Honestly, it wasn't a great start. I put Dottie in the car and scraped the inside of the back window because my p.o.s car needs that. Dottie was literally shaking after that noise, and was a total wreck for the 35 minute car ride. She only hates the car in the winter, which I hypothesize is because she gets carsick because she can't stick her head out the window. I also think it might be the loud defroster. As of this morning, I added scraping to the list of things to hate about the car in the winter. She hid in her customary spot on the floor right behind the driver's seat.
When it was her turn to go in the class (they do it one-by-one, smart in a class full of reactive dogs!), she had her hackles all the way up when she could smell dog smells. She wouldn't sit or take treats from the instructors (Chelse and Lisa) and generally behaved like a whipped puppy. She concluded this portion by taking a gigantic poop on the floor. I guess she didn't go in the yard this morning, I will remember from now on to ensure she's gone before dog class. Yuck. It was a funny type of embarrassment. I wasn't embarrassed she pooped, per se, or that she has problems. It was just a problem she doesn't actually have and I was only prepared to display problems that I know of. Funny. I almost felt like she was wasting time by displaying behaviors that are not representative of her actual and myriad problems. This makes me laugh even as I type it.
I brought her back out to the car to wait for other dogs to have their turn, where she shook and looked terrible. I was really concerned at this point that I had totally overwhelmed her. I brought her back in for the class and she perked up a little. She took treats from me and the whole time only emitted a teeny little bark. The most surprising part to me was the way she treated the dog bed. We do some relaxation protocols and "go to bed" and down-stays on the dog bed, but she's not super at them. At the class, I led her to the dog bed and she lay down on it right away, and I didn't even ask her to! I even had a hard time coaxing her off of it. I was really proud and a little confused.
Her lack of barking, while nice, seemed to me to be a partial shut-down on her part. She was so happy to be given cues and led around. It reminded me of our flyball class, where she moved like she was about 100 years old even though I know she's a super fast dog when she's comfortable. No barking or shenanigans, just quiet resignation. What a fragile little creature she is . . .
We worked on attention and mat-to-mat, but mostly the benefit came from being counterconditioned against a room full of reactive dogs. Hopefully over time the treats will outweigh the fear.
After class we took a walk along the bike path behind the building. She sprinted up and down happily, and we played chase. She had a great time and clearly had a lot of energy/anxiety to burn. Lots of hilarious play-bows and running as fast as she could. I'm glad we got to do that.
The car ride home was similarly traumatic. Once we walked in the door, Gustav was soooo happy to see her and vice versa. They really are security blankets to one another. Talk about the blind leading the blind. Having Dottie as your leader, as she is to Gustav, must be a constantly unnerving experience, since she's hysterical and insecure. Like living in a dictatorship with some insane leader.
I'm looking forward to the rest of the class, because I think it will be good for Dottie and me. Ultimately, though, it's for Gustav. I don't really care if Dottie chooses to bark here and there, but it makes Gustav go into super-defensive mode, because one of his bosses is freaked out. Also, she's improved a lot even without the class, but for Gustav's sake I need to step it up a little. To keep her from barking when seeing dogs or greeting people or when people come to the door will really help Gustav stay calm.
In closing, I'd like to list the things Dottie's really great at. I want to do this because when she came home, Justin remarked that she looked terrible and smelled as though she'd been attacked. I think these are valid observations, because her ears were plastered back, her stress veins on her face were engorged, and she started compulsively licking the couch. Don't worry though, she was barking out the window again in no time!
I'll start with things I'm grumpy about:
She's not good at camping or dog parks or laying down anywhere except home or waiting quietly while you talk to someone you met on a walk or meeting dogs on walks. She's not good at being left alone unless it's in her room with something to do and music on. She's really good at accessing me like a slot machine, barking at imaginary things out the window then running over and sitting nicely and waiting for treats or a kong given in frustration when I just want a few hours of peace. She's good at alerting me when the UPS truck is within a few blocks or anyone at all is on the street or, heaven forbid, coming to the house. She's good at getting me to buy crazy dog toys.
Here's things I read about on my aggressive dog site that I thank God she doesn't have:
She's not aggressive to Gustav (except when she's being a bitch about bones or wants him to stop trying to play with her, but she's plenty appropriate in her communications) or people. She doesn't have separation anxiety. She's healthy (knock on wood). She doesn't run away or chew things to bits (anymore). She's house trained. She's not pushy to us and can be on the couch and bed without issues. She doesn't resource-guard from people.
Here's the things I really really love about her:
Dottie is friendly and gentle to children. She is an amazing frisbee dog. She has a nearly perfect recall, such that I have seriously considered walking her off-leash all the time (I can't take the stress of the possibility she'd get hit by a car, so I don't). She can go on hikes in the woods or to any park without causing problems. She knows tons of awesome tricks. She is really smart and loves to clicker train. She loves to run for no reason, and she can run super fast. When she does this, she sometimes starting bounding as high in the air as she can, which makes her look like a gazelle. She taught this move to my mom and dad's dog. She is what I call a billboard dog, so cute and dog-looking. When she naps, she curls in a ball and puts her chin in between her back leg and back, a pose I call "the duck." She goes "mmmmmmmm" when you pet her just right, but has never ever ever solicited petting. Sometimes if you want to pet her she won't let you and licks you instead. She is really treat motivated, making training easier. She loves to go jogging with me and gives me a look that says "Finally! you figured out what a walk is really supposed to be, none of this meandering slowness, but an appropriate clip." She sleeps under the blanket, which she gets under herself, then curls up and warms my feet. She is spunky. She is loyal. She is attentive. She taught me to accept her for who she is and what she can do, and enjoy what she enjoys.
Here they are hibernating in perfect symmetry:
Sometimes it's overwhelming to be solely responsible for the quality of life of a living creature . . .
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