TRAINING
WITH TEMPERAMENT THEORY
Carbs & Stress
by
Val Maurer
Introduction and Acknowledgements
Training:
Training
Using Temperament Theory
Obedience and Temperament Theory
Agility and Temperament Theory
Herding and Temperament Theory: Action Dogs
The Temperament Theory and Rescue Work
Reference:
Bibliography
Glossary
Living
With Border Collies
Hug Therapy
United States
Border Collie Club
Border Collie Society of
America
Questions?
Comments?
Suggestions?
Tell us what you
think!
I first read about using carbs and sugar to prevent shock/stress in people in a Dick Francis novel. It intrigued me, but then, a lot of what he says intrigues me. No big deal.
Then one day I had a shelter volunteer bring me a maimed Border collie. From what I could find out, the former owner had gotten drunk and chased the dog around with a knife. Long story short, this little gal had her leg sliced so deeply that the tendon was severed. The guy dumped her at the shelter, where they got the bleeding stopped but did no other vet care on her.
At this point, the lady from the shelter called me, and I agreed to take the dog. She put the BC immediately in her car and drove five hours to get her to me.
They arrived and the BC was doing pretty well, considering all she'd been through. I took the dog down to my basement and put her in a vari-kennel so she could have some intense peace and quiet. Then I went to the kitchen to call my orthopedic surgeon for an emergency appointment. When I got off the phone, the lady from the shelter had disappeared. I looked for her car in the driveway, and it was still there, and then I checked the bathroom — no one there. I then looked downstairs for her, and there she was. She had taken the little BC out of her crate and was holding her and crying hysterically.
I went into Bold, and it wasn't pleasant. I coldly asked the lady to go upstairs NOW and wait outside my back door, giving her the same look I gave Annie while I told Annie to stay exactly where she was. The lady went upstairs immediately.
As soon as she left, I checked the BC. The BC had survived a horrible two days — her owner scaring her and hurting her, a large loss of blood, the shelter environment, the long car ride, and, finally, the woman she had grown to trust on that long ride was communicating intense fear and panic. This communication was the final straw for the little BC; it put her into shock. Her gums went pale, her eyes were rolling back in her head, and she was deathly cold. SHIT. This was only the second time I'd seen a dog do this. I'd brought the first one around long enough to get him to the vet's, but I was sure this one had that much time. I wrapped her in a blanket, and flashed to the carbs and sugar thing from Dick Francis. I was desperate and this dog was dying, so there was nothing to lose and everything to gain from trying it.
I raced upstairs, trying to figure out what was in my kitchen that she could swallow. I didn't have any processed sugar in the house, so I ended up placing small amounts of fructose dissolved in warm water on her tong, and then giving her little shakes to make her conscious enough to swallow. Slowly, she came back enough that I could offer her tiny bits of bread (the only carb I could quickly find). She came all the way back and was exhausted. I stayed with her until I thought she was okay, then put her and the blanket back in the crate. Then I went upstairs to have a little chat with the lady.
I later did research to check about the carbs and sugars. This research also led me to use (real) maple syrup as a slow sugar to help severe starvation cases. But this was all done in 1994, and I can't now recall what source materials I've used. I've just been using and refining my techniques of carbs and sugar for stress without bothering to do updated research.
Put a carb & sugar treat in one hand (I use a small piece of glazed donut or a piece of Lorna Doone cookie), and a protein in the other hand (I use kippered steak or roast beef). Be a post while you offer the treats simultaneously.
Let the dog take his time sniffing and choosing. If the dog chooses the carbs and sugar, he's probably stressed.
For example, I'd been working for a while with a family and they asked if I'd pet-sit the dog because he'd developed some issues with his previous trainer (who had pet-sat the dog since the family had found him).
This dog was so stressed by separation anxiety, nothing I tried would entice him out of my van. After several failed attempts, I offered him a piece of my Sara Lee cheese Danish (my breakfast), and he finally decided to come out of the van. Unfortunately, it was in small hesitant stages, so it took all of my breakfast to get him into the house. I guilted the family into bringing me Danish from Cleveland for years after this!
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