Again something a little bit off topic.....
Even if we are training an interrupting cue, our training is based mainly on positive feedback. I love to see my dog doing something I like and I am used to tell her so.
But most of the people are focused on the things they do not like.
Like some days ago. I met a dog. He was kind of perfect. He had no problems with all this strangers, with the cats and was calm and polite - but nobody told him. But the two times he barked on the cat he immidiatly was told to be quiet. How frustrating a life like this must be.....
I don't know whose words this are but somebody says you can measure a good dog trainer on the positive feedback he gives to the dog. One time of correction should be related to 15 times of positive feedback. I like this idea!
Try to tell your dog when you like what he is doing and I'm sure you will feel the positive reaction of your canine friend!
Sonntag, 28. Dezember 2014
Montag, 22. Dezember 2014
Conditioned Relaxation
I've already started to work on this months ago but not on a regular basis because it was hard for me to remind me doing it when Lisbeth was relaxing.
But today I know that this is an important tool for our anti-stress training. I think it will not work in environments were Lisbeth feels stressed at all but I need it for particular situations to bring her back to a state of mind where it is possible for her to think. I think of meeting strangers on a calm walk, or a walk with a dog friend, finding deers tracks on our way. This and a lot of other things stimulate Lisbeth that much that it is no longer possible for her to think. This results in beeing reactive or a very hard player and things like that. Having a chew or making a break together can help to calm her down again but it would be nice to have something which works a little bit faster.
I think most of you have heard about conditioned relaxation.... This does not mean that your dog falls asleep when you say a special world but that he relaxes in one way or the other.
We train it by putting on a special collar with a special smell (lavendula) and by repeating a special word when Lisbeth relaxes.
This can be when she is close to sleep, or when you pet her, or when you brush her. You have to do it very often and like all other behaviours you have to use it in different situations and at different places. Its easier and more effective when you combine the word with other senses, like the visual, the tactile and the olfactory sense (like we do). I hope we will be sucessfull with this because one of our biggest issues is not the stress per se but her inability to relax after stimulating situations.
But today I know that this is an important tool for our anti-stress training. I think it will not work in environments were Lisbeth feels stressed at all but I need it for particular situations to bring her back to a state of mind where it is possible for her to think. I think of meeting strangers on a calm walk, or a walk with a dog friend, finding deers tracks on our way. This and a lot of other things stimulate Lisbeth that much that it is no longer possible for her to think. This results in beeing reactive or a very hard player and things like that. Having a chew or making a break together can help to calm her down again but it would be nice to have something which works a little bit faster.
I think most of you have heard about conditioned relaxation.... This does not mean that your dog falls asleep when you say a special world but that he relaxes in one way or the other.
We train it by putting on a special collar with a special smell (lavendula) and by repeating a special word when Lisbeth relaxes.
Mittwoch, 17. Dezember 2014
To be continued
I promised to continue the story about our new working program.
Beside more excersise we have to learn some "rules".
Lisbeth is introduced to two new cues, one means its time to cuddle and the other one is some kind of an interrupting signal.
The first one is trained by buying a new toy wich is totally different to all the others (and buy some more that you'll always find one). When Lisbeth bites the toy and holds it in her mouth I have whatever I'm doing give her attention and pet her. I'm not allowed to play or make party but to calmy praise and pet her. This cue should give her security that she is able to get in contact with me. Until now she do not know how to get my attention, she tries biting some things, jumping, whining all those things. And now I'm channeling her need for attention to this special toy. And I have to praise her 100%. And like everything you reinforce 100% it slowly fades away. At the beginning she was not interested in the toy so I had to put a meaning on it by making it interesting and now I think she has a feeling what it means. I still have to show her when I have the feeling she needs attention but then she holds it for minutes. She is not fucused in retrieving so this is something special for her.
The other cue is the interupting signal, it's like a no but you should choose a word that sounds nice. You teach it by having your dog on leash and throwing some treats on the ground and your dog is allowed to eat them all then you say the word and you throw it out of reach. My dog got it very quickly that this word means stop what you are thinking about.
First of all I was a little bit sceptical because this means a lot of frustration but after a while I was thinking OK ignoring means frustration as well, and Lisbeth do not get the message. She needs to get clear information. What is important when you are using this signal is, to have in mind the reason for the behaviour you are interrupting. I'm going to use it for attention seeking misbehaviours and because I teach Lisbeth this "It's time to cuddle" cue as well she has an option to choose the right behaviour instead to get what she wants! Never ever just stop the behaviour without giving another option!!!
That's it for today... but it will be continued!
Beside more excersise we have to learn some "rules".
Lisbeth is introduced to two new cues, one means its time to cuddle and the other one is some kind of an interrupting signal.
The first one is trained by buying a new toy wich is totally different to all the others (and buy some more that you'll always find one). When Lisbeth bites the toy and holds it in her mouth I have whatever I'm doing give her attention and pet her. I'm not allowed to play or make party but to calmy praise and pet her. This cue should give her security that she is able to get in contact with me. Until now she do not know how to get my attention, she tries biting some things, jumping, whining all those things. And now I'm channeling her need for attention to this special toy. And I have to praise her 100%. And like everything you reinforce 100% it slowly fades away. At the beginning she was not interested in the toy so I had to put a meaning on it by making it interesting and now I think she has a feeling what it means. I still have to show her when I have the feeling she needs attention but then she holds it for minutes. She is not fucused in retrieving so this is something special for her.
The other cue is the interupting signal, it's like a no but you should choose a word that sounds nice. You teach it by having your dog on leash and throwing some treats on the ground and your dog is allowed to eat them all then you say the word and you throw it out of reach. My dog got it very quickly that this word means stop what you are thinking about.
First of all I was a little bit sceptical because this means a lot of frustration but after a while I was thinking OK ignoring means frustration as well, and Lisbeth do not get the message. She needs to get clear information. What is important when you are using this signal is, to have in mind the reason for the behaviour you are interrupting. I'm going to use it for attention seeking misbehaviours and because I teach Lisbeth this "It's time to cuddle" cue as well she has an option to choose the right behaviour instead to get what she wants! Never ever just stop the behaviour without giving another option!!!
That's it for today... but it will be continued!
Sonntag, 14. Dezember 2014
Understimulation
As quick as her food agression arised as quick it was gone again. The simple reason for this problem was hunger.... or better call it food unsecurity. Now we work everyday that she knows there will be enough food everyday - there is no need to protect it.
But what is a lot more important is our new training program.
Lisbeth has a stress problem I have realised this from the early beginning. She can only hardly cope with changing or new situations. Her stress level rises when she is in a new environment, when she is meeting strangers or other dogs. She loves to play with other dogs on the one hand but feels unsecure about unknown dogs. And sometimes she feels she has to show the other dog that she's the boss...
You can not take her with you when you are meeting friends or other dogs because her stresslevel rises and she is unable to relax. My strategy was to keep her away from every stress situation which means she has to stay home alone a lot. At the beginning this was the perfect solution and a lot of things get better. But after a while things was getting worse again. I've thought, that this was due to more stressful situations I exposed her on a regular basis. Therefore we reduced stressy situations again. I avoided any games that increased her arousal and I've tried to keep her calm most of the time. But there was something I had forgotten. Lisbeth is a young dog. Only two years old with a lot of energy. And even if you have to have look on her stress level she needs some "action" as well in her life. We have found a new area where Lisbeth can be off leash and she is almost perfect there. She is allowed to move freely and can do almost everything she wanna do and she rely loves it. She stays in contact with me most of the time and comes back when called. I try to make action in combination with some relaxation and it works quite fine. We do searching for treats, and Lisbeth can have a chew if she chooses to do so. She can run around, can chase birds or just sniff the track of the beaver. What is still impotant is that nothing else is happening in our walk. No strangers, no other dogs no other scary things.
The most important thing is that we are spending some time togehter and we are both enjoying it. There is no need to protect her form stress and Lisbeth is able to comunicate most of the time. There first thing what happens when stress level rises is tha Lisbeth is no longer able to take her treats. But this happens only rarely on this walks.
I also want to give her back doggy contact more regularly. But this is the most difficult part for me. We have a dog friend called Raviko, a 2 yeard old portuguesian water dog, but this is not the perfect friend for Lisbeth. She plays very rough with Raviko and she does not look very happy. But this might be also a reason of her higher stress level. We have to go to another place for walks with Raviko where are some other dogs and strangers around. A lot of unknown smells and so on. Lisbeth is not able to stay in contact with me, she is cannot eat her treats and she reacts on other dogs and strangers. Walks with Raviko are hard work for me as well. I do not enjoy this walks but I want to give it a try. We will meet on a regular basis, going always the same way take a lot of breaks and chews and I hope that she is going to enjoy this walks soon.
She is getting some food additives as well which should help her to relax.All the other things we are working I will tell about in the next post.
But what is a lot more important is our new training program.
Lisbeth has a stress problem I have realised this from the early beginning. She can only hardly cope with changing or new situations. Her stress level rises when she is in a new environment, when she is meeting strangers or other dogs. She loves to play with other dogs on the one hand but feels unsecure about unknown dogs. And sometimes she feels she has to show the other dog that she's the boss...
You can not take her with you when you are meeting friends or other dogs because her stresslevel rises and she is unable to relax. My strategy was to keep her away from every stress situation which means she has to stay home alone a lot. At the beginning this was the perfect solution and a lot of things get better. But after a while things was getting worse again. I've thought, that this was due to more stressful situations I exposed her on a regular basis. Therefore we reduced stressy situations again. I avoided any games that increased her arousal and I've tried to keep her calm most of the time. But there was something I had forgotten. Lisbeth is a young dog. Only two years old with a lot of energy. And even if you have to have look on her stress level she needs some "action" as well in her life. We have found a new area where Lisbeth can be off leash and she is almost perfect there. She is allowed to move freely and can do almost everything she wanna do and she rely loves it. She stays in contact with me most of the time and comes back when called. I try to make action in combination with some relaxation and it works quite fine. We do searching for treats, and Lisbeth can have a chew if she chooses to do so. She can run around, can chase birds or just sniff the track of the beaver. What is still impotant is that nothing else is happening in our walk. No strangers, no other dogs no other scary things.
The most important thing is that we are spending some time togehter and we are both enjoying it. There is no need to protect her form stress and Lisbeth is able to comunicate most of the time. There first thing what happens when stress level rises is tha Lisbeth is no longer able to take her treats. But this happens only rarely on this walks.
I also want to give her back doggy contact more regularly. But this is the most difficult part for me. We have a dog friend called Raviko, a 2 yeard old portuguesian water dog, but this is not the perfect friend for Lisbeth. She plays very rough with Raviko and she does not look very happy. But this might be also a reason of her higher stress level. We have to go to another place for walks with Raviko where are some other dogs and strangers around. A lot of unknown smells and so on. Lisbeth is not able to stay in contact with me, she is cannot eat her treats and she reacts on other dogs and strangers. Walks with Raviko are hard work for me as well. I do not enjoy this walks but I want to give it a try. We will meet on a regular basis, going always the same way take a lot of breaks and chews and I hope that she is going to enjoy this walks soon.
She is getting some food additives as well which should help her to relax.All the other things we are working I will tell about in the next post.
Sonntag, 7. Dezember 2014
Food agression
I had to quit the lavendel collar, I don't know if she hates the smell or the collar but she totally avoids it by moving away when I take the collar.
I'm going to a behaviour specialist tomorrow, to discuss medication as well. We have tried a lot in the last months but Lisbeth still have a problem to relax at home.
I have tried more and less activity, I gave her a lot to chew, mental stimulation and all this things. But Lisbeth can only relax when nothing is hapenning around her.
And since two weeks we have a new problem. Ressource guarding! I have started to feed Lisbeth only out of the Kong and for search for treats and by something to chew. Maybe it was a little bit less as well, because I wanted Lisbeth to loose some weight. But this was an awful idea for her! Now she is growling when she is chewing and someone comes too close. Till now the foodbowl is full all the time again. Lisbeth needs to know again that there is always food and that she do not have to protect it! Food agression is something natural! It is by instinct. So never ever take away some food from your dog. If your dog trusts you you can take away the food but always give something better instead or give the food back!
I'm going to a behaviour specialist tomorrow, to discuss medication as well. We have tried a lot in the last months but Lisbeth still have a problem to relax at home.
I have tried more and less activity, I gave her a lot to chew, mental stimulation and all this things. But Lisbeth can only relax when nothing is hapenning around her.
And since two weeks we have a new problem. Ressource guarding! I have started to feed Lisbeth only out of the Kong and for search for treats and by something to chew. Maybe it was a little bit less as well, because I wanted Lisbeth to loose some weight. But this was an awful idea for her! Now she is growling when she is chewing and someone comes too close. Till now the foodbowl is full all the time again. Lisbeth needs to know again that there is always food and that she do not have to protect it! Food agression is something natural! It is by instinct. So never ever take away some food from your dog. If your dog trusts you you can take away the food but always give something better instead or give the food back!
Freitag, 21. November 2014
Beeing relaxed at home
At the moment we have two things we are working on.
Beeing relaxed at home when mummy is working at home as well.
And stopping jumping and biting when we arrive at home.
The jumping will be a seperate post soon.
I have discussed several strategies with my friends and I do not like any kind of box training. Boxes with open doors are great but do not help in my particular case.
Training relax on a mat with treats is also no choice because Lisbeth only gets food focused and doesn't learn anything. Capturing calm behaviour is one important part in our daily life but no special help for this particular problem.
So what is the situation at the moment and what is the strategy we are working on.
We often have the problem, that Lisbeth doesn't relax when we are at home. Then she wants our attention and tries anything to be successfull. Preferably she is chewing the chair or the table.
For a stressed dog as Lisbeth it is important that she clearly understands what is going one so you need a good training concept that she does not get frustrated. So we are working on two different behaviours. One is to train relaxation on leash. This means whenever I start my computer I put on the harness and the leash. Take Lisbeths blanket and something to chew she really likes introduce a special cue and Lisbeth gets her chew. As soon as she stops chewing I unclip the leash and stop the training session for relaxation. This behaviour and cue should help Lisbeth in the future to relax on her mat in many situations.
The second thing is the nothing happens when mummy is working. Therfore I have prapared a collar with lavender instead a verbal cue. When I put on the collar she gets almost no attention. She can come to greet me but I won't play with her or pet her. I have started the program after a good walk when I was pretty sure she is going to relax. Normally Lisbeths rests 1.5hours until she gets active again. After this time I remove the collar and we are doing something together for about 10 min. Then I put on the collar again and the no attention time starts again. I have started today and so far she did quite well. I have to watch this for a longer period to be able to assess this program.
Beeing relaxed at home when mummy is working at home as well.
And stopping jumping and biting when we arrive at home.
The jumping will be a seperate post soon.
I have discussed several strategies with my friends and I do not like any kind of box training. Boxes with open doors are great but do not help in my particular case.
Training relax on a mat with treats is also no choice because Lisbeth only gets food focused and doesn't learn anything. Capturing calm behaviour is one important part in our daily life but no special help for this particular problem.
So what is the situation at the moment and what is the strategy we are working on.
We often have the problem, that Lisbeth doesn't relax when we are at home. Then she wants our attention and tries anything to be successfull. Preferably she is chewing the chair or the table.
For a stressed dog as Lisbeth it is important that she clearly understands what is going one so you need a good training concept that she does not get frustrated. So we are working on two different behaviours. One is to train relaxation on leash. This means whenever I start my computer I put on the harness and the leash. Take Lisbeths blanket and something to chew she really likes introduce a special cue and Lisbeth gets her chew. As soon as she stops chewing I unclip the leash and stop the training session for relaxation. This behaviour and cue should help Lisbeth in the future to relax on her mat in many situations.
The second thing is the nothing happens when mummy is working. Therfore I have prapared a collar with lavender instead a verbal cue. When I put on the collar she gets almost no attention. She can come to greet me but I won't play with her or pet her. I have started the program after a good walk when I was pretty sure she is going to relax. Normally Lisbeths rests 1.5hours until she gets active again. After this time I remove the collar and we are doing something together for about 10 min. Then I put on the collar again and the no attention time starts again. I have started today and so far she did quite well. I have to watch this for a longer period to be able to assess this program.
Donnerstag, 6. November 2014
Status quo
Status quo of our work...
Lisbeth is again a little bit more stressed. I think this is related to the work we are having to "make" our garden.
But all in all we are fine.
We are no longer meeting our doggy friend, because in my opinion having some time off leash means more then having another dog around.
We only have one area where it is possible for Lisbeth to be off leash. But there she is perfect!
Actually it is the area from the post Stupid me".
Think Lisbeth feels save enough there to feel relaxed.
We are waiting for the results of the thyroid profile, because Lisbeth is what I would call untrainable.
Just due to the fact that she gets stressed and restless when you try to expose her to more stress.
But I will do a post about hypothyroism soon!
That's why there isn't much to tell! Due to less time and avoiding stress!
Lisbeth is again a little bit more stressed. I think this is related to the work we are having to "make" our garden.
But all in all we are fine.
We are no longer meeting our doggy friend, because in my opinion having some time off leash means more then having another dog around.
We only have one area where it is possible for Lisbeth to be off leash. But there she is perfect!
Actually it is the area from the post Stupid me".
Think Lisbeth feels save enough there to feel relaxed.
We are waiting for the results of the thyroid profile, because Lisbeth is what I would call untrainable.
Just due to the fact that she gets stressed and restless when you try to expose her to more stress.
But I will do a post about hypothyroism soon!
That's why there isn't much to tell! Due to less time and avoiding stress!
Scent discrimination - Search for Peppermint
Today something else than living with hyperreactive Lisbeth...
Its just search for peppermint!
She was already used to search for peppermint with a lot of other tea bags around. In glasses or some bowls or just on the floor, like in the video
But it was her first time, that she was searching peppermint in a ! But she did perfect!
Search games are definitely the best way to satisfy your (hyperactive, stressed) dog.
Samstag, 27. September 2014
Yammmy
It's going to be food for the next 30 days.
Mhhmmm...
We are back to normality giving Lisbeth a lot of routine and less unfamiliar situations.
Live works but a little less reaction to new situations would be great.
I don't know if her new nutrition has any positive effect but for me its enough to see Lisbeth loving
her new food!!
I'm trying to set up a new training shedule and I keep you informed about our progress!
Healthy nutrition
Let's start project healthy nutrition!
It's day number 16th since I have started B.A.R.F. Actually its only half B.A.R.F. because the vegetables and some meat is cooked.
And we both like it! I like it because her faeces are not that smelly and she likes it because its delicious MEAT!
I made this decision just to give it a try. For me it was important that her food is grain free, almost sugar free (except some fruit sugar) and a little less protein rich. You just read too often that nutrition effects hyperyctive dogs...
And I add magnesium to the food to have a better Ca, Mg ratio and to affect her cortisol level.
I've tried to find some scientific explanation for the Mg effect but I couldn't maybe some of you have an interesting link.
Even if this one is kind of advertise its worth-while to read.
http://nupafeed-dogs.co.uk/mag-calcium-stress/4582282178
Dienstag, 9. September 2014
We love Tracking
She needs to work calm and concentraded to solve the task and I definitely builds up her self esteem.
Today I managed to film her working on her track!
It was her I don't know 15th-20th track... I do not count. So she isn't a newy but you can call her still beginner.
It's a 20min old track but I think the task was too easy. She follows a track I made without her watching me (she was waiting at home) The next step would be to make it much longer! And I would prefer that the track was made by somebody else.
But back to the VIDEO:
I like the scene when she stops because she lost the track - thinks and follows the track again (minute 1:13)
And I love the end when she is laughing proudly into the camera whem I arrive there.
What I do not like is that it took me so long until I praised her.
I'm sorry for the bad quality, but I have just a pocket camera. And its not so easy to organize the long leash, the camera, watch and follow the dog....
Freitag, 5. September 2014
It was all too much
Driven from the great success we had - I exposed Lisbeth to more frequent stress situations with a lot of treats and patience.
BUT
It was too much for Lisbeth....
Having a 2 hour walk with a new "dogfriend" in an unfamiliar environment - too much!
1 hour walk in a park (new environment) with seeing and greeting some dogs - too much!
Visiting human friends - too much!
Lisbeth is restless again. Like in the beginning she needs my help to calm down on evenings. The chewing of shoes and furniture is worse again and bladder infection is coming back as well!
So back to the beginning!
We reduce walking time again, we will just stay in the familiar environment. A lot of chews during the walks.
Will it sometimes be possible to life a normal doggy life???
BUT
It was too much for Lisbeth....
Having a 2 hour walk with a new "dogfriend" in an unfamiliar environment - too much!
1 hour walk in a park (new environment) with seeing and greeting some dogs - too much!
Visiting human friends - too much!
Lisbeth is restless again. Like in the beginning she needs my help to calm down on evenings. The chewing of shoes and furniture is worse again and bladder infection is coming back as well!
So back to the beginning!
We reduce walking time again, we will just stay in the familiar environment. A lot of chews during the walks.
Will it sometimes be possible to life a normal doggy life???
Montag, 1. September 2014
Beeing polite to our dogs
In addition to my last post I want to add some lines.
Actually I already did this following my godfeeling but reading it in a book reminded me, that this might be interseting for others as well.
Most of us love to pet our dog's, but not all dogs love to be touched. But we can simply asked our dogs if they like our touches or not.
Pet you dog for a short time, then stop and wait for a response.
Does your dog show any calming signals or does he even stand up to leave or is he crawling near hoping to be touched again.
I use to ask my dog because I think petting should be enjoyable fo her - try to be polite and to the same!
Actually I already did this following my godfeeling but reading it in a book reminded me, that this might be interseting for others as well.
Most of us love to pet our dog's, but not all dogs love to be touched. But we can simply asked our dogs if they like our touches or not.
Pet you dog for a short time, then stop and wait for a response.
Does your dog show any calming signals or does he even stand up to leave or is he crawling near hoping to be touched again.
I use to ask my dog because I think petting should be enjoyable fo her - try to be polite and to the same!
Donnerstag, 21. August 2014
Touching
Last weekend we had to stay one night at a Hotel. Lisbeth was truely disappointed- wandering around in the room, peeing on the floor and so on. I tried the short walk strategy but it didn't work. I was upset seeing my dog beeing close to destroying the whole room After taking a deep breath and using my brain I just grabbed my dog and sat down with her on the bed. I started petting her calmly and she started to relax. After a while she was ready and returned on her mat by herself. She calmly slept the whole night.
Dienstag, 5. August 2014
Watch out for little signs
Yesterday we did some everyday training and went to the railway station. We had been there before. We made a short walk at the beginning and then I sat there waiting for nothing. There was nobody else around so it was a calm atmosphere and even if Lisbeth didn't lay down she showed some relaxation signs.
Look at her tail - beeing down totally relaxed - most of the time it is up or wagging! And there was no leash biting!
So success even if the signs were hardly recognisable!
Look at her tail - beeing down totally relaxed - most of the time it is up or wagging! And there was no leash biting!
So success even if the signs were hardly recognisable!
Montag, 4. August 2014
The power of short walks
I try to expose Lisbeth to daily stress from time to time, still watching out for small signs of stress. Some days ago we went to the restaurant. Lisbeth was already a little bit stressed on our way to the restaurant. We set down and ordered something to drink. Lisbeth immidiatly started to chew the leash and was unable to take treats. I decided to make a short walk before returning back home. And like miracle when we returned back to the table Lisbeth was able to calm down with the help of some treats! After a while she was lying down with her head on the ground without the need of any cue! But it still is hard work and we stayed a little bit too long so Lisbeth started to chew her leash again but all in all it was a big success!
And the key was the short walk after arriving there. She had the possibility to pee and returned back not to an unknown but to a familiar place with somebody waiting there for us!
And the key was the short walk after arriving there. She had the possibility to pee and returned back not to an unknown but to a familiar place with somebody waiting there for us!
A lot of progress
At the moment daily routine works quite fine. Today I had HomeOffice and Lisbeth slept most of the time. She do not need us to calm down she lies down and falls asleep just by her own. At the beginning we had to close our bedroom door whenever we were not in there because Lisbeth made a big hole in one of our mattress. But some days ago we forgot to close the door by incident and Lisbeth was lying in her bed waiting for us to go to sleep.
Moments like these are getting normality!
The sofa she is lying on the picture above wasn't attacked since 2 weeks!
We still have to respect and take care of her stress level butwe are able to manage it.
Our cousin who sometimes takes care of Lisbeth has observed something similar. At the beginning she had to play with her the whole time to prevent her from doing something wrong but now she is lying down after some moments!
And beside her ability to calm down increases her tolerance to stress increases as well!
Moments like these are getting normality!
We still have to respect and take care of her stress level butwe are able to manage it.
Our cousin who sometimes takes care of Lisbeth has observed something similar. At the beginning she had to play with her the whole time to prevent her from doing something wrong but now she is lying down after some moments!
And beside her ability to calm down increases her tolerance to stress increases as well!
Sonntag, 6. Juli 2014
Tracking
We, as a dog/human team have found our game to play!!
Yesterday we did our first three tracks! Hard work for Lisbeth but she did it quite well. She was totally relaxed and focused to her new task! We decided that in the future 2 tracks per day is enough for her. She imediately felt asleep at home and is sleeping the whole day today!!
Maybe I can make a video soon!
Our trainer was quite impressed that Lisbeth is walking nicely on the long leash. I first said to her that this ist normal but actually I was not totally right. This is normal as long as Lisbeth is relaxed but luckily most of our walks are well planned so that Lisbeth is able to cooperate!
Yesterday we did our first three tracks! Hard work for Lisbeth but she did it quite well. She was totally relaxed and focused to her new task! We decided that in the future 2 tracks per day is enough for her. She imediately felt asleep at home and is sleeping the whole day today!!
Maybe I can make a video soon!
Our trainer was quite impressed that Lisbeth is walking nicely on the long leash. I first said to her that this ist normal but actually I was not totally right. This is normal as long as Lisbeth is relaxed but luckily most of our walks are well planned so that Lisbeth is able to cooperate!
Samstag, 21. Juni 2014
Days like these..
It's days like these that are so important during dog training!
Today during our short walk we met our neighbours. One month ago this would have been catastrophy! Lisbeth would have gone crazy jumping on people and afterwards starting to chew on the leash and the only possibility for me would have been to go away. Today the meeting was not perfect because she also started to jump on the people but was easily distracted by some treats on the ground. But it was possible for me to talk to our neighbours. And after a while Lisbeth calmed down and at the end she was even laying down. This was out of imagination some weeks ago. There are still so many things to work on but days like today make sure that we are on the right way!
Today during our short walk we met our neighbours. One month ago this would have been catastrophy! Lisbeth would have gone crazy jumping on people and afterwards starting to chew on the leash and the only possibility for me would have been to go away. Today the meeting was not perfect because she also started to jump on the people but was easily distracted by some treats on the ground. But it was possible for me to talk to our neighbours. And after a while Lisbeth calmed down and at the end she was even laying down. This was out of imagination some weeks ago. There are still so many things to work on but days like today make sure that we are on the right way!
Samstag, 14. Juni 2014
What's new
What are things that have changed in the last days and what is planned for the coming weeks...
We are trying to stop the biting on the furniture for attention. Some things that help are paying no attention, and going in another room. She normally stops biting and its possible to change situation. Another idea is to put a lot of toys next to places she is normally biting at and giving her attention when she decides to chew the toy instead the unwanted thing... Sometimes it helps sometimes not.
We have started to explore things. That means I am driving to places with some interest like train stations, car sellers, underground garages and Lisbeth is allowed to sniff and explore the place and then we are returning home. I think we like it both...
We have started some cavaletti training and are going to start tracking soon.
I still beleave we are on the right and I hope I can report a lot of progress in the next months!
We are trying to stop the biting on the furniture for attention. Some things that help are paying no attention, and going in another room. She normally stops biting and its possible to change situation. Another idea is to put a lot of toys next to places she is normally biting at and giving her attention when she decides to chew the toy instead the unwanted thing... Sometimes it helps sometimes not.
We have started to explore things. That means I am driving to places with some interest like train stations, car sellers, underground garages and Lisbeth is allowed to sniff and explore the place and then we are returning home. I think we like it both...
We have started some cavaletti training and are going to start tracking soon.
I still beleave we are on the right and I hope I can report a lot of progress in the next months!
Visitors today
There are so many things to post about but I try to keep it short.
Lisbeths bladder infection is gone and we hope that we do not have to meet the vet soon.... It's definitely clear that all her infections and parasites were the result of permanent stress in the past. Long lasting stress have severe impact on the immune system which resulted in Dermodex, tapeworms and bladder infection for Lisbeth.
Anne-Lill reminded me to be patient. Live had changed for Lisbeth and it takes a long time for the whole body to rebuild after chronical stress. It's now 4.5 months that Lisbeth is staying with us and things are getting better.
Today we had some visitors but Lisbeth did quite well. She still shows signs of stress and needs some extra care but it is getting better. We made a short walk in between and sometimes she needed some time out on the balcony and she got a frozen kong in the beginning. But we managed to have a good time...
Lisbeths bladder infection is gone and we hope that we do not have to meet the vet soon.... It's definitely clear that all her infections and parasites were the result of permanent stress in the past. Long lasting stress have severe impact on the immune system which resulted in Dermodex, tapeworms and bladder infection for Lisbeth.
Anne-Lill reminded me to be patient. Live had changed for Lisbeth and it takes a long time for the whole body to rebuild after chronical stress. It's now 4.5 months that Lisbeth is staying with us and things are getting better.
Today we had some visitors but Lisbeth did quite well. She still shows signs of stress and needs some extra care but it is getting better. We made a short walk in between and sometimes she needed some time out on the balcony and she got a frozen kong in the beginning. But we managed to have a good time...
Mittwoch, 4. Juni 2014
Couch is dead - again
Yesterday was a little bit exhausting for Lisbeth.
We again did some everyday training, beeing aware that this was a lot of stress for Lisbeth and planning a lot of nothing for the next days.
The morning walk was just normal but when I returned at lunch time there was another hole in the sofa. My hopes of repairing it are disappearing now!
Stayed at home after lunch making some home office. The beginning was ok with Lisbeth just lying in the sun. But since 1,5 hours she is very stressful. I think it's time for her too sleep but at the balcony she is just trying to escape and in the flat she is again starting to chew the whole furniture. Tried to ignore it and went to another room but nothing helps!
She looks very stressed. Panting a lot.
Would love to have a magic bullet for situations like that. Giving her a frozen Kong now. Hoping that it is getting better afterwards....
We again did some everyday training, beeing aware that this was a lot of stress for Lisbeth and planning a lot of nothing for the next days.
The morning walk was just normal but when I returned at lunch time there was another hole in the sofa. My hopes of repairing it are disappearing now!
Stayed at home after lunch making some home office. The beginning was ok with Lisbeth just lying in the sun. But since 1,5 hours she is very stressful. I think it's time for her too sleep but at the balcony she is just trying to escape and in the flat she is again starting to chew the whole furniture. Tried to ignore it and went to another room but nothing helps!
She looks very stressed. Panting a lot.
Would love to have a magic bullet for situations like that. Giving her a frozen Kong now. Hoping that it is getting better afterwards....
Joy and anger
On Monday when I returned home from work I was absolutely mad about this stupid dog. Knowing that there is nothing elde to do then ignoring. There is only one little peace in my flat I really love - that's my sofa.
Its easy to ignore Lisbeth's chewing on our furniture because there is nothing special about it. Everything old and without any value. Except the couch. It's a 2nd hand couch but really comfortable and expensive. And as you might imagine on Monday when I returned back home there was a huge hole in the sofa. It took me about one hour, calming myself down and feeling comfortable enough for a short walk.
But on our walk something special happened giving me back some joy after a day full of frustration. I made a stop during our walk again sitting down on the ground for some minutes. And guess what happened?! Lisbeth did the same and layed down after a while looking relaxed and comfortable! It was the first time! I was so proud about this progress. Even if this is normal live for most dog owners it was a special moment for me!!
Its easy to ignore Lisbeth's chewing on our furniture because there is nothing special about it. Everything old and without any value. Except the couch. It's a 2nd hand couch but really comfortable and expensive. And as you might imagine on Monday when I returned back home there was a huge hole in the sofa. It took me about one hour, calming myself down and feeling comfortable enough for a short walk.
But on our walk something special happened giving me back some joy after a day full of frustration. I made a stop during our walk again sitting down on the ground for some minutes. And guess what happened?! Lisbeth did the same and layed down after a while looking relaxed and comfortable! It was the first time! I was so proud about this progress. Even if this is normal live for most dog owners it was a special moment for me!!
Sonntag, 1. Juni 2014
One more time office training
Today was our third time of office training.
We started the training with a short walk. I'm proud of Lisbeth she is doing quite good. No reaction to any bike or walker. YEAH!
Only short reaction to a dog healing. She deffinitely don't like when dogs are not communicating with here then she feels unsecure.
She also was perfect when we entered the office and greeted my husband. He got the instructions to go down on the floor and calmly greet, I used a lot of treats and it was a perfect welcome scene. No jumping at all. Then we walked around on leash to have a sniff and then she got a chew. I think it would have been better to leave now but I tried to wait a little bit and help her to fall asleep. She got treats whenever she was close to her place but she was not interested in resting. She started wandering around searching for shoes to chew on....Before giving here the possibility to get attention for doing something wrong we did a short cllicker session and then she got a 2nd chew but still not showing any signs to fall asleep. So I finally got the message and we left the office. And of course back at home se immidiatly fell asleep!
It's going to take a lot of time until Lisbeth is ready to be an office dog and maybe she will never be... But I'll give it a try!!
We started the training with a short walk. I'm proud of Lisbeth she is doing quite good. No reaction to any bike or walker. YEAH!
Only short reaction to a dog healing. She deffinitely don't like when dogs are not communicating with here then she feels unsecure.
She also was perfect when we entered the office and greeted my husband. He got the instructions to go down on the floor and calmly greet, I used a lot of treats and it was a perfect welcome scene. No jumping at all. Then we walked around on leash to have a sniff and then she got a chew. I think it would have been better to leave now but I tried to wait a little bit and help her to fall asleep. She got treats whenever she was close to her place but she was not interested in resting. She started wandering around searching for shoes to chew on....Before giving here the possibility to get attention for doing something wrong we did a short cllicker session and then she got a 2nd chew but still not showing any signs to fall asleep. So I finally got the message and we left the office. And of course back at home se immidiatly fell asleep!
It's going to take a lot of time until Lisbeth is ready to be an office dog and maybe she will never be... But I'll give it a try!!
Donnerstag, 29. Mai 2014
Everyday training
We have managed to organise our life that we and Lisbeth are quite fine...
And I think now it's time to work on her ability to handle stress. The first thing she should learn is to come with us to work.
So we just go there on weekends and evening when it's moreless quiet to slowly learn her to feel comfortable at other places.
Went there yesterday evening and again today in the morning. When we arrive we go for a little walk and then she get's a bone to chew on. A bone is the only thing that works even a frozen kong (she normally loves this) is not interesting enough due to a high stress level. After finishing the bone we immidiatly have go to guarantee a positive end of the training session. And even if it does not look like hard work for Lisbeth it is exhausting. She immediately fell asleep when we returned back home!
Love this crazy girl!!
And I think now it's time to work on her ability to handle stress. The first thing she should learn is to come with us to work.
So we just go there on weekends and evening when it's moreless quiet to slowly learn her to feel comfortable at other places.
Went there yesterday evening and again today in the morning. When we arrive we go for a little walk and then she get's a bone to chew on. A bone is the only thing that works even a frozen kong (she normally loves this) is not interesting enough due to a high stress level. After finishing the bone we immidiatly have go to guarantee a positive end of the training session. And even if it does not look like hard work for Lisbeth it is exhausting. She immediately fell asleep when we returned back home!
Love this crazy girl!!
Overstimulation vs. Understimulation
As I've already told, I was on vaccation last week. Lisbeth had to stay at a doggy hotel for one week. I was a little bit afraid because I know, that this means high stress for Lisbeth. Having dogs around her the whole day means not sleeping at all (except when it is dark outside).
But luckily she did quite good this week back home again. The first two days she slept a lot but all in all she looked okay.
So I was thinking, maybe she is so stressed because she is understimulated.....
So just to find out I decided to go on a short run with her. Was a bad idea. Lisbeth totally freaked out, haven't seen her like this before... No longer caring about me and the environment she was like living in a tunnel, beeing in hunting mode... Luckily nothing extraordinary happened and we did not meet any other dog, jogger or something else so no chance for her to have an explosion...
I've learned that I should trust my godfeeling and that sometimes less is more!
But luckily she did quite good this week back home again. The first two days she slept a lot but all in all she looked okay.
So I was thinking, maybe she is so stressed because she is understimulated.....
So just to find out I decided to go on a short run with her. Was a bad idea. Lisbeth totally freaked out, haven't seen her like this before... No longer caring about me and the environment she was like living in a tunnel, beeing in hunting mode... Luckily nothing extraordinary happened and we did not meet any other dog, jogger or something else so no chance for her to have an explosion...
I've learned that I should trust my godfeeling and that sometimes less is more!
Some reasons of stress
Before I continue I want to list some reasons of stress:
Actually I have to say that it is not so easy to distinguish the reason for Lisbeth... I'm pretty sure that beeing less alone would help but that's not an option. Coming with us is even worse...
But maybe you find something you haven't thought of that can cause stress!
- health problems, pain
- over stimulation, too much excersise
- rough playing
- no rules in the family
- hunger, freezing, too hot
- understimulation, boredom, tired
- conflicts in the family, beeing overcontrolled
- having no choices
- beeing home alone
- too little social contact
- no privacy, quiet place
and so on...
Everthing we a dog can't cope with causes stress!!!
Actually I have to say that it is not so easy to distinguish the reason for Lisbeth... I'm pretty sure that beeing less alone would help but that's not an option. Coming with us is even worse...
But maybe you find something you haven't thought of that can cause stress!
- health problems, pain
- over stimulation, too much excersise
- rough playing
- no rules in the family
- hunger, freezing, too hot
- understimulation, boredom, tired
- conflicts in the family, beeing overcontrolled
- having no choices
- beeing home alone
- too little social contact
- no privacy, quiet place
and so on...
Everthing we a dog can't cope with causes stress!!!
Sonntag, 25. Mai 2014
Mobbing
Not a lot to report because I was on vaccation last week.
Sometimes I wish I haven't dived that deep into the dog world because since then I see dogs suffering every day.
Even though this is not directly related to stress I want to report about bullying.
The last day abroad I watched 2 little dogs "playing". One beeing a strong bully rolling the other one down again and again. Chasing him, mounting, blocking. I really felt sorry about the victim, who had no change to escape. Beeing forced to "play" with this unpolite dog. The two owners were talking not paying any attention to the scene.
I report about this situation not because I want to blame the owners but to start a discussion about this topic. Dogs are not always playing when the interact.
It's not only the bullied dog which touches my heart but the strong impact this situation might have on the owner-dog relationship. Imagine beeing the dog who can not understand why his owner forces him to meet his tormentor on a regular basis. And beeing the owner who only wants to give a little joy to his dog but mentally hurting him instead. It should be the mission of all dog people to teach owners and help dogs.
Always keep an eye on your dog because sometimes he needs your help to escape a situation.
I didn't have the possibility to make a video of the scene but watch this instead:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYLikICe9o8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x7k0DBWMDQ
Sometimes I wish I haven't dived that deep into the dog world because since then I see dogs suffering every day.
Even though this is not directly related to stress I want to report about bullying.
The last day abroad I watched 2 little dogs "playing". One beeing a strong bully rolling the other one down again and again. Chasing him, mounting, blocking. I really felt sorry about the victim, who had no change to escape. Beeing forced to "play" with this unpolite dog. The two owners were talking not paying any attention to the scene.
I report about this situation not because I want to blame the owners but to start a discussion about this topic. Dogs are not always playing when the interact.
It's not only the bullied dog which touches my heart but the strong impact this situation might have on the owner-dog relationship. Imagine beeing the dog who can not understand why his owner forces him to meet his tormentor on a regular basis. And beeing the owner who only wants to give a little joy to his dog but mentally hurting him instead. It should be the mission of all dog people to teach owners and help dogs.
Always keep an eye on your dog because sometimes he needs your help to escape a situation.
I didn't have the possibility to make a video of the scene but watch this instead:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYLikICe9o8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x7k0DBWMDQ
Mittwoch, 14. Mai 2014
Ups and Downs
The perfect weekend ended at Sunday lunchtime.
Again biting everything, pulling like crazy on the leash, beeing in another world outside, beeing reative and all those signs of stress.
Don't know why??
Maybe the lunchtime walk was too long.
This situation lasted until Monday evening. Very exhaustnig for all of us!
And on Tuesday for the morning walk I recognised a change again. I knew that this day would be better and it was.
So still don't know what causes this intensive stress reactions but I'm still beleaving in my way to deal with it.
There are ups and downs but at the end it will be perfect!
Again biting everything, pulling like crazy on the leash, beeing in another world outside, beeing reative and all those signs of stress.
Don't know why??
Maybe the lunchtime walk was too long.
This situation lasted until Monday evening. Very exhaustnig for all of us!
And on Tuesday for the morning walk I recognised a change again. I knew that this day would be better and it was.
So still don't know what causes this intensive stress reactions but I'm still beleaving in my way to deal with it.
There are ups and downs but at the end it will be perfect!
Sonntag, 11. Mai 2014
Perfect weekend
It's already Sunday lunch time and it's seems that I have a perfect dog this weekend.
I don't know what happened maybe it's just the way I look on the situations. Lisbeth is laying down, sleeping and resting just by her own drive. She looks satisfied and relaxed.
There are still a lot of things we have to work on and getting out of her routine still distresses her but we are definitely on the right way!
I don't know what happened maybe it's just the way I look on the situations. Lisbeth is laying down, sleeping and resting just by her own drive. She looks satisfied and relaxed.
There are still a lot of things we have to work on and getting out of her routine still distresses her but we are definitely on the right way!
Samstag, 10. Mai 2014
Something I have to mention
In dogschool yesterday I got some imput I forgot to mention.
I'm now differntiating 2 kinds of treats: easy to chew and longer lasting treats. The first for just telling well done go on and the second one well done and calm down. I use them whenever I recognise that stress level rises.
A perfect Saturday goes on.
Had a little bit longer lunch walk today. Started with free shaping when Lisbeth started to search for soemthing to do. And left home for a walk. Short part on leash followed by short part off leash at the grassland. Lisbeth was a little bit distressed because you could hear speakers from the sports arena. So used a lot of my long lasting treats and tossed some treats on the ground for searching. Continued our walk to the main square of my little town. Met some strangers had to use liverpaté to keep Lisbeth beyond her treshold. Hearing other dogs bark followed by one dog on leash next to a bike was too much. She was no longer able to eat anything. Should have returned earlier. but luckily no real arousal. So I sat down on a bench near by tossed some treats and gave her a little chew. Supprisingly she calmed down. A little bit stressed we continued our walk using a lot of treats ans liver paté to avoid distress. Lisbeth was nearly perfect. Met another stranger and she was able to calm her down and search treats on the ground. I was so proud!
Back on the grassland short period of leash again and finished our walk with a bycicle passing by without arousal (but liver paté). Was a lot of stress but a lot to learn for both of us!
Lisbeth is happily sleeping again - so time for me to return to writing!
I'm now differntiating 2 kinds of treats: easy to chew and longer lasting treats. The first for just telling well done go on and the second one well done and calm down. I use them whenever I recognise that stress level rises.
A perfect Saturday goes on.
Had a little bit longer lunch walk today. Started with free shaping when Lisbeth started to search for soemthing to do. And left home for a walk. Short part on leash followed by short part off leash at the grassland. Lisbeth was a little bit distressed because you could hear speakers from the sports arena. So used a lot of my long lasting treats and tossed some treats on the ground for searching. Continued our walk to the main square of my little town. Met some strangers had to use liverpaté to keep Lisbeth beyond her treshold. Hearing other dogs bark followed by one dog on leash next to a bike was too much. She was no longer able to eat anything. Should have returned earlier. but luckily no real arousal. So I sat down on a bench near by tossed some treats and gave her a little chew. Supprisingly she calmed down. A little bit stressed we continued our walk using a lot of treats ans liver paté to avoid distress. Lisbeth was nearly perfect. Met another stranger and she was able to calm her down and search treats on the ground. I was so proud!
Back on the grassland short period of leash again and finished our walk with a bycicle passing by without arousal (but liver paté). Was a lot of stress but a lot to learn for both of us!
Lisbeth is happily sleeping again - so time for me to return to writing!
Freitag, 9. Mai 2014
Perfect Saturday morning!
Today it's Saturday but I have to write for my PhD. So not too much time for my dog.
Got up at 7am had a little peeing round and did some clicker training at home (about 10min). Lisbeth got something to chew. After a while she was finished with chewing but wanted to dig the remaining part of the chew in my sofa. I hate this!!! So I started a new strategy. Got different chewis, more than she can eat at once and hide them in a box. She immidiatly was interested and ate about 2-3 of the chewis but only the ones hat are easier to chew. And then she went off, no digging. Yes!! Point for me! But I have to observe if it is working on a long run!
Then she visited me at the table. Greeted her and gave her little attention. She started chewing the table. I already tried ignoring before which was not very helpful. Also telling her that it is not okay to chew the table but she can chew something else... So I have a new strategy. I already knew that she stops chewing when I leave the room but she is not following. So I decided to leave and ignore her for chewing. Had to repeat this about 5 times but again a win for me she finally layed down on her place. Chewed a little bit on her pillow, which I definitely can ignore and finally fall asleep!
So 2 wins for me and a sleeping dog! Perfect Saturday morning!
Got up at 7am had a little peeing round and did some clicker training at home (about 10min). Lisbeth got something to chew. After a while she was finished with chewing but wanted to dig the remaining part of the chew in my sofa. I hate this!!! So I started a new strategy. Got different chewis, more than she can eat at once and hide them in a box. She immidiatly was interested and ate about 2-3 of the chewis but only the ones hat are easier to chew. And then she went off, no digging. Yes!! Point for me! But I have to observe if it is working on a long run!
Then she visited me at the table. Greeted her and gave her little attention. She started chewing the table. I already tried ignoring before which was not very helpful. Also telling her that it is not okay to chew the table but she can chew something else... So I have a new strategy. I already knew that she stops chewing when I leave the room but she is not following. So I decided to leave and ignore her for chewing. Had to repeat this about 5 times but again a win for me she finally layed down on her place. Chewed a little bit on her pillow, which I definitely can ignore and finally fall asleep!
So 2 wins for me and a sleeping dog! Perfect Saturday morning!
Stupid me
A lot to report but missing time to write...
I significantly reduced the lenghts of our walks. I'm not sure if it is the right way but I'll try.
In my opinion the dog does not benefit from walks where he is overexcited and very reactive. So our morning and lunch walks are just litte peeing rounds about 10-15 min. Only the afternoon walk is a little longer but with a lot of breaks inside. But I did not reduce our time together so I changed walking into working which means we are doing some search and retrieve games at home. She is still easily aroused and than reacts more often.
The afternoon/evening walk yesterday was quite good. We startet on leash with just sitting down and having a chew and a short search for treats. Two bicycles arrived without any reacton so this was good.
Chewing with bycicles near by!
Then we started the walk without leash. Lisbeth did not look very relaxed and was stressed by the noise of the street. So after having her pee I sit down again for giving her something to chew. It took some minutes until she was able to rest for having her chew.
Then we continued our of leash walk which was quite good. Back in the car I had to make a phone call. Which was too much for her, she started chewing the seat belts and her leash. Went out of the car (with phone) walked around but didn't get better. She reacted to bikes about 60m away. So a good walk had a bad end. Stupid me!!
Satisfied dog
Today we were at the dog school.
We were doing a lot of nothing. I just needed somebody to talk to and of course somebody who critically discusses the way we are going now.
And Lisbeth was just perfect. She sniffed around, she - that was really quite surprising for me- layed down for having a chew! YES!!! Never ever saw this before, except at home!
We did some free shaping and discussed about nose work!
Was a perfect lesson.
Only on our way home Lisbeth started to chew something in the car. Need to put some chewis with me all the time!!!
And you can see it was perfect. This is how a satisfied dog looks like!
We were doing a lot of nothing. I just needed somebody to talk to and of course somebody who critically discusses the way we are going now.
And Lisbeth was just perfect. She sniffed around, she - that was really quite surprising for me- layed down for having a chew! YES!!! Never ever saw this before, except at home!
We did some free shaping and discussed about nose work!
Was a perfect lesson.
Only on our way home Lisbeth started to chew something in the car. Need to put some chewis with me all the time!!!
And you can see it was perfect. This is how a satisfied dog looks like!
Mittwoch, 7. Mai 2014
First time lying down in the grass
We had a great walk today!
Started our walk with some retrieve games inside and in the garden. Just a view repeats. She did quite good. Started our walk on leash with the first trigger after 1 minute. One of our neighbours was outside cleaning his car. Lisbeth deffinitely want to go there and jump on him... Tried some "tossing treats on the ground" first to calm down her but did not work. Tried to go on slowly praising her for every connection she made with me. It was ok, we passed by without leash biting. Arriving at the greenfield I unleashed her and she just ran a big round to release the pressure and to pee. Walked some meters togehter. Then I returned.
Today was the first day I saw my dog lying down outside. I'm not sure if I should be happy about the situation... I went home Lisbeth was looking into the other direction. Called her. When she saw me leaving you could see that she was hardly thinking about what to do. Her redirected behaviour was laying down. At the end seeing me going away win and she followed. We finished the walk on leash with nothing else happening.
Started our walk with some retrieve games inside and in the garden. Just a view repeats. She did quite good. Started our walk on leash with the first trigger after 1 minute. One of our neighbours was outside cleaning his car. Lisbeth deffinitely want to go there and jump on him... Tried some "tossing treats on the ground" first to calm down her but did not work. Tried to go on slowly praising her for every connection she made with me. It was ok, we passed by without leash biting. Arriving at the greenfield I unleashed her and she just ran a big round to release the pressure and to pee. Walked some meters togehter. Then I returned.
Today was the first day I saw my dog lying down outside. I'm not sure if I should be happy about the situation... I went home Lisbeth was looking into the other direction. Called her. When she saw me leaving you could see that she was hardly thinking about what to do. Her redirected behaviour was laying down. At the end seeing me going away win and she followed. We finished the walk on leash with nothing else happening.
Sonntag, 4. Mai 2014
Explosion on the Nordic-Walker
I don't know exactly the reason for the stress today.
Maybe it was a combination...
Today we left home for our morning walk. Lisbeth already excited to have a pee due to her bladder infection. We heard the deer belling which awaked her hunting instinct. An then already beyond her treshold a Nordic-Walker was coming close. That was to much and ended in explosion me just holding the leash knowing that there is nothing else to do for me.....
The rest of the walk was Lisbeth and me going the same way but not togehter. She was overloaded and was not able to search for some treats when I was just tossing them on the ground.
Back at home we had a brake together on the sofa. I gave her a little massage and she calmed down easily... She was almost asleep when I left the house for work...
I'm searching for good litrature about learning your dog to calm down....
I've already read "Chill out FIDO" but I don't like this one...
Maybe it was a combination...
Today we left home for our morning walk. Lisbeth already excited to have a pee due to her bladder infection. We heard the deer belling which awaked her hunting instinct. An then already beyond her treshold a Nordic-Walker was coming close. That was to much and ended in explosion me just holding the leash knowing that there is nothing else to do for me.....
The rest of the walk was Lisbeth and me going the same way but not togehter. She was overloaded and was not able to search for some treats when I was just tossing them on the ground.
Back at home we had a brake together on the sofa. I gave her a little massage and she calmed down easily... She was almost asleep when I left the house for work...
I'm searching for good litrature about learning your dog to calm down....
I've already read "Chill out FIDO" but I don't like this one...
Stress Opportunity and risk
The word stress has a negative connotation which is not true at all.
One have to distinguish between positive and negative stress.
We all need stress to survive. There need to be a quick response when our brain expects danger. But it's the dose that makes the poison. One need to be able to calm down again and relax.
Running for the ball can be a lot of fun for our dogs but it means stress as well. So make sure that there is enough time for relaxation and that your dog does not get overexcited.
Learning new things causes stress as well. But for a short period of time this is important and learning means improving self esteem. But we should avoid to put too much pressure on our dogs. Watch out for the stress signals your dog is showing and stop training when your dog has enough.
Something to read:
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/3_1/features/Easing-Your-Dogs-Stress_5031-1.html
http://www.4pawsu.com/fetch.htm
http://3lostdogs.com/do-you-recognize-these-6-signs-of-a-stressed-out-dog/
One have to distinguish between positive and negative stress.
We all need stress to survive. There need to be a quick response when our brain expects danger. But it's the dose that makes the poison. One need to be able to calm down again and relax.
Running for the ball can be a lot of fun for our dogs but it means stress as well. So make sure that there is enough time for relaxation and that your dog does not get overexcited.
Learning new things causes stress as well. But for a short period of time this is important and learning means improving self esteem. But we should avoid to put too much pressure on our dogs. Watch out for the stress signals your dog is showing and stop training when your dog has enough.
Something to read:
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/3_1/features/Easing-Your-Dogs-Stress_5031-1.html
http://www.4pawsu.com/fetch.htm
http://3lostdogs.com/do-you-recognize-these-6-signs-of-a-stressed-out-dog/
Signs of stress.... (1)
There are a variety of stress signs in dogs.
I'll try to introduce as much as I can but split this chapter into pieces that my followers are not overwhelmed by the information they get.
(1) scratching and dandruffs
When dogs are stressed their skin gets dry and intchy and they have the need to scratch a lot. Sometimes you can see dandruffs as indicators for dry skin and stress. It's almost the same in humans we also start scratching when we are working hard on some thing.
Rolling on the ground can be a sign of pleasure but it's often caused by stress as well.
(2) Yawning
Sometimes dogs yaw when they are tired but most of the time they do it caused by stress.
(3) biting the leash
Must dog owners shout at their dog's when they are doing so or even worse hitting them with the loose end of the leash. But it's simply a sign of stress. Tossing some treats on the ground your dog has to search for can be an easy solution for this "problem".
I'll try to introduce as much as I can but split this chapter into pieces that my followers are not overwhelmed by the information they get.
(1) scratching and dandruffs
When dogs are stressed their skin gets dry and intchy and they have the need to scratch a lot. Sometimes you can see dandruffs as indicators for dry skin and stress. It's almost the same in humans we also start scratching when we are working hard on some thing.
Rolling on the ground can be a sign of pleasure but it's often caused by stress as well.
(2) Yawning
Sometimes dogs yaw when they are tired but most of the time they do it caused by stress.
(3) biting the leash
Must dog owners shout at their dog's when they are doing so or even worse hitting them with the loose end of the leash. But it's simply a sign of stress. Tossing some treats on the ground your dog has to search for can be an easy solution for this "problem".
First day first post!
It's time to relax my dog!
First day, first post!
I think it's time to introduce myself first!
First of all I'm Austrian so please accept any language mistakes but I'll try to write this blog in english that all of my friends from dog trainer eduacation can follow.
The reason for starting this blog is my special 4-legged friend and so far still my fellow dog Lisbeth!
She is a Serbian street-dog (Belgrad) and came to Austria on the 25th of January this year. She had to left her doggy friends in Serbia because she was in danger to be caught and sent to killing station because she was chasing bikes and joggers and severely barking at them. So, for me it seems that she already had a "stress problem" while living in Serbia.
But for the first post no more details about my dog. To shorten the story: My dog has a problem to cope with stress and I want to help her.
So let's start a journy about stress and finding a way to help our dogs to relax!
First day, first post!
I think it's time to introduce myself first!
First of all I'm Austrian so please accept any language mistakes but I'll try to write this blog in english that all of my friends from dog trainer eduacation can follow.
The reason for starting this blog is my special 4-legged friend and so far still my fellow dog Lisbeth!
She is a Serbian street-dog (Belgrad) and came to Austria on the 25th of January this year. She had to left her doggy friends in Serbia because she was in danger to be caught and sent to killing station because she was chasing bikes and joggers and severely barking at them. So, for me it seems that she already had a "stress problem" while living in Serbia.
But for the first post no more details about my dog. To shorten the story: My dog has a problem to cope with stress and I want to help her.
So let's start a journy about stress and finding a way to help our dogs to relax!
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