I have been promising BHRR’s Oakley’s previous home photo’s for a LONG time! It is so hard to snag photo’s of him…he is one active busy blurry dude outside in trying to capture him in film! Video is not much better!

Yet, here are two from today!

Still wanting to see more weight on him(those hip should be a bit more rounded) yet, I am pleased with how he is eating. He was one of the dogs deeply affected by the contaminated food donated our way in January by another group and he is monitored closely and continually.

BHRR’s Oakley is doing well!

That startle reflex is eons better than it was and his space issues are better and he has so much more self-control.

He has been off all medications since he arrived to me and doing well.

Still like to see him fill out more yet that will come, he is so young still.

He is personality plus!

BHRR's Oakley(Deaf) decided that he was not 'just' a Great Dane and tall enough on his own. tongue emoticon He had to be the tallest greatest of Danes today and, stand on our bench and view the world from that perspective! grin emoticon


What a character!

BHRR's Oakley's Traditional Christmas Eve Photo! NOT YET AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!

BHRR's Oakley is doing great in his crate now….zero whining, no digging and, Friday the 21st was the first night, I was able to leave a nice thick towel in his crate and, other than bunching it up, into a pile he felt was comfy, zero shredding. GOOD BOY!

He goes in without any issues and, I give him a treat, maybe, one out of five times when he goes in now.

His startle reflex is getting much better also. My son, used to our own deafies and, how far other deafies have come in our programs, almost made a very dangerous mistake a few nights ago. BHRR's Oakley was sleeping and, we were getting to lock up for the night, and, my son offered to help and, he reached down and, I managed to catch him in time for, he was going to lightly touch BHRR's Oakley's side to wake him up.

I told him 'no' and, reminded him as to why he was not to touch him, when he was sleeping and demonstrated. I took my foot and gently rubbed his rump and, after a few strokes, BHRR's Oakley woke up and whipped his head around and, did a bit of a snap and, when he fully 'woke' up, he jumped up and ran a few steps away for he realised what he had done was not what he should have done.

I was not angry or upset and gave him the 'calming' sign that I use for the dogs……to tell them that it is 'ok'. He came over to me and did one of his awesome leans…..I gently stroked his head towards the back and on his upper neck, just twice in the 'calming' touch style that I use.

I looked over to my son and, said, remember the 'new dog; rule please.

It is going to take awhile for BHRR's Oakley to be 'ok' with his startle reflex and to have trust….that is ok…..I am not in a rush….

As of the night of the 23rd, I put a blanket again into his crate and YAY! No touchies! He has now had a blanket in his crate for two nights, sans issue.

He is bright eyed, fully integrated with all the dogs, had a great time for the two nights our BHRR BOD member B. Cole was visiting and, he had an absolutely fabu first BHRR "EXPERIENCE" mini open house! Each of our 40+ attendees receives an detailed info. package prior to participating in this event and, I reminded all again to passively ignore(some, did not realise what that meant and, that it did not mean ignore him forever!) and, OMG! Other than, one space moment that was NOT his fault, good ol' BHRR's Ethel and her 'old woman ways', not one moment of anything less than perfection! GOSH! I was so proud of him!!

He is becoming more playful, eating better, having more energy, is more properly physically and mentally tired at the end of each day and, his eyes are clear and focused…he is beginning to show me some spunk in trotting away when I want to give him a 'rest' time in his crate and, he is not yet ready! LOL LOVE it! He does not do it out of meanness, just young boy 'I am not ready to come in yet Mom' 'tudeness.

Even as I type this, he is laying behind my computer chair.

He is wagging his tail more, much more steady on his feet, still has 'space' issues and, we are working on having self-control and, walking away and, not being so reactive……being more in touch with his emotions and, feeling like he has some control, he is making better choices. I am really proud of how far he has come to date….a LONG way to go, yet, a really nice boy!

AND, his previous home is correct, he LOVES LOVES LOVES kids! 😀

He is also learning to 'share'. He has learned that if he tries to resource one of the two massive water bowls, he has to sit and 'wait' for his turn.

Honestly, he backs down quite quickly in the face of a more dominant dog and, with the proper positive human leadership, he is trusting me more and, that what I ask of him, is in his best interest and, that my role is to protect him and, his role is to be a dog…..a young one….

He does not like to share a crate though or a blanket and, he has no boundaries against acting equally strong against my 16 week old GD puppy as he would one of the 3 year old adults. He has much to learn……………

I am also extremely careful that he does not begin to resource over myself…..

I am so enjoying this journey with him…….I really am…my heart is quite proud of him!
 

Today, his previous home emailed me asking for an update and possibly some photo's. BHRR's Oakley is full of anxiety for sure…he has ripped up everything that was placed in his crate and, he will 'dig' constantly in his crate and, whine and cry.

Gwennie's bootcamp is in full swing. In many ways, he is doing great. AND, that night, he was to meet one of our BHRR BOD members B. Cole.

Here is what I sent back to his previous home:

He is doing really well. He has lots of anxiety related to his crate yet, we are working through that.

I have him off the meds for, in almost 27 years as a behavioural expert, there are only two dogs – one Dane and one x, that I really felt should be on meds. He is doing well and, we will take it one day at a time. 

He is being mentally plus physically stimulated and, also loves to destroy blankets and beds in his crate.

He already has a blog started on our www.birchhaven.org website and, we will post regular updates including photo's and video. 🙂

I have not taken any to date as we, have been busy with integration and, settling him in. He is making friends and, is quite the leaner in typical Great Dane style in a show of affection. 

Thank you so much in entrusting him to us….

Tonight, he shall meet his first outside the home stranger and, we shall see how that goes…..

Today, I picked up Oakley after my work shift. I received the following email in respect to him after I arrived home:

"Hi, I forgot to mention we filled his prescription of fluoxetine (it's in the back bag), he gets 3 pills and one glucosamine in the morning on an empty stomach."

I replied asking them what was the medication for as it can be used to treat OCD, Anxiety as well as Aggression issues. I then received the following:

"Hello, it was prescribed for his over all anxiety."

In learning that he was on this medication, it made sense some of how it was 'harder' to read him when I picked him up. He was there yet, not there.

I was not going to give him any medication…at least, until I 'knew' him and, what the issues are with him. He as quite reactive to the dogs upon arrival back home this night yet, that is not surprising. Lots of stress, was at night, dark night and, lots of change going on.

Per a previous blog post, I have ONLY have recommended two dogs to go on medication. Maybe, BHRR's Oakley would be the third yet, I was not convinced he would need any.

I had spent considerable amount of time on the phone talking to one of the O.'s re: him when we were first contacted. I had offered to give of myself any assistance possible, should they wish to keep him. They were such a caring couple that really worked hard to do right by their dog and, right from the start, he had these issues…I learned that the one sibling they knew about, was 'worse' than he was. The home was honest with me. They thought this behaviour was 'cute' at first, the shyness etc. and, then quickly realised and learned it was not.

They sought help, find it really hard to find a place that would work with a DEAF dog(oh, how I wish they had found me then!!!) and, as he loved to be boarded at this one place, he was spending time there also.

What they were not given was all the proper tools and aid plus resources they needed to work on his startle reflex, clear genetic disposition of shyness and anxiety that was exasperated as he aged. He had a few really close calls with that mouth of his and, when the home felt they could no longer trust him, they were at the point that they felt that he had to be surrendered.

My heart supports them 150% in the decision, that I know did not come lightly to them and, my heart is heavy for the road they were now on.

As I keep saying, good people have to give up dogs….. 🙁

In turn, I was 100% honest back. I said I was NOT a miracle worker, that I would properly assess/evaluate him and, if he was not deemed adoptable once we were through the honeymoon period and beyond, that he would be moved to our Haven Program AND, 'if' it came to him being found to be truly aggressive(most aggression is fear based), that we would have to do the 'right' and humane thing.

A dog can be great in many ways, yet, if one of the ways they are not great is a danger to themselves and/or others, we have to bear that in mind…..

He had no issues making direct eye contact with me and, I came armed with treats to get him and, I had the home load him up. He was not quite 'there' and, the eye contact was very forward yet, absent in some ways. I now realise why, it was not 'right'…he was on this anxiety medication.

Even on the way home, I had called Sean and, I kept saying there was something not 'normal' about him and, could not quite put my finger on as to why he was feeling 'off' to me……I know now!

The home so very kindly made a very generous monetary donation to his care, provided food, supplements, his harness, offered us two crates etc. also.

The home asked to be kept updated and, I said that he would have a blog and, we would keep it updated regularly as we could and, that they could always call or email…..

The only thing that we cannot do is if/when the time came for him to be adopted, we could not share due to the Canadian Privacy Act laws, where and, who he went to. Many homes also do not want people who once had the dog they since adopted to also know. Others are open…that, would have to be left up to the parties involved.

NOT YET AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!!!

In asking for a bit more information re: the leash and dogs, this is the response I received and also received some photo's. This home really wanted what was best for their dog. I feel that they received some not so great recommendations and advise. They were advised to use a shock collar and, I found out after I got him, to also have him on medication. This will be addressed in another blog post.
My note is that when we do have him arrive to BHRR, we will not have him lay down to meet other dogs – this can be very threatening to a dog that has anxiety issues. We will also take him off the medication. In almost 27 years, I know of ONLY 2 dogs that I felt needed to be on medication – both Client dogs of mine – one a GD and the other a Colliex.

"Good evening, he is not very good on leash with other dogs we have been laying him down in a relaxed position (lying on his hip) an keeping him down as other dogs approach and that seems to help. Off leash we have no complaints whatsoever."

Here are a few more details re: this Great Dane, that his lovely home had named 'Oakley'.

DOB: August 12th, 2013

Is the dog ok on a leash?
Yes if there are no other dogs around

Housebroken?
Yes

Prefers men or women?
Women

Good with children?
Amazing

List Bad Habits:
Will try to get table food right off your plate

Is the dog ok around cats?
Yes 

Is the dog ok around other dogs?
Off leash he is perfect, very well socialized

Is the dog ok with their food being touched?
Yes

If the dog has bitten a human being or animal, give particulars:
Never bitten but has snapped and made contact twice

Reason(s) for surrendering this dog:
We do not trust him anymore and are anxious to bring him around new friends and family

On November 1st, Danes in Distress contacted myself re: a Deaf GD, 1 year of age that they were going to refer the O.'s to BHRR. They were operating over capacity at that time and, did not have a deaf experienced GD home open. They wanted to ensure that this boy ended up in a r/q program. We stepped up to assist as, the special needs are one of our big loves and, focuses at BHRR.