By Dido Panagiotopoulos

"I was a feral dog living in the veld and then under a grandstand at a school. This is the story of my rehabilitation, as told by Dido, my forever mom:"

It is now just over three months since I met and adopted Dini. I have worked intensively with him overcoming his instability and insecurities. The seaside holiday was a huge turning point. Cesar Millan always says how dogs love to move as a pack/ migrate as a pack - well this seems particularly apt in Dini's case, and our holiday to the seaside really helped him bond with us. He also finally was getting enough exercise to be absolutely exhausted and rid of any neurotic energy. Just after 6am every morning I took them along the beach from Port Edward for a long 2 hour walk. I was anxious about Dini's recalls but he always came back... eventually (LOL!)! He was awestruck by the sea and from a dog who was terrified of water he became a guy who would run along the beach dodging in coming waves. He would also skip along the edge of the rocks where the waves were breaking and gave us plenty of grey hair as he hopped skipped and jumped after crabs and seagulls over the sharp edges of rocks and shells. Cesar also says you don't get the dog you want but the dog you NEED... well I learnt a huge amount about myself!, and about learning to LET GO! Adrienne, the behaviorist helping us said to me I didn't want a (another) velcro dog)...actually, I really did... but there was no way Dini would be it! Walking I never had to worry about my other three... but Dini has such a curious free spirit , so I had to learn to LET GO and remind myself he had lived and served free and feral. Before Dini I would never have classed myself as a neurotic over-protective "parent" now I knew I was and had to reel myself in constantly. Read more...

Dini found dassies on a vertical cliff face - he lost all hearing and eventually we left him and continued our walk... one of the hardest things I'd faced. Felt like forever when he eventually found us and I'm not sure who looked the most grateful, him or me! But I know I could have stood at the wall for hours calling his name and it would just have fallen of deaf ears - his focus was entirely absorbed in those dassies! The greatest thing that Adrienne had taught me was to ignore him (rather than get grumpy, frustrated and hysterical... just walk away)... and OMG IT WORKS... the worst thing in the world for a dog is to feel ignored! Dini spent the rest of the walk keeping a close eye on us and would circle back regularly!

Nothing was easy with Dini - none of the usual methods worked. To teach him to sit I had to physically bend his back legs until they collapsed and then reward the sit - he was either up or down.... Now Dini sits at every opportunity! Dini also is more likely to take food rewards (sometimes though he takes them, out of respect/ acceptance and just spits them out...). He has to be the most affectionate dog I know - certainly towards me and Nick... we need to work on the licking thing! You cannot help but feel it was worth it when you see the adoration in his eyes! Thank you Penny and Heidi of the Dog Training Academy, for your patience and allowing Dini to work at his own pace - simply attending classes was invaluable in him learning to listen and obey simple commands - and he has started enjoying doggy school - even though he is the "special" kid in the corner LOL!

Dini now can be brushed with the soft rubber brush and hand glove and actually will lie there and (almost) enjoy it. He has been groomed twice now and we still visit our fantastic parlor (D-tail) very regularly. His dog aggression is far less and I have learnt he looks to me for backing... once again, I need to change direction and walk away, or run past... If I pay any attention, try to interfere or worse still stacy behind him - he sees it as back-up and is more likely to act like a bristling, stiff-tailed aggro little wooligan! Much more now the tendency is to "Leave It!" and just move on... he still is a bit of a bully towards insecure dogs - particularly black standard poodles (go figure...) And he most definitely is worse on leash than off - on leash he probably feels trapped (doesn't have the same choice of fight or flight... plus feels that he has back-up on the ned of the line and possibly also feels a need to protect me as well as himself. That said, on neighborhood walks, he walks beautifully on lead now... a bit of pulling around the fence barkers but no lunging or barking or reactiveness!. Dini has never tried to run away from us and when he jumps through a palisade fence to go investigate something on the other side, if I run away from him, he very quickly jumps back and follows. He now knows I AM THE PACK LEADER and he is a content and happy follower - no longer the feral escape artist that originally got him banished into kennels because he was impossible to handle in a home situation.

On Sunday we did a pack walk at Kyalami with about 50 dogs of all different sorts, big and small from Rotties, retrievers and GSD's to a yorkie, maltese and Italian greyhound... Dini did not have a single altercation (although still got completely ADHD and overexcited at one point - like a kid at Christmas LOL). In my psychology and education studies I learnt that the two greatest gifts you can give a child are boundaries and space (roots and wings)...roots so that he develops a sense of belonging and self confidence, and then wings so he can fly - venture into the world confident to explore but with a strong support group and sense of belonging... Finally the feral dog formerly known as Boo can enjoy freedom and can fly, safe in the knowledge he truly belongs and has a home and pack to come home to! He now has BOUNDARIES and ROOTS, not just wings and space...

Dini is now highly adoptable and would be an asset to any pack and home. This whole process has taught me that there is such an urgent need for rehabilitation foster homes, so that problem rescues can first learn HOW TO BE A DOG, a family member and a pack member. I wish there were halfway homes or rehab centres that could do this and am convinced there would be far less abandonment and returns of rescue or problem dogs. AND yes it is as much about educating owners about their own expectations, misconceptions and behaviours.

I have learnt so much about patience, compassion, fair consistent leadership and so very much about myself. Thankyou Dini for enriching my life and teaching me so much about myself!