Gordo’s Story
It all begins back in March 2022, when the beautiful Kea had 6 adorable puppies…
I was hiking Earnslaw Burn with friends and went to see the puppies when I arrived back, and wow were they so tiny and adorable. From then I helped look after Kea and the pups and well fell in love with the biggest puppy in the litter.
Funny story, because he was so big he was getting called Fatso which I said just couldn’t happen and having come back from South America I really loved Spanish, so… I translated into Spanish and Fatso is Gordo, so yes, when I’m calling him and anyone that speaks Spanish hears me they have a giggle.
He was the best puppy, determined, fun, persistent, chatty and smart, way too smart!
The next part of the story begins when he was around 7-9 months old and it felt like all the entire boys we came across, labradors and collies mainly, started rushing him with some attacks and that lead to a huge knock in his confidence, he started to get frustrated when on lead and I had to be that dog owner ducking off the track, being hyper aware of my surroundings and at times making his life smaller as needed to support him.
When he turned 1 I booked him in for desexing and this is where things really went pear shaped.
By now we sadly had a history of not being a fan of the vets and that lead to him going into his previous surgery on the calming protocol, and for some reason they didn’t give us this for his desexing. So, when I got to the vets they checked him in and I said farewell.
When I got the call to come pick him up I had to go out to the kennels to get him, as he wasn’t going to come out with the Nurse which I thought was strange.
His healing was going ok, what seemed like normal upset tummy post surgery and then I started getting curious about the surgery site and wanted to raise it at his second checkup, however, that didn’t go to plan as when the nurse called his name he pulled me out of the clinic and didn’t look back. I then asked the nurse to wait and I’d get him to lay down in the car and again that didn’t go to plan. Instead, he jumped into the car and the nurse came onto my left side and put her hand out to him, it was at this point that he flew past my head and I can still see his teeth barred. Thankfully, she jumped back and was shaken but ok (I called later that day to check on her) and then she came out with some ointment to put on the site to help the healing.
A couple weeks later I headed to Lake Hawea and at a coffee stop in Alexandra I was checking on him and as a cyclist went past he almost tore out of the car at him and that’s when I really looked at his eyes. What I saw scared me, it didn’t look like my fun puppy I knew but instead a dog possessed. I started the drive and cried from Alexandra to Cromwell, called the vets to talk to them about what could be happening and was told it was just the hormones dropping and he’d come right, but in my gut I knew it was something more.
I then stopped at Vetlife in Wanaka and got an appointment, Gordo wasn’t letting the vet anywhere near him and just pushed into me as much as he could. So the vet gave me Trazadone to help him and said that I’d have to be wary with him around people in the state he was in. Turns out he was absolutely fine with those he knew pre desexing and has been since - dogs and humans. The Sunday night I emailed the vets back and said I believed he needed antibiotics and pain relief, to which he agreed and I picked up the following day on the proviso that I’d see my vet when I got home.
As soon as I got back I purchased a muzzle and trained the smart guy in about 5 minutes so I could take him to see the vet the next week and that is when I found out what happened pre surgery. Now, I don’t know what is normal procedure, but when I found out they tried to put the catheter in before sedating him and then had to restrain him to sedate him… that started to make sense as to what was happening with him and why he wouldn’t let the nurse bring him out to me or wanted to see her in our checkup, I suspect that she could have been the nurse that restrained him.
Moving on… I was then told that I have a very smart dog and I should look into a behaviourist to assist him with coping moving forward.
I was quite shocked by this and the times post where I was also told that Kelpies can become neurotic and have to get put down… to which I said, that is not what was happening pre desexing and there was no evidence of this post.
I can’t say how many tears I cried from April last year and how at times I felt like he didn’t trust me and at times hated me. Let’s say it led me down the track of all the podcasts, all the training and in the end calling Cath at VetBT for an appointment.
Why did I call Cath? Because, I had a just over 1 year old dog with a long life ahead of him who was going, what I called, instant fight club on any dogs that came near him. His fear of dogs hurting him meant he was getting in first and I could see that was a dangerous pattern to get in and break, he also couldn’t handle strangers engaging him, patting him or giving him a treat, his first instinct was to push them away and again this wasn’t a path I wanted to go down.
I arrived in Oamaru and met Cath around mid July 2023 for a very extensive appointment, where… yes… I cried… a lot! The best thing that Cath said to me that day was ‘you can’t train him out of this’. Just like us as humans, when we have something wrong we get medication to assist in the healing and this was going to be the same for Gordo. I started him quickly on the Metacam and Pregablin and worked with Cath to get the right levels for him and as he settled in the changes became noticeable.
Now, I can’t quite remember when it started happening that he began coping with life more, but when I look back and remember that if I took him to a class at the dog club I’d have to keep him in the car and take him in and out of the front of the hall as he couldn’t cope with being in the back with other dogs and people, and now he loves it and will train and focus on me out the back.
I’m really grateful to Jo for getting us into scentwork as I truly believe that it’s been a saving grace for him and he’s really good at it. We had our first competition towards the end of 2023 and then headed off to Nelson for Christmas, it was Christmas time that I weaned him off the medication as I kept forgetting to give him the drugs and then started noticing he was coping fine with all the adventures and experiences, and well… he hasn’t had them since unless I’ve had to go to the vet to help take the edge off.
Thankfully we have only had to go back to the vet twice, once I paid to go and talk with the vet and not have anyone engage with him and the second he needed an injection and checkup. He wasn’t a fan, but handled the second appointment with Trazadone and Pregablin onboard. I know that vet visits are going to be a long journey for him and I’m so glad I’ve muzzle trained him to keep him safe when/if we do need to go.
We still have a long way to go and most definitely isn’t a perfect dog, however, he’s a dog that is now coping out in public and only looks like he hates me when we haven’t done anything - like today… As long as people don’t try to give him hugs or come in to hot then he’s ok with new people, but really prefers it when he’s ignored and he chooses if he engages. If a dog is boisterous/entire/young/black that is typically when I exit him from the situation as I know he’ll fire up and I don’t want him doing that. He struggles with certain breeds but mainly entire boys and loves older girls, I feel this is because they are safe.
My learnings from this experience… surround yourself with those who’ll support you in your decisions, get the experts onboard and this could just be for a short period, remember that you’re doing the best you can with the tools you have and this is why we find our tribe to support us. Everyone is human and make mistakes, it is just so hard when the mistakes made have a lasting effect that you have to work with.
Also remember… you’ve always got the best dog!!
Any questions I am always happy to talk xx
Gordo at Lake Tekapo, about to take his ball to 3 strangers and play his part in a surprise proposal… she said yes!
