Busy paws are happy paws

The grass is here! Well okay 'artificial turf'...

2011-11-11T09:34:00.000-08:00

So we made the big decision and got artificial turf. We had 1st Impression come and give us turf in the back and front and what a differnce.

Abb's hated the dirt in the back, okay it was her and Riley's fault we only had dirt but she HATED what happened next!

And then there was bark.

Riley being the junkyard dog he is didn't mind at all and learned very shortly that he could move the bark away and lay in the dirt.

Abby's is so happy to be in the back now, okay my dogs are spoiled...

Abby has even been spotted getting a little sun on the new turf...

Riley's a great hiker

2011-11-06T16:33:00.000-08:00

To my surprise, Riley's recall is very good.

We have been meeting my friend Teri for a hike the last couple of weeks and Riley's doing really staying close and coming when I call.

He loves playing with his BFF Henry on the hikes, and they both get pooped out!

A couple of new classes under Riley's belt

2011-11-06T16:23:00.000-08:00

We have finished two more classes with Riley. One with his BFF Henry at the SPCA in Dublin and the other with his new friends Bear and Sadie in Castro Valley. It did him a lot of good getting more time working with other dogs, he seems to be less jumpy about dogs when we are out and about.

I learned a new trick, a training trick. I call it "cookie party". The instructor in the Castro Valley class had us treat for 30 seconds when working on recall. Make it a BIG event if they come when you call. It works great! I've started using it with Abby to make ignoring dogs easy when there is a cookie party if she keeps her attention on me, it's working really well. A small success but never the less a success.

There both hard for different reasons

2011-11-06T16:17:00.000-08:00

So Rob has gone back to work and I now have dog walk duty. Two walks two different dogs. I have to say that they are both hard and hard in different ways. Abby you know is leash aggressive and is an on going battle, but we have made much progress with her. Riley didn't get any training until he came to us, so he jumps, he pulls on the leash, he wants to play with any thing that wiggles. The wants to play with anything that wiggles is the hardest for me because of Abby, I can't react the same with him when he gets jumpy with another dog, but I do and I'm afraid that I will have the same issues with him that I have with Abb's.

I often wish I could give Riley's good to Abby and Abby's good to Riley. I'd have two perfect dog!

Learning from Abb's

2011-01-30T18:39:00.000-08:00

Riley has learned to ring the bell at the back door to go out. I think he really learned that from Abby, in two months time with little help from us he lets us know when he wants to go out.

Rob has been doing most of the training with Riley and he didn't embrace 'nothing in life is free' at first. Fortunately he realized early on he need to get Riley in the program.

We are feeding the dogs one at a time. At first we did it because we didn't have an extra set of bowls. I think it's good for Abby (she seem less put out) and it's been really good for Riley to have to weight in a sit for his turn. After waiting in a sit for Abby to finish he still has to give behavior for his meal

Bounds of energy

2011-01-30T18:31:00.000-08:00

So Riley has so much energy, I didn't remember Abby being so spunky, but she was... At a year she was getting three walks a day, so we needed to get Riley out for more exercise.

The dog backpack with some extra weight has really helped with his energy level.

The backpack also seemed to correct some other behaviors. He jumps and pulls less with the backpack on.

So now there are two

2011-01-30T17:57:00.000-08:00

October 17th we met Riley, that wasn't his name yet, he didn't have a name. He was 13 months old with no training until he went into rescue. Riley was a basically a backyard dog with little or no training.

After having a meet and greet with Abby we decided to take him home for a home visit to see if the dogs would get along.

Riley came for a visit starting on the 30th of October.

Riley over all health was good but he was really underweight.

He had no house training so we put him on puppy watch.

Wakes up, he goes out
Eats, he goes out
Drinks, he goes out
In the house for an hour, he goes out

With only living in a backyard we had a lot of behaviors to correct

Where did the the year go!

2010-11-06T18:06:00.000-07:00

So much has happened over the summer, we did 3 classes at ARF in Walnut Creek. Unleash the madness 1 and unleash the madness 2 twice. Abby has made some real progress, the Prozac was a good idea, it has helped training a lot...

Sara at ARF tried a new thing with Abb's, abandonment training, and okay it's kinda as bad as it sounds... So you hook you pup up to two leads, you normal lead and a long line. If they react, you drop your lead and run (yes run) away from your dog. Abby looked flabbergasted when I did it to her, I felt terrible. She didn't react after that, so its very affective...

We've been out of class for a month now I need to see what on the schedule at ARF. Sara approved us of K9 nose work so it looks like Abb's will get a bit of a break from leash classed

It's been awhile...

2010-08-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

So Abb's is doing well, why, I'm really not sure. We just finished our second class at ARF. After ‘Unleash the madness’ they created a ‘Unleash the madness II’, which is an on going class that we can do multiple times (hopefully different dog combo). In addition to the classes I put Abb’s on puppy Prozac, it was a hard decision but I think it was the right one. She has been on the drug for 6 + weeks now and we should start seeing a difference and I think we are. But, she has been in two classes and has some new dog friends, so I guess it probably a combination of everything. I have noticed lately that in hard situations Abby has checked in with me before she has gone “BlaaaH” at the other issue… And came back to me straight away and gives me her full attention.

We started a new thing our last session at ARF. We put her on a long lead (held by the instructor) as well as her gentle leader (held by me) and when she reacted to one of the harder dogs I tossed her lead over her back told her "No Way Abby" and ran away from her. She freaked and ran after me, it was hard to do to her but it seemed to work. You react, you loose you human, it was hard, the look on her face, but she immediately turned her attention to me.

On a great note she is doing really well with people. We have had a lot of house greetings, and two of the people that come over we aren’t doing the gate greeting, she is just in a sit stay and then released to greet.

I guess it’s all good…

Some words you never here...

2010-05-09T19:22:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been good, a few rough spots but we are having more reaction free walks that walks with reactions. The changes we have made have made such a difference.

We were walking at the sports park a few days ago and we went out into the parking lot to pass a dog and the gal said "we are doing the same thing", it did my heart good.

The second leash aggression class and Abb's was brilliant. She worked really good with all of the dogs.

We had a Sula visit today, a long walk and some play, Abb's was good. Then a visit from some friends. Abby was a little cranky with my friends but she was over tired from the last few days and end the end she settled out.

Things are good.

Abby and I are back in class

2010-04-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

Abb's went to our leash aggression class, second week for me first for her. The first class was just for humans, we learned what we needed besides our dog for the class.

The bring us in one at a time so no dog sees the other. In the training room there are several dividers and each dog went behind one. The didn't see each other but they knew they were there.

We started with some relaxation techniques, most everyone brought a mat for their dog, but if you didn't there was a blanket. We all got our dogs to be calm on the mat, even Abb's seemed to relax.

We went on to working on 'find', which is simply tossing a treat on the floor and asking your dog to find it, all the dogs got an 'A' at that :)

Next they brought a dog into the room, it sat in the middle and the trainer went around to each partition and moved the curtain so your dog could see the dog in the center of the room. None of the dogs were too interested after the 'tossin' the treats' exercise. We went around the room several time each time letting the dog look for a bit longer, they all did well. The next step was every dogs curtain was open and a dog would walk around the room, still no spunky puppies.

Next we practiced turns, we went one at a time out of our corner to the middle of the room, do a quick excited turn and return to the corner. Every dog but Abb's did great! One of the helper dogs decided to peak through the partition and of course Abby saw him and she reacted so we did a real life turn. I got her back in a sit with a watch and the trainer made use do it again with out the dog surprise, she did fine.

The nice thing about class is that you can work again with a dog that you've had a reaction. I ask Sara if we could work a bit with the dog Abb's reacted to and we did and she was great. With management she does really well, the age old problem surprises...

We have add good on Sunday and Monday, so more quiet walks than walks with reactions.... The right direction.

Our homework this week is to hang out where dogs pass (Of course at a 'no reaction' distance) for 20 minutes just letting your dog look and get cookies. Use find if it gets challenging or a toy. I really want to work on the toy, Abby doesn't want to play with her favorite toy outside of the house, I want to change that. I got her a new fat cat tug and floppable for the training class, hopefully we will make progress with the dog play on walks.

Stupid people raising childern... hurrumph

2010-04-23T17:53:00.000-07:00

Chris and I met to walk the pup's on Thursday and it was a good walk except for the border collies and the children off leash.

We had an encounter with the border collies, not fun, both of the dogs reacted but not bad and when we here headed back to the parking lot sever kids were running around and they really spun up Abb's. I don't understand why parents don't teach their kids to be respectful of animals. We got past without Abby snacking on any of the kids and it really pissed me off... Next time I see kids off leash I'm gonna retreat...

Snack dogs running wild

2010-04-23T17:48:00.000-07:00

So our challenge this week was a snack dog out and about at the tennis park. I saw it on Monday and headed a different direction, but Rob on Tuesday was surprised by the little snack. The reaction wasn't as bad as it would have been in the past; the snack came running across the street at them. Why do people think that they can leave their dogs out unattended...

Frackin' Jack Russles...

2010-04-23T17:42:00.000-07:00

So we would have had a great walk on Sunday if our neighbor's frackin' Jack Russal hadn't be wandering around out side... The little pisser came across the street and was barring teeth and charging us. It was all of my strength to control Abby and finally the neighbor got the little piece of crap to come back home.

I thought I was gonna have to go home but Abb's calmed down straight away. There were two other dogs and Abby was not interested at all. So we continued our walk. Times past Abby would have been a terror, but not today. We saw several other dogs with no reactions, Abb's was a champ.

Another good week, a sleep over & to drug or not to drug...

2010-04-16T17:29:00.000-07:00

Abby had another good week with no reactions. She was rained out Monday, Tuesday to Thursday Rob took her out and today she got the day off because Sula came for the weekend.

Tuesday and Wednesday were mostly quiet but not Thrusday, Rob came home and the first thing he said was "Abby was awesome". It wasn't that there were a lot of issues but the ones they had were typically hard for her and she was a perfect pup.

We start our leash aggression class tomorrow. The first class is without dog, it will be interesting to see how the class will be ran. I decided this week I'm going to way on the puppy Prozac, Abby is doing really well these days and I think the Saint Johns Wort is helping. Also I don't want to have Abby starting on the drugs during the class because of the side effects. I think if she does good with the class, we make progress I won't try the drugs and if she struggles through class I will start her on the drugs after the class and sign up for another session.

A good day to finish off the week.

2010-04-11T17:51:00.000-07:00

Abby was really good on our walk today, we came around a corner only to find a couple walking (well being dragged) by a boxer. We did a turn got to a safe distance let them pass and head home. That was the 7th dog on the walk and rewinding back on the walk she was really good with the other 6 dog, a couple not easy dogs.

Some Abby Play...

2010-04-10T18:12:00.000-07:00

OK... OK... So where is my chicken...
Wonderful... my chicken....
Woo Hoo Loving my checken...
Fly Chicken...
I love my chicken...

Why don't people with snack dogs think they don't need to be trained?

2010-04-10T17:53:00.000-07:00

So our 4 walk no reaction run ended today at a house near the tennis park. A snack dog inside a house pitched itself against the front window and Abb's couldn't help but be very interested. She lurched, I corrected we passed without further issue.

So I must rant... I really don't understand why there are so many snack dog owners don't think they need to train their dogs... I see this all the time, snacks pitchin' a fit, the humans just let the dogs behave badly. Sometimes they pick up the pitchin' fit snack... I just don't understand why it's ok for them and they look so appalled when Abby reacts ( & not even as bad as the snack).

We continued on and passed three dogs on the way back with no problem, still a good walk.

After our walk I was doing Abby nails and I didn't make her lie on her side, just put her in a down. She let me do her front nails without a fuss. She stood up so I decided to clip her rear nails while she was standing, she sat, went down and on to her side, just laid there letting me clip her nails. Amazing, the fog lifted today!

A very good week

2010-04-09T17:33:00.000-07:00

We packed up and headed up to UC Davis on Monday to have a recheck with Dr Stepita. Abby got to sport her new muzzle.
Her Hannibal Lecter Look... So OK it's pretty awful but it's better than last year they crammed her mug into medium muzzle...

Our visit went really well and Dr Stepita was pleased with her progress. We started with an office visit and finished with some de-conditioning. We talked about puppy Prozac and herbs and we also talked about my plan for the next few months.

The plan

finding more dogs for Abby to walk with (one dog each walk)during the week
Leash aggressive class, &
Dogs for play dates in the backyard.

We worked with two dogs and Abb's did really well with the first dog and she had one reaction with the second. Dr Stepita was really happy with my confidence with Abb's (thanks Wendy).

I left the session feeling like I've made some progress and having some hope to get past our stall.

The rest of the week as been great, Abb's has had 4 walks in a row with no reaction, whoo hoo! I've started a new spreadsheet tracking her walks which I should have been doing but it was depressing, always issues... In the last two weeks Abby has had 11 outings and only 3 reactions and when she does react it is contained very quickly and doesn't mess up the rest of the walk. So in a day or so I'll have a link to the progress log.

We had a great walk with Chris & Izzy, Abby didn't do the "I WANT TO PLAY" move, she was really good. We are hoping to have more of those walks...

A good week so far

5 out of 6 days of good walks

2010-04-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

So we are on a good run with quiet walks. Knock on wood. We had one reactions this week on one walk and the reaction was small and corrected straight away.

It seems like the changes we have made are making a difference, but the jury is still out, time will tell. Who knows maybe the saint johns wart is helping calm her down.

We are off to see Dr Stepida on Monday and after talking to Cheri (Abby's best friend Sula's human) I am seriously considering drugs to get us to the next level. She told me the problem she had with drugs is that many people think they will solve the problems and that is not the case. The drugs will help with training and the training must continue to get the dog past the problems. I think that Abb's is the kind of dog that will require training for most of her life. So we will see what the doctor has to say on Monday.

So continuing to look for the herbal solutions I found a product called "Problem Pet Solution", "Aggression Formula" and more... Do they work?

Two more successful days...

2010-03-29T17:25:00.000-07:00

So Sunday walk was really quiet and a bit warm so Abby was calm throughout the walk. We saw a couple of dogs but not reactions

Today we saw lots of dogs with only one almost issue. A border collie mix was doing the barkie stare we were almost past and Abb's lock, I ask for her to come back and too my surprise she came back to me and we continued on. We we got back home we were walking across from the park and a loose dog was running around the park, we managed to get by with no issue it was a really good day.

Knock on wood! Three quiet walks in a row....

Another successful day... we seem to be having more.

2010-03-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

I had a class today (Saturday) so Rob took Abby for her walk.

The walk was quiet until they came up on two Schnauzer snacks but Abb's only took noticed, she had no reactions.

At the tennis park there was a gal with two kids and four dogs at the on the way to the play area. Rob took Abby off to the bench where she again took notice of the herd passing by, she sat quietly and drooled on Rob.

On the way back they came upon a turkey in the front yard of a house. The bird was near the house and Abb's walked by quietly.

A good day... Knock on wood, we are having more of them.

Abby has time off this week

2010-03-26T18:59:00.000-07:00

So my schedule got away from me this week so Abby got Tuesday and Wednesday off. Monday Rob walked her for me and other than a schnauzer-snack pitchin' a fit (which Abby had only mild interest) the walk was quiet. Thursday afternoon Rob took Abb's out for me so she would be a little less energetic for our walk with Izzy and Chris. The walk was quiet.

We met Chris and Issy at the sports park and it was really really busy. Sports has exploded again. Abby had a couple of smaller than normal bursts at Izzy and the rest of the things we came on she was good. We had a jogging dog and a bike with a dog and Abby did really great.

Chris and I came up with a plan to work on Abby's burst at Izzy, which I'm hoping over the next couple of months we can eliminate, we will see.

A maze of dogs, and an attack cat oh my...

2010-03-26T18:42:00.000-07:00

Sunday was a really good walk the walk was quiet the new attach cat we have in our neighborhood. I can't believe that we have three cats that become big puff balls and charge at Abby... What the heck. So we are walking past a house that we have passed hundreds of times and there it was this big orange puffer cat hissing while edging towards us. I turned into Abb's got her in a sit which was amazing, grabbed her gentle leader under her snout and we walked off. How can we have so many bold puffer cats in our neighborhood.

The rest of the walk was a cake walk after that. It was dullsville until we got to the tennis park where we maneuvered through a maze of dogs, one in front we were gaining on so we crossed the street only to find a loose dog two houses down... We back tracked and crossed the street continuing to follow the first dog. The human an dog went into the park so we went on to find a gal with a snack in her arms so we crossed the street again past the not loose dog. Abby got a lot of cookies because she was brilliant.

So other than the puffer cat Abby was a star.

Today was a good day

2010-03-20T19:24:00.000-07:00

The sports park was really busy today and Abby was really good today on our walk, was there a reaction? Yes, but it was just a lung at a surprise sack on a gals lap and a pink towel draped over a trailer hitch on a SUV in a garage... Neither were big and the snack was amazing, she had a small reaction and then she was easily corrected and past buy with no more reactions. She was calm and the snack was not. The towel was funny she turned with a yoga move, I told her it was a towel she looked at it and then at me and we went on our way.

I was thinking today on the way back home that she is much better with everything. Knock on wood, no people, razor, bikes, skateboards, cars, lately no reactions to these things, overall she is better. Also I need to stop beating myself up, she reacts less and I respond better than ever before. Her reactions are smaller, and her correction quicker, that is all good and it is progress.

Seein' the behaviorist again

2010-03-20T19:23:00.000-07:00

We have a scheduled the desensitization and counter-conditioning sessions with the behaviorist at UC davis, we go on April 5.

I'm looking forward to the re-evaluation, maybe she can help us get past being stuck.

Abby's one reaction per walk...

2010-03-20T19:21:00.000-07:00

So every walk had reactions this week, every walk had at least one. One walk was full of surprises, but I handled each one quickly and that was good. It does seem like her reactions are getting smaller, maybe...

On Thursday we were out for a walk and we were on track for a no reaction walk. We were on the way home turning on a street we have been on hundred of times. There is an attack cat & a dog in a garage (the door open about 6"), both we approach with caution and have passed for months happily. So Thursday we started down the street and to my surprise a big black (not as big as Abb's) was running toward us and there was no human in site. I ask for a turn which I got reluctantly and we headed away from the dog, finally the dog stopped following us. The good new is Abb's hardly reacted and it was really just not wanting to turn.

Today we got another surprise when we took Abby for a bath. There was a dog in the wash area already, I was reluctant but Rob had Abby and headed to the far corner sink. She didn't react at all through the bath and the other dog was really pitchin' an aggressive fit. I think the dog bit his human several times.

So some bad and some good this week.

So how much to work it....

2010-03-14T18:08:00.000-07:00

So hoping for another quiet walk we headed out of the house with no issue turned the corner to a dog approaching on the other side of the street. I started to manage the pass but Abb's was spunky and had a small reaction, ugh.

So we headed on for what was a quiet walk and in the end we passed the dog that Abb's reacted to again at the end of the walk with no issue.... Some times I just don't get it.

Work it, every step & puppy pedicure

2010-03-13T17:18:00.000-08:00

So we have had three quiet walks this week and today I finally got in the 'work it' zone. Abby did really well with every challenge we had today. Several dogs but we were able to keep a safe distance, a successful distance. We followed a chocolate lab for about a quarter of the walk Abb's was good...

I managed every corner, blind yard, open garage, open car. I approach anything odd as a challenge today and we were successful. So we worked every inch of our every walk today. I even diverted a surprise today, I approached a corner that usually has dogs coming from the right but not today. We started for the the left corner and I saw a couple walking, we turned and went back to the other side of the street. Good thing, it was a couple with a dog and we did not have any reaction.

Each challenge we switched it up, some I ask for behavior (spin, sit, watch, touch) or I'd let her look at the dog and click on the return. She didn't lock on anything today freely coming back to me.

We had a really good walk today! When we got had some play and now the mad cow needs some repair, it was fun. Then it was puppy pedicure time and Abb's was great about all 4 paws!

Today was a good day.

What would Wendy do?

2010-03-11T18:51:00.000-08:00

What would Wendy do? That was the question I ask all throughout my walk with Abby on Sunday (I think we should make a Wendy doll that would tell what Wendy would say) We had a perfect walk! We did a few things different when we saw dogs but because I was askin' what would Wendy say (or do) we had on surprises.

So All week I brought Wendy along, reminding myself what Wendy would say approaching corners, blind spots, dogs, people, bikes and we had a good week.

We had an Izzy walk on Thursday and Abby hasn't seen Izzy in a while and she was a little spunky for most of the walk. She was good with all other dogs, very good, but she was spunky about Izzy. Next week will be better.

New stuff for the week...

I started asking for behavior with other dogs this week, a spin, sit, watch, touch, it worked good. Just out the front door on Tuesday we had a dog at the park and I stayed in our driveway asking for behavior until the dog passed, no reaction.

We worked on watch a lot this week. Abby seems to think you need to sit to watch so I've been working on getting a watch while walking, so far not so much success. I've considered giving a walking watch a different command because every time I ask for a watch she sits. So maybe 'look' for the mobile watch.

Back to the doctor

2010-03-06T17:44:00.000-08:00

So I've been in contact with Dr. Stepita (the behaviorist we saw last year) and we are going back for a recheck and a desensitization and counter-conditioning session. I'm really not sure what the session will be like but I think it will be good.

She mentioned the 'drug' conversation and I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I will look at the options. It might be the answer to having 'no reaction' walks, but it's a hard decision.

I'm hoping to get in within the next couple of weeks because I found a 'leash aggressive' class in Walnut Creek, and I will rely on Dr. Stepita judgment on if we should do the class. And who knows if we go with a drug option maybe the class will be a good.

Mostly a good week

2010-03-06T17:29:00.000-08:00

So we had a mostly quiet week. It seem like we can never get to a no reaction walk. I tried different times this week, that seem to help but still we had spunky Abb's. She jumps at a open gate or the front window of a house or the never ending surprise. But no reaction was bad and her return was quick.

Today Abby and I went on a really long walk and it was nice, we had fun except the 'once a walk' spunky Abb's. We did a lot of sits, spins, watches and we worked on yoga. It was a good walk.

So we are still in pursuit of the quiet walk and it will be the continuing goal.

What's on tap for today

2010-02-28T12:14:00.000-08:00

So today I'm going continue getting Abby redirected to me when something else peaks her interested. I think this well be good for me because I will really have to pay attention to EVERYTHING around us and to her. I still shooting for the quiet walks but I want to get use to the idea that I make the cookies come.

I make cookies happen

2010-02-27T17:49:00.000-08:00

Abby was a very good girl and I had an epiphany today "I make cookies happen". So OK Wendy has been telling me that for a very long time but today on my walk it turned into "look back to me and you get cookies".

I read a lot this week about leash aggression and several of the articles said that leash aggression often started with frustration not necessarily aggression. When I think back about when it started and frustration seem like the case. I'm not sure what it is now but I think that is how it started.

http://www.4pawsu.com/onleashaggression.htm
http://www.sbrawley.com/leash_frustration.htm
http://www.moellerdog.com/resources_aggression.htm
http://www.vetinfo.com/dog-leash-aggression.html
http://www.kathysdao.com/articles/Leash_Aggression_in_Dogs.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2050301/leash_aggression_in_dogs.html?cat=53

Several of the articles said to associate cookies with dogs so today on our walk I decided that I make cookies happen and that nothing else should make cookies happen. When Abb's looked (locked) on anything for a time I ask her to come back and when she did she got a click and a treat. There were lots of people and a few dogs so instead of asking for her to look I waited for the look and asked her to come back, it didn't take lone for her to adjust to the change.

We will see if "I make the cookies happen" works.

Quiet days are good

2010-02-25T18:05:00.000-08:00

So Abby had a lot of activity today, the bathroom counter people, my neighbor, and a girl scout delivery. She was really good with all distractions and although she wasn't happy about not being able to greet any of the visitors.

We only saw one dog on her walk today so it was very quiet. She didn't react at all to the dog and she was very excited about a UPS driver and to my surprise they had met... Turns out Rob had seen her several times with Abby and she is a total cookie score. We stopped and had a cookie and a palm greet then we were on our way.

It was a good AbbyDoo day.

So far mostly quiet walks this week...

2010-02-24T15:34:00.000-08:00

Abby has done well this week showing some real progress with dogs behind windows and fences. Monday we passed a house that we have pass so many times before and there was a new attraction, a snack pitching a fit at the glass. Abby didn't react at all, just wanted cookies.

Today same deal but it was a fence, not a peep. She was a little restless with a couple of dogs but overall she did good.

The new outdoor greeting plan...

2010-02-21T17:56:00.000-08:00

We worked a couple sessions on creating a outdoor greeting plan for Abby. So why do we need one? Abby seems to react unfavorable to some people resulting in nippy behavior. The plan work two ways, it gives me an out if it's needed and it prepares Abb's.

It is a few phases starting with me explaining what you need to do to pet my dog. I figure several will not go any further. And if they go further it will go something like this...

"May I pet your dog?"

Yes you can pet my dog but I must tell you that Abby has some stranger worry so we need to do the greeting it in small steps. A couple of things you need to know, Abby drools, and she doesn't like strangers to go for her head or reach out for her. Oh and she may smell your crotch...

First thing we will establish a line and need you need to stay behind the line throughout the greeting. Once I establish the line I will put some cookies for you to pick up for the first phase of our greeting. Please don't approach the cookies until I tell give you the go ahead.

OK pick up the cookies and toss one to Abby, and then another.

Now ask for behavior, "sit", "spin", "down", & "yoga"

Now we will wait for Abby to offer behavior and when she does toss a cookie.

Abby has a very expressive tail and we will be looking for the 'J' or 'C' tail be for we start the greet.

So Abby has the tail so we will go to the greet. You need to put you hand out and a bit forward like this "Susan showing what she means" Abby will touch your had with her nose and come back to me for a cookie. We will do this 3 or 4 times, again watching for the 'J' and 'C' tail.

So we have the tail so we can go to the next step. This is 'be a tree'. This is simply standing still with your hands at your side. Warning, she may nose your crotch, and there will be drool. She will do figure eights and she will put her head between you hand and body, weaving back and forth. We will do this 2 or three times before the final greet.

So again we have the go ahead tail so now you can pet Abby but let her tell you how to pet her. She wiil do the same weaving and you can pet her as she greets. Again don't reach for her head.

Now Abby has a new friend...

The husband had a perfect walk...

2010-02-19T18:37:00.000-08:00

So Rob walked Abb's on Thursday and they had a perfect walk. Lots of cookies for the very good dog.

Several challenges and Abb's was a champ!

The husband had a perfect walk!

Sometimes it feels like failure...

2010-02-17T18:28:00.000-08:00

On our walk today we had one bad reaction to a reacting dog on a flexi leash. The owner of the dog didn't even try to correct his dog. We started off good but the other dog went out into the street about half way at barking at Abby, she exploded.

I contained her quickly into a sit but it sucked. Ugh, will I ever be able to get her past this.

I don't know why I can't have that repeatable quiet walk.

Ugh.

It's alway something...

2010-02-17T18:23:00.000-08:00

So we had a reaction free walk except for the reaction both Abby and I had with a young man darting from around a corner behind us. He passed us so close, kids...

We were on our way to the sports park when we got startled so I was thinking we would have to turn back early but she was really good with everything else on the walk.

On a happier note...

2010-02-13T17:44:00.000-08:00

Abby let me do her nails this afternoon, no fuss. This was good to have something go so well when in the past it was such a challenge.

This helps me feel less defeated because we went from not being able to clip them to a two person process to me doing them by my self.

There is hope.

100% Reaction Free - Sometimes seems impossible

2010-02-13T17:29:00.000-08:00

So three times on our walk today Abby started to lunge at something in a yard. I can't figure out what she is seeing. I have been stopping when Abby lurches at the unknown, letting her see there is nothing of interest in the yard hoping that will help... Who knows.

She was good with all known challenges, but the walk wasn't reaction free because of the three yards with thing unknown.

I'm feeling defeated, the no reaction walk just seems so out of reach.

A house and a car

2010-02-12T17:53:00.000-08:00

Two reactions on Rob's walk with Abb's. An SUV with floral seat covers got a bark, Rob said he wanted to bark, they were offensive... The second reaction was to a house for an undetermined reasons...

The surprise

2010-02-12T17:44:00.000-08:00

So we would have had a quiet walk but we came out of the garage to a dog which was just a bark. Then we were walking and we approached on a corner that we have passed so many times before and when we passed the bushes there was a dog. The last issues was at the sports park, a guy came out of the bathroom, she gave a bark we had a spin and went on our way. I guess two of the issues were small but they were reactions. Ugh. The good news is that in all three she corrected fast.

She was brilliant with all issues except the surprises...

To avoid the unknown is the goal.

Not so quiet today, but it could have been worse

2010-02-06T17:58:00.000-08:00

So we got surprised by two dogs today, the first and third. Given the surprise Abby didn't react too bad. Each time she corrected quickly. In the first case we moved across the street and passed without another reaction with the snack still barking at her...

All other dogs we was really good, so not quiet but not that bad...

I got a quiet walk today!

2010-02-04T12:51:00.001-08:00

Abby was amazing on her walk today. The first dog we saw Abb's saw first and simply turned here head back to me with a perfect watch. The next two she was great, and the last, she could care less. She didn't lurch at open gates, cars or people and we saw several of all.

We had a great play with chicken when we got home and now she is sound asleep with heggie in her mouth.

Today is a good day!

The persuit of a quiet walk

2010-02-04T12:36:00.000-08:00

So the weekend we went out on Saturday in the afternoon, hardly anyone was out. Abby was really good except she lurched at an open gate. I have no idea why. Adding open gates to the list of things to manage. ugh.

Sunday we had two small reactions, the first was my fault because I pushed the envelope with a pass of another dog. I let a glace linger just a bit too long. The reaction was not bad it was just a reaction. The second was even less and that was a surprise because it was two snack dogs pitching a fit approaching us in a intersection. I cut the corner a bit to get some distance between us holding Abby gentle leader. We walked to the side walk and she went into a sit and watch. No further reaction.

Stupid dogs behind fences and it's the human's fault

2010-01-24T18:11:00.000-08:00

Today's walk was a training session for our friend Vic. Just so everyone knows he wasn't the human at fault it was me.

Vic has offered to babysit Abb's and I told him he needed some training sessions before that could happen. We met at the sports park for our first training session.

We met at the sports park for a walk, started with greeting, and Abb's did good. We headed off for our walk (Vic was just an observer on the walk) starting with things to avoid first because we were in an area that retreat is often the option because it is really narrow and a good spot for failure. We went on to a group of people with wild kids which we avoided by going into the parking lot.

We crossed into the next parking lot to find a guy with a dootle dog and we worked there for awhile and Abb's was really good. We talked about the commands "where's the dog" and "come back to me". The command "where's the dog" comes from a book called Control Unleashed, it is to turn stress into distraction and confidence. The "come back to me" command I use when Abby is easily looking at the dog and looking back at me but then looks just a little too long (long looks can turn into reaction).

We had a quiet walk until we got the the end of the sports park where Abb's had a small reaction with the dog behind the fence. This was my fault because I know about the dog, and we have successfully passed before. The only good part about this was that Vic saw in a very short stretch how Abby should and shouldn't act and how I handled when she reacted. Once she reacted I got her in a sit straight away and we continued without issue around to the next barkie dog where I was paying attention we got past with no reaction.

The rest of the walk was quiet and when we returned to the parking lot we worked on a new command for Abby, "greet". Greet is the same as touch (touch is simply touching a hand on command) but Greet is touching someone's hand other than me and returning to me for a cookie. Wendy(our trainer) ask me to work on this for stranger greeting. It was the second session with this command and Abby is catching on...

Two days of heavy rain, no walks, spunky puppy

2010-01-23T17:30:00.000-08:00

So after two days with no walks because of the rain we went out today. In pursuit of a quiet walk we started of with a surprise dog on a flexi leash and Abb's reacted. I was talking to my neighbor about what we are doing with Abby, just finished telling him that I had a lot of tools in my toolkit and Abby reacted at the flexi dog(I hate flexi leashes). I got Abb's to face me and walked her into a sit and then play "where's the dog" until they passed. My neighbor said "wow you do have tools". We said our goodbyes and headed to the sports park.

I was expecting a wound up dog but she was good, really good with everything, well except for one squirrel we did a turn and continued on. All the dogs we passed she was great, I think she really likes the lamb & rice treats, she seemed to be more interested in the treats.

Not a reaction free walk but a really good walk.

Sun, Clouds, and Hail oh my...

2010-01-21T11:31:00.000-08:00

So I'm back thinking about no reactions on walks. You forget the goal sometimes when things are getting better. Wendy reminded me of that goal on our last session so I'm back on track. Do we have reaction free walks? Nope.

I was hoping yesterdays walk would be quiet because of the weather, but the sun had broken out so other dog parents got there dogs out. She only had on very small reaction to a pair of dogs and a airborne play bow for a squirrel.

Rob walked her two days ago with reaction to a cat, not sure we will ever get no reaction for that but I will try.

Hoping for none on today's walk...

Better and better, bump in the road, and then better

2010-01-20T09:04:00.000-08:00

Again I have been remiss about Abb's. We had been doing so well on walks, passing dogs on the other side of the street with no reaction is about 100% of the time. Squirrels are much better, and we have had success with dogs with bikes and dogs with runners.

So with all of this success, of course we have a walk from hell. We went to Sycamore Grove to walk with Sula, Izzy and their humans. Abby had three rather big outbursts, the first with some Border Collies running the park perimeter fence, second a family with a dog 2 bikes and a stroller, and lastly two Danes on flexi leads. The only good thing about this was how I handled Abby, I was very matter of fact with her and got her settled quickly. I think we did a chest-butt with the Border Collies.

Fortunately the Sycamore Grove walk was just a bad day, she has again been really good. We had the best greet with Wendy on our last training session, Abby was calm, stayed in a sit until I released her to be goose. She promptly got mung all over Wendy weaving around and around, saying hi to one of her favorite people.

We started her on nose work during her last session, she had fun. So what is nose work you ask? It's how drug, tracking and search dog are trained. Here are a couple of sites for more info

http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/getting-started-nose-work
http://www.funnosework.com/

I thought it would be good for us to do something fun. Abby gets full time training on walks, and in the house we still employ 'nothing in life is free'. I think this will be fun for both of us and she did really well on her first session.

And the journey goes on...

2009-12-06T18:22:00.000-08:00

It's now December, and I have been remiss about sharing Abby's progress. We have had some really good progress in the last two months. The changes have been with me and Abby. I have in past months felt like a failure when Abby would react on a walk and now I feel like I can handle any (or most) of the situations that come up. The walks we have had lately have had success, even with some issues they have been positive.

Months ago I found a extra large pink camouflage collar for Abby. I was very excited... I thought it was important for everyone to know that Abby was a girl. Maybe they would be less apprehensive if they thought she was a girl. I realize now that it didn't matter, she is big black scary dog and it didn't matter if she is a boy or a girl. I know now that the collar was for me, I needed the pink collar. I'm really not sure why the collar was so important or even why I thought it would make a difference. It didn't for anyone but me... And now I don't need the collar anymore, she is back in her previous collar and I am in the process of making her a new collar that is more about our style.

The training goes on...

2009-10-24T09:08:00.001-07:00

At first I believed when Abby got older and was better behaved the training would be over, but now I know that's not the case. I think the training should never stop, the teaching should never stop. I think it is easy to slip into bad habits so I'm even more committed to continuing education for me and Abb's...

Abby's doing really well

2009-10-24T08:54:00.001-07:00

The last few weeks Abb's has been really well. We have see less issues and when there is an issue I have been much better at handling her. I think finally I have the confidence that I can handle her in most situations and when things are escalating to a situations I may not be able to handle I'm better at knowing when to retreat. In combination with my confidence, Abby getting older, she seems to be making better choices on her own.

We have had a few visitors at the house to help with Abby's greetings, and Abby is doing much better. Too my surprise, one of our friends came over for dinner knowing he was going to meet Abb's and he really didn't like dogs. In the end Abby did great and he had to admit that he really did like my dog!

A lot of good then some bad

2009-10-01T07:39:00.000-07:00

So since my return from Burning Man Abby has been really good with a spike of bad... Rob has embraced the training program which I think has made a big difference, but about once a week one of us has a challenging walk.

But it is overall getting better with her, her recovery is short when she get spunky and for most walks she is passing dogs on the other side of the street without reactions.

My girl is growing up.

So it turned our good in the end

2009-08-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

I had decided to take over walking Abby but then I though better of the idea. On days that Rob walked Abby I would take her out for a short training session in the evening. So my surprise when I told Rob he said he was trying to work her like I do... He comes home now with stories of success playing "where's the dog", it's great.

I'm leaving for a week, so I took Abby out this morning to have some time with her. She was great! I had three people tell me how good she was and another woman told me she wished she had the control over her dog that I did! It was a great walk!

Where do you go when you don't agree

2009-08-25T14:43:00.000-07:00

So I have taken back the responsibility of handling Abby fulltime. With Sula being here Rob has seen how I handle her and agrees that it's the right way but he said it seems like a lot of work. Well it is and I have no choice, I can't muscle her past issues like he can.

So I'm off to burning man next week and Rob as agreed to avoid issues during the week while I'm gone. I will take over the walks when I get back. I'm hoping that with the work I've been doing with her will help Rob keep her in check. She has been looking back to me when she sees dogs, I don't often have to ask her where the dog is, she been seeing the dogs and looking right back to me.

So the last week and a half have been great. I have had very few issues since Abby harpooned me and like all the times that I have been hurt by her I am more determined to succeed with her.

A couple of days ago we had rapid fire dogs on the last leg of our walk. We were surprised by the first dog, and with a quick spin the opposite direction I got her in a sit. The next dogs were a pair of snacks and approached as I was working the first dog. Abby did great we got past without issue. Not more than a quarter mile down another pair of bigger dogs again no issue. Lastly we passed another pair of snacks without issue. No building on the previous encounter, she was great.

Sycamore Grove yesterday no issues with dogs people or cows.

Consistancy is Key

2009-08-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

We have Sula for a couple of weeks, so it’s double Dane duty for two weeks.

We went out for a walk the first day she was with us, I had Abby & Rob had Sula. Abby got jumpy with me at the end of our walk and harpooned my leg with her nail. Mental note, don’t let your dogs nails get too long! And OUCH!

We had to switch dogs for the next few walks and I realized that Rob was dealing with Abby much different than I do. What he does will never work for me, and sadly I think it is counter productive to what I need to do. So we need to get on the same page and train to the weakest link which is me.

I’m not strong enough to deal with Abb’s the way Rob does and he is not comfortable with the things that I do. We need to tailor the training so we can be consistent with her. For the rest of the time we have Sula I’m walking Abby so Rob can see first hand what I do and hopefully we can find the version that works for him.

Last weeks walking

2009-08-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

The week was good not too much spunky Abby. She was good with passing people, bikes, razor... Mostly good with dogs.

Lots of getting past dogs on the other side of the street, doing really good with our neighbors dog Charlie.

Sunday was probably the walk with issues. It started really well, passed several dogs, got surprised by a woman with a snack dog, Abby did better than the snack (not perfect but good). But at the tennis park a car passing with a Basset barking at Abb's got her all fired up. It was quiet until we got almost home. As we were getting close to the park by our house a guy on a bike with a dog, she got very spunky. With the Basset and the Bike ended in a sit. She seems to go to a sit without a request after her tantrums.

Mostly a good week.

Rocking Abby's world

2009-08-10T13:19:00.001-07:00

To Abby's dismay for weeks now we have been redoing the living room. Taking thing off the walls for paint, redoing the windows, replacing carpet, lots of changes. Abby has been staying in parts of the house that have not been changing, sometimes just laying at the door staring out.

The ladder was fun, it took about 20 minutes to get her to go past.

The family room was chaos.... As we worked on the room, we piled stuff in the family room

She would only pass by didn't want any part of the mess. Finally the paint is done the carpet down and still wouldn't go in the living room until we move the couch back in and she realized it was a really good head rest without the two ottomans back in the room

And finally she decided that the new carpet was a good idea...

Abby this week...

2009-07-31T11:07:00.000-07:00

Rob walked Abby on Monday and had only one issue, she barked at a lady walking towards them, they crossed the street to avoid.

Tuesday and Wednesday were quiet

Thursday we had a training session. Abby did great with Charlie only a couple of play bows during the walk. We had tow issues one a running dog and other was me making a bad choice with a pair of Corkies.

Friday Rob took her out and she barked at the snack dog triplets, no lung and the rest of the walk was quiet.

Saturday walk - Me, Cheri, Abby & Sula.

Water to start the hike...

Abby had one reaction to a bike/dog combo but it was small and over quickly. We walked without issue, we walked off the main path on the south east trail. We passed the cows with only on "no-way" & turn. We played where's the big dog all past without issue and mostly no interest.

We passed a couple of people on the upper loop and at the end of the loop we came on a couple with a golden, Abby passed within 20ft playing where's the dog, she was brilliant.

We headed back to the main bike path, passing several people and a few dogs with no problems. The last dog was amazing, Cheri stayed on the path and talked to the people with a poodle, Abb's & I went off to the dirt path to the left we approached within 10 ft with no problem. Cheri & Sula was still with the couple and Abby was either unaware or didn't care. She did get a little spunky about a dear, but hardly worth a mention.

A little water to play in, next time I'm bringing a longer leash for the water stops...

Sunday walk - Rob & Abb's
Several people some joggers, two dogs without issue... A jogger ran up from behind and Rob was the only one that got jumpy. All was great until the encounter with stupid people. A woman at Hansen park with three snacks pitching fits came at Rob and Abby. Abby held it together for awhile before a lung and bark, but sat when it was requested. Another gal with a dog decided get into the mix at the end of the encounter with the snacks Rob doesn't remember if she reacted to the new dog, they were on move again headed home.

I think it was a good week.

And some day's you don't want to give them away.

2009-07-26T17:57:00.000-07:00

I was a little nervous about our walk today, but Abby surprised me. She was really good today, she managed to stay with me for all but one dog. Lots of people walking their dogs this morning and we successfully pass all of them on the opposite side of the street.

I tried something new today, I usually look at the challenge adjusting what I'm doing with Abby as we pass, but today I looked straight ahead asking "Abby where's the dog" as we passed and we passed with no problems.

The one running dog Abby got spunky with but I was able to before they passed get her calm, so better not great.

I love my Abby girl even when I want to give her away... Which makes me remember when I was a teenager and tormenting my Dad. He loved me even though he wanted to give me away. Maybe this is payback and most would say I turned out all right, so I have hope

Sometimes you just want to give them away

2009-07-25T17:42:00.000-07:00

So today we had the worst walk. I can't remember the last time Abby was so fired up. The was started good we worked with a neighborhood dog, Abb's did good. I found her threshold and we didn't push it, and went on our way with a success...

Less than a mile out we encountered two joggers with dogs and Abby went nuts. Couldn't get Abby calm from the first dog and we were hit with a second. Set the tone for the walk.

We continued along and coming at use from a cross street was two joggers with dogs. One jogger had three kids two on bikes and one on a razor. More Abby going nuts fun. OK so not so much fun.

I managed to calm her down after they were gone but Abby was just looking for a fight after that. She lurched at a bush that had a sweatshirt laying on it, and continued to jump at anything that moved.

But to my surprise Abby was good with a couple walking two kind spunky dogs. I got a safe distance thinking she was going to go nuts and she sat and just look at me with her "may I have a cookie" face.

Another week goes by...

2009-07-24T16:19:00.000-07:00

Abby was mostly good this week. We had one bad dog incident at the sports park. I went out into the parking lot to pass a very interested dog and we got surprised be a gal holding a Yorkie who was barking up a storm at Abby. Once the Yorkie was gone Abby calmed down and we were able to end with the first dog on a good note.

We met yet another attack cat and it took all of my strength to get her to move along. I'd pull Abby along and the stupid cat would rush her again so I'd loose ground, this went on for a bit and finally I got her past. Dogs were no big deal to Abb's on this walk.

So what is up with the dogs in the window! I went on a new walk with Abby and we found another barkie, jumpie, pitchin' a fit dog on the couch in the living room. Well another place I can work Abby :)

So that was the three opportunities I had this week.

Friday's Walk

2009-07-17T12:36:00.000-07:00

Wendy told me I could start pushing the envelope with Abby if I wanted to work with my neighborhood dogs. Today I hit pay-dirt! We started of with an older yellow lab that Abby has seen before and had passed calmly at a distance. She did really well until a man riding a bike with his dog came toward us. I was able to get her attention back and we finished working ending on a good note. We continued on our walk, Abb's good with people and moving objects in general. I decided to cut the walk short because it was getting hot and headed home. We were about 3/4 miles from home when we encountered a off leash dog, one we have seen before so I thought I'd try to get Abby (really no choice). The dogs humans were out front and when he started barking at Abby they took him inside. I talked to them and they brought the dog back out and I worked Abby for a bit. In the end she finished successfully.

The last two dogs were at the park across the street from us, it was Charlie and another dog we had not seen before and Abby did great. No reaction to either dog and I walked with Mitch & Charlie the length of the park. We finished with Mitch asking for a touch which Abby did, she got a cookie and we headed home.

A good walk for us today.

Doggie Babysitter

2009-07-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

When do you leave them for the first time… And with some of the issues that we have had with Abby, who do you let pet sit... So our friend’s son was getting married last weekend and we were planning to stay near the wedding but I couldn’t get a sitter for Abb’s. Our trainer couldn't take her and Cheri is in Marin a bit of a distance for over night. So Rob and Vic talked me into letting Vic take care of Abby. I struggled with this plan and finally I said to Rob I didn’t feel right about it, Vic doesn’t have any experience with her and it wouldn’t work for me. We canceled the reservations.

The good thing that came out of this is Vic is willing to be Abby care certified. He came over on Saturday and we did a slow greeting with Abb’s behind the hallway gate and then let her come out and then outside for some play. It was a good first session and he is committed to sessions over the next few weeks to learn about how to take care of her.

Good training sessions

2009-07-14T19:11:00.000-07:00

We had a training session yesterday and Abb's did really well, me not so well. Abb's got an A- and me a C+. She got to walk with a new dog friend, which of course she scared when she gave, out of the blue, a play bow and bark. Poor little Callie was just a little freaked out.

It's kinda funny now if Abby is not sure what we want she does a down. She has learned through her experience that if she doesn't know what to do she can give a down. Like she can have Wendy with a down, and Chris with a down. Tonight when Rob wanted Abb's to walk with him to the back door for dinner, but before he could tell her she ran to the door, Abby stood at the back door not knowing what to do so she gave him a down. In her life the answer to many things is a down.

She has been doing really well on walks, she may bark and bow, but she comes right back when ask to sit and yesterday we worked with a neighborhood dog and she did great! The fog is lifting.

I can't believe how much she has improved of the last 7 months.

the puppy fog seems to be lifting

2009-06-26T15:22:00.000-07:00

Well occasionally the fog seems to have lifted...

Lately Abby is responding to me quicker and in some cases straight away. We have been having really good walks, and even if she reacts she responds quickly going to a sit and playing "where's that dog". I get so excited when she responds well to a challenge and I seem to remember all of the good behavior from the walk instead of the bad. I just love it when she is better than the other dog we are passing! Several times in the last week people have commented on how well she listens to me. I'm really hope we are ready for the next level. I don't want to push her and expose her to things too soon, but I think I want to try to push the envelope a bit...

We had Sula for a long weekend and that was really good for Abby, she had fun playing with Sula. I used this opportunity to practice asking her to stop play, which at first she didn't like but got better as the weekend progressed.

For the first time all toys lived to tell about Great Dane play, well except snake, he needs a small small bit of repair

Sula and Abb's got new collar covers for the forth of July and had to be cover dogs for me which you can see they were not too thrilled...

In the end they really didn't seem to mind the covers just the pictures...

What are we doing now...

2009-06-06T14:09:00.000-07:00

So we put together a plan and we have stayed on track and I am seeing progress. Abby is not perfect on her leash but things are a lot better. I'm a lot more confident with her which helps and she is now 21 months so that also plays a part in our progress. The other thing that has changed for me is I see success in every walk, I don't remember what she did badly, I remember how she was brilliant. We can now pass dogs on the other side of the street, and the sports park during the day is a piece of cake so it's all good. It's still hard sometimes but now I find joy in every walk. I'm so excited when she is successful, when she is better than the other dog, and yes sometimes she is better than the other dog.

There has been a new issues crop up, the latest Abb's lurches at cars. We had a walk a couple of months ago and at every corner there seemed to be a car with a dog pitching a fit at Abby. So now she believes that there is a dog in every car, or at least a reason to bark at every car. So in addition to anything that wiggles we now have to work on cars. So I manager her while we cross streets and I think I need to hang out on busy corners a couple days a week, see if I can get her use to cars passing, people staring, dogs barking...

I've started having play time when we get home from walks, let her get the zoomies out and have a bit of play.

Abby with her babble ball.

What we would do different

2009-05-28T07:59:00.001-07:00

The following are things we did but not to the fullest extent and with a willful pup I should have done more in each area.

Puppy soup (a term my friend Cheri used with her Sula)
Hand feed
Dremel or clip nails
NILIF – nothing in life is free (except water)
Leash work
The Dreaded ‘Recall’

Puppy soup – So what is puppy soup you ask, it’s handling your dog, holding them, playing with feet, holding by feet, turning them on their back and holding them while pitching a fit. In our case Abby got big fast so we should have started this from the day she came home. She would get the zoomies and when you stopped her she would pitch a fit, trying to contain her was an issue especially for me. So with large and giant breads start early! Get them use to being handled your vet will appreciate it.

Hand feeding – I’m currently feeding Abby about a quarter of her food every day during training sessions and walks. I adjust her food at night depending on how much she got during the day. I am treating more during training and that’s a good thing. I use a kibble and a special treat (currently natures balance beef). So Abby gets “Cookie Good” and “Űber Cookie Good” treats.

Nail Clipping – Start early! We didn’t do it enough when we got her and it has been a battle. It takes two even now and from five months until just recently it was a big battle for Rob and me. When my friend Cheri helps me she does a lot better, but Cheri is a Vet and she doesn’t take any of Abby’s crap. So start early and be firm.

NILIF – Nothing in life is free (except water). We had kinda started this with Abby but not for everything except water. We made her wait or sit before going through a door, a wait before she could eat her food, small stuff and not all stuff. After the nipping incident the behaviorist recommended NILIF. To Abby's dismay we have embraced it. Abby has to give me something to get something. The morning meal she has do to 3 or 4 things before she gets food and now we are getting her to offer instead of us telling her what to do.

http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/nothingfree.htm
http://www.sspca.org/Dogs/TANSTAAFL.html
http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/dog_behavior_tip_sheets/basic_training_techniques.html

Leash work – It’s never to early to start working your puppy on the leash and if any issues arise contact a trainer. We started early with Abby walking her in our neighbor hood, keeping her off the grass and away from dogs we didn't know. At about six months on walks Abby started behaving badly with other dogs, well with everything that wiggled. I decided to emerge her, headed to the sports park several days a week and that turned out to be a mistake. I needed more tools in the training tool kit and more confidence with her to be successful. Wendy my trainer has been working with me one on one for about a year, helping me to be more confident and teaching me to teach Abby.

The Dreaded ‘Recall’ - Start as soon as you can, establish the recall Uber treat, and work on it as much as you can. Work in your back yard or at a park with a long lead (we are using a 50 ft lead now with Abby at the park). With where we are with Abby her recall is so important, she needs to come when I call. Until I have her recall down Abby stays on the leash.

I don’t know if we would be where we are if we had done things differently but we are here and we now have the tools now. We will use all of them to get through this stage of Abby’s life.

The Plan

2009-03-25T18:44:00.002-07:00

After the nipping of the neighbors Wendy and I had discussed changes. No human greetings for awhile, and avoid all challenges that made her spunky, hopefully desensitizing her to the things that get her excited or worried. In addition I took Abby to see a behaviorist at UC Davis, and the funny thing was she told us to do what we had been doing with a few tweaks. I don’t know what I expected from the behaviorist, I didn’t want the doctor to tell me we were doing everything wrong, and it was good that we were doing so much right, so where did I go wrong. For the near future we take Abby for what we hope are quiet walks and that's not as easy as it seems. There are challenges everywhere and some are a surprise so we have are dog-dar on at all times. Now I try to approach every situation now with a plan for success and that may be retreating.

Sometimes we don’t see the forest through the trees

2009-03-25T18:44:00.001-07:00

The previous months I spent so much time working on Abby’s leash behavior that I didn’t do enough for her stranger worry or maybe I just didn't understand the severity of the issues with strangers. So unfortunately we had a couple of incidents with strangers, Abby nipped a couple of my neighbors. One person asked if they could greet and the other did not, neither situation should matter, she shouldn’t nip (nipping bad). In both situations she seemed fine and she suddenly nipped and got jumpy, the reactions were completely out of the blue. So this is where we found ourselves now, we have leash and stranger issues. It is so importance that we get her past these behaviors, she is big, black and on sight some people are scared of her. So where do we go from here? We make a plan…

Private Sessions...

2009-03-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

In the first session, Wendy got to see it all; “it’s about the grass”, reactions at people, razors, skateboards, the works. Wendy saw that she had a lot of work ahead of her, with Abby and with me. I had a lot of anxiety about handling Abby. It is true about the leash being a communication device; my anxiety went right through the leash to Abby. I was afraid that I wasn’t going to be able to handle her in all situations, and she knew it. Of all people I needed to be sure that I could handle her.

For months now Wendy has been working on my confidence and Abby’s behavior. It has been a very slow process. Abby has nipped at me, pulled me off my feet, and broken my finger and I’m still committed and not as confident as I should be. Wendy was afraid after I broke my finger I would retreat, but I became more committed. We changed the length of the leash I was working with, it’s shorter and it is a bit stretchy, and with the new leash I feel like I have more control. It’s shorter and stretchy so I don’t have the surprise snap when Abby reacts. The other thing is I don’t assume I have her complete attention through a challenge I work her until I’m sure we are clear.

Wendy has worked with me and my girl for 9 months and both of us have made progress. But we still have a way to go.

The Gentle Leader & the Harnesses

2009-03-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

We started Abby with the Gentle Leader early on. She hated it then and she hates it now, but it is by far the best way to go for me.

It’s “advertised” use is to control pulling. The Gentle Leader works like a horse halter, turning the dogs head when they start to pull.

For me the head harness gives me so much more control when Abby gets spunky. I tried the Gentle Leader Harness (which works well), the clinch collar (works for some things) and for me the Gentle leader was the most control. So many people told me the clinch collar was the way to go. I finally gave in to the pressure and I used it for a few weeks. It seemed to be good for the quick correction, but Abby got spunky at the park one evening during a training session and I had my first Marmaduke moment. She reacted to a dog and she pulled me off me feet, dragging me further than I care to admit. Fortunately my trainer Wendy and friend Chris were with me to help. I went back to the Gentle Leader the next day.

Dog parks, walks and training classes oh my.

2009-02-25T06:58:00.000-08:00

So the problems we were having with Abby that started at home migrated to the dog park, walks, and training classes. All I can say is hindsight is 20-20.

Thinking back on the dog park experience I saw a lot of Abby’s greeting worry, I just didn’t know it. Abby didn’t like new people coming up to her. She preferred approaching them when she was ready to greet. I would tell newcomers that she would come up to them when she was ready, “when she comes up and leans on you you’re in”. But some looked at me like I was weird or they just didn’t listen and they would reach for her. Sometimes she would be fine, sometimes she would run off, sometimes she would get agitated, or on rare occasions she would get nippy. In hindsight whether she ran off or stayed it was worry. She developed good relationships with people who let her set the terms. If I had understood the greeting worry I probably could have managed the situations better. In the end it was because of the people (and their dogs) that I stopped going to the dog park. You don’t have control of a situation if the people involved don’t listen.

Abby started reacting to things on walks. She would get spunky about skateboards, razors, some people and all dogs. So I decided to embrace this head on and started walking her at the sports park. Everything bad happens there, a great training ground right? Well maybe if you have the right tools in your dog training tool box, but I did not. I would take her off the sidewalk and put her in a sit to let the attraction pass, sometimes this worked and sometimes it didn’t. Abby started having “it’s about the grass” temper tantrums at the park. After a few of these episodes I found if I just took her off the grass she would just stop. She would sit and look at me with her “I’m such a good dog” face. I can only think it was because she wasn’t free to explore the thing that got her excited.

We didn’t get to do our Puppy Class with Wendy so after it was over I enrolled in one of her classes. We talked about Abby’s behavior and she gave me new tools, which had some success. We finished that class and I continued to work with Abby and I enrolled in Wendy’s next level class. During this class Wendy noticed that some behaviors were not improving and that’s when we started having private sessions, that was mid May of ‘07 Abby was 8 months old.

Let the challenges begin...

2009-02-17T08:06:00.000-08:00

Abby put on about 10-15lbs per month so in December at 4 months she weighed about 50 lbs and was full of piss and vinegar. In November Abby started what the breeder calls the zoomies. This is when your puppy runs at light speed around the house with a crazed look in the eyes, occasionally spinning donuts. We call it the steeple chase because her route included both couches (the downside of having both couches away from the wall). Abby would get zoomies in the house and the backyard. With either place if you tried to stop her she would get barky and nippy, all in all no fun. We tried to deal with it but it was really hard for me. In all honesty she scared me and I didn’t have any faith in my ability to handle her.

Christmas week I was having a hard time with the steeple chase so we contacted Wendy Krehbiel (Tell a Tail Dog Training) to come for a home visit. Luckily I had been in email contact with Wendy since we got Abby. She had helped me with the pet sitter and with finding a puppy class, so she agreed to come over the holidays to help us.

We started in the backyard and she showed use what to do when Abby got out of control. Mostly just don’t feed the behavior and be united in how we dealt with her. Wendy saw that Abby was a good little sitter. She showed us how to capitalize on that, sit to go out, sit for food, and sit for toys. It’s kinda funny she will be spun up and you ask her to sit, she’ll stop, cock her head, you can tell she thinking “wait I should be doing something” and sometimes she will actually sit.

At the end of the session we were telling her that Abby would go to the door when she needed to pee and poo, which was great, but if we weren’t there in a nanosecond she would go on the rug at the door. Wendy ask if I had a bell, I got the bell and she taught her to ring it in no time and to this day she rings the bell at the back door to go out.

After the session we started using the ‘sit’ for just about everything. It was a big help at feeding time because I really don’t think Abby chewed her food, just inhaled the contents of her bowl. We started asking for a sit before she could dive in, and surprisingly it slowed her down. This turned into a sit, watch and then take it.

There was more steeple chase over the next few months, but I handled it much better.

Puppy Class

2009-02-15T17:36:00.000-08:00

For us the timing sucked. The first local class wasn’t until January so Wendy from Tell a Tail recommended Sirius Dog Training. We got into a class in December, but even that was a little late because of her size.

Puppy class is good for several reasons:

Homework that makes you work with your dog during the week.
You have someone to ask questions.
Other people are having the same challenges.

In the class we learned how to teach our puppies. The Sirius class used mostly luring and touched on the clicker. The next class we took, the clicker was used and I think it’s the way to go.

Thinking back now she didn’t really do too well with the other dogs in the first class; she didn’t really want to play with the other dogs. She did much better in the second class we took.

I am taking classes every few month now and will continue. Its fun to challenge Abby and I meet new dog friends.

To crate or not to crate debate...

2009-02-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

Crates, good or bad, I wasn’t sure, and I must say that had some angst with the idea. The way that people reacted when you said that you were going to crate training your dog, you here isn’t that cruel, don’t they get lonely in the crate, why not just leave them in the backyard. Well in our case it was contractual with the breeder that Abby would be an indoor dog (yes a Great Dane is an indoor dog). My friend Cheri crate trained two Great Danes and she said it was the way to go. Sula, her current Dane, is really well behaved and I respected her opinion so we think crate training is what we will do.

As I wrote earlier, we started with the crate that Abby was shipped in. It was big enough for the time and the final crate was on its way. We decided right or wrong to use the crate when we were gone and occasionally when we were home. She really didn’t like to be in the crate when we were home, so we pretty much folded. In hindsight that was probably wrong. Now, and it’s kinda funny, she doesn’t mind being in the crate when we are home so in spite of us it has really worked out well. As I type with the door wide open she is sleeping in her crate.

Benefits from crate training

Potty training was a big benefit
Abby is barrier sensitive, meaning that if I put a chair in a door she will not go past.
No damage, Abby has several toys in her crate and inside or outside of the crate she plays with her toys. I must admit she is really enamored with socks but we are working on that.

The crate we bought was a Midwest Starter Series Crate. The benefit of this crate was it had an adjustable partition so we only had to buy one crate. Because it was a metal crate I covered it with fabric at first but that became a really fun game, Abby would pull all of the fabric inside of the crate. So I found another option, some heavy black card board and tie wraps made a cozy den for my girl that could not be a fun dog game.

Things to take care of with your new puppy...

2009-02-14T12:35:00.000-08:00

We got all of the shot & exam records from the breeder when we received Abby, so I called our Vet and scheduled Abby for her shots.

One of the shots series was DHP-PV-CV (for distemper parvo/hepatitus/parainfluenza-parvo-carona), three shots. Abby was fine for the first shot but the day after the second shot Abby had severe diarrhea, she was vomiting and became really dehydrated. We panicked, we couldn’t get our vet or my friends Cheri & her Andrew. We took her to an pet emergency hospital, it’s kinda overwhelming in these places they give you the best scenario & the worst. Thankfully Cheri called me and we talked about our options and because we were panicked we went with the ‘take no chances’ option. We left her overnight and they gave her and IV to hydrate her, and ran some test to rule out the worst. We picked her up the next morning she was fine, less some hair from the IV.

In hindsight we probably should have gone with the second option which was to let them hydrate her and then take her home. That would be what I would do know, but I know more now…

Because we were never sure it wasn’t one of the combo shot we had our vet split the vaccinations, which is more expensive but we would know which shot if she had a reaction. She didn’t.

Cheri insisted on a visit so I packed up Abby and we went for a visit

Abby had a very good time

Meeting new friends...

2009-02-14T12:28:00.001-08:00

Everyone told us we should get Abby out, meet people, trusted dogs (dog with all shots). So we walked Abby from the start avoiding dogs, and letting her meet people. One of Abby first friends was Sula her parents Cheri (Her GodMom & more about that later) & her husband Andrew (Both Vets).

They came for a visit…

Abby was unsure at first,

then panicked,

and then just fine.

Her first friends.

Back to work...

2009-02-14T12:26:00.001-08:00

Back to work was easier because we had Leisa coming 2 times a day. She gets Abby out of the crate for some play and training. It was really nice that Leisa was willing to work with us; same commands (hand and voice), the poo spot, she helped us with consistency.

Abby also established her favorite toys, a hedgehog, a rubber chicken, purple dog(Loofa Dog Toy). Better she chew on toys than the kitties, furniture, shoes...

Leisa came up with the best puppy game for Abby, she tied a leash (with the hook removed) to her favorite toy (a rubber chicken) and Abby thinks this is the best thing ever (even to this day).

We have had to find a more durable toy for the leash, but Abby just loves to play with the toy this way... The other toy she still loves is the hedgehog. It's kinda amazing in the evening she lay on her bed and suckle her hedgie for hours.

Where to start...

2009-02-14T12:21:00.001-08:00

I guess October 20th 2007. We went to the airport to pickup the new addition to our family. She was a 28lb female black Great Dane, we call her Abbydoo.

We were mostly prepared, beds, toys, food, an exercise pen & the crate on order. The first week Rob stayed home from work to help with her assimilation. Mostly she drove him crazy getting into everything and being unhappy when she was in her pen.

We used the crate she was shipped in until the long term crate arrived. We got the Midwest Starter Series Crate XL for giant breeds.

To big for a puppy but it came with a partition so we could give her the amount of room she needed. I also purchased two crate beds and the crate pan

We got a pet sitter to help us while she was a puppy; she was a referral from Wendy at Tell a Tail Dog Training. Leisa was perfect to help us through the first year. She came 2 times a day for the first few months, until Abby’s wasn’t soiling her crate. Leisa introduced us to ‘rubber sheets’ (a material you can get at the fabric store) to help with keeping the crate bed clean. I put down the rubber sheet and then fleece over the top (yes she is spoiled). We had a couple of sets sheets and fleece for easy bed changes, it worked out really well.

Until Abby had all of her shots Leisa made up games to play in the back, and after a few months she started walking and would have a combination of walks and play.