Kenya update

spiritdogs

You described yourself as a Type A.  I'd be curious to know how you would describe your sister.  Also, I have noticed that some GSD's are way happier to be the one and only, and others like company.  Maybe Kenya is the former and Nikon is the latter (at least when it comes to neurotic females...and he certainly wouldn't be the only "man" to feel that way lol).  I think that it's very wise, and very unselfish to think about a dog's needs versus your own, especially since they haven't a choice in the matter unless we let them.  I'm happy that Kenya seems to be happy in her new situation, and it's extra nice that she is with someone you trust, too.

My sister is not like me at all, which is one reason why I was willing to give this a try.  I do have another friend who has always worshiped Kenya and has jokingly begged me to take her off my hands.  She has another male GSD that Kenya goes on playdates with, but this person is more like me and also more loud and boisterous.  When we are together I've observed that Kenya sort of avoids her and is much more interested in her dog than interacting with her.  My sister is "small" (both physically and just her general presences), has a very lah-tee-dah, is overly optimistic attitude about everything.  She is never in a hurry or shows much worry, even when she should.  I told her very little about Kenya.  After the first few weeks, I asked her how Kenya was behaving, and she described a few of the neurotic behaviors I see, but others she didn't mention at all (and I haven't mentioned them).  When I first got Kenya, a friend of the breeder (who'd taken care of her for a few weeks one time) said to me, "Has she done anything strange in doorways?" and I said no and was very curious what she meant but she said, "I'm not going to tell you b/c then it might start happening."  To this day I'm not really sure what she meant.

And I was thinking the same thing as Anne. That Kenya is more relaxed and confident if she's number one or the only one in the house. Which doesn't make her dominant, just anxious. In any case, if she is more calm and confident at your sisters', then so be it. Sometimes, that's a hard thing to accept, too. That a pet was meant to be with us a while and then move on.

 I know a lot of times, we talk about keeping a pet for life and don't get one unless you can keep it for life but what is more important than following that exact credo is to judge accurately and fairly what is good for the pet, the humans, others. Sometimes, animals grow and change, as humans do. What was once fine for Kenya is now stressful for her, Nikon, and you.

Conversely, whatever differences there are between you and your sis such as personality type, etc., that may have some influence, but I think, for a change, it's all about Kenya and Kenya is glad for it. Competition may or may not be in the future for Kenya but she knows the stability of her role with your sister. It may be that your house was too fluidic.

Nor do I think we ought to force pets to live with each other to prove our training and whispering acumen. We got Jade the cat when she was stray because a friend's cat wouldn't allow her in their house. To try and force the cats to live together would have been stupid, egotistical, and destined for disaster. The same can be said for dogs.

It's one of the reasons I don't just go willy nilly and find more pets for us to have. Specifically because of Shadow. He likes some other dogs but not all other dogs. He's typical siberian. Bond with a few and the rest of youse guys can take a flying leap, especially if you smell wrong.

Anyway, keep us updated and how Kenya is doing with your sis.

ron2

That a pet was meant to be with us a while and then move on.

I think at the very least, they needed each other for a while!  They learned a lot from each other.... Kenya might be doing great where she is now, but would she have done great if she had gone straight there, instead of being with Liesje first?  And I think that can go both ways too

She is coming home today.  My sister is moving back to my parents and they do not allow dogs.  I've brainstormed a few things to try differently with her here, mainly giving her a new space away from the other dogs during the day.  Previously, everyone was crated in one of three crates in a row in my den.  Since the weather is nice I'm thinking of keeping her on the screened in porch instead of crating her in the row of crates with the boys.  She doesn't really need to be crated as long as the area she's in is proofed (she is obsessed with chewing plastics) so this way she will have much more space, but if she keeps giving off nervous energy it won't effect the boys or cause such a commotion.

She is a far different dog than when I first got her.  When we picked her up she was scared of her own shadow, timid with everyone, not trusting of me yet... that kind of dog.  We took her for our first walk - where we did not require any obedience and just sort of let her be - she would startle and jump if she stepped on a twig.  Now, she has none of that skittishness, and in fact is literally bomb-proof.  She's been in huge crowds, large public fireworks displays, tested under gun fire, been to many chaotic dog shows and public events.  But even the most solid-tempered dog can be neurotic and it's the neurotic behaviors I've been trying to address, not only for my sanity but mostly for hers as well.  The skittishness was dealt with over time, with a year or so of bonding, training, slowly building confidence and desensitizing her to pretty much anything I could think of.  The neurosis is what has and I believe always will persist. It happens regardless of her mood, level of confidence, or familiarity with the environment.  For me it's weighing a quality of life issue.  I'm avoiding treating with heavy drugs at all costs because those will have other health/medical side effects long term.  If she can be vastly improved by a total change in environment and re-structuring her routine, then that is what will happen even if that means staying with my sister or a good friend indefinitely.  I'm trying to look at it from a more objective, scientific aspect than let my emotional attachment to her blind me to what she really needs.  It's like having a dog with epilepsy except she doesn't have seizures, she has neurotic behaviors (which may as well be seizures since they often interrupt her having a happy life).

 Hope her homecoming is stress free for all.

Out of curiosity, do any of her offspring show any neurotic behaviors?

Not sure, I know two (I think she only had three or four puppies) and haven't seen anything unusual from them.  One of her sons is titled up the wazoo, I can't keep track but he's a Grand Champion, has tracking titles, and probably has two dozen different agility titles by now.  He competed at GSD nationals.  I've pried for info about her father (from the owner, who was not the breeder) and she doesn't seem much like him except for possibly a sharper edge (less likely to be forgiving of mistakes and more likely to take notice and be affected by environment...almost too smart for her own good).  Her father was a great SchH dog and was very powerful and aggressive (in a good way).  I've spent time with her mother but she died recently and was quite old, so even the time I've spent with her didn't show me much b/c she was deaf and going blind.  I guess it's just one of those fluke things....like a litter of dogs all having good to excellent hips and then one with hip dysplasia.

 Have you thought about having a DVM behaviorist do a complete workup on her?  Sometimes, something will crop up that you can do something about medically, and if not, the meds don't have to be ongoing, necessarily, could just be temporary during a modification protocol.