Page 12 - DoggieRescue E-Magazine September 2019

12 SEPTEMBER 2019 DOGGIERESCUE.COM MAGAZINE

Gideon’s

Journey

By Nicolle Nelde DoggieRescue Volunteer

Those of you who read the DR magazine regularly, may remember
my article about rehabilitating reactive shelter dogs in January issue.
Back then I had just started to work with Gideon and it’s been quite a
journey. At times it felt like taking 1 step forward and 2 steps back.
But the persistence has certainly paid off.

After almost a year of working with him I have seen all the different sides to
his personality and it’s become obvious that stressful days at the shelter
with insufficient exercise and stimulation, would make him more restless
and unbalanced, while during weeks with a good balance of activities he
was much more relaxed, able to engage and enjoy our work. Over time he
became more responsive and consistent in his
interaction with me and others.

We have taken Gideon out and about, exposing
him in carefully defined dosages to the outside
world. Simply being away from the shelter,
even with other dogs around, made him already
a lot calmer. Still impulsive towards other dogs,
it showed quickly that he was just getting
overexcited and didn’t know how to meet them
appropriately, but he was always friendly.
While some dogs tolerate this and see the
playfulness, sometimes this would scare them
away or it could spark a defensive reaction
from the other dog and can lead to problems,
which is why this behaviour needs to be
controlled. So, our focus was on socialising
him under managed conditions. This has
improved his behaviour so much that he could
be paired successfully with even 2 female
dogs at the shelter to give him company and
teach him social skills. Being happier and more
relaxed he has attended events at the Mall,
spent the day in busier areas at the shelter and
got out on more walks.