Trixie

[Shamas mom]

little excercise in resilience tonight. Trixie spooked at another trash bag. So I hung around in the area of cet bag until after sniffing everything else in the area, she finally got up the nerve to sniff the offending bag.

then we investigated a man-hole cover, walked by some (possible)vagrants instead of avoiding them..and headed home. The only problem I had with her was jumping at the lead to try to get to other dogs. She couldn't even manage to walk past the one at the corner that barks at his fence...we had to cross the road.

It's almost like handling Shamas in the early days, only from the other end of the spectrum. Except she doesn't haul me home.

She's got perfect manners on the lead, UNTIL she sees a dog. Then she's intent on trying to play with it

 

[Shamas mom]

Socialising trip to the park with the pack today. Practice using public washrooms, watching skateboarders do tricks, bicyclists, watching dogs walk past but not meeting them.

Nearly started a fight with a dog who I'd noted on the way into the park....dominant stance, tail flagged. protecting it's homeless master.

Have to teach her not to stare at strange dogs! It may come down to using the Halti, until she learns to walk by without staring. She basically provoked the dominant dog

 

[Shamas mom]

Finally had time to set up a fenced area for the dogs to go out into. It's not quite a "spending area" but it's smallish...the space that the leash would have let them go if I tethered them.

I just need hardware to build the gate now.

My only concern is that there's still loose dirt in the area I've fenced...which means Trixie's still going to dig. And she'll dig where I don't want her to, just as you come in the yard. SO I need to come up with a solution to that still. Actually considering laying a row of fence boards on that dirt patch, to deter the digging

 

[Boogie]

Flags?

Ted will wee and poo on anything. Tatze will only wee on flags if she’s desperate!

 

[Shamas mom]

Hmm...flags might deter her from the area enough to stop the digging...until she gets over her spook and decides to play Tug of War with them!

We've had just enough cases now where I've basically ignored her spook response, and rewarded and praised her subsequent exploration of the thing that spooked her...that I doubt she'd stay spooked for long now. She only spooked at the new fence posts the first couple of times she walked through, then they were old hat.

 

[Beanwood]

Have to teach her not to stare at strange dogs! It may come down to using the Halti, until she learns to walk by without staring. She basically provoked the dominant dog

We need to reframe this.

It is natural for her to "look" at dogs. If her "looking" is persistent, and coupled with body language that suggests she is uncomfortable you are too close. Move to a distance where Trixie is able to observe the other dog, and look away naturally - then - at that point you can give her a treat.

Be mindful as well as how the other dog is feeling. There is no "dominant" stance here, just another dog who is possibly concerned about your approach with Trixie. It is better to describe what you see in another dog, rather than use language that might be mis-interpreted. An example would look a bit like this " The dog had a still and stiff posture, with the weight forward. Head in our direction with hard gaze" etc.. etc...Be sure to give other dogs space, and this dog was very obviously not comfortable with you.

 

[Shamas mom]

The dog was stiff, defensive with a hard stare. It was clear at a glance that it would take much to go from just standing over his person to actively lunging and barking. I noted to my dad when I saw him that I was glad I didn't have Shamas, because the two would set each other off. Shamas would go off because off this dog's forward, potentially aggressive stance. Which in turn would set off the other dog and probably result in a fight. He was clearly uncomfortable, untrusting of other dogs, and defensive of his owner.

Going into the park, I was careful to keep Trixie on my other side. The dog watched suspiciously, but calmed as we passed. Coming out though....her direct, prolonged stare and forward body language was essentially guarunteed to trigger him. I DID try to disengage her, but she was far too interested in him to be disengaged by something as simple as treats or voice. She was over threshold herself by this point which was why we were leaving.

Normally, I'd stop Trixie, trun her, and walk away. But in this position, she refused to disengage. And I couldn't increase the distance because Our car was parked there. SO I was trying to get her past this dog to get her to the car door. Trixie's stare was one of interest..but this other dog did NOT appreciate the attention

 

[Shamas mom]

Well, there's been another growth spurt...Trixie's easily popping up on the bed now. (it's close to my hip in height, and I'm 5'6")

I've not encouraged her on the bed, because she gets excited if she can reach your face, and after a couple of licks, bites your nose. I don't like having my nose bitten. She also mouths my hands.

I'm working on rewarding licks, and just say "aah" if I feel teeth. She's not trying to hurt...she's just struggling with the concept of putting away her favorite exploration tool. But given that I'm currently waiting to regrow half a nail that I lost to her innocent biting...I'd like to get a handle on it!

 

[Shamas mom]

Trixie is now the same size Shamas was when we got him, only narrower. I had thought her too thin again, and increased her food...but she's not eating the increased portion, so she's obviously getting enough. She's just very slim like her mother. Her mother is tall, long, and slim. She's a Shephard retriever, but to look at her you don't see much retriever. The Shephard blood runs strong. She's built like a Shephard, with Shephard short coat in Retriever blonde. The dad, King Shephard, is sturdier. standard colouring.

Trixie has always been on the slim side...she never had that pudgy puppy look....she has always just looked like a shephard, only small lol. Now she's nearly full grown, and lithe. I think they say a dog at this age is what? 80% grown?

So based on her current size, and Shamas size at Gotcha day...I'd say she's about 50lbs. Because he was 55, and broader in the shoulders and ribs..just as thin though. She'll probably reach 55 by her next vet visit on Oct 31st


This morning, Shamas got really obstinant about wanting the puppy food...so I told him he was on a diet, and could have some vegetables. He looked at me in disgust, but she was thrilled to pieces to get carrots and celery LOL

 

[Shamas mom]

So today we definitely established that Trixie is a Work-for-food dog.

I put down supper, and she sort of looked at it...then wandered off. But when I picked up the same food in a jar, she went NUTS! I mean absolutely nuts. She started offering random behaviors.

I taught "go Lay Down" and "go Crate" over supper today. When I stopped to talk to hubby, she threw herself onto the bed, then into the crate, looking for the next reward! I think I'm going to see if I can work on duration for Go to bed....but I'll have to do that during a show or something....because at meal time she's too keyed up to stay in one place. Meal time is more of an active training. She couldn't manage a straight sit...we did puppy push ups instead lol!

I bought some extra food for training...GO! lamb and wild boar recipe. I figure that's different enough that it counts as treats, nutritious enough that I'm not worrying about wasted calories, and lean enough that I'm not crashing Shamas' diet if he crashes our training sessions. I fill my training bags with puppy food for walks.

I count myself lucky that she's not rejecting it yet--Angel was rejecting puppy food at this age. By 8months, she was on an all life stages food.

Any suggestions for fun tricks/behaviors for a work-to eat session are welcome. Her repertoire is fairly limited right now but with this learning style, she should be knocking off new behaviors in no time

 

[edzbird]

Coco & Meg both loved to learn "middle" - they put themselves between my legs - useful and fun. Can be used as a recall, different to your usual one. Handy to have more "recalls" so you don't break them.

Meg won't "play" when we're at training and we get bits where the trainer says "play with your dog" - so I use these very short periods to teach her tiny things, building them up. She now does "around" - she goes from sitting at heel, around me, back to sitting at heel. It's just a fun thing, but she sees it as "playing with your dog". My current work-in-progress is "crawl" edging forward on her tummy. Early days yet.

 

[Shamas mom]

Busy couple of days on the socialization front.

Got in a walk with my dad's side of the pack Saturday. Walk with Angel yesterday. Some contact, but mostly walking...trying to teach behaving around other dogs. Got a kick out of her pointing at the squirrels, and was impressed that she broke off when asked. Today was a trip to Staples for a new printer, followed by Canadian Tire for home sealant supplies. AND she walked on Haltii alongside the shopping cart. She also lay at hubby's feet when we stopped to chat with someone.

 

[Shamas mom]

Had Trixie's first in-home consultation. i like this one. She's also a dog-walker, which is why I picked her. If I get busy around Christmas, I can pay her to walk Trixie so she's not stuck without exercise.

As we talked, and she asked questions, almost everything she had to say matched up with how I think. The hardest thing for AB and hubby will be to not fuss the dogs as they come in the door. I greet, and then calmly move into the house. This is the entry we're looking for, so the dogs can stay calm enough to greet without barking. Also...ignoring demending behavior. If she's in her pen, and throwing a tantrum, it's no talk, no touch no eye contact. Again, I've been telling people not to reward that behavior with attention because it only encourages her to be bratty. I've been encouraging them to encourage her to be calm, and she's now quite happy to chill out with us until we're moving around--then she goes ham lol.

The trainer wants at least half of Trixie's food hand-fed, to raise the value of food coming from us. She's very prissy about her treats, and it can be hard to get her attention on us during walks.

she showed AB the umbillical tie...though we need a slightly longer lead to accomodate their height compared to Trixie's...or a shorter lead to use with the jogging belt. She wants 5m/day for hubby and I. 10+ for AB, since they would like Trixie trained for emotional support

also, how to wait, and Break at thresholds. Which will be started at the back door and migrated to the front once they get it.


Also.....she's not fond of the Halti--she says the dog can't fully turn off the pressure. She'd like us to limit use, and focus instead of teaching Trixie to listen to AB using the umbillical tie and flat collar. First trainer I ever met who didn't want to use a tool or shove treats at the dog. She'd prefer to teach Trixie to pay attention using directional changes and a short lead

 

[Shamas mom]

Great socialization trip to chapters, and the patio of Jack Asters. Took about 15-20 minutes, but Trixie soon followed suit, and laid down with Shamas on the patio. Which I'm happy with, given everything going on around her.

She's got a bright blue leash that says TRAINING now, and a harness with Emotional support dog in training-do not pet patches. She's absolutely wiped. It's hard work behaving so well in public. But she;ll have to if she's to get her approvals.....The primary goal is to have her trained as ESA. Secondary goal is Service dog, if she can learn not to react to the world around her. That second one.....between you and me.....I don't know if we'll reach it. She's a touch too quick to respond to other dogs. It will depend how well she does in her supervised socialisation.

We're committed to 6 private sessions with Loving Leader, where we'll see how far along she comes. That's her Intermediate package. Designed to start adding in distractions, and challenge Trixie's basic knowledge, while moving her forward in training at a pace she can succeed in, to build her confidence and continue to build calm, and balance. Following this, we will focus on the ability to go out into the world and ignore distractions.

On our side, we're taking Trixie to the people places. like we did Shamas. With her new harness, we should avoid having people walking up and petting her. She will need to learn that people do not equal pettings and treats. Which is the opposite of what Angel was taught . Angel's a social butterfly. Trixie is going to be a working dog.

We finished the day with an exciting game of FIND IT with treats in the couch, crate, pen, and generally tossed around the house. To let off some steam, because she's been so good for her age. Tomorrow, I'll take her out as a normal dog, for a sniffer walk.

YEsterday, I took her on the long lead, and let her roam a nearby field. She liked that.

 

[Stacia]

Are not keeping Trixie then?

 

[Shamas mom]

Are not keeping Trixie then?

Definitely keeping her.

She was chosen for her personality, and potential. The idea of training an anxiety support animal was broached a couple of years ago. Someone asked if Shamas was a service dog, and AB asked if he could be. I said no-he was too messed up-we'd have to start a puppy

We started looking at it in earnest when Angel pulled the younger teen from a panic attack. Her owner had inadvertently trained her to do this, and when she noticed AB's stress, she did her thing.

 

[Stacia]

Can anxiety support dogs visit rather than be resident with the anxious person?

 

[Shamas mom]

I'm not sure. They take dogs into nursing homes, to help with emotional wellbeing.

The research I've done has been from the point of supporting a teen with anxiety and panic attacks. It's a genetic issue in our line, one that the elder two and parents also struggle with.

Given that she'll be taught to interrupt certain behavior that happen when the key handler is anxious...I'd imagine she'd have to be a resident throughout their life, no matter where they go. This is where the certificates come in. Anyone can take their pet and train it to help with anxiety symptoms. But if your doctor is not in agreement that you would benefit from an ESA, or service dog--they remain just that---a very well trained pet.

They have no rights to enter stores, or accompany you to school, or help in day to day life.

As an ESA, she would only have a title, and a couple of extra rights. It is still up to the store owners if they let her in, and she does not have Public Access. She'll continue training to acheive that; as she'll have to pass testing to prove that she can be in public and not react to stimuli. It's my understanding that it can take up to 2-3 years to properly train....probably closer to 2 for us, as we're not training a seeing eye dog, but what would be referred to as a psychiatric service dog.

It will be up to the doctor to decide whether or not AB qualifies to have their dog registered, and at what level. Either way, I intend to do the training because it will empower them to know they've got their canine safety net when they leave the house. Stepping outside after the whole covid thing is scary, and flight/freeze response is prominent. They cannot handle people closing in on them, and they are terrified of the homeless population, which was not a prominent issue pre-covid but is now. And they yell at you for no reason, and camp on the sides of the roads.

 

[Shamas mom]

Trixie weighed in at 53lbs today. She's still very slim. I feel like that's just who she is. Her mother is very slim.

She's just recovered from ANOTHER bump on the shoulder. I'm really starting to think we should install a ramp on the back porch. Her recall is SO enthusiastic that she trips and falls up the steps, slamming her shoulder on the top stair. Then she lips around, crying and fussing, and generally having a go of it for about 10 minutes before forgetting and subsiding to a light limp for a day or two.

Perhaps when she puts on some muscle mass, her clumsiness will be less jarring?

 

[Stacia]

Trixie weighed in at 53lbs today. She's still very slim. I feel like that's just who she is. Her mother is very slim.

She's just recovered from ANOTHER bump on the shoulder. I'm really starting to think we should install a ramp on the back porch. Her recall is SO enthusiastic that she trips and falls up the steps, slamming her shoulder on the top stair. Then she lips around, crying and fussing, and generally having a go of it for about 10 minutes before forgetting and subsiding to a light limp for a day or two.

Perhaps when she puts on some muscle mass, her clumsiness will be less jarring?

I remember some vet telling me that a lot of dogs ruin their elbows and shoulders by running down stairs and hitting the hall wall, so this is almost what Trixie is doing in the opposite way. I would certainly install a ramp or not do a recall when she is in the garden.