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Spirit is preparing for a stay with a board and train and has been working on her crate behaviors. She has also been taking classes at Diamonds in the Ruff and started her new class on Wednesday of this week. When I arrived her owner asked me if we could work on Spirit's obsession with the family cat. Since Spirit moved into the home she and the cat have not been able to remain in the same room together. The cat has a gated room to live in, but the family would like the cat to have more freedom.
The room is downstairs and Spirit has gotten to a point she can pass the room most times when she can't see the cat. If she hears the cat or sees the cat she becomes extremely focused on the room. In order to help her with the cat I began, again, working on Zen behaviors. Spirit was not in a playful mood and didn't want to play It's Yer Choice with a toy, which would have been best, but was willing to play it with my holding food or placing it on the floor. She even played it with me putting food on her paws, but she simply wasn't in her normal high play mode and thus we worked on other ways of remaining calm in situations that normally excite her.
Generally if I sit on the chairs or floor Spirit will mug me. She didn't this time, so I paid her for being polite. I then sat on the floor with her for a bit and paid for her staying calm and even laying against my leg. I then laid on the floor, a sure fire way to get her excited and she again didn't ramp up. I paid her for laying quietly beside me and staying calm with me on the floor.
After that I worked on handling her feet, head, ears, lips and eyes and she was calm all through that. I am not sure who this dog is, but it was a lovely day for paying for the exact behavior I wanted. I then took her to the front door and worked on Sit/Stay while I opened it and closed it and then I added a soft knock and paid for staying in a seated position when I did. This too went very well.
It was then the cat made a noise and she rushed down the stairs to stare at the cat room. I joined her on the steps and played the Up/Down Game, LAT and cued sits, downs and stands and paid for them. We did that for about 15 minutes until she was able to roll on her hip with her back to the cat room and watch me and then she decided she was done with the game and left. Perfect.
Her homework for the week is continued LAT and Up/Down at the cat door and work until she's able to tune out the fact she's by the door. If the cat appears and she gets too excited she is to be removed and brought back later when the cat is not currently in sight. Only when she can focus on her games and continue to learn is she to remain if the cat is in line of sight. Once she can, continue LAT and Up/Down games with her and ask for basic Level 1 behaviors to build a positive association with the cat and she can begin to ignore the cat.
They are also to work on her homework for the class she is currently taking.
Minnie went on vacation with her family and did very well. They had glowing reports of her riding well in the car while wearing her Thundershirt (which has to be way too cute with how tiny she is) and doing well in all the hotels she stayed in. She did well meeting her extended family and was friendly with them and only one instance in which a 4 year old child tried to crawl under a table to her and they protected her from dealing with it. Overall, they were thrilled with the experience and Minnie's continued trust in them.
We worked on learning how to shape targeting a bell for going outside and how to help her not bark or growl at incoming guests. Minnie has some fear issues with new people and company coming into the house is hard on her. We talked about having the company toss treats behind Minnie and away from the company so she slowly associates them with positive things. We also discussed the importance that the guests not try to be her friend as soon as they arrive, ignoring her if she tries to sniff from behind and if she is having a hard time with a guest, especially one who can't follow the rules, to remove her and place her in a safe location while the guest is visiting.
We also arranged for Minnie to come and stay with me during August. I look forward to her stay.
Minnie's homework is to shape something new, work on a cued sit and down and continue to work on improving her confidence with visitors coming to the home. We are working to a cued stay for Minnie's safety and will begin recall training for her safety also.
It's hard being a tiny dog in Spokane's monsoon season! We had several appointments in which it was so cold and wet we just worked on basic skills.
Today was the opposite! We are moving our appointments to later in the day during this heat wave, today told us how important that is!
We worked traffic today. I live near a bridge that spans the I90 freeway and has cars that pass one lane width away from the sidewalk. Though hot, we worked the bridge today.
Coco was amazing. Normal traffic didn't faze her, she was slow going across the bridge, so clearly processing, but not fearful or over threshold. Whenever a car went by her owner tossed her a treat and as we crossed the bridge she gave her one treat for every one or two steps. Coco had done well with the bridge over the Spokane Falls downtown and the traffic going under us sounded much like that.
When a big box truck went by she looked at it and right back to her owner! We were extremely pleased.
Once on the far side of the bridge we gave her her second water break. Did I mention it was hot?
Our return over the bridge had cars coming from behind instead of the front like before. As each car passed her owner gave her a treat (timing was excellent and she actually gave the treat at the sound of the car and Coco was chewing her treat each time a car passed!) and we both noted a happier, faster Min Pin crossing the bridge with double the confidence than the first crossing!
It wasn't a long walk, but a lot of vital information for Coco was out together today.
If worried, check in! She did constant check ins and got paid heavily for them.
If startled, check in! She did great when the box truck startled her and the check in got an immediate reward.
If curious ask for a chance to sniff. She got several good sniff sessions in and enjoyed that reward too.
If scared, give it a second and then trust we will back her up. She was frightened by a piece of twine on the ground. It looked, to a very small dog, like a snake. We stopped and gave her time to sneak up and sniff it. Once done we left it behind and other items on the sidewalk were curiosities and not scary. On our way back the bit of twine was a non issue.
It was a fantastic walk and she did great exploring my yard off lead with my dogs. Overall, a fantastic lesson!
Dakota came to spend the weekend with me. She arrived Saturday morning and left Monday morning. She was to work on her impulse control and bite inhibition.
I spent most of Saturday watching her run herself into exhaustion. She spent 5 hours on Saturday running like a wild indian in my yard and splashing in the water and just being a puppy with too much energy.
We worked for part of her meal working on handling. I would touch her shoulder, feet, legs, head, ears, muzzle, cheek, tail, hips, back and sides and then click when she was still and treat her. I moved to examining her teeth, in her ears and her eyes.
We continued that work on Sunday and Monday. I would click when she would either lick or pull her mouth away from my hands and reward her for good choices. Her shark like behavior was well under control when I sent her home, but continued work on rewarding soft mouth and no biting needs to be done to keep her impulses under control.
I spent most of Saturday watching her run herself into exhaustion. She spent 5 hours on Saturday running like a wild indian in my yard and splashing in the water and just being a puppy with too much energy.
We worked for part of her meal working on handling. I would touch her shoulder, feet, legs, head, ears, muzzle, cheek, tail, hips, back and sides and then click when she was still and treat her. I moved to examining her teeth, in her ears and her eyes.
We continued that work on Sunday and Monday. I would click when she would either lick or pull her mouth away from my hands and reward her for good choices. Her shark like behavior was well under control when I sent her home, but continued work on rewarding soft mouth and no biting needs to be done to keep her impulses under control.
