Wow, what an adventure I have been on! I came to ACDR at the end of September. I was on medication for my behaviour because I was lashing out and trying to bite. ACDR found out I needed dental work. After losing 23 teeth(!!!) I needed several weeks of healing. Since then, I have been weened off my other medications and am going to be working with a trainer to learn to control my emotions & reactivity better and to improve my behaviour. I really just want to be a good boy!

Here is ACDR, to explain it a little better:

Stitch had been given a human mood stabilizer medication to basically dull his reactions to situations that made him feel anxious or scared. This, in turn, reduced his being ‘saucy’ by minimizing his reaction when put in these situations. Ideally, we want our dogs to not react aggressively, but medicating a dog should not be the first solution to these problems.
We have fixed Stitch’s mouth, so he is no longer reacting because of pain. We have weened him off the medication to be able to assess his personality and reactivity in normal situations, and have the trainer give his foster the tools needed to help Stitch succeed in being the best version of himself.

Stitch will remain in care during his assessment and training. Thank you to everyone who has been checking in on his progress and is waiting for this handsome fellow to be available for adoption. Keep following us for future updates.