Progress has been slow but steady in the same areas of training as in previous weeks. Now, before we start our walk, Patience will sit after the leash is on and wait until the door is open and recently has started to wait until I step forward instead of trying to run outside in front of me. We've also created a few rules for the grass; when she stops to spend half the day sniffing one spot of grass, a leash tug and the words "c'mon" get her moving without a tug-of-war. She goes in the direction of leash tugs more willingly without planting her feet and trying to drag me and is more willing to leave the grass at my suggestion.
There are also further indications of increased relaxation with our routines. When she first moved in one of the signs of her anxiety was the need to defecate as much as four times a day. Now she goes twice in sync with how often she's fed and at regular times of the day. She's also becoming more relaxed and confident about physical contact when I pull her to me or check her ears, feet, etc. Instead of jumping to her feet each time I move, she's begun to occasionally just watch as I travel around the apartment. A further indication is that she's found her favorite resting spots around the place and uses them regularly.
One big point of progress is that as she's relaxed she's begun showing more interest in socializing with other dogs. For the first couple of weeks her strategy was ignoring and avoiding contact. Now she's displaying the typical tail-wagging desire to approach unknown dogs. Instead of her investigating alone, I've had the pleasure of watching her run and play with other dogs for brief periods when we're at the dog park.
So as I said, slow but steady progress.
12/21/09
12/6/09
Patience - 2nd Week
The second week of Patience's new life revealed some more small improvements in our issues. She appears to be turning out to be a submissive and cooperative lady as she becomes more comfortable and confident in her new home. Part of that progress is also a result of my exploration of which techniques work for Patience, and then consistently using those techniques.
The issues at the door are slowly being resolved by sticking to the combination of waiting patiently before putting on the leash (now she'll stop jumping around and sit) to pulling her back behind me before stepping through the open door (she's begun waiting after being pulled back). She's also beginning to interpret the meaning of a few simple hand signals. The hand raised as if to stop traffic has become "wait" or "stay" in her mind and she has begun to respond. When I need some space I point my finger in any direction and tell her "go play" and that has started to work as well. To get the meaning across I had to persistently push her away in the beginning, but now she complies and it hasn't prevented her from approaching at other times. Such simple but consistent signals will aid communication in the future and her confidence in that communication will help her adjust and relax in her new home.
A couple of advances that I think are more than minor because they involve future issues that will persist throughout our time together have shown significant improvements this week. The first is her response to the "Leave It" command. I have a friend with a 2 year old male Dachshund mix named Jake who lives a block away. We've visited a few times in the last two weeks and they've proved to be perfect training opportunities. Jake is intact (not neutered) and is showing some possessiveness issues. On the occasions we've visited there have been two rawhide-type chews on the floor and Jake immediately grabs one when we enter. Patience got the other rawhide on the first few encounters. Jake would be satisfied with one for a while, then abandon it and try to get the second one from Patience. She displayed some hostility (growling, bared teeth and a snap) the first time, so I intended to teach her some visitors' manners. I took her rawhide from her, placed it on the floor a foot or so in front of her and used the "leave it" command. (It's the same command I've used to make her wait for her food and to wait for treats until she's invited to approach them). I had to push her back the first few times, but she eventually gave up. When she did, Jake took that rawhide and I handed her the one he had abandoned previously. Now when we visit, she won't take a chewy object until it's handed to her and will surrender it with the "leave it" command. The same command causes her to walk away from Jake's food bowl and twice this week she has dropped objects she picked up to eat during the walk when I used the command! I will continue practicing the "leave it" command at my friend's house to reinforce Patience's training, as well as at my own house with treats and her food. It's an important command for a dog to respond to and it will help me keep Patience safe.
The second important improvement is in displays of trust. Patience is slowly relaxing closer to me, allowing me to inspect her feet, ears, eyes and teeth with less protest and is becoming more excited about coming to me when I call. All of these areas were improved by practice and consistency. Each time I called her to me, moved her closer to me or examined her I made sure absolutely nothing uncomfortable happened and she got lavish rewards of affection. Now we are starting to play bite (her teeth, my hands) and other small games that she avoided when she first arrived. Lately she's started jumping on the sofa next to me and has begun to rest her chin on my leg for short periods of time. Besides the obviously gratifying emotional satisfaction I get from these incidents, they are also displays of trust.
One of the important techniques to note is that when I first started checking her feet and ears, she didn't want me to. I had to use corrections to overcome her objections in order to build trust in the first place. The corrections I used were just a forceful "shhh" sound. That plus persistence plus rewards is working quite well. In some circumstances it is necessary to create and enforce rules in order to have the tools to build trust on! Affection alone rarely works. Sometimes a gentle but assertive demand for respect is needed! If used wisely, such demands help, they don't hurt.
More next week. Meanwhile, happy holidays.
The issues at the door are slowly being resolved by sticking to the combination of waiting patiently before putting on the leash (now she'll stop jumping around and sit) to pulling her back behind me before stepping through the open door (she's begun waiting after being pulled back). She's also beginning to interpret the meaning of a few simple hand signals. The hand raised as if to stop traffic has become "wait" or "stay" in her mind and she has begun to respond. When I need some space I point my finger in any direction and tell her "go play" and that has started to work as well. To get the meaning across I had to persistently push her away in the beginning, but now she complies and it hasn't prevented her from approaching at other times. Such simple but consistent signals will aid communication in the future and her confidence in that communication will help her adjust and relax in her new home.
A couple of advances that I think are more than minor because they involve future issues that will persist throughout our time together have shown significant improvements this week. The first is her response to the "Leave It" command. I have a friend with a 2 year old male Dachshund mix named Jake who lives a block away. We've visited a few times in the last two weeks and they've proved to be perfect training opportunities. Jake is intact (not neutered) and is showing some possessiveness issues. On the occasions we've visited there have been two rawhide-type chews on the floor and Jake immediately grabs one when we enter. Patience got the other rawhide on the first few encounters. Jake would be satisfied with one for a while, then abandon it and try to get the second one from Patience. She displayed some hostility (growling, bared teeth and a snap) the first time, so I intended to teach her some visitors' manners. I took her rawhide from her, placed it on the floor a foot or so in front of her and used the "leave it" command. (It's the same command I've used to make her wait for her food and to wait for treats until she's invited to approach them). I had to push her back the first few times, but she eventually gave up. When she did, Jake took that rawhide and I handed her the one he had abandoned previously. Now when we visit, she won't take a chewy object until it's handed to her and will surrender it with the "leave it" command. The same command causes her to walk away from Jake's food bowl and twice this week she has dropped objects she picked up to eat during the walk when I used the command! I will continue practicing the "leave it" command at my friend's house to reinforce Patience's training, as well as at my own house with treats and her food. It's an important command for a dog to respond to and it will help me keep Patience safe.
The second important improvement is in displays of trust. Patience is slowly relaxing closer to me, allowing me to inspect her feet, ears, eyes and teeth with less protest and is becoming more excited about coming to me when I call. All of these areas were improved by practice and consistency. Each time I called her to me, moved her closer to me or examined her I made sure absolutely nothing uncomfortable happened and she got lavish rewards of affection. Now we are starting to play bite (her teeth, my hands) and other small games that she avoided when she first arrived. Lately she's started jumping on the sofa next to me and has begun to rest her chin on my leg for short periods of time. Besides the obviously gratifying emotional satisfaction I get from these incidents, they are also displays of trust.
One of the important techniques to note is that when I first started checking her feet and ears, she didn't want me to. I had to use corrections to overcome her objections in order to build trust in the first place. The corrections I used were just a forceful "shhh" sound. That plus persistence plus rewards is working quite well. In some circumstances it is necessary to create and enforce rules in order to have the tools to build trust on! Affection alone rarely works. Sometimes a gentle but assertive demand for respect is needed! If used wisely, such demands help, they don't hurt.
More next week. Meanwhile, happy holidays.
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