We also had to expose her daily to different people and situations.
Deb explained that Susie had always been mistreated so when she got into a home where she received love and kindness, it was like a punishment to
her. Susie had only known this one man all her life and not well socialized so even though he abused her, it was all she knew. That is probably the
reason for her attachment to Bill. At this time Susie was not noticing any of the things a dog her age should notice. She didn’t see birds, she didn’t see
food when held in front of her. Susie couldn’t look at you and she would curl her front paws up into her body. Deb thought this occurred from the severe
physical training that was done on Susie. This had caused Susie’s physical flashbacks. Deb would put food in her mouth and let Susie take it out. This
was positive reinforcement to have Susie look Deb in the eyes and not be frightened. It would take time and patience for Susie to learn to trust other
people. Also, being with our 2 Brittanys gave Susie other dogs to feed off giving her more confidence. This is why Deb also worked with our Brittanys on
the placement commands.
Because we were going on vacation in two weeks, Deb was afraid that being boarded would put Susie back to where she was at the beginning. Susie
stayed with Deb 24/7 for two weeks. This gave Deb the chance to study and work with Susie even more. Susie never left Deb’s side. Deb tried to expose
her to as many different situations as possible. On an overnight trip, that Deb took Susie with, at a rest area, Susie had an issue with a black car. When,
by the black car only, Susie started to flip out when on the grass, but when off the grass on the asphalt Susie was okay. After Susie was back home on a
nightly walk, we came by a big dark dumpster on the street. When Susie was on the parkway grass, she flipped out; but when I walked her on the street
by the dumpster, she was all right with it. She was afraid of going down stairs. Everything seemed to scare her. When situations like this happened, we
walked her around whatever she was afraid of to help her learn to deal with her issues.
To expose Susie to more people, we invited friends over to the house. Now when people come over, they can walk into the house. We do ask that they
totally ignore Susie. In time she then will come up to them and sniff them out. Treats are used to help reinforce in Susie’s mind that people are good.
She will now go to other people besides Bill and I, but it is in her own time and that is okay with us. We walk her through the neighborhood and to the
park to again expose her to more situations. To build Susie’s confidence, I took Susie to obedience class. This gave Susie a chance to bond with me,
see other people and dogs. She did very well and of course, I thought she was one of the best dogs there. During class, the instructor used Susie as an
example many times and talked about where Susie came from and where she is today. To build her confidence even more, Susie and I have been
attending an agility class weekly. She does very well and is getting better each week. Susie still has some issues to deal with, but they are fewer and she
is learning to deal with them.
If Susie had ended up in a shelter or Betty did not know Debbie Walker, she most likely would have been put down because of her aggressiveness
toward people. Most important, if Deb Walker had not evaluated and worked with Susie and us, we never would have been able to keep Susie. When we
first got Susie, she didn’t even see or notice birds or leaves blowing in the back yard. She couldn’t even look at anyone. She is now living a very good
life making us happy. She is now chasing birds, playing and exploring areas she would never go before. Bill and I are amazed to see Susie progress
every day even now almost 2 years later. Susie’s story is proof that a dog can be turned around. Best of all Susie has won over our son and daughter-
in-law, who would not let the boys stay at our house or be with Susie. With Susie’s beginning, we could understand their feelings and concerns. Joe and
Bryan can stay overnight again and when they come over they don’t ask to have Susie put in the basement. During Joe’s last overnight, Susie jumps in
bed and gave Joe a good night kiss before we went to bed.
Because of Deb Walker’s knowledge and love of dogs and our willingness to follow through with her training, this is a very big success story. Debbie is
the only person I have ever seen that seems to be able to get into a dog’s mind and know what the dog is thinking. It is totally amazing to watch Deb
work with dogs that have behavioral problems of any kind. She has been blessed with a very special gift. It is proof that if owners would use a qualified,
experienced behaviorist when a problem occurs with their dog and have the patience and follow through, there would be fewer dogs in the shelters and
rescue groups would not be on overload all the time.
| Pictures of Susie from the Open Standard FCRS Agility Competition 06/02/07 |
| Copyright ©1993, LaBest Inc |