Several years ago, I was introduced to Nimbus’s owner, an ambitious young man who was going to school and working full-time while still dedicating himself to raising his young pup, a German shepherd. We worked together for a while but then lost touch. I was glad to hear back from him but was dismayed that Nimbus wasn’t doing well.
Turns out Nimbus’s owner had met someone special. They were in love, had moved in together, and now did not see eye to eye on how Nimbus should be dealt with. Finally my client’s partner contacted me, hoping we could pick up where we’d left off all these years ago.
Indeed, Nimbus had become anxious, stressed, and quick to react to people and animals. He was also potentially dangerous around people; one could not walk by too close without him wanting to grab someone’s arm. At home, he paced restlessly, whined, and barked at neighbors. He was hard to handle, impossible to settle, and howled and hollered as if he were being tortured anytime anything would be asked of him. I had never encountered anxiety of this scale. More than once, it was suggested that Nimbus ought to be medicated and I couldn’t help but wonder if that was the only way.
By the time my clients had contacted me, they were prepared to make changes, as their quality of life was at an all-time low. We worked on bringing their mindsets into alignment and taking charge of the dog’s life, whether inside or outside the home. Therefore, we crated Nimbus, established a schedule for him, and began seriously challenging him in his outings. Even in their small apartment, when he was out of the crate, he was still blocked off from certain spaces.
We revved up a weak food drive and strengthened his prey drive, tugging and playing ball with him. We discovered that Nimbus was one of those dogs that would want to take his ball with him to heaven. It soothed him to have a ball, and we let him carry it around inside as well as on his walks, which helped tremendously with his reactivity.
As a coach, it was a real thrill for me to see not only Nimbus change but his people change as well. While becoming more and more consistent in handling, they each developed their unique style and cultivated their own bond with the dog. Nimbus doesn’t have just one person he looks up to but two.
One of the first signs of improvement was how deeply Nimbus slept, inside or outside the crate, as his anxiety receded. I kept getting videos of Nimbus snoring, sleeping soundly, on his back, sometimes his tongue sticking out in relaxation. He got better all the time at being calm inside and outside the house, ignoring the neighbors, ignoring strangers, dealing better with other dogs. He started to become silly and spirited and, at the same time, more mature and respectful of boundaries. It’s been a thrill getting videos of him walking loosely in a busy neighborhood and being described by his owners as pleasant and chill.
It took two years, but Nimbus was successfully decompressed, and he and his owners have solid relationship foundations. Because Nimbus is sounder and stronger than ever before, he responds well when asked to do things, such as leaving something alone that would previously have made him reactive.
Among other successes, my clients have been able to take Nimbus camping and hiking with my girls. We must trust that all that good work will pan out, and indeed it did with this German shepherd and his family. Check out a video of Nimbus on our YouTube channel.
