Nova's progress (very shy chow)!!!

[alfaphlex]

Nova is our shy 9m old black female chow and when I say shy, I mean SHYYYYYYY. How shy? Well, here's a list:

1) Won't step out into our own yard if someone is outside, regardless of whether it's in our yard or a neighbor's.
2) Pulls fearfully on walks if anyone is close by.
3) If she's not at home, her tail is down all day.
4) Won't take treats from strangers
5) Won't obey any commands outside home.
6) Lays down and drools in the car. Even after a 5 min. drive, her mane would be soaked (we have towels at all times, just in case)
7) Presses up against every wall and corner possible.

It's not that she doesn't like people, she just seems to be afraid of the approach. Once you're petting her, she won't try to run or anything. She just stays still enjoying the affection.

Anyway, Nova's been like this since we got her, regardless of how many times we go to Petsmart (2-4 times a week) or walks. However, in the past 2 weeks, we began raising bar for her. We found this nice big sidewalk next to a river here in Philly where joggers, bikers and dog owners can walk, jog and ride for 4+ miles straight. The best part? It's next to a freeway, no barricades or anything. This helped desensitize Nova from her fear of cars/trucks passing by. We also began jogging with our chows (they take the heat better than you'd think and MUCH better than mommy ). At petsmart, we've been staying much longer and at the front of the store where people constantly walk in and out.

In the past week, she's start to show some changes, with each day progressing at a faster rate. Stuff she did throughout the week.

1) Rode in the car, sitting up and looking out the window, to Kelly Drive (bike/walk path) for the 1st time without drooling.
2) Stepped out into the yard while Mari's dad was in it.
3) Took a treat from a stranger for the very first time.
4) Walked Kelly Drive with her tail up more than half the time (about 3 miles total).
5) At petsmart, we were chatting with employees, who were sitting on the curb, taking a break outside. While they were petting Nova, strangers passed by and Nova pressed up against THEM.

Lots of progress in just 1 week. Then came Chow Fest. She spent most of the day with her tail down, like usual, but she was much more accepting towards strangers. Her tail would go up the moment she was like 15 ft from the picnic area. Here are some accomplishments at Chow Fest:

1) Rode a total of over 7hrs in the car and didn't drool.
2) She ate treats from strangers. Big step, she's learning that she can trust people.
3) She was walked by strangers (Special D and T-bone's moms). This showed that she didn't get anxious after realizing that neither mom or dad were walking her.
4) She gave purple kisses to strangers. Before yesterday, she had only done that a total of 2 times. Not only did she kiss hands, but she kissed T-bone's mom in the face!
5) For the very first time, she obeyed a stranger (Special's mom). This one was the biggest step. She now knows she can trust a stranger enough to want to please them. And it shows that she finally became desensitized enough from her surroundings to focus on just one person. Even if only for a moment, with all that was going on around her, she sat for her and gave Katalin her paw. That was great!!!

And here's more progress since Chow Fest (been 2 days):

1) At petsmart yesterday, she had her tail up inside the store for almost the whole time. She didn't mind walking within 5 ft of people. It still dropped at moments where it got too loud though (front of the store), but I'm certainly not complaining.
2) This morning, she stepped out into the yard with not only someone else there, but with the neighbor next door banging/hammering something in his yard. Her tail was up too!
3) For the first time in about 3-4 months, Nova did ZOOOOOOMIEEES! This is a huge step for us. Kuma always got frustrated that she never wanted to play outside and he would pull her tail to get her to run/play, but today while I was taking out the trash, Kuma approached the gate while I was returning and lo and behold, Nova runs up behind him, pulls his tail and starts zooming away!!!

I'm really sorry for the long rant, but I just wanted everyone to know how much progress Nova has made. Those who attended Chow Fest saw it first-hand.

For some strange reason, this past week, she's changed so much and only keeps surprising us more each day. I think it might be because she hasn't had her first cycle yet, which is weird given her age, but I think her changes are leading up to it. Whatever it is, I hope she continues flourishing and growing more confidence.

Special thanks everybody at EC Chow Fest 2k8!!! (go check out the pics in the ChowFest forum)

Here a photo of Nova after being walked by T-Bone's mom. She was Nova's favorite new person at Chow Fest:

[chowfrnd88]

I teared up reading the post, they're both such sweet, wonderful chows. Great chow ambassadors. I'm so glad things have bene going so well with Nova, Special is very proud of her. Maybe they chatted and he told her that it's not so bad when people are around, being petted can be fun.

I mentioned in a reply to Mari's post that when hubby got home last night, I showed him the pictures that she put up on the two of them on the way home and I hadn't had a chance to tell him how well Nova did in the car on the way home and the first thing hubby said was "look, she's not drooling "

[jacqui]

thats a great improvement for 1 week.it sounds like shes really coming out of her shell.I saw all you pictures and both Nova and Kuma are beautiful.

[Brandy's mom]

That's wonderful - for her, for Kuma, and for you! I am so happy for you! I've got the opposite problem - Brandy has never seen a human being that she DOESN'T want to jump on and say hello to (though she's finally showing progress in not jumping on everyone she sees!), and she loves to ride in the car, but wants to stand with her paws on the dash and half her body hanging out the window! We're still working on that one - I think I"m going to have to break down and get her a seatbelt of her own. I'm going to hate driving with the whining that will ensue, though, but I plan on driving to Chicago in July, so we've got to get this worked out!

[chowkidz]

Any little improvement is great news. You and Mari are doing great to be so patient and caring. Nova and Kuma are very lucky.

[TJordan]

WOW, she has made such great improvements. YOu should be very proud. And congrats. to you for hangin' in there and making it work!!! I have Butters who can be a bit of a handful at times, so I totally agree that even the smallest improvement feels like a huge victory!!

[CoraP.]

Nova is such a beautiful girl. I am glad to hear she's making so much progress! It sounds like she will blossom into a confident young lady!

[Laura]

Miss Nova

[mari]

I just got back from work a little while ago.. Daddy, Kuma and Nova were waiting for me in the yard.. After Nova saw me she started doing zooomies and knocking Kuma down..lol it was hilarious it's usually the other way around ..

I makes me feel so happy to see her excited, without a care in the world! and she looks so gorgeous when she shakes her bootie and her tail is up she's also starting to be as affectionate as Kuma i love my babies

[alfaphlex]

Thanks everybody for the support. We just got inside a few mins ago after playing with Kuma and Nova in the yard. Unfortunately, it didn't occur to us to get them on video until they were already worn out. But all is not lost, I still caught a small clip. You can see that Nova's tail didn't drop at all and she was pushing Kuma around.

Hope you like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wqzzH20F0s

sorry if the quality isn't that great. Youtube's compression kinda sucks, lol.

[Theo]

She has really come a long way! Both of your chow kids are very loved!!!
I loved the video! I used photobucket to upload my video of chowfest. It was pretty easy!

[jeremyracca]

Wow great progress. I too have a super shy chow chow. I love to hear stories like yours! Good luck!
Jeremy

[chowkidz]

Nova is doing great. I watched the video Kuma meets Nova, she has definitely come a long way.

[chowfrnd88]

The playing in the yard video is very cute. She has come such a long way.

[alfaphlex]

Hey everybody,

Just wanted to update you guys on Nova's progress. Last night for the first time, she jumped up on the bed and laid down to cuddle, pressing up on Mari. It was great to see her do this because Kuma is always on the bed cuddling with us and he ALWAYS takes mommy's spot when she gets up in the morning for work. She repeated this about 3 times last night. It was awesome .

Today, during our walk in Kelly Drive (bike path), she actually passed our test. Barely, but passed. What's the test? The % of the amount of time she walked with her tail up. Last week, she did about 1/2 the walk with her tail up, which is 50%... failing grade, but better than the 0% that preceded it. Today, she did 70%. She almost had 90%, but on our way back, a train was passing by on the overhead railroad , which scared her for the rest of the walk back to the car. Had the train not passed, she would have gotten that 90%.

She went from 0% avg, to a 40-50% last week, to 70%, almost 90% today.

Someone's gonna get some extra special Chow Fest treats today!!!(she really, really loves them).

[chow fancier]

Good girl, Nova! It is nice to see you are coming out of your shell. Your people are very devoted to you and really just want to make sure you have a full and happy life. Looks like you found a great forever home there.

I saw your pictures from Chowfest, looks like you have a new boyfriend, too!!!

[bubba]

good work on your part
my boy was VERY shy when he first arrived ,

it took a year before he would sleep over on is side , 3 years before he would come to my wife
he still will not take treats from hand ... Maybe he will take the most suculent roast beef from hand , but only the second offering , then he leans way forward like he was a wild thing and only takes it with his lips..

[alfaphlex]

Wow, what an afternoon. A bit of background on what one of our daily routines: During the afternoon, I take Kuma and Nova out to the yard and just relax there reading a book for about 1-2 hrs . This has helped desensitize Nova from her surroundings, which she gets better at each day. I always leave the door open so she's free to enter whenever she feels uncomfortable. At first, she would go inside at the sound or sight of anything . She doesn't do that anymore though. However, the first 10-15 mins when we're in the yard, she spends pacing back and forth as if saying "omg, omg, omg, omg" from nervousness, then she calms down and sits next to me.

My goal has been to get her desensitized enough to lay down out of boredom. The most I'd get spending 2hrs outside each day is her sitting down beside me, looking left and right and ears moving back and forth. I've even dozed off a couple of times waiting for her to lay down . Anyway, 2-3 times a week, after this routine, I come in the house and workout.

Well, today while sitting outside, I realized the yard really needed a good mowing. Then it hit me... she's afraid of the lawnmower too, so let me desensitize her to that, spend time with her outside and get a good workout at the same time. However, mowing the lawn doesn't necessarily take much time or effort with these:

Electric lawnmower:


Gas-powered lawnmower:


Weed-wacker thingy:


No, no, no... I needed a good workout and I needed to spend enough time doing it to bore and desensitize Nova. Then answer? This:


Notice the 2 sets of ankle weights tied around it, totalling 30lbs on top of the already 15-20lb iron man-powered lawnmower.

During my lawn-mowing mission, Nova amazed me by doing a couple of new things to show me she's making even more progress . Remember how I said above that I always leave the door open for her to freely enter? Well, whenever I decide to enter, I never let Nova enter before me, or for free . I make her sit, paw, down, etc. to teach her patience and reward. Anyway, if I turn my back, she'll enter regardless of what I say. Today, she did not.

Today, I told Nova to stay in front of the open door. I entered to use the bathroom and get me some water. On my way out, I looked in each of Nova's hiding places. No Nova in sight. Where was she? Waiting for me outside, sitting in front of the open door!!! You guys have no idea how happy that made me. She repeated this 4 more times (during my 5 min breaks).

But what about the lawnmower? Pfft, she walked around it and sat beside it like the champ she's becoming. But it doesn't stop there.

After ONLY( ) 2hrs and 30mins, Nova laid down under her favorite tree, which we call the ducky tree. This'll explain why:


She only spent 1-2 mins laying down before Kuma thought it was a bright idea to pounce on her, but those were the most amazing 1-2 mins she's given me this week. . It means that for that short amount of time, she relaxed and dropped her guard completely. This is a huge step.

Ok, back to the lawn... Guess how long it took me to mow the lawn? Only 3hrs and 45mins!!! Sounds easy huh? . A note about me: I work from home, on my computers all day and thus, I have very soft hands (which Mari loves, btw). Needless to say, they are blistered up and in incredible pain, but do I regret doing it? Not one bit.

I could have been lazy and used the electric or gas-powered lawnmowers, even the weedwacker, and be done in 20mins. Hell, I could have chosen to simply NOT have done anything at all. See, it's the landlord's responsibility to have the lawn mowed, which he pays Mari's dad to do every now and then. Foolish me, huh?

Well, had I taken the easy road, I wouldn't have witnessed what I did from Nova today. I'm a firm believer in that you get out of something what you put in. For me, this includes Nova. I could take the easy road and not make any effort in helping Nova learn that the world won't harm her, but then I'd end up with a fear-aggressive chow, which would be no different than the very same ones that end up in shelters.

So today, everybody wins:
1) I got a better workout than I would've indoors with my weights.
2) I got a nice tan (wore shorts and tanktop)
3) Mari's dad got a free day he'll get paid for.
4) Kuma and Nova have a nicely mowed yard.
5) Nova sat and stayed outside, while I was inside (it's ALWAYS the opposite).
6) Nova's not afraid of the lawnmower.
7) Nova laid down outside.

So yes, these annoyingly painful blisters were unnecessary and could've been easily avoided, but they were well worth it. We all earned our rewards today. On an extra note, every day this week, she's climbed up onto the bed for cuddling and playing.

Sorry for the rant, and even more sorry I couldn't get a picture of her laying down. Mari took the camera to work for a co-worker's retirement dinner. The mower pics I got with my cell phone afterwards (notice the lawn mowed in some). Hope my narrative doesn't put any of you to sleep. Having said that, let me go take a much needed shower. Adios.

[chowfrnd88]

Aw that's so wonderful about Nova! She is making so much progress, that is so amazing!

Love all the lawngadgets! LOL.

[alfaphlex]

Today was another amazing day! We took Kuma and Nova for a walk at Kelly Drive today and guess what she scored today?

70? 80? 90? no no no ..... Nova aced the test and gave a full 100%. That's 100% of the walk with her tail up!

Not only that, but today we used the retractable leashes and it was loose about 90% of the time. She stayed either to my left or about 5 ft in front of me. She walked on the bike/jog path the whole time. I only tightened it to keep her off the grass to my right (not much), which was better than Kuma cuz he kept walking onto the grass (mommy isn't very consistent with the training, lol).

She had her guard dropped nearly the whole time and when joggers/bikers came up behind us, we began jogging along with them so that she'd see it as a game and she did great. Didn't jump out of the way once. Not only that, but when they passed us in the opposite direction, she didn't even care to look back.

note: For those that don't know about my Kelly Drive test for Nova, it's about 5-6 posts up.

[mari]

Here's a pic of my baby, Nova, that i shot last night.. i love it when she gets up on to the bed..
She doesn't do that very often (on the other hand, Kuma loves it..lol)

[chowfrnd88]

Aw, she's just wonderful.

[sit_by_the_beach]

Aren't male chows more boisterous than females? I watched your videos and I think Nova is doing great. My chow was almost 3 years old when I adopted her, 18 months later she is still a bit on the quiet side.