A Fresh Perspective: The End

Not really the end; more like a new beginning!

Lucy and I had our second (and final, unless I want to pony up more bucks for additional one on one training) with Samantha and her two dogs this morning. BTW, it was VERY chilly outside; Mr. B reported it was only 19 when he drove to work! BRRR!

Anyway, to sum up today (and this particular series):

1. First and foremost, Lucy IS a good dog. Every training person we've ever met has said so and Samantha was no exception. She told me Lucy has a good temperament, is motivated to learn (especially if there is food involved) and that she and I obviously have a sound connection. Even the things that Lucy has done that Mr. B and I consider to be bad are not, really, all that terrible; especially given her background (roaming free).

2. Last week, Samantha had suggested that we allow Lucy a bit more head (lead) on our walks; in other words, don't require her to constantly heel. I tried this. Once. I just couldn't do it! Mr. B couldn't, either. It just did not feel right to allow her to get way out in front of us (which she'd do if given the chance; especially if we also trying to work with her on learning self-control and discipline). I did go out and purchase a "Gentle Leader" nose collar (something Samantha suggested as an alternative to the pinch collar). It is exactly what is sounds like; you place it over the dog's nose (and also neck) and attach the ring near the nose to the leash. Similar to steering a horse, a gentle correction on the leash pulls the dog's nose in the direction you want them to go (or, in Lucy's case, back by my side). I've been working with her and this new collar and so far, so good. However, it's apparent that Lucy need a lot more loose leash walking training!

3. Which brings me to the possibility of another class (with other dogs). Lucy basically did not pay Samantha's dogs much attention (if any) today. My guess is this is because she had a very positive experience with both of them last week; no issues. This is very similar to how she is with Mom and Dad B's dog Fritz and my mom and dad's dog Brook (and, also, brother Jon and SIL Shannon's dog Raven); which is to say, they ignore one another for the most part. Samantha felt Lucy would do just fine in a class environment, especially if I always kept myself between her and another dog. The dogs are busy working, not socializing, anyway. But, there are always treats in a dog class, which brought to mind Lucy's food aggression. Samantha sat down on the floor with Lucy on one side of her and her older dog and on the other and alternatively feed one, then the other, out of her treat bag. Absolutely no problems!

4. Guess who needs training now? ME! Meaning, Samantha said I had to show Lucy I owned the treats. This was by far the longest exercise of the morning as Lucy was extremely hungry and really interested in the treats. Samantha put several in her hand and Lucy immediately tried to get at them by licking and nudging her hand. Samantha would not give her a treat until Lucy backed away and looked at her, then, she'd give her a treat from her OTHER hand. She did eventually get it, but, she licked Samantha's hand for over four minutes the first time. After she figured this out, Samantha put a few treats in the palm of her hand and put her hand near Lucy. Of course, Lucy tried to gobble them; Samantha put her other hand over that palm, effectively blocking Lucy from getting the treats without pulling the treat hand away. The idea here was to wait for Lucy to not lunge for the treats. As with the other exercise, she figured this out (and faster). Next was my turn and I'm pleased to say Lucy sat patiently waiting for me to feed her a treat!

5. As for the jumping up on people (when excited), we're going to ignore that behavior. I don't mean let her do it, I mean, keep her on her leash when she is first greeting people. Stand on the leash to keep he from jumping up; ignore her when she tries (any attention, even negative, is attention and possible reinforcement of bad behavior). If guests are willing, we'll play "Red Light, Green Light". As they approach Lucy, they will talk to her like they normally would. The moment she tries to jump, it's RED LIGHT and they will walk away. The idea here being she'll learn the sooner she calms down, the sooner she'll get attention (and probably a treat if it's Grammy!)

6. Samantha told me she thought Lucy would be a perfect candidate for Canine Good Citizen (what, MY dog?) Yes! We'll just have to work on these few things. She feels Lucy is itching for a job to do; maybe visiting sick children in the hospital or the elderly in a nursing home. Not yet, though! She has to work on that jumping behavior! She also needs to learn how to retrieve (if we ever want her to go into canine agility). Samantha gave me a few pointers on how to teach her to do that as well.

Although I learned a few more things today (stop repeating myself to her was one thing; tell her once and wait patiently for her to do it and don't tell her to be nice when she takes a treat, just don't let her have it if she's not); the bottom line is this. Lucy was a fine dog before with a few rough spots. With continued training (for both of us), she can be even better and add more tools to her tool kit (me, too). Hey, just like all of us, right? When we just sit there doing nothing but the same old thing, life can become dissatisfying and we may find ourselves getting into trouble.

The best news of all for me, though, really was hearing my dog praised as a good, friendly, loving, affectionate dog. Samantha said, "You got lucky with that one".

Yes, indeed.

Mrs. B

A Fresh Perspective: Part Two

There was an obvious difference in Lucy's reaction to this new dog (young and male) than to the dog that had just vacated the room (older and female). The moment he came into the room, her ears perked up (which, actually, is not a good thing; you want the dog's ears to be laid down and forward; sorta floppy) and she immediately started her weird talking/crying noise. I can't describe it; I'll have to video tape her maybe and post it (not that I want a video of my dog misbehaving as evidence I'm a crappy parent!) Anyway, Lucy was far more agitated with this dog. Obviously he had not yet been completely trained in how to calm other dogs down! He looked directly at her several times (and also kept looking at Samantha for guidance; the other dog pretty much new exactly what she was doing).

Samantha got a bit closer with the young male and Lucy's tail started to bush out. Her hair wasn't yet rising on her back yet (a sure sign of aggression and/or fear or both) but she was looking perturbed. Samantha informed me that the bushed out tail was usually a sign of arousal, not aggression (great, that's all I need, a horny Lucy; but, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised what with the way she lays on her back with her legs spread wide open all the time, ha ha).

Samantha suggested something new. We each anchored our dogs to the wall on opposite sides of the room. We pulled out a movable fence that went from wall to wall width-wise across the room. The fence was about up to my upper chest and it, too, anchored to the wall. She instructed me to let Lucy off the wall (ha; as if!) and she did the same with her dog. They both went running up to their side of the fence and started to investigate one another with Lucy still waving that bushy tail around and, unfortunately, her hackles going up somewhat. Samantha told me the purpose of this was to let them get to know one another in a safe environment, meaning, if Lucy chose, she could run away and the other dog could not come after her. She advised me that when dogs are aggressive on the leash, it almost always stems from their fear of not being able to get away (because they are on a leash) if they decide they don't like the other dog/what is going on. So, as is often the case with fear in dogs, they become aggressive as a defense mechanism. The slobber and drool and all of that is from anxiety. BTW, this sort of slobber/drool is not the same as the slobber/drool a dog may get when, say they are panting or certain dogs that just are slobbery as a general rule.

After observing Lucy for a while, she noted (which we had already realized) that Lucy was ok with sniffing another dog but when it came time for that dog to sniff her, she freaks out. She said it was very apparent Lucy needed to build up her confidence around other dogs and the only way that could happen would be if we made sure she always felt safe around them. What does that translate to? Never allowing another dog to approach her on leash (and vice versa) when she'd feel she couldn't escape if she felt (in her doggie brain) that something was not right/was going wrong and, of course, being mindful of her interaction with dogs off leash (providing an opportunity for them to get to know one another with an escape hatch built in).

After five or so minutes of Lucy and the other dog running alongside their own side of the fence, Lucy visibly calmed down. Some of this was due to the fact the other dog was very subservient and only wanted to lick her. Samantha said he was SO subservient, he would try to put his head into another dog's mouth! Lucy never actually ran away from the fence (e.g., back to the other side of the room) but she did, at first, run towards me several times. Samantha said this (and she'd also observed Lucy standing pressed up against my leg when the male dog first came into the room) was indicative of Lucy looking to me for security. Eventually, Lucy did allow the other dog to sniff her and they actually started to play with one another through the fence. On this positive note, Samantha put her dog in the other room. Lucy looked perplexed as she stood there with a big goofy grin on her face. Another point from Samantha: Always try to leave her experiences with other dogs on a positive note; maybe when she's not even quite ready to say good-bye.

So, what had I learned so far from this training session (and, yes, I really was getting the bulk of the training here!); first and foremost not to put Lucy in a situation with another dog where she feels she's trapped and can't get away. Second, don't let her socialize with any dog that is aggressive towards her. Third, something apparently bad happened to her (which we'll never know what) and that is causing this; it's not her fault. Fourth, it's up to me to protect her and fifth, she really does want to be friends with other dogs so long as (and this is no different from us humans), they are nice to her.

Regarding the protect Lucy aspect, Samantha advised me to always, always, always keep my body between Lucy and another dog while we're walking. Meaning, if we are walking down the street and another person and their dog are approaching, make sure the order is other dog, me, Lucy. Even better if the order was other dog, other person, me, Lucy, but, obviously we can't control the other person. She showed me a quick technique of how to switch sides if need be while always keeping me between Lucy and the other dog. She told me to take long strides and just walk on by the other walkers; emitting to Lucy the signal that, "Nothing is going to get you; it will have to go through ME first!"

I'll wrap this up next time with a few more pointers Samantha gave me about our walks and how to keep Lucy from jumping on people when they enter our house.

Mrs. B

A Fresh Perspective: Part One

After several months of saying "I've got to get Lucy more training", I finally did so yesterday. We had a credit with a facility not too far from us and not far at all from where I pass after dropping The Kid off at school on Tuesday mornings. I definitely did not want to start another class with Lucy until we got her dog aggression under control. Or, understood it enough to realize we could NOT take her to any sort of class where other dogs would be present.

So, I signed her up for two one on one sessions with a trainer named Samantha. Actually, I'd spoken to Samantha on at least one occasion (right after Lucy ran out of our garage one day and jumped on the neighbor's dog). When I'd explained Lucy's aggression towards other dogs while on the leash, she simply said, "Don't let her socialize with other dogs while she's on the leash". That was good advice (and similar to what our vet had said to me).

Anyway, we arrived at the training center early so we sat in the car about 1/2 hour; me drinking my coffee and reading the paper and Lucy thumping her tail and drooling.

Samantha arrived. I took Lucy inside a big long empty room which had several bowls of water placed around it and many hooks (for attaching dog leashes to). Samantha wanted me to let Lucy roam around and get her bearings off leash. And, Lucy did roam. And explore. And drink out of every single bowl of water. And investigate Samantha.

While Lucy pranced around, we discussed Lucy; her history, what her problem areas were, what she did well and what I wanted to work on: Her aggression towards other dogs (especially while on leash), her protectiveness over her food and her jumping on people during the initial meet and greet.

First off I have to admit I probably needed this session just as much, if not more, than Lucy. I was getting frustrated/embarrassed/irritated/angry at Lucy for her poor manners towards other dogs (and for attacking Pete and Lily). Walks were not much fun as they were spent continually telling her to heel and, basically, holding her in place on a tight leash. Not to mention, the rush of adrenalin when another dog (and therefore a potential troublesome encounter) approached. I've said this before and I'll say it again; I've seen more people that do not control their dogs around our neighborhood than do.

Finally (and this is hard for a strong "J" to admit), although I learned a lot from reading Cesar Millan's books and watching his show, I had to admit to myself that not all of his techniques were working well for our Goose (or us). I mean, we just cannot walk her three hours a day to wear her out (Cesar's answer to everything is "go for long walk"). And, since we don't live in LA, taking her to Cesar's Dog Psychology Center where he and his pack of dogs could properly socialize her is out of the question! But, I did want her to be socialized and knew the best way to do it is for another dog to show her how.

Samantha put a different harness on Lucy and attached her to the wall. I had her leash on her regular collar, held loosely in my hand. Samantha brought in one of her own dogs, a 5 year old Boarder Collie. She told me that her dog was trained in calming anxious dogs down. It was very interesting to observe. Lucy was somewhat straining towards the dog as she entered, then, a bit of a growl, then, her weird talking noises; pacing, back to me for some security, back out towards the dog, etc. All the while, the collie did nothing but walk on her leash with Samantha and sniff the ground. She did not even look in our direction. Samantha said she wouldn't until she told her it was okay to do so. After a few minutes of this, Lucy visibly calmed down to the point where she lay down on the floor next to me (still watching the collie). Ultimately they walked closer to us (not within range though) and Samantha said not to be alarmed if I saw her dog's teeth; that was her smile. Sure, enough, I looked at her dog and it was grinning at us.

Lucy managed this pretty well so Samantha put that dog away and went to go get another one; this time a one year old male Border Collie who was not as well mannered as his half-sister!

Mrs. B