What's going on with Royal? - Part 1

As I mentioned in a recent post Royal on a long line we've been busy with Royal.  So, what's going on?  Many dogs that come into foster care are initially a bit shell shocked and we figured that's what was going on with Royal. He was very nervous with the noises in our house & he would startle at most noises and movements by humans. Here's a post of Royal working through the noise where you can see his startle response.
 

We figured that within a couple of weeks Royal would calm down but, we were incorrect.  He continued to be anxious and he was constantly having wet belly bands when we were home at night.  So we needed to sort out what was going on with the wet bands.  Was this a potty training issue or an anxiety issues.  We began treating it as a potty training issue (while being mindful of anxiety) which meant that we upped our frequently of taking Royal out to go potty while keeping a close eye on him.  Despite going out a number of times within an hour he was still having wet bands - this would happen when he was lying down or just standing still.  We were walking Royal for an hour plus and on those walks he would empty is bladder but, then after being home for less for an hour he would have a wet belly band. 

While all of the above was going on, we took Royal to the vet to rule out any medical issues.  Here's that post Do your financial donations make a difference? Royal had a clean bill of health so no medical issues going on.

The next step was to look at the environment and to see if any adjustments would stop the wetting of the bands.  Again the majority of the wet bands were between when we came home from work and went to bed.  When we were home, Royal would often camp out on the back cushion of the couch - this spot is right by the door and across from the TV.  So perhaps the noise he was taking in from that spot was the problem?

 

So we moved a bed to the other side of the room and onto the ground.  Thinking that the location change would adjust the noise for Royal and hopefully reduce the wetting of his bands.

Unfortunately this didn't make a noticeable difference.   So, we tried a few more environmental adjustments and it was clear that what we were dealing with was a good amount of anxiety.  It was time for Royal to be evaluated by professionals. 

This is where New Rattitude is amazing!  Remember we are all volunteers and the services we provide to our foster dogs are funded by the financial contributions of our supporters. 

We have a couple of folks within New Rattitude who worked very hard to obtain a grant from Best Friends Animal Society. The grant funds are to be used for NR foster dogs who have behavior issues that need professional consultation.  With the goal of the dog becoming adoptable.  What we needed was for Royal to be evaluated by a behavioral vet and a force free trainer to determine his next steps. While we have this wonderful grant, it was to be used with only one of the consultations.  

However, thanks to an amazing NR donor - we have access to the "Langley Fund".  This fund was created specifically for NR foster dogs who need professional consultation to work towards adoptability.  Langley was a foster dog in the Pacific Northwest who had a number of behavioral issues that were addressed & worked on in foster care.  Despite all of what Langley struggled with he was adopted by an amazing person who was looking for a challenge.  Langley's adopter wanted to pay it forward by creating this fund for other rattie's in need of behavioral consultations.  

Pretty amazing isn't it!

 

Royal says "Thank you!"

 

So, our next step was to schedule appointments with a trainer and a behavioral veterinarian.  Lucky for us, the professionals we wanted to see had some openings and we were all set with scheduled appointments.