update on food aggression

So far things have been going great on the food aggression front!

Copper has been really well behaved at food time. He has even started slowing down a little when he does eat.

Here's what it looks like:

1. Both dogs are fed at night time (so they'll respond better to the leash training)

2. I put the food in both bowls, but only put Sara's down for her to start

3. I let Sara eat the majority of hers first. Then, I put Copper's down.

4. I don't let him start his until I give him his "release" signal.

5. I take away the bowl a few times while he's eating and I don't let him start again until I give him the signal.

6. Then, I will sometimes poke at his side and his back end while he's eating to see if he will get irritated - and so far he's good

7. We'll keep down this path of practice for a long time. I want to make sure he knows he needs my permission before he can eat. I want him to know who is the authority so that we can all get along really well!

back to the basics

With both dogs, we have done puppy class where we taught the dogs basic commands with the use of a clicker, then treat system. My wonderful husband reminded me last week that this technique had worked so well in the beginning, maybe i should try it out again. And I must say, the dogs have responded so well to it! I still have to work with them separately to see the best results, but I am very glad that hubbs suggested it!

enjoying your dog

Last week we had a fairly good time with the dogs. And after a successful walk with the dogs we came back to the condo and just ended up sitting on the floor.

We just rolled around with the dogs and played with them and wrestled. They had fun and we had fun.

I think it's important to remember that in the midst of all of this (frustrating) training that it's important to have fun and enjoy your dog.

roadblock!

the last two days have been not as successful of training days. we made a HUGE scene trying to just get in the dog park last night because my dogs were both in their leash aggression explosion phase. walks and anxiety in the courtyard at our condo have been average- good overall, but still noticable signs of anxiety.

so what's the problem? me

i have had no patience and no desire to work with them. i know it's temporary and that my exhaustion will pass. but, let's face it, there are times when we just are not the perfect dog owner.

it's friday and after this long week, me and my babies will be back on track soon!

bark all you want!

Sweet little Copper... he has always been our barker, but he's developed a new thing since the training...

This morning he saw a dog outside of our window and started barking...He then proceeded to bark to me. Why did he start barking at me? While I'll never know exactly what he was thinking, I think I have some idea. You see, instead of telling him to be quiet, I simply continued eating my breakfast and ignored his initial barking. Then, I continued to ignore his bark toward me. It was as if he was trying to say "hey mom, don't you care that there's this dog outside and I was trying to tell you".

I don't think everyone has the patience to do this, but I have a feeling this is going to be helpful (so I'm gonna give it a try): whenever I can just stand there and let him bark toward me, I will. Then, I'll turn around if he absolutely won't just stop on his own, that way he knows he's being ignored. I want to see if he'll get tired of barking and essentially bored so that he'll calm down.

new dog new day

it's sunny! yay! both dogs got runs today - on their own. not only does this mean that they got exercise, but i got two runs in this morning. so this dog training stuff will hopefully have some personal-selfish benefits too...!

good report on both dogs for the run portion of today's training. let's see if lunch time walks go well...they get individual ones today since it's good weather!

the last few days...

ok...so it's been raining in nashville a LOT! which has not helped the dog training process. Not only can I not take them to the dog park to get their exercise, but I can barely take them on walks without myself getting soaked. So, I've been breaking some rules. I've been taking them on walks together when it's rainy. I know I know. This is one of my big rules- to not take them on walks together until they can absolutely handle it, but when weather gets in the way, I've given myself permission to break this rule.

How have the dogs been doing...?

Copper - poor dog has so much energy that he can't get out because of the rain, but he has been doing better at seeing other dogs in the courtyard while on a leash. We have one neighbor who sits with his black lab on his front porch and copper has seen it from a distance a few times in the last few days and not gotten whiny.

Sara - had a successful play session in the courtyard the other day with three dogs that were hanging out down there. The key was that it was off leash. She got comfortable with them and then when I put her back on her leash, she was fine. Now if only we could do that with every dog in the building....

Walking-wise, they are both great on the leash when there are no dogs. They are paying good attention to me. And we can be half a block away from a non-aggressive dog with the dogs staying in a sit and focusing on me.



What to keep working on...

* they need to be walked separately so that when we do encounter dogs, they do ok. good thing it's supposed to be sunny for a few days
* we need to get the dogs able to be on other side of street with a dog walk by on the opposite sidewalk
* continue to get comfortable seeing dogs in the courtyard area


wheew! i need some more treats for training times...i guess this means another practice session at petsmart soon