When Tux was surrendered to the Seattle Animal Shelter (SAS) in February, it was not his first time. A four-and-a-half-year-old American Pitbull Terrier, Tux first met shelter staff in 2016 when he was picked up as a stray. His owner came to redeem him the next day, but he was picked up as a stray again a month later. Over the next four years, Tux was surrendered twice more by another owner due to severe “stranger danger” behaviors.
Unfortunately, with Tux’s history, the shelter determined he couldn’t be put up for adoption without specialized training. In the past, when a dog couldn’t be put up for adoption right away, it was at risk for being put down. But today, dogs like Tux are getting a second chance.
Tux was enrolled in the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation (SASF) donor-funded Behavioral Training Program. Built on a foundation of positive reinforcement, love and patience, the program applies a unique range of behavior modification techniques that help dogs overcome their fears and start to trust humans again.
“Usually, when working with animals that have issues with strangers, the root of the issue is fear and/or anxiety,” explained SAS Behaviorist Kimberlee Spicer.
During his first assessment, Spicer observed that while Tux was fearful and anxious, he exhibited no obvious signs of territorial aggression. However, territorial aggression doesn’t usually manifest in a shelter environment, often due to stress or a lack of ownership over a shared space. So, Spicer knew Tux would also need to be assessed in a home environment right from the start.
Spicer recommended that SAS’s Vet Services team examine Tux to start him on anti-anxiety medication that would help him relax and aid in his training sessions. The behavior team then began working with Tux on crate and muzzle training. Crate training is essential to give every dog a sense of safety and security, but in Tux’s case, this was also a safety measure, both to ensure a home assessment could be conducted safely and to set up his future adopters for success. Muzzle training is also especially important because it allows the behavior team to safely observe a dog’s response to potentially problematic situations.
Tux quickly became a behavior team favorite.
“Ah, Tux!” said Penny Bolton, a member of SAS’s volunteer behavioral team. “His first time in the conference room, he was so cautious. Outside and in his kennel, he seemed pretty rambunctious, but when I opened the door to the room, he crawled across the threshold very slowly. He saw all the stuff and walked around looking at it with his tail tucked. I got down on the floor with him and showed him how to take apart a box with food in it because he was afraid to get into things. After we broke the ice, he very happily spent 20 minutes snuffling and eating and getting pets. He totally relaxed into the ‘real’ Tux.”
In no time at all, Tux became friendly, affectionate and cuddly. He was also highly food-motivated, which made training easy and fun for him. Tux also received daily enrichment, which is an essential element of the program and looks different for every animal.
The science of behavior training and enrichment
“We look at the 5 senses: sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch and what that specific animal is most enriched by,” explained Spicer. “For example, some dogs might find the sound of classical music most relaxing, whereas another dog may find the taste and smell of a frozen Kong more enriching. There are also some days that the dogs do not feel up to doing training, and that is okay. Training is a choice, and they have the right to opt-out. On those days, we may heavily rely on enrichment instead of structured training, such as agility, Nosework or dog-to-dog play.”
When dogs are bored, they can develop abnormal behaviors, including excessive licking or chewing of their feet or tails (which can sometimes even result in self-injury), barking, digging or escaping from their enclosures, circling or pacing, and eating feces, according to research from the University of Bristol Anthrozoology Institute’s Department of Clinical Veterinary Science.
But giving a dog a “job” to do, a food puzzle, for example, helps keep them stimulated by requiring them to work to access their treats. Tux especially loved using his nose and had fun with snuffle mats and Noseworks (an activity that stimulates a dog’s ability to detect scent).
“At the end of the training session, we would usually leave him with a bully stick or Kong, as having that option of enrichment when left alone is crucial to the mental health of our animals,” said Spicer.
Behavioral modification training is about building trust. It is a highly repetitive and ongoing process that takes time, sometimes months. But Tux was a fast learner. Over four-and-a-half weeks, he began to excel, at which point, Spicer and the SAS Dog Foster Program began searching for a foster home for Tux.
The foster care assessment
Trying a dog in foster is an essential element of the program because it helps behaviorists assess progress and see how the dog does in a true home environment. SAS works to pair dogs with foster parents who are patient, eager to learn and willing and able to continue training with the help of the behavior team.
Katherine Humphrey has been volunteering as a dog adoption assistant for SAS for nearly 6 years. Tux was her first foster dog, and she was concerned at first that she might not have the necessary experience to care for a dog with potential behavioral issues. But SAS made sure she had everything she needed.
Humphrey continued to work with Tux on his crate and muzzle training, which she said he took like a champ. But he was still very anxious when new people neared Humphrey’s home.
Not long after she began fostering Tux, Gov. Inslee’s Stay Home, Stay Healthy order went into effect.
“Having him during the beginning of the quarantine was really important for me,” said Humphrey. “It was an uncertain time, and having him there was so comforting. It also got me outside walking and seeing the world even when there was very little person-to-person contact.”
Thanks to Humphrey, Spicer was able to conduct extensive virtual assessments on Tux during foster, and soon decided Tux was ready to be put up for adoption. In the end, he was only available for one week before they found a perfect match.
The forever home
Riley and Daylen G. knew from the start they had the patience to adopt a dog that might need extra love and attention. Determined to rescue an animal rather than buy one from a breeder, they began calling local shelters looking for pitbull rescues, dogs they knew were much less likely to find a home because of the negative stereotype so often associated with them. When they saw Tux’s pictures online and read his story, something clicked.
“When we finally were able to meet him, we knew that he was an anxious boy, so we let him come to us, and he came right up and gave us kisses on the face and was ready to go for his walk,” said Riley. “He just wanted to play and do whatever he needed to in order to get a treat…He was a great little boy who seemed ready to curl up on our couch and get loved on! We knew he was perfect for us.”
Riley and Daylen adopted Tux in June, and he became an official graduate of the SAS Behavior Training Program.
“When we brought him home, he fell asleep standing up in the car,” said Riley. “He then ‘asked permission’ with his eyes before getting on the couch. It was so sweet. It was like he didn’t know if he was allowed to do certain things. Once we got him on the beds and couches and showed him the yard, he was right at home.”
Not long after bringing Tux home, they realized something incredible. When Tux was home alone, he was quiet and calm when strangers neared the house. Only when Riley and Daylen were home did he grow uncomfortable when strangers neared the house.
“I think he feels the need to protect us,” said Riley. “He is not territorial of himself or the house—it is his people.”
Thanks to Spicer, Riley and Dalen have a system to address this behavior. Tux is happy to greet houseguests on the porch instead so he can make sure they’re safe to be around his people.
“All it takes is a sniff and lick, and then he turns right back around to escort them inside,” said Riley.
Not only can he meet new people and dogs, but he can also now safely interact with children and even likes having his nails done.
Since it was launched in 2016, the SASF donor-funded Behavioral Training Program has saved more than 1,330 dogs with behavioral problems. Consider donating today to give dogs like Tux a second chance at happiness.