From: hannah@pomponio.ai.sri.com (Marsha Jo Hannah)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
Subject: Re: Fearful dogs
Date: 7 Apr 92 17:31:28 GMT
Organization: SRI International, Menlo Park, CA
In-reply-to: lori@monster.umd.edu's message of 3 Apr 92 17:16:56 GMT

In article <12322@umd5.umd.edu> lori@monster.umd.edu (Lori Spier) writes:

   I need some help with a "nervous" dog. Jake is a 2 year old (mostly) Black
   Lab male (neutered). We picked him up from the pound
   [...] one of Jake's big fears is vehicles
   [...] if we're out walking and a truck or bus passes
   by, Jake panics and immediately turns tail for home.
   [...] lately it's become worse
   [...] and the fears have spread to other areas. He's now afriad
   of lamp shades [...], ceiling fans, *any*
   loud noise... the list goes on.  Does anyone have any ideas at all as to how
   to help him overcome his fears?  

You might want to look into TTEAM.  TTEAM originally stood for
Tellington-Touch Equine Awareness Method, which was pioneered by Linda
Tellington-Jones for use on problem horses.  In recent years, she has
been applying it to all sorts of animals, from llamas to companion
animals to zoo animals, and even to people, so she's now starting to
call it Tellington-Touch Every Animal Method.

There are a number of techniques that make up TTEAM.  Some have to do
with assessing the animal---is its problem physical or mental?
Sometimes a mental problem will cause a physical problem (example in
humans---tension leads to habitually clenched jaw, thence headaches or
TMJ syndrome, and the pain from that causes the person to clench the
jaw harder...).  Some of the TTEAM techniques then seek to make the
animal aware of its self and its problem, using gentle circular
touches on the skin, which also serve to relax the animal in
frightening situations---the idea is to interrupt the spiral of fear-
tension-pain.  Other techniques involve structured "ground work" thru
mazes, over obstacles, etc, to get the animal thinking and
concentrating, and to generally improve its confidence.  The
"testamonials" in the TTEAM newsletter have included successes in dogs
afraid of loud noises (like thunder), aggressive dogs, shy dogs, and
many other problems whose details I don't recall at this instant.

I know that TTEAM has been described in a variety of articles in horse
magazines over the years, and it may have been covered in dog
publications, too, but I don't have as much familiarity with those.
You might be able to find a local TTEAM practitioner who could look at
your animal and teach you the basics; try asking about it either thru
your humane society or thru someone in the horse community, or you can
get a list of practitioners from the TTEAM office.  From their
newsletter, I understand that Linda has recently published a small
book on her method as it applies to companion animals, which will
explain the basics to you.

The methods vary in ease of understandability, hence use; some are
very basic (but often overlooked) animal stewardship; others are a
little too "New Age" for me, with a lot inbetween.  At a minimum,
TTEAM is guaranteed to make you think about how you interact with your
animal.

TT.E.A.M. News International (their newsletter), as well as their
books, tapes, and other assorted products can be had from their sales
office:

	P.O. Box 3793
	Santa Fe, N.M.  87501-0793
	(505) 455-2945
	FAX (505) 455-7233

Good luck!

Marsha Jo Hannah (who has no connection with TTEAM, other than to be
an occasional user thereof).