Manali

Thank you so much, Adrienne! You've been such a big help in training and understanding my dogs better. Thank you. Working on all the notes one day at a time. You've given me a lot to study and look into. So, I'm going to focus extensively on it. I'll of course (sorry) bug you every now and then. But, I think for a very long time we are sorted with the course and all the extra notes you've given us. As always, thank you! Hope you, your family and friends are safe and sound! Loads of love, Manali, Spotty & Luna!

Hi Adrienne! This time I've quoted few of my previous questions along with the things you've said this time so that you can sort-of have a trail of what we've been talking about. As always thank you for helping all three of us. Let's get to it. Is "head that" another conditioning method? Could you link me to that? Okay perfect! I will definitely need my friends to do this. But once I'm on it I'll keep you posted so that I don't fuck up. I don't want to by mistake end up encouraging a wrong behaviour in any way. Understood. Again will need my friends. Will keep you posted on the progress once we start. But in no way would they think that barking when they see a dog is what's getting them treats? No, I would assume it's mostly high predatory drive with the exception of one vehicle which is quite common in our City -- Rickshaw. They don't come around my area that often but since lockdown they have been allowed entry in and around my area and she barks at them a lot. I think that's because she's never seen them here before and is scared of them. I nonetheless use same "leave it" or "stay" in this case. Should I not? And just use them when she lunges at cats, cars, rat, crows? Gotcha!!! Competition? Is that something I should be concerned about? And does this also dent their behaviour in a long run? Any specific behaviour modification that I should read to tackle this? By that do you mean actual rabbit fur used to make a toy? Or just like a rabbit looking toy? I haven't gotten her either of them in any case hehhehehe. But let me know the one you are talking about and I'll buy it. As always, loads of love to you. Thank you! Stay safe! _____

I think I've asked this before if so ignore. But what cues and things should I keep in mind while walking each dog individually to help them better understand me and make walks easier on my arms and shoulders. We do use harnesses for both but they aren't front attachment ones. So, I'll look into them. Just of curiosity how are they better than regular harnesses? I will definitely check with my vet when lockdown eases out. And yes she pees each and every time we go down. She produces a lot a lot in the morning and otherwise they are good medium quantity. In the morning it's a river. Yes, she is spayed. Will do. I'll have a word with my vet on this too. Are you saying this will become a habit? And the only way to eliminate it is by giving her a seperate place to sleep in? But she doesn't. She ends up coming to my bed. So what do I do? In addition to these, a couple of other things that I've started noticing and that I'd like to pick your brain for are: Both of them have become more reactive since I've started using few cues and giving them treats on their walk. Like as we walk, sometimes I ask them to heel or look into my eyes or stay and if they catch on someone seeing us they both lose their shit. Do you think it's because they are protecting their treats? And if they are, should i stop training them outside? How will they learn at all then? Spotty doesn't respond to her name outside at all. She does at home. In the building compound. But not outside. I guess she is always more anxious outside like you've said before. But what can I do to bring her at ease and make walks more fun and happy? And also, how do I get her to simply respond when I call her? I mean I did the bit where I take her name, click the clicker and treat her. And all that works fine at home. Even without clicker and even without treats. But outside, neither clicker no treats seems to interest her or get her attention. How can I make her more confident and make her trust me? Thank you as always. Please take your time and see us when can. We are making slow but good progress with the help of your training. Spotty is now finally sitting on the house floor without the mattress. Thank you so much! Hoping you and your family are safe and happy! See you soon!

Hiii Adrienne, Thank you for your prompt and insightful reply. Just as you I will also use quotes to further talk about a given behaviour or ask you of doubts that I have. As always thank you for your patience. Will post in two parts too. Starting with Spotty and then Luna. Starting now. They do happen often. It's one of the most annoying things here. I will definitely look into the music you've provided. And I'll try playing recording of fireworks and let you know how that went. Usually she just finds an isolated corner and cowers in there. I let her be. I also close all my windows and play something rather normal on TV to give her the sense of normalcy. Ummm no. We actually live in a building/apartment set up and on the third floor. But maybe with the help of my friends I can work towards it outdoors? Or does it have to have a window set up for it to work? Actually I take babies to office with me everyday. And over there, me and my colleagues cum friends join us for every walk. It works as a good break for all of us. Since the lockdown we are all home but I'll definitely get to it once the lockdown is a little relaxed over here. But, when we do walk them seperately what are the things to keep in mind? Should I concentrate on a specific cue like heel, look into my eyes or leave it. And if we see a dog at a distance can we put the 'look at that' exercise to use? And if do once they do respond positively to the cue, is it okay to keep walking towards that dog's direction? Or should we change the direction? And in the same area I have one more dumb question. I read desensitising and counterconditioning. But I'm confused if we give them a treat to help them relax in a situation in which they usually get stressed about (even as we take it slow) won't it actually make them even more reactive to it? I don't think I'm articulating this well. I mean usually we give a treat after a favourable behaviour or action to encourage and boost the thing they did. They sit we give them treat. Sitting is great for them now. But the case in point, they are barking or lunging at a dog or a vehicle and I give them a treat, won't they learn that barking at that dog or the vehicle is but in fact great and won't that reinforce the behaviour even more? Thank you! I am actively using 'leave it' a lot more on walks. As she lunges and makes a run for almost anything --- bus, car, cat, rat, crow, even a flying leaf. So is that okay? Or is there some other cue for this behaviour? She doesn't have arthritis. As I'm writing this, today out of nowhere, Spotty followed sit cue on the house floor without any mattress on it. God knows what made her do it. But she did at least a good six to seven times. But I wasn't ready for it and didn't have my clicker around. So didn't use clicker. Just gave her the cue, she would take her time but she would sit and then I would give her treats and praise her a lot, in a very happy excited way. Is it okay if I don't use the clicker to train her? Initially she was very very very scared of it. She still is to some degree. So can I just do cue → (she follows) → treat → praise (I say 'yes'). Can I do this for Spotty if she isn't relaxed around a clicker? Also, I'll definitely start with a rug transition for Spotty. Will look into this. And will begin with the 'gentle' training. I missed stating this before so I'll just say it now. I think sometimes she does that when Luna is around and nearing her. And otherwise when I don't give her a treat because I'm patiently waiting for her to follow a cue. But why won't she show any interest in any toys at home too? I get so many toys and not once does she nibble with them, bite them, or fetch them. None of it interests her. Why would that be the case? Or do you think few dogs are just never interested in toys. But won't playing with them help her mental stimulation? _____________

Hi once again, Sorry I took quite some time to get back to you but the virus has spread at a horrifying rate where I stay and there are a lot of changes in routine due to the lockdown. So, everyday is a new challenge figuring things out. How is it over there? How are you and your family? I am so happy that you have agreed to help me and my babies. This will be so good. Thank you a million times again. Allow me to take you through both my babies and few of their health issues and behavioral issues. I have a feeling it won't be very brief. So, this is a heads-up and this me apologizing in advance. Sorry about that. But, I reckon that this will help you understand them and my situation better. So, without further ado I'll jump straight into it. (Bear with me please.) I have two dogs -- Spotty and Luna. Spotty is around 7 years old and was my very first adoption. She's an Indie (pariah) dog and I found her outside my ex-office two years ago. And that's how she entered my life. She, was somehow potty trained and I never once witnessed her eliminate in my home. She always preferred outdoors. But besides that she was a doggo with too many issues. People around the office, told me she would only be with her mother until her mother crossed the rainbow bridge. She then spent some of her time with the people in the office next to mine (before I came into the picture). They would let her in as and when she liked but soon refused her entry once they got themselves a breed dog. She was also badly abused by homeless kids and their parents. And I've personally worked a year on her to just get her to trust me. To know when I raise my hand, I only in love and to pet her. She is extremely scared of firecrackers and rain. And she is super duper aggressive around other dogs. A little fuck up on my end here -- so back in my office days, she never would even walk with me past say 300 meters. There was a beach around and I would want to take her there but she wouldn't cross that line she made for herself. It took me a lot of picking her up and (guilty as charged) dragging and pulling her to get her to cross her limits. She is aggressive now with dogs but back then she only and only scared of each and every dog. When I properly adopted and brought her home, I also brought her to an area which has endless amount of stray dogs around. And hence she was always and always scared of her walks initially. Another fuck up on my end, I realised when I shooed or just raised my hand to gesture that I'm going to hit the other dog, she instantly felt a little confident. And so, I did this for sometime till I didn't have to. I of course never really hurt any of those dogs. But I realised I didn't really fix Spotty's behaviour. I just made her more aggressive I guess. And now I can never get her to stop barking or take another road or even a U-turn from the approaching dog without me pullling and dragging her away. With Spotty even now there's a lot of pulling and dragging. She is very stubborn. I usually let her lead the way and take me wherever she wants to. After all the walks are meant for them. But sometimes either I have to avoid few roads or I have to avoid vehicles or unhygienic places and Spotty doesn't budge and as usual I resort to pulling and dragging. Another problem, entry of Luna my second, meant they both always want to go in different directions and Luna still listens but Spotty doesn't. And sometimes Luna does have to go to places that she likes to, to pee and potty and then again I pull and drag Spotty. It's been 24 days now since I've started your training. And Luna has shown immense progress but let me just run you through Spotty's. After adopting her, I trained Spotty basic ***sit, stand, lie down, jump, paw and other paw***. To be honest, just for the sake of it. It took me Luna and a long time to realise that they need training and brain games for a better life. I can't believe it took me this long but here I am. I hope it's not too for Spotty. So, Spotty still follows sit, stand, lie down, jump, paw and other paw but on her bed. Nowhere but her bed. Not even on my home floor. So, you can tell we haven't done a thing outdoors. I also took my time to understand what the root of this problem is and maybe try and fix it without bothering you. Read more of what you've provided and maybe apply those techniques. I tried everything from changing the reward and making it only high value. I also understood for all dogs reward doesn't necessarily mean treats and food. She loves head pets so I changed to that. I also got her super excited and played with her before starting her training. None of this worked. But today, I had one of my mattress lying on the floor and I thought let me see if that helps and help it did. She followed all the cues/commands she knows flawlessly and instantly. But here's the problem, anywhere outdoors, I obviously can't be carrying a mattress or even a thick quilt. It's already too much handling these two nutties down. So as much as I count that one step that she's taking towards training and learning, I don't know where to take it from here. I also read that the intensity with which a dog takes a treat says a lot about them. If so, Spotty takes treat I would say with anger. She does small attack like thing with her mouth to take them. She sometimes ends up hurting my fingers too. I don't think all these are good signs. She has also not once showed any interest in any of the different toys that I get for her. Never. But she loves to play with me. I do this slow, stealthy hand movement which playfully provokes her and she gets all jumpy and runs back and forth on her bed. That's one other thing I've tried to do outdoors to get her to follow some cue, any cue. Didn't work. So, that's my first baby girl for you. Luna came a little shy of nine months ago and was totally totally unplanned. Hehehehe. Anywho, she was a stray from around my area and I would feed her occassionally. Until one day I stopped seeing her and she worried me sick as she wasn't too old. (It's usual for senior strays to just disappear when they know it's their time to go but she was very very young -- under a year I could tell.) Anywho, she magically resurfaced after a fortnight in the worst condition I've ever seen a dog. Front right leg broken and she had lost a lot. She was on verge of dying and I had to take her to the hospital. From there on it was two worst months I've ever had. One sickness after the other came our way. From low hemoglobin to anameia to at present Lymphoma. She was in the hospital for nearly three months and then I just had to get her home. Few months after that went in adjusting her to a new home and Spotty. I separated their food and water bowls of course and yet Spotty would growl at Luna as she drank from her own water bowl. So it was pretty intense back home. And I live in a small house. Like it's not even One BHK. And yes I know many have told me to let dogs live in a small house but I think both my babies are pretty happy with me. Anything is better than being on road, I think. Anywho, initially to just warm them up to each other and not get in fights that would cost us a vet visit, we went for a quick session with one of the trainers here in Mumbai. Their method and approach is quite different and you might agree or disagree but back then it helped me keep them under the same roof. They taught me two quick commands. 'off' and 'no out'. And a newspaper roll to correct them. They said, newspaper roll mimicks the behaviour of the pack leader. And for them you must be the pack leader and correct when needed. The newspaper roll doesn't really hurt them and hence I went ahead with it. As much as it helped me keep Spotty's aggression in check when it came to Luna, it hasn't done more than that anymore. So I'm no longer satisfied with it and I seldom use it. Initially Spotty would get angry and growl at Luna even when Luna drank from her own water bowl. That is how crazy it was at home. Anywho, now they sleep in the same bed. They are okay sharing the same water bowl. They walk together (although they don't understand when to wait when the other is eliminating). They sometimes even play which brings me immense joy. Now when it comes to Luna's training. My second makes me proud and proud each and every day. I'll quickly tell you things she has learned and is learning. We are still using lure and treats. Clicker and verbal cue. She follows sit, stand, sit & stay, lie down, heel, attention heel. I use a verbal cue and very limited action, she follows, I click and treat. I will slowly eliminate even the smaller actions I make. And stick to verbal cue without clicker. Then like you have explained slowly decrease the amount of treats. Instead of every cue. Maybe after two or three cues. So, that's her training low down for you. And here's where I am stuck. I live in a very busy city. Like even the smaller narrower lanes have vehicles coming both the ways and with them my ears and eyes are all super alert at every walk. Partly because both don't seem to understand or follow anything in all that chaos. I mean Spotty like you know doesn't obey any cues outdoors. And Luna who does listen to heel and attention heel outdoors is way too distracted upon seeing a person whose vibe either she likes (so goes running to them) or hates (starts lunging and aggressively barking), or vehicles she doesn't like (she will with all her force move past me hence always almost tripping me over and lunging at a fast moving vehicle). It's scary and really breaking my shoulder now. Both do the same lunging and running at cats and rats. And as usual it takes all my strength to either keep them put or pull them back if they've successfully taken me ahead with them. Either way walks have become more and more difficult. And nothing seems to fix this situation. Maybe I haven't tried the right things. I don't know. Also, Spotty who reacts upon seeing any dog is also troublesome now because Luna is learning from her. And both team up against each and every dog. See, few streeties around our area are themselves pretty agressive and we anyway take a sharp u-turn when that's the case. But there are times when the dogs are docile and just minding their business and Spotty will start barking and lunging at the dog. I am trying this new thing where I instantly turn around when either of them resxt badly towards a dog. We walk a little away and then come back in the direction if the other dog. Walk till either of them react again. I say no and once again turn around. We keep doing thsi again and again till I feel there's some decrement in their growls. I don't know if I should continue this or not. The improvement isn't a lot. But it's not even been that many days. But we do have enough walks. Like easily six a day. Spotty doesn't need more than four. But Luna wants to pee a lot. It was a lot more when she was on Predni (medicine for Lymphoma) and I think now that's become a habit. She sometimes takes me down as much as eight times. She's quite handful that way. So, that's one more thing I wanted to know is there way for me to maybe reduce her eight to ten walks. We don't have a lift and taking stairs so many times kills me. And there are literally the times when she takes me down for nothing at all. So, then I figured she is bored. So I started playing with her. But nothing. But since the training or at least since we've been training a lot more, her walks have decreased by one and sometimes two. She also does this weird thing where she gets all agitated and barks at me when my leg moves while sleeping. They both sleep on my bed. And don't like sleeping anywhere else. Spotty besides me and Luna besides my legs. But she gets very angry when legs move naturally. So, now I subconsciously don't move my leg sometimes all night. I think that's all. You must be thinking really? That's a lot. I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to keep it short but I couldn't after a point of time. So I'm super duper sorry about that. But I hope, it you read everything at all -- I hope it helps you understand them better. And if so, then you can direct me with specific training that I must begin with them for their specific issues. Or if that's a lot please just help me understand them better and I will try to work towards it in whatever way I can. Thank you so much! I enjoy training them alot. We train two times everyday and I even maintain a log for it. It's that much fun. I hope they pass with flying colours and maybe one day I'll share their reports with you. Hehehe. Please take your time. And if you think I've been shameless and asked for a lot, you can absolutely tell it to my face. And I will leave you to it. Thank you once again! I hope you and your family are happy and safe. Best, Manali Panchal.