Private Lesson #2 & Socialization

She's almost 6 months old!!  I absolutely adore this girl <3

 

Private Lesson #2

This past Sunday we had our second private lesson.  It was MUCH more challenging for Jazmyn.  Instead of being inside the training hall, we had our lesson outdoors (agility trials were going on inside).  This mean she was exposed to cars pulling in and out of the driveway, the dogs barking in the daycare/boarding, owners & dogs walking by as well as the trainer and her dog. 

Jazmyn was almost impossible to control in the beginning.  She was extremely excited to see the trainer, and would not listen to either of us until she got her greeting.  She really didn’t even notice the trainer’s dog until after her people greeting.  Let the barking begin.  Walking away did nothing.  Our trainer showed us how to get her into a sit, hold her collar, and use a calming touch to bring Jazmyn back down to a calmer level versus a Level 10.  After that, it went better.

However, a man and his GSD decided they’d like to be helpful towards our session.  At first they were watching from a distance, but kept moving closer.  Jazmyn completely lost interest in the trainer’s dog and was focused on the GSD.  It was going well initially, and we were working on our walking away and she was responding.  However, unlike the trainer’s dog, the man’s GSD wasn’t 100% non-reactive.  It began to whine, which ramped up Jazmyn’s reactions.  Our trainer had him remove the GSD, but the man was welcome to watch.  As soon as the GSD left, it was much easier to gain Jazmyn’s focus with just the 1 dog around.

After she was getting the walking away method, we began to use the same method but behind a moving dog.  We’d walk towards the trainer & her dog, and when Jazmyn was calm we’d follow them as they moved forwards.  The end goal was to have her calmly walking behind another dog, but focusing on me for direction.  Much more difficult given the environment, but she was able to complete the task successfully a few times.

We allowed Jazmyn to go for an intro sniff, and really, she’s not even interested in meeting the other dog, it’s almost just the excitement to get there.  She gave a quick sniff but was done, and her interest in the dog after each approach decreased.  She really just wants to go where she wants to go, and the leash prevents her from doing so.

We have a lot of practicing to do on our own, and its helping on our daily walks.  Paul had a walk one morning this week that was VERY successful, only 2 minor reactions:

• Jazmyn ignored barking dogs in the distance
• 2 people were talking on their driveway and Jazmyn didn't react.  The lady commented on Jazmyn's appearance, and Paul brought her over for an introduction.  She was hesitant about meeting the man, and looked to Paul for direction.  She got over it in a few seconds and went in for a very nice greeting and received treats from them.
• Had a great loose leash walk towards the elementary school
• Exposure to cars in the kiss&ride at the school, kids getting off two school buses
• Construction workers were on the other side of the street, past the school, she heard & saw them, but no reaction

We have learned that Jazmyn is nervous of large, running vehicles, including our SUV.  She does not like to approach with the engines running.  Paul had to walk past a running construction truck and she reacted.  He had her sit, and they went past the truck 2-3 times until she completely ignored it.  We are practicing having her go in and out of our SUV, as well as pass it, while it is running.  Will take some time but she'll get there.

She also has a pretty strong reaction to kids on skateboards.  They move fast & random, so I can see how this would excite her.  Exposure is the key and hopefully the nice weather brings out more kids and we can work on this further.

Jazmyn now LOVES the water, including the hose.  What a mess lol

Slow Progress...But Progress! - Private Lesson #1

It's been a few weeks since I updated last, and a lot of things have been happening in our house!  I am a proud Auntie again to a beautiful little girl, but because of her birth things in our place have been a little chaotic.  Jazmyn hasn't gotten enough exercise, but now that my sister-in-law is all settled at home, things are going back to normal and we're amping up Jazmyn's training and exercise schedule.

We withdrew Jaz from group obedience classes and have begun our private training sessions.  We've completed 2 so far and I think they're going to help long-term.  

Private Lesson #1

Jazmyn always knows when we're heading to SuperDogs, it's like she can just sense it from the country roads we have to take.  Usually, she begins to act up in the car and is reactive right on the drive in.  This time, she was much better! We've been working a lot to reduce her stress in the car and overall she was much calmer.  She offered a nice sit and a calm reaction before Paul let her out.  Of course, once out she can hear the dogs barking in the daycare, but she was much more focused on getting to the front door of the reception.

She gets so excited to meet new people that she pulls quite hard.  She MUST sit or lay down before receiving an "Okay" to greet.

We got into the training hall and we asked if we could drop the leash just to let Jazmyn explore and get comfortable. This worked like a charm.  Within 30 seconds she'd established where she was and came right back.  There were dogs on the other side of the dividing wall, she barked a few times, but being off leash didn't create a reaction as normal, it was more of an "I'm here too!" kind of bark.  Another dog was on the other side of the door, and they sniffed under the door, no barking, we called her back and she came no issue.

The main exercise that we're working on with Jazmyn is teaching her that her barking & lunging DOES NOT allow her to move towards whatever she is fixated on.  We all agree that her barking & reaction is excitement, so we need to curb it and get her focused on us.  We started working on the movement without another dog present.  We'd walk with a loose leash, Jazmyn focusing on us.  The second that she showed the body language of a reaction, or an actual reaction, we'd sharply turn the other direction (without tightening on the leash), forcing her to follow us.  At first, she'd attempt to keep moving in her own direction, but very quickly, she understood that she had to follow, and if she did, she'd be rewarded.  Once she was following, the goal was to then turn back towards her fixation, yet have her remain focused on us and progressing with no reaction.  The second another reaction, turn away again.

Now it was time for the real test.  The trainer brought in her Malinois and put her in a down stay (she was really focused & non-reactive).  We started right away walking the opposite direction with Jaz.  We'd have to put her into a sit occasionally to get her focus 100%.  After about 15 minutes of turning & walking, she "Got" it.  We walked up calmly behind the Malinois, no reaction, and put Jazmyn into a sit about 6 feet away or so.  Once focused, we gave her the "okay" to say hello and then we'd quickly walk away.  Jazmyn was only allowed to sniff the Mal for a second, and received no sniff back.  It was purely to teach her that nothing bad would happen upon a nice greeting.  We repeated this about 5-7 times, with each approaching becoming smoother and smoother.

Overall a great first session, that left us hopeful for the future!

An Eventful & Hopeful Weekend (Part 2)

Saturday April 7th

We had a quiet Saturday, went for a walk, played for hours in the backyard and then Paul & I had my mom’s family dinner.  Left Jazmyn behind & crated for the evening.  Definitely not as eventful as Friday, but it was still a good day and she was well behaved.

Sunday April 8^th

Jazmyn had another big day yesterday!  We met up with my sister, her fiancé, my mom & stepdad and Paisley for another play session at the field.  This time we didn’t try as hard to engage Jazmyn as they were approaching to see how she  would behave.  She saw them approaching & the tail began wagging and she ran up to say hellos & the chase game began right away.  She looked really happy to see Paisley and they were off.  Not a single bark.

They romped around for a bit as we said hello to my family and we called the dogs back.  We used the chuck-it again for far tosses and the same as the day before, Paisley chased the ball and Jazmyn chased Paisley.  It was a very good play session!  It was nice to see Jazmyn more relaxed and confident, although she needs to stop herding tails as it’s going to get her in trouble!  The 2 pups got tuckered out and were laying down in the grass within 5 feet of each other.  A huge success and a glimpse at what our summer in the backyard by the pool could be like.  Many more play sessions & walks to come and it’s exciting to be able to have the pups together.

She had an excellent recall all day, and even helps bring Paisley back when they go too far.  Jazmyn hears “COME” and knows it’s serious as we don’t use it often. When she’d come charging back, Paisley would follow. Although once, Jazmyn came on her own and sat nicely beside us while Pais was still running off in the distance.  I was extremely proud of my pup, even if I couldn’t show it.

Sad note:  We left Jazmyn’s brand new Easter present behind at the park L My In-Laws got her a Kong Frisbee, and we were having such a good time, that we picked up the soccer ball but left the Frisbee in the grass.  Paul went back to get it but it was gone (2 weimaraners came in just as we were leaving, so they probably found it)

Jazmyn crashed and then it was time for Easter Dinner at our house.  Wasn’t a big event this year, but Paul’s sister, her hubby and our 2 year-old niece came over.  Jazmyn and Abby (my niece) have been separated for the last while as my brother-in-law feared Jazmyn was too rambunctious and that Abby would get hurt.  That rule no longer stands as he finally saw (he’d never really paid attention before) how much work we were putting into Jazmyn.  Her recall is excellent and she listens well to commands.  Sure she gets exited, but she’s 5 months old!  We of course kept Jazmyn on a leash around Abby, but she was a doll.  Jazmyn came out in the yard off-leash while Abby was swimming in the hot tub.  She didn’t bark, etc, but was very curious about the “little person” LOL.  Abby was VERY excited to see Jazmyn, she loves her.  Abby threw balls for her, and after coming out of the tub, wanted to give Jazmyn treats.  We leashed up Jazmyn, and she laid down and patiently waited for Abby to drop treats.  She was a very good girl, and we were glad that our in-laws could see her change in behaviour.  She still jumps up on the adults, but a firm “off” puts her back on her bum lol.  She did nip Abby’s sweater once, but nothing more (She’s teething so heavily – 5 teeth lost in a week).

Needless to say, but 8:30pm the pup was pooped and was asking to go to bed LOL She’ll sit outside the bedroom door and whine to get in (her crate is in there).  She walked on it and plopped herself down.

An Eventful & Hopeful Weekend (Part 1)

This is going to be a long one!  We had a lot of great socialization this weekend along with great progress.

Friday April 6^th

Today was the day Jazmyn was going to meet Paisley, my sister’s lab mix.  We’ve been putting the meeting off since we brought Jazmyn home, but now was the “right” time for Jazmyn to meet her and learn that dog’s are not out to get her.  They’re almost the same in height & length, but Paisley has almost 20 pounds (and 4 months of age) on Jazmyn.  Jazmyn is reactive on leash, but not as bad, if at all, off leash so we knew the meeting HAD to take place off leash for it to be smooth & uneventful.

We had rules & boundaries that we asked our family to follow as we knew of Jazmyn’s reactivity and wanted it to be positive.  While they don’t fully understand, they did listen and it showed in the end result.

Paul and I took Jazmyn to an enclosed field and were throwing Frisbees, kicking soccer balls, etc, basically doing everything would could to keep Jazmyn engaged with us.  My sister, her fiancé and our brother brought Paisley after we arrived and kept her on leash until they were half way across the field.  Jazmyn was completely focused on us, and didn’t even notice them walking.  Paisley, being her super social self, ran up and said hi to Jazmyn and immediately took off running (as usual).  Jazmyn didn’t have the chance to bark & react, only to engage in her favourite game of all, CHASE!  They ran, and ran, and ran!  Paisley runs so fast that Jazmyn can’t really catch her, so it was the best game for them to engage in.  After running, they did a fairly nice greeting (a big step for Jazmyn as she seems to not know how to do this).

We had a few little yelps and a tiny scuffle, as Jazmyn was “herding” Paisley’s tail and Paisley told her boldly that it wasn’t acceptable.  Jazmyn also rudely barked & air snapped at Paisley and that didn’t impress Paisley.  Jazmyn seemed to really learn and they played well for the rest of the hour and a bit.  When we were leaving, we were able to walk them side by side on leash with no problem whatsoever.

Jazmyn and Paisley, while both still young, compliment each other well and I think they can both help each other with their “issues”.  Jazmyn is hesitant around other dogs and unsure of how to greet, but Paisley is a social butterfly with low to no reactivity.  She’ll be a huge confident booster to Jazmyn and will help teach her that dogs can just play without being a threat.  Paisley has some guarding issues, mainly with sticks & toys.  Jazmyn, when with dogs or people, doesn’t really care about the toy, so when the two of them were running after a ball, Paisley was going for the ball, but Jazmyn was just in it for the chase.  Jaz would let Paisley get the ball with no problems, and just follow her back to us.  Paisley, by the end, was learning that Jazmyn isn’t going to even try to take her toy away and hopefully, in time, she’ll become much more trusting.

Jazmyn is also 50/50 when it comes to reactivity in the car.  On the way to the field, she was barking at the occasional walker/jogger on the street, and barked at the dogs.  After their play session, we had a very well behaved pup in the car.  Absolutely no barking and pretty much fell asleep.  A strong & firm “Leave It” seems to work to stop her from barking at people we pass while driving.

Jazmyn came home and CRASHED for a few hours after the intense play session, while we got ready to head out for Family Dinner #1.  I took her for a walk on my own before we had to leave and it was a giant success.  Usually Jazmyn walks better with both of us, but this time, she was focused on me and in a very happy state.  I put in my head phones and set out with my treat bag & clicker.  She was a dream on the walk and hands down the best walk we’ve had alone.  She ignored people that she’d usually bark at, we encountered an off leash golden retriever with its teenagers (Jaz barked once, but only after it barked at her first, I called her off and we kept going very easily), she ignored 2 kids throwing a ball, we walked directly beside a family on their driveway with no reaction, ignored a man with a broom about 10 feet away which is normally a reaction and she kept her leash loose for most of the walk

HUGE MILESTONE OF THE DAY:

Jazmyn and Paisley were off retrieving a ball, when a father & daughter came into the field to throw a ball around on the baseball diamond.  Paisley decided she’d like to go say hi, and naturally Jazmyn was going to follow her.  Paul let out a loud “JAZMYN COME!” and Jaz stopped dead in her tracks, whipped her head to look at us, and came BOLTING towards us at top speed.  This was a HUGE accomplishment, as we’ve been working very hard on her recall.  She must have come to us from the length of 1.5 baseball diamonds.  SUCCESS!!!!

I was a very happy “mom” heading to dinner.  A hugely successful day in my books