Fiona and Banksy

AAAAH! No, don't worry, I didn't torture this cat, she is simply letting out a large yawwwwnn after receiving some TTouch. On Friday I worked on two of my brother Pierre and family's animals (there are two more cats, a bunny, turtles, am I missing anybody), Fiona and Banksy. Fiona gets a bit stressed out because the dog is always wanting to tease her and play with her and the other cats. The family has also recently moved to a new space, so that is taking some time for to get used to for everyone, I'm sure. I did some slow chimp TTouch and Abalone circles on her, which she loved, and made her very sleepy. She wasn't so fond of the ear touch at the moment since she has had some problems with ear infection, but she was ok with small raccoon touches around the base of the ear. I am finding that working around the base of the ear is often a good way to get an animal used to being touched on the ear if they are hesitant at first. I used a very light touch (1 pressure) because she is SO sensitive.

And, here is Banksy, a young, lively, sweet Tibetan terrier. Not to mention adorable! I had not seen him for a bunch of months and he has calmed down substantially since his youngest puppy days. However, he is still bursting with life! I tried doing a wrap on him which initially seemed like a good idea but he got a hold of one of the tied-off ends of the wrap and suddenly it became a chew-toy. At the suggestion of some of my other TTouch-ers, next time I will try putting the ends underneath, and if he still does the same thing, try something else and go back to it. Anyway, he did enjoy receiving TTouch on his body and on his ears. I did have to do lighter pressure on his ears though as that seems to be a place he is not accustomed to being touched. We also tried some different leash configurations in Pierre's hallway: the balance leash and the balance plus with his collar, and then we tried him walking with a step-in halter on, which is a new feeling for him. He was a little confused with the halter at first but got used to it fairly quickly. The balance leash is constructed by using a simple collar and leash, then looping the leash around in front of his chest from left to right, then standing on the dog's right hand side and holding the leash doubled over coming from the left and the end of the leash on the right. I'll have to take a picture of him with it on to clarify soon! The balance plus is similar, but with the leash under the left leg. Banksy seemed to be pleased with the balance leash, at least within the controlled environment of the hall. It was raining outside, so we will have to try this all with the added crazy NYC stimulus of outsideness next time. I also want to have a chat w/Banksy about the cats and see if we can get a more amenable relationship going there too. Banksy means well, I think he doesn't realize that the cats are frightened by the way he approaches them when he is trying to play with them.