Big dogs, visiting and training with friends

I brought Terra to Rachel's craft party yesterday. We stopped by Point Isabel first so that Terra could run around. She met three Great Danes. She's intimidated by large dogs, even some lab/golden sized ones, and will hunch down and tuck her tail around giant dogs. After the initial greeting, she saw them playing and was curious and snuck up for more sniffing.

Once at Rachel's, she wandered and sniffed everything for an hour, then fell asleep on the couch for the rest of the evening. We did a couple of mini training sessions for conformation. I put on the slip lead, gave the cue for her to stand and watch my hand, and then Rachel or Agnes would reach toward her head. She got a treat for continuing to look at my hand, or for looking back if she got distracted. She did quite well! Agnes was able to touch her chin without Terra looking away.

I took her to the back yard to potty before we left, and she peed right away, which meant that she'd been intentionally holding it while in Rachel's house. Good girl.

Day 99 (12/14/17): park trip, craft night at Rachel's

I took Terra to craft night again. On the way we stopped by Alan Witt Park to run around. I had her on a long line just in case, but she stayed close to me. We literally ran in circles and played. After a few minutes I realized that my phone had bounced out of my pocket. I walked back and forth across the grass. Terra still wanted to play and kept bouncing up and down beside me and running around in circles. It was quickly getting dark and I knew that my phone had fallen out within a certain small area, but I just couldn't find it, and for some reason the Tile was not connecting and making it ring for me. Fortunately there was a family playing nearby and they had a couple of flash lights. With six pairs of eyes, the phone was located within a minute. Terra shied away from the strangers but wanted to play again as soon as they left.

She peed in Rachel's back yard as soon as we arrived, which was a relief as it meant that I could let her hang out off leash. She was tired out from the park and was perfectly behaved. I let her up on the couches and she did her best to be a lap dog with Eli.

Days 81-87 (11/26/17-12/02/17): visiting friends, CVS, trial, mystery injury

11/27/17:
Terra's weight was 82 pounds.

I took her into the CVS next door to the vet's. She did very well walking around and showed only minimal interest in sniffing merchandise. We even went down a junk food aisle, with me holding the leash very short just in case, but she followed me lead and just walked straight ahead. We worked particularly on "wait," which is difficult for her because she has a lot of momentum to stop! I sat down by the pharmacy to practice settling in public. I cued her to sit and then lured her down. At first she fussed but, as usual for her, she then gave up and just watched the world go by.

On our way out we stopped to let a couple of ladies pass by. They stopped in front of us and one asked if Terra was "friendly." I put my hand out in a "stop" signal and replied, "She's in training and I need her to focus right now." The lady nodded by stared at Terra and then started to make kissy noises. I quelled my rage - I HATE it when people call out to my dog or otherwise try to get its attention without permission - and stuffed a treat into Terra's face. I then side-stepped to my right and gave a leash cue, Terra did a beautiful side-step to join me, and we walked out with the treats continuing.

A friend commented that in the future I should directly address the person's behavior rather than the dog's needs, ie, "don't interact with her." That's a good suggestion. I fell into the trap of using language that is understood by dog nerds but not by ignorant non-dog people. But I am also, clearly, training my dog to ignore people doing that, as some bullies will intentionally try to distract a dog just to be mean.


11/30/17:
We drove down to visit Sherry and act as decoys for a leash reactive client of hers. Terra got excited and pulled toward the other dog when it was just 10 feet away. Otherwise she happily walked around and sniffed as usual.

I wish this photo hadn't been washed out by the sun because her face is so cute!

Taking a break in the bushes.

Om nom nom.

In the evening we visited Rachel for another craft party. Terra pooped (actually had diarrhea) in the back yard shortly after our arrival, but had to stay on the tether for nearly two hours until she finally peed outside. Then she got to be in the house off leash, but was so tired that she just slept on a dog bed until we left.

I had Rachel help me with a short training session. First I put on Terra's "in training" harness and cued her to wait at my side. I rewarded her for staying as Rachel approached, as Rachel said hello, and then as she used the lilting "talking to a dog" voice. It was hard for Terra because she loves Rachel! We need to practice this a lot more with a variety of people so that she will be able to confidently ignore the public.

Then I had Rachel hold a small handful of treats and I practiced hand stacking Terra. It's one way to make a positive association with a conformation "judge" approaching.


12/01/17:
Chimera has his first AKC agility trial today. Since it was on a Friday, the entries were small. I let Terra sleep in the car all morning. She would be in a different position every time I checked on her, but was always sleeping soundly. Finally, after Cai's second run, which was the last run of the day, I brought her out. She wanted to sniff every tree and post we walked by to get information about the other dogs. She wanted to say hello to almost every other dog that passed within 10 feet. I was happy to see her so curious. A loud noise dampened her enthusiasm for a few minutes, but she recovered enough to practice touch, chin, stand-stay, and IYC.

Sometime today Terra hurt herself, probably while playing with her Malinois friend. I think it's something around her back, hips, or hind legs but she didn't respond negatively to me handling her. She's been a little slower to get up and occasionally whining as she does so. At one point she stood up and then hunched over. She still wanted to play with the Malinois but would sometimes get pissed off if the other dog jumped on her back. The Malinois went home so I no longer have to deal with puppies who are desperate to play but have to be kept apart. I'll keep an eye on Terra tomorrow and see how she recovers.

Days 70-77 (11/15/17-11/22/17): socialization trips

11/15/17:
Hiked off leash on the Homestead Trail along with a boarding dog. It was a weekday morning and raining, so we only saw one other person. (Terra was scared of him.) We had to pass a very shallow creek and she was reluctant. Perhaps she remembered the previous two times she'd gone into water with abandon and then regretted. However after I had crossed and was standing on the other side, she had no choice but to follow.

In the evening we visited Rachel. Haley and Frankie crowded Terra as we walked in. I was just telling Rachel that I needed to take her through to the back yard ASAP when I saw that she had done a little submissive tinkling... and then she let her whole bladder loose. So embarrassing. I let her play with the other two for about an hour, and then put her on leash and tethered her to the table where I was knitting. I took her out every 20-30 minutes and on the third trip, she finally peed in the back yard. Then she got to play again for an hour, and then back on the tether until it was time to go.

11/17/17:
We took a trip to PetSmart. I challenged her to walk slightly closer to people than before. She's improving, but slowly.
 
11/19/17:
We've aged out of puppy class, but Nancy transferred our credit to the adolescent level. The classes are in a new location, as well. We practiced going to her mat, hand touches, IYC, and stripping her ears. We wrestled and played tug and ran around. We didn't participate in any of the training exercises the rest of the class did, since they were focused on self-control and practicing polite greetings with strangers. We skipped the play time because I have a dog boarding who plays hard with Terra and I didn't want her to have any extra roughhousing to tax her body.
 
11/20/17:
Weight at vet's is 76.5 lbs.

I needed to buy special cookies at Trader Joe's. This was a new location for her. We walked around the front of the store (away from the stream of people going in and out) and sat on a bench. She fussed at first as she didn't want to wait around, but then she gave up and sat, then laid down.

There is a Babies R Us next door, and I could see that there were very few people inside. We took 2 trips through the store. The first one was in through the entrance and out through the nearby exit right away. The second time, we went down a couple of aisles before leaving. Terra was mildly curious about the merchandise and spots on the floor that she thought might be edible. I kept her moving.

11/22/17:
Today's field trip was to Michael's. She did very well and walking around. She wanted to sniff merchandise here and there, but wasn't obtrusive. (I do let her sniff briefly as I want her to feel comfortable, but I call her to continue onward after a few seconds.) We stopped in the yarn section for a few minutes, as this is a realistic thing for me to do when shopping. She fussed and wanted to keep exploring. I got her to sit (which was great as we, uh, don't practice this ever) and after a minute she inevitably sunk to the floor. It takes so much effort to hold that giant body up!

She tends to pause (and sometimes back up slightly) when people come into her line of sight. I always give a treat immediately. I can see that she is slowly transitioning to worrying less and being more grateful for the treat.

We need more practice with stopping on cue ("wait"). Her attention and leash walking were good though, especially after I switched from the Bark Pouch to beef liver. She seems to like variety in her treats.

Unrelated, I finished stripping her ears today. Now I wait for the rest of the puppy coat to be ready to come out.

Day 64 (11/09/17): bath, Stitch & Bitch

Terra was getting stinky from playing and lying on the ground, so it was time for another bath. This time, instead of standing outside the bath, I stripped down and got into the tub with her. It was a tight fit already; she almost knocked me over once. At first she didn't try to escape, because clearly you can't go through an opaque shower curtain. Until you can. I have no idea what I'll do when she's larger. On the bright side, all the yucky dog smell is gone.

In the afternoon we drove down to Oakland to attend a Stitch & Bitch. She was overwhelmed when we first walked into the store and I closed the door behind her. She turned and stared out through the glass, and didn't want to walk around. Within a few minutes, Rachel arrived! Terra tucked her tail for a moment, then recognized Rachel and was SO happy. And immediately after, was happy to wander around the store and explore.

People kept filtering in, about 15 total. She greeted nearly everyone happily. She didn't even mind when one person stood over her to wind a skein of yarn. She laid on her mat and chewed a bully stick. She also tried to approach a few other dogs who came into the store, and solicited attention from everyone sitting nearby, but I attached her 4' leash to my chair so that she couldn't wander. (People noted that once she's full grown, that may not work anymore.)

What are you doing? Do you have toys?

Why are you pushing me away?? :(

Ho hum, just my friend Wesley standing over me.

No biggie.

I guess there's nothing to do but chew on this giant bully stick.

One trans man made her uncomfortable, which was interesting to note in light of the typical male/female dynamic for shy dogs, and then the next woman who greeted her came up to quickly and loudly and carrying a large bag. Rachel and I took her for a walk to give her a break.

She felt better and started falling asleep on her mat as soon as we got back.

Too tired to care anymore.

Days 51-62 (10/31/17-11/07/17): rabies, visiting parents, dog friends, outings

10/31/17:
Got rabies vaccination. Terra shied away from Shawn the vet tech. She had been friendly with him before, but he came into the room and toward her too quickly. He was in a hurry because the clinic had an emergency patient, so he couldn't sit with her and let her warm back up to him. So I positioned myself next to her side, blocking her view of what Shawn was doing at her back end, and fed her pieces of chicken. She gave a tiny flinch when he put his hands on her but it seemed surprise/confusion rather than worry.

11/02/17:
My sister dropped off her little dog Frankie for the weekend. Terra and Frankie love each other.

11/03/17-11/04/17:
I packed up Terra, Chimera, and Frankie, and drove two hours south to visit my parents. Along the way we had a private lesson with Vicki Ronchette (will detail in a separate post).

Terra loves my mom (all my dogs do, probably because she and I are very similar). She's wary of my dad. By chance, he kept startling her by popping up in doorways. I realized what was happening toward the end of the visit and told him that if he remembered to talk as he was coming around the corner, she wouldn't be startled and run away. She did approach him to sniff here and there, but would retreat when he would turn toward her or reach for her.

My mom and I took the dogs for a long walk on Friday evening. Between that, playing with Frankie, and just the general excitement, Terra was tired out on Saturday.

We had one potty accident, right as we got back from the walk. She had a full bladder but she is not relaxed enough to potty while walking unless she absolutely can't hold it anymore. Lesson learned - next time I'll take her straight to the back yard as we come in.

She didn't chew anything up except for a shell that fell from a shelf while the dogs were running around.

I brought her big crate and she was comfortable in it overnight.

A few times while we were in the back yard, she heard sudden noises from neighboring yards and alarm barked. She was also uncomfortable with the neighboring dogs doing territorial/alarm barking (which is common for puppies).

11/05/17:
Rachel and Eli brought Halley over while we butchered chickens with a couple other friends. I left all the dogs in the back yard. Terra played a little, dug a little, and sunbathed.

11/06/17:
We visited Sherry for the day. Terra played with a few other dogs. She was wiped out that evening.

11/07/17:
Had agility class in the morning, though Cai injured his foot so we left early. Terra was quiet as I left her and Cai to walk the course, but barked loudly when I took Cai out for our turn. I think I'll ask another student to feed her chicken while we run.

We stopped by the vet's for a weight - 71.5 lbs, which is an increase of 5.5 lbs in 7 days!

We went to Lowe's for a socialization trip. Terra was generally more comfortable walking all around the store. She startled at some loud noises. She was uncomfortable with people passing close by us.

In the evening we went downtown. There weren't a lot of people out since it was a Tuesday night. Terra initially was suspicious of the gourds lining the sidewalks, but her curiosity won out. She investigated, then dismissed them.

General:
She's been sleeping longer through the night, but still wakes me up to go out between 6 and 8 am. She goes back into the crate afterwards without a fuss.

She doesn't like pork but I bought it in bulk so I've been struggling to get her to eat all her meals lately. I've been adding chicken broth, warm water, and bacon fat. Not even all that is enough. I will have to buy some more beef or chicken and mix it 50/50.

Photos with Rachel

These are from Rachel's visit on 10/28/17. Terra's cuddles make people very happy.

Day 48 (10/28/17): first hike, Rachel visiting

We drove to Davis and hiked a trail next to Putah Creek. Terra was off leash but came to me when called. More importantly, she came to me for reassurance whenever we saw people coming. She got bolder and wandered farther, following Chimera, on our way back. There wasn't a lot of room for the dogs to stretch out but she got a few short sprints in. I so miss having Redwood Regional Park right outside my front door.

After the hike, she napped soundly in the car while I worked with a boarding dog.

My bestie Rachel came to spend the rest of the day with us. I heard her pull up and opened the front door and called out to her. When she knows that someone is approaching and I'm greeting them, she assumes that the visitor is a friend. She immediately wanted to greet Rachel. She got cuddles throughout the day from both of us, and napped while we did cleaning and yard projects. Adorable pictures coming soon.