A Reality Check

In the five months since Sniper's diagnosis we have been learning lots and applying our knew knowledge into practice and seeing great results.  Everything was going so well that I almost forgot we were dealing with Autism.  Our new "normal" was trucking along and life was good. On September 3, 2015 a huge reality check hit me smack in the face.  In the big picture it was a minor set back but at the time it was a completely horrible day.

I was getting ready for work and all the dogs were in the bedroom with me.  Pint, my 4 lb Papillon, decided he was going to get off the bed which meant he had to walk by Sniper to get to the stairs.  I am sure Pint has done this 100 times and didn't think twice about navigating past Sniper.  Just as Pint was going past Sniper's head Sniper snapped at Pint and made him yelp.  Lucky for me I happened to be standing there when it happened so I knew exactly what went on.  In my house, the Papillons are not to be touched or trampled, so that was unacceptable behaviour.  I hollered out a "HEY!' and walked over to the bed to pick Sniper up and put him away in his crate, also probably something I had done many times in his 18 month life.  When I went to pick him up Sniper suddenly turned into a snapping crocodile and I got bit quite badly.  He took off running from the bedroom and went to the kitchen.  Well the trainer in me thought there is no way he is getting away with that and I went to get him and put him away.  We played a short game of cat and mouse as he dodged the punishment of going in the crate.  When he finally stopped in his corner of the couch I could see a look in his eyes that was pure panic and I took a huge step back and figured I now needed to approach this completely different. 

                                                             

When I took a quiet step towards him and reached out to pet him he let out this crazy scream and started air snapping at me.  The whole situation reminded me of a scene in Rainman where Dustin Hoffman was having a meltdown over the smoke detector going off.  Its the best way I can explain what I was seeing.  I had to help him but didn't really want to lose a finger and I was already bleeding pretty badly.  I was also worried about the other three dogs getting hurt in the fray of Sniper's meltdown.  So there Sniper and I stood in a bit of a wild west showdown.  I, trying to figure out how to stop his panic and he trying to defend himself from the world with his back in a corner.  In my problem solving efforts, I looked up and saw a blanket on the back of the couch right behind Sniper.  I reached over him which induced more screeaming from him and flipped the blanket over top of him.  Once he was covered I picked him up and held him tight.  He was the tightest ball of dog you could ever imagine.  When I squeezed him he let out a groan and started to relax and at that point I knew we were going to be ok.  I took Sniper covered in a blanket, grabbed a bag of treats and went back to the bedroom, just me and Sniper, and closed the door.  I gently put him down on the bed, he didn't move or even try to fight me.  I took the blanket off of him and sat down beside him with the bag of treats.  He was a little unsure but you could see he was exhausted from the adrenaline high he was just on.  We sat together for about ten miutes and I feed him treats as he let me pet him.  As Sniper came back down to earth, he sniffed at my bloody hand and licked as if to say, "I'm sorry".  I gave him a pat on the head and said  "it's ok buddy, we both learned something today".  I got up and continued on with my morning routine and Sniper put himself away in his crate until we left the house.

Now what was I going to do from here?  Who had the answers to help me?

Training Crazy (I mean that in a good way)

Sniper was already training in agility and had competed in Dock Dogs and doing well despite some of his odd behaviours.  As I mentioned above, in order to further his training I needed to "unlock" the box that would allow us to connect through the learning process.  At the time, we would get through concepts and he would pick them up and remember them but linking things together were hard for him.  They were hard because I didn't understand how to put the equation together for him.  This is now my responsibility to make the learning path make sense in his brain.  I know he is brilliant and functions in a different level.  He is certainly challenging my training knowledge and opening new doors for me which ultimately makes me a better trainer.

Sniper at 6 months

Sniper at 6 months

Sniper loves dock diving!  He seemed to be a natural at it when we started out when he was six months old.  I took him up on the dock the very first time and we went to the edge of the dock and I showed him I had the toy 
to throw in the water.  He suddenly got very serious and assumed a "sit" position with out me asking and was very serious about the job in front him.  Now I am a firm believer in letting instinct play our first and then shaping technique if necessary.  I tossed the toy about 7 feet out and released Sniper.  Out of nowhere this little puppy pops himself into the air and lands right on his toy.  Zero hesitation just pure joy!  At this time i had no idea of Sniper's autism but the joy I saw in his face when he was swimming back to me has left a lifetime memory in my brain.  I said to myself then, that is the joy I want to see in everything he does.  I am so happy that the look of gratitude and happiness I see on his face when we step on the dock has been captured in pictures.  These are the moments that stick in my brain that i want to share with the world.  This is the joy Sniper and I share.

We have played on dock dogs for over a year now and Sniper's technique has never changed  but he is jumping 20 feet now from about the same place on the dock.  It is quite unheard of and many dock competitors can't believe the distance he can get.  Not all of our jumps are pretty or the correct form but Sniper doesn't care.  No matter what happens he always gets to swim and he always gets his toy! How can you not enjoy playing with a dog that just wants to play no matter what the outcome is.  While I have competed with my other dogs at an international level for years, it has never been about the ribbons and the achievements but rather taking home the best dogs, my dogs.  I love them all to pieces and having the ability to play in many different venues allows us to spend more time together meeting new people.  Most importantly, when Sniper is playing people forget about the dog that spins like a top and see him for who he really is, experience his joy and love of life.

Because our "technique" is  little unorthodox it has taken some time to connect the dots from release to toss to catch to the water.  It is all over in a blink of an eye and who knew it would be so precise.  Like any sport it takes practice.  I put a pool up in the back yard three years ago for Arson.  Just a simple 9x18 above ground pool for swimming.  Who knew that it would become and interim jumping practice between the times we got on the dock.  Sniper was lucky and stepped into the yard with the pool and learned to swim in it at six months old.  It didn't take Sniper very long to figure out he could launch himself off the ramp and jump into the pool.  I won't lie, there was one day he almost cleared the pool's 18 feet!  Yes I did scream and fortunately since then we haven't repeated that episode.

In the summer we are able to make some trips up north to play with Xtreme Air Dogs and Aaron Grant.  A quick two hour drive and the boys get to practice jumping and compete about once a month over the summer.  Aaron has been great in helping Sniper and I perfect our technique and getting the most we can out of our jumps.  What I feel on the dock and what is actually happening are two different things so it was great to have a watchful eye on the sidelines to give us pointers.  

In September 2015, we took our skills to a new venue of competition, Ultimate Air Dogs at Spruce Meadows in Calgary.  All the disciplines are similar but have different games and sometimes, slightly different rules.  Sniper loved jumping inside and quite enjoyed the crowd cheering. 

Our routine when he gets on the dock starts and the bottom of the stairs.  I take the leash off and let him run up the stairs ahead of me.  When Sniper gets to the top of the stairs he starts spinning in circles which gets the crowd laughing at his enthusiasm.  Little do they know that the spinning is part of his autism not a trained cue.  Unfortunately, being indoors and far away from our vehicle there was no quiet place for Sniper to get away.  He was functioning in the red zone all day.  Over the top crazy.  The only part that brought him back was jumping in the pool.  The shot below says it all...low jump and the tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.  Once I join him on the dock we walk all the way out to the edge of the dock and then Sniper performs one last spin and assumes a perfect sit.  He puts his game face on and waits for my cue to jump.  It really is the cutest thing.  I knock the bumper on the dock and throw it out in the water.  Sniper leaps out to 20 feet from a stand still!  No running just sitting to 20 feet out in the pool!  It's crazy!  The crowd cheers and Sniper is so happy as he gets his bumper and heads back to the ramp.  Never a happier moment than watching your dog do something they love so completely.

Surprise to me both of the boys made it to the finals and low and behold Sniper won a division called Chase-It.  It is a timed event of jumping in and chasing a bumper to stop the time.  He thought the game was fantastic!  His win also brought home $150!  Good boy Sniper.  He was pretty proud of himself at the end of the day especially knowing that there was new toys coming with his winnings.

A New Journey Begins

Now that we had a diagnosis it was time to start changing our day to day lives to help "unlock" Sniper and discover all his potential.  I needed to figure out his triggers and embrace some of the quirky behaviours that make him who he is.  From the beginning I decided I wanted to take a holistic approach in helping him.  That may not be understandable to many as holistic/homepathic remedies are doubted by the masses but I believe in the power of it and I wanted to see how it would benefit Sniper.  In reality, it was either going to work or it wasn't and the things we were going to try wasn't going to kill him.  I started to keep a journal of things that I observed or changed with Sniper as we navigated his treatment/life adjustment plan.

So where to start...

In May of 2015, under the guidance of one Sniper's treatment team, Dr. Jodie Santarossa, we started to implement a few things at a time to see what was going to work for Sniper.  First things first, we got a Thunder Shirt, not sure why I hadn't thought of it before as I have used them on many dogs and recommend them often to students and customers.  Almost instantly you could see Sniper's demeanor change.  I also added a few drops of lavendar essential oil to the patch on the side of the Thunder Shirt for such a purpose.  During a typically high stress time in the day where he would bark and spin as customers picked up their dogs, Sniper was considerably more settled and was barking less.  Instant success is somewhat gratifying but at the same time you feel like you failed your dog not taking that step sooner.

A few days later we addedd digestive enzymes to his diet to see if that made any difference in his behaviour.  Not so sure they made a difference but I was continuing to see positive changes and seeing he had more focus when learning.  Most of the changes seemed to coinside with the Thundershirt.

Always on the search for ways to help Sniper, we added a Shuzi Pet Tag to his collar.  The Shuzi tag vibrates at a cellular level and amongst many of its health benefits one of them was to help with anxiety issues.  I had had success with Shuzi for two of my other dogs with inflammation so I knew the product worked it was just a question of whether it would work for Sniper.  Within about two weeks of adding the Shuzi pet tag, Sniper was refusing to put on his Thunder Shirt.  It was an interesting observation and when discussing with Dr. Jodie during a cranial sacral session, she confirmed that he probably viewed it as a security blanket now and if he didn't want to put it on then Sniper felt he didn't need it.  And from that point on we just proceeded with the collar and essential oils.

In June, I progressed the essential oils from just lavendar on his Thunder Shirt to adding diffusers to my office and house. At home, I put one in the living room and another in the bedroom.  I continued using mostly lavender but was able to purchase a Tranquility Blend from Saje Wellness that seemed to really work well.  As soon as I got home from work the diffusers were turned on.  Sniper would eat his dinner and take himself to the bedroom where his crate is and hide himself away.  He was clearly sending a message that he needed down time in a quiet place.  With my very quick education into Canine Autism, this was a key component to the dogs finding balance,  Sniper naturally removed himself from any stimuli so he could rest.  Quite smart if you really think about it.  These quiet moments happen on a daily basis now.  He doesn't always go in the crate now, sometimes he chooses the bed.  If I happen to go in the bedroom before I go to bed, it is very clear that Sniper was in a deep deep sleep.  Before I knew what I was dealign with I just thought Sniper hated his family as he never chose to be in the same room as us but now I know different and do the best I can to find him a quiet space wherever we are.  If he has had a chance to rest or it is the weekend, Sniper will come and hang with us while we watch TV but he chooses a spot on a seperate couch by himself.  There is no cuddling or touching allowed in Sniper's world.  It's a very sad reality for me because he is just so cute not to cuddle.  

The Diagnosis

In April of 2015, at the age of 16 months, with a list of odd behaviors I started doing some research and seeking advice from a variety of sources.  I spoke to the breeder regularly as we are good friends, I contacted a behaviorist that I had used with Porter and had great success with, I contacted different friends around the world that may have some ideas, I spoke to a few veterinarians and I spoke to experts in the holistic field.  The general consensus was that Sniper was indeed different but nobody could quite put their finger on what exactly made him different.  I got lots of advice on how to fix specific issues from the list of things but nothing that would help the big picture.

Along my journey of talking to people, I get referred to a veterinarian with Slice to help deal with a concussion issue as well as some "athlete" rehab needed before heading away to Europe to compete.  The day Jodie and I reconnected will go down in history as a life changing moment for my whole family.  She worked on Slice and during our visit we started talking about how her veterinarian practice was now including holistic alternatives to conventional treatments the majority of us are familiar with.  Making a long story much shorter, we started to talk about Sniper and some of the "issues" was looking for help with.  Jodie thought she might be able to help and we scheduled a time for her to work on him.  I knew I would have to have my whole list of issues in hand at our appointment to get the most benefit of our time together so rather than remember everything down it went on paper.

THE LIST

1. Sniper avoids new experiences or situations

2. Sniper has a drastic flight/panic response

3. Sniper chooses not to interact with people/dogs

4. Sniper enjoys being with and entertaining himself

5. Sniper displays many OCD behaviors

6. Sniper recoils from human touch as if it burns him

7. Sniper randomly fear barks when nothing appears to be going on

8.  Sniper wakes from a dead sleep in a panic

9. Sniper trances 

10. Sniper avoids eye contact

11.  Sniper does not like any changes out of the norm, it causes anxiety

12.  Sniper has panic attacks

13.  Sniper starting to display separation anxiety
14.  Sniper continues to have accidents in the house or crate

The list was thorough and I had many examples for each point on the list to identify that they weren't just one time occurrences.  Jodie did a full overall exam of Sniper and brought up the possibility of Sniper having Canine Autism.  At first I think she thought I wouldn't believe her or think the idea was so far fetched but as soon as she said the words I thought, "well that makes sense".  I had never heard of a dog being autistic but it didn't mean it wasn't possible.  So I sat on the information for a week and started doing some research.  I spoke to a few of my closest dog friends and they all gave me a list of agility people they knew or had heard of whose dogs where autistic.  Who knew?  The names I heard amazed me.  These are trainers and dogs I compete with at an international level and the dogs are brilliant.  I was even more encouraged now that with proper protocol going forward Sniper was going to flourish.  Once I had a better grasp and what all this meant, I started to refine our routines and figure out all the things I could do to help Sniper.

Everything was going to be ok.

The Reason ...

1 week

2 weeks

On January 26, 2014, a litter of eight Nova Scotia Duck Toller pups was born.  The puppy I would get from this litter would be my second Toller and a full brother to Arson, my first Toller.  One by one the breeder posted pictures of the wee pups from basically minutes after being born.  We got weekly updates of their progress and new pictures to see how they were changing.  In the beginning, I was stuck on the tiny little girl from the litter and I was sure she was going to be mine.  Clearly the universe had different plans.

3 weeks

I have always trusted my breeder to match me with the best pup that matched what I was looking for and it has never failed me yet.  The wee girl was actually was the match for me even though a boy was one of my criteria.  At 7 weeks when the pups went for their vet check up the wee girl had patella issues that could have posed problems for the dog sport path I plan for my dogs.  The new pup was following in the footsteps of six agility dogs before him.  When Diane, the breeder, called me to tell me the news she followed up with the pup that was the next in match process for me.  Gremlin was the little boy that would be coming home to me and joining the family.  I won't lie he was my favorite boy so I was pretty excited.  Before the pups were even born I had my name picked out, this pup would be forever known as Sniper.

4 weeks

5 weeks

I had already been watching Sniper grow over the first seven weeks of his life and I was very excited that the little boy with the "naughty patch" of white fur on his nose would be joining the pack.  There were already four dogs at home before Sniper came.  Porter, the old man, a 13 year old White Shepard, had very little tolerance for poor manners and overly confident dogs.  Any dog that came into our house needed to respect his authority and place in the family. Slice, the only girl, a 7 year old Papillon that rules the house really.  Pint, the quite but mighty 5 yr old Papillon. And Arson, Sniper's full brother, a 3 year old NSDTR.  From the day Sniper arrived he fit into the family and his best quickly became Porter.  The last match I expected but the two of them bonded quickly.  The old man had great patience for this last little pup that he would "father" in his lifetime.  Sniper respected him and didn't pull any stupid puppy tricks around him.

6 weeks

7 weeks

Also, on his journey to Edmonton, came his brother Dragon.  His brother became the chosen one for my dear friend Amanda.  Lucky for the brothers, Amanda and I work together, and they would get to see each other every day.  I am the proud owner of See Spot Run Doggy Daycare.  What better way for a pup to be raised than playing everyday and hanging out with your family.  Dragon and Sniper have been best friends from the start and Dragon continues to be one of the only dogs Sniper will play with aside from Arson.

Sniper and Dragon (5 months)

Sniper was a super cute puppy with the right balance of naughtiness and respect.  He kept me on my toes and always brought a smile to my face.  I just could not look at him without thinking how cute he was.

As Sniper grew and his personality developed over the next year, I knew he was different.  This boy was going to tap into all my trainers knowledge and probably open my eyes to knew techniques.  He had energy to burn!  That didn't surprise me as I knew I was getting a high drive dog, that is what I wanted.  The difference was how his energy and brain worked that were different than my other dogs.  I have trained all different breeds of dogs in my business and I have trained through issues with my own dogs.  Porter had severe separation anxiety which led to me opening my business.  Pint had confidence issues from some bad experiences as a pup.  Slice was an incredibly fast and talented agility dog that took me to the highest level of agility there is, world champion.  Arson, a bit head strong but so willing to please.  All these lessons, gave me pieces to work with Sniper and for the most part it was working but I needed help.

At around 12 months, I really started to put some more serious time into Sniper's training.  I could tell he was brilliant but could see that the pattern of learning was not like anything else I had every dealt with.  I started working with different trainers and paying closer attention to what made him tick.  And this is where the story begins....

18 months