13/01/2023
Jan 2023 update on Lappies and Ciska.
Farm… to fur-niture… to farm again.
So much has happened in their lives since May 2022. In early May, Ciska was taken to the vet after an argument with a snake. We were blessed that there was no envenomation and she recovered well, though with the loss of sight in her left eye. Whilst at the vet, x-rays were requested and these revealed signs of spondylosis developing in her lower spine.
To help Cissy’s recuperation, and due to the spondylosis, Sammy relocated Lappies and Ciska to her home in Gansbaai. The house was not ideally suited to medium and large “farm” dogs, as there was only a small garden area for them, coupled with many indoor stairs, which is why Lappies and Ciska had lived at the haven, enjoying the freedom to run around off-lead and be dogs.
The transition to suburban life was quite a culture shock for Lappies and Ciska, with many new and unfamiliar situations they had to adjust to. Challenges such as learning how to walk in the streets on lead past a multitude of other dogs barking at them from behind gates; learning how to engage appropriately on-lead with other dogs walking in the street; learning how to cope with neighbourhood dogs barking; learning how not to chase the neighbourhood cats, bunny rabbits, francolin, mongoose that may suddenly dash across the road in front of them, or appear on the garden wall… from farm to furniture required a complete shift in reality and behaviour from them. They excelled and Lappies went from scary-new-dog-in-the-neighbourhood to being enthusiastically greeted and engaged with by the neighbourhood dogs and humans alike… he quickly understood what was required and brought his haven-ambassador-manners to socialising appropriately with all other dogs, on and off lead. He was great at managing potentially dangerous situations with other not-so-friendly dogs and I was often amazed at how he could stop another dog in its tracks at a distance, just through his posture and movements.
Ciska was more reactive, understandably, whilst recuperating from her traumatic experience, and much more protective of her space, but with a lot of decompression walks, positive re-inforcement training (not sure if she trained Sammy or if Sammy trained her, but she got loads of treats in the process!), trauma release and healing sessions, she quickly adjusted and became better able to regulate her emotional state with other dogs. She did not seem to have much experience with walking in the streets, and she required a totally different approach than what Lappies needed, (more confidence-building, positive association). She learned to trust that Sammy would look after her with any off-lead dog and after a few months was able to socialise quite well with many of the other off-lead neighbourhood dogs. So many wonderful and funny experiences were had in the process.
And just recently, Lappies and Ciska moved with Sammy and their human family to a cottage on a farm in the Overstrand area. Lappies and Ciska are now, once more, able to be farm dogs once again. They are adjusting really well, did extremely well through all the experiences related to moving (packing boxes, moving furniture, strangers in the home etc.), and now settling back into farm life . Lappies is so enjoying having a view out over “vlaktes”, but is not so keen on the cows nearby (he’s only been used to encountering horses and donkeys). Ciska is a mostly-indoor dog, preferring to snooze the day away on comfy bedding, and play with her stuffed toys and balls, though she really enjoys the daily walks across the fields and sticking her nose in molehills with Lappies… it’s wonderful to see them back in an environment that they love.
