So, we're still making progress. I'm actually waiting for my next session with the behaviourist. Our timeline was pushed back as he's been out of town. I've been working on the walks and general commands with Trigger. Realistically, I need to hunker down and really focus on recall work. It's definitely his weakest spot and he definitely chooses to ignore me more often than not. Even on 6' lead sit/stays with a recall at the end, more often than not he doesn't come to me, but rather goes past me. Definitely need work here.
Only minor hiccups between Trigger and Cannon lately. I've been able to anticipate them, however, and nothing has come of them. Most have been centered around feeding time and honestly, I think many are triggered by some of Cannon's more problematic behaviours. For one, Cannon tries to hide/guard/scavenge her food. If allowed, she will grab whatever it is and run to another room to eat it (she would do this pretty much daily when Mar feeds her raw). She will do similar things when Trigger is eating - for example, tonight a little tiny half kibble landed on the ground. Cannon swooped in, grabbed it, and ran back away. I really want to do work on feeding them together, but I need Marlies back to do it as they would both need leashes to ensure that everything works properly. Right now I'm not very happy with feeding time - I keep a leash on Trigger just in case. While Cannon is eating, I watch him carefully. He seems to be fighting the urge to go take her food. He will pretty much repeat sit...down...look at Cannon...look at me until she's done. I gave him maybe two verbal "heys" tonight when he seemed to be getting too aroused. It's also hard to work with Trigger on eating in a calm state when she is fluttering about. He did good with his take it/leave its tonight. He was obviously in an aroused state when finished eating though. I took him with me to the basement and then came back up and Cannon was milling about in the kitchen and he gave a growl/bark which I quickly corrected (he was still on leash). So yeah, this is a work in progress.
Overall though, they are getting along much better. I've invited them both up onto the bed in the morning when I've been sitting and reading blogs or whatever, or invited them on the couch downstairs when I'm watching TV. They wouldn't do this before. Now they'll sit together, even touching. I feel like that's got to be progress.
Took both dogs on separate rollerblades yesterday. The way they approach it is fascinating to me. Trigger does what Rocket did - he will run, but he runs at the pace I'm keeping. If I want to slow down, he slows down with me. In fact, I'd say his heel is better on rollerblades than on feet - he's far more inclined to stay with me. Cannon, on the other hand, sees the rollerblades as an excuse to book it. No word of a lie, I got myself into a waterski stance (knees bent, back straight, head up, arms out) and she pulled me around for about 3km, at least a third of this a slight uphill. She just goes, goes, goes, and I'm sure what is happening in her mind while doing it isn't entirely healthy (as I suspect with most of Cannon's behaviours).
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
I Need More Hands
I think we're making some progress. It's been almost a week now since the last growl/attack on Cannon and I've stopped making Trigger wear a leash around the house. I have one on hand just in case, but he's been responding quite well to vocal cues. I still don't understand what is going on between Cannon and Trigger, but I'm starting to internalize the concept that it doesn't matter what has sparked the behaviour but rather that we need to ensure that we don't get the outcome we don't want.
Ironically I was watching the Dog Whisperer this afternoon and Cesar was hammering that point home to Jillian Michaels (of Biggest Loser fame). Her desire to understand "why" really resonated with me - I ask this all the time. But when she stopped thinking about that why and just started working to provide structure and maintain a calm state for the dog, *boom*. I mean, obviously it's TV and who knows what's going on behind the scenes, but the sentiment was there.
Honestly, I'm beginning to see more and more how problematic Cannon's behaviours are (as opposed to Trigger's). Ivan has said this before as well. Trigger (and before him, Rocket) gets more attention because the behaviour is going after other dogs (or in Rocket's case, people), whereas Cannon is just anxious as all hell. But the more I work with Trigger to get him on track, the more I see how off the rails Cannon is. She's just so anxious all the time and part of me wonders if maybe that sets Trigger off sometimes (but that's going after the why, which remember - doesn't matter!) But really, she:
a) barks excessively at anything that walks by the house
b) can't handle strangers in the house
c) runs away with food
d) sometimes refuses food if I make her come and take it from me
e) goes insane when someone approaches the door
and most recently, has been skittish with Trigger at some points. For example, she will go hide in the corner with her back turned. And it's not even like Trigger is staring her down. Trigger will be drinking water in the kitchen and she'll be down the hall doing this. Or in the basement he's been laying down by the coffee table and she'll go do this by the TV. It's very strange.
To be honest, even contemplating dealing with Cannon right now is an overwhelming prospect. I'm mainly aiming to manage it for the next two weeks while Marlies is away. I consider Trigger to be more of my dog and Cannon to be more hers; not to mention that I figure if I put all this effort (and money) into Trigger, the least that she can do is work with Cannon. I'm hoping that she will do so when she gets back home as we settle into some more regular schedules.
I have to mention that I had an amazing walk with Trigger yesterday. We ended up going for about an hour because I was just so awed by how he was doing. There was no anxiety at all; his body was so loose, and he had the tongue going and just seemed generally so happy to be out with me. He was waggy tailed with every person that walked by (though people don't seem to want to engage with him. Not sure if I just encountered a lot of non-dog people, or if it's the fact that he has more of a pitbull look to people who don't know am.bulls). We walked through a 100m long pathway of fences with barking dogs on either side and he did much better than I expected he might. He had his hackles up a bit and was definitely more alert, but he wasn't barking and did a good job staying with me.
I was actually so happy with this walk that I took the chance and played Frisbee with him in the schoolyard. I had wanted to do this by Marlies' mom's place at the outdoor arena but they have inexplicably and annoyingly bolted the arena door OPEN, so you can't use it as an enclosure. I have a feeling they did this specifically so people couldn't bring off leash dogs in there, which I find both disappointing and ridiculous. Way to take away an excellent place to take a dog to allow them more room to run, but still enclosed. Anyways, there was no one anywhere in the schoolyard, so I gave it a try. I put a long lead on him, which realistically wouldn't do a ton of good if he bolted (beyond giving me something to grab on to and 30 feet more to do it with) but I thought it was better than nothing. I didn't need it at all. He chased with vigor and then brought the Frisbee right back. It was great.
Ironically I was watching the Dog Whisperer this afternoon and Cesar was hammering that point home to Jillian Michaels (of Biggest Loser fame). Her desire to understand "why" really resonated with me - I ask this all the time. But when she stopped thinking about that why and just started working to provide structure and maintain a calm state for the dog, *boom*. I mean, obviously it's TV and who knows what's going on behind the scenes, but the sentiment was there.
Honestly, I'm beginning to see more and more how problematic Cannon's behaviours are (as opposed to Trigger's). Ivan has said this before as well. Trigger (and before him, Rocket) gets more attention because the behaviour is going after other dogs (or in Rocket's case, people), whereas Cannon is just anxious as all hell. But the more I work with Trigger to get him on track, the more I see how off the rails Cannon is. She's just so anxious all the time and part of me wonders if maybe that sets Trigger off sometimes (but that's going after the why, which remember - doesn't matter!) But really, she:
a) barks excessively at anything that walks by the house
b) can't handle strangers in the house
c) runs away with food
d) sometimes refuses food if I make her come and take it from me
e) goes insane when someone approaches the door
and most recently, has been skittish with Trigger at some points. For example, she will go hide in the corner with her back turned. And it's not even like Trigger is staring her down. Trigger will be drinking water in the kitchen and she'll be down the hall doing this. Or in the basement he's been laying down by the coffee table and she'll go do this by the TV. It's very strange.
To be honest, even contemplating dealing with Cannon right now is an overwhelming prospect. I'm mainly aiming to manage it for the next two weeks while Marlies is away. I consider Trigger to be more of my dog and Cannon to be more hers; not to mention that I figure if I put all this effort (and money) into Trigger, the least that she can do is work with Cannon. I'm hoping that she will do so when she gets back home as we settle into some more regular schedules.
I have to mention that I had an amazing walk with Trigger yesterday. We ended up going for about an hour because I was just so awed by how he was doing. There was no anxiety at all; his body was so loose, and he had the tongue going and just seemed generally so happy to be out with me. He was waggy tailed with every person that walked by (though people don't seem to want to engage with him. Not sure if I just encountered a lot of non-dog people, or if it's the fact that he has more of a pitbull look to people who don't know am.bulls). We walked through a 100m long pathway of fences with barking dogs on either side and he did much better than I expected he might. He had his hackles up a bit and was definitely more alert, but he wasn't barking and did a good job staying with me.
I was actually so happy with this walk that I took the chance and played Frisbee with him in the schoolyard. I had wanted to do this by Marlies' mom's place at the outdoor arena but they have inexplicably and annoyingly bolted the arena door OPEN, so you can't use it as an enclosure. I have a feeling they did this specifically so people couldn't bring off leash dogs in there, which I find both disappointing and ridiculous. Way to take away an excellent place to take a dog to allow them more room to run, but still enclosed. Anyways, there was no one anywhere in the schoolyard, so I gave it a try. I put a long lead on him, which realistically wouldn't do a ton of good if he bolted (beyond giving me something to grab on to and 30 feet more to do it with) but I thought it was better than nothing. I didn't need it at all. He chased with vigor and then brought the Frisbee right back. It was great.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Good News From Odd Places
So, I run a hockey team. And sadly this week a player that was going to play for my team had to back out because our home ice would conflict with her son's. That was the bad news.
In her email, she mentioned agility and competing with her dog. In my reply to her, I mentioned it as well and asked about it. Well, it turns out that she actually teaches agility at a place called Dog on It. I told her all about my issues with Trigger and got a very surprising response - she thinks they could work with him! She also mentioned two behaviourists that she would recommend and one of them was Ivan, so this was also good. They want to help me get together a group of balanced dogs and bring me and Trigger out with Ivan so that he can see what's going on with him. They are confident that they could get me into classes and that I could get back to working with Trigger again.
This is the second person who has had absolute faith that Trigger is in no way a write off (the first was Ivan) and it makes me feel a lot better about things as well.
Things have also been better around the house with the two dogs over the last few days. Trigger still often acts weird around Cannon and doesn't want to be around her. But he's not growling at her or attacking. When he seems like he's on edge about her, I give him a "hey, quit it" and a command to sit or lay down and he is responding by doing that instead. This results in sometimes having one dog laying in the kitchen and one laying in the living room, but I consider this a big improvement from let me lay on your legs and then attack Cannon.
As per Ivan's suggestion, I've been teaching Trigger to chase a ball and he's having a lot of fun with that. I think I enjoy Frisbee with him more if only because I love his acrobatic catches, but he's definitely into the ball as well. And is definitely getting better at bringing it back and dropping at my feet. Routine, routine, routine.
Been working on the recall portion of the 4-point sit-stay. We actually need to go do a session of that this afternoon.
I'm not going to lie - I enjoy cuddling with Trigger, so I have been inviting him up on the couch so that we can chill together while I watch TV or play video games.
I feel like progress is being made.
In her email, she mentioned agility and competing with her dog. In my reply to her, I mentioned it as well and asked about it. Well, it turns out that she actually teaches agility at a place called Dog on It. I told her all about my issues with Trigger and got a very surprising response - she thinks they could work with him! She also mentioned two behaviourists that she would recommend and one of them was Ivan, so this was also good. They want to help me get together a group of balanced dogs and bring me and Trigger out with Ivan so that he can see what's going on with him. They are confident that they could get me into classes and that I could get back to working with Trigger again.
This is the second person who has had absolute faith that Trigger is in no way a write off (the first was Ivan) and it makes me feel a lot better about things as well.
Things have also been better around the house with the two dogs over the last few days. Trigger still often acts weird around Cannon and doesn't want to be around her. But he's not growling at her or attacking. When he seems like he's on edge about her, I give him a "hey, quit it" and a command to sit or lay down and he is responding by doing that instead. This results in sometimes having one dog laying in the kitchen and one laying in the living room, but I consider this a big improvement from let me lay on your legs and then attack Cannon.
As per Ivan's suggestion, I've been teaching Trigger to chase a ball and he's having a lot of fun with that. I think I enjoy Frisbee with him more if only because I love his acrobatic catches, but he's definitely into the ball as well. And is definitely getting better at bringing it back and dropping at my feet. Routine, routine, routine.
Been working on the recall portion of the 4-point sit-stay. We actually need to go do a session of that this afternoon.
I'm not going to lie - I enjoy cuddling with Trigger, so I have been inviting him up on the couch so that we can chill together while I watch TV or play video games.
I feel like progress is being made.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Something Positive!
I feel good about my session with Ivan on Tuesday. We had some good talk about both Trigger and Cannon before getting down to business with Trigger. We did work on the "four point sit-stay":
1. Trigger in a sit beside me
2. I move to in front of Trigger
3. I tell Trigger to stay and walk away
4. I crouch down in the place I have walked to.
Eventually I say okay and call him. Honestly, the part he struggles with the most is the coming to me at the end. We practiced it inside and outside and he did this a couple times. Once inside I was calling him and he decided that laying in the kitchen was more fun. I was directed to pull out the leash and gently get that on him to lead him back to where I expect him to be.
The other thing we worked on was adding structure to Trigger's play and I was encouraged to work with him with a ball (as it would be easier to carry with me as a focus aid) as well as his Frisbee work. Trigger is now getting much better at chasing down a thrown object and then actually bringing it back to me.
Today was actually a day where I can say things felt *good*. We had a nice walk this morning where he was wagging his tail at the strangers we met instead of acting wary and he seemed a lot more at ease. We played about 20 minutes of ball when I got home, which he loved, and then we did some sit-stay work, which also went pretty well. When we came inside, he was very calm and relaxed and he spent most of the night dozing on my leg while I watched TV. It was a very, very good dog day.
1. Trigger in a sit beside me
2. I move to in front of Trigger
3. I tell Trigger to stay and walk away
4. I crouch down in the place I have walked to.
Eventually I say okay and call him. Honestly, the part he struggles with the most is the coming to me at the end. We practiced it inside and outside and he did this a couple times. Once inside I was calling him and he decided that laying in the kitchen was more fun. I was directed to pull out the leash and gently get that on him to lead him back to where I expect him to be.
The other thing we worked on was adding structure to Trigger's play and I was encouraged to work with him with a ball (as it would be easier to carry with me as a focus aid) as well as his Frisbee work. Trigger is now getting much better at chasing down a thrown object and then actually bringing it back to me.
Today was actually a day where I can say things felt *good*. We had a nice walk this morning where he was wagging his tail at the strangers we met instead of acting wary and he seemed a lot more at ease. We played about 20 minutes of ball when I got home, which he loved, and then we did some sit-stay work, which also went pretty well. When we came inside, he was very calm and relaxed and he spent most of the night dozing on my leg while I watched TV. It was a very, very good dog day.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Reading Signs
I am missing something.
One of the things that I very much want to ask Ivan about tomorrow is the disconcerting pattern of behaviour following walks. While it's not every time (thankfully) and I actually thought that we had moved past it until it happened again today, this "come back from walks, sit beside me, track Cannon and attack" thing has got to end. And honestly, I really want to know what sparks it.
We actually had a really good night walk tonight. I did some work in changing directions to try and reaffirm that he should be paying attention to me and that seemed to be helpful. I was actually really happy when we got home. When we got here, Trigger seemed a bit strange so I did a session of petting Cannon while he sat and watched and I thought he had calmed down. I had grabbed the laptop and had put my feet up on the coffee table and was about to do a sudoku puzzle when I noticed that Trigger was sitting beside me with his head under my legs, staring out at Cannon from the space between the table top and the shelf beneath. I literally got "what are you doing..." out of my mouth and was moving to grab him when he busted out and went after Cannon. I broke them up and had them both in a sit-stay, and then took Trigger to put a leash on him. Once I had the leash on, he laid beside me with no further issues.
Beyond the fact that I don't want one of my dogs going after the other, it also leaves me on guard pretty much all the time. Because I don't understand what's sparking it in those situations, I'm constantly paranoid that it's going to happen again. Typically when I'm down in the basement with the dogs, they love to play - Trigger will run around and around and jump over Cannon and they will play-fight and it's great. But there's always this lump in the pit of my stomach where I'm terrified that he's going to snap. At least if I had an idea what I was looking for I might be a little less on edge.
I guess it's just really hard because I feel like I'm in a battle fighting without any tools. While I don't expect tomorrow's session to be a panacea, I do hope that it at least gives me a fighting chance. Particularly with Marlies away for three weeks right now and me alone with the dogs, I would like to start feeling empowered to deal with them instead of worried that eventually they are going to seriously hurt each other.
One of the things that I very much want to ask Ivan about tomorrow is the disconcerting pattern of behaviour following walks. While it's not every time (thankfully) and I actually thought that we had moved past it until it happened again today, this "come back from walks, sit beside me, track Cannon and attack" thing has got to end. And honestly, I really want to know what sparks it.
We actually had a really good night walk tonight. I did some work in changing directions to try and reaffirm that he should be paying attention to me and that seemed to be helpful. I was actually really happy when we got home. When we got here, Trigger seemed a bit strange so I did a session of petting Cannon while he sat and watched and I thought he had calmed down. I had grabbed the laptop and had put my feet up on the coffee table and was about to do a sudoku puzzle when I noticed that Trigger was sitting beside me with his head under my legs, staring out at Cannon from the space between the table top and the shelf beneath. I literally got "what are you doing..." out of my mouth and was moving to grab him when he busted out and went after Cannon. I broke them up and had them both in a sit-stay, and then took Trigger to put a leash on him. Once I had the leash on, he laid beside me with no further issues.
Beyond the fact that I don't want one of my dogs going after the other, it also leaves me on guard pretty much all the time. Because I don't understand what's sparking it in those situations, I'm constantly paranoid that it's going to happen again. Typically when I'm down in the basement with the dogs, they love to play - Trigger will run around and around and jump over Cannon and they will play-fight and it's great. But there's always this lump in the pit of my stomach where I'm terrified that he's going to snap. At least if I had an idea what I was looking for I might be a little less on edge.
I guess it's just really hard because I feel like I'm in a battle fighting without any tools. While I don't expect tomorrow's session to be a panacea, I do hope that it at least gives me a fighting chance. Particularly with Marlies away for three weeks right now and me alone with the dogs, I would like to start feeling empowered to deal with them instead of worried that eventually they are going to seriously hurt each other.
Slow Week
So I finally had to take Trigger in to the vet for his intestinal difficulties. We came home to quite the mess both on Tuesday and on Thursday (twice on Thursday, actually) and it was obvious that even with a bland diet it wasn't something he was getting over on his own. 10 days of amox and he should be good as new. This happened 3-4 months ago as well - the vet figures he probably was born with a sensitive stomach and then the fact that we had to poke around in there when he was four months old most likely made him even more sensitive. The drugs seem to be helping as by Sunday he was no longer exploding.
Anyways, we've continued to go on our daily walks, which has been going pretty well. On Saturday, I tried going with both Cannon and Trigger, which did not go well. Marlies is in charge of walking Cannon, and well, hasn't really been doing it. So while Trigger's started to get used to the expectations of the walk (you can be in front but you can't pull, when I say "touch" you come to my hand, when I tell you to sit, you do it) she does not. She wanted to wander from one side to the next, pull, and generally make it so we didn't make any forward progress. I ended up having to put her back inside so that I could get a walk in with Trigger. I'm hoping that when Marlies returns from Chilliwack we can work on walking them side-by-side and then slowly transition to two leashes and one person.
I'm never sure what Trigger's reaction to people on our walks mean. There are a lot of people that he's waggy-tail/wants to meet. There's others that he will bark at and be really on guard about. Just because of how he can still be a bit anxious on the walks, I'm a little tentative about bringing him around other people. I'm just not sure. He loves all the people that come to our house and I've never had any issues with him and people. I think I'm very cautious because of Rocket - I didn't expect him to lash out at people either, and then without warning he lunged for a skateboarder (during a training session, no less). I'd like for the kids that ask to pet him to be able to do so, but I'm not 100% comfortable with that right now.
My session with Ivan for Friday got bumped to this Tuesday and I'm curious to see what we will cover.
Anyways, we've continued to go on our daily walks, which has been going pretty well. On Saturday, I tried going with both Cannon and Trigger, which did not go well. Marlies is in charge of walking Cannon, and well, hasn't really been doing it. So while Trigger's started to get used to the expectations of the walk (you can be in front but you can't pull, when I say "touch" you come to my hand, when I tell you to sit, you do it) she does not. She wanted to wander from one side to the next, pull, and generally make it so we didn't make any forward progress. I ended up having to put her back inside so that I could get a walk in with Trigger. I'm hoping that when Marlies returns from Chilliwack we can work on walking them side-by-side and then slowly transition to two leashes and one person.
I'm never sure what Trigger's reaction to people on our walks mean. There are a lot of people that he's waggy-tail/wants to meet. There's others that he will bark at and be really on guard about. Just because of how he can still be a bit anxious on the walks, I'm a little tentative about bringing him around other people. I'm just not sure. He loves all the people that come to our house and I've never had any issues with him and people. I think I'm very cautious because of Rocket - I didn't expect him to lash out at people either, and then without warning he lunged for a skateboarder (during a training session, no less). I'd like for the kids that ask to pet him to be able to do so, but I'm not 100% comfortable with that right now.
My session with Ivan for Friday got bumped to this Tuesday and I'm curious to see what we will cover.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Owning Me
I think Trigger thinks i am his property. But it's a weird relationship.
Ever since I started taking him on his daily walks, he's gotten into some weird moods when we get back. After we get in, he will stick to me like glue. If I go to the bathroom, he stands sentry at my feet. Sit on the couch? Same thing. Get dressed for work? There's my shadow. This wouldn't necessarily be a problem, but in doing so, he tracks Cannon and is poised to attack.
When I told Ivan about this last week, in reference to it happening in the kitchen, I was told it's resource guarding and that the best way to deal with it would be to make Trigger watch me give Cannon affection while he's in a sit-stay.
I tried this method this morning and it actually seemed to work quite well. I pet Cannon furiously, all the while talking about how great a dog she was. You could almost feel the confusion coming off Trigger. I wonder what he would have said if he could talk. Possibly something about how he thought that he was my favorite. He sat there for a while, and then came over and tried to mount Cannon. I quickly pushed him off and directed him back into a sit and proceeded to ignore him while I pet her some more. Again he came over, this time tail wagging, and tried to steal the affection. Put him in a third sit stay. After a little while longer I stopped petting Cannon and he seemed to be over his issues.
I just find it so strange that we're going on these walks, which are supposed to be building structure and discipline, and when we get back from them, he seems to see me as even more of a resource or possession for him to guard. I asked Ivan about this today and was told not to read too much into things. What can I say - it's my background. That's what I've been trained to do - to ask questions and seek out possible answers.
We will see what tomorrow morning's walk brings. I think when we get home I will immediately go to giving Cannon attention.
Ever since I started taking him on his daily walks, he's gotten into some weird moods when we get back. After we get in, he will stick to me like glue. If I go to the bathroom, he stands sentry at my feet. Sit on the couch? Same thing. Get dressed for work? There's my shadow. This wouldn't necessarily be a problem, but in doing so, he tracks Cannon and is poised to attack.
When I told Ivan about this last week, in reference to it happening in the kitchen, I was told it's resource guarding and that the best way to deal with it would be to make Trigger watch me give Cannon affection while he's in a sit-stay.
I tried this method this morning and it actually seemed to work quite well. I pet Cannon furiously, all the while talking about how great a dog she was. You could almost feel the confusion coming off Trigger. I wonder what he would have said if he could talk. Possibly something about how he thought that he was my favorite. He sat there for a while, and then came over and tried to mount Cannon. I quickly pushed him off and directed him back into a sit and proceeded to ignore him while I pet her some more. Again he came over, this time tail wagging, and tried to steal the affection. Put him in a third sit stay. After a little while longer I stopped petting Cannon and he seemed to be over his issues.
I just find it so strange that we're going on these walks, which are supposed to be building structure and discipline, and when we get back from them, he seems to see me as even more of a resource or possession for him to guard. I asked Ivan about this today and was told not to read too much into things. What can I say - it's my background. That's what I've been trained to do - to ask questions and seek out possible answers.
We will see what tomorrow morning's walk brings. I think when we get home I will immediately go to giving Cannon attention.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)