Toby's Eighth Charmed Life

Something the wonderful @Emily_Babbelhund said to me has resonated with me. Apparently in one of the shelters he was in he was housed with a blind dog. This dog got confused and bit his back end during his sleep. I am a psychologist and I now, after careful thought, think he may react to stress by exhibiting this behaviour. I am going to enlist a dog psychologist to help with this.
I am working gently on his trigger points with his other issues so enlisting help for this may be the way to go.
 

Lab_adore

Moderator
Staff member
Something the wonderful @Emily_Babbelhund said to me has resonated with me. Apparently in one of the shelters he was in he was housed with a blind dog. This dog got confused and bit his back end during his sleep. I am a psychologist and I now, after careful thought, think he may react to stress by exhibiting this behaviour. I am going to enlist a dog psychologist to help with this.
I am working gently on his trigger points with his other issues so enlisting help for this may be the way to go.
Oh the poor little thing, thank goodness he has you @Aitch and you @Emily_Babbelhund
 
It turned out that Toby's spinning and biting at his back end was, in deed, psychological. I have created safe areas for him, even on our bed, and it has phased out with time. I will continue to monitor it.
He is much more confident now and continues to make us laugh. He loves Alex and trots around with whichever of us, Alex or me, is most active at the time.
He has decided that carrot is his favourite food now. I get very black looks if his portion doesn't have any!
At night he now sleeps all night with me. I wake up with his head on some body part of mine every morning. His favourite time with me is when we play/train together. He is an amazingly fast learner and gets a bit frustrated if I am slow in his progress.
He loves his new diet and I am able to fill him up easily with batch cooked and frozen low purine food.
He still barks at squirrels, bikers and joggers but Rome wasn't built in a day. He is a Bod so squirrels are rats with super powers!! Bikers and joggers seem to have some deep seated meaning for him. It may take a while to sort this out. Hi viz just means treats now.
I am so looking forward to that day. The day is able he is able to let go of some of the horrific past. I accept that some of it might remain and will just have to be dealt with on a daily basis.
He has settled and is happy. What more could we wish for at this stage? Love, time and patience is all he needs.
 

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Not sure if this will post correctly with the photos, but here is Toby's post back from April 2017 about discovering Cadiz and its amazing flying rats. :D




Hola guapas! It is I, Toby - your favourite Bodeguero! Am I not lo mas adorable little Spanish hombre you have ever seen?



So yesterday I got to go to the big city for the first time. Aye, aye, aye...let me tell you, my guapas, what an adventure! Foster lady took me to the huge metropolis (thank you again, Google Translate) of Cádiz.

There was a big cathedral (that's it behind me there) and SO MANY HUMANS! And the smells of so many humans! Here I am smelling a man who had a cart all full of yummy food. Ooooo, I had to bark at some of the humans, just in case they got too close to my foster lady. Because I am an old-fashioned gentleman like that. And because I like to hear the sound of my own bark. When you are sexy, you must share it. Am I right?



Cadiz also has lo mas amazing invention ever: flying rats! No, no, I do not kid you. They are rats, but they have wings and FLY! So when I chase them and bark at them in my beautiful voice, they BURST into the air and flap about! I can die now, I am so happy to have discovered these creatures made just for your Toby. It is too much for my sensitive heart!

Oh, we have no pictures of me chasing these wonderful beings because my foster lady cannot operate the camera and help me chase flying rats at the same time. Que lastima! Obviously she needs mas practice. Pobracita!

Where was I? Oh, Cadiz.



Did you know Cadiz is surrounded by nearly all sides by water and only connected by a skinny little bit of land? We were in the "Casco antiguo" which is just a fancy way of saying the old and crumbly bit of town. You can walk around all the walls of the whole town. This bit here had a sad lack of flying rats (the tourist board really needs to fix that) but there is the colourful waterfront. Humans like that. Do you know this part of Cadiz is used as a stand in for Havana, Cuba in lots of movies? No? You don't care? I don't either, but foster lady thinks this is impressive. Movies? Can I hunt it? Can I eat it? No and no. I do not care. But I like foster lady, so I humour her.




What IS muy divertido (very much fun) is that the walls are low enough for me to look over them all by myself. Which is much much less embarrassing that being picked up to be shown the view. Vale, the picking up isn't that bad, but then before she puts me down she gives me a kiss. Dios mio! I am an elegant caballero with a reputation to keep... please do not kiss me in public. Wait, what was I saying? Oh, the walls...


So there I was, having lots of fun, when we went out to a little island in the bay with a fort. It was a VERY windy day so there was lots of water splashing over, which was a little scary. But I live for the adventure (and the ladies), so I was ready!



But what happened? The horror. Worse than the black slobbery beast!

Germans! On bicycles! I hate bicycles...the are the diabolo. Or they are made by the devil! And Germans! Aye, aye, aye!!! I bark and bark and try to bite their tires but they just ding their stupid little devil bells and there are 20 of them and only one of me and.....dios mio....my head just exploded and....pant, pant, pant. Aaaaooooo.....ooooo.... hmmmm?? Is that a belly rub I am getting? While watching murderous bicycles go by? Tummy...oh my little belly...oh, that is nice. Oh, belly rubs come at the same time as bicycles? Where else can we go to find bicycles? No...wait...I HATE bicycles! I HATE Germans! but I love belly rubs...

Oh, I give up...bicycles are not the diabolo. They are just mildly irritating.

I might even like Germans.



We finished off our walk around the fortified (thanks Google Translate) walls. We met lots of other dogs and as I am so excellent with the ladies, most of them were charmed by me and my amazingly guapo looks. I do not blame them - I also find myself irresistible.



By the time we got to the end of the walk at the oldest part of the fort, I was feeling a little tired. Which meant I was still chasing the sea birds and flying rats, but not barking at them. Foster lady calls this a "win". I do not know what she means. Everything I do is a "win", is it not?



It was a good day in Cadiz and now I'm ready for my big cat test tomorrow. Wish me luck, all my guapas! And I hope you enjoyed your Toby tour of old town Cadiz.

Oooo.... was that a flying rat? I must go now! A Bodeguero's work is never done! Hasta luego my lovely ladies (and gentlemen)!

 
I can't see them either @Emily_Babbelhund loved reading the words though.

@Aitch, yes I also wept at how lucky Toby is now to have you to understand him and to at last find security in his life. It upsets me to think of how many other dogs in the world who need someone like you. Emily and you both deserve a medal and even that wouldn't be enough for all you have done. The biggest reward though is that you have given life and love to another being.
 

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Ok, let's try this again another way and see if the photos will be visible to everyone this time.

Hola guapas! It is I, Toby - your favourite Bodeguero! Am I not lo mas adorable little Spanish hombre you have ever seen?
1581934686487.png
So yesterday I got to go to the big city for the first time. Aye, aye, aye...let me tell you, my guapas, what an adventure! Foster lady took me to the huge metropolis (thank you again, Google Translate) of Cádiz.

There was a big cathedral (that's it behind me there) and SO MANY HUMANS! And the smells of so many humans! Here I am smelling a man who had a cart all full of yummy food. Ooooo, I had to bark at some of the humans, just in case they got too close to my foster lady. Because I am an old-fashioned gentleman like that. And because I like to hear the sound of my own bark. When you are sexy, you must share it. Am I right?

1581934686631.png

Cadiz also has lo mas amazing invention ever: flying rats! No, no, I do not kid you. They are rats, but they have wings and FLY! So when I chase them and bark at them in my beautiful voice, they BURST into the air and flap about! I can die now, I am so happy to have discovered these creatures made just for your Toby. It is too much for my sensitive heart!

Oh, we have no pictures of me chasing these wonderful beings because my foster lady cannot operate the camera and help me chase flying rats at the same time. Que lastima! Obviously she needs mas practice. Pobracita!

Where was I? Oh, Cadiz.

1581934686748.png

Did you know Cadiz is surrounded by nearly all sides by water and only connected by a skinny little bit of land? We were in the "Casco antiguo" which is just a fancy way of saying the old and crumbly bit of town. You can walk around all the walls of the whole town. This bit here had a sad lack of flying rats (the tourist board really needs to fix that) but there is the colourful waterfront. Humans like that. Do you know this part of Cadiz is used as a stand in for Havana, Cuba in lots of movies? No? You don't care? I don't either, but foster lady thinks this is impressive. Movies? Can I hunt it? Can I eat it? No and no. I do not care. But I like foster lady, so I humour her.

1581934686826.png

What IS muy divertido (very much fun) is that the walls are low enough for me to look over them all by myself. Which is much much less embarrassing that being picked up to be shown the view. Vale, the picking up isn't that bad, but then before she puts me down she gives me a kiss. Dios mio! I am an elegant caballero with a reputation to keep... please do not kiss me in public. Wait, what was I saying? Oh, the walls...

1581934686925.png

So there I was, having lots of fun, when we went out to a little island in the bay with a fort. It was a VERY windy day so there was lots of water splashing over, which was a little scary. But I live for the adventure (and the ladies), so I was ready!

1581934686996.png

But what happened? The horror. Worse than the black slobbery beast!

Germans! On bicycles! I hate bicycles...the are the diabolo. Or they are made by the devil! And Germans! Aye, aye, aye!!! I bark and bark and try to bite their tires but they just ding their stupid little devil bells and there are 20 of them and only one of me and.....dios mio....my head just exploded and....pant, pant, pant. Aaaaooooo.....ooooo.... hmmmm?? Is that a belly rub I am getting? While watching murderous bicycles go by? Tummy...oh my little belly...oh, that is nice. Oh, belly rubs come at the same time as bicycles? Where else can we go to find bicycles? No...wait...I HATE bicycles! I HATE Germans! but I love belly rubs...

Oh, I give up...bicycles are not the diabolo. They are just mildly irritating.

I might even like Germans.
1581934687068.png

We finished off our walk around the fortified (thanks Google Translate) walls. We met lots of other dogs and as I am so excellent with the ladies, most of them were charmed by me and my amazingly guapo looks. I do not blame them - I also find myself irresistible.

1581934687182.png

By the time we got to the end of the walk at the oldest part of the fort, I was feeling a little tired. Which meant I was still chasing the sea birds and flying rats, but not barking at them. Foster lady calls this a "win". I do not know what she means. Everything I do is a "win", is it not?

1581934687271.png
It was a good day in Cadiz and now I'm ready for my big cat test tomorrow. Wish me luck, all my guapas! And I hope you enjoyed your Toby tour of old town Cadiz.

Oooo.... was that a flying rat? I must go now! A Bodeguero's work is never done! Hasta luego my lovely ladies (and gentlemen)!

Screenshot 2017-04-23 20.53.19.png
 
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