THE NAME GAME
Family was visiting last week, so I actually took the week off – no new consults. We did have a Cognition Workshop last weekend, but I just flooded you with Cognition stuff after our last academy. I've included a few Cognition Workshop videos below, but nothing in depth on Cognition.
So instead, I thought I’d talk about names for our companion animals.
T.S. Eliot
T.S. Eliot (1888-1965) was a poet, playwright, essayist, and critic who revitalized English-language poetry through his innovative style, verse structure, and diction. A lot of his writings were pretty heavy-duty, but as a child I fell in love with his Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, which was a collection of whimsical light poems about feline psychology and sociology. It served as the basis for Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical, Cats.
My favorite poem was The Naming of Cats. I had memorized it as a child and still remember much of it today. It starts out:
The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter. It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
Intrigued? You can find the rest here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Poetry/comments/gidnha/poem_the_naming_of_cats_from_old_possums_book_of/
At any rate, I have always taken the naming of our furred, feathered and scaled family members seriously, and I hold T.S. Eliot at least partially responsible for that.
ANIMAL NAMES
Here’s a sampling of name stories from the 145-plus animal companions who have shared my life so far:
4 Kelpies
1. Our first Australian Kelpie (in the 1980’s, when Kelpies were brand new to the US) was Keli, which means “dog” in Australian Aborigini.
2. Next came Katie (from the same breeder as Keli) – already named that by the parents of the veterinarian we got her from. They had gotten her to herd their dairy cows and she was afraid of cows, so they were rehoming her.
3. Clearly following a “K” trend, we got Kai (Kaizen) 10 years ago from Joyful Rescues in Pennsylvania – Kaizen means “change for the better,” – clearly appropriate given the slow but steady progress toward force-free training in the dog world!
4. Finally, four years ago we were contacted by the Carroll County Humane Society. They were housing 24 dogs from a hoarder case and trying to send each of the dogs to an appropriate breed rescue. They were no local breed rescues but knowing our affinity for Kelpies they asked for our help. We agreed to foster the 4 Kelpies while Hedgesville Hounds looked for homes for them. These dogs had been crated for most of their young lives… you should have seen the action when we turned them loose together in our indoor arena!! We labelled it “Kelpie Chaos” and when we ended up adopting one ourselves the name stuck – and we call her KC for short.
More Dog Names
I won’t list them all here, but here are a few others:
1. Lucy – a Cardigan Corgi adopted from the shelter here when husband Paul was Executive Director there. I had long fancied a Corgi and assumed a Pembroke because they are the most common. But one day I walked into the shelter kennels to do behavior assessments and there she was. Mine! She was owner-surrendered at 11 months – too much energy. We adopted her, I took her home, and watched her gallop gracefully through our fields. Footloose and Fancy Free!! (Lucy for short)
2. Bonnie – we never knew exactly what she was, but we called her a Scorgidoodle – maybe Scottie, Corgi and Poodle. Staff knew I was a sucker for fluffy dogs (see Josie, below) and as I walked in the door to do assessments they handed me a stack of paperwork with Bonnie’s on top. “You need to do this one first” they said. I fell in love with this sweet girl at once – owner surrendered at 10 months because they couldn’t house train here (submissive urination). As I was sitting on the floor with her at the end of the assessment, Paul walked by the observation window with the Animal Care Supervisor, looked in and said, “Well, it looks like we’re taking another one home.” Yep, sure enough… “Bonnie Wee Lass” – because she was.
3. Sunny – yes, my wonderful 25-pound Pomeranian who brought such light and joy into my life – his full name was a very fitting “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows.”
4. Josie – the wonderful Terrier mix who showed me the error of my aversive training ways and prompted me to cross over to force-free training… Paul and I found her while we were doing an undercover cockfighting investigation in San Jose, California. We had seen stray dogs all day and not stopped, but when Josie ran across the street in front of a car, without either of us saying a word, Paul pulled the car over, I jumped out, she came to me and I put her in the car. “Josie” – for San Jose.
Cat Names
1. Stars and Stripes – Stripes had appeared one day on our farm and we took him in. Yes, a tiger-striped Mackerel Tabby, and I wasn’t feeling very name-creative at the time, so he was just “Stripes.” But then, not quite a year later, a 7-week-old kitten rode home in the wheel well of my car, jumped out when I got home and disappeared into the woods. We set a live trap, but no sign of her. I assumed she was probably dinner for some wild animal. But then one evening a week later as we were coming in from doing barn chores, KC chased her up a tree. It took me an hour (up on a ladder, with food) to coax the very hungry kitten down so I could grab her and bring her in the house. We pondered various names (Stowaway, Hitchhiker…) and then Paul said, “How about Stars?” PERFECT!! So now we have “Stars and Stripes”!
2. Barney – When we were living in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a black-and-white tuxedo cat showed up in our barn one day and kept coming back. I checked with all the neighbors to see where he lived. Turned out it was right next door, where they had multiple (as in many) outdoor cats, and this guy was getting pushed out. The neighbors said they were going to be moving, and we could keep him if we wanted. So he was “Barney” – because he had moved into our barn. Then one very stormy night he came to the house, meowing at the back door asking to be let in. I let him in and he never asked to go out again. But we kept his name “Barney” – we didn’t change it to “Housey.”
3. Gewurztraminer – because that’s the kind of wine we were drinking in a restaurant in Sonoma County, California, when we looked out the window and saw him walking up and down the sidewalk, greeting people, and dogs. When we were done eating we didn’t see him, but when we entered the parking garage we heard him meow as he approached a couple on the opposite side of the garage. They ignored him - and when I called “Kitty, kitty, kitty” he tore across the garage and jumped into my arms. So “Gewurztraminer” became ours after no-one answered the “found” ads we posted.
Horse
I could obviously go on forever, but at the risk of boring you I will just do one more.
1. Olivia – When Paul was Director of the shelter here they did a horse hoarder case. A woman the other side of Sharpsburg had more than 75 horses, including several dead ones on the property, several pregnant mares, some feral BLM horses and a feral BLM donkey. The shelter impounded them all, thanks to the assistance of some wonderful horse rescue groups. We leased a farm across the road where we housed and cared for about 20 of them, and brought the 12 miniature horses to our farm. I knew we were going to keep one of them, and every day when I went out to feed them I would think to myself, “Which one do I want???” And then one day I looked at the little black 2-year-old filly and said, “You’re the one that I want!” So – she’s named after “Olivia Newton John” who sang that song in “Grease.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oKPYe53h78
That’s all for now, folks! And… I would love to hear some of your animal name stories. I know you have them!!!
Two Outcomes – One Sad, One Happy
I did want to share a couple of case outcomes with you. Sad one first: Zorro, the Bulldog, was one of the three “Similar But Not Similar” cases I shared with you recently. You may recall I said his prognosis was Poor to Fair. I was not surprised to get an e-mail from them this week letting me know that they had decided to euthanize him after he began biting Sherry (the wife) – several times in just a few days.
Here is what they shared: “Thank you for your typed report and additional info. It is with a very sad heart that I need to let you know that we had to put Zeke to sleep this morning. After our session with you, he became aggressive with me multiple times on two different days. I was constantly on edge never knowing when it would happen again. He did land a bite on my hand during one of the episodes. After conferring with our primary vet and realizing that with the possible seizures and possible brain tumor it was the call to make to keep all safe.”
I am always very supportive with clients who need to make this very difficult decision, and I share the “Losing Lulu” Facebook site with them. If you’re not familiar with it - Losing Lulu is a wonderful support group for people who have had to do behavioral euthanasia: https://www.facebook.com/groups/488243504915808
On a happier note, I also got an e-mail this week from another client, this time reporting good progress with her dog’s modification program. I don’t think I had previously shared this one with you… Chica is a Bluetick Hound who is not happy that little one-year-old Lisa is now moving around the house. Lisa’s parents, Mary and Evan, are rightfully concerned and said they realized they should have done something sooner. I applauded them for addressing this before anything bad happened. I have included the comments I made in my response to the report Mary sent 10 days after their session with me:
CC&D
Client: We did this 4x since our session. Not sure if she's quite made the connection, she sometimes just does a side eye and expects a treat. Evan is holding Lisa's hand and Chica is on a leash. We haven't quite gotten comfortable with just Lisa walking by on her own and not sure if Evan in the picture causes a problem with creating an association?
My Comment: I agree with not letting Lisa walk by on her own yet - unless you put up and exercise pen for protected contact - and then Lisa still can't try to engage with Chica through the pen... Slow is good...! If she does a side eye look at Lisa then yes, I would still feed.
Operant
Client: Feet/Find it - We've done this about 8x or more. She's great on Find it, not sure she's made the connection with the Feet.
My Comment: Just keep at it. "Feet" is the more useful of the two for management purposes. Find It is great for exercise and enrichment.
Client: Walk Away - This is wildly successful. We were at the dog park and Lisa was on the other side of the fence. Chica was walking towards her off leash and I gave the Walk away Cue and she immediately and enthusiastically obeyed.
My Comment: YAY!!!!!!!!!
Management
Client: Meal scatter - We've done this 4x since our session. It's a great way to get her to exercise and we have also gone on a few walks and hikes in areas that don't cause her anxiety because they're relatively new.
My Comment: SMILE! You could do it more, too...<G>
Client: Vet/Medication - We started her on Calming supplements - Greenies that contain theanine and tryptophan - yesterday. The vet would like us to try these for the next 2 weeks to see how she does before we give her a drug. We ordered Sileo and it should arrive this week. Will report on the results.
My Comment: Great - thank you!
Client: Nail and Trainer - We have not gotten to this yet, but plan to once we get the medication squared away.
My Comment: 🌞🌞🌞
Client: Muzzle - Same as above.
My Comment: 🌞🌞🌞
Client: Mailbox and Postal Truck - We haven't done anything on this. The mailbox has oddly stopped being an issue, at least for now.
My Comment: Well that's a Yay!
Client: Doorbell - We plan on doing CC&D and have her go to her bed.
My Comment: If you're just feeding treats for doorbell, that is CC&D. If you're teaching her to go to her bed that is operant. You can do both - I would start with the CC&D and then add the operant when she is calmer about the doorbell.
Observations
Client: Chica seems to be having more stress about being separated from us when Lisa is awake. For the first few weeks, she generally kept to herself when upstairs. Now, she often barks excessively and jumps on the doors to be let down. We are providing Chica with "us time" whenever possible, but in between she seems very anxious to be apart from us. This may change now that we've started the supplements, if not then hopefully medication will help curb this.
My Comment: This is a concern, for sure, since aggression is caused by stress. We should try to address it quickly - if supplements don't show a marked improvement in a short period of time I would move to medication sooner rather than later... You are giving her yummy chews when you put her away?
Client: Chica's relationship with Tylerton has substantially improved. They will now touch noses and sleep on the same furniture. Chica has also tried to get Tylerton to play with her.
My Comment: Excellent!!!
Client: We have not seen any aggression when Chica and Lisa have transitioned spaces. Chica licked her feet once. We did have one undesirable bark when Chica saw Lisa, Evan, and Tylerton on the couch and was not allowed to join (Chica was headed outside).
My Comment: Continue to err on the side of caution with this...
I wish all my clients were this thorough with their programs and reporting back to me!!! My prognosis for this case was "Good to Excellent."
Cognition Workshop Videos
Life At Peaceable Paws
Family visiting – some fun signs from our travels…
Warm Woofs,
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
www.peaceablepaws.com ; info@peaceablepaws.com ; 301-582-9420
Thank you!!! I do love when they tell us what their names are...
What a great collection of experiences. Love the name game. Several of mine named themselves. Lacey, an 81/2 year tie out collie girl I took in foster looked at me one morning about 4 months looked at me and spoke clearly in my brain I am not Lacey I am Lucy I am a house dog I belong here. Of course she was right on all fronts. My other chain out was a golden mix Bruiser who was the gentlest of giants and became Bruce. An elderly abandoned yard collie who joined me named Rebel became Robbie (Rob Roy’s Rebel Dream) because every rebel dreams of a home. Also love the behavioral stories the differences careful and consistent work can make the kindness when letting them go is the best and kindest path however hard.
Nan