Terra is moving along in nose work. We make the exercises easier for her if it involves going into tight spaces, but she constantly impresses me with her dedication and endurance when searching.
She had her third heat cycle just before Christmas. It made her a little more clingy toward the end. I'm thinking of having her spayed around the time she turns 3 this summer.
We spent a week at my parents' house. She was on Trazadone and Gabapentin the whole time. Initially she was doing better than usual. After my sister and her husband arrived, she was overwhelmed by the number of people, even though she usually likes them. She spent a lot of time in the back yard or closed into my bedroom. She barely ate and lost about eight pounds. Her biggest stressor was still my dad, whom she's always been scared of.
The last bit of news is that Terra has caught and killed two feral cats. One was in the dog yard already when I let them out, and for some reason was caught by surprise. The second was spooked by something outside the yard and jumped the wire fence, practically right into Terra's mouth. Both times it was a challenge to get the dead cat away from her afterwards. She is now obsessed with them. Peggy, who knows that she is safe as long as there is a fence between them, often sleeps right on the other side of the wire. Terra will stare at her, then bash her face into the fence as she pounces forward. I'm working on discouraging the staring, but I will never ever trust her around small animals other than dogs. I'm muzzling her when we go for off leash hikes just in case.
Showing posts with label nose work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nose work. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Back to nose work
I'd said that I was fine with just having a cuddly dog who didn't do anything, but it turns out I lied. I want to do something with my dog. Our nose work practice had sputtered out earlier this year, but now I'm back to it with private lessons with Jennie Kiefer.
Terra is doing much better now. We are pairing the tin with food (though usually Terra is too timid to reach for the food on her own), and the tin is always out in the open. A few times she's had trouble because the odor was at her chest height and she was blocking it with her own huge body. However we're seeing steady progress in her desire to find the odor as well as her ability to follow it to source.
I don't need to compete in nose work with her, but I need some sort of structured activity that we can do together, that gives me goals to work towards. I'm feeling hopeful now that we're back on track.
Terra is doing much better now. We are pairing the tin with food (though usually Terra is too timid to reach for the food on her own), and the tin is always out in the open. A few times she's had trouble because the odor was at her chest height and she was blocking it with her own huge body. However we're seeing steady progress in her desire to find the odor as well as her ability to follow it to source.
I don't need to compete in nose work with her, but I need some sort of structured activity that we can do together, that gives me goals to work towards. I'm feeling hopeful now that we're back on track.
Thursday, January 4, 2018
01/03/18: feeling better
Terra still slept through most of the day, but she had short bouts of bored energy.
We did two super short nose work sessions. She did some good problem solving with containers 8-12" off the floor.
We did two super short nose work sessions. She did some good problem solving with containers 8-12" off the floor.
Monday, December 4, 2017
Day 89 (12/04/17): training with Sherry and at home, outgrowing her gear
We drove down to Auntie Sherry's again, to record Rally-FrEe with Chimera. Terra had to wait in a side yard while we trained and you can hear her whining loudly on the video. What a sad dog.
Terra got training time, too. I put on her "in training" vest, asked her to wait at my side, and rewarded her for ignoring Sherry. Separately, I pulled her collar up her neck and held my hand at the top to cue her conformation stay, and rewarded her for ignoring Sherry reaching out with her hand. Finally we did a ring gate exercise - I cued "let's go," we walked through the gates, and then she got a treat! This helps establish a positive association with entering a training ring.
Back at home, we practiced nose work. Our intro class at FDSA finished up a couple of weeks ago. We were progressing through the material quite slowly, and were still on week 2's lectures. So I signed up for another gold spot in this term's 101 class. I really want her to be a nose work superstar!
We practiced hand stacking. It's time for me to learn how to properly stack her instead of just practicing moving her legs around. I need to set up a mirror so that I can see how she looks from the judge's perspective.
We did the bucket game, and she's pretty much got the idea that she should ignore me touching her and just look at the bucket. I'm just doing touches on her back.
We did chin targets, and again she's learning to just hold the target while I very lightly touch her head. Having a hand move right in front of her is still a challenge.
Put on a head halter for a few seconds between treats. Right now I can control her with a back clip harness 90% of the time, but I might as well train it as another cooperative care exercise just in case.
Terra was on the cusp of outgrowing the training vest, so I ordered a new one with labels that say specifically "service dog in training." We'll see how comfortable I can get her to be in crowds and around noises. It's a big "if" right now, but we'll take it one day at a time.
She's outgrown her puppy collars, but I already had three adult sized collars on hand, purchased before I even brought her home. She's also outgrown the medium sized Balance Harness. I don't have a large one on hand, so I switched her to an extra-large Freedom Harness. (Funny how different sizing is between brands.) I'm still using the back clip since she usually doesn't pull hard.
Terra got training time, too. I put on her "in training" vest, asked her to wait at my side, and rewarded her for ignoring Sherry. Separately, I pulled her collar up her neck and held my hand at the top to cue her conformation stay, and rewarded her for ignoring Sherry reaching out with her hand. Finally we did a ring gate exercise - I cued "let's go," we walked through the gates, and then she got a treat! This helps establish a positive association with entering a training ring.
Back at home, we practiced nose work. Our intro class at FDSA finished up a couple of weeks ago. We were progressing through the material quite slowly, and were still on week 2's lectures. So I signed up for another gold spot in this term's 101 class. I really want her to be a nose work superstar!
We practiced hand stacking. It's time for me to learn how to properly stack her instead of just practicing moving her legs around. I need to set up a mirror so that I can see how she looks from the judge's perspective.
We did the bucket game, and she's pretty much got the idea that she should ignore me touching her and just look at the bucket. I'm just doing touches on her back.
We did chin targets, and again she's learning to just hold the target while I very lightly touch her head. Having a hand move right in front of her is still a challenge.
Put on a head halter for a few seconds between treats. Right now I can control her with a back clip harness 90% of the time, but I might as well train it as another cooperative care exercise just in case.
Terra was on the cusp of outgrowing the training vest, so I ordered a new one with labels that say specifically "service dog in training." We'll see how comfortable I can get her to be in crowds and around noises. It's a big "if" right now, but we'll take it one day at a time.
She's outgrown her puppy collars, but I already had three adult sized collars on hand, purchased before I even brought her home. She's also outgrown the medium sized Balance Harness. I don't have a large one on hand, so I switched her to an extra-large Freedom Harness. (Funny how different sizing is between brands.) I'm still using the back clip since she usually doesn't pull hard.
Saturday, October 14, 2017
Day 34 (10/14/17): visitors, peeing in crate, nose work
Terra didn't get out of the house today, but two pairs of clients came by. The first couple came into the kitchen as I let her in from the yard. I had to immediately put her into the bedroom because their dog guards them and might have laid into her. I had to push and pull on her to get her away from the people. I got her behind the baby gate between the kitchen and bedroom, and she manded (sat) and pawed at the gate repeatedly because she wanted so badly to greet them. YAY!
Later in the day, another couple whom she knows well came by, and she ran right up to them with her tail wagging wide, alternating who she approached and leaned into for petting.
The one low point in the day was that she peed in her crate while I was out for 3 hours. The urine didn't have any smell to it, so she must have loaded up on water shortly before I left and I didn't notice. And because there was a lot of it and the puddle spread across her bed, she then lay in it. I rubbed her down thoroughly with a wet towel but I sense another bath in her near future.
Switched a few things up for today's nose work session and she did beautifully. Here's what I wrote on the forum:
1. I recorded with my webcam, which is mounted about 5' up. You can see that I live in a tiny apartment! Recording from higher up allowed me to move around more. The downside is that it's hard to see where her nose is when she's not facing the camera, and I didn't want to obsess over that and ruin the fun. You'll just have to trust me that I was rewarding as soon as her nose hovered over the tin, and she was dead on every time that she chose to move toward it.
2. I used fresh cooked chicken as the reward, and right before dinner. On the first few hides she was distracted by the chicken hand, but on the last two she went straight to the tin!
3. Started with IYC in the hand, then on the box, floor, box, floor, box. I don't think she has any trouble with the concept of doing the game on the floor; only the same initial distraction by the chicken hand. (I'm looking forward to RLGL helping with this later on.)
4. I rewarded only one target to each hide, then removed the tin, and physically moved to a different spot. So we got 6 reps in in exactly 1 minute, and she stayed interested the entire time!!
Let me know how we should proceed. More of the same? Add duration? More floor work? Put tin in container?
Later in the day, another couple whom she knows well came by, and she ran right up to them with her tail wagging wide, alternating who she approached and leaned into for petting.
The one low point in the day was that she peed in her crate while I was out for 3 hours. The urine didn't have any smell to it, so she must have loaded up on water shortly before I left and I didn't notice. And because there was a lot of it and the puddle spread across her bed, she then lay in it. I rubbed her down thoroughly with a wet towel but I sense another bath in her near future.
Switched a few things up for today's nose work session and she did beautifully. Here's what I wrote on the forum:
1. I recorded with my webcam, which is mounted about 5' up. You can see that I live in a tiny apartment! Recording from higher up allowed me to move around more. The downside is that it's hard to see where her nose is when she's not facing the camera, and I didn't want to obsess over that and ruin the fun. You'll just have to trust me that I was rewarding as soon as her nose hovered over the tin, and she was dead on every time that she chose to move toward it.
2. I used fresh cooked chicken as the reward, and right before dinner. On the first few hides she was distracted by the chicken hand, but on the last two she went straight to the tin!
3. Started with IYC in the hand, then on the box, floor, box, floor, box. I don't think she has any trouble with the concept of doing the game on the floor; only the same initial distraction by the chicken hand. (I'm looking forward to RLGL helping with this later on.)
4. I rewarded only one target to each hide, then removed the tin, and physically moved to a different spot. So we got 6 reps in in exactly 1 minute, and she stayed interested the entire time!!
Let me know how we should proceed. More of the same? Add duration? More floor work? Put tin in container?
Day 32 (10/12/17): Sherry, Kiem, nose work
In nose work training, we've progressed from having the scented tin in my hand to placing it on a suitcase, as a halfway point to placing it on the ground. Terra did not have any trouble with that change - she would still put her nose right over the tin. I'm still working on increasing her motivation. I have to keep the training sessions below 1 minute, ideally below 45 seconds, which is harder than it seems when she feels the need to chew each treat 5+ times and sometimes a piece falls out of her mouth.
I took Terra, Cai, and a boarding dog to Sherry's. Sherry helped me train the boarding dog by having her dogs out in the front yard while we did BAT. When her turn was done, she napped in the car and Terra and Cai got to play with the other dogs. She got overwhelmed when two dogs focused on her at once (which we tried to avoid, but an extra one muscled his way through the gate). She was eager to interact one on one. And of course she was very happy to see Auntie Sherry.
In the evening Kiem came over again. Last time Terra had been startled by Kiem's arrival, and had been a little hesitant to approach. This time she was at the gate and trying to push through to say hello! I'm so happy to see her making a positive association with people coming to the house.
I took Terra, Cai, and a boarding dog to Sherry's. Sherry helped me train the boarding dog by having her dogs out in the front yard while we did BAT. When her turn was done, she napped in the car and Terra and Cai got to play with the other dogs. She got overwhelmed when two dogs focused on her at once (which we tried to avoid, but an extra one muscled his way through the gate). She was eager to interact one on one. And of course she was very happy to see Auntie Sherry.
In the evening Kiem came over again. Last time Terra had been startled by Kiem's arrival, and had been a little hesitant to approach. This time she was at the gate and trying to push through to say hello! I'm so happy to see her making a positive association with people coming to the house.
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Day 31 (10/11/17): bath, training, Home Depot
Terra got a bath. She smells so much better now.
She now consistently goes to the mat and stands and looks at me. I'm jackpotting for sits on it. She also plants herself into an awesome stand across my body, facing right (as for conformation). I've started adding my movement to the picture. Working on getting her to place her chin in my palm rather than me putting my palm under her chin. In nose work, she consistently puts her nose by the tin when I'm holding it at head height (and I have treats in the other hand at head height). Now we're working on lowering the tin (and treats) to the floor.
We went by the vet's for another weight: 56.5 lbs.
After that we headed to Home Depot. My favorite way to introduce a dog to stores is to visit a plant nursery, or go into the nursery area of Home Depot/Lowe's/OSH. They tend to be more open (plants on tables rather than aisles that completely block your view) and look like a blend of outdoor (more familiar) and indoor spaces. Terra immediately walked into the nursery, letting her nose lead the way. I had to pull her away from a few plants she wanted to chew on. We headed into the store proper after a few minutes.
I stopped in a little open area just to the side of the door. Terra was overwhelmed by all the sights and sounds and smells and started circling around me, trying to take everything in. I waited until she stopped, and because standing is tiring, she sat and then laid down. I squatted down and pet her for a while, letting her continue to process.
When I felt like she was ready to walk around, we headed through the aisles. For the most part she was leading the way into new parts of the store. Sometimes I guided her down specific areas (mostly to avoid people or animated Halloween and Christmas decorations). Sometimes people scared her and she wanted to retreat, but she doesn't always choose the best direction to go, so I have to use the leash to interrupt her and encourage her to turn in a different direction. Sometimes people made her only slightly anxious, and by putting a hand on her shoulder, I was able to get her to just pause and wait for them to go by. So there was some negative reinforcement for both walking with me, and for standing at my side. There were also times that she didn't react to people, and a few times that she wanted to approach - even, one time, a man!
We stayed in the store too long. After 35 minutes she sat down and gave a couple of yawns. We left as soon as she was ready to walk again. I'd give this trip a B-; there was still a lot more good than bad.
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| SO SAD |
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| WHY DID U DO THIS TO ME |
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| The fur on her back was sticking up afterwards. |
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| SAD DOG |
She now consistently goes to the mat and stands and looks at me. I'm jackpotting for sits on it. She also plants herself into an awesome stand across my body, facing right (as for conformation). I've started adding my movement to the picture. Working on getting her to place her chin in my palm rather than me putting my palm under her chin. In nose work, she consistently puts her nose by the tin when I'm holding it at head height (and I have treats in the other hand at head height). Now we're working on lowering the tin (and treats) to the floor.
We went by the vet's for another weight: 56.5 lbs.
After that we headed to Home Depot. My favorite way to introduce a dog to stores is to visit a plant nursery, or go into the nursery area of Home Depot/Lowe's/OSH. They tend to be more open (plants on tables rather than aisles that completely block your view) and look like a blend of outdoor (more familiar) and indoor spaces. Terra immediately walked into the nursery, letting her nose lead the way. I had to pull her away from a few plants she wanted to chew on. We headed into the store proper after a few minutes.
I stopped in a little open area just to the side of the door. Terra was overwhelmed by all the sights and sounds and smells and started circling around me, trying to take everything in. I waited until she stopped, and because standing is tiring, she sat and then laid down. I squatted down and pet her for a while, letting her continue to process.
When I felt like she was ready to walk around, we headed through the aisles. For the most part she was leading the way into new parts of the store. Sometimes I guided her down specific areas (mostly to avoid people or animated Halloween and Christmas decorations). Sometimes people scared her and she wanted to retreat, but she doesn't always choose the best direction to go, so I have to use the leash to interrupt her and encourage her to turn in a different direction. Sometimes people made her only slightly anxious, and by putting a hand on her shoulder, I was able to get her to just pause and wait for them to go by. So there was some negative reinforcement for both walking with me, and for standing at my side. There were also times that she didn't react to people, and a few times that she wanted to approach - even, one time, a man!
We stayed in the store too long. After 35 minutes she sat down and gave a couple of yawns. We left as soon as she was ready to walk again. I'd give this trip a B-; there was still a lot more good than bad.
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Day 29 (10/09/17): nothing
Terra played with one of the boarding dogs, and we did a few super short nose work sessions. Otherwise nothing happened today. I part of the day asleep, and the rest taking care of the boarders.
Friday, October 6, 2017
Day 26 (10/06/17): growth assessment, great trip to park, food, training
Chimera had his monthly visit to his amazing chiropractor, and I took Terra along for socialization. She was ready to greet everyone at the clinic. It was all women on staff, and I'm sure she recognized the setting as similar to our regular clinic, where she's comfortable. You couldn't tell that she's normally shy with strangers.
The doctor noticed that her front feet are a bit "easty-westy" (turning out to the side), and said that it's because her bones have grown but the muscles and tendons haven't caught up and aren't strong enough. She said to cut back on the extra portions I was giving her. She also said that otherwise she's looking good, and not to compare her growth to her siblings, but just look at the dog in front of me. I'll keep bringing Terra along on Cai's appointments, so Dr Wallace can watch her growth and keep an eye on things for me.
At twilight I got her out to Arroyo Park in Davis. She showed a big jump in her comfort level with people walking toward us and passing us. She still sometimes retreated and/or hid behind me, but other times she stood her ground and air scented and wagged her tail, and a few times she even stepped toward the strangers!
We also cuddled and wrestled and ran around. So much fun!
I still gave her a small amount of bacon fat with the organ meat in her ground meat at breakfast. At dinner I skipped it, and added her supplements instead. (She hasn't been getting the supplements since the diarrhea.) She seems to really like the fish oil, and I added some water from cooking chicken. She ate it all with gusto.
Training updates:
Stand-stay: still switching up duration between 1-5 seconds to get her really solid on it.
Mat: she finally would step onto the mat with her front feet, then pause and look up with that "where's my click?" look! Next step is adding duration.
Chin rest: just started this. Easy-peasy because she LOVES physical contact. Rather than shaping or luring, I just placed my hand under her chin and gave multiple rewards in a row. I'll keep repeating this until I see little movements of her head toward my hand.
Target stick: mostly review; she will now follow it easily in a circle.
Touch (hand target): adding the verbal cue and getting her to look for it and follow it.
Nose work: still at the first step of choosing to place her nose by the tin while I hold food in the other hand. I had been using a treat toss to reset and switch hands, but she started staring at the floor rather than offering duration at the tin. After two sessions with no reset treats, just lifting my hands away to reset, she had some duration.
The doctor noticed that her front feet are a bit "easty-westy" (turning out to the side), and said that it's because her bones have grown but the muscles and tendons haven't caught up and aren't strong enough. She said to cut back on the extra portions I was giving her. She also said that otherwise she's looking good, and not to compare her growth to her siblings, but just look at the dog in front of me. I'll keep bringing Terra along on Cai's appointments, so Dr Wallace can watch her growth and keep an eye on things for me.
At twilight I got her out to Arroyo Park in Davis. She showed a big jump in her comfort level with people walking toward us and passing us. She still sometimes retreated and/or hid behind me, but other times she stood her ground and air scented and wagged her tail, and a few times she even stepped toward the strangers!
We also cuddled and wrestled and ran around. So much fun!
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| On the way home. |
I still gave her a small amount of bacon fat with the organ meat in her ground meat at breakfast. At dinner I skipped it, and added her supplements instead. (She hasn't been getting the supplements since the diarrhea.) She seems to really like the fish oil, and I added some water from cooking chicken. She ate it all with gusto.
Training updates:
Stand-stay: still switching up duration between 1-5 seconds to get her really solid on it.
Mat: she finally would step onto the mat with her front feet, then pause and look up with that "where's my click?" look! Next step is adding duration.
Chin rest: just started this. Easy-peasy because she LOVES physical contact. Rather than shaping or luring, I just placed my hand under her chin and gave multiple rewards in a row. I'll keep repeating this until I see little movements of her head toward my hand.
Target stick: mostly review; she will now follow it easily in a circle.
Touch (hand target): adding the verbal cue and getting her to look for it and follow it.
Nose work: still at the first step of choosing to place her nose by the tin while I hold food in the other hand. I had been using a treat toss to reset and switch hands, but she started staring at the floor rather than offering duration at the tin. After two sessions with no reset treats, just lifting my hands away to reset, she had some duration.
Day 24 (10/04/17): training progress, visiting Agnes
Training is still progressing in baby steps, but I saw progress in multiple skills today. She's getting the hang of deliberately working for the treats. I got a little bit of duration at source in Nose Work, and more consistent duration of 4-5seconds in stand-stay. She was going to the mat with more intent rather than looking like she happened to wander on it. (I'm still working on getting her to go to the mat and then pause on her own.) We worked on IYC with eye contact while she was lying down and I kneeled in front of her, which was a new picture for her. The best one was that I got great nose touches to my hand target with both hands. I would toss the reward away and she was quickly returning to earn the next one.
We wrestled on the floor when training was done.
Today's field trip was to visit Auntie Agnes in San Francisco. She lives on a busy street and the number of people around was overwhelming for Terra, especially when they were walking right toward us. But as soon as we got off the main street, she was didn't react negatively to anything around her. She even peed on the sidewalk, though I had to stand and let her circle around me for a couple minutes first.
Once we were inside the apartment, she immediately relaxed and started exploring. Agnes' little dog, Frankie, was excited and zooming back and forth. The first few passes made Terra uneasy, but soon they started playing and were both running back and forth. So adorable. We did have to institute breaks as Frankie would wind up rather than correcting her as Chimera does.
When Frankie had had enough, he jumped up onto the couch next to Agnes and settled down. He growled when Terra got too close, and she definitely understood that message. She wandered around a little bit and found toys and chews, then settled on the rug and fell asleep. Such an easy puppy.
At the end I asked Agnes to practice the hand target, and Terra quickly recognized it and did 4 successful targets in a row. Then Agnes tried to do the stand-stay but Terra didn't recognize the cue and tried to just get petting or walk around. Thanks Agnes for helping do a little generalization for us!
Food-wise, Terra is back on 100% raw and doing well. I added a quarter of a daily portion of chicken liver and pork kidney to her breakfast and dinner. She didn't like the organs, which I've heard is fairly common. I minced them finely and mixed them into her breakfast and she just left a few pieces of organ in the bowl. At dinner I chopped a less finely, and she ate around it.
We wrestled on the floor when training was done.
Today's field trip was to visit Auntie Agnes in San Francisco. She lives on a busy street and the number of people around was overwhelming for Terra, especially when they were walking right toward us. But as soon as we got off the main street, she was didn't react negatively to anything around her. She even peed on the sidewalk, though I had to stand and let her circle around me for a couple minutes first.
Once we were inside the apartment, she immediately relaxed and started exploring. Agnes' little dog, Frankie, was excited and zooming back and forth. The first few passes made Terra uneasy, but soon they started playing and were both running back and forth. So adorable. We did have to institute breaks as Frankie would wind up rather than correcting her as Chimera does.
When Frankie had had enough, he jumped up onto the couch next to Agnes and settled down. He growled when Terra got too close, and she definitely understood that message. She wandered around a little bit and found toys and chews, then settled on the rug and fell asleep. Such an easy puppy.
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| Amy said, "She looks like a muppet." She really does. |
At the end I asked Agnes to practice the hand target, and Terra quickly recognized it and did 4 successful targets in a row. Then Agnes tried to do the stand-stay but Terra didn't recognize the cue and tried to just get petting or walk around. Thanks Agnes for helping do a little generalization for us!
Food-wise, Terra is back on 100% raw and doing well. I added a quarter of a daily portion of chicken liver and pork kidney to her breakfast and dinner. She didn't like the organs, which I've heard is fairly common. I minced them finely and mixed them into her breakfast and she just left a few pieces of organ in the bowl. At dinner I chopped a less finely, and she ate around it.
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Day 23 (10/03/17): nose work, grocery store, playing with Cai
Terra was still tired out all morning and afternoon from her long play session with Beedo yesterday.
I added a half portion of chicken liver and pork kidney to her breakfast. I had to mince it and mix well with the ground chicken meat to get her to eat them. She left a few pieces at the bottom of the bowl once she had eaten all the chicken meat. Cai didn't want the organs either.
I took her to the grocery store. First we walked around the sidewalk at the perimeter of the shopping center. She was happy to explore but was slightly overwhelmed by all the new - she would sometimes walk in a circle around me to look at everything. She did not react at all to the cars driving by at 45 mph. (She has never reacted to traffic.) Then we sat down at a table a little ways from the entrance to the grocery store. We watched people going back and forth for an hour. (Okay, I was on the phone for much of that.) She mostly laid at my feet. Once a man walked by very close, and she didn't react as she hadn't noticed him coming. Later a woman passed at the same distance, but Terra saw her approach and the woman made eye contact. Terra stood up and hid behind my chair.
Two young women approached and asked to say hello. I held up the "stop" signal, then said that she's shy and if they stood over there (about ten feet away) and called her, she might choose to come over. They did, and she went up to them almost immediately! She went right into the personal space of the woman standing a tad closer, and licked her face and turned herself sideways to her. When the second woman leaned in closer, Terra sniffed her hand and then backed toward the first woman. I think the combination of two new people was too much for her, and she had already identified the first woman as friendly and safe. After a little more petting from the first one, she returned to me with a happy wag. Yay!
After dinner, I left her and Cai in the kitchen as I took the boarding dog out to potty. I heard Cai's play sounds coming through the window and was very confused. I walked in to find them both making happy faces. I put the boarding dog away, and turned around to find this!!
I had not seen that coming! Cai had been making a few affiliative gestures toward Terra, like doing a slow hip check when she was lying down, but I didn't expect to see full on play so soon.
I let them play for a few minutes, then removed Cai when he seemed to be tiring out. Mostly Terra toned down her play when he would correct her, but she clearly still wanted to continue when he was ready to chill. I gave her a new toy from Auntie Sherry, then she alternated chewing on a bully stick, smoked beef bone, dental chew, and the ladder to my loft bed.
We got some good training time in today. We did 3 short nose work sessions, still doing IYC with treats in one hand and the hot tin in the other, and rewarding the dog for putting their nose near the tin. She definitely gets the idea, though she still sometimes gets distracted by the treats. At first I was using itty bitty pieces of chicken so that she wouldn't spend a lot of time chewing - she thoroughly chews even the tiniest treats, like Tiny Zukes or even pea-sized bits of cooked chicken. But a lot of them were dropping onto the floor, so I switched to the Bark Pouch. She was much more motivated then! Also made more mistakes due to the allure of "berrylicious peanut butter." The downside was that I got some licking of the tin, since she would put her nose to it before she had finished licking and swallowing the goop on her tongue. We'll do a few more sessions at least of step 1 before we progress.
We practiced with the mat, and while she is going straight to the mat after every reset toss, she will keep walking rather than stopping on top of it. She then loops and goes to it again. I'll continue with putting multiple treats down on the mat and see if it clicks... Maybe a raised platform would be better, but I don't have one big enough!
We had a nice session of nose touch to target fingers and tossing the reward away. I need to focus on creating clean loops and short sessions to build a good work ethic, as her tendency to do a loop around the room every few reps slows everything down.
I added a half portion of chicken liver and pork kidney to her breakfast. I had to mince it and mix well with the ground chicken meat to get her to eat them. She left a few pieces at the bottom of the bowl once she had eaten all the chicken meat. Cai didn't want the organs either.
I took her to the grocery store. First we walked around the sidewalk at the perimeter of the shopping center. She was happy to explore but was slightly overwhelmed by all the new - she would sometimes walk in a circle around me to look at everything. She did not react at all to the cars driving by at 45 mph. (She has never reacted to traffic.) Then we sat down at a table a little ways from the entrance to the grocery store. We watched people going back and forth for an hour. (Okay, I was on the phone for much of that.) She mostly laid at my feet. Once a man walked by very close, and she didn't react as she hadn't noticed him coming. Later a woman passed at the same distance, but Terra saw her approach and the woman made eye contact. Terra stood up and hid behind my chair.
Two young women approached and asked to say hello. I held up the "stop" signal, then said that she's shy and if they stood over there (about ten feet away) and called her, she might choose to come over. They did, and she went up to them almost immediately! She went right into the personal space of the woman standing a tad closer, and licked her face and turned herself sideways to her. When the second woman leaned in closer, Terra sniffed her hand and then backed toward the first woman. I think the combination of two new people was too much for her, and she had already identified the first woman as friendly and safe. After a little more petting from the first one, she returned to me with a happy wag. Yay!
After dinner, I left her and Cai in the kitchen as I took the boarding dog out to potty. I heard Cai's play sounds coming through the window and was very confused. I walked in to find them both making happy faces. I put the boarding dog away, and turned around to find this!!
I had not seen that coming! Cai had been making a few affiliative gestures toward Terra, like doing a slow hip check when she was lying down, but I didn't expect to see full on play so soon.
I let them play for a few minutes, then removed Cai when he seemed to be tiring out. Mostly Terra toned down her play when he would correct her, but she clearly still wanted to continue when he was ready to chill. I gave her a new toy from Auntie Sherry, then she alternated chewing on a bully stick, smoked beef bone, dental chew, and the ladder to my loft bed.
We got some good training time in today. We did 3 short nose work sessions, still doing IYC with treats in one hand and the hot tin in the other, and rewarding the dog for putting their nose near the tin. She definitely gets the idea, though she still sometimes gets distracted by the treats. At first I was using itty bitty pieces of chicken so that she wouldn't spend a lot of time chewing - she thoroughly chews even the tiniest treats, like Tiny Zukes or even pea-sized bits of cooked chicken. But a lot of them were dropping onto the floor, so I switched to the Bark Pouch. She was much more motivated then! Also made more mistakes due to the allure of "berrylicious peanut butter." The downside was that I got some licking of the tin, since she would put her nose to it before she had finished licking and swallowing the goop on her tongue. We'll do a few more sessions at least of step 1 before we progress.
We practiced with the mat, and while she is going straight to the mat after every reset toss, she will keep walking rather than stopping on top of it. She then loops and goes to it again. I'll continue with putting multiple treats down on the mat and see if it clicks... Maybe a raised platform would be better, but I don't have one big enough!
We had a nice session of nose touch to target fingers and tossing the reward away. I need to focus on creating clean loops and short sessions to build a good work ethic, as her tendency to do a loop around the room every few reps slows everything down.
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| So sleepy. |
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| She often sleeps with her eyes slightly open and the third eyelid showing. Creepy. |
Day 22 (10/02/17): playing at park, new people and dog, nose work
Terra weighed in at 49.5 lbs on the vet's scale. She said hello to a couple new staff members. She happily walked up to one standing but was wary of the two sitting in big black rolling chairs.
We drove to Cooper School Park. We arrived at 2:15. Terra walked and sniffed around under her own initiative. She hid between my legs when a man walked by 15 feet away, and retreated farther behind me when he called out "hello doggy." She resumed exploring. She laid down on the grass.
At 2:30 the elementary school next door ended their day. I hadn't known that was coming and was worried, but Terra handled it better than I'd expected. She watched the kids walking by from her shady spot in the middle of the park, and sniffed the breeze. She didn't show any overt stress signals, just curiosity. At 2:37 she stood up and resumed sniffing around. She even wanted to approach three kids playing nearby (I didn't let her as it was not a controlled enough situation).
At 2:45 we started playing, switching up between jaw and paw wrestling, running, cuddling, and resting. We both had a grand time. Twice more she tried to approach the three kids, with her tail wagging higher and faster each time. But I don't want to let her interact with kids I don't know at this point in time.
At 3 pm we returned to the car. Terra spooked when a girl came around a corner and turned right toward us. She tried to run directly away but I used the leash to steer her off the side instead.
She went into her crate for a nap. More demand barking put through extinction. Ugh.
I had invited a couple clients to come over with their six month old Dalmatian, Beedo. I particularly wanted Terra to meet the boyfriend, and then the pup. We were outside when they arrived, which gave Terra a good sightline and plenty of warning that new people were approaching. She quickly went up to the fence to say hello to the girlfriend. She backed away for a moment when the boyfriend came up, but he talked sweetly to her and put his fingers through the fence, and she tentatively came up to sniff his hand. When they came into the yard, again she approached the woman but retreated briefly from the man. As the minutes went by, she was willing to get closer to him, and at the 25 minute mark she came all the way up and pushed into him for a cuddle.
Soon after that, I had them bring Beedo over. Terra came right up to the fence to sniff him. As he came through the gate, she let him sniff her but tensed and slightly tucked her tail, and then walked away for about 30 seconds. She came back and they sniffed each other again. Beedo wanted to sniff all around and wasn't pushy with her. After a couple of minutes she wandered off and found a big wood chip to chew on. Then Beedo did the same.
It wasn't until Terra went all the way up to the boyfriend, and then placed her paws on his shoulders, that Beedo thought about playing with her - she had been too quiet before. Now he pawed at her head and shoulders. Terra responded in kind - "oh, we're playing now?" And they were off to the races! They ran around and around the yard, and wrestled. They played for an hour (with self-imposed breaks).
I signed up for a gold spot in Nose Work 101: Introduction to Nose Work at the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy. Class officially started yesterday and my vials and scent q-tips arrived today. I had ordered a kit with the NACSW scents (birch, anise, clove). I hope that the AKC scent sport will take off locally and there will be more opportunities to trial, but for now I'm just assuming that we'll do NACSW.
The first homework assignment is an IYC-style targeting exercise: hold treats in one hand and a hot tin in the other, and reward the dog at source when they choose to check out the tin. Terra startled at the strong smell. She did quickly choose to move toward the tin rather than futilely nosing at my treat fist, however she's not at all "drivey." She will do a few reps of one behavior, then take a lap around the room and drink some water, then sniff the floor, then either return to work or just lie down. That's okay - her ability to focus and desire to stay in the game are slowly increasing over time. It just doesn't make for snappy video.
We also practiced stand-stays and we can sometimes get to 4-5 seconds. She is rarely manding in confusion. But she will walk off and sniff around every few treats. Gotta keep it short and sweet, and give breaks before she decides to take them on her own.
We drove to Cooper School Park. We arrived at 2:15. Terra walked and sniffed around under her own initiative. She hid between my legs when a man walked by 15 feet away, and retreated farther behind me when he called out "hello doggy." She resumed exploring. She laid down on the grass.
At 2:30 the elementary school next door ended their day. I hadn't known that was coming and was worried, but Terra handled it better than I'd expected. She watched the kids walking by from her shady spot in the middle of the park, and sniffed the breeze. She didn't show any overt stress signals, just curiosity. At 2:37 she stood up and resumed sniffing around. She even wanted to approach three kids playing nearby (I didn't let her as it was not a controlled enough situation).
At 2:45 we started playing, switching up between jaw and paw wrestling, running, cuddling, and resting. We both had a grand time. Twice more she tried to approach the three kids, with her tail wagging higher and faster each time. But I don't want to let her interact with kids I don't know at this point in time.
At 3 pm we returned to the car. Terra spooked when a girl came around a corner and turned right toward us. She tried to run directly away but I used the leash to steer her off the side instead.
She went into her crate for a nap. More demand barking put through extinction. Ugh.
I had invited a couple clients to come over with their six month old Dalmatian, Beedo. I particularly wanted Terra to meet the boyfriend, and then the pup. We were outside when they arrived, which gave Terra a good sightline and plenty of warning that new people were approaching. She quickly went up to the fence to say hello to the girlfriend. She backed away for a moment when the boyfriend came up, but he talked sweetly to her and put his fingers through the fence, and she tentatively came up to sniff his hand. When they came into the yard, again she approached the woman but retreated briefly from the man. As the minutes went by, she was willing to get closer to him, and at the 25 minute mark she came all the way up and pushed into him for a cuddle.
Soon after that, I had them bring Beedo over. Terra came right up to the fence to sniff him. As he came through the gate, she let him sniff her but tensed and slightly tucked her tail, and then walked away for about 30 seconds. She came back and they sniffed each other again. Beedo wanted to sniff all around and wasn't pushy with her. After a couple of minutes she wandered off and found a big wood chip to chew on. Then Beedo did the same.
It wasn't until Terra went all the way up to the boyfriend, and then placed her paws on his shoulders, that Beedo thought about playing with her - she had been too quiet before. Now he pawed at her head and shoulders. Terra responded in kind - "oh, we're playing now?" And they were off to the races! They ran around and around the yard, and wrestled. They played for an hour (with self-imposed breaks).
 |
| Kangaroo-puppy! |
I signed up for a gold spot in Nose Work 101: Introduction to Nose Work at the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy. Class officially started yesterday and my vials and scent q-tips arrived today. I had ordered a kit with the NACSW scents (birch, anise, clove). I hope that the AKC scent sport will take off locally and there will be more opportunities to trial, but for now I'm just assuming that we'll do NACSW.
The first homework assignment is an IYC-style targeting exercise: hold treats in one hand and a hot tin in the other, and reward the dog at source when they choose to check out the tin. Terra startled at the strong smell. She did quickly choose to move toward the tin rather than futilely nosing at my treat fist, however she's not at all "drivey." She will do a few reps of one behavior, then take a lap around the room and drink some water, then sniff the floor, then either return to work or just lie down. That's okay - her ability to focus and desire to stay in the game are slowly increasing over time. It just doesn't make for snappy video.
We also practiced stand-stays and we can sometimes get to 4-5 seconds. She is rarely manding in confusion. But she will walk off and sniff around every few treats. Gotta keep it short and sweet, and give breaks before she decides to take them on her own.
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