Case Study Diego

History: Diego was adopted from a different shelter 3 years ago. The previous adopter stated that Diego was food aggressive and showed aggressive behaviour on walks and was destructive and this took time to work through. No information about context or how this was resolved. Then ‘Tina’ another dog was added to the household 10 months ago. Tina antagonised Diego, never letting him settle and tried to take food off him.

Initial Assessment:

Diego was very shut down he would not take any high value treats. If I tried to sit with him in his enclosure he growled so I kept a distance. He did venture out of the enclosure eventually but not very far. He is displaying high levels of fear. Need to work slowly to start creating safety and security. On the second meeting I sat down in a chair averted my gaze and looking away. Diego would come up to me and bark. Diego responded best to walking around slowly, following me and processing the backs of my legs.

Next steps:

·         Need to try some basic freework once he accepts that I am sat in the matted area and hopefully approaches me.

·         I would like to build up freework to include up to 3 stations and add textures and a lickey mat at different levels to help assess gait.

·         Ideally, I would like to set-up the freework in the paddock where it is quieter and on grass.

Longer Term Objectives:

·         Create a secure base so he can start to trust humans again.

·         Be able to put Diego into a harness and walk him off-site to better prepare him for adoption and habituate him to the world outside of the shelter.

Follow-up:

Diego is hugely improved and showed a keen interest in playing, engaging in a game of tug which he preferred to a ball demonstrating a preference for interactive games. Diego takes treats nice and calmly. Diego is now able to go into the paddock and walks well on a longline. Diego coped well with the tractors and farmers he observed at a distance from the paddock. Diego did a nose to nose meet through a fence with another dog which went well, no aggression was shown. Diego did engage in basic freework taking treats from a forager mat. Diego was extremely affectionate once over the initial fear of coming up to people and after playing eventually stopped barking.

Next Steps:

·         Being able to put Diego into a car and take him off site to explore.

·         Putting Diego into a harness.

·         Observing how Diego is off site with everyday life, unfamiliar dogs, people and gauging prey drive as this is currently unknown.

Potential adopter:

Diego is socially conflicted; he wants to come over but is fearful so would need an adopter who is patient and happy to work at Diego’s pace.

If you are interested in meeting this beautiful boy, please contact #friendsindeeddogrescue on 07527129642 or me directly