The Project Dog: Teddy’s Story
Welcome to The Project Dog! Let’s start things off with an introduction, tell us a little but about yourself and your dog.
I'm Jackie, and my dog is Teddy. He is a Shetland Sheepdog that we adopted in 2020, when he was 2.5 years old. He is the second sheltie I've owned as an adult, and I grew up with collies. I guess I'm partial to herding dogs with long faces. It became clear as soon as we got him home that Teddy was going to keep us on our toes. He is smart, sensitive, quirky, funny, sweet, and also gets cranky at bedtime. He always lets you know exactly how he's feeling, and isn't afraid to get loud about it.
Hi Jackie, we are excited to hear Teddy’s story. Take us back to the beginning, where does Teddy’s journey with you start?
We got Teddy in 2020, at the height of the pandemic. Our previous sheltie, Rigby, had to be put down very suddenly and we were devastated. Rigby was my first sheltie, and I found him by chance one day when I stopped at the SPCA on a whim. He was a sweet, quiet dog that made me fall in love with the breed. After he died, our house was unbearably quiet, and on top of dealing with the uncertainties of the covid lockdown, living with his absence was really tough. I knew I wanted another sheltie, but this was also at the time when everyone was deciding it was a great time to get a dog. I was researching and reaching out to breeders, and many of them had long waiting lists. I found someone that was fairly local, and their social media had posted a few adults they had available. They had a young sable male that had gone to a home as a puppy, and had been returned to the breeder. I inquired about him. I thought it over for a few days, and decided to take a drive out to see him. I told my husband, "Let's just go meet him," which meant, "We're taking this dog home." When we got to the property, we were a little taken aback at how many dogs there were. There was a lot of dogs. I mean, a lot. They were out in the country and had a lot of land. The house had a side deck with 5 or 6 shelties hanging out as we pulled up. As the owner showed us around, they had rows of outdoor kennels with more shelties. In an outbuilding, we could hear the barks of more dogs inside. When we got to meet Teddy, she brought out this scrawny, stinky little dog. His coat was dull, and his body language was stressed. I couldn't control what was going on with the rest of that place, but I could take this one dog home.
Wow, this story is already pulling on my heart strings. It sounds like you showed up in Teddy’s life at just the right time, but I imagine coming home with you was a big adjustment for him. What were those early days like with Teddy?
It didn't take long to figure out that Teddy was going to be a challenge. Where our previous dog was on one end of the spectrum of unbotheredness, Teddy was the polar opposite. His breeder assured us that he was cat-friendly when I inquired, and it became immediately clear that that was not the case. Our mild-mannered tabby, Oliver, took refuge on the second floor. Teddy was afraid of cats, and he was also afraid of stairs. I was completely unfamiliar with what it meant for a dog to be reactive and had zero experiences interacting with a dog with reactivity issues. The first week we had him home, he barked at absolutely every noise. He never stopped barking. We live in the city, so I'm sure to Teddy, it was just a barrage of new noises, after living way out in the country. And he needed to tell us about every single one of them. My husband, at his wit's end, said one night, "I don't think this is going to work. I think we have to take him back." And I was beside myself. I didn't know how to help this dog, but I didn't want to give him up, either. I couldn't return him to where we got him from. I figured maybe he just had a lot of excess energy. I started taking him for a lot of walks, even just a quick spin around the block. It did seem to help. I was reasoning with myself that he just needed a lot of enrichment. We played out back, he loved to run. He did have basic obedience training and knew some tricks, and his breeder told us his first owner had started some agility classes with him. That lead me to look into getting him started in agility again, to give him a job and keep his mind busy. Any time I am out with him, I have to stay alert to potential triggers or head off encounters. He likes to lunge and chase cars, it has taken years to get him to the point where he will check in for a treat. Even still, sometimes the temptation is too great if he gets surprised by a speeding car. I get it, I want them to slow down too. If we encounter another dog, there has been more than one occasion where I have to either cross the street, or just pick him up to pass by. He does not like children, and have had to tell more than one disappointed child that unfortunately, they can't pet him. I can't risk him nipping a stranger, especially someone's child.
That is a lot to take on but it seems like you were up for the challenge and have worked hard to meet his needs. Do you have a favorite activity that you enjoy doing together?
Teddy loves to walk. On cooler days we like to go to Delaware park and walk through Rumsey Woods and around Hoyt Lake. The only downside is that I constantly have to be watching for off-leash dogs. We've had a couple of encounters where I had to explain that Teddy is not friendly, though the other owner insists that their dog is fine. There have been instances where I'll either scoop Teddy up to avoid another dog, or we'll head in another direction if we're able. We've been able to take him on a couple shorter hikes in the Adirondacks, and it's so fun to me to have a dog that you can take on those kinds of adventures with you. More than walking, he loves to run. If we're ever in a big empty area with clear views of anyone coming, we let him off-leash and he'll just gallop until we force him to take a break. This winter we went to the meadow at Delaware Park on a pretty cold day, and the park was empty. We went out to the middle and let him just chase us around for almost an hour. You could see the joy on his face as he blasted through the snow.
I can almost picture that perfect winter day with Teddy! Witnessing a dogs joy as they embrace those moments of freedom and live their life to the fullest is one of the greatest honors of being a guardian. Looking back on your journey so far, have your expectations changed?
When we first got Teddy and realized what type of behavioral issues we were dealing with, I naively thought I could transform him into something that just isn't in his genetics. I have reframed my expectations for him to look a little more realistic. I can't stop him from barking, from being hyper-vigilant, from being afraid of cats and cars. What I can do is to help him feel safe and secure, in hopes of making him feel more confident. I accept who he is and am content to meet him where he is and work from there. While he will always be who he is, he is a very different dog than when I first got him.
As you learned more about Teddy, what types of things did you start to do differently in order to meet his needs?
Before getting Teddy, a dog was just a dog, happy to go along with whatever I was doing. I'd never had a dog with any major behavioral considerations, so I never really had to think about what I was doing with my dog. With my experiences with Teddy over the years, I now think about future situations we may find ourselves in and how he may react to them. If we're going somewhere, I prepare myself for possible scenarios we may encounter where we may need to adjust what we're doing, redirect, etc. The one thing I try to keep in mind is that I don't want him to be in a situation where he's set up to fail.
It sounds like you have learned a lot from your relationship with Teddy. What words of wisdom would you share with someone experiencing similar challenges?
Give them time and patience, and give yourself grace. You will likely make mistakes navigating their behaviors, and that's okay.
This is wonderful advice, so true and so important! As we close out this chapter, there anything else you would like to share with our readers?
I think my time with Teddy has made me a more empathetic and conscientious dog owner. I've always loved dogs, and all animals, really, but having this little dog come to me who views much of the world as scary and threatening has made me have to consider his daily perspective. I feel fortunate that he landed with me, and not in a situation where he could potentially be mistreated. It has made me realize that when you hear stories about dogs who are "mean", or "bad", it's more likely that they're coming from a place of fear. I am grateful that I am able to be Teddy's advocate, and I hope that he feels safe and loved in a world that really can often be a bit scary.
