Trixie

[Shamas mom]

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.

YEs, the vet told me to watch her after the last time she hurt her shoulder--and it's the same shoulder she hurt llast time. I installed a ramp, but I did it wrong(too steep) and she refused to use it.

REcall is our best bet to get her in, as she LOVES a good game of chase, and thinks me stepping outside is an invitation to play. :/

 

[Stacia]

YEs, the vet told me to watch her after the last time she hurt her shoulder--and it's the same shoulder she hurt llast time. I installed a ramp, but I did it wrong(too steep) and she refused to use it.

REcall is our best bet to get her in, as she LOVES a good game of chase, and thinks me stepping outside is an invitation to play. :/

Perhaps you could stand at the bottom of steps for the recall

 

[Shamas mom]

That's a great idea

Her recall is amazing...though I've been afraid to jinx it by naming it. The trainers all say if you're not in a position to enforce, you shouldn't recall by command. And since I've been playing chase with her, I see only one way to enforce a recall--have her drag a long line around the yard, which I can step on. But that seems awfully abrupt and corrective, given my goal of wanting her to want to come to me.

Especially when she comes running so eagerly at her name

 

[Shamas mom]

Uh oh looks like a little issue.

Hubby and I split up, with me and AB going to the Dollarama, and him driving over from the Chapters parking lot to meet us there. Trixie had an absolute conniption, whining, howling, and throwing up in the car. He thinks she was convinced we were being abandoned and made us come out of the store to show that we were OK before going back in to finish what we were doing.

She doesn't do this if he leaves me at work..but he's left me at work since she was little, and always comes back for me. The difference here is that we all drove together, went to Chapters together, returned to the car together....then he drove off without us.

I didn't see the point in getting in the car to move over one parking lot. I guess there's a good reason to get in the car to move one parking lot....

 

[Shamas mom]

Geez We have a stubborn one here.

She's decided that she likes to chew the Airline crate....specifically the knobs that hold the door. Refuses to be redirected. She just looks me dead in the eye, and chews on it. If I try to redirect her, she moves 2 feet and chews my desk.

It's not for lack of appropriate things to chew on. Perhaps it's boredom...very likely, since she's decided that if she can't chew on the crate, or the wall..she'll chew on me instead.

So we've been playing a very tedious game of in the pen, out of the pen, back in the pen....all evening....with the exception of walking, toilet breaks and attempts to stop her chewing long enough to interest her in some training(which result in her chewing me)

I've gathered up every appropriate chewing thing I can find, and put it in her pen for her to work on when I remove her from the wall/desk/table/crate/hand/shoe(on my foot)/Shamas back leg that she's gone for this time

I wish I could have taken her out longer....seems like she's got some pent up energy to get out. But she's not filled in yet and got cold on her walks.

Wonder if Petsmart still sells the indoor agility courses?

Yesterday, we drove her to the pet store. Tomorrow we'll likely do the same. Chapters, Petsmart, etc are great locations for training under distraction. and I can walk her much longer. She's only good outside for about 10-15m right now...and it'll get colder.

 

[Shamas mom]

Good day with Trixie today. She was inside most of the day, as we were cleaning and rearranging...but we had Matt in the living room for a bit so there was a session on appropriate cat conduct, as well as some umbillical tying.

We capped off the day with a trip to Petsmart near closing time, so we could work on Focus under distraction, and socilization at a distance. She's been getting over-excited at other dogs, and straining to reach them. So I'm running her with a working threshold of 40 feet to let her focus on me with things going on around her. The goal will be to reduce that over time as she gets better socialized

Threshold to people stocking shelves is only 5 feet.

I'm also not using super high value treats....as she's got a tendency to get overexcited at the treats, and take my fingers if I go high value. So I'm splitting the difference and going high enough to get her attention, but not high enough to lose a hand lol

 

[Shamas mom]

Training session 2

Since Trixie is pulling like a freight train with no consideration for her handlers, and is aversive to both harnesses and Halti....she was introduced to a slip lead. She doesn't object to anything on her neck, just her body and face.

I was shown how to handle it delicately, so as not to cause her anxiety when she's wearing it. Our next few sessions will be walk and train, so that each of us individually can be shown to use the lead.

Trixie thinks the slip is a wonderful game...and for the first time ever is happily putting on her walking equipment. However, before I do any real practice, I need a new slip--Shamas slip doesn't have a reliable back-stop. I want a better back stop for Trixie. And I think we'll use the regular collar at Petsmart....there's too much to distract her there, and I don't want to set her back before she learns the ropes. Also...the reason the Martingale isn't working is it's too big. That explains why she can't tell the difference between closed to open. We'll revisit that when she can actually feel it on her body lol. The size down I passed up because it was going to be too tight when closed.

The other instruction we were given was to just sit places. Stop at a corner and stand there for a minute or two to teach her some patience and let her view the world while behaving. SO when I got to the corner where all the squirrels run...we just sat for about 3 minutes. Trixie LOVES squirrels and always wants to chase them...so I gave her plenty of treats for checking in. We also sat at one corner, while dogs crossed the street at the other end of the block, so she could watch them minding their own business.

 

[Shamas mom]

Met the mail-lady in the Timmies area tody. She was laughing at Trixie's Heel-prance and asked if we're meeting new people. I said yes, as long as we sit first. So I had her sit, and let her meet. I don't want to be the person with the big scary German Shephard who screams at the mail person, and I'm trying to expose Trixie to uniforms.

We also say at Squirrel corner again, and had a little treat party when the EMS came charging by and she spooked just a little.

It's a shame we didn't get in as much socialization as I wanted when she was young....we had that dangerous heat wave during her key socialization period.....but I'm still trying to make up for it now. Just doing more from a distance, rather than hands on exploration like I'd have done young, when she was more inclined to watch than to react

 

[Beanwood]

Since Trixie is pulling like a freight train with no consideration for her handlers, and is aversive to both harnesses and Halti....she was introduced to a slip lead. She doesn't object to anything on her neck, just her body and face.

Just a note: we don't recommend slip leads for training a loose lead walk They are fine for dogs who already understand where the walking position is, and get rewarded by being in this position, of course being mindful of the environment which will influence any dogs ability to walk calmly beside their human.

 

[Shamas mom]

Just a note: we don't recommend slip leads for training a loose lead walk They are fine for dogs who already understand where the walking position is, and get rewarded by being in this position, of course being mindful of the environment which will influence any dogs ability to walk calmly beside their human.

I can see why. If given enough lead to pull, the dog can choke. I'm still using the flat collar for free walking, or if I have a coffee in my other hand, and am unable to frequently reward proper placement at my side. The trainer made it clear on the get-go that to use the slip, the dog must be in line with my knee. If she gets ahead of me, she's not learning correctly. I should not have to do more than twitch a finger on a loosely held lead to communicate with her. If she doesn't get the hang of it quickly, or if the other two in the house can't get the hang of it after they each get a dedicated 45minute handling session, I'll discontinue use.

I believe she still gets sore from that shoulder injury during her growth phase, and that may be why harnesses are aversive for her. Occasionally she limps on the front. I did mention it to the vet, he said to keep an eye on it. I'm going to bring it up again when we see him. I carry a spare leash on walks, so that if she's struggling to pay attention, we can take it off and walk on the collar. I'm still doing Uturns, and stopping to watch things, and everything I did with Shamas. Just trying some formal training on the Heel position, so AB can walk her too. I'll be starting full time soon, and I don't want her missing out on walks just because she's too strong to be handled by the others in the house. The back yard can't replace walks.

 

[Shamas mom]

In a perfect example of why Trixie is being trained professionally for the other two to handle:

After 15m of slip training, I took off the lead and put her on the collar. She was pretty good for a few minutes, just sniffing and checking in. ...then decided I didn't exist.

Fixated on a dog 50 feet off, and nearly pulled me over

dragged me in 4 directions, as I reeled in the leash right to the clip trying to get control of her...finally walking her by the collar itself....some wise guy on the 3rd floor was whistling at her and she was trying to find him

tried to climb someones porch

Mistook a random man for OH and charged him, nearly jumping all over him as I pulled her up short and apologised

DEcided she'd rather play leash tug of war than actually walk...and wrapped the lead around my leg, spinning me and pulling me down like a cartoon character, ripping my work pants, and my knee completely open...breaking the screen cover on my new phone(thank god for screen covers).....and leaving me sitting on the ground, trying to decide whether to try and take her home or call someone to come get her. As my knee was most definitely injured, and she was still actively attempting to eat the poop bag, and the treat bag...I phoned for help...once I found my phone, 6 feet away.


What happened the the 5m old puppy I taught a perfect loose lead walk to??????

All of this happened on the way home...so it's not even as though I could say "oh, you're not behaving, so we go home" I was trying to get there. I was four houses from home when she made me take the nasty spill. I hate to think what winter will bring, if she doesn't learn to walk...she will not be safe to take out in THIS state!

 

[Shamas mom]

Talked to the trainer today. We're going to discontinue the slip lead, and discuss other plans. Trixie may like the game, but I feel I am not getting the hang of it, and hubby is not comfortable using it at all. We'd prefer something that's easier on her throat if we mess up

When it comes down to it, tools are only there to make walking easier for the duration of training...so if the tool makes the training more complicated...it's not helping matters.

This actually reminds me a lot of when I was working with Shamas through his reactivity--I was SO focused on when to treat, how to treat, and what I should do if I saw a dog....that I was not showing leadership, and he became MORE reactive. When I saw this, and just....walked...he settled right down beside me.

The slip lead stresses me out. So I'm stressing Trixie out. it ceased being a game, and started being a point of contention between us..and now she avoids putting it on.

 

[Shamas mom]

On a side note, I've told AB to take her out multiple times a day to the large yard (not the little bit I fenced to pee in) so she can stretch out and run. I've told them to add up the time spent outside until she reaches 3 hours. This I think should make it easier to walk her....she won't be comping at the bit to move when I leash her up

 

[edzbird]

I'm sad to say I have never got to the stage where Coco won't lunge (and pull me over) when we meet another dog or see a cat, and for that reason I walk him on a Gentle Leader - a head collar (we tried several before settling on this one). It enables me to walk him with confidence and that is good for him. I think he enjoys our walks. I hope he does. (I was beginning to avoid walking him - bad) Coco is a big, strong dog - he is half Shepherd, like Trixie. He is eight and a half now. One day, he'll settle down (we said when we got him at 16 months old).

He usually walks fine for me, it's just the risk of meeting other dogs. I use a double ended lead, using it to mostly walk him on the flat collar, but able to take up the slack on the head collar if necessary.

 

[Shamas mom]

I'm sad to say I have never got to the stage where Coco won't lunge (and pull me over) when we meet another dog or see a cat, and for that reason I walk him on a Gentle Leader - a head collar (we tried several before settling on this one). It enables me to walk him with confidence and that is good for him. I think he enjoys our walks. I hope he does. (I was beginning to avoid walking him - bad) Coco is a big, strong dog - he is half Shepherd, like Trixie. He is eight and a half now. One day, he'll settle down (we said when we got him at 16 months old).

He usually walks fine for me, it's just the risk of meeting other dogs. I use a double ended lead, using it to mostly walk him on the flat collar, but able to take up the slack on the head collar if necessary.

I have a feeling that in order to walk with confidence, AB will probably always use Halti. I like the Halti Optifit, which fits more like a Gentle Leader, but has a padded nose piece, and the security of a secondary connection to the collar. I'll continue to try and teach her to walk on a flat....mostly because I know how much she doesn't like the Halti. (she hides to avoid putting it on, but once it's on she's ready to go) In Trixie's world, the only good walking gear is the gear you wear on your neck! We tried a sweater once, just for fun(thought she'd look sweet) and she dropped into a crawl. Collars only for a happy Trixie.

Angel still walks on Halti, and when asked about it, my eldest simply points out that she's got a terrible habit of eating anything and everything she can find. If she didn't have Halti, she'd have to muzzle the walking trash can LOL. Mind you, last time I walked her I left the Halti behind too. I just can't be bothered to add extra gear, if I can manage without it. Add treats, reinforcement.....and as long as the distractions are low I can USUALLY get the dog to walk.

My issue comes with distractions...I'm not interesting enough to get attention back on me

 

[Shamas mom]

Trixie's got an ear infection. and I'm pretty sure I just got hosed by the crummy vet again, because I've literally spent less to have Matt's teeth done than I just did on Trixie's ear infection.

He sent me home with ear wash, Cone, pain killers, antibiotics, and ear drops. And an appointment in a week. $598 and another 100 for the recheck.
He wanted to do bloodwork too, and suggested an allergy test($750)

I went in expecting some drops, maybe antibiotics...$300 or so.

 

[Shamas mom]

Trixie can't fit through the door of her pen with her cone on, so we let her sleep in our room last night....figured the cone would keep out of the kind of trouble we were concerned about with night time free roaming. Plus he said the pain meds would make her sleepy, so I figured she'd be less likely to want to play. Gabapentin is what he put her on...told me not to give her the reumecam I already have-this is safer?

So I cleared out my closet to give her some floor space, and brought all her bedding in......and woke up to her curled up with me LOL

I took her cone off in the morning, as she made it clear she was about to play alarm clock to hubby....let her lick him WITHOUT smashing his head first thing in the morning lol. And I took it off at meals, and just now so she can have a chew.

 

[Shamas mom]

Well, the ear infection didn't clear up yet. And the vet came in and was like "I don't understand why she hasn't got better...aren't you doing her drops?"

And I looked him dead in the eye and said

Well she's not exactly co-operating!"

Trixie thinks that ear drop time is game time. The game is '"can't get my ears/Can't touch this"

So I'm holding her collar, and trying to aim the bottle at her ear, while she tries to eat the bottle, and my hand, and laughs her shephard laugh.

Tonight I learned that she can be distracted with a muzzle filled with Peanut butter.....We'll see if THAT trick works twice. I've got another ten days of drops to do now, and 7 more of pills. Tommorow I need to wash her ears out...not sure how I'll manage THAT feat!


Meanwhile, Shamas shows up at ear time and asks nicely to have his done. The infection is bacterial, and so they both need the drops. Angel caught it too

 

[SwampDonkey]

Teach cooperative care it's really good and the meds go in with no fuss.

 

[Shamas mom]

Teach cooperative care it's really good and the meds go in with no fuss.

We were about to start with her nails. I love how I can walk up to shamas and give him any medication you please. I'd like to do the same with Trixie.....but EVERYTHING is a game, and games mean mouthing :/

It took ages to teach this one no biting, and she still mouths