In October 2019, our family of two became three. And the miracle was that it only took about a week. I had always wanted a dog and I did have one growing up, Jacky was his name and he was a cream colour Chihuahua. Like most children, my sister and I used to dress him up and carry him with us. In the early 90s Hong Kong, walking the dog was not very common. Walking in reality was merely a road walk on lead, occasionally we might come across a playground but letting him off lead was courting with disaster. One could take them to hike the famous Lion Rock and other open spaces away from the city, but those were very rare activities reserved to those who have cars (dogs were not allowed on public transport). In fact, one of the first things to prepare was a tray lined with old newspapers as their indoor toilet facilities. In those days, most places were not dog friendly at all. Fast forward to adulthood, I continued dreaming of a dog with whom we can go places, maybe visit children and elderly people in homes or hospitals. At last my four legged sidekick arrived in the form of a rescued young male Shih Tzu. We don’t know his full history, only that he was given up twice before we met him at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. Looking back it happened so fast, I registered online with the charity, they promptly invited us for a visit and reminded us to just phone them, “even daily if you want to”, as they have more dogs coming in than manpower to put their profiles online. This was before Covid and the subsequent cost of living crisis, I can’t imagine the situation now. We met Archie like the Blind Dates TV show, the poor boy hated kennels and barked throughout the visit. But when we took him onto the outdoor walkway, his personality changed, and happily he strutted along. Sadly the walk ended too soon and we had to turn around. Boy, he wasn’t slow in recognising that, immediately he backed into the corner, as if saying, “you can’t take me back there!”. This dog has a smart mind and a stubborn personality. Well, we were given 24 hours to decide yay or nay, so they could arrange potential adopters. After much discussion and prayer overnight, we decided to adopt him. All this happened on Thursday and we picked him up on Saturday. Like most first time families, we had nothing prepared, and the first stop after collection was a pet shop. We quickly grabbed the essentials so we could all go home. I still remember I kept saying on the ride back, “don’t worry, we will look after you in your furever home”. I still remember the first walk, I was such a proud dog owner. And yes, I cried at seeing another dog going to his adopted home and how his handler said goodbye. It is such a joyful occasion but bittersweet.
In the past three years, we have learnt so much in dog ownership. From basic commands training with the Dogs Trust, after adoption care and support from Battersea, to the most long haul but worthwhile training in understanding dog separation anxiety, to what to feed and importantly what not to feed, i have had to read a lot, chat with professionals such as vets, dog trainers and behaviourists (please check their training and credentials) and filter out what isn’t helpful. Unfortunately there is plenty on the internet, telly and even being told what to do by random people on the street! I continue to learn so much, in particular, about dogs who can’t be left on their own at home, which Archie is one. It has been a long journey. Secretly we reckon the reason for being given up twice was probably his inability to be left home alone for even the shortest period. We were recommended to Debbie, who runs Building Behaviours, to help Archie to overcome his fears of being home alone. Did you know that dogs who display anxieties are not because they are playing up or are jealous or sulk but have a genuine fear. We don’t know why some dogs have this issue and others don’t, but what we need is patience, kindness, understanding and training to help them overcome this PTSD like condition. We started this journey in June 2021, and Archie was barely able to stay calm for just 16 seconds after the door was closed, this was his baseline assessment. Debbie taught us how to approach this training, at the pace of the dog, not ours. She is completely right in this, that to go slow is to go fast. We have seen a few peaks and troughs since that time with a couple of significant regressions (and bounced back stronger). At the time of writing (December 2022), Archie has reached 2 hours and 30 times of home alone calmly and not panicking, barking or howling. This is MASSIVE! Debbie works with us remotely, in fact it is the best way to handle this kind of training, via Zoom, and an app. Debbie is a dog trainer who specialises in training rescue dogs, reactive dogs, nervous dogs, dogs with separation anxiety, she also runs a number of canine enrichment programmes through agility and alike. She follows the Julie Naismith method, and Julie’s first book “Be Right Back” is a good read as Julie herself also had dogs who couldn’t be left alone, so she didn’t just write a whole load of theories, but practical help and advice, even down to how to relate to those who just can’t/don’t/won’t understand those of us who struggle with an otherwise perfect dog, but one that can’t deal with being home alone. Archie’s journey has not finished yet, we still have much training to do on this front, but we know that, with much prayer (and I pray with Archie too!), the help and support of Debbie, our vet, and dogsitter whom Archie loves, we can overcome this together.
Archie is really a little celebrity. In a regular week, it is quite common to have locals asking us “where is Archie”, when we do his “stay at home” training. I even have people telling me, “Grace, you look different without Archie”; or little children in the local nurseries on their morning walks all squealing “doggy”, waving and often stopping to stroke him. Thankfully Archie enjoys these moments, his gentleness to children and elderly people is lovely to see. Sometimes though, he shows his lion-like side, barks, jumps and stares at other dogs, and usually they are a few sizes bigger than him. But make no mistake, this one operates just the same, if he could talk our language, this is what he would say, “you stay right back, people, I will deal with this.” If you want to imagine what that looks like, think the late 70s cartoon, Scrappy Doo doing his “Scrappy Dappy Doo, lemme at ’em!”. Fearless and stubborn is his middle name. Through months of training, Archie has become better at listening to me in these situations, I can see he tries very hard to calm himself down and take a treat before walking on.
This will be Archie’s third Christmas with us and a surprise (to him anyway), is that we will be going to Regent’s Park for a run around on Christmas Day, then to our church, All Souls, Langham Place, for the service. We shall bring with us a bag of paraphernalia to keep him quiet at the back. Although can you imagine anything more fitting than singing, “Away in a manger” and then WOOF!
Recent Comments