Sieannas Story, One Dogs Joy

Sieanna came into my life full of curiosity,exuberance and anxiety.  I knew she was a fabulous creature but would require  work.  She was seven weeks old when we met. She slunk with her back end low to the ground, taking long graceful strides across rooms and the backyard.  Ears erect and alert, eyes darting from an object in her periphery,to the front of her and back again.

I was told her sire is a German Shepard  and her mother a Pit bull breed but, you can't tell me she doesn't have hound in her blood.  Sieanna is vocal when she has a point to make,spoken with a drawn out mix of yips and howls,even her bark starts like that of a barrel chested Shepard but is as drawn out as any blood hound.

I had been experiencing yet another bout with depression at the time she was given to me. I was probably thirty two days into it.   Functioning but not officially present for life. I was being tugged through the motions of daily existence by the cuff of my jeans, my black dog had her teeth firmly attached.

My black dog??? That's my depression,she is red eyed,languishing,negative, a loner and ruthless in her tirades. I was trying to ignore her without much success for the thirty days and counting.  Shes been known to come slinking and wagging into my life for no real reason.  She will stay there until I have trained her into some degree of obedience and/or submission at which point she will slink into her corner and stay for awhile.

So, depression was with me along with another new found friend the day of Sieannas arrival.

I had been out and about on a Saturday. I passed an open empty parking lot save for a lone pick up truck with a wooden sign perched against it,spray painted and reading "free puppies"  I turned around,of course, just to "look", of course.  I peered into the box to find four pups,one hopped up and placed her paws on the side of the box and fixated her eyes on mine and so she came home with me. Her name is Willow.

We were bonding rather nicely,she was sleeping soundly in my arms, my wolf was sleeping at my feet,the rest of the pack was playing in the backyard and even my black dog was sitting quietly for a moment.

Jamie came home from work,opened the front door and promptly deposited a wriggling,wide eyed,long legged,tail whipping mass of curious puppy into my lap saying " I know you haven't been real happy lately,thought this might help."

Of course it did, my black dog quickly retreated as she wanted nothing to do with the business of two sudden puppies.

Sieanna promptly made friends with everyone with her wild and frenzied licking,tail wagging and submissively flopping onto her side looking amazingly sheepish.

I knew she was going to be a handful.  She was my pup that whined and howled into the night,she was my pup that tried so hard to please me she usually ended up making things worse.  She was so exuberant and clumsy in an astonishingly graceful way.

She was given the name Sieanna after a Crayola Crayon.  If you look through a box of 64 colors you will find 'burnt sieanna' this is the color of her.  I wasn't crazy about calling her 'burnt' so Sieanna stuck.  As time progressed and she grew it became clear she needed a middle name for emphasis.  Sieanna Rose became the standard when she was caught with stuffing in her mouth lying atop a couch cushion in the middle of the room trying to look innocent.  She quickly grew   long enough to place her paws on the counter tops to investigate and lick whatever was in reach, 'Sieanna Rose' got her attention and got her on all fours again.

I had to leave Sieanna at a critical stage in her development, I was gone for two and half months, which can seem an eternity to a pup.  I worried about her everyday but that was all I could do, i was hundreds of miles away.  I was also worried she would forget me but I should not have worried a bit.  Upon my return she came bounding up to me scarcely able to contain herself, her black eyes shining and tail whipping back and forth.  She ran circles around me, and in between my legs, when I knelt down she licked my ears and cheeks joyously and eventually settled in for a belly rub.

We have since had time to reconnect. I have a pack of five to connect and contend with.  I watch them all but noticed Sieannas spiraling anxiety and discontent.

She has a high level of energy,without an outlet for this she naturally becomes agitated,unleashing whining,barking and possible destruction of things she shouldn't touch.  I see her pace, I hear her tail beat the walls as she follows me from room to room. 

I thought a simple daily walk would be enough to quell her.  I was wrong.  In my prolonged absence she hadn't been walked, hadn't been exposed to new people, sights or smells.  I subsequently found myself being dragged through the park by a muscular,aggressive,anxious seven month old.  She wanted to chase every squirrel and really one doesn't notice how very many squirrels there are in a park until one walks Sieanna there.

She also saw every one approaching us as a threat, she would dig her claws into the earth,pulling me towards her fearful target, joggers,bikers,walkers of all ages,skateboarders,rollerbladers,baby strollers ,other dogs and geese, no one was really safe anymore.  Her lips would curl,she would gnash her teeth, growl and send saliva flying.  I was more than appalled and shocked at her behavior.  This was the same dog that would roll onto her back or slink to you on her belly if you merely glanced her way.

I began a regimen of training techniques to address her pulling and aggression.  She did not respond well and training was slow. People were fearful,my arms were tired and my hands were beginning to blister from the friction of the leash. Once a jogger stopped after watching Sieanna and I at work  a few days in a row.  He introduced himself as Joe, a dog groomer. Joe risked the tools of his livlihood attempting to show me how to fasten a leash

around her chest in order to reduce her pulling.  The new way was supposed to cinch the leash around her chest causing her to stop pulling due to the tightness.  Sieanna wouldn't let Joe any closer than four feet away from us. He wished us luck and hoped to see us in a few days under better circumstances.

Joe's leash technique has worked well, her pulling has decreased,it also allows me more control.

We are now able to walk past most everyone now with a minimum of tugging and no barking though i still sense an extreme amount of tension from her.  We are still several walks away from a content dog.

As a reward for her work and to help disperse her energy,we drive to Eagle Lake where I allow her some 'off lead' time.  The lake is a mile around.  Occasionally there are a few people trying their luck off of the banks with a fishing pole but Sieanna ignores them.  She is content to run head long into the high grass and bound back to me.  I perpetually worry about the Water Moccasins,Blue Racers and Rattlesnakes lurking about.  I worry about the stickers embedded in her paws and fur.   Mostly I enjoy the sunshine warming my skin, I enjoy the clean air, I marvel at the mid west sunsets and the sun throwing sparkles across the lake.  I am grateful I have my health, and my legs  move quickly and confidently.  I am grateful my eyes can see and take it all in.  I watch Sieannas strength and stamina with a degree of envy and wish I could experience her pure joy as she runs through the trenches that border the lake and rail road tracks.  Sieanna doesn't flinch at the piles of railroad ties or downed trees, she sails over them like an Olympian one after the other with obvious glee.

Often times,Sieanna will goad me into a game by running to me and tagging me with her nose, she will bark deep and long encouraging me to give chase. I will,often she allows me to catch her and flip her for a belly rub. 

This is our time, our serenity.

Oh, depression, the black dog?  She still slinks behind me, she thinks I don't notice her lurking behind the bushes and trees.  She is currently listening when I command her to stay.