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.
Frustration
We went to agility last night. I was actually really happy with how things were going. His focus on me was really strong and he was doing really well with his recall and toy drive. I was nervous, and constantly on guard. The only way I wanted to do the class was if I could make sure that Trigger wasn't out with any other dogs, as I knew he wasn't at a stage where he could be trusted.
Unfortunately, I cannot control the actions of others. I was very careful with Trigger, ensuring that he only did the drills after everyone had gone. The last drill that we were doing was a speed circle of four tunnels. The first time through, Trigger was a little slow - he stopped outside of tunnel #2 and had a giant pee, and then continued on his way. It was starting to get dark, and he's always a little more apprehensive when it's dark. We were going to do the speed circle a second time, and Jen said to start with Trigger, so I brought him out. It had been said several times that dogs needed to be in their crates when Trigger went. I was under the impression this directive was being followed.
It wasn't. A woman decided to skulk in the shadows behind my back where I couldn't see. I started Trigger in the first tunnel, which he went through. When he came out the other side, he went back through the same tunnel and spotted the other dog. He went for it. I wouldn't really describe it as an attack. It was more than he jumped on the dog and pinned it to the ground. No noise, nothing of that sort. Once I figured out what was going on I ran over. It took me a second to grab hold of him because the other woman was in the way and not doing anything particularly useful. With a stern enough and a tug at his collar, he was actually quite easy to remove this time. The dog was fine - I think Trigger is the only one who took damage in the form of a cut on his nose.
So this was the last of the agility classes for us. Sadly, it is probably for the best, as with Trigger being the way he currently is, it's really not worth the constant apprehension. Not to mention the need to rely on others in what has become a large class (Foundations 2 had 4-6; Foundations 3 has at least 8). is evidently not a plausible expectation. As I said before, I don't want our presence to negatively impact the experience of others, and I don't begrudge Jen for making a decision that protects her business. I'm just very frustrated that it had to end this way. He really didn't have a chance in that circumstance. It sucks that in trying not to impact the class for others, the actions of someone else resulted in a significant impact on our ability to participate.
I will continue to do some agility work at home with him. We obviously don't have the makings of a full course, but he can still do some hurdles and learn to weave and whatnot. And fortunately, there are lots of other things to do with him. He loves his Frisbee. There are walks, rollerblading, and running. There are lots of things out there for him.
Trigger's mom excels in Schutzhund; there's a lot of issues we need to get through before that would be a viable option (considering they need to be able to be on the course with another dog) but Phil (Trigger's breeder) really wanted me to go that route when I got Trigger.
For now, we will continue to work on what we can work on. Friday is the first session with Ivan and we'll see what that will bring.
Unfortunately, I cannot control the actions of others. I was very careful with Trigger, ensuring that he only did the drills after everyone had gone. The last drill that we were doing was a speed circle of four tunnels. The first time through, Trigger was a little slow - he stopped outside of tunnel #2 and had a giant pee, and then continued on his way. It was starting to get dark, and he's always a little more apprehensive when it's dark. We were going to do the speed circle a second time, and Jen said to start with Trigger, so I brought him out. It had been said several times that dogs needed to be in their crates when Trigger went. I was under the impression this directive was being followed.
It wasn't. A woman decided to skulk in the shadows behind my back where I couldn't see. I started Trigger in the first tunnel, which he went through. When he came out the other side, he went back through the same tunnel and spotted the other dog. He went for it. I wouldn't really describe it as an attack. It was more than he jumped on the dog and pinned it to the ground. No noise, nothing of that sort. Once I figured out what was going on I ran over. It took me a second to grab hold of him because the other woman was in the way and not doing anything particularly useful. With a stern enough and a tug at his collar, he was actually quite easy to remove this time. The dog was fine - I think Trigger is the only one who took damage in the form of a cut on his nose.
So this was the last of the agility classes for us. Sadly, it is probably for the best, as with Trigger being the way he currently is, it's really not worth the constant apprehension. Not to mention the need to rely on others in what has become a large class (Foundations 2 had 4-6; Foundations 3 has at least 8). is evidently not a plausible expectation. As I said before, I don't want our presence to negatively impact the experience of others, and I don't begrudge Jen for making a decision that protects her business. I'm just very frustrated that it had to end this way. He really didn't have a chance in that circumstance. It sucks that in trying not to impact the class for others, the actions of someone else resulted in a significant impact on our ability to participate.
I will continue to do some agility work at home with him. We obviously don't have the makings of a full course, but he can still do some hurdles and learn to weave and whatnot. And fortunately, there are lots of other things to do with him. He loves his Frisbee. There are walks, rollerblading, and running. There are lots of things out there for him.
Trigger's mom excels in Schutzhund; there's a lot of issues we need to get through before that would be a viable option (considering they need to be able to be on the course with another dog) but Phil (Trigger's breeder) really wanted me to go that route when I got Trigger.
For now, we will continue to work on what we can work on. Friday is the first session with Ivan and we'll see what that will bring.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Agility Trepidation
I did not attend agility class last week. It was a long week-end, the weather was cruddy, I had just started structure work with Trigger, and I generally felt like everything combined was not a good recipe for success on that night.
The last week has had its ups and downs and now we find ourselves at Monday again. I don't have the same excuses to not attend. In fact, I can't think of a good reason not to. Which is probably why I have preemptive butterflies in my stomach.
Since the daycare incident, the only other dog that Trigger has been around is Cannon. Ivan encouraged me to continue agility with the precautions that we were already taking (Trigger works on leash and the only time he runs the course off leash is when other dogs are not on the course). The one class that we did in this fashion went smoothly. The only real downside is that I don't feel that we're getting the "full experience" but that's obviously an issue that is perceived by me and not by Trigger. I'm pretty sure he doesn't actually know the difference or know that anything is different between how he is treated compared to other dogs.
I know that I should go. I'm just so scared. It's stressful having to be on guard. I think it's harder because I can't actually SEEM like I'm on guard, because then he'll pick up on it. I have to have an aura of calm and confidence around me so that I can properly lead Trigger. I know how important that is. It's a very interesting lesson in "putting on a brave face" when you're actually quite torn up inside. Not to mention my own human issues - "oh, I wonder what all the other people in this class think of this".
I wonder if they wish I just wouldn't come back.
I wonder if they feel that I'm making a negative impact on their experience.
I wonder if they think I've made a mess of things for Trigger.
As has been said before, I spend a lot of time in my head. I over-analyze situations, am prone to maximizing, and generally assume that other people think the worst of me. It is entirely likely that the above three statements are untrue; but the potential that my presence makes a negative impact on others really eats at me. I want the opportunity to learn and I want the opportunity to grow with Trigger in this environment. But I don't want to think that my doing so comes at a cost to other people.
I digress. The only real way past these fears is to meet them head on. It's certainly easier to not do so; but I think that does a disservice to myself personally, and in particular to Trigger. I know for a fact that he has enjoyed learning agility and for me to take it away from him because I'm scared, that's not right. Jen (our instructor at Sherwood Barks, who I highly recommend) has been gracious enough to allow us to keep going there and I really should meet that challenge head on.
It's not really progress if you don't challenge yourself. I can say that this has been a good day or a good set of days or that Trigger is doing well, but if we don't keep progressively upping the ante, then what does that really mean?
In other, less rambling news, Trigger took a deuce this morning that included what appeared to be a large number of paper towels. I have no idea where these came from or how he consumed them in their entirety, but he was the bounciest I've seen him in a while afterwards. Go figure.
The last week has had its ups and downs and now we find ourselves at Monday again. I don't have the same excuses to not attend. In fact, I can't think of a good reason not to. Which is probably why I have preemptive butterflies in my stomach.
Since the daycare incident, the only other dog that Trigger has been around is Cannon. Ivan encouraged me to continue agility with the precautions that we were already taking (Trigger works on leash and the only time he runs the course off leash is when other dogs are not on the course). The one class that we did in this fashion went smoothly. The only real downside is that I don't feel that we're getting the "full experience" but that's obviously an issue that is perceived by me and not by Trigger. I'm pretty sure he doesn't actually know the difference or know that anything is different between how he is treated compared to other dogs.
I know that I should go. I'm just so scared. It's stressful having to be on guard. I think it's harder because I can't actually SEEM like I'm on guard, because then he'll pick up on it. I have to have an aura of calm and confidence around me so that I can properly lead Trigger. I know how important that is. It's a very interesting lesson in "putting on a brave face" when you're actually quite torn up inside. Not to mention my own human issues - "oh, I wonder what all the other people in this class think of this".
I wonder if they wish I just wouldn't come back.
I wonder if they feel that I'm making a negative impact on their experience.
I wonder if they think I've made a mess of things for Trigger.
As has been said before, I spend a lot of time in my head. I over-analyze situations, am prone to maximizing, and generally assume that other people think the worst of me. It is entirely likely that the above three statements are untrue; but the potential that my presence makes a negative impact on others really eats at me. I want the opportunity to learn and I want the opportunity to grow with Trigger in this environment. But I don't want to think that my doing so comes at a cost to other people.
I digress. The only real way past these fears is to meet them head on. It's certainly easier to not do so; but I think that does a disservice to myself personally, and in particular to Trigger. I know for a fact that he has enjoyed learning agility and for me to take it away from him because I'm scared, that's not right. Jen (our instructor at Sherwood Barks, who I highly recommend) has been gracious enough to allow us to keep going there and I really should meet that challenge head on.
It's not really progress if you don't challenge yourself. I can say that this has been a good day or a good set of days or that Trigger is doing well, but if we don't keep progressively upping the ante, then what does that really mean?
In other, less rambling news, Trigger took a deuce this morning that included what appeared to be a large number of paper towels. I have no idea where these came from or how he consumed them in their entirety, but he was the bounciest I've seen him in a while afterwards. Go figure.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Bathroom Spray
Marlies' soccer team is in a tournament this week-end. They played at 12:00 and at 4:45 out at the ESA complex (about 40 minutes from our house) so we were out for most of the day (not much point in coming home between games only to leave right away again). Marlies' parents stopped in to check on the dogs, but we didn't see them between 10:30am when we left and about 10:30pm, when we got home.
They were both acting kind of strangely when we got home. I let Trigger out of his crate and they both went outside to pee. They came back in and I fed Trigger (Cannon didn't get dinner as Marlies' dad brought over a box of Milkbones and decided to leave it on the counter. Cannon ate the whole thing). Marlies and I then started getting ready for bed. I was putting away some clothes when Marlies called me from the bathroom, asking why Trigger's hackles were up.
Good question. I have no idea what sparked it, but Trigger was all messed up. He was sitting in the bathroom with wide eyes, staring out with his hackles up. I called him from the bedroom, but he wouldn't move from his sit. I grabbed a leash and snapped it on him and then led him over into the bedroom. He went and sat on the dog bed. I gave him a down command and he laid down. I moved to a different part of the bedroom and he came. Same thing again, sit and then down. He still seemed entirely tense.
When Marlies came out of the bathroom I had her hold the leash to make sure he stayed sitting and went to pet Cannon. It was obvious he was staring her down pretty intently. I kept petting Cannon while Marlies pulled Trigger's focus back to her when he would try to focus on Cannon.
From there I picked his leash up again and we went on some walks through the living room and kitchen interspersed with sits and downs. After a couple of rounds of this, he finally seemed to relax and calm down, until he was laying casually in the kitchen (I don't know how else to describe it - but it was almost palpable, the tension leaving him). Finally I called him out of the down and he was a bouncy boy again, wagging his tail. He wanted to go outside so I let him out to do some business.
When we had first gotten home we realized that something was rotting in our garbage and carried with it the stench of nastiness. Marlies emptied the trash and put it outside but it still smelled pretty rank, especially in the kitchen. When Trigger came back in, I took a can of Air Wick air freshener that had been sitting on our kitchen table and sprayed it. Go figure, I didn't want the house to smell like garbage. Trigger freaked out.
I don't know what happened that made him afraid of spray cans but he was freaked right out. He wouldn't come near the can. I spent about five minutes with him in the kitchen with this bottle, trying to get him to not react to it in the same way. At one point he started batting the bottle around with his feet and trying to play with it, but was still quite skittish of me with it in my hands.
I have no idea where this has come from, but I guess now it gets added to the list of things to work on.
Now at least everyone is ready for bed. Cannon is sleeping on one dog bed and Trigger is passed out on the other. Tomorrow is a new day. Walk time first thing in the morning. We'll see how things go.
They were both acting kind of strangely when we got home. I let Trigger out of his crate and they both went outside to pee. They came back in and I fed Trigger (Cannon didn't get dinner as Marlies' dad brought over a box of Milkbones and decided to leave it on the counter. Cannon ate the whole thing). Marlies and I then started getting ready for bed. I was putting away some clothes when Marlies called me from the bathroom, asking why Trigger's hackles were up.
Good question. I have no idea what sparked it, but Trigger was all messed up. He was sitting in the bathroom with wide eyes, staring out with his hackles up. I called him from the bedroom, but he wouldn't move from his sit. I grabbed a leash and snapped it on him and then led him over into the bedroom. He went and sat on the dog bed. I gave him a down command and he laid down. I moved to a different part of the bedroom and he came. Same thing again, sit and then down. He still seemed entirely tense.
When Marlies came out of the bathroom I had her hold the leash to make sure he stayed sitting and went to pet Cannon. It was obvious he was staring her down pretty intently. I kept petting Cannon while Marlies pulled Trigger's focus back to her when he would try to focus on Cannon.
From there I picked his leash up again and we went on some walks through the living room and kitchen interspersed with sits and downs. After a couple of rounds of this, he finally seemed to relax and calm down, until he was laying casually in the kitchen (I don't know how else to describe it - but it was almost palpable, the tension leaving him). Finally I called him out of the down and he was a bouncy boy again, wagging his tail. He wanted to go outside so I let him out to do some business.
When we had first gotten home we realized that something was rotting in our garbage and carried with it the stench of nastiness. Marlies emptied the trash and put it outside but it still smelled pretty rank, especially in the kitchen. When Trigger came back in, I took a can of Air Wick air freshener that had been sitting on our kitchen table and sprayed it. Go figure, I didn't want the house to smell like garbage. Trigger freaked out.
I don't know what happened that made him afraid of spray cans but he was freaked right out. He wouldn't come near the can. I spent about five minutes with him in the kitchen with this bottle, trying to get him to not react to it in the same way. At one point he started batting the bottle around with his feet and trying to play with it, but was still quite skittish of me with it in my hands.
I have no idea where this has come from, but I guess now it gets added to the list of things to work on.
Now at least everyone is ready for bed. Cannon is sleeping on one dog bed and Trigger is passed out on the other. Tomorrow is a new day. Walk time first thing in the morning. We'll see how things go.
A Strange Week
This week in Trigger's "new life" has certainly been interesting. I think, definitely, I am more "on guard", perceiving every little thing and trying to analyze it. Anyone who knows me will affirm that I overthink things, and this has been no exception. But there have definitely been things that have stuck out:
1. Trigger has been EXHAUSTED. I don't think it's the physical activity of the walk. We're not breaking records here. I do think that the whole "new environment" and "structured activity" aspects of it have put his brain into overdrive. Not to mention that within the house, the atmosphere has changed too. He can't just sit and mooch while we eat - he's expected to lay down and stay there. He's not allowed on the furniture.
Previously, I think I had two mindsets: training mode and living mode. Now they've been more or less combined, and I expect Trigger to listen like we're training at all times.
Honestly, for a while this week I worried that he had eaten something he shouldn't have, or was sick, because he was so lethargic (and was having some very, VERY loose poop). This has waxed and waned as the week has gone on, leading me to believe it's relating more to changes than a physical ailment.
2. Trigger is pushing more boundaries. Yesterday morning, as I was getting my lunch ready before work, I suddenly heard Trigger growling. I turned to look, and Cannon was in the kitchen over by the door to our basement. She wasn't even paying attention to him. I reprimanded him and he looked away from her. A moment later, when I went to put food away in the fridge, he went after Cannon. Marlies and I pulled them apart. Not knowing what to do with him, I threw him in his crate as I tried to figure this out. After a few minutes we took him out. Now we were in the living room instead of the kitchen. He again got intently fixated on Cannon and was tracking her every move. It was obvious he was going to try and go after her again. I put him back in the crate and covered it up. I had to leave for work. After a couple minutes, Marlies took him out of the crate, put him on leash, and made him do focus work and sit stays. He finally seemed to calm down and she took them both outside and played a bit of frisbee.
It was weird to see him go after Cannon. Any skirmishes they have had before have been instigated by her, and it's the first time I've ever seen him on top - normally she pins him. Not to mention the innumerable times that they have sat in the kitchen together as I cook or prepare my lunch. When Trigger was younger, he started to try and pull some food aggression with her, and it was something I worked on with them both quite a bit. I can (or could, up until even a week ago...) sit them beside each other and feed them each treats with no incident, so I was a little thrown by this.
It's hard, because I start to feel like I'm still "doing something wrong" because honestly, to me this is the stuff you don't see on the Dog Whisperer. Where is the family pulling their hair out over the process when Cesar leaves? There are so few episodes where you see the follow up with the family putting in the work and the dog being less than perfect. It makes me feel like I'm still doing something wrong! This is to the point where, after Friday's incident, I was calling Ivan for reassurance and more information on what I should do in situations like the above.
I was relieved to find out that we were at least on the right track. I was told:
* don't treat it like a big deal, or he will treat it like a big deal
* make him sit-stay
* don't give him attention - give it to Cannon instead, while he sit stays.
* use training a a block and a way to refocus him
We will get there.
1. Trigger has been EXHAUSTED. I don't think it's the physical activity of the walk. We're not breaking records here. I do think that the whole "new environment" and "structured activity" aspects of it have put his brain into overdrive. Not to mention that within the house, the atmosphere has changed too. He can't just sit and mooch while we eat - he's expected to lay down and stay there. He's not allowed on the furniture.
Previously, I think I had two mindsets: training mode and living mode. Now they've been more or less combined, and I expect Trigger to listen like we're training at all times.
Honestly, for a while this week I worried that he had eaten something he shouldn't have, or was sick, because he was so lethargic (and was having some very, VERY loose poop). This has waxed and waned as the week has gone on, leading me to believe it's relating more to changes than a physical ailment.
2. Trigger is pushing more boundaries. Yesterday morning, as I was getting my lunch ready before work, I suddenly heard Trigger growling. I turned to look, and Cannon was in the kitchen over by the door to our basement. She wasn't even paying attention to him. I reprimanded him and he looked away from her. A moment later, when I went to put food away in the fridge, he went after Cannon. Marlies and I pulled them apart. Not knowing what to do with him, I threw him in his crate as I tried to figure this out. After a few minutes we took him out. Now we were in the living room instead of the kitchen. He again got intently fixated on Cannon and was tracking her every move. It was obvious he was going to try and go after her again. I put him back in the crate and covered it up. I had to leave for work. After a couple minutes, Marlies took him out of the crate, put him on leash, and made him do focus work and sit stays. He finally seemed to calm down and she took them both outside and played a bit of frisbee.
It was weird to see him go after Cannon. Any skirmishes they have had before have been instigated by her, and it's the first time I've ever seen him on top - normally she pins him. Not to mention the innumerable times that they have sat in the kitchen together as I cook or prepare my lunch. When Trigger was younger, he started to try and pull some food aggression with her, and it was something I worked on with them both quite a bit. I can (or could, up until even a week ago...) sit them beside each other and feed them each treats with no incident, so I was a little thrown by this.
It's hard, because I start to feel like I'm still "doing something wrong" because honestly, to me this is the stuff you don't see on the Dog Whisperer. Where is the family pulling their hair out over the process when Cesar leaves? There are so few episodes where you see the follow up with the family putting in the work and the dog being less than perfect. It makes me feel like I'm still doing something wrong! This is to the point where, after Friday's incident, I was calling Ivan for reassurance and more information on what I should do in situations like the above.
I was relieved to find out that we were at least on the right track. I was told:
* don't treat it like a big deal, or he will treat it like a big deal
* make him sit-stay
* don't give him attention - give it to Cannon instead, while he sit stays.
* use training a a block and a way to refocus him
We will get there.
Walks
The first thing that Ivan (our behaviourist) said to me was that Trigger needed the structure of the walk.
Somehow walks have fallen by the wayside with Cannon, with Rocket, and now with Trigger - even though they were a huge part of my life when I lived at home with my mom and had Mystic. This isn't to say I didn't exercise my dogs - with Cannon and Rocket, we would spend tons of time at the Mill Creek ravine and they would run off leash. I would rollerblade both of them as well. With Trigger and Cannon, we spend at least half an hour each day playing frisbee (which used to be just Cannon's love, but now Trigger has discovered he loves to catch too). They also would go to the off-leash park. Trigger and I would do agility class once per week in addition to training at home. So we didn't walk because I figured there was enough "other stuff".
Why I held this perception is not particularly clear to me, as it contradicts other things I know. Like I said, I do watch the Dog Whisperer. I've also read at least sections of Cesar Milan's books. What gets preached? Discipline, Exercise, and Affection. What is the primary source of structure for this? The walk. And yet, we weren't doing it.
Ivan told me that, at minimum, we should be going for two 30-minute walks per day. So, last Sunday (the day after we met), I started. And man did I get a shock.
My boisterous, confident Am. Bull? As we walked, he skulked close to the ground. His ears perked to every sound. His head was on a swivel. He did not sniff the ground once. He stared into parked cars as if they were going to reach out and suck him in. The walk was an eye-opener, and one only amplified by walk #2. If I thought walk #1 was bad, walk #2 (with the sun down) was even worse. I thought he was going to jump out of his skin.
I am happy to say that I have seen progress throughout the week. By Friday, I would almost say that he enjoyed the walk - he sniffed, he peed, he wasn't on guard 24/7. It's nowhere near perfect, but at least I can see things are changing. He looks back at me for direction more and more. I feel like we are building a relationship.
I'm trying to focus on this part, and not the "failures". That is the hardest part for me, and the part that terrifies me about even deigning to right about this adventure. It requires me to document how I have messed up and my attempts to fix it. I will probably have to document even more failures as I work towards success. I keep telling myself that I am doing it to learn, and I am doing it for Trigger. And because of that, I will put my ego aside and keep pushing forward.
Somehow walks have fallen by the wayside with Cannon, with Rocket, and now with Trigger - even though they were a huge part of my life when I lived at home with my mom and had Mystic. This isn't to say I didn't exercise my dogs - with Cannon and Rocket, we would spend tons of time at the Mill Creek ravine and they would run off leash. I would rollerblade both of them as well. With Trigger and Cannon, we spend at least half an hour each day playing frisbee (which used to be just Cannon's love, but now Trigger has discovered he loves to catch too). They also would go to the off-leash park. Trigger and I would do agility class once per week in addition to training at home. So we didn't walk because I figured there was enough "other stuff".
Why I held this perception is not particularly clear to me, as it contradicts other things I know. Like I said, I do watch the Dog Whisperer. I've also read at least sections of Cesar Milan's books. What gets preached? Discipline, Exercise, and Affection. What is the primary source of structure for this? The walk. And yet, we weren't doing it.
Ivan told me that, at minimum, we should be going for two 30-minute walks per day. So, last Sunday (the day after we met), I started. And man did I get a shock.
My boisterous, confident Am. Bull? As we walked, he skulked close to the ground. His ears perked to every sound. His head was on a swivel. He did not sniff the ground once. He stared into parked cars as if they were going to reach out and suck him in. The walk was an eye-opener, and one only amplified by walk #2. If I thought walk #1 was bad, walk #2 (with the sun down) was even worse. I thought he was going to jump out of his skin.
I am happy to say that I have seen progress throughout the week. By Friday, I would almost say that he enjoyed the walk - he sniffed, he peed, he wasn't on guard 24/7. It's nowhere near perfect, but at least I can see things are changing. He looks back at me for direction more and more. I feel like we are building a relationship.
I'm trying to focus on this part, and not the "failures". That is the hardest part for me, and the part that terrifies me about even deigning to right about this adventure. It requires me to document how I have messed up and my attempts to fix it. I will probably have to document even more failures as I work towards success. I keep telling myself that I am doing it to learn, and I am doing it for Trigger. And because of that, I will put my ego aside and keep pushing forward.
The Beginning
I love dogs. When I was born, my mom had a collie named Gypsy that she had gotten when she first left home to attend university. To this day, my mom talks about how awesome Gypsy was. Gypsy died after a nice, long life when I was still a toddler. When I was about four, my parents got Carmen, our yellow lab. She was...interesting. She didn't learn to bark until she was at least a year old. Putting a leash on her was insane. She would get so excited and wiggle and shake around and you were essentially really proud when you finally got the thing attached and could get her out. She loved the water, and I have fond memories of throwing sticks into the water for her to chase when we still had our cottage.
After my parents divorced, Carmen lived with my dad. When I was in Jr. High, my mom got another dog - Mystic. Mystic was a bearded collie. He was a great dog, but he was crazy. If you don't know beardies, they are incredibly high energy herding dogs. He lived up to this. He was also very neurotic and destroyed walls during thunderstorms and would compulsively lick his paws. In retrospect, a beardie was a poor decision for a family living in Toronto. But he was well loved and lived out his life with my mom in Toronto. He passed away last year at 13.
I went through my undergraduate years dog-less. I moved to Edmonton for grad school and after I moved in with my partner, we decided to get a dog. Enter Cannon, our black lab cross that we got at six months old and is now three and a half. Cannon was not well socialized in her first imprint period, something that became evident when we brought her home and she was afraid of pretty much everything - stairs, doors, people. She remains a skittish dog, but is miles better than when we first got her. She loves anything that she can chase (frisbees, balls, etc.) and being in the water.
When Cannon was two, we decided that we wanted a second dog to keep her company and add even more excitement to our lives. Enter Rocket. We got Rocket at 8 weeks, and he was a male and we think, chocolate lab/pitbull cross. Rocket was a loyal and adoring little guy. He was also rife with issues. Unlike the issues with every dog that I've had before, Rocket was the first dog that confounded me. I tried following the socialization "rules". We thought we had done right by him. We took him to the park. We took him to puppy class. It was actually as puppy class progressed that I began to see that all was not right in Rocket-land. He was starting to go after dogs. He was showing incredible separation anxiety. He was...not doing well. So I sought out another puppy class after the first one, one that focused more on socialization. While class #1 went well, class #2 did not. We were not allowed back in with the other dogs. I started trying to work on his issues outside of class, often working with him on focus outside of the fenced in class area. Things didn't seem to be getting better. I didn't want a dog I couldn't take anywhere. I called a behaviourist. We started having sessions. Sadly, I'm not able to say we succeeded. During Grey Cup 2009, we had the dogs (Cannon and Rocket) over at a friends place, playing in a fenced in yard with their dog. Somehow, they opened the gate and all got out, and in the process, Rocket got hit by a car. To say we were devastated doesn't even begin to describe it. The guilt, and to be honest, the shame, were huge. I still feel like I failed Rocket in so many ways. And I made a promise that I would learn from it - from everything, from leaving them unattended in the yard, to the behavioural issues - and I would honour him by being the best dog owner I could possibly be, giving a great life to my dogs.
When the time came to get another dog, I also wanted to honour Rocket by getting a dog that would remind me of him while simultaneously not being like him (confusing, I know). After researching different breeds, I decided on an American Bulldog, and for Christmas 2009, I got Trigger.
I have tried to do the right things with Trigger. Socialization with people, socialization with dogs, bite inhibition, puppy classes from the age of 3 months on, agility. I have tried to take all the things that have gone wrong before and incorporate them.
I have not been successful...yet.
Trigger is now 10.5 months old. Like I said, he has been in puppy classes since 3 months. Puppy 1, Puppy 2, all went well. He is an incredibly smart dog, and picked commands up very easily. Sit, down, sit-stays, down-stays...he knows them all, and we've worked them with increasing distraction, distance, etc. Started Foundations 1 (beginner agility) and that went great too. Loved the tunnels, the jumps, he would just run those courses with enthusiasm.
Then came Foundations 2. Suddenly my happy-go-lucky dog was no more. Another dog growled at him. Trigger jumped him. As I describe it - someone throws a punch, Trigger throws a grenade. This happened at agility. Then it happened at the park. A bouvier puppy was getting attention from a little kid and knocked her over, so Trigger jumped the other dog. Then it happened at agility again. Trigger was running a tunnel/hurdle course while another dog worked on the dog walk on the other side of the agility field. Trigger broke from his course. I called him. He looked at me, thought about it, and then ran off, and jumped on a golden retriever who had done absolutely nothing.
I was concerned, but for lack of a better word, all of the incidents had seemed to have a "trigger". Being growled at, knocking over a child, really messed up weather. Then came the final incident at doggy daycare. While all the incidents sucked, the suck factor got turned up on this one because I watched it unfold and was powerless to even pull him off and had to rely on others to deal with it. Again, a dog growled at Trigger and he jumped on it. As this occurred, multiple dogs at the daycare started to converge on them. The daycare workers went to pull them apart. That dog and Trigger disengaged, but another dog got involved. Trigger locked on to that one and wouldn't let go (as a snub-nosed dog, he has a pretty strong jaw). They finally got him off, and fortunately no harm was done to any of the daycare dogs. Trigger came away with all the damage (puncture in his ear, bite mark under his jaw, and on his ear).
Once again, I felt unable to handle the situation. I'm not going to lie, I bawled. I have tried to do everything right with this dog, and yet still I was failing. I phoned the behaviourist again. We talked. He calmed me down. He said he would work with me.
Last time, I thought it would be easy. I've seen the Dog Whisperer. Through the magic of television, it seems like Cesar Milan can fix a dog in fifteen minutes. That first time around, I really thought that it was going to be a matter of a couple little tricks, and magically, Rocket would be better. Having learned from Rocket, and having made a promise to both myself and his memory, this time I'm not looking for magic. I'm expecting hard work.
Someday, I want to have kids. But I look at all these dogs and their various issues, and I wonder how - if I can't even get a dog "right", how I'll ever be able to do a kid. Then I also think about how nice it would be if the dog could just talk to me - if we could talk it out. Maybe I can do kids. Who knows right now. What I do know, is that I won't accept failing with Trigger. I am starting to see where I have been failing. And instead of beating myself up over it, I'm trying to fix it. I'm trying to put in the work because I know that the end result will be worth it.
Writing this is incredibly difficult. I don't want to have to admit that I have screwed up - particularly when I tried so hard not to. But I want to record this process. The successes, the oddities, the breakthroughs, and sadly, the failures. I want to see where we start and where we go.
I met with our behaviourist a week ago. And from there, Training Trigger begins in earnest.
After my parents divorced, Carmen lived with my dad. When I was in Jr. High, my mom got another dog - Mystic. Mystic was a bearded collie. He was a great dog, but he was crazy. If you don't know beardies, they are incredibly high energy herding dogs. He lived up to this. He was also very neurotic and destroyed walls during thunderstorms and would compulsively lick his paws. In retrospect, a beardie was a poor decision for a family living in Toronto. But he was well loved and lived out his life with my mom in Toronto. He passed away last year at 13.
I went through my undergraduate years dog-less. I moved to Edmonton for grad school and after I moved in with my partner, we decided to get a dog. Enter Cannon, our black lab cross that we got at six months old and is now three and a half. Cannon was not well socialized in her first imprint period, something that became evident when we brought her home and she was afraid of pretty much everything - stairs, doors, people. She remains a skittish dog, but is miles better than when we first got her. She loves anything that she can chase (frisbees, balls, etc.) and being in the water.
When Cannon was two, we decided that we wanted a second dog to keep her company and add even more excitement to our lives. Enter Rocket. We got Rocket at 8 weeks, and he was a male and we think, chocolate lab/pitbull cross. Rocket was a loyal and adoring little guy. He was also rife with issues. Unlike the issues with every dog that I've had before, Rocket was the first dog that confounded me. I tried following the socialization "rules". We thought we had done right by him. We took him to the park. We took him to puppy class. It was actually as puppy class progressed that I began to see that all was not right in Rocket-land. He was starting to go after dogs. He was showing incredible separation anxiety. He was...not doing well. So I sought out another puppy class after the first one, one that focused more on socialization. While class #1 went well, class #2 did not. We were not allowed back in with the other dogs. I started trying to work on his issues outside of class, often working with him on focus outside of the fenced in class area. Things didn't seem to be getting better. I didn't want a dog I couldn't take anywhere. I called a behaviourist. We started having sessions. Sadly, I'm not able to say we succeeded. During Grey Cup 2009, we had the dogs (Cannon and Rocket) over at a friends place, playing in a fenced in yard with their dog. Somehow, they opened the gate and all got out, and in the process, Rocket got hit by a car. To say we were devastated doesn't even begin to describe it. The guilt, and to be honest, the shame, were huge. I still feel like I failed Rocket in so many ways. And I made a promise that I would learn from it - from everything, from leaving them unattended in the yard, to the behavioural issues - and I would honour him by being the best dog owner I could possibly be, giving a great life to my dogs.
When the time came to get another dog, I also wanted to honour Rocket by getting a dog that would remind me of him while simultaneously not being like him (confusing, I know). After researching different breeds, I decided on an American Bulldog, and for Christmas 2009, I got Trigger.
I have tried to do the right things with Trigger. Socialization with people, socialization with dogs, bite inhibition, puppy classes from the age of 3 months on, agility. I have tried to take all the things that have gone wrong before and incorporate them.
I have not been successful...yet.
Trigger is now 10.5 months old. Like I said, he has been in puppy classes since 3 months. Puppy 1, Puppy 2, all went well. He is an incredibly smart dog, and picked commands up very easily. Sit, down, sit-stays, down-stays...he knows them all, and we've worked them with increasing distraction, distance, etc. Started Foundations 1 (beginner agility) and that went great too. Loved the tunnels, the jumps, he would just run those courses with enthusiasm.
Then came Foundations 2. Suddenly my happy-go-lucky dog was no more. Another dog growled at him. Trigger jumped him. As I describe it - someone throws a punch, Trigger throws a grenade. This happened at agility. Then it happened at the park. A bouvier puppy was getting attention from a little kid and knocked her over, so Trigger jumped the other dog. Then it happened at agility again. Trigger was running a tunnel/hurdle course while another dog worked on the dog walk on the other side of the agility field. Trigger broke from his course. I called him. He looked at me, thought about it, and then ran off, and jumped on a golden retriever who had done absolutely nothing.
I was concerned, but for lack of a better word, all of the incidents had seemed to have a "trigger". Being growled at, knocking over a child, really messed up weather. Then came the final incident at doggy daycare. While all the incidents sucked, the suck factor got turned up on this one because I watched it unfold and was powerless to even pull him off and had to rely on others to deal with it. Again, a dog growled at Trigger and he jumped on it. As this occurred, multiple dogs at the daycare started to converge on them. The daycare workers went to pull them apart. That dog and Trigger disengaged, but another dog got involved. Trigger locked on to that one and wouldn't let go (as a snub-nosed dog, he has a pretty strong jaw). They finally got him off, and fortunately no harm was done to any of the daycare dogs. Trigger came away with all the damage (puncture in his ear, bite mark under his jaw, and on his ear).
Once again, I felt unable to handle the situation. I'm not going to lie, I bawled. I have tried to do everything right with this dog, and yet still I was failing. I phoned the behaviourist again. We talked. He calmed me down. He said he would work with me.
Last time, I thought it would be easy. I've seen the Dog Whisperer. Through the magic of television, it seems like Cesar Milan can fix a dog in fifteen minutes. That first time around, I really thought that it was going to be a matter of a couple little tricks, and magically, Rocket would be better. Having learned from Rocket, and having made a promise to both myself and his memory, this time I'm not looking for magic. I'm expecting hard work.
Someday, I want to have kids. But I look at all these dogs and their various issues, and I wonder how - if I can't even get a dog "right", how I'll ever be able to do a kid. Then I also think about how nice it would be if the dog could just talk to me - if we could talk it out. Maybe I can do kids. Who knows right now. What I do know, is that I won't accept failing with Trigger. I am starting to see where I have been failing. And instead of beating myself up over it, I'm trying to fix it. I'm trying to put in the work because I know that the end result will be worth it.
Writing this is incredibly difficult. I don't want to have to admit that I have screwed up - particularly when I tried so hard not to. But I want to record this process. The successes, the oddities, the breakthroughs, and sadly, the failures. I want to see where we start and where we go.
I met with our behaviourist a week ago. And from there, Training Trigger begins in earnest.
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