Very belated Update

Life kind of got away from me, so the updates stopped.  But I wanted to post here as I adjust my plan.

Now that it is cold and dark out, I have really stopped working on Ida's traffic sensitivity.  She is still stressed out by the car, but that stress is not affecting her class performance anymore.  She is still more timid in new locations than in familiar ones, but she is WORKING!

There are a lot of concerns we need to address still, things that mainly seem to be anxiety rather than flat-out fear.  Seeing other dogs, confinement, riding in the car.

These past few weeks Ida and I... 

... started a second agility class.  It doesn't seem to have affected her performance in our other agility class (which also just ended).

... continued taking walks around the cul-de-sac.  I tried an afternoon walk and Ida did okay, but there was more noise than at night and she was definitely more wary of the entry to the cul-de-sac.

... attended an agility fun run at a place a 45 minute (highway!) drive from our house, surrounded entirely by strange people and strange dogs in a place we'd never been to before.  And you know what?  Ida worked.  She jumped, she ran, she did tunnels.  Our first run was definitely rough (and we didn't finish the course), but I don't even care.  It is such a relief to know that right now, no matter what kinds of stress she's seen in the hours leading up to a run, she'll still try.

I noticed...

... at the fun-run Ida was quiet in her crate when it was covered, even when other dogs were barking.  At one point, she was pretty much the only dog in the building not barking.

... her barking at others dogs is becoming somewhat operantly conditioned (oops).  She will bark 2-3 times at another dog with less intensity/panic and then look at me.  A bit annoying, but that's okay.  Her choosing to bark at the other dog is better than her emotionally barking at the other dog.

In the future I plan to...

... Try to stick to walks before bed nightly (more or less).  At least, you know, on days when there isn't an extreme cold warning.  I'm going to give up on trying to walk out to the street for a while.  It is very clear that she has some kind of negative feelings about it (probably because I screwed up the counter conditioning).  I'm going to switch from doing loops around the cul-de-sac to doing C-shaped walks, avoiding the entrance to the cul-de-sac for a while, and then gradually moving closer to it on either side.

... take a break from classes, once the current session is done.  Driving anywhere in the car puts her over threshold, and I can't counter-condition her to car rides if she's constantly over threshold. She needs a break to work on it, and there's nothing that we're working on in classes that I can't work on at home.

Just a quick note

Ida and I started an agility class at a new facility last night.  I was really nervous heading in, but most of the dogs were barking, growling, howling while everyone got settled.  The whole class is about jump grids which is kind of boring in class but I think I'll get lots of good info out of it.

I also think it will be good for Ida to learn to chill with other dogs around. Dogs only work one at a time, and she'll have to walk by other dogs (with some distance) when we switch out for our tun. Additionally, everyone is crated while they're not working which will give us an opportunity to work on her being quiet while crated, even with exciting stuff happening (like dogs walking past).  Hopefully it will allow us to work on her reactivity in addition to her jumping mechanics!

Week 9 & 10 Update

It's been a busy and exciting two weeks!  I got a last-minute project at work which took up all my time (imagine doing 3-4 weeks worth of work in one week), and then Sarah Stremming read the thank you e-mail that I sent to her on the latest Cog Dog Radio episode.

My work was nutso last week; it caught me off guard so I wasn't able to finish my weekly update post, so I am combining last week and this week together; I'll try to keep it concise!

This past 2 weeks Ida and I... 

... went to the big off-leash park by ourselves.

... went to the shelter, and Ida hung out with the staff in the office while I worked with dogs in the back.  They were understaffed and two of the regular volunteers didn't show up, so we ended up staying for over 8 hours.... whoops!

... while at the shelter, we walked around a place with weird scary echoey noises (the adoption floor).  Ida hated it, so we headed back into the office area and she watched people/dogs through the window instead.

... almost missed agility class because of the work project that kept me overtime; I just barely made it on time but it required me to... go faster than Ida is comfortable with and she did not like it.

... played fetch in the cul-de-sac again, in the dark.  There where a couple of times when vehicles drove past, and Ida watched - calmly, with tail up (although not moving), no yawns, no lip licks, or other stress signals - before resuming play.  Maybe I'll add toys to a walk around the whole cul-de-sac; shorter time outside, but better exposures maybe?

I noticed...

... Compared to two weeks ago when we went with our doggo friend, Ida was much less comfortable at the park by herself.  She finally relaxed about halfway through the walk (instead of in the first 10 minutes).  I think having another dog not only boosts her confidence, but the other dog also deflects some of the attention away from Ida which I think helps her.  We'll be doing only buddy-walks from now on, and I'll have to figure something else out for decompression walks when we can't find a buddy.

... At the park she made friends with a large black dog - normally the kind of dog she is afraid of.  It was a lab that was walking ahead of his person who was just behind us.  After their initial greeting (which was brief and calm), the dog mostly ignored Ida until at the very end she invited him to play, and they chased/wrestled for a couple minutes before the other dog's owner leashed him up to head home.

... Ida's getting too much of her bottom cue from my body position, so I have to figure out a way to fade that out.

This next week I plan to...

... survive mostly?

... hopefully go on a buddy walk.  I have put some feelers out to a few new walking buddies.

Week 8 Update

This week's update is late; I have no excuses, I'm sorry!  It was a big week though, and I have lots to share this week.  This has definitely been Ida's most eventful week in a while!

Every action has a consequence.  Like baths

I'll start off with Snowball I guess; I've decided - for his health and mine - that we're doing daily walks every. single. morning.  Weather be damned, even if we only go out for 5 minutes on days when the weather is truly awful.  It's been going good so far, and we both feel much better for it.

On Sunday, we met up with a friend of mine and her sweet and steady chinook.  After a morning of tromping through (and drinking, ugh), the mud, Ida got the double joy of getting a bath at home and then going to the groomer for the afternoon.  She was great with the dogs that we encountered while I was waiting to drop her off (completely excitement-based barking, no fear at all), and when I arrived to pick her up she was curled up and taking a nap.

This week, of course, was Halloween.  We handed out candy, Snowball barked (from behind the kitchen gates) at tiny children, and Ida acted like the whole thing was boring, dressed like the princess that she is.

Everything the light touches is my queendom.

And all of that happened before our agility class on Thursday, where we were the only students....(because the other students that are enrolled are on vacation in Mexico this week and the head trainer).  So Ida got some awesome one-on-one time with a really great trainer who got her walking over the lowered teeter - something I've struggled with for months - in a matter of minutes.  It's not you Ida, it's me.


This last week Ida and I... 

... went to the big park for an off-leash walk with a doggo (and human) buddy.   Ida was nervous on the car ride, but wasn't immediately reactive to the first thing that she saw when she got out of the car (unusual for her).  I tried to be strategic about parking, so that we wouldn't be entering the park in a swarm of dogs.  Although Ida barked at my friend's dog, it seemed to have worked, and she settled down much faster than usual.  After those first 2 minutes, she was great!  Impeccable recall, and did great with the other dogs that we met.  I think I've found another method to add to this madness.

... worked some handling drills in the back yard.  I nearly had an asthma attack.   We will  be doing more running things as long as it is safe.

... started teeter work at home.  Now that I have a better idea of what I'm doing, I think we'll be able to make some progress with it.

I noticed...

.... Ida's shaking in the car doesn't seem to correlate with her performance at agility class any more. 

... Ida has been less reactive to the other dogs when she can see them running on the course.  Not sure if it's because she is relaxing, or if I am getting better at timing my counter conditioning.

... Ida likes to avoid the last jump of a course.  We'll have to fix that.

This next week I plan to...

... finish my list of Dreams and Goals for each of my dogs and myself.  It'll be in an upcoming blog post - eventually!

... take Ida to hang out at the shelter office for the first time in 8 weeks.

... decide if we want to enter an agility fun match on the 13th.  Even if we do not enter, I'm going to try to go watch to see what it's about.

Week 7 Update

I finally listened to the most recent episode of Cog Dog Radio where Sarah addressed decompression walks in more detail, and she gives some guidelines for how to tell if the exercise you're giving your dog is taxing vs. tiring.  I'm still trying to figure out what that means for Ida, but it might just mean some time in the back yard sniffing out hot dogs.

This last week Ida and I... 

... went to the open field on Saturday morning, as soon as it was light enough to walk; we encountered one dog.  Ida barked at him from far away; when we encountered him the second time she was much calmer about it, easier to redirect towards me and taking treats.

... were finally able to track down some calming chews with the ingredients that I am after - I actually found two brands that might work.  Being a scientist, I plan to try a one-participant randomized trial, but I haven't figured out what the best method for that is yet.

... tried the Chill Dog calming chews before driving to agility.  Ida was perceptively calmer for the first half of the ride.

... ran a full agility course while there was another dog directly in the area that Ida could see and access.  It wasn't clean, and Ida was clearly not happy about it, but she did it and she did it without struggling too much.  She even recalled when we were running right towards the other dog.

... used tug almost exclusively as a reward in class, even mid-run!

I noticed...

... there was less shaking in the car this week without the thundershirt.  I think part of the recent shaking has been from being in a cold car, but she was definitely not worse without the thundershirt.

... when Ida wore a coat in the car, she didn't shake (shiver?); I'm going with the shaking was due to cold.

... Ida setting herself up in 2o2o on the A-frame as soon as we entered the ring.

This next week I plan to...

... make a list of Dreams and Goals for each of my dogs and myself.  It'll be in an upcoming blog post - stay tuned!

... go for an off-leash (or maybe long-line) walk at the park with a dog that Ida has met before and got along with.  Luath is a very gentle soul and she and Ida seemed to get along really well last time.

Agility Video

This is our first ever video of a full agility run!  I am so thankful that I've started listening to some agility podcasts because it' really helped me have some perspective.  We're not perfect, but also Ida is still just a baby when it comes to agility dogs!  I watched a video of the Crufts Agility Finals from this year, and most of the dogs in it were over 6 years old, and several were over 10.  We're not going to Crufts, obviously, but it was a nice reminder that there is no reason to panic if she hasn't learned the teeter or the weaves before she turns two in February.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_OH-K1FPTHI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Notes on the video:
- Ida had not committed to the dog walk when I tried to rear cross, likely because we have not worked on sending across contacts obstacles so she is used to me running right there with her.  Positive: if she had slipped like that a few weeks ago, she would have totally avoided trying it again.

- We really struggle with 2-on-2-off contacts.  At least now, I think Ida understands the idea of what "bottom" means, but we just haven't solidified the execution yet.  With a bottom she always stops, at least for a split second, with 2 feet on and 2 feet off, but she doesn't usually hold it and she often readjusts.  Watching this video at 0:25-0:28, I think using a target plate will help.

- She was struggling with the table that night, probably because we're out of practice.  She's done solid 10-foot sends to the table.  From this video, she seems to have an understanding of "table" (when I just pointed at it she looks back at me for clarification, vs. when I said "table" both times she jumped right on it).  I should have rewarded the sit-stay the second time instead of walking away.

- Immediately after the first table she takes the jump on cue and then heads for the A-frame.  Although I had my hand out and my body was pointing more towards the jumps than the frame, I didn't give her clear enough directions.  I should've called the next jump just before she took the first one.

- The same thing happens again when we reset on the table.  I release her from the "wait" of the table but don't tell her what to do, just that she's free to leave and she runs to me, probably to get her reinforcement for staying on the table.

- She knocks the bar at 1:17 because 1) I started to cue the next obstacle as she was taking off, and 2) her footfur needs trimming, which contributed to her slipping on the slippy training floor.

- Coming off the frame you can see more clearly how being rewarded for stopping in front of me instead of beside me has shaped her positioning; as a result, she always swings out to face me to get her reward.  A target plate at the bottom, or maybe tossing the food away from me, should help with that.

Things to work on in next class:

- Call the correct obstacles, don't just stand there like a dead fish.

- Don't make a big deal out of downed bars; reward for successfully completing the obstacle directly after a downed bar.

Weekly Update - Week 6

Sad pupper is sad

If you haven't figured out by now, this blog is mainly for me to keep track of what we're doing, the process that we're going through.  I'm trying to include other things so that other people going through a similar thing with their dogs will get some utility out of it, but that is really not the primary aim.  That said, the last weekly update post was too long.  I'm going to stop combining the discussion pieces with the weekly updates.

In addition to our behavior mod and agility work, Ida and I also worked on rear-foot targeting, and I'm trying to put singing (howling) on cue.

In non-Ida related news, poor Snowball had to have a tooth extracted on Tuesday because it developed a resorptive lesion.  They are rare in dogs - I guess he's just lucky. He's had two teeth removed due to the lesions before, and there is a strong correlation between on tooth developing the lesions and subsequent teeth, so it's something we'll be dealing with for the rest of his life.

This last week Ida and I... 

"Rear foot targeting is stupid"

.... did agility drills inside because it was gross outside. I am also getting over a cold that started late last week, which means early in bed, and not wanting to go outside in the cold!

.... played tug/fetch in the cul-de-sac (once the street had dried out) at night.  The darkness added some difficulty, as it was harder to see the things that were far away and making noise (there were a bunch of kids out playing street hockey). Several neighbors drove in/out of the cul-de-sac while we were playing.  We also walked several feet past the electrical box.  Ida was uncomfortable, but still listening to commands and taking cheese.

... still didn't drive anywhere except to agility class.

... started videoing agility runs.

I noticed...

... there was less shaking in the car this week without the thundershirt.  I think part of the recent shaking has been from being in a cold car, however.

This next week I plan to...

... pick-up some calming chews to see if they help in the car.  (I know, I've been saying this for weeks, but it's actually on my to-do list for tomorrow).3

... make a list of Dreams and Goals for each of my dogs and myself.  It'll be in an upcoming blog post - stay tuned!