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 reactivity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reactivity. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Friday, September 21, 2018
First heat cycle
Terra started spotting on August 18th. She quickly learned to clean herself, and the blood was only a problem when she got up from a nap, during which it would apparently pool near the opening to her vagina. That was when big drops would end up on the floor - or splattered all over if she was vigorously wagging her tail to welcome me home.
I didn't notice any behavioral changes while she was home. Unfortunately her heat coincided with me having an intact adolescent male boarding with me. I sent her off to stay with my parents during the second half of his board, as he was getting worse in his behavior. Terra has always been wary of my dad, but this time she started barking at him when he would make noise from his office or enter the room she was in. She likes my mom, who provided all her care.
The spotting had stopped by the time she returned on September 3rd. On September 13th she had gooey discharge but that cleared up after just two or three days. All seems back to normal now.
I put a note in my calendar for February 18, 2019: "Terra heat sometime around now." I hope she's regular.
I made her these adorable panties for the most part they weren't needed.
I didn't notice any behavioral changes while she was home. Unfortunately her heat coincided with me having an intact adolescent male boarding with me. I sent her off to stay with my parents during the second half of his board, as he was getting worse in his behavior. Terra has always been wary of my dad, but this time she started barking at him when he would make noise from his office or enter the room she was in. She likes my mom, who provided all her care.
The spotting had stopped by the time she returned on September 3rd. On September 13th she had gooey discharge but that cleared up after just two or three days. All seems back to normal now.
I put a note in my calendar for February 18, 2019: "Terra heat sometime around now." I hope she's regular.
I made her these adorable panties for the most part they weren't needed.
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Camping weekend
Terra went on her first camping trip, along with my sister and her dog, Frankie. Her behavior was mostly what I expected. She repeatedly held her bladder and bowels as long as she could, as she doesn't like to potty in new places. She picked at her food but ate everything in the end. She dug a hole. She tried to play with Frankie by pawing at him obnoxiously. She loved getting attention from me and Agnes. She woofed at most of the people who walked by our campsite. (Fortunately we were in a spot that didn't have too much traffic.) I was relieved that she didn't once bark at night.
She slept right next to me or on top of me most of the time. During the first night, every time she woke up, she would proceed to wake Agnes and me up by nosing at our faces. During the second night, she was tired from a long night and mostly settled. Once I train her out of bugging us, she'll be a great camp dog.
She slept right next to me or on top of me most of the time. During the first night, every time she woke up, she would proceed to wake Agnes and me up by nosing at our faces. During the second night, she was tired from a long night and mostly settled. Once I train her out of bugging us, she'll be a great camp dog.
Monday, February 5, 2018
Hiking, socializing
Terra has been enjoying off leash hikes lately. Unlike Chimera, who needed to be on a long line for years before he was trustworthy, Terra is more attached to me and comes back if she gets nervous. (Though if she feels cornered by someone's approach on a narrow trail, she may bark at them.) And now Cai has a near perfect recall, and she follows his lead.
She got to meet my friend Amy at a park in Oakland. She acted like a "normal" happy dog in the new location with a new person and new dogs. She still has trouble with most men, around crowds, and in tight spaces, but she's come a long away.
I flew down to San Diego to see Hamilton at the end of January. Terra and Cai stayed with my parents. No trouble.
The following weekend was a musical freestyle and rally-free event for Cai. Terra spent most of the time in the car, but came into the building during longer breaks between Cai's runs. She showed off her lapdog skills.
She got to meet my friend Amy at a park in Oakland. She acted like a "normal" happy dog in the new location with a new person and new dogs. She still has trouble with most men, around crowds, and in tight spaces, but she's come a long away.
I flew down to San Diego to see Hamilton at the end of January. Terra and Cai stayed with my parents. No trouble.
The following weekend was a musical freestyle and rally-free event for Cai. Terra spent most of the time in the car, but came into the building during longer breaks between Cai's runs. She showed off her lapdog skills.
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
12/23/17-12/26/17: White Christmas
We spent the past few days up in Truckee. Snow had recently fallen and the dogs got to go on morning and afternoon off leash walks in the woods. Terra didn't hesitate at all about walking in snow, even though she had never seen it before. She did really well both in the condo and walking outside. She frequently played with my sister's little dog, Frankie. I brought her crate and was diligent about potty training, so we didn't have any accidents, thank goodness! At first she held her bladder as long as she could because she wasn't relaxed enough outside. That also got better as the days went on. The only negative was that she's still scared of my dad, but she's getting better every time they're together. We had a few reactive barks at noises early on, and on the last day at a little girl with a snow shovel playing outside the back patio.
Here are my favorite pictures from the trip. Click on any photo to see it come up larger.
Here are my favorite pictures from the trip. Click on any photo to see it come up larger.
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| Trying to be a lap dog on the couch. |
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| She enjoyed tearing up the tag on her Christmas present. |
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| Beautiful view. |
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| Playing with Frankie. |
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| Besties. |
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| She liked to lie down against the L-shaped couch and rest her head in the coffee table. |
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Day 30 (10/10/17): agility class, car show downtown
I gambled that Terra could wait an extra ten minutes this morning while I showered, but I lost - she peed in her crate. Between that and frequently rolling around outside, she has gotten stinky and desperately needs a bath. Hopefully tomorrow.
I had skipped agility class last week because I overslept, but we made it today. I ran Cai twice, then put him in the car and got Terra out. At first we stayed far from the field and walked along the adjacent pasture fences. She saw a goat and a sheep about 100 feet away. She stopped and was unsure. We walked away. A horse came right up to another fence and put his head over. She spooked at the movement and gave a half whine, half growl when we didn't move away quickly enough. But as soon as the leash was loose at a distance she felt was safe, she sat and watched the horse. After a minute she ignored him and lay down facing away from him, toward the field.
As the handlers walked the final course and so there were no dogs on the field, I walked her across and to the opposite side. We hung out in the area where people crate their dogs. Terra was moderately nervous about walking past the people, but curious about the nearest dog and pulled toward him after we'd stopped. I moved her over, then we hung out and watched the class. She laid down. She rolled onto her side. She got gravel stuck to her lips and gums (ew). We wrestled. She got up and pulled toward the dog again. The teeter was on the far side of the course and she didn't react to the noise other than orienting to it. If I remember, I'll bring a pen for her next time and let her hang out through the entire class. She does so well with habituation.
This evening was the final classic car show for 2018 in downtown Winters. It takes place over two small blocks, with mostly classic muscle cars parked along the street for visitors to chat about. I put on her "in training" vest, parked in the park, and slowly headed over. She alternated between needing to stop and look around, and being okay with walking. We stayed on the quieter block, where maybe 20 people mingled at once.
We practiced passing people or getting out of the way of people. We practiced walking at my side. She's not really used to the leash restricting her movements, as usually I let her lead the way and sniff around. This time I needed to use the leash to stop her moving in this or that direction. She would often turn in a circle when she felt the tension, confused about the best way to remedy the situation. Oops, bad trainer - we haven't really practiced this at home, and that would be a big benefit to her. On the bright side, I gave her lots of freeze dried beef liver treats and she seemed to understand walking at my side and staying with me at turns. That comes naturally to her since she's so clingy!
I had to stop a few people from approaching us. A few others asked what she was in training for, which caught me off guard. I'm focusing on socialization and confidence building but at the same time I'm working on basic manners and it's all working toward a goal of being a confident sports dog as well as a pet dog I can take anywhere. I said "basic training."
The show wrapped up and most of the drivers left around sundown. Terra did not like the loud engine noises (I didn't either) but was less stressed by them toward the end. I give this trip a B-.
The current boarding dog has had a few barking fits in the yard. Terra now mostly ignores them. HOORAY!!!
I had skipped agility class last week because I overslept, but we made it today. I ran Cai twice, then put him in the car and got Terra out. At first we stayed far from the field and walked along the adjacent pasture fences. She saw a goat and a sheep about 100 feet away. She stopped and was unsure. We walked away. A horse came right up to another fence and put his head over. She spooked at the movement and gave a half whine, half growl when we didn't move away quickly enough. But as soon as the leash was loose at a distance she felt was safe, she sat and watched the horse. After a minute she ignored him and lay down facing away from him, toward the field.
As the handlers walked the final course and so there were no dogs on the field, I walked her across and to the opposite side. We hung out in the area where people crate their dogs. Terra was moderately nervous about walking past the people, but curious about the nearest dog and pulled toward him after we'd stopped. I moved her over, then we hung out and watched the class. She laid down. She rolled onto her side. She got gravel stuck to her lips and gums (ew). We wrestled. She got up and pulled toward the dog again. The teeter was on the far side of the course and she didn't react to the noise other than orienting to it. If I remember, I'll bring a pen for her next time and let her hang out through the entire class. She does so well with habituation.
This evening was the final classic car show for 2018 in downtown Winters. It takes place over two small blocks, with mostly classic muscle cars parked along the street for visitors to chat about. I put on her "in training" vest, parked in the park, and slowly headed over. She alternated between needing to stop and look around, and being okay with walking. We stayed on the quieter block, where maybe 20 people mingled at once.
We practiced passing people or getting out of the way of people. We practiced walking at my side. She's not really used to the leash restricting her movements, as usually I let her lead the way and sniff around. This time I needed to use the leash to stop her moving in this or that direction. She would often turn in a circle when she felt the tension, confused about the best way to remedy the situation. Oops, bad trainer - we haven't really practiced this at home, and that would be a big benefit to her. On the bright side, I gave her lots of freeze dried beef liver treats and she seemed to understand walking at my side and staying with me at turns. That comes naturally to her since she's so clingy!
I had to stop a few people from approaching us. A few others asked what she was in training for, which caught me off guard. I'm focusing on socialization and confidence building but at the same time I'm working on basic manners and it's all working toward a goal of being a confident sports dog as well as a pet dog I can take anywhere. I said "basic training."
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| We didn't get close to the clown. |
The current boarding dog has had a few barking fits in the yard. Terra now mostly ignores them. HOORAY!!!
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Addendum to 09/26/17: onset of alarm barking
There are three free-ranging goats on the farm, and it's common for boarding dogs to initially bark at them. Last night at twilight they were loudly rustling branches just out of sight of the dog yard. Cai gave a few barks and my boarding dog had a reactive fit. As I led him away to the far side of the yard, I watched Terra out of the corner of my eye. She fled into the barn, barking all the way. She returned after a moment and found us on the other side of the yard. The boarding dog gave a few more barks, and again Terra also barked and retreated into the barn.
Later that evening I took her out by herself, so she wouldn't be influenced by the boarding dog. She pottied normally. Right as we walked back into the barn, one of the goats bleated and rustled. She whipped around and gave a few half-volume alarm barks. I wrapped my arms around her to give calming pressure and contact, then led her into the house. I had to take her by the collar as she didn't want to stand down.
Fuuuuuuuuuuck
Later that evening I took her out by herself, so she wouldn't be influenced by the boarding dog. She pottied normally. Right as we walked back into the barn, one of the goats bleated and rustled. She whipped around and gave a few half-volume alarm barks. I wrapped my arms around her to give calming pressure and contact, then led her into the house. I had to take her by the collar as she didn't want to stand down.
Fuuuuuuuuuuck
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