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wait... she left a ball. in the yard. to obey a recall before I even said a word?

21K views 245 replies 24 participants last post by  glowingtoadfly 
#1 · (Edited)
My intensely drivey little pocket rocket ball obsessed wolfbat dropped her ball and came dashing to me when I opened the back door. This is the girl so obsessed with her ball that she had trouble letting us pick it up eleven months ago when we brought her home. The girl so ball obsessed that losing her ball used to cause mouthing tantrums, who has not mouthed on a walk since January. She has apparently figured out that I want her to come when I open the back door. Apparently her bond has become so strong that she will leave her ball behind. This is the girl who tried to jump off a boat when she dropped her ball in the water and had to be held back.
 
#5 ·
Today when Skadi was chewing on my blanket, instead of physically moving her, which prompts a resource guarding response, or going to distract her with a treat, I tried putting her in a down stay each time she felt the urge to destroy and guard. It worked. She was able to be distracted from chewing on the blanket to listen to a command. Even when her brother Grim moved towards her when she had the blanket and prompted a growl, the down stay worked to stop her from lunging and barking at him. I was very proud of her. I think we will be working more on this command with both of them. I used a ball to reward her for holding the command. Although this object sometimes causes her to resource guard from him, sometimes causing scuffles, I think I am going to keep trying, just continuing to be very careful and cautious about letting the ball become a bone of contention between the two.
 
#7 ·
I hope so! Today she fussed when asked to on our walk, allowed me to cuddle in bed with her (she sometimes has handling issues), and was good with her brother. She did just "miss" playing tug with my husband and make him bleed though, as she sometimes does. She gets overenthused. Grim has become quite the puller, but he is learning heel and bringing his dinner along on our walk helped him. I need to find some higher value treats than the ones we have to make sure I have his attention when bicycles and other dogs go by. He's nine months, getting bigger, and is a lunger when he wants to chase.
 
#9 ·
I'm just hoping he outgrows barking and lunging at other dogs with training the way she did. She used to bark and lunge every single time we saw another dog, then go belly down when she met them, wanting to play. I worked on focus with lots of liver sausage and freeze dried chicken and eventually she became much better. He is more of the bark, lunge, and snap when the other dog gets too close type so we are very careful with him. I'm wondering if at nine months he could be going through a fear period. His interest in bicycles is much like her interest in squirrels- a deep desire to chase.
 
#10 ·
Bringing Grim's dinner along on our walk this evening made a huge improvement in his focus. I practiced calling his name and feeding him each time he looked at me, and the " fuss" command (heel). At the beginning he had his nose planted in the hand that held the treat and would heel for ten steps. By the end of the walk we were working on walking next to me while looking at me and he did it a few times. His pulling improved too. One thing we will need to work on is that he is reactive to bicycles-he pulled me towards a bicyclist and growled while lunging. I was able to pull him away, but from now on, my husband and Skadi will be the ones walking next to the bike trail, and I will need some higher value treats. He was able to look at me in expectation of a treat a few times when he saw a bicyclist, so he is beginning to associate bikes with "checking in" with me. It can't happen fast enough, so more focus work for Grim. Skadi did really well, but then again, she has been doing well on walks for months.:wub:
 
#12 · (Edited)
Tonight's walk went pretty well, with two mild setbacks. We hike them on the nature trails near the river by our house sometimes, and sometimes on the bike trails. Tonight we chose the nature trails, because although we picked up a tick a few days ago, both dogs have their tick medicine now. Grim, again, did very well with loose leash walking and was able to stop pulling and walk at my side when directed while on the trails. We ran into five cops on bicycles asking a person, possibly a vagrant, for some ID. The trails are quite narrow and Grim's reaction to bikes was discussed in my previous posts- intense interest while they are moving, possibly a play growl due to the bike putting him in prey drive, possibly reactivity. I pulled out my treats and directed him to "fuss" through the group of people. He was able to keep his nose planted in the palm of my hand as we walked, and although he pulled away to look at the people once, he was able to be redirected to the treat with a command. Skadi did well too, although just before this she decided to bite Grim's leash and growl, then take Andrew's hand in her mouth. We redirected her successfully onto a ball, which she happily carried home. That is the first time that has been neccesary in months. Grim completely blew me off and pulled as hard as he could to get to a small dog across the street though. I need some liver sausage or freeze dried beef...EDIT! Just now, she obeyed a recall into the house from a fascinating rough and tumble play session with her brother... And I didn't even have a treat or ball in my hand. When he first came home, I had posted that she mouthed me when I tried to break up a play session and bring her inside. I started always feeding them treats upon coming inside, and she is doing better!
 
#13 ·
Due to a long day at work for me, my husband took just Grim for a walk. He noticed that Grim is much better behaved without Skadi there ( less pulling and barking at other dogs) and seems to stick close by and not pull. I have noticed the same thing- her presence seems to inspire him to bark and react. His presence inspires her to want to take walks instead of begging to come home and play ball or tug though. Hmmm.. Maybe briefer walks with higher value treats when they are together.
 
#14 ·
Today we took the dogs out together. Halfway through the walk I clipped both leash attachments to the front clip of Grim's freedom harness. He didn't pull and started offering more heeling behaviors, and he was easier to control. I wish I would have tried that before. Three times, he saw a bicycle, thought about lunging, then refocused on the treat in my hand and sat for me. Skadi had no mouthing incidents on the walk and did not need to be redirected to her ball once despite the fact that we walked past one of her favorite places for offleash fetch, but didn't go. Hand shyness has been a mixed experience lately. Affectionate and soliciting of petting one minute when she is standing, grumbly and growly when she is lying down. This weekend she allowed and solicited some lying down cuddles. Today, she lay down with her body touching me and growled and took my hand in her mouth when I petted her in one place, yet allowed me to briefly rest my hand at the base of her tail and give her a scritch. More clicker training for hand shyness, I have been slacking lately...
 
#15 · (Edited)
Today, we were able to walk much longer with Grim and Skadi because he can't pull with both leash attachments clipped to the front of his freedom harness.( big thank you to our behaviorist for suggesting this equipment- while Skadi could not tolerate the harness, Grim does very well on it) (Skadi does fine with a thunder leash) I was beginning to lose my patience with his pulling because while he was picking up heeling for treats fast, by the time we were halfway along on our hike, I had almost run out of treats to redirect him from pulling to a heel or loose leash. Then I would have barely anything left for the last half of our hike. Today we were able to walk them far enough to tire them both and still have enough food for the entire journey. Each time he looked back at me of his own volition, I marked it with "yes", if I couldn't reach my clicker, and rewarded him generously. Each time he didn't strain against the harness and walked with a loose leash, he was marked and rewarded. Each time he turned around, looked at me, and sat, he was marked and rewarded. Grim is starting to become a better trained dog. Skadi mouthed Andrew before our walk. She had been crated for a long time because Wednesdays are my long day at work and I do not trust anyone with my mouthy girl. He stepped on her leash and she stopped and was able to walk with no mouthing after that. Huge thanks to our behaviorist for this technique. Now both dogs are tired and happy, Skadi on the living room floor, and Grim on the bed beside me. A goose hissed at us on our river hike and both dogs wanted to chase, but we met no other animals besides that, and it was lovely. I blame the threat of rain.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Today, we took them to schutzhund training. Skadi only growled once at the helper, and he touched her head while she was tugging a few times. This is huge progress. The first few times she growled each time she was handled while tugging. Our work at home of handling her while we are playing ball or tug with her until her growls subside is starting to pay off. Grim is nine months old and is barking and lunging at strangers sometimes. We were apprehensive about allowing him to train at all, because recently this has intensified due to the nine month fear period. We were able to socialize him a bit and get some good advice on how to handle it when he shows this behavior. (Don't speak to him while he is barking to tell him it is ok as this rewards the fearful behavior, walk him past the object or person causing the fear, have two leashes on him and have a willing helpful friend walk him with me if possible) The helper walked him around the field away from me and he did fine. He was able to tug but was just a bit more hesitant.
 
#17 ·
....and Skadi laid in my lap in the backseat on the car ride home with only one growl and gentle taking of my hand in her mouth when I petted her. She actually laid in my lap and let me put my arm around her in the close quarters of the backseat with another dog. This is the girl who would not allow any touching from me in the backseat of the car in the first months after we brought her home, who had to ride in the backseat alone while my parent's lab had to be put in the front seat because she was snapping and growling aggressively. She rides nicely with her brother and seeks out affection from me now. I am very proud of her.
 
#18 ·
To work on Grim's reactivity to strangers and strange dogs, pulling, and lunging at bicycles, I decided to walk him back and forth in front of the house and work on focus and heeling, rather than take long hikes with lots to react to. I brought his dinner and a clicker out and he was so focused on me that he didn't even notice a bicycle going by. We worked on fetch and recall in the backyard too. He has an ambling fetch style that is very different from lightning fast, excited Skadi. He waits for the ball to stop and then trots over to it, picks it up, and trots back to me.
 
#19 ·
Skadi took a long hike alone with me to a pet store and did beautifully. No mouthing, and she was very well behaved. She loved the pet store so much she didn't want to leave. Grim is still in the fear period. I took him to a bench outside of a local store and we worked on focus while people walked by. The high value treats helped. He barked and lunged at a girl on the walk home though. We will keep working on it.
 
#20 ·
Hooray! I bit the bullet after weeks of training in front of the house and the open pantry and took Grim on a socialization hike to a nearby pet store. I might add that we walked on a bike, dog, jogger, and family crowded bike trail. He only reacted once to another dog at the beginning of our hike and quickly got used to the crowd on the trail. I brought his dinner along and heavily rewarded focus and no reactions. He did great in the store, ignoring a poodle that barked at him, although he was a bit shy and didn't want to go up to the register at first, I adopted a "nothing to see here " attitude and he was a model citizen. We will definitely try it again.
 
#24 ·
Skadi and Grim found a nest of baby bunnies. I think the bunnies are uninjured, but they are going to the wildlife center at the humane society anyway. Needless to say, there was a lot of squeaking, chasing, and mouthing of the unlucky bunnies. I had to drag Skadi inside and bribe them both with cheese.
 

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#26 ·
Grim was galumphing about with a baby bunny in his jaws while Skadi kept flipping another one over to hear it squeak. One of them dragged most of the bunnies out of the nest and put them in the neighbor's window well for fun. I ran inside to get the cheese. We were playing with the flirt pole when it happened and I noticed that neither dog was chasing it anymore....
 
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