The Douglas Adams quote above really states, quite concisely, what this post is about. I wasn't going to make one about this journey but several friends and respected acquaintances have encouraged me to do so to share in our accomplishments and in the hopes that it can inspire, or encourage, others. There are numerous people who interacted with and knew this dog throughout his journey who can confirm that I am telling the truth about his behavior and journey. I do not intend to start controversy and will not entertain drama.
There are two things that you should know about Nova:
1. He is the goofiest, happiest, sweetest, most easy-going, affectionate, enjoyable, "yay!" dog that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
2. He did not start out that way and it took a ton of work to get him there. In fact, it takes work every single day.
We all know that different situations and lifestyles can bring out different reactions to life circumstances. As such, dogs in various situations may not have the same behavior as they mature or when their lives change. I will make neither assumptions nor judgement on Nova's life prior to being with me and I ask that folks extend that same courtesy because this story begins with the day he left his past life and started a journey with a friend to South Carolina. That is where our story begins.
There seem to be a few different prevailing attitudes about dogs with "issues". I'm not here to discuss them or make judgements about them. That is not the intention of this post. However, I will comment that too often we hear people make excuses for their dog's behavior and why their dog can or cannot do something because the dog is a "rescue" or has "issues". We also see people turn a blind eye to the issues or fail to recognize them and, as a result, make poor, ignorant, or irresponsible decisions. I'm here to say that, while having baggage can be a valid excuse, it should never be a crutch. Instead, it should be a starting point to helping them through the issues so that they can reach their full potential.
Nova has been a project dog from day one. I knew, from speaking to his previous owner and his breeder, that he could be spooky and difficult. He was independent but very sensitive. I knew that he needed somebody experienced in working with softer, reserved dogs.I knew that he would require some extra work and TLC. I was up for that. I know that journey well, thanks to Timmy and Argos and some soft, reserved, and sometimes spooky fosters. In fact, Argos' journey deserves a whole book and is still ongoing!
I had expected a dog that I could show and lure course almost immediately because that is what I was told. He had been shown once or twice and had run LGRA. At the time I did not know that he had a DQ in LGRA and to this day I do not know the circumstances. I also did not know that his behavior at the Ibizan Nationals was less than steller (some have said "embarrassing"). Being new to the breed, and competition events, I did not know a lot. I would have to learn quickly with him.
He had a rough time with the transition and trip to SC and my friend arrived at my house with him in a harness and a collar since he had tried (nearly successfully from my understanding) to give her the slip. He was actually major escape artist, as he managed to slip out of an extremely snugly fitted martingale harness the first week I had him. He was very, very thin but a rough keeper and would not eat easily. It took years, and a neuter, to get him to eat a full meal consistently.
Obviously he was shell shocked as his life got turned upside down and he made a journey halfway across the country with strangers and a SUV full of dogs. The girl that was traveling with Nova, Jason, and Rodeo decided that it was the perfect time to go into season so that obviously added more to the poor guy's already exploding brain. Nova was very, very into the ladies. Then, after leaving his old home, making a stop at Marissa's home, and then getting back on the road to come to a house filled with sighthounds, new people, and guests it obviously took him a while to settle in and show us who he really was.
He was not a dog who liked to be in a vehicle. He was a dog who hated, to the point of major fights, having any maintenance done on him. Baths and nail trims resulted in bruises, scratches, frustration, and became extremely long battles of will, every single time. We remained patient, firm, and consistent but he fought harder every time. Touching his feet and legs were a big no-no (extremely frustrating for a show dog). He was head shy. He hated people touching his head (also frustrating for a show dog and a pet). He hated being outside and acted as if I was never going to let him in the house again. He hated going out in public and would not let strangers pet him willingly. I took him to Renaissance festival several months after having him and he spent the time shaking in the corner and actually snapped at another dog while there. He'd get very possessive of his house and his person (me) when around strangers. He loathed showing...it went beyond hate. He would fight with me over stacking (where he'll free stack beautifully like a pro everywhere else) and would pull like a freight train and lean towards the exit of the ring when moving. In short, he was showing himself to be kind of a mess.
The biggest issue that we had was that he showed some serious intact male aggression issues and some aggression with others dogs in general, even females. It was particularly bad with Jason, his littermate. Jason, who is steady as a rock in pretty much all situations, wanted to eat Nova and Nova definitely reciprocated that sentiment strongly. Clearly these boys had some issues with each other. When approached by another male dog, or when approaching one, he would raise his hackles, growl, snap, and posture. He was very reactive on leash, as well. He was a mess to take to dog shows where he was surrounded by intact males and dogs in close quarters. I had to keep him away from others, even in the ring. He'd act out if he got too close to one. He was also a mess with people and his first time in the show ring he shook and moved while the judge could barely touch him. This was after weeks of handling class. In fact, in handling class, he tried to start issues with a very stable Irish Wolfhound and a PBGV. His second weekend in the show ring was embarrassing when he showed out, not in a good way, because he did not like the wire male in front of us. He also happened to take a major that weekend, after fighting with me in the ring about stacking. The judge gave me some advice and then gave him a major. I am eternally grateful for her being understanding. We tried everything to make showing more fun and to socialize him more. I’m a big time socialization nut so he got a lot more than most dogs ever will in a short time (and continues it). I made every effort to put him into positive situations and set him up for success.
One big failing that I had was that I was too soft. The previous project dogs were soft and needed somebody soft, so I was not used to taking a stronger approach. But, Nova needed it. At first I did not see it but as things went on I realized that my approach was just not working. A friend with many years of experience in the breed showed me a different way to work with him and he responded favorably. A soft approach had him walking all over me and not with me. He needed a strong leader and somebody to really step up and take charge. I had to become that person so that we could make the journey together, side-by-side.
We had very few issues at home. While we are a house of mostly male hounds everyone else at the time was neutered except him. My Greyhound and Galgo boys were not impressed with his antics and pretty much ignored him. Lucius, as top dog in the social hierarchy underneath the people, was not going to tolerate Nova trying to take over and kept him in check as best he could but, much to Lucius' frustration, Nova pretty much pretended that Lucius did not exist.
Clearly it would be an unwise and irresponsible decision to competitively run a dog who had aggression issues with other dogs, so Nova became a singles dog in lure coursing. It was depressing but necessary. Running a dog that has issues with other dogs would be a huge disservice to my dog, who I would have set up for failure, and the other dogs, who he endangered. It is the height of irresponsibility to run a dog that has issues like that with others. Sure, my dog is so keen on the lure that he does not notice other dogs when running but the huge, glaring issue was a very high possibility of a lure stopping midfield, breaking, being stopped, etc. and an issue occurring far away from me. With heightened senses and obvious excitement and over-stimulation in a high drive situation, disaster could occur. So, the only responsible thing to do was to run him singles. Was it fun? Not at first. I did not get to run dogs with my friends. Luckily, they were all supportive and watched him and cheered him on every time he ran.
I appreciated their support and encouragement because the general lack of support for singles dogs in the lure coursing community can be a pretty big bummer and make a person not want to bother (which is sad for the dog, who wants to run, and the person who could be discouraged from coming back in a sport that needs more people participating). I met chagrin from other folks about singles being pointless (it is depressing to hear everyone “YAY” all of the other breeds and barely utter any recognition at singles when doing ribbons and yet it happens over and over and over). It is also discouraging to hear comments like “yay, he earned a title by running by himself”. It also shows a lack of knowledge about how the title is achieved and a lack of understanding of how to build a community. I have others dogs that I run competitively but if I had no support I would not have been back with any of them and would have dismissed the sport. However, we still kept on. He earned the ASFA singles title easily. It has the same requirements as the FCH title, 100 points and either 2 first placements or a first and 2 seconds. This meant that he has to earn it and it was not just pass/fail like the CAT titles and AKC's JC (which he earned simply because I wanted him to run and I did not know about singles when we started). He earned his 2 first placements back to back with a big, competitive singles entry and finished the title easily in just a few trials. I contacted ASFA to find out how many Ibizans had achieved this and was informed that he was the very first to do so. That was pretty neat. At the end of the day though, titles mean nothing to me. In this case they are just markers in his journey. He loves chasing the bunny and so he got to. He always got a bunny to himself and was very happy.
Maintenance was a nightmare on him. It took 4 groomers holding him while 1 did his nails. He’d fight and sometimes blow his anal glands. He ripped one of the groomer’s pants once, and scratched his leg really bad. Baths were a huge ordeal and, once when I had a groomer bathe him, he gave them an extremely hard time. I’m shocked that they did not tell us to never come back, and contacted the company to tell them how impressed I was with the salon and groomers who were troopers. Nova kept going to the same groomer the majority of the time. Over time this groomer worked with him and now he can get Nova to stand on a table and not fight while he does his nails...as only 1 man, no holders. Nobody else could do that for a long time, which we realized when his groomer was not there one day. But, as this groomer worked with him and circumstances made others have to work with him he decided that cooperation was a good choice and now he will stand still on the table and behave.
Behavior modification was making a huge difference in him but I was convinced that the testosterone was not helping him at all. I had kept him intact for showing, in hopes of finishing my first champion, and with the intention of neutering him after that was finished. Despite the fact that he had a major and another point, and was nice dog (albeit too large) I decided that enough was enough. He hated showing, despite my best efforts, and was starting to really show his misery both in and out of the ring. He hated getting into vehicles and going anywhere. His entire demeanor would change when you put a show lead on him. Because I care more about the dog’s happiness than titles and ribbons I chose to go ahead and neuter him, with his breeder’s blessing. That simple act made all of the difference. Now, I have had a lot of male hounds get neutered while in my care and I had never really noticed much difference in them. But, it made a world of difference in Nova. It was like night and day. He totally stopped caring about other boys. He focused more on hunting instead of marking and was just overall happier and bouncier. Now he is a very focused and successful hunter of small prey in my yard.
A couple of months after his neuter we went lure coursing in Powell, TN. I had entered him in singles, as always. It was an AKC trial so they wouldn’t matter but at least he would get to chase the plastic bunny. However, my friends changed my plans and asked me if I wanted to QC him again. They all thought that he was ready to run with other dogs. It was an extremely emotional day that I thought would never come. He QC’d with flying colors and entered the trial as an open Beezer. He ran with other boys and never gave them any notice. Then, in the finals run, he faced the real test. Jason and Nova had to run together. Remember, they hated each other in the past. I muzzled Nova just in case. But, he did not need it. They ran beautifully together and did not pay any attention to each other. I’m not going to lie: I cried. Nova came in last place (4th) and I did not care. He ran with other dogs and, most importantly, with Jason! It was the culmination of years of work with him. He got his first leg towards his SC, a participation title I never thought that he would acquire.
Months and months passed and Nova settled into a practically perfect dog. He picked up 2 more legs towards his SC and only has one left. He became quite the skilled hunter and mouser and spends the majority of his time hunting for little, furry things in tha yard. He plays well with the other boys, goes out into public and, beyond being a bit shy with strangers, he has no issues. He had two successful Renaissance festival days where he was a rock star. Remember how he hated vehicles and travel? Imagine my surprise when, in an unfamiliar fenced yard, he ran to the SUV and put himself in it to get out of the rain instead of standing under the car port. He happily jumps in the SUV now to see where we are going (except for the first time after a vet visit). He lets groomers cut his nails (he still does better with them than us) but he can go to more than just one specific groomer. He lived in my home with another intact boy and became his best friend, playmate, and snuggle partner. He’s settled into a happy, comfortable boy with a majorly goofy and extremely sweet side. He’s the first dog everyday to bathe my face in kisses and loves his belly rubs. He is a joy to live with and I enjoy sharing him with the world as he is a delightful dog. He’s come a long way on his journey but we enjoyed watching him bloom into the awesome dog that he is now.
There are two things that you should know about Nova:
1. He is the goofiest, happiest, sweetest, most easy-going, affectionate, enjoyable, "yay!" dog that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
2. He did not start out that way and it took a ton of work to get him there. In fact, it takes work every single day.
We all know that different situations and lifestyles can bring out different reactions to life circumstances. As such, dogs in various situations may not have the same behavior as they mature or when their lives change. I will make neither assumptions nor judgement on Nova's life prior to being with me and I ask that folks extend that same courtesy because this story begins with the day he left his past life and started a journey with a friend to South Carolina. That is where our story begins.
There seem to be a few different prevailing attitudes about dogs with "issues". I'm not here to discuss them or make judgements about them. That is not the intention of this post. However, I will comment that too often we hear people make excuses for their dog's behavior and why their dog can or cannot do something because the dog is a "rescue" or has "issues". We also see people turn a blind eye to the issues or fail to recognize them and, as a result, make poor, ignorant, or irresponsible decisions. I'm here to say that, while having baggage can be a valid excuse, it should never be a crutch. Instead, it should be a starting point to helping them through the issues so that they can reach their full potential.
Nova has been a project dog from day one. I knew, from speaking to his previous owner and his breeder, that he could be spooky and difficult. He was independent but very sensitive. I knew that he needed somebody experienced in working with softer, reserved dogs.I knew that he would require some extra work and TLC. I was up for that. I know that journey well, thanks to Timmy and Argos and some soft, reserved, and sometimes spooky fosters. In fact, Argos' journey deserves a whole book and is still ongoing!
I had expected a dog that I could show and lure course almost immediately because that is what I was told. He had been shown once or twice and had run LGRA. At the time I did not know that he had a DQ in LGRA and to this day I do not know the circumstances. I also did not know that his behavior at the Ibizan Nationals was less than steller (some have said "embarrassing"). Being new to the breed, and competition events, I did not know a lot. I would have to learn quickly with him.
He had a rough time with the transition and trip to SC and my friend arrived at my house with him in a harness and a collar since he had tried (nearly successfully from my understanding) to give her the slip. He was actually major escape artist, as he managed to slip out of an extremely snugly fitted martingale harness the first week I had him. He was very, very thin but a rough keeper and would not eat easily. It took years, and a neuter, to get him to eat a full meal consistently.
Obviously he was shell shocked as his life got turned upside down and he made a journey halfway across the country with strangers and a SUV full of dogs. The girl that was traveling with Nova, Jason, and Rodeo decided that it was the perfect time to go into season so that obviously added more to the poor guy's already exploding brain. Nova was very, very into the ladies. Then, after leaving his old home, making a stop at Marissa's home, and then getting back on the road to come to a house filled with sighthounds, new people, and guests it obviously took him a while to settle in and show us who he really was.
He was not a dog who liked to be in a vehicle. He was a dog who hated, to the point of major fights, having any maintenance done on him. Baths and nail trims resulted in bruises, scratches, frustration, and became extremely long battles of will, every single time. We remained patient, firm, and consistent but he fought harder every time. Touching his feet and legs were a big no-no (extremely frustrating for a show dog). He was head shy. He hated people touching his head (also frustrating for a show dog and a pet). He hated being outside and acted as if I was never going to let him in the house again. He hated going out in public and would not let strangers pet him willingly. I took him to Renaissance festival several months after having him and he spent the time shaking in the corner and actually snapped at another dog while there. He'd get very possessive of his house and his person (me) when around strangers. He loathed showing...it went beyond hate. He would fight with me over stacking (where he'll free stack beautifully like a pro everywhere else) and would pull like a freight train and lean towards the exit of the ring when moving. In short, he was showing himself to be kind of a mess.
The biggest issue that we had was that he showed some serious intact male aggression issues and some aggression with others dogs in general, even females. It was particularly bad with Jason, his littermate. Jason, who is steady as a rock in pretty much all situations, wanted to eat Nova and Nova definitely reciprocated that sentiment strongly. Clearly these boys had some issues with each other. When approached by another male dog, or when approaching one, he would raise his hackles, growl, snap, and posture. He was very reactive on leash, as well. He was a mess to take to dog shows where he was surrounded by intact males and dogs in close quarters. I had to keep him away from others, even in the ring. He'd act out if he got too close to one. He was also a mess with people and his first time in the show ring he shook and moved while the judge could barely touch him. This was after weeks of handling class. In fact, in handling class, he tried to start issues with a very stable Irish Wolfhound and a PBGV. His second weekend in the show ring was embarrassing when he showed out, not in a good way, because he did not like the wire male in front of us. He also happened to take a major that weekend, after fighting with me in the ring about stacking. The judge gave me some advice and then gave him a major. I am eternally grateful for her being understanding. We tried everything to make showing more fun and to socialize him more. I’m a big time socialization nut so he got a lot more than most dogs ever will in a short time (and continues it). I made every effort to put him into positive situations and set him up for success.
One big failing that I had was that I was too soft. The previous project dogs were soft and needed somebody soft, so I was not used to taking a stronger approach. But, Nova needed it. At first I did not see it but as things went on I realized that my approach was just not working. A friend with many years of experience in the breed showed me a different way to work with him and he responded favorably. A soft approach had him walking all over me and not with me. He needed a strong leader and somebody to really step up and take charge. I had to become that person so that we could make the journey together, side-by-side.
We had very few issues at home. While we are a house of mostly male hounds everyone else at the time was neutered except him. My Greyhound and Galgo boys were not impressed with his antics and pretty much ignored him. Lucius, as top dog in the social hierarchy underneath the people, was not going to tolerate Nova trying to take over and kept him in check as best he could but, much to Lucius' frustration, Nova pretty much pretended that Lucius did not exist.
Clearly it would be an unwise and irresponsible decision to competitively run a dog who had aggression issues with other dogs, so Nova became a singles dog in lure coursing. It was depressing but necessary. Running a dog that has issues with other dogs would be a huge disservice to my dog, who I would have set up for failure, and the other dogs, who he endangered. It is the height of irresponsibility to run a dog that has issues like that with others. Sure, my dog is so keen on the lure that he does not notice other dogs when running but the huge, glaring issue was a very high possibility of a lure stopping midfield, breaking, being stopped, etc. and an issue occurring far away from me. With heightened senses and obvious excitement and over-stimulation in a high drive situation, disaster could occur. So, the only responsible thing to do was to run him singles. Was it fun? Not at first. I did not get to run dogs with my friends. Luckily, they were all supportive and watched him and cheered him on every time he ran.
I appreciated their support and encouragement because the general lack of support for singles dogs in the lure coursing community can be a pretty big bummer and make a person not want to bother (which is sad for the dog, who wants to run, and the person who could be discouraged from coming back in a sport that needs more people participating). I met chagrin from other folks about singles being pointless (it is depressing to hear everyone “YAY” all of the other breeds and barely utter any recognition at singles when doing ribbons and yet it happens over and over and over). It is also discouraging to hear comments like “yay, he earned a title by running by himself”. It also shows a lack of knowledge about how the title is achieved and a lack of understanding of how to build a community. I have others dogs that I run competitively but if I had no support I would not have been back with any of them and would have dismissed the sport. However, we still kept on. He earned the ASFA singles title easily. It has the same requirements as the FCH title, 100 points and either 2 first placements or a first and 2 seconds. This meant that he has to earn it and it was not just pass/fail like the CAT titles and AKC's JC (which he earned simply because I wanted him to run and I did not know about singles when we started). He earned his 2 first placements back to back with a big, competitive singles entry and finished the title easily in just a few trials. I contacted ASFA to find out how many Ibizans had achieved this and was informed that he was the very first to do so. That was pretty neat. At the end of the day though, titles mean nothing to me. In this case they are just markers in his journey. He loves chasing the bunny and so he got to. He always got a bunny to himself and was very happy.
Maintenance was a nightmare on him. It took 4 groomers holding him while 1 did his nails. He’d fight and sometimes blow his anal glands. He ripped one of the groomer’s pants once, and scratched his leg really bad. Baths were a huge ordeal and, once when I had a groomer bathe him, he gave them an extremely hard time. I’m shocked that they did not tell us to never come back, and contacted the company to tell them how impressed I was with the salon and groomers who were troopers. Nova kept going to the same groomer the majority of the time. Over time this groomer worked with him and now he can get Nova to stand on a table and not fight while he does his nails...as only 1 man, no holders. Nobody else could do that for a long time, which we realized when his groomer was not there one day. But, as this groomer worked with him and circumstances made others have to work with him he decided that cooperation was a good choice and now he will stand still on the table and behave.
Behavior modification was making a huge difference in him but I was convinced that the testosterone was not helping him at all. I had kept him intact for showing, in hopes of finishing my first champion, and with the intention of neutering him after that was finished. Despite the fact that he had a major and another point, and was nice dog (albeit too large) I decided that enough was enough. He hated showing, despite my best efforts, and was starting to really show his misery both in and out of the ring. He hated getting into vehicles and going anywhere. His entire demeanor would change when you put a show lead on him. Because I care more about the dog’s happiness than titles and ribbons I chose to go ahead and neuter him, with his breeder’s blessing. That simple act made all of the difference. Now, I have had a lot of male hounds get neutered while in my care and I had never really noticed much difference in them. But, it made a world of difference in Nova. It was like night and day. He totally stopped caring about other boys. He focused more on hunting instead of marking and was just overall happier and bouncier. Now he is a very focused and successful hunter of small prey in my yard.
A couple of months after his neuter we went lure coursing in Powell, TN. I had entered him in singles, as always. It was an AKC trial so they wouldn’t matter but at least he would get to chase the plastic bunny. However, my friends changed my plans and asked me if I wanted to QC him again. They all thought that he was ready to run with other dogs. It was an extremely emotional day that I thought would never come. He QC’d with flying colors and entered the trial as an open Beezer. He ran with other boys and never gave them any notice. Then, in the finals run, he faced the real test. Jason and Nova had to run together. Remember, they hated each other in the past. I muzzled Nova just in case. But, he did not need it. They ran beautifully together and did not pay any attention to each other. I’m not going to lie: I cried. Nova came in last place (4th) and I did not care. He ran with other dogs and, most importantly, with Jason! It was the culmination of years of work with him. He got his first leg towards his SC, a participation title I never thought that he would acquire.
Months and months passed and Nova settled into a practically perfect dog. He picked up 2 more legs towards his SC and only has one left. He became quite the skilled hunter and mouser and spends the majority of his time hunting for little, furry things in tha yard. He plays well with the other boys, goes out into public and, beyond being a bit shy with strangers, he has no issues. He had two successful Renaissance festival days where he was a rock star. Remember how he hated vehicles and travel? Imagine my surprise when, in an unfamiliar fenced yard, he ran to the SUV and put himself in it to get out of the rain instead of standing under the car port. He happily jumps in the SUV now to see where we are going (except for the first time after a vet visit). He lets groomers cut his nails (he still does better with them than us) but he can go to more than just one specific groomer. He lived in my home with another intact boy and became his best friend, playmate, and snuggle partner. He’s settled into a happy, comfortable boy with a majorly goofy and extremely sweet side. He’s the first dog everyday to bathe my face in kisses and loves his belly rubs. He is a joy to live with and I enjoy sharing him with the world as he is a delightful dog. He’s come a long way on his journey but we enjoyed watching him bloom into the awesome dog that he is now.
