Posted on 5th May 2011 @ 4:10 PM

Busta Update # 5

5th May 2011

The last couple of weeks have seen Busta get into a nice rhythm in training, he has started to show a really strong improvement in daily routines, social structure and just happy in himself.

We have ascertained that Busta suffers from a little arthritis in his hips and after a shot of Cartrophen and we have him on a dietary supplement, some great food and were also trimming down his weight with a low fat BARF diet and exercise. He gets three walks a day of about a kilometre and he now walks beautifully on leash, even under quite high distraction although he is a little skittish around loud traffic.

He is eager to have his backpack fitted which has only 300 grams of weight in it to help him lose some weight and build some muscle. It is surprising how much a little weight helps...

I think one of the reasons that Busta had some aggression issues were that he is quite nervous around things he thinks are personal to him, such as food, his bed, his crate, his toys etc, he could be quite a resource guarder. Sometimes when dogs behave this way and people get upset with them, they go from a confident, perhaps even dominant resource guarder to an unstable, nervous resource guarder, which can be a little bit of a slippery slope to rehabilitate.

Having that said, Busta through a modified version of the Triangle of Temptation has been improving leaps and bounds and even whilst he is in possession of his greatest value rewards, bones, he gives them up without a murmur now. He is getting an alternate reward system for this to help him understand that handing over a bone does not mean loss.
 

After he has slept all night in his crate, and he does sleep in late :), he goes outside and without fail he runs his morning routine of a good ten minute back roll in the grass. This is one of his favourite things.

If I have some paperwork to do he loves to come into my office and sit his head on my lap and just stand there hoping I will pet him, what a sook he can be.

Whilst Busta’s rehabilitation is going very well, Busta’s family have received a lot of negative feedback from locals and some not so local, some calling for action if Busta returns home.

We too at K9 Pro have received a number of these types of comments via email as well and it seems regardless of how well Busta is rehabilitated, some people feel he should be euthanized anyway, regardless of what the circumstances were or weren’t surrounding the events on the 26th March 2011.

As we’ve explained above, Busta has been formally temperament tested and has been progressing through a behaviour modification program, as the updates confirm, he is doing very well.

In speaking with his family, we at K9 Pro have been assessing the risks to Busta and the negativity that has been aimed at the family and it has been decided that he will not be going back to them, with the sole reason being that both his family and us cannot ensure that he won’t end up the victim of someone’s revenge.

Busta has now been adopted into the K9 Pro Team! We look forward to posting further updates on Busta’s progress, and his life with us.