tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45197410500170816682024-02-07T16:44:07.083-08:00Operation GustavCynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.comBlogger110125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-68156772099859155932011-01-30T10:35:00.000-08:002011-01-30T10:44:26.711-08:00UpdateBeen so pleasantly busy with the start of the new semester. I am a person who loves her routine and keeping busy. <br /><br />We took Gustav off the prozac as we didn't see any change and, to be honest, he actually seems a little more responsive on walks since then. Too many confounding factors to attribute that to the prozac, though.<br /><br />Loona, my mom and dad's dog, is living at our house for the weekend. I took all three on a loong two hour walks yesterday and everyone was lovely. Gustav sort of dragged behind, which was odd, but did a great job with autowatches and keeping a lid on things. However, he did poor job responding to his name, which is something we've been practicing on walks. The addition of Loona and loss of the prozac are both possible factors in his behavior.<br /><br />I'm looking into the possibility of another anti-anxiety drug. Justin is skeptical and I'm not sure, but I'll do some research and see what I think. <br /><br />I had goals for the dogs training-wise in terms of set-ups and other things a certain number of times a week. I would say I get a "C" for fulfilling them. With the gradually warming weather and getting used to the school routine, I'm optimistic that I can get completely up to speed. It's fairly modest: a set-up a week for each (together is fine), relax-on-a-mat for Dottie three times a week, and a separation anxiety session for Gustav twice a week. And lots of u-turns and looking at me (for Gustav) on walks. The u-turns are going great, the looking at me is okay but I practice a lot so hopefully it will improve, the set-ups are pretty much on par with my goal, but the matwork and separation anxiety have not been getting done. Oh well. <br /><br />So, that's what's new here.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-6570895422408457212011-01-03T15:43:00.000-08:002011-01-03T15:48:59.555-08:00Breakthrough!If you've read this blog for a while, you know that Gustav's "rock bottom" was snarling at Justin's mom and hitting her hard in the face, enough to cause a bad nose bleed. Granted, he was chewing on a meaty bone and she was leaning over him, petting him behind the ears. <br />In any case, she was over recently and we crated Gustav like always. After several hours, we decided to try having him out. It went completely fine. He totally ignored her and acted as though he were home with just us. Maybe we were being overly cautious all this time, as he hardly ever had any problems with strangers in the house before that (a few strange exceptions included him barking at certain visitors. No clue what made him fine with almost everyone but not just a few). <br />Anyhow, I was very happy. Definitely time to get Tisha over to test out how he does. I think crating him for the first little while is key, while Dottie calms down and there's no dramatic entrance scene, complete with looming, to deal with.<br />Yay! She always wanted to be his buddy. Maybe soon he'll be putting his head her lap for petting like he does with his "inner circle."<br />Still no prozac effect. It's been ten weeks. We just upped the dosage a week ago, since I wanted to give it two months just in case. I obviously want to be giving the lowest effective dose possible.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-11066806923862849902010-12-14T10:19:00.000-08:002010-12-14T10:26:30.489-08:00Stupid weatherIt's very cold. I'm trying to find ways to keep up with some of our training goals in the face of very very cold weather. I need two things: a large indoor (ish) training room to do BAT with Vanya and Nancy (even a barn or something would be good) and to figure out a way to do training with Gustav and Tisha in my house. I can't decide if she should toss him treats or just ignore him, and I can't decide if he should be leashed, behind a gate, muzzled, or none of the above. Finally, I need to decide on a protocol that works for inside the house. I think that just having Tish around would probably help Gustav get used to her, but it might not teach him anything useful (for example how to move away if you don't like someone).<br /><br />In other news, no visible effect from the prozac yet. Friday is the 8 week mark. We may up the dosage after that. Also, Dottie's diet is wildly successful and she has her lovely slim figure back. She will be so happy when we get to go back up to maintenance rations, instead of weight loss rations. I've never seen her eat her food so fast.<br /><br />One positive about the cold weather is our walks have been very quiet and uneventful, which is after all my ultimate goal. In this case, we're reaching it by not seeing any or hardly any triggers. I love walking my dogs when it's not stressful like that.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-8511983046611016452010-11-22T13:59:00.000-08:002010-11-22T14:04:18.874-08:00Dog park!Great news! The small neighborhood dog parks that a group of people on the eastside campaigned for over two year for, myself included, have come into being as of this weekend. I took the dogs out on a jog on Sunday and headed over to one. Once I got there I realized that they were small enough that I could go in and always keep track if anyone was coming, and then high tail it out of there. Thanks to our brilliant design recommendations, there is an entrance and an exit, and both are double-gated. So Gustav got to run around free with me completely nerve-free for the first time in at least two years. No muzzle, no heightened scanning, just fun (and Dottie being grumpy at him for trying to play, but he's much better at listening to her now). I won't lie: I might have been a little misty watching him tear around at fast as he could. His recall is just awful, as might be expected, but I'm so excited for this new training opportunity. It's maybe a ten minute jog from my house. I figure if we show up and no one is there, they can run and play. If someone is there, we can stand across the street or farther and do some nice controlled training, knowing that the dogs are fenced in.<br /><br />Hooray! I love my city. And my dogs.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-22494372009874108622010-11-18T11:25:00.000-08:002010-11-18T11:30:43.631-08:00Serotonin? Maybe?Gustav has been on Prozac for about a month. We haven't seen any big changes yet, except for one weird thing. Today Gustav was willing to go in the basement, something neither he nor Dottie has ever accomplished (except once for Dottie when we first moved in). Justin sort of led him down there, and he went. Usually if you encourage him he just balks at the second step and barks. Weird.<br /><br />Nothing else new. I've been so busy with school that normally my walks with the dogs are once briefly in the morning and a decent one around 8:30 or 9:00 at night. These walks are great because no one is out and we are all calm and relaxed. <br /><br />I have a new band that practices at my house on Wednesdays. I'd love for Gustav to get used to them eventually. He was on a leash last time, and he whined at them a little, but also barked (along with Dottie) when they all first came upstairs from the basement. I'm not ready to have him loose with them around yet, but I'm hoping to someday.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-56837291736525021812010-10-31T14:49:00.000-07:002010-10-31T14:56:55.912-07:00Quick updateNothing much new around here. Crazy weather has gotten in the way of some training sessions, and I still haven't managed to set up my weekly Tisha sessions. I'd better do that before the weather gets really miserable. Two new items: there are new dog parks in the neighborhood! I worked with the Eastside Dog Park coalition for a few years, and we finally won! Very exciting, and also gives me a new, closer place to bring Dottie for controlled training (i.e. we can wander around the outside of the dog park and control distance and practice BAT). <br /><br />The other thing: Justin berated me for staring at triggers too much and therefore calling attention to them. Interesting idea. Today on our jog I practiced not looking at all at dogs behind fences or people out and about, except in my peripheral vision to keep track. Gustav did not bark and lunge at anyone. On the other hand, I don't really know if he tensed up a lot or not because I was just looking forward. Also, an off leash dog came up near up and instigated a pretty fierce stare-fight but was too intimidated to come all the way up to us. Dottie barked a few times, and Gustav did not bark and lunge at all, he just stood stock still and stared the dog down. Pretty interesting. Then the owner came up and got him and we all went on our way. So, while my dogs were not exactly relaxed and happy, then did not go totally crazy and the other dog was smart enough not to come up and start a fight. All in all, I was pleased with the jog. The only downside of ignoring triggers is that I am losing a training opportunity, in that I usually stop and do look-at-that or a tiny BAT set-up. Do you think Gustav learns anything one way or the other by just staring but moving past without incident? I'm not sure. But at least he didn't have any bark/lunge fests.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-86436920723577270632010-10-24T11:41:00.000-07:002010-10-24T11:53:45.384-07:00Wow.I have been SO BUSY. I haven't had a moment to update here. Briefly, I finished Reactive Rover with Gustav, been doing weekly BAT/mat/etc work with Nancy and Vanya (what a find! I'm so glad I finally found a committed dog owner to work with. And we're both helping one another out, I don't feel like I am incurring a huge debt with someone by taking up their time.), and jogging, walking, and so on. I have been incredibly busy with school, but mostly sticking to my one-big-formal-session a week plan plus the usual day-to-day stuff. Now that Reactive Rover is over I plan to set up a weekly or every-other-weekly session with Tisha to continue BAT with Gustav. On the off weeks I can maybe drive Dottie over to the dog park and do some BAT, assuming Justin is home or I get a little farther on my completely stalled separation anxiety treatment with Gustav. <br /><br />Other big news: we started Gustav on Prozac this week. This news has sort of freaked out or disappointed some friends of mine, but I think they've mulled it over and realized it's not such a crazy decision since they've watched me work with dog for two years and honestly, not a whole lot has changed. In fact, he's still worse than when we first got him (to think: we used to go to the dog park and let strangers pet him and have parties at our house with people out and dogs visiting!!) but perhaps not as bad as his worst. It's really discouraging. Chelse just said that she didn't want to pressure me, but that every time she saw Gustav "prozac" popped into her mind. So why not. We're giving it a 3-month trial. I just can't ignore an option that could make my dog lead a more balanced and happy life. <br /><br />Okay! Busy busy busy! I have work to do. And dogs to jog. I'll keep you all updated on Gustav's entry into the 21st century of SSRIs. Who knew I'd ever be here? Sigh.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-46237585264876556292010-09-28T18:02:00.000-07:002010-09-28T18:15:54.035-07:00Tuesday practice day.I had my training day with Nancy and Vanya (blog is: http://vanyaproject.blogspot.com). Everything went well. Towards the end, I was doing some BAT with Gustav with Nancy as the decoy. She was also feeding her dog Vanya peanut butter, but Vanya was in the car in a crate so the dogs couldn't see each other. Gustav was interesting: He would look at Nancy and be pulling forward, and when he looked away or did some other acceptable alternative behavior, like sniffing, I would say "Let's go" and try to retreat. Only he didn't want to retreat. He wanted to stay there. But he also didn't want to stay there, because once he pursed his lips and I could tell he was about one second away from woofing and maybe lunging. I switched to LAT because it was clear that one of two things was happening: 1. He was ambivalent about Nancy because he wanted the peanut butter but was also scared of her, and couldn't decide what to do. I've seen this behavior with Tish and Berit, especially after they throw treats. The functional reward people are always saying how just straight counterconditioning produces dogs who are ambivalent about the stimulus because the treats distract them from the real issue and they never solve their insecurities deep down. Interesting to think about. Counterconditioning folks would say that, done correctly, counterconditioning actually changes the dog's emotional response over time. 2. He was too close and his staring too intense to be able to tear him away from the stimulus. I'm less inclined to believe this one because I moved him farther and tried again and it still didn't work. Still, sometimes this is the problem with Gustav because he's an information gatherer and hates to turn his back on things he feels truly threatened by. I figured with LAT there was no harm either way: it's counterconditioning and also teaching him to look away from a stimulus. I didn't have to mess with the functional reward at all. There were no bad lessons to learn from looking at Nancy and getting a treat.<br /><br />Gustav made it 20 minutes while Dottie and I were out without crying. To be fair, this was with a brand new bone from the Farmer's Market, with tons of gooey gross meat hanging off. I got it from him with no growling, but he did seem a tad stiff. 20 minutes! Awesome!<br /><br />While Dottie and I were out, a neighbor dog came bounding into the park. At first I was nervous, then I just decided to let it play out because I knew the dog was super sweet. Sure enough, it came running over to meet Dottie. Dottie snapped at the dog in the muzzle area, a correction-type bite, and the dog backed off. I warned my neighbor that Dottie was "bitchy" (a strange choice of words, I know, but that's what came out.) The neighbor didn't care and the dog was extremely receptive to Dottie's signals. It did steal her toy once, but the neighbor got it and handed it to me. The dog also jumped on me and was very exuberant, but Dottie did not go too crazy. Her hackles were up and she barked a lot, but this incident reminded me that, on-leash displays to the contrary, she's not really out to rip out throats. Just wants to be left alone. Probably this wasn't the best experience, because she certainly learned that snapping is a good way to get a dog to leave her alone, but honestly the dog was kind of rude and the corrections were not over the top. In the end, I'm oddly pleased by the experience because it reminded me that Dottie is not a really aggressive dog, she's just doing what has worked in the past to get dogs out of her space. After the dog did that, she was able to play fetch and lay down without any problems, even when the dog was still in the park romping around.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-10537020890222943232010-09-26T11:50:00.001-07:002010-09-26T11:58:42.789-07:00Runner's HighI took the dogs on my favorite jogging route today. It's about a 45 minute jog that goes through neighborhoods and a little-used bike path through a marsh where Dottie can run free. I swear they both get a runner's high: usually 20 minutes into the jog they both get into a groove and Dottie in particular looks up at me with squinty eyes and her mouth wide open. To me this looks like a giant grin, like she's saying "Finally! We're moving at an appropriate pace!" <br /><br />We got mobbed by a loose black Lab, but I just dragged them across the street and the dog didn't follow. Dottie barked and barked but recovered quickly, and Gustav was stiff and looked back a lot but didn't flail and lunge and bark at all. I didn't say a word, just crossed the street at a jog and kept going. I think the dog was a little surprised to find such unfriendly dogs, maybe it will help him think twice about running out to greet strange dogs on the sidewalk. Gustav can be quite intimidating to friendly or submissive dogs, and invariably invites a fight with dogs with more attitude. Other than that there were no growls or barks, and we even passed some tied-up dogs across the street who were barking furiously.<br /><br />Dottie got to chase a squirrel in the marshy area and also got to run as fast as she could a few times, which is really fast and very fun to watch. She started to roll in something while giving me a guilty look and I called her out of it and she came! She got a big handful of treats and no bath. <br /><br />Not a lot of "training" got done, but I treasure these days because I feel it's what we're working towards: normal neighborhood experiences. I think the dogs needed a good workout and a low-stress outdoor experience. We all feel good.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-17556044313707091892010-09-23T17:09:00.000-07:002010-09-23T17:12:14.324-07:00PracticeToday we did two trials for Gustav's SA. Dottie and I left for 16 minutes once and 14 minutes once. Gustav did not cry. He just chewed his wonderful bone. Also he gave it up quite nicely, with a simple "give." <br /><br />I wonder if the circumstances of last time made a difference. Justin was still home when we left. Gustav saw Dottie and me drive away. Then a few minutes later Justin put him in his crate with the bone and left. Possibly the Justin factor and the driving factor played a role? I don't know. We'll keep working under twenty minutes, going up little by little with each successful trial.<br /><br />Tonight is Reactive Rover for us. Wish us luck!Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-23708248833301262042010-09-21T15:18:00.001-07:002010-09-21T15:36:29.284-07:00Gustav cries and cries and criesWell, I'm back in a routine now that school has started again and I've been able to work with the dogs quite a bit. We've still had lots of bad moments. Justin reported that yesterday they both bark/lunged at a dog. I've had Gustav growl and lunge at some people, and both at dogs here and there. On the other hand, we've had some really good times too. My goal of working with the dogs separately once a week each has been going great. Gustav is in Reactive Rover class on Thursday nights, and he did really well our first night last week. He didn't growl or lunge/bark at all, although he did stiffen and stare a few times. Also, I've been working with someone with a reactive dog on Tuesday afternoons. The first time I brought Gustav and that was good, because we got to do human BAT and also dog BAT and general attention work. This week I brought Dottie, and she did great as well. We did dog BAT and relax-on-mat stuff. I have two things I need to work out, however. One, Gustav is not good at just hanging out in the car for a few minutes while I talk to Nancy, who I'm training with. I can't talk to her very well with him, because I can't get close enough to communicate. He yelps and howls from the car. I tried covering his view with a tarp, but he hated that. Two, I just got home with Dottie and checked my computer, with which I spy on Gustav to see how his Dottie separation anxiety is going. Not well, it turns out. He had a brand new meaty bone to chew on. Like, from the butcher and covered in meat and filled with marrow. He made it about 18 minutes before starting to whine and howl, and then did so in fairly regular intervals for the next nearly three hours. Here's the breakdown: 18 minutes quiet, 1 minute cry, 6 minutes quiet, 3 minutes cry, 6 minutes quiet, 8 minutes cry, 4 minutes quiet, 3 minutes cry, 2 minutes quiet, 5 minutes cry, 4 minutes quiet, and so on. Crying ranging from one minute to 8 minutes, quiet ranged from one minute to 9 minutes (not including first quiet period). Very very sad crying, as well. I've never heard him like except from recordings when I'm gone with Dottie.<br /><br />When we got home he didn't even bring his nice meaty bone out of the crate with him. He just ran ran ran to Dottie and sniffed her all over and wagged furiously. Which is sweet but pathetic all the same. He is still panting and it was obviously a stressful time for him (and probably my neighbors too. Hope no one was home.)<br /><br /><br />Bummer. I'll have to start from scratch on the separation anxiety problem. I'll have to be sure to build up to at least an hour before trying this sort of thing again. Very sad for Dottie. Sigh.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-15125009711396541022010-09-10T13:22:00.000-07:002010-09-10T13:31:30.655-07:00Tough times for us.I took the dogs out one morning and twice people burst out of their front doors with dogs. What bad luck. The dogs were way too close and there was nothing I could do but praise the manufacturers of the gentle leader and easy walk harness and drag everyone away. Then yesterday we had barely gotten to the end of my block when a boxer popped out from behind a fence. I just dragged the dogs right back home and canceled the walk. There was no way we could rebound from that right then. I took them on a late night walk instead, with no one in sight. Then today the UPS man dropped off a package that I was not expecting so soon and knocked on the door to alert me. The dogs went nuts. I feel like we've had some setbacks that are due purely to chance. Sad.<br /><br />Today I am doing a CAT session with Tish and Gustav, then hopefully I can find some unsuspecting decoy dogs in the neighborhood to run some BAT with Dottie. Reactive Rover starts this week on Thursdays with Gustav, hopefully this will help us out of the hole we're in. Sigh. On the plus side, Dottie auto-watches everytime she hears a dog bark and Gustav has been doing tons of autowatches with people. The counterconditioning, at least, is making a little progress. <br /><br />One last weird thing: recently Gustav has begun to wag his tail as strangers out of the window. Usually he goes to the window, tail held high. If the tails slowly lowers, there's no one there and he loses interest. If the tail stays high and he perks up in other ways, there's someone there and he'll either just stare them away or maybe bark if they're super close or it's a dog. Recently the tail lowers a little, then sways from side to side. I though it must be a friend, but not someone he really really loves because then the tail wag would include the butt. I looked out the window and it was a stranger across the street. What's going on? It's not the friendliest wag he's ever had, and he wags while bark/lunging at people so I know it's not always a good thing. But it's not high and fast like Dottie's when she's going to go ballistic on a dog. It's a pretty relaxed wag. Strange.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-89229653997863748262010-09-06T12:11:00.000-07:002010-09-06T12:15:09.314-07:00Interesting blog readJogged the dogs today, lots of great autowatches from Gustav and some excellent BAT work from far away with Dottie. No barking, no lunging. I really feel like a good month or two of this type of work will bring us back to our high point. Dottie has begun all walks with some very intense scanning and even a little pulling. She seems to be on high alert and I've needed to start walks with lots of back and forth, treats, slow walking, etc. to get us all in the right frame of mind to survive a neighborhood walk.<br /><br />I've been following Patricia McConnell's blog, www.theotherendoftheleash.com, and there's a very interesting saga regarding a puppy she rehomed. Well, two actually, but Hope most recently. Very thought provoking. I recommend it.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-1378830054946353582010-09-05T13:07:00.000-07:002010-09-05T13:15:05.810-07:00Jogging weather!It's gotten really mild here, with highs in the upper 60s, so it means we can jog again without the dogs being completely useless due to overheating. We drove to a suburban area a few miles up the road for a change of scenery. It was lovely and we had a great time. We passed lots of dogs in houses and behind fences going crazy and my dogs didn't bark at all. They were handsomely rewarded for this choice. We jogged for about an hour and it's great to ditch the treadmill and have both the dogs and myself exercised at once.<br /><br />Ever since I've been back from my trip I've noticed Gustav in particular has really regressed. He's bark/lunged at people nearly every day. I'm glad we have the fall routine, complete with jogging and our reactive rover class, to get us back on track. I also am setting up my weekly CAT sessions with my sister-in-law. I'd really like Gustav to like her. He loves her son and her boyfriend, so I know it's possible. <br /><br />I'm working on two other things with Gustav: one, looking at me before we cross the street. I say "stop" and the dogs stop, then I just stand there until Gustav finally looks up at me out of boredom. Then I say "yes" and "okay" and we cross the street. Two, I picked up a booklet called the "Really Reliable Recall." It has you spend two weeks calling your dog in the house three times a day and spending literally one minute giving out great treats and praising. It's nice not to worry about criteria right now and Gustav has gotten quite speedy on his in-house recall. The booklet then has you test the recall in a set-up to see how it's going. I'll give that a try in a few weeks and see if a recall trained with no raising of criteria is of any use in difficult situations. I'm curious and it takes very little effort on my part, so why not?<br /><br />The dogs are really tired now. It's a wonderful sight.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-64507308798847474302010-09-01T18:04:00.000-07:002010-09-01T18:33:47.773-07:00Two good days.Both today and yesterday I was able to take the dogs on separate walks. What a pleasure! Gustav made it 20 minutes without crying while Dottie and I were gone, with a good bone of course. He also gave it up without any problems. Since he growled at me once a few weeks ago while reaching into his crate to take away an amazing meaty bone, I've been doing a little resource guarding stuff here and there, not too much. I'm not sure if that's helped or if the bone is less meaty or if it's because I wait until he brings his bone out of his crate himself before I take it away.<br /><br />Gustav barked at one person, a friend of mine I saw on my walk. I told him Gustav is "mean" (sometimes you have to be simple and inaccurate to get people to listen) and he stopped walking towards us and that was fine, but while we talked he inexplicably took a few more steps forward before I could say anything and Gustav did a woof and lunge. Nothing terrible, but it sure worked because my friend stopped coming towards us. Other than that we saw tons of dogs and people and he did great. I was really proud. Same with Dottie.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-27942362483611511422010-08-31T16:07:00.000-07:002010-08-31T16:09:06.824-07:00Bad day :(Had a not so great walk yesterday. Both the dogs were high-strung from the beginning, stiff and with hackles up right out the door. I have no idea why-maybe a dog had just walked there? Anyway, Dottie barked at a neighbor and so did Gustav. Then later Gustav bark/lunged at a woman 15 feet away on the sidewalk. Disappointing.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-30872644523371136342010-08-28T08:38:00.000-07:002010-08-28T08:48:18.452-07:00What a summer!Well, I just got back from my vacation in Berlin, which was amazing. Justin reported that the dogs had a few bad days, including Dottie charging a dog a few times while off leash. Sounds like extra caution is needed while she's off leash, because it sounds like she was pretty mean and intimidating, but was still able to be recalled and didn't cause any damage. However, that's exactly the type of behavior I hate from other dog owners and sets everyone's training back. I was sad to hear about it. She also had a few meltdowns at other dogs.<br /><br />I took them out for a long rebonding walk yesterday and it was just lovely. They did great and using distance as a reinforcer for Dottie is still amazing me with it's effectiveness. I can literally see her decide when to look at me instead of barking and freaking out. She looks at a dog, purses her lips and raises her tail, then turns around to look at me. I say "yes!" and we literally sprint away from the dog and Dottie is just as happy as can be. Gustav is a bit slower on this because he is insecure about turning his back on something that worries him and I have to give him several extra seconds. During this time, I figure Dottie is learning duration. Otherwise, if Dottie is about to lose it, I just have to sort of drag Gustav away. Interesting to do BAT with two dogs at once, but I just sort of choose which dog to focus on each time we see a trigger and try to keep a lid on things in general.<br /><br />I signed Gustav up for Reactive Rover this fall, so I'm really excited about that. He made a lot of progress when we did it last year, just in general responsiveness. I think the most useful thing about the class is having a completely controlled environment in which to build trust and basic focus. <br /><br />Well, I didn't get as much training done this summer as I'd hoped, but I got a little overscheduled in general and fell short of many of my goals. Lesson from this summer: relax and don't expect so much from myself and my time. Now it's back to school and routine, my favorite things, and I think the dogs will benefit as well.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-21854135366675208432010-07-18T14:04:00.000-07:002010-07-18T14:07:29.576-07:00Boring walk reportTook a long walk today. The dogs were very hot. Dottie barked at one dog, but not at two others (although I increased distance quite a bit based on her earlier performance). I brought a toy as a different reinforcer, which worked beautifully. I think Dottie was pleasantly surprised that looking at a dog and then looking at me could produce a toy she loves and a little mini tug session.<br /><br />All in all, it was incredibly pleasant and almost one hundred percent what I want out of my dogs: long, uneventful walks around the neighborhood without having to make crazy routes to avoid people/dogs. I don't mind crossing the street, but taking wild detours is a bummer. <br /><br />Now they are panting and laying down. I love them.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-79282718389806602452010-07-18T12:05:00.000-07:002010-07-18T12:12:16.967-07:00Back homeWow, I've been gone a while. I was super busy getting ready for my band's tour, and I just got back yesterday. One thing that's fun about tour is meeting other people's pets. We stayed with some friends in North Carolina who have a great little heeler mutt named Lil' Man. He was obviously a great dog, but super super mouthy. It reminded me that no one's dog is perfect and that we love them all the same, an obvious message that sometimes gets lost nevertheless when we are trying to work with our dogs towards some goal.<br /><br />Justin, who took care of the dogs while I was gone, said it went great with no barking fits or problems except one incident in which they got mobbed by two off-leash pit bulls. Dottie barked at them from behind Justin's legs and Gustav just beat up the other dogs. So typical of their crisis responses. Gustav really can take care of himself, and he knows it. My job is to convince him he doesn't have to. This message is a little harder to convey when it's not true, like when people let their dogs run amok. Gustav is extremely intimidating when he decides it's time to take care of business and I've never seen him lose a contest of this variety. He snarls and growls and pins the other dog within seconds. <br /><br />Well, I'm back in the saddle for a few weeks, after which I'm on vacation again (!). I'm going to take the dogs out on a long long walk right now. Nice.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-44476886227872262032010-06-19T11:36:00.000-07:002010-06-19T11:44:17.948-07:00Amazing BAT session outside the dog park!Dottie and I had a great time outside the dog park. We stood sort of near the entrance, and when a dog got leashed up and came out, I waited for Dottie to turn her head to me. Then I clicked, and we RAN away from the dog, then got a treat. I misjudged her distance once or twice and she barked, but I just stood there and pretty soon she looked up at me and we got to run away.<br /><br />I was totally amazed at the quick progress she made. Pretty soon we were an across-the-street distance from other dogs, and Dottie was wagging her tail and anticipating her click and our super fun retreat. I guess this is more of a BAT thing, as far as I've read about it, but of course it's really just the same old principles: communicate with your dog, figure out what they want, and find a way to negotiate how to get what you both want out of a situation. It also made me think about what an "operant" dog Dottie is. She just wants to do what works, and is so whip smart that she doesn't let her fears overcome her when she's deciding what course of action to take. Of course, a key in all that is keeping her at a distance she can deal with. If the dogs had been off-leash and mobbed her, all bets would be off and she would do what works: snap and lunge. <br /><br />I'm lucky that leash laws are observed, by and large, around here in the city. I think people are mostly worried about their dogs getting hit by cars, not the consideration of other people. <br /><br />Anyway, I was really encouraged by it and I'll try to get a session or two a week in at the dog park or in dog-heavy neighborhoods with room to retreat. Dottie will never love strange dogs, and I honestly don't care if she can meet them or not. Just walking the neighborhood in peace is enough for me.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-69107694080156913132010-06-17T17:29:00.000-07:002010-06-17T17:33:09.032-07:00CAT adviceI got some good feedback from my CAT list. They told me not to sweat getting to interaction, but to do lots and lots more reps using distance as a reinforcer. I think it's a good idea. Today I'm hoping to work a bit on Gustav's adorable but sad separation-from-Dottie anxiety. I taped him again recently and he can go about six minutes before started to howl and whine. therefore, Dottie and I will be taking weird four minute walks a few times in a row while Gustav chews on something wonderful. I'd love to be taking Dottie to the outskirts of the dog park more often, but it would help a lot if Gustav wasn't crying and crying at home. Of course, I can take just her if Justin is home but he frequently doesn't get done with work until eight or later.<br /><br />Also, I found a blog of someone who lives quite near me in real life who has a hyper-aroused dog. The blog is vanyaproject.blogspot.com. I'm going to run over there and say hi. It's especially interesting since a lot of the trainers she's used I have as well. Small world!Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-81711156860582513512010-06-16T15:06:00.001-07:002010-06-16T15:13:19.070-07:00CAT with BeritI did a CAT session with my friend Berit today. It was really interesting. Gustav seemed totally relaxed and indifferent to her--or is it avoidance? Who knows. So she quickly got to a small distance, about seven feet or so, and I was shaping for yawns, turn-aways, laying down, sniffing, and relaxed movement. I was curious if he would take treats from her, so I had her throw a few. He ate them up and actually had a teeny tiny tail wag-the low and slow kind!! Exciting! The next rep, though, she was one step closer and he stared at her, then woofed and lunged. She jumped, but I had her stay there and after only a few barks, Gustav turned away. Then I had her retreat. I was curious what brought on this change in emotions. Berit thinks it's because she was closer than ever, I wonder if he was a little frightened by their treat interaction as well. Gustav's triggers all involve the concept that the person might actually come up and touch him: people getting out of cars, people walking straight at him, people talking to me, etc. Maybe throwing treats is one of those things as well, even though he likes treats. Hmmm. Unfortunately, she's going on vacation so I'll have to wait to try out another session with her.<br /><br />Very interesting! I'm not sure where to go with it from here. He's still not showing lots of signs of actual friendliness, maybe I should increase distance a little. I'm very happy he's choosing avoidance rather than aggression, but of course I'd love to see some friendliness to shape for. Maybe I'm pushing him too far too fast. I think I'll ask the CAT forum what they think.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-10124264531203558052010-06-11T19:28:00.001-07:002010-06-11T19:40:47.451-07:00Back from up northUp north Wisconsin, that is. We took the dogs camping for a week. It wasn't a resounding success, but it wasn't a disaster either. Dottie had some pretty sad moments: she's officially scared of fishing poles, and wouldn't get in the van for a long time the first night, due to her carsickness on the way up (she didn't actually throw up, but that's because we know not to feed her before car trips. She's been carsick her whole life, the very first thing she did as a puppy after I drove her home from the rescue place was throw up all over my lap). We just sat in the van (our new camping vehicle, very nice considering how much it rained) and waited for her to change her mind. She did eventually, but I couldn't believe how teenager-like she was being. She barked at every little thing at first, and Gustav got very tense very quickly.<br /><br />But after a few days the dogs got MUCH better at calming down and having a good time. A few things helped: lots of CCing the various noises of the other campers, getting used to thing over time, some awesome bones to chew on that I brought along, and the fact that they were exhausted from some pretty major off-leash hikes. Finally, the last night, the dogs were laying contentedly on their beds, strategically placed under the picnic table, while we sat around the fire. Well, for about twenty minutes anyway. Which was a big deal, and I was very proud of them. I've never known Dottie to be comfortable laying around outdoors, she's just not that kind of dog. <br /><br />We let Gustav and Dottie romp around off leash on some obscure fire access roads we found to hike. I was a little nervous, but he did well. He doesn't have a great recall, but he is very good at staying with the group. Whenever they seemed like they were going to chase something through the woods, I would call Dottie first (bless her wonderful recall!) and Gustav wouldn't be too far behind. He did get a little too far a few times and Justin had to use his serious voice to get him back. On our way out of one of these roads, a guy in a jeep was driving down it and stopped to chat. He asked if we had seen the bear and her three little cubs. Well, no, we hadn't, and thank God. Pretty scary thought, given Gustav's poor recall. Who knows what he would do when faced with a bear? I am sooo grateful we didn't have any incidents, and I feel a little sheepish for risking it. Gustav had such a wonderful time, though, and it was both a good bonding time and good to practice his off-leash work, which I so rarely get to do. I haven't seen both dogs so tired in a long long time.<br /><br />I'll update a little more later, but I am so dirty and the dogs have more ticks than I've ever seen in my life.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-13934215938767772062010-05-24T08:48:00.000-07:002010-05-24T09:06:44.098-07:00Pam Dennison's book and poop.I've really been enjoying Pam Dennison's book "Bringing Light to Shadow." It's a training diary. It's great because I've always wanted to see rehabilitation in action, both the good days and bad days. The dog ends up great (of course, otherwise wouldn't be much of a book). Most interesting parts I thought were the immense progress after the first eight months or so. The dog (and trainer) just seemed to start getting it, and then progressed at a much faster pace than before. Also the importance of working when the dog is comfortable, something I've found super useful in Gustav. As soon as I started working where he was truly comfortable, rather than just "fine," I noticed he made more progress. So I would cross the street even though he could make it past the person without bark/lunging, just because he looked tight.<br /><br />There's a few big differences between me and Pam. One, she's a professional dog trainer whose life is literally training her dogs. I have school, a job, a band, a boyfriend, friends, an awesome nephew, and a house to maintain. I am really happy with this life and even though I love my dogs, I am not willing to make them my full-time job. Two, luckily, Gustav is not nearly as screwed up as the dog in the book. In fact, he's almost perfect except for around strangers and dogs, and considering what a couch potato he is he really doesn't need tons of work. Three, and related to number one, Pam has big competition goals for her dogs. I want a functional pet with a decent quality of life. A much lower bar. I don't need a dog that loves being examined by strangers or can be perfect while being groomed or has a perfect heel. Just a dog that doesn't lunge and bark and, maybe, can tolerate a brief pet from a stranger (although honestly, it's not that big a deal to me). Finally, I really am not into training a bazillion tricks and cues. I know it's a good idea for some types of dogs (like Dottie), but Gustav is a bit of a slow processor and I personally think it would be more beneficial to have an amazing sit, come, down, stay, and stop, and then maybe a little target, sniff, and play bow; than to have a dozen half-proofed cues that he doesn't know too well. <br /><br />However, it's been a great read, and very encouraging. I have high hopes for Gustav.<br /><br />Yesterday I took the dogs in the van (trying to get them used to it) to the lake. Dottie swam, and Gustav rolled in some amazing poop. Since he was already filthy, I called him away and let him go back, just to take advantage of the situation. Then I brought them home and washed him twice and he still stank. Gross. Everyone in the band who came over for practice later laughed and complained. <br /><br />Also, Dottie has figured out how to paw the blocks on her Nina Ottosson toy. It is so cool! What a great little brain toy. I just pull it out here and there for tiny little sessions, and it really seems to get Dottie thinking.Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519741050017081668.post-66281169904905230792010-05-23T14:09:00.000-07:002010-05-23T14:18:59.718-07:00HotterBleghh, it's about 90 degrees today. I'm trying to think of places where the dogs can swim.<br /><br />For my birthday, my friends teamed up and got me a Nina Ottosson toy! http://www.nina-ottosson.com/DogTurbowood1.htm<br /><br />I would never have bought this on my own, they're so expensive. I was so excited. Dottie and I tried it out today and was so challenged. She sort of figured out the very first basic step, of moving the block to push the treat out. After only a few minutes, she kind of glazed over so we quit for now. It'll be so handy for cold days and so on. Thanks friends! Even though I know you don't read this because I told you it would be too boring for non-dog people!Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660102718135381793noreply@blogger.com0