I do apologize for the break in posts! Aggie has unfortunately torn her ACL (a ligament in the knee). It happened as I suspect most torn ACLs happen; when doing what seems like a no-big-deal activity.
Our crazed neighboring Saint Bernard, Cupid, was over to play. Cupid LOVES playing with Aggie, and Aggie seems to enjoy it as long as she gets breaks now and then. On this particular Sunday afternoon, they had been playing for about 10 minutes, and I was about to suggest that we finish the play session for the day, when Aggie got another burst of energy. Cupid, never one to negate a good chase, took off after Aggie at a much slower pace (I secretly think this is why Aggie likes playing with her so much... she always wins the race!).
As Aggie returned down our icy path after her big loop around the yard (Cupid far behind), I heard a high pitched yelp escape her throat. She immediately slowed and headed straight for the back door holding her hind left leg in the air. The play session ended, and I entered the house behind Aggie hoping and praying that ice had cut her paw.
My heart sank as I searched in vain for an outward cut or abrasion. No such luck; this was an internal injury. We weren't able to get into the vet until Tuesday evening (2 days later). My suspicions were confirmed: a partially torn ACL and a tear in the miniscus. The vet (to my relief) suggested rest, anti-inflammatory meds, and a joint supplement. Surgery avoided... at least for the time being.
Now, 2.5 weeks later, she's still refusing to use the leg with a rare exception. Slowing her down has been hard. She still feels a burst of joyful "zoomies" after a successful poop, and tries to sprint around the yard. She hates being blocked from the upstairs (a big play pen in her opinion), and misses tearing after her orange ball.
But slowing down has also taught me to rely less on physical exercise to tire her out. I've been forced to get creative with finding mental exercises for Aggie. Once or twice a day, Aggie and I will go on what I call her Walk About where she is entire in charge of where we go. Her fear keeps her from wanting to go far, but she really enjoys letting her nose lead us a few blocks this direction, a couple blocks that direction, and back again. The sniffing keeps the pace slow, and she seems a little more content to rest and relax upon return.
So there is a silver lining, as with every cloud. I've learned a few more tools to work with Aggie, and help her relax (even when she's not getting copious amounts of exercise). She does not seems to be in excessive pain; in fact, she seems totally fine with being a three-legged dog for now! I do hope the use of that leg will come back eventually, but as long as she's happy, I'll take it. Please zip me an email if you've had to deal with a torn ACL, and how you were able to keep your dog content while lowering the exercise regime. Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Friday, January 24, 2014
Intruders!
A post about those "bad guys" that seem to invade the house occasionally...
Whenever we have guests over, Aggie is always put upstairs in her kennel behind a closed door before their arrival. She barks when she hears them come in, but the barking lasts about 30 seconds to one minute, and she usually falls asleep (or chews on her incredibly yummy bone provided for just such an occasion). If the guests are all seated and calm, and Aggie has been quiet in her kennel for some time, I allow her to come see them. This training has profoundly changed Aggie's response to people in the house. She used to come down the stairs tense and nervous with difficulty paying attention to me (I didn't require her attention, but she was always rewarded for checking in with me). As long as we were far enough away, she would be able to watch without growling, and would be fed lots of yummy treats.
Now, she comes down the stairs wagging her tail with a wiggly body and pulls toward the guests to greet them! But here's the catch. She has a bite history! Her self control in times of excitement leaves something to be desired; this dog in a state of excitement can not be trusted any more than when she is frightened.
Currently, I am allowing her to get close enough to the guests to smell, hear, and see them clearly (about 8 feet away). Her body language is still full of excitement, but she is still able to focus on me (one time I let her get 6 feet away and she was so excited she couldn't stop pulling towards them, completely ignoring me... we were too close!). I hope to be able to decrease the gap slowly with her still under stimulus control (ie: focused enough to sit or lay down when I ask her to). Eventually, we will practice allowing her to sniff hands while in a calm state, but that's not going to happen for a while!
Children, however, are an exception. Last night we had a group of friends over with children. Aggie is terrified of these erratic little beasts, making exposure at safe distances all the more important. I knew when I decided to bring her out last night that I needed to increase the distance, and was curious to see how she would respond. I did not expect any behaviors from her, I just wanted her to watch them for a few seconds, eat some treats, and go back to her kennel.
As we headed toward the staircase (Aggie was upstairs in her kennel, the kiddos were playing in the living room at the bottom of the staircase), Aggie's ears were pinned back; she knew what was down there. I should have stopped right then, given her loads of treats, and taken her back. But no, I became a greedy trainer and moved her to the top of the stairs. She did ok for the first two seconds, watching the two girls giggling on the couch as I fed her treat after treat. But then one of the girls got up and ran to the couch closer to the staircase. A low grumble of a growl grew from Aggie's ribcage as she stared at the girl. I quietly called her name, she took a second to respond (eek, she was really stressed!) but finally peeled her eyes from the girl and gave me eye contact. I asked her to follow me back to her kennel and she readily complied for which she was reinforced. Yikes! Children are really scary!
Once summer rolls around, I hope to expose Aggie to children outside at even greater distances where maybe she'll be able to watch them for longer periods without feeling stressed.
I am very proud of the progress she's made with having people over, especially adults. It's a slow process, but she's starting to trust that I will not put her in harm's way. With every training session that trust grows and expands toward new people. I do not know how far she'll get with trusting strangers; maybe she'll never be able to greet a stranger in the house off leash. However, I plan to continue creating positive interactions with strangers and intruders for the rest of her life. The more she trusts her world, the more this poor anxious dog will be able to relax!
Have an experience like this or feedback for my training? Feel free to comment or email me at roots.naomi@gmail.com. I love the comments so far! Thanks!
Whenever we have guests over, Aggie is always put upstairs in her kennel behind a closed door before their arrival. She barks when she hears them come in, but the barking lasts about 30 seconds to one minute, and she usually falls asleep (or chews on her incredibly yummy bone provided for just such an occasion). If the guests are all seated and calm, and Aggie has been quiet in her kennel for some time, I allow her to come see them. This training has profoundly changed Aggie's response to people in the house. She used to come down the stairs tense and nervous with difficulty paying attention to me (I didn't require her attention, but she was always rewarded for checking in with me). As long as we were far enough away, she would be able to watch without growling, and would be fed lots of yummy treats.
Now, she comes down the stairs wagging her tail with a wiggly body and pulls toward the guests to greet them! But here's the catch. She has a bite history! Her self control in times of excitement leaves something to be desired; this dog in a state of excitement can not be trusted any more than when she is frightened.
Currently, I am allowing her to get close enough to the guests to smell, hear, and see them clearly (about 8 feet away). Her body language is still full of excitement, but she is still able to focus on me (one time I let her get 6 feet away and she was so excited she couldn't stop pulling towards them, completely ignoring me... we were too close!). I hope to be able to decrease the gap slowly with her still under stimulus control (ie: focused enough to sit or lay down when I ask her to). Eventually, we will practice allowing her to sniff hands while in a calm state, but that's not going to happen for a while!
Children, however, are an exception. Last night we had a group of friends over with children. Aggie is terrified of these erratic little beasts, making exposure at safe distances all the more important. I knew when I decided to bring her out last night that I needed to increase the distance, and was curious to see how she would respond. I did not expect any behaviors from her, I just wanted her to watch them for a few seconds, eat some treats, and go back to her kennel.
As we headed toward the staircase (Aggie was upstairs in her kennel, the kiddos were playing in the living room at the bottom of the staircase), Aggie's ears were pinned back; she knew what was down there. I should have stopped right then, given her loads of treats, and taken her back. But no, I became a greedy trainer and moved her to the top of the stairs. She did ok for the first two seconds, watching the two girls giggling on the couch as I fed her treat after treat. But then one of the girls got up and ran to the couch closer to the staircase. A low grumble of a growl grew from Aggie's ribcage as she stared at the girl. I quietly called her name, she took a second to respond (eek, she was really stressed!) but finally peeled her eyes from the girl and gave me eye contact. I asked her to follow me back to her kennel and she readily complied for which she was reinforced. Yikes! Children are really scary!
Once summer rolls around, I hope to expose Aggie to children outside at even greater distances where maybe she'll be able to watch them for longer periods without feeling stressed.
I am very proud of the progress she's made with having people over, especially adults. It's a slow process, but she's starting to trust that I will not put her in harm's way. With every training session that trust grows and expands toward new people. I do not know how far she'll get with trusting strangers; maybe she'll never be able to greet a stranger in the house off leash. However, I plan to continue creating positive interactions with strangers and intruders for the rest of her life. The more she trusts her world, the more this poor anxious dog will be able to relax!
Have an experience like this or feedback for my training? Feel free to comment or email me at roots.naomi@gmail.com. I love the comments so far! Thanks!
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
On Vacation
Over Christmas my husband and I traveled to visit his family in Peru. Aggie, of course, could not come without a lot of expense both monetarily and emotionally. My mother graciously offered to take her in despite my father's skepticism.
That being said, we have a bond. I missed her while I was in Peru, and she seemed quite excited to see me upon my return. I feel strong affection towards her, and lord help anyone who tries to physically harm me if Aggie's near by. Maybe we won't fulfill my longing to compete or explore the world together, but we are family. If this vacation did anything for me, it allowed me to realize that just as she has accepted me for who I am, I need to accept her for who she is. A couch potato.
I knew my parents would not do even half of the training I did with her every day. A lot of this training I considered necessary as she was still learning how live with humans and act appropriately (I still believe she was raised in a backyard with a bunch of pits). However, much of the training revolved around things I wanted to learn how to do as a trainer. So I was curious to see how she would do in an environment with less stimulating interaction with humans.
Reports via email came streaming in about how good Aggie was behaving. As it turns out, when Aggie was left to her own devises, she tended to sleep more and find perfectly acceptable pastimes such as monitoring the backyard for uninvited vermin (she actually caught a possum according to my mom, but was unsure as to the next step once it was in her mouth).*
Since we've gotten back from vacation, I've been fairly busy and haven't done much formal training with Aggie. It's also been frigid here in Indiana, and Aggie has no interest in venturing outside. So her world has become considerably more limited since before the Vacation. She seems fine with it! She's a couch potato at heart. Her daily winter schedule, could she choose, would look like this:
7am: Exit kennel, use the bathroom
7:03am: Move to favorite chair and sleep until noon
12pm: Play with Naomi for several hours
3pm(ish): Short nap in the favorite chair or on couch with Naomi
3:30pm(ish): Play with Naomi for several hours until Dad arrives home, play with Dad
7pm: Sleep in the favorite chair until moved to kennel to continue sleeping
Honestly, this dog is only active for about 6 hours per day, and if it were up to her, she would never leave the house. This is not the dog I signed up for! I imagined competing in agility and obedience, taking long walks in a variety of locations every weekend, and training voluntary, cooperative behaviors at the vet clinic. Not sitting around half the day, then playing fetch or tug-of-war the rest of the day. But this is my dog. I'm willing to bet that if she could have picked, I would not have been the owner of her dreams either.
 |
| Camping in the chilly Fall weather. Not one of Aggie's favorite things. |
 |
| The Favorite Chair |
*She ended up listening to my mom who somehow convinced her that the next step was the let the seemingly unharmed possum go.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
A Bad Walk
Let me tell you about my terrible, awful, no good, very bad walk (name that book!). It all started with me completing Aggie's new coat (aka: cutting off the extra fabric from a thrift store child's coat). She hates that coat. Stupid me for starting it out on a walk. I SHOULD have started just by putting it on her for training sessions, which she loves, not walks which she feels mediocre about at best during this frigid weather.
So we started out the walk with her tail tucked because of the dumb coat on her back. Not good. I then remembered that yesterday the geese scared her. This was actually kind of funny at the time. She practically screamed at the geese (in dog body language), "I pass by in peace, I mean you no harm!!" This behavior relates to an incident last summer in which she was "chasing" geese along the shore (geese were in the water) when she slammed her body into a stake meant to tie up a boat. Neither of us saw that one coming, and she's been afraid of geese since.
Something about those geese yesterday put her over the top, and I remember her pulling her way home. Now she had the awful jacket on, and we were headed toward the evil geese. Tail was tucked even further under her belly. Sigh.
Fortunately, the geese had moved on. I relaxed, and prepared myself for a peaceful walk. Not so; Aggie had a different view of the situation. The place where the geese had been was just as scary, if not scarier (because, let me remind you, the jacket of death was wrapped around her belly). She acted as if the geese were going to jump out of the bushes at any moment.
I lost my patience. All I wanted was a nice quiet walk! Nobody was around, it was the perfect setup for a perfect walk! But we were both cold, and Aggie scared out of her mind. At that moment, the clasp of the leash I was holding in my hand fell and wrapped itself around my leg. In my frustration with everything that was going wrong, I kicked at nothing with the wrapped leg causing the clasp to smack the ground and shatter. Now I was leashless with a freaked out dog staring warily at me (my frustration never escapes her). Unfortunately, my stubborness knows no bounds, and we continued the walk.
This is the point at which I'd love to say it got better. I purposely avoided a bridge that normally scares Aggie a bit since I knew I had already done enough damage in one walk. But as we turned away from the bridge, the wind suddenly picked up causing a tree to squeak while simultaneously a duck caught sight of us and sounded a warning call to his mate. Wind, squeak, quack. I thought my dog was going to jump out of her skin.
I decided to stop and do some breathing exercises. I looked up at the sky and muttered, "God, give me patience. I have none, and my dog is driving me crazy. I just wanted a nice quiet walk. All I wanted was a walk." I looked back down and Aggie had decided, enough with the crazy lady. I'm out.
This is not normal for her. I'm usually her safely net. So when I saw her glance back at me but keep moving at a brisk pace toward home, I knew she was level 5 fear (see Aggie Stats for rating scale). I had made a big mistake. Not only had I put my dog in a position to reach this level of fear, but I gave her no choice but to figure out a solution on her own.
I wish I could say this is an isolated incident. It's not. I have done this to Aggie on several ocassions. Like I said, I'm stubborn. I grew up with the idea that humans are in charge and the dogs just have to go along with it for better or for worse. To a certain degree, that's true. Humans are in charge, and it is our responsibility to teach and socialize dogs to the world they live in: ours. But with the knowledge and science that we trainers have at our fingertips, there is no excuse to teach and socialize our dogs in any way that would inspire fear or anxiety. There is always a more positive way. It's our job as the human in charge to find it.
(PS. We were able to end the walk at her favorite field where we played fetch. Once her tail was consistently not tucked and she seemed to be enjoying the game more than scanning the field for monsters, we ran home, did a fun training session with her coat on, and she's now curled in her kennel napping, coat free.)
 |
| The Jacket |
Something about those geese yesterday put her over the top, and I remember her pulling her way home. Now she had the awful jacket on, and we were headed toward the evil geese. Tail was tucked even further under her belly. Sigh.
Fortunately, the geese had moved on. I relaxed, and prepared myself for a peaceful walk. Not so; Aggie had a different view of the situation. The place where the geese had been was just as scary, if not scarier (because, let me remind you, the jacket of death was wrapped around her belly). She acted as if the geese were going to jump out of the bushes at any moment.
I lost my patience. All I wanted was a nice quiet walk! Nobody was around, it was the perfect setup for a perfect walk! But we were both cold, and Aggie scared out of her mind. At that moment, the clasp of the leash I was holding in my hand fell and wrapped itself around my leg. In my frustration with everything that was going wrong, I kicked at nothing with the wrapped leg causing the clasp to smack the ground and shatter. Now I was leashless with a freaked out dog staring warily at me (my frustration never escapes her). Unfortunately, my stubborness knows no bounds, and we continued the walk.
This is the point at which I'd love to say it got better. I purposely avoided a bridge that normally scares Aggie a bit since I knew I had already done enough damage in one walk. But as we turned away from the bridge, the wind suddenly picked up causing a tree to squeak while simultaneously a duck caught sight of us and sounded a warning call to his mate. Wind, squeak, quack. I thought my dog was going to jump out of her skin.
I decided to stop and do some breathing exercises. I looked up at the sky and muttered, "God, give me patience. I have none, and my dog is driving me crazy. I just wanted a nice quiet walk. All I wanted was a walk." I looked back down and Aggie had decided, enough with the crazy lady. I'm out.
This is not normal for her. I'm usually her safely net. So when I saw her glance back at me but keep moving at a brisk pace toward home, I knew she was level 5 fear (see Aggie Stats for rating scale). I had made a big mistake. Not only had I put my dog in a position to reach this level of fear, but I gave her no choice but to figure out a solution on her own.
I wish I could say this is an isolated incident. It's not. I have done this to Aggie on several ocassions. Like I said, I'm stubborn. I grew up with the idea that humans are in charge and the dogs just have to go along with it for better or for worse. To a certain degree, that's true. Humans are in charge, and it is our responsibility to teach and socialize dogs to the world they live in: ours. But with the knowledge and science that we trainers have at our fingertips, there is no excuse to teach and socialize our dogs in any way that would inspire fear or anxiety. There is always a more positive way. It's our job as the human in charge to find it.
(PS. We were able to end the walk at her favorite field where we played fetch. Once her tail was consistently not tucked and she seemed to be enjoying the game more than scanning the field for monsters, we ran home, did a fun training session with her coat on, and she's now curled in her kennel napping, coat free.)
Monday, December 2, 2013
Nighttime Anxiety
So here's a pattern that's been building since I started a new job. On the days that Aggie is in her kennel 6+ hours, she has a hard time relaxing in the evening. I always take her out right after I get home for a nice long walk that includes jogging, off leash sniffing, and fetch. It is a walk designed to stimulate her both physically and mentally with few emotional side effects. Sometimes she's so stressed from the day of doing nothing, that the walk is quite stressful. Other days she does fine.
However, inevitably in the evening she will become anxious. If she refuses to relax (after encouraging her to chill out in "her" chair) and only wants to rummage the trash or destroy the recycling bin (anxiety!!!), to her kennel she goes. We know what to expect when resorting to kennel time due to destructive behavior: pitiful crying, and if anxious enough, biting or pawing at the door. It's annoying and stressful for everyone involved. Eventually, after her yowling wins her no reward, this is what happens:
For Aggie's ratings, I'm including these incidences in her overall points for the day. I'll be tracking this pattern to see if it really is linked to more time in her kennel like I assume. Eventually I'd like to find a solution. Drugs? More training/mental exercise? Advice welcome if you the reader have ever experienced a similar problem.
However, inevitably in the evening she will become anxious. If she refuses to relax (after encouraging her to chill out in "her" chair) and only wants to rummage the trash or destroy the recycling bin (anxiety!!!), to her kennel she goes. We know what to expect when resorting to kennel time due to destructive behavior: pitiful crying, and if anxious enough, biting or pawing at the door. It's annoying and stressful for everyone involved. Eventually, after her yowling wins her no reward, this is what happens:
For Aggie's ratings, I'm including these incidences in her overall points for the day. I'll be tracking this pattern to see if it really is linked to more time in her kennel like I assume. Eventually I'd like to find a solution. Drugs? More training/mental exercise? Advice welcome if you the reader have ever experienced a similar problem.
Ode to Thanksgiving
As Thanksgiving approached so did my anxiety level (maybe we should make a rating system for the owner's anxiety...). I knew it was not going to be a fun weekend for Aggie. The alternative was to board her in a veterinary clinic that she had never been to, and I figured for a cheaper price she could just stay in her kennel up in our bedroom where I knew she'd feel safe.
And safe she felt. Every doorbell ring started another round of "Dare you to come up the stairs, open the door, let me out of my kennel" threats that lasted at least 5 minutes each, only to start up again with the next arrival. Fear wasn't the issue as much as territorialness. I expected this, and had several yummy treats waiting for her whenever she was quiet between arrivals. She calmed down after a while, and when everyone had arrived and decided to head out for a walk, I used it as an opportunity for introductions.
After everyone left the house, Aggie bolted out of her kennel and the Great Sniff began. Once she was satisfied with the information gather session, we leashed up and ran to catch up with the group. Running helps Aggie. By the time we see the group, I'm out of breath, and she's feeling great. She immediately looks to Jack, the visiting dog, and decides he is by far the most interesting individual. She imitates everything he does, walk looking forward, sniff the ground, sniff that bush, pee over there (yay! friendly signals!). It was one of the calmest walks I've had with her in a while since she was so focused on him. There was no room left in her brain to be scared of anything else! Plus, she was getting a gazillion treats for not bullying him (something she'll do to smaller dogs when she feels overwhelmed or anxious).
The arrival home was a different story. Her anxiety level rose as we all entered the backyard and then the house. She clearly was not comfortable with Jack on her territory. So up to the kennel she went, with no resistence, and slept the rest of the day. This anxiety is hard work!
That evening, after everone went to bed, we let Aggie out to roam the downstairs for a bit before heading back up to the kennel. Suddenly, Aggie runs to the front door. The next thing I know, my aunt, who had decided to sleep out in her camper, walks into the house unannounced. This is the very situation that will put Aggie over the top; the moment in which, if she doesn't control her impulse, she will reach up and snap.
I saw Aggie's body go stiff. I can't remember who did what first, but both Aggie and I responded appropriately: me by calmly calling her to me, and her by turning away from my aunt and following my direction. I had no treats in hand, but her eyes were locked on me all the same. I directed her to the armchair nearby, she hopped up, and I calmly stroked her chest while keeping my entire body between my aunt and Aggie. There were a few low growls directed at my aunt, but I ignored them, and continued my petting if I heard them stop. By the time my aunt walked out, Aggie was much calmer and got an awesome treat for her cooperation. Way to go Aggie!
Overall, the weekend was a success. Aggie was ready to have her house back, but I think the experience was a positive one; something we should be able to build upon in the future.
And safe she felt. Every doorbell ring started another round of "Dare you to come up the stairs, open the door, let me out of my kennel" threats that lasted at least 5 minutes each, only to start up again with the next arrival. Fear wasn't the issue as much as territorialness. I expected this, and had several yummy treats waiting for her whenever she was quiet between arrivals. She calmed down after a while, and when everyone had arrived and decided to head out for a walk, I used it as an opportunity for introductions.
After everyone left the house, Aggie bolted out of her kennel and the Great Sniff began. Once she was satisfied with the information gather session, we leashed up and ran to catch up with the group. Running helps Aggie. By the time we see the group, I'm out of breath, and she's feeling great. She immediately looks to Jack, the visiting dog, and decides he is by far the most interesting individual. She imitates everything he does, walk looking forward, sniff the ground, sniff that bush, pee over there (yay! friendly signals!). It was one of the calmest walks I've had with her in a while since she was so focused on him. There was no room left in her brain to be scared of anything else! Plus, she was getting a gazillion treats for not bullying him (something she'll do to smaller dogs when she feels overwhelmed or anxious).
 |
| Naomi not paying to Aggie. Aggie with eyes only for Jack. |
The arrival home was a different story. Her anxiety level rose as we all entered the backyard and then the house. She clearly was not comfortable with Jack on her territory. So up to the kennel she went, with no resistence, and slept the rest of the day. This anxiety is hard work!
That evening, after everone went to bed, we let Aggie out to roam the downstairs for a bit before heading back up to the kennel. Suddenly, Aggie runs to the front door. The next thing I know, my aunt, who had decided to sleep out in her camper, walks into the house unannounced. This is the very situation that will put Aggie over the top; the moment in which, if she doesn't control her impulse, she will reach up and snap.
I saw Aggie's body go stiff. I can't remember who did what first, but both Aggie and I responded appropriately: me by calmly calling her to me, and her by turning away from my aunt and following my direction. I had no treats in hand, but her eyes were locked on me all the same. I directed her to the armchair nearby, she hopped up, and I calmly stroked her chest while keeping my entire body between my aunt and Aggie. There were a few low growls directed at my aunt, but I ignored them, and continued my petting if I heard them stop. By the time my aunt walked out, Aggie was much calmer and got an awesome treat for her cooperation. Way to go Aggie!
Overall, the weekend was a success. Aggie was ready to have her house back, but I think the experience was a positive one; something we should be able to build upon in the future.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
A Bit of History
In order to understand where I am at in my training decisions, I feel I should give you a bit of background. I was trained as a marine mammal trainer. The marine mammal field was the first to start applying Skinner's operant conditioning and Pavlov's classical conditioning discoveries. By now, the techniques have been refined and honed to an incredibly sophisticated level, and marine mammal trainers claim that if the animal is physically capable of doing it, they can train it. As far as I can tell, they are right. Here is a video of some orcas getting their blood drawn (while others are practicing). If you think these whales are being forced into position, think again. They are very capable of escape:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqrFOwgJ8lg
So this is where I come from. The highly polished world of marine mammal trainers. I only spent 4 years in this world, but it was long enough to make me think dog training would be a piece of cake. So when my husband got a job in another state, I thought, "Eh, I can always train dogs."
Two major problems with this line of thinking:
1. I had never owned a dog as an adult.
2. A dog's world is a LOT different than a dolphin's.
Number 1 is self explanatory. Allow me to delve into number 2: A dolphin's world is very controlled by the humans in their care. It can be as limited or enriching as the trainers choose. Any strangers introduced to the dolphins (guests, etc) are strictly controlled by the staff along with any changes in the environment. Compare that scenario to a dog's world in which at any given point a stranger can come ring the doorbell and "force" (in the dog's opinion) the owner to open the door. Or out on a walk, a strange dog can appear from around the corner without warning. Or construction workers with their scarry helmets and loud machinery can pop out of nowhere. To state the obvious: a dog's world is naturally more varied and unpredictable.
Because of this difference, early training is essential for the puppy to become a well-adjusted dog. Which is why rescuing a dog can be a bit of a crapshoot. You don't know what you're going to get until you not only have it, but now feel attached to and responsible for it. Aggie's a perfect example. A little fearful when I first met her, I didn't know enough to gauge how fearful she actually was. As mentioned in the introduction, she started presenting aggressive behaviors after a couple months of living with us.
Since starting these behaviors almost a year ago, it's been a long road. We've lived in 3 different states since she came home to us, and each move has been nearly as traumatizing as changing families. She has major setbacks each time which tries my patience (I should know better), and makes me question if I can really handle a dog with this much fear.
But then she makes progress, or does something that makes my husband and me almost cry with laughter, and I remember that I do enjoy Aggie. And besides, I'm horribly attached.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqrFOwgJ8lg
So this is where I come from. The highly polished world of marine mammal trainers. I only spent 4 years in this world, but it was long enough to make me think dog training would be a piece of cake. So when my husband got a job in another state, I thought, "Eh, I can always train dogs."
Two major problems with this line of thinking:
1. I had never owned a dog as an adult.
2. A dog's world is a LOT different than a dolphin's.
 |
| Preparing to step out into the scary world. Step 1: pay attention to Naomi. |
Because of this difference, early training is essential for the puppy to become a well-adjusted dog. Which is why rescuing a dog can be a bit of a crapshoot. You don't know what you're going to get until you not only have it, but now feel attached to and responsible for it. Aggie's a perfect example. A little fearful when I first met her, I didn't know enough to gauge how fearful she actually was. As mentioned in the introduction, she started presenting aggressive behaviors after a couple months of living with us.
Since starting these behaviors almost a year ago, it's been a long road. We've lived in 3 different states since she came home to us, and each move has been nearly as traumatizing as changing families. She has major setbacks each time which tries my patience (I should know better), and makes me question if I can really handle a dog with this much fear.
 |
| "Um, hello, I'm training. Knock it off with that annoying light or I'll..." |
 |
| "...Attack this man with kisses!!!" |
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)