Posts Tagged ‘positive training’

Having Guests with Our Adopted Dog Child

Monday, December 14th, 2009

Well, I am happy to say, the weekend went better than expected with my mother staying. This is our second overnight guest occasion with our rescue dog, Charlie. The first guests were a dog savvy friend and her young son. Let’s just say that visit didn’t involve much sleeping on anyone’s part. My other half had to go in to work the next morning and was pretty cranky with the whining and pacing. I ended up sleeping on the couch with Charlie on leash, well very little sleeping, and Charlie would not settle down until the house had been completely free of any sounds for a few hours when he finally begrudgingly slept.  I woke with a stiff neck. Our dog is very anxious around being separated from anyone in the house by doors or anything. We have done lots of work on this and I do exercises as this situation inevitably comes up as repair people have to move about the house and it is not safe and undesirable to have a Collie anxiously crowding them.

 We have made some good progress recently and Charlie is developing some coping and adapting skills with new things in the home. So after canceling friends that were planning on coming to the house, we had my mother stay over. Worst-case scenario was we all wouldn’t get any sleep but I was hoping since this was one quiet adult that we would do better now. Well, Charlie was very excited about my mother and if I didn’t manage him with great treat rewards and have him go to his bed, he would herd her and block any walking progress and wanted sniff her and nibble on her clothes, which is a nervous habit of his but he did eventually lay down although with big sighs.  Progress!

The first night I knew he would be concerned about being in our room with someone else in the house and indeed he did keep us up for at least an hour whining but he did eventually give up and go to sleep. Progress, less fussing. The next night there was only the briefest whining at door and then he settled in for sleep again with lots of sighing which he does when concerned but we got a good nights sleep. Yes, progress and adapting! Yeah!

 My mother drove home yesterday and this morning when I came down to make coffee I heard Charlie fussing and whining upstairs and I knew he was looking for my mother. I opened the door to the

Grandma Judy with Charlie

Grandma Judy with Charlie

room so he could see she was gone. I left him on the guest bed and he stayed there for a while but now we are back to normal.

 Yeah, progress. We are climbing a steep hill to normal but at least we haven’t slid back down to the bottom and the view is improving all the time.

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Smoke and Mirrors

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

Well it is day six since we adopted our new dog and I am reminded of something an owner of a business once said to a friend in regard to managing people – “It is all smoke and mirrors.” Well, the key to having a new dog is much the same. You want to use your every advantage to direct their energy into activities you like and want to live with on a daily basis. So you set the stage. In positive training you reinforce the behaviors you want and ignore the behaviors you don’t want. The behavior that is reinforced increases. Behaviors that are not reinforced in some way should disappear. Of course the third part of the puzzle is that you are not the only one reinforcing behaviors, squirrels, mail delivery people, relatives, spouses, and the stinky socks on the floor can also reinforce behavior so you need to get ahead of these influences and set the stage so your dog learns what you want him to learn.

We are working on house manners so we have shut doors and blocked hallway access to the front of the house with chairs and boxes because we want to head off any potty accidents (there was one in front hall) and jumping and barking at front door, which happened once. We have tried to remove any tempting items and frequently put toys in his mouth and play with him. We distract him if he starts any unwanted behaviors and when we are out, of course, he is safely in his crate where he can’t get into trouble. Charlie is not trained to the yard yet so I have him dragging a rope attached to his harness that I can grab if I need to prevent him from learning any unwanted behaviors. This way I can interrupt and prevent any move to harass our wild bird population or our neighbors’ animals and allows me to reinforce all the things I want like coming when called, chasing and retrieving toys and staying away from fence. If I didn’t do this, he would inevitably find out it would be easy to run out of our grasp and harass the other animals and of course they would run or react, which would probably reward this undesirable behavior. Eventually he will have been reinforced so many times for doing wanted games in the yard that these activities will replace any unwanted behaviors and he will think I still can control him when I really physically couldn’t. Like I said, smoke and mirrors.

Dogs almost always learn unwanted behaviors when left on their own that is why controlling the surrounding area or setting the stage so they will follow your script is so important. We are doing this on a long list of behaviors but so far our diligence is paying off with great progress in a short time and I can usually see the mistake I have made in managing the setting when he does something unwanted like grabbing my slipper, which I should not have left on the floor. It is a lot like a preschool daycare teacher controlling a class. The teacher will put the toys and supplies she wants the kids to play with in front of them and be sure to remove any hazardous items or distract the children from doing any unwanted or dangerous activities like trying to climb the shelves. Dogs are always learning. Make sure you give them lots of stuff to do that is easy to live with like, activity toys, safe chews, games to play like fetch and tug, hikes and walks and get ahead of the game by preventing any unwanted behavior. No dog ever learned to knock down the garbage can if he never had access to one. All our trashcans are up high or behind closed doors right now just for that reason. Remember get ahead of the unwanted behavior so your dog won’t learn it in the first place. It will really make your life easier down the road.

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43 Hours Since We Adopted Our New Dog

Thursday, February 26th, 2009

43 Hours Since We Adopted Our New Dog

Things are going well. Our new dog is sleeping at my feet on his bed while I write this. I am groggy from almost two days of intensive work with our new doggy. I picked him about two days ago and he was a little anxious to leave his foster buddies but thanks to some tasty treat I brought for the ride and a good adaptable dog brain, he was lying down by the time we made all the way home. I had the crate, new toys, his food, beds, leashes, tags, and assorted treats prepared. He spent the first day on leash in and out of house with me, which helped bond him to me and calm him down and start with house manner training. I used positive reinforcement every time he did something I liked and distracted him from doing things I didn’t like, such as thinking about taking bite out Steve’s prized Jade plant. I put him in crate for our mealtime and when Steve was wearing his work clothes for breakfast.

The toys that were a hit:

One of my favorite’s and Jefferson’s favorite the Purple Twist & Spin Busy Buddy from Premier (Great activity toy and easy to clean). He is playing with it without treats too!

Rubber large rings that form 3 part chain, he had at foster’s house so he was familiar and loves to tug

Fleece braided tug toy from Petmart. Lightweight and great for walks and house play

Chuck It balls and ball with Frisbee type attachment

The toys he hates:

He is afraid of squeaky toy unlike my late dog Jefferson, he would promptly kill and disembowel all squeaky toys with great glee.

The round softer than a buster cube activity toy that you put treats in and the dog rolls and treats fall out at random. Although, he loves the Twist & Spin that does the same king of thing, Charlie has shown no interest in this toy.

Oh and he turned his noise up at expensive top of the line wellness treats. Well all righty then! Likes his food and chicken.

We worked on not pulling on leash and playing and paying attention on walks and in yard all on leash or long line.

The first night we took a gamble that he was housebroken and let him sleep with crate door open in bedroom. He was a little anxious and paced room whenever one us moved so I slept with one eye open. He was afraid of stairs and upstairs rooms and hall but he has adjusted well and has adapted to stairs. Day two we tried off leash in house since he seems housebroken and has bonded to me. I watch him constantly and give him feedback and bravery rewards since he is a bit of chicken. He has spent short periods in crate fine when I am out of house. We have a long list of things to work on but he is playful and joyful and adapting very quickly. He does an excellent Chewbacca imitation and pounces on his toys like a fox. He doesn’t mind tons of nose kisses and is pretty cuddly. Well nap time is over and it is time to play! More tomorrow. Jeni

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Make Your Neighbors Think Your Dog is Great

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

The truth is when it comes to the public your manners often matter more than your dog’s manners. In our society in every conceivable way including legally, the person that feeds and cares for a dog, is responsible for all of that dog’s actions. If your dog barks and annoys your neighbors, you will be held responsible.

One of the most common complaints about dogs is dog poo left on a neighbor’s yard or on public property to be stepped in by some innocent passerby. Obviously, it is not the dog’s fault, she has to go to the bathroom and she doesn’t have pooper scooping dexterity so it is up to the person to keep their dog off other people’s property by leash or fence and to pick up any doggy waste left on public property. Trust me there is no quicker way to make an enemy than have your dog poo or pee in their yard or along their favorite walking path in the park. So, it is simple pick it up or prevent it.

Barking is probably second on the annoying the neighbor list. Dogs are social beings that want to be with you so do not leave them in the yard alone, this almost always causes nuisance behaviors, if not more serious behavior problems and leaves them in possible danger from strangers, storms and other natural and man-made disasters. Find a comfortable place in the house for them preferably away from outside distractions like rooms that face the street and barking triggers like other dogs, joggers, and trucks. If you live in an apartment or other really close neighbor situations, you may need to invest some time training your dog and providing other busy work for your dog do when you are not home.

Onto common complaint number three, your dog should NEVER be allowed to approach, greet, or jump on a person or another pet animal without prior permission. If you have yet to train good leash manners, move your dog away or off the path so person or person with dog can pass. If the person gives permission and shows a real interest in meeting your dog, you can then let your dog greet the person or dog from a place of control. If you cannot physically hold your dog, such as you will literally be dragged where the dog wants to go, you need to invest in some equipment such as a gentle leader head harness and learn how to use it until you train your dog. Children are often unable to control a dog. An adult or an older child that has learned how to walk the dog should walk the dog. You will run into situations like another loose possibly unfriendly dog that will need the quick judgments of an adult. It is unfair and risky to put a young child in this situation. Involve young children in the dog walk in other ways. Maybe they could hold the dog toys or reward treats. If you cannot get your dog to come to you without hesitation in all situations, like when another dog is approaching, you cannot go off leash in the park until you have trained your dog. Remember your dog may be a lover but someone else’s may be a fighter and people with a fear of dogs can be quick to encounter a dog with violence unfortunately.

You may notice I have said little here about training and a lot about managing your dog’s actions. You don’t need to have a well trained dog to follow this advice just some good planning and preparation, bring the leash, head harness, dog poo bags and the use of fences, baby gates, and such can make your neighbors think kindly of your dog and you. While you are in the process of training your dog, use good management, which is about what you do to prevent your dog from annoying your neighbors. You may have noticed there are laws almost everywhere about all of the things I have mentioned but I urge you to keep your dog literally and figuratively out of your neighbor’s face, not because it is the law but because it is the right thing to do and for all the other dog people out there so they don’t suffer harsh restriction because of your actions.

Don’t wait until someone complains because at that point you and your dog have already left a probably permanent bad impression about your dog and all of us dog people. Stay on the side of being overly considerate when it comes to not allowing your dog’s actions to annoy others.

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