Maya, Maya Part 1

Who is this cutie?

This beautiful girl is Maya, a 1-2 year old rat terrier. Her story started in Los Angeles, CA, where she was picked up as a stray. Best Friends Animal Society pulled her from the shelter and sent her and several other dogs to Seattle Humane Society as part of their program to send animals from high-kill shelters to shelters in other states where they have a better chance of being adopted. Janet and Jeff wanted a little dog, and when they met Maya they fell for her gentle nature and adorable Teddy-Rat Terrier body!

A little nervous.

Maya can be a little shy and underconfident, so her parents hired me to come in and help. The first two sessions Maya didn't want any touch from me. On our most recent session though, she hopped up beside me, asked for treats, and allowed me to stroke under her chin and her neck. Her progress is a huge testiment to the dedication her parents have to helping Maya gain confidence and socialize her to more of the world.

Perking up a bit.

One behavior Jeff and Janet are working on is Maya growling at other dogs. This is not an aggressive behavior, but is a pre-emptive warning because other dogs make her nervous. We set up a treatment plan for when she is on walks to first redirect Maya and then counter-condition her to change her association with strange dogs. Another part of the plan though was to expose Maya to my dogs who are stable and friendly towards other dogs. There is two parts to this - first, "My Maya" is very non-reactive and would ignore "Teddy Maya," and second, that she could be in the presence of other dogs without having to growl at them. Although she did growl at both My Maya and Sappho, she was able to work through her concern around these strange dogs.

My Maya came in first and paid little attention to Teddy Maya. All she wanted was her tennis ball! We started playing fetch with My Maya, and Teddy Maya hung back by Mom and Dad and watched. Her curiosity got the best of her and she kept getting closer to My Maya. After watching My Maya chase the ball, she decided it seemed pretty fun...