We had a gaggle of girls over for a sleepover on Sunday night. We mostly had Clover at daycare while the kids were over and then had her back in our bedroom when she was home. However we took the opportunity to do some people practice (all just OSR from the couch). This pic is from when only one extra girl was with us. She noticed another person was there and then laid down within about 5 min. The second time we brought Clover out was when we had 3 extra girls having breakfast. Clover came out and we did OSR before she went on her morning walk. The 5 girls total were very loud and squealy and she did great. Patiently waited to be taken on her walk.

Belle…

 

When our grandson wanted a German Shepard puppy, we thought it would be an easy wish to grant and assumed that all you needed to do was potty train, teach some basic manners and the dog would know the rest.

When we picked Belle up at the airport, we found a terrified puppy who had traveled hundreds of miles in the belly of a dark, very loud plane. When we let her out of the crate, she flattened herself on the ground and was too frightened to move. It was a deeply traumatizing experience for her and was the wrong beginning in a series of wrong decisions.

Belle was potty trained quickly and seemed to be adjusting to a strange house, but she spent much of her time in a crate when people were too busy to watch her. When she did get out of the crate to play in the backyard, the kids were wary of her sharp puppy teeth, so playtime was short. Belle did have an outlet when she played with our Doodle and seemed happy, but as she grew, she displayed more mistrust of people and became very wary of visitors. When she nipped three family members, we contacted a trainer who promised fast results with an e-collar.

The trainer would work with Belle and our other dog, taking them to a park or the local hardware store, and after each session, we would receive videos showing our dogs sitting or in a ‘down-stay.’ It seemed easy. We watched videos and practiced, but we couldn’t duplicate the results. I thought I wasn’t using the controller correctly, so I asked the trainer to show me what I was doing wrong. In our living room, she had the dogs sit and then gave the ‘down’ command while pushing the button on the e-collar remote. Our Doodle responded by melting to the floor, but the German Shepard just stared at the trainer, who repeated the command, raising the collar’s intensity each time. Then, I realized I couldn’t duplicate the results because I wasn’t cranking up the shock collar. That was the end of the e-collar for us.

So now, we were sick with remorse and worry. We had mishandled her and mistreated her.
We could not relinquish her; rehoming her seemed like we would be passing a problem we had created off to someone else. We had hit bottom, and that is when we found Paula at Inspire Canine.

Paula explained that Belle needed to learn to trust humans and that we would need to go at Belle’s pace. This wasn’t about obedience. It was about undoing the behaviors that Belle had learned so she could cope with the stress and uncertainty of humans and her environment. We needed to make our actions and words predictable for Belle, like patterns she could learn and rely on.

Belle is a much different dog now, a happy dog. There is no ‘fast lane’ when unscrewing what you have screwed up. It takes patience and determination; Paula has expert levels in both.

 

~ Vickie Miller

Clover had day care today and they said she’s been doing great lately. No growling. And one person said she even played the other day. Sounds like her confidence and outlook is staying with her through day care! Yay

Clover had a GREAT reaction to a dog today. We were on our usual nature walk and going back to the car where it’s easier to see dogs walking on the street (not close, but usually triggers a big reaction). There are also lots of people walking since the trail is right next to a middle school.  And the trash truck had arrived so it was a bit loud. Before we saw any dogs I noticed her go into hyper vigilance mode looking for dogs walking so we just stopped walking and did the OSR routine. Didn’t take long before she saw a dog and started to lunge forward growling but I just stayed put and when she felt the tension in the leash (not from me yanking, just from her own move forward) she stopped and looked at me so I said GG and gave her piece of food. From there, she was definitely looking for the dog and trying to watch it but she wasn’t lunging or growling. In fact she sat down and was settling herself and checking back w me and I would say GG and give her food. She was able to watch the dog walk by without the usual reaction, which is a first. So we did a big celebration about that. Today was the first time I’ve seen her check in with me like that with dogs and settle herself back down without going into her usual full reaction mode. Yay!!

I don’t want to jinx us but I think we are mostly over the hump with the bed issues. We have had repeated long stretches where she goes in her bed and lays down right away. She occasionally bites at it, mostly when she’s wanting attention or when she’s excited (like when the girls are coming home) so I just say “clean up” and put it away around those times. I’m getting better at anticipating them but even when I don’t, I just put it away. I think she is re-connecting that her bed is comfy and good.