Meet Maya Marie, my new rescue pup being BEAM-trained

[Dr. Jeff]

Hi @everyone!

I'm super happy to introduce everyone to Maya-Marie, a 4-5 month young pup who we rescued yesterday.

Her name (the Maya part) means illusion and magic in Sanskrit and water and from God in Hebrew.

My friend and the like-minded animal behaviorist Sarah Hodgson was initially guided to her through the Adopt A Dog website which is a rescue group with which she works.



Sarah and I went to meet her last week and initially I was not planning to adopt her.

However, in the subsequent days I received several intuitive messages from Archie that Morticia (which is the name they gave her in the shelter) should come to live with us.

Many of you know that since 1/5/24 (which is when Archie died) we've been hoping for a new family member. Ideally a "clean" pup without early age vaccinations or early spay/neutering and no drugs, etc.

MM (Maya-Marie) had multiple early age vaccines (every 2 weeks!), was spayed by 3 months, had giardia, coccidia and tapeworms, received anti-biotics and multiple other drugs etc.

Everything we tried to avoid.

But our wanting to rescue a pup in need drove us to adopt her.

MM was born on the streets in TN, rescued by an organization down there, then came to live in a wonderful shelter in Armonk, NY called Adopt A Dog. Coincidentally, I had worked with the founder of AAD back in the '80s (but not since)!

So MM is with us now and is already working through her many fears from having never lived in a home before.



She is also already manifesting many early warning signs like voluminous and frequent stools, smelly gas, anal sac expressions, ear itch and discharge, etc.

I am now in the same position as many others who adopted rescue pups, and look forward to following her progress, and answering questions about similar situations, in this forum thread.

BTW-The title of this discussion says that she is being BEAM-trained, so what does that even mean?

BEAM-training incorporates the Happiness Protocol and closely monitoring her BEAM.

Thanks to BEAM-training being aligned with MM's "higher purpose" (being a happy, safe and secure source of unconditional love) she is already overcoming many of her fears!

 

[NancyK]

How wonderful! Congratulations on your new best friend and bless you for taking her under your wing.

Nancy

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Thank you so much Nancy!

She is so sweet but so scared that at several adoption events people promised to adopt her, but no one did.

When she got home (we stopped at Sarah's house first for an impromptu visit to meet her crew of animals) she was too scared to even go through doorways, and tail tucked at every sound.

Our first BEAM-training action was to give her the same unconditional love and support that we get from dogs every day.

That looked like us taking it very, very slow with her, telling her how much we loved her and that she was coming home with us forever.

And using lots of treats as lures to get her partially through the doorways, then gradually getting her inside.

She's always on a lead (either held or being dragged) so she knows that she is never alone.

And we never ever reprimanded her for anything (jumping on the counters, furniture, spontaneously expressing her anal glands, etc).

We continued with lots of treats (mainly Small Batch freeze dried and the food she came with).

At bedtime I had set up a soft crate next to the bed and tried introducing her to it. She seems to have never been in a crate before, so she would not even get in. I started throwing treats into the crate with the door flap open while telling her that it was just a crate that could be a comfy and cozy bed for the night. She wasn't buying it.

https://www.amazon.com/Petnation-Port-Crate-Indoor-Outdoor/dp/B0018MM8RC?th=1

MM would keep her hind end outside the crate and lean as far in as she could get to snatch some of the treats. But she could not reach them all.

As I slowed down my treat tossing, she got further and further into the crate (still with the flap open).

I did not close the flap and eventually just threw a handful of treats into the back of the crate and turned the lights off in the room.

I heard her come out of the crate, put her feet up on the bed to make sure I was still there, then got back down. I slowed my breathing down and made it audible (ujjayi breath for more my fellow yogis) and began visualizing her listening and calming.

MM settled down next to the bed (not in the crate) with my hand on her.

We must have then fallen asleep since the next thing I remember is sunrise and the sound of the first beautiful song on the Deva Pramal album ("The Essence") that we always wake up to.

MM was in her crate deeply asleep.

Yay, a successful first night!

Then we spent all day together having fun, exploring and sniffing the house and property (and getting lots of treats).

 

[HA! Support]

Congratulations!!!!

 

[GinnyW]

Good on you! This is going to be fun to watch

All love to you guys....

g

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Thanks Kim and Ginny.

Yes, she's transforming into a sweetheart and less fearful dog before my eyes...

Oh, and I'm re-learning the importance of puppy proofing!

 

[GinnyW]

Found myself reviewing "fear" remedies, as I was driving around today... I remember helping a few dogs, way back before I had the proper respect Worked, though...Ever notice that even THINKING about giving a remedy can produce a nice result? Gotta love homeopathy.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hi @everyone!

I've been meaning to update this thread for a while now. It's amazing how fast time flies when a new pup comes into our lives. And boy oh boy, is Maya keeping me on my toes!

She's had many milestones in the past two weeks, and I will probably forget some of them.

Working backwards, she finally feels comfortable enough to go for a walk on the street. Though the speeding and noisy cars and trucks can still freak her out and trigger her to try and flee.

Fortunately the great "Balance" harness that Sarah Hodgson recommended is working well to keep her safe and secure. And the ring under neck is a great way to lead her without cranking on her neck.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LVW1OQU?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Let's see, the next big milestone was resolution of severe watery diarrhea with mucus that was probably triggered by too many treats, raw meaty bones and her history of multiple worms, drugs (including anti-biotics).

The greatest effect was from a few doses of the homeopathic remedy chosen for her symptoms. And it was supported by stopping the treats, adding mushy rice to her food, Visbiome probiotic, and herbal Dia-Assist (which it looks like they no longer make).

About Natural Pet RX — D'Arcy Wellness

www.naturalpetrx.com

Then there have been milestones like walking down the long and steep stairs to my office (I had to hold her and go down on my butt the first time), sleeping in, and learning to love, her crate, going to a Thanks-giving celebration, etc. An eventful 2 weeks for Ms. Maya Marie.

Oh, and she came up three legged lame (holding up her right rear leg as dogs will do with an ACL tear) and full recovery after Arica 10M.

Our next steps together are to continue her compassionate socialization (most things outside the house still scare her). And to start her constitutional homeopathic prescribing.

I'm considering Thuja, Silica, Phosphorus, Lycopodium, Calcarea, Sulphur, etc.

Boy oh boy, she's brought lots of love and joy into our once quiet home...