Norman… loves a back scratch

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Today I discovered that Norman loves a back scratch. He came over and sat on my lap with back to me. I asked if he was ready for scratches-we have been practicing- he didn’t jump off so I gently started to scratch his back and he leaned into it. I stopped and he looked back so asked if he was ready, said scratches and he leaned into me while I scratched his back again. This lasted for about 5mins and then he climbed off and laid down next to me and went to sleep. We really are becoming friends. I also did OSR with him while Edith was in the kitchen. He had grabbed his ball and was stress squeezing it and then came over and looked at me so I acknowledge him and gave him some kibble-he totally did OSR with me never looked at his ball again and fell asleep while I played with Edith. He would never have done that before. He totally responded to it. He still barks when the UPS man comes up the driveway but Im working on it. When that happens I just get down on the ground at his level and wait, I don’t say anything-he does come over to me and I say good boy but he is pretty anxious and wont take the kibble, I just wait and eventually he calms down enough to start taking the kibble from me. I know I should start the OSR before he gets to orange but he is better at hearing things before me. I’ll get better but I do feel like it is working.

Norman…

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Norman…

 

I would consider myself an animal person especially a dog person after having a childhood filled with animals including my best friend Ben, a Boxer to my adult years where I was a Veterinary Technician and was old enough to have my own dogs. I chose to share my life with Border Terriers (BTs). I had horses and being from the UK they were/are almost an accessory to owning horses as well as being almost as popular as a Labrador in the UK. The reason for sharing my life history with animals is that I thought I knew how to “train” a dog. I have seen/heard all the different methods and I knew for sure what not to do. Working in the Veterinary world I knew my dogs would never behave like a majority of the pets brought into my practice. I don’t hit, or use force/ train devices such a prong collars but I would shout, or at least raise my voice. I would handle them, touching paws, sticking my fingers in their mouths-all the vet tech stuff. I used to laugh that my dogs never wanted to sit with me as they knew I would poke and prod. I was very fortunate my first 2 BTs were wonderful little dogs, really easy to “train”. They lived a life as barn dogs, would venture out and about around the farm. I was never worried about them really, I would always find them staring at a hole. One of the two I considered my heart dog-gosh he was a special boy. The reason I mention him specifically is that I lost him in a freak accident. He was from a breeder in California although I was living in New York. Life changes brought me to California so decided to get another Border from the same breeder; my next heart dog. Oh how wrong I was. “Norman” turned everything I knew about “training” a dog up on its end. I called him Naughty Norman as he was a wild. I even sought out a personal 1:1 dog trainer. This helped a little but as he became an adult he had his moments that I just tolerated and thought It was just Norman. After losing my older rescue BT, Phoebe I decided to get yet another BT puppy from the same breeder, I thought Norman was lonely from losing Phoebe. Bearing in mind Phoebe was not nice to Norman when he was a pup but we dealt with it and she became “tolerant” of him. I bought the new pup, Edith, home and Norman attacked her. Luckily I was holding her so he was only able to grab her little nose (no injuries) but even so it scared me, Edith and Norman because I screamed at him. I was now terrified to have Norman anywhere near Edith. I never, ever had this issue with dogs I have had in the past, always having 2 dogs together. Clearly I was doing something wrong with my training methods. This is where Paula and Inspire Canine Behavior counseling and Training comes in. Myself and Norman needed behavior counseling desperately. From the initial 15 minute free phone consult I felt Norman was going to be OK and I was going to rebuild a relationship with my dog. Paula explained in detail her recommendations for Norman and I signed up for a 3mth Foundations package. It has definitely been a learning curve for me but Paula is incredibly patient and for the first month I had 1 hour virtual teaching session per week as she explains her model. Everything I described to Paula about Norman in my words, which honestly were more like complaints about how Norman didn’t do this or that, Paula would turn it around and explain why Norman would be displaying certain behaviors and of course it was inevitably my fault. Why would Norman think or behave like a human? he is a dog! He was as stressed out as I am but his answers were not to go and drown his sorrows in a glass of wine, his answers were fight or flight or bark and be reactive. Paula’s guidance on how to help my dogs feel safe with me and in their environment has been both invaluable and has made a genuine difference in Normans behavior. I am building a stronger relationship with my dogs that I absolutely love. Paula is passionate, caring, incredibly knowledgeable and always backs up her knowledge with peer reviewed publications. Paula’s methods just make sense. No more “barking” orders at my dogs.

 

Gemma Bachmann

Clover… the Huntress!?!

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We have been introducing the flirt pole. Are we doing this right? I took a video. I usually let it fling around a bit more so she can jump at it like a kitty. She likes that. But I kept it chill on video. She’s doing great at dropping it when we ask her. She is kind of obsessing about it to the extent that we say all done, clean up, and she still barks and whines at where we put it away. We just ignore her until she focuses on something else. She usually eventually gets her cardboard and calms herself down. The cardboard has been a great tool. We will save some unchewed boxes for after flirt pole practice because the existing scraps she had already chewed on weren’t exciting enough to entice her. New boxes are probably a better bet when she’s that excited. She actually kept returning to the cabinet where the flirt pole was throughout the day and into the evening. Not constantly. Her obsession eased up, but around the kids’ bedtime, we found her staring at the closet again and pawing at it. That’s actually a time when her arousal goes up, so it makes sense. I imagine maybe she was thinking, “Man, that flirt pole would feel great right now” because she had some energy. But she dropped it on her own. As we’ve discussed, I’m glad I have a better attitude now and can see what’s happening for her more clearly. I’m glad she likes it so much! And we just have to develop strategies around when and how we use it because it really gets her excited.

Cleo… and the parking lot

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After work yesterday walking from the shop to the car a man walked right past us and she didn’t speed up or move out of the way😭🤗 I kept saying good girl as we walked by!

Cleo… and the Complex

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I have to share this with u. We were walking around the complex and a lady was walking toward us to go upstairs to her apartment and cleo looked and it was the quickest she went back to sniffing the grass. Maybe took 3 or 4 seconds. Even while the lady continued walking toward her she didn’t look back up! I wanted to cry🥲

Clover… and a Playmate!

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Watching Clover on camera at daycare and she’s clearly playing with a dog friend! This is the first time I’ve really seen this. They are both laying down and kind of mouthing each other. I can tell neither is annoyed and they’re kind of taking turns. She periodically gets up and then kind of goes into nip at the other dog’s head and then flops down and they roll around. It seems very relaxed and playful. Yay! She usually never lays down. We always see her pacing and following a human.  I had to summon my husband to watch because he didn’t believe me. We both went “awwwwww!” cuz she was clearly seeking out that one dog and they were having fun. Very hopeful!

Cleo…

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Cleo…

My pittie Cleo has been fearful of strangers since I adopted her almost a year ago. She’s almost 2 and I noticed when I would take her for walks she would bark at anyone that would look or talk to her or walk near us. We started working with Paula a few months ago and I already notice a difference in Cleo’s confidence when we go outside. I can’t walk her where there’s a lot of people yet, but we eventually started walking around my apartment complex and now if she sees someone she looks at them but goes back to sniffing the ground and doing her own thing and hardly barks the way she used to. There’s still a lot of work to do but I’ve seen huge improvements that make it worth it! It takes time because Paula doesn’t just teach commands she gets to the root of the behavior and builds up from there. And once it starts to click and you notice progress it feels amazing! Just have to be patient and trust the process.

Belle… and the “good life”

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I’d been pulling weeds in the yard and was hot and sweaty and just wanted to sit in the shade and enjoy the breeze with my dogs. I have a perfect spot – second story covered deck with a nice view and cool ocean breezes.

Belle did great. She was uninterested in birds, and other dogs barking. She sat with me and when a couple people walked out to get into a car below the deck, she watched but didn’t bark or growl or move. We’ve been out here for over an hour and now she’s sleeping!

Belle… and the roofer

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The latest home repair project involves a crew of roofers.  It’s very loud work, tearing off the old coverings, banging nails and sawing wood.  I’ve been timing the potty breaks to before the crew arrives, during their lunch break and after they leave for the day.  However, one lunchtime potty break, Belle and I were walking to the back yard and six feet directly above Belle one of the workers began speaking in a very loud deep voice.  This startled Belle, but she didn’t bark, lunge, or drag me into the bushes.  Instead, she stopped and tried to see where the voice was coming from.  I said ‘let’s go’ and together we walked away from the workers and, after the potty break we walked back into the house without incident.

Clover… and the gaggle of girls

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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.