The post title is a teaching thing. It is when you have a presentation and you have the student (or his/her peers), list 3 good things about the presentation and 1 wish (or thing to improve about the presentation). It made me think about making a list of things I love about Sagan and things I don't like so much. In actuality, we were asked to do this in his puppy obedience class too. So here goes:
Loves:
*He is super affectionate
*He is easy to train
*He has a lot of impulse control
*He is potty trained
*He loves playing with Doppler
*He is calmer than I expected a BC to be
*He is able to play with dogs off leash with no problem
*His ears (pointy and intimidating straight to folded and doe-like)
*His freckles
*Watching him figure out he loves someone
*Watching him figure out he knows someone he at first is snarfly about
*How adaptable he is in many circumstances (the booties on his feet, kenneled in the car vs. not, kennel in a new location
*He is not a barky dog, generally speaking
*He can entertain himself with a toy for quite some time.
*He has lovely crate behavior.
*He has lovely running behavior (stays on my left without trying to cross over or go in front).
Not so Loves:
*I really have to micromange him in new, quiet situations
*I cannot let him meet other dogs on leash
*He still jumps on me and guests
*He likes to dig (I need to get a sandbox for the backyard)
*He likes to put his nose in crotches (not so much to sniff, but more to just have a place for his nose)
*He has combined things we've taught him to try to "make us" do something he wants. He noses me (to the point of charlie horses) when he wants me to throw the ball.
*That he is genetically programmed to stop 3/4 of the way back to me. :-)
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Selecting a dog trainer
Well, having had 3 problem dogs now, I must say I've had more than my fair share of experience with dog trainers. Six, to be exact. These range from inexperienced dog obedience trainers to medical doctors licensed to deal with fearful dogs.
Besides all of the "normal" things people encourage when selecting a trainer (how much experience they have with problem dogs, etc.), I have a list that it has taken me 6 years and 3 dogs to come up with.
1) Know yourself. Do you do better with someone identifying everything you're doing wrong? Or someone who will give you some reassurance and identify what you're doing right? I've come to understand that the second is more my personality. I want someone to say to me: "Oooh, that click was perfectly timed, you prevented him from staring at that dog..... etc." I want someone to say to me "your dog is going to end up fine," not "your dog will end up a biter if you don't follow what I've told you to do." While the latter may be true, I ALREADY KNOW THAT. It is why I'm coming to you in the first place. I don't need to become more nervous about that possibility. Believe me, my mind has already gone there.
2) You want your dog trainer/behaviorist to be a problem solver, not a prescription-writer (and I don't mean a medical doctor...I mean someone who prescribes protocol A for behavior X). Don't buy into anyone saying "this is the way to do it, or else". There are TONS of ways to train dogs. Yes, I'm into positive training, but a dog also needs a stick sometimes. As my favorite dog behaviorist person told me "You don't teach a teenager to drive by only telling them what they're doing right." A good dose of "knock it off" has worked wonders with Sagan. I'm a huge fan of clicker training to train new behaviors solidly, but then some other strategies can help. The best advice I got was to stop talking to my dog so much when all the scary stuff happened.....I was "attending" to his behavior too much. You don't need to be afraid you're going to scar your dog permanently. Things can be undone. The problem with a trainer that says "do this or else".... or "only do this because".....is that it causes you (me) to be paranoid. YES, I've used a water bottle with Sagan in the backyard to break his cycle of barking....you know what? It works. Lots of things do. I didn't have any kind of breakthrough with Sagan until I started using multiple approaches. Is he "fixed?" No, but he's a hell of a lot better.
3) Find someone who doesn't feel the need to correct you while you are doing something with your dog. Of course, if something dangerous is about to happen, that's different. I can't stand being in the middle of something and being told to do something differently. I can't focus on you or my dog, and then I end up doing something else wrong. This will be hugely unpopular but...CESAR MILAN does this. He lets people do things, observe, and then provide discussion, ideas, critique. I don't do well with the "No, don't let him do that" business.
4) Regardless of credentials, you need to be comfortable with who you're working. If who you're comfortable with doesn't have as many credentials, it doesn't mean they don't have helpful information to impart. My dog obedience instructor (who is really just starting to train dogs, AFAIK), suggested one of my protocols with Sagan was backfiring, and suggested the water bottle. I needed that jolt out of namby-pamby land to start looking at dog training as a trouble-shooting mission, not just an "apply and hope" method.
Above all else, don't let anyone make you feel bad about what you're doing with your dog. If you're seeking help, you're better than a million other dog owners out there who give up on their dogs. I had someone (ironically a dog trainer who works for one of the dog trainers I went to), tell me I was selfish for wanting to train my own dog instead of letting him go live with someone else while I "cooled off." There are lots of judgmental people out there.
Besides all of the "normal" things people encourage when selecting a trainer (how much experience they have with problem dogs, etc.), I have a list that it has taken me 6 years and 3 dogs to come up with.
1) Know yourself. Do you do better with someone identifying everything you're doing wrong? Or someone who will give you some reassurance and identify what you're doing right? I've come to understand that the second is more my personality. I want someone to say to me: "Oooh, that click was perfectly timed, you prevented him from staring at that dog..... etc." I want someone to say to me "your dog is going to end up fine," not "your dog will end up a biter if you don't follow what I've told you to do." While the latter may be true, I ALREADY KNOW THAT. It is why I'm coming to you in the first place. I don't need to become more nervous about that possibility. Believe me, my mind has already gone there.
2) You want your dog trainer/behaviorist to be a problem solver, not a prescription-writer (and I don't mean a medical doctor...I mean someone who prescribes protocol A for behavior X). Don't buy into anyone saying "this is the way to do it, or else". There are TONS of ways to train dogs. Yes, I'm into positive training, but a dog also needs a stick sometimes. As my favorite dog behaviorist person told me "You don't teach a teenager to drive by only telling them what they're doing right." A good dose of "knock it off" has worked wonders with Sagan. I'm a huge fan of clicker training to train new behaviors solidly, but then some other strategies can help. The best advice I got was to stop talking to my dog so much when all the scary stuff happened.....I was "attending" to his behavior too much. You don't need to be afraid you're going to scar your dog permanently. Things can be undone. The problem with a trainer that says "do this or else".... or "only do this because".....is that it causes you (me) to be paranoid. YES, I've used a water bottle with Sagan in the backyard to break his cycle of barking....you know what? It works. Lots of things do. I didn't have any kind of breakthrough with Sagan until I started using multiple approaches. Is he "fixed?" No, but he's a hell of a lot better.
3) Find someone who doesn't feel the need to correct you while you are doing something with your dog. Of course, if something dangerous is about to happen, that's different. I can't stand being in the middle of something and being told to do something differently. I can't focus on you or my dog, and then I end up doing something else wrong. This will be hugely unpopular but...CESAR MILAN does this. He lets people do things, observe, and then provide discussion, ideas, critique. I don't do well with the "No, don't let him do that" business.
4) Regardless of credentials, you need to be comfortable with who you're working. If who you're comfortable with doesn't have as many credentials, it doesn't mean they don't have helpful information to impart. My dog obedience instructor (who is really just starting to train dogs, AFAIK), suggested one of my protocols with Sagan was backfiring, and suggested the water bottle. I needed that jolt out of namby-pamby land to start looking at dog training as a trouble-shooting mission, not just an "apply and hope" method.
Above all else, don't let anyone make you feel bad about what you're doing with your dog. If you're seeking help, you're better than a million other dog owners out there who give up on their dogs. I had someone (ironically a dog trainer who works for one of the dog trainers I went to), tell me I was selfish for wanting to train my own dog instead of letting him go live with someone else while I "cooled off." There are lots of judgmental people out there.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Keeping it in the Family :-)
Well, Sagan was fortunate enough to see his biological mommy and his brother twice in the past week or so. It is hysterical to watch 3 border collies stalk things and each other. Thanks Monique for evidence of this obsession:
We had a great time at Auburndale Park that day. All dogs ended up pooped!
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| Me and the little stinker! |
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| The family. Keeping it red. |
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| As Monique says, a "horde" of red dogs. |
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| Sagan discovers a new ball game to obsess about! |
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| Brothers! |
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| He loves his new ball. |
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| Even learned how to carry it. |
So we had another playdate this past Saturday at Nancy and Scott's place, since our normal area for dog play was occupied. Besides, who needs a dog park when you have a yard like this!
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| 8 dogs parties here! |
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| The chase is on, though Smokey is going the wrong way. |
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| Sagan had a big crush on Keegan, though Keegan didn't like to be stared at so much. :-) |
We finish intermediate obedience this week, and signed him up for rally obedience classes with Monique (that will present a new challenge for Sagan!). We continue his pre-agility classes, though getting him to fetch has been quite challenging!!!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Yeah, Definitely Jinxed It
Well, after writing my lovely post about how much better Sagan's behavior has been, he has had some fairly large difficulties this week. But let's start with the positive. I've started running with Sagan, doing Couch to 5K with him and Ross. He already has some nice running manners. It has been fairly easy to control the leash reactivity while running. I need to make sure I am proactive and only run in places where I can take a wide berth to avoid possible conflicts.
He also did a wonderful job in obedience...ignored a leashed dog making contact with his butt.
On the negative, had a defcon 10 moment with both dogs and people this week. The encounter with the person happened when Sagan was meeting Duncan, a 4 month old sheltie pup:
We did our meeting at Dacca Park, a very TINY off leash park. Figured we were good being along here. Toward the end of our time, a man, daughter, and old hound came up. Rather than leash him and ensure a bad dog reaction, I decided to leave him off leash and let him have a good dog experience and chance the people. Sagan saw everyone, sniffed the dog (calm dog), and then realized that the scary man was suddenly scary. Hackles, repeated crazy barking with Sagan standing 5 feet from the man...circled, barking. Scared the poor girl half to death. Finally got him back. Leashed him for 5 minutes, and decided to try again. He TORE around the park trying to find the man. Fortunately, he looked back at us and decided to come back.
In retrospect, I should have leashed him and left when I saw the other dog, but....
The dog experience came today. Arranged a dog playdate with the folks(dogs) I normally have Sagan play with. When I arrived, 2 new dogs were there with my friend...2 boxers. Again, my decision making skills and advocacy for Sagan were faulty. Knowing his reactivity, I should have asked her to leave the 2 new dogs in her car until I got Sagan in and off leash. Instead, her dog ran up to Sagan. I consciously kept the leash very loose, and started to turn away with him after a short sniff. I am not sure who aggressed first, but I kept spinning with Sagan's head, and the other dog kept aggressing, and aggressing. I am pretty certain I got nipped on the hand in the process, and I am surprised this didn't end up worse. The lady had to physically remove her dog (LARGE boxer). I find out her dog is also leash reactive, which is why she didn't leash him. They did figure it out off leash, though her dog was continuing to harass Sagan a bit for the first 10 minutes or so. Time will tell if my one-shot learner learned something that stuck. Otherwise, we had a nice time playing chuckit at Algona Pacific Elementary in Auburn. A young boy joined us for the whole time...and was crazy, throwing the ball (accidentally) at us. Sagan did GREAT with him, despite his crazy behavior.
Lessons (re)learned: advocate, advocate, advocate, and know who you're letting your dog mingle with.
He also did a wonderful job in obedience...ignored a leashed dog making contact with his butt.
On the negative, had a defcon 10 moment with both dogs and people this week. The encounter with the person happened when Sagan was meeting Duncan, a 4 month old sheltie pup:
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| Sagan tolerated a LOT of puppy behavior. |
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| And tolerated a young child well. |
In retrospect, I should have leashed him and left when I saw the other dog, but....
The dog experience came today. Arranged a dog playdate with the folks(dogs) I normally have Sagan play with. When I arrived, 2 new dogs were there with my friend...2 boxers. Again, my decision making skills and advocacy for Sagan were faulty. Knowing his reactivity, I should have asked her to leave the 2 new dogs in her car until I got Sagan in and off leash. Instead, her dog ran up to Sagan. I consciously kept the leash very loose, and started to turn away with him after a short sniff. I am not sure who aggressed first, but I kept spinning with Sagan's head, and the other dog kept aggressing, and aggressing. I am pretty certain I got nipped on the hand in the process, and I am surprised this didn't end up worse. The lady had to physically remove her dog (LARGE boxer). I find out her dog is also leash reactive, which is why she didn't leash him. They did figure it out off leash, though her dog was continuing to harass Sagan a bit for the first 10 minutes or so. Time will tell if my one-shot learner learned something that stuck. Otherwise, we had a nice time playing chuckit at Algona Pacific Elementary in Auburn. A young boy joined us for the whole time...and was crazy, throwing the ball (accidentally) at us. Sagan did GREAT with him, despite his crazy behavior.
Lessons (re)learned: advocate, advocate, advocate, and know who you're letting your dog mingle with.
Monday, July 4, 2011
6 Month Behavior Changes
Well, this week saw a lot of changes in Sagan's behavior, for the better. Hard to say if these are the result of training, habituation, maturity, or neutering. Probably a combination thereof. One of my frustrations as a science teacher is that I can't really isolate variables. Oh well, not complaining!
Great social things this week:
1) Watched 3 construction guys and a pressure washer in an adjacent yard. No barking, pegging, or anything.
2) No reaction to any dog, even at close proximity in obedience.
3) Did great meeting 3 year old and 2 new people.
4) Super gregarious with people at a big get-together. Existed with 6 dogs, 3 of them new
5) Made good choices when worried about a strange group of people at a park. First barked and charged, then stopped himself, looked at us, then returned.
Sagan really liked his new friend Duke, a Weimeraner:
And he loved playing stick with his best bud:
He is looking so much like an adult!
Well...sometimes still a little goofy. :-)
Great social things this week:
1) Watched 3 construction guys and a pressure washer in an adjacent yard. No barking, pegging, or anything.
2) No reaction to any dog, even at close proximity in obedience.
3) Did great meeting 3 year old and 2 new people.
4) Super gregarious with people at a big get-together. Existed with 6 dogs, 3 of them new
5) Made good choices when worried about a strange group of people at a park. First barked and charged, then stopped himself, looked at us, then returned.
Sagan really liked his new friend Duke, a Weimeraner:
And he loved playing stick with his best bud:
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