Hi
I would like to rave enthusiastically about Ttouch. Thank you Champdogs, partic. Moonmaiden and Digger for recommending this to me.

I have posted a few times with concerns about my 18 month old entire male corgi.
Quick rundown of these:

1. rapidly escalated fear of other entire males after being attacked by a male Dalmation.
2. new fear of vet and paws being handled after being innoculated in France
3. growling in the house at invisible passing dogs

To fix the first problem I stopped going to classes a long time ago as I was sick of Lascaux being referred to and "tutted" about as the "uncastrated male in the corner" and instead concentrated my efforts on improving his doggie manners in real life situations e.g. the park etc. Have given him super duper premium treats etc on recall from other dogs so that I have time to find out if the other dog is ok to play with. I still have to avoid the "remembered" aggressors such as the Dalmation because that problem is just never going to go away.

In addition to the intense recall training I started the T touch really to help him with his fear of the vet and the domestic growling. The results have been amazing - I can now touch him anywhere without him flinching and he is practically catlike in his contentment. His growling has also become far less frequent.
The best side effect has been behaviour vis-a-vis entire males - in the last two weeks he has greeted them all without going off on one - even an unknown entire male Dalmation who appeared from nowhere!.
Cissy :)

Well done to you both It's nice to know that T Touch has helped

I'm intrigued & interested in T-Touch - where can I learn more about it over here in the UK?

Margot

Cissy,

I'm so glad you've been getting on so well. I'd have left your training class as well. So many people have talked to me about how getting dogs castrated young is a great way of stopping them having behavioural problems and I've always felt really guilty that I didn't get Cal castrated when he was younger.

Cal has been getting on quite well with his problems and I've recently started him at a new training class. They don't have a problem with entire males and when I explained my guilt to one of the trainers, she looked at me like I was mad and pointed out that I had no way of knowing if having him castrated younger would have helped him. She said it could have made him much worse because he's have been growing up feeling like a young adult male and other dogs may have treated him like a girl. I'd never thought of it like that and it did a lot to help me feel better.

I also have been trying out TTouch on Cal with some positive results. He's definately calmer and is regaining some of his old playfulness with other dogs.

Tracey.

Hi Tracey
Great to hear about Cal!. I rang numerous APDT trainers to explain my male/male aggro problem and to see if they had suitable classes with nice dogs to help me. As soon as I said Lascaux wasn't neutered I would get a lecture that I should hurry up and neuter because the behaviour would get worse etc. So I got a bit despondent, particularly as he has a very sunny disposition and I knew he would get better with effort.
Tardak never helped - now tried it twice. T-touch is the best of all worlds - it is drug free and it doesn't take up any more time than regular cuddles with your dog on the floor.

:)

Moonmaiden kindly gave me this link before - you can find factsheets and info on UK practitioners.

http://www.lindatellingtonjones.com

I can't recommend it enough and wish I had used it sooner. I don't have any problems other than the ones in my post [eg. no chewing, no attention seeking etc] but if I did I would be sure to explore T Touch combined with training.

My bond with my dog is really wonderful :).

Cissy

Cissy,

That's fantastic, i am so pleased for you.

I took a peek at the site (i have a friend who does TTouch :) ) and was surprised to see a dog of my breed, Belgian Tervueren, looking so very relaxed while being treated by Robyn Hood. No mean feat to see a BSD so very relaxed like that :D

I am getting the book "Getting in touch with your dog" for Christmas hopefully. I want to start incorporating some TTouch into my dog's life.

I really enjoyed the recent TV programme with Sarah Fisher on TTouch - it was great to see her working on all sorts of animals esp. horses and dogs. The horses were visibly better after her treatment too (as were all the animals). Did you see it?

Lindsay

Hi Lindsay

I didn't see the programme unfortunately but I can imagine the look of relaxation. :) It is almost as though they are "melting" all over the floor.

I should get that book too. Even the basics are working but I am especially interested in getting better at identifying the "calming signals" - eye changes, licking etc.
Cissy

So glad to hear an update - especially when it's good news - congratulations on getting such good results -wish there were more owners about like you prepared to put in the extra bit of work that our furkids sometimes need :-)

PS - I think I have the Talking to Animals series on video if you'd like a copy......

thanks Digger - I'd be interested in watching that vid as long as it is no bother for you and I will return it ASAP!
thanks :)

Hi Cissy,

What a shame you couldn't find a trainer who would worry about training your dog rather than lopping his bits off.

I tried Tardak with Cal and it had the most horrible effect on him. He had bouts of extreme aggression towards other dogs while on it and between those, he was very depressed. He wouldn't greet any other dogs at all not even our other bullmastiff and he flatly refused to play with her. This went on for weeks until the tardak finally wore off. When it did, one night, he got down off the couch, picked up a toy in his mouth and enticed Katie (our other bully) into a game. I was in tears, I was so happy.

It is taking a long time for him to get over the psychological effects of his two tardak injections but he is getting there and has now started to play a bit with his dog friends.

I did have Cal castrated, though. His problem wasn't aggression or nervousness around other males. It was that he kept on getting attacked by other males. He used to quite enjoy the fights but I was worried that one day things would go too far.

Interestingly I was discussing Cal's reaction to Tardak with a doctor friend of mine and she told me about a man she knows who is on the human version of it for prostate problems. His whole character has changed and he is now very depressed and anxious. Apparantly, he was quite happy and laid back before. It sounded very much like the reaction Cal had to it.

Tracey.

Hi Tracey

I agree Tardak can be odd - I know it has an anti - anxiety substance in it as well as the hormone suppressor. I also thought Lascaux was not quite himself on it - kind of "torpid" which I HATED. Also, it didn't stop him perving at all the ladies :rolleyes: not that he is that bad in the perv department.

Hi Mich and others - the website I posted takes some negotiating around to find UK info. In the Related Links section there is a link to UK sites. Try this one:

http://www3.sympatico.ca/tilleyfarm/HomePage.html

Cissy:)

Thanks for the web address.
Mich