JMFS

You're right - I probably overdid it on the "yum" factor with the vanilla oreo-like cookies and the jerky. I wanted to ensure he was engaged so he wouldn't pay us, or the fireworks, any mind. I wish my brain reacted faster than my instincts! Mo and I are a lot alike - we react impulsively and we don't like people in our space. When he started encroaching on my "territory" I should have stood there, turned my back, and waited it out - that's what my brain would have told me. Instinct told me to get him away from us. I have as much work to do as Mo does! Thus far he's been Great with his food bowl and the only instances have been inside where the criteria is increased. Since my trainer is in Africa now, and they haven't found a replacement, I'll have to figure out some baby steps. Maybe starting with Gertie at the window while I'm giving treats to Mo during desensitization training. Next I suppose I could have the husband outside with me, though Maruska was there with me when we started the training so that may not be a necessary step because Mo was fine with her being close during training - she was moving around us deliberately to desensitize him to that distraction. Maybe husband with Gertie on a leash on the other side of the lanai / sunroom / Arizona room ;) to start and Mo on a leash Just in case. Decrease distance as we see Mo relax until he starts associating husband and Gertie as a precursor to goodies. Husband and Gertie outside the lanai if being In the lanai is too much stimuli. You're right, again, Momo is good at using his words instead of taking action with me. I think he is good at restraining himself because I don't reach out to him or move towards him. I think if I pushed the envelop we'd get a bite so I won't push! Like the day Gertie thought Mo was playing and she kept trying to engage him - he snapped at her. Still no bite, but I think if I hadn't separated them it would have escalated. Poor oblivious Gertrude - thinks everyone wants to play when they really only want to be left alone.

Here's the video I learned from long ago. Mooki and Lena are too cute: The first comment cracked me up - didn't notice that the first time around, "I did this with my border collie as a puppy since it was the best way to tire him out. I had no idea it was called a flirt pole, I just called it hillbilly dog fishing." - this is what it looks like once they're all trained up and you can see how little effort We expend compared to how much They do. It's tough to find videos of dogs who are just learning, but if you combine Adrienne's "drop" and "leave" training with the flirt pole you'll be on the right track. To keep Sable interested you'll have to let her get it once in a while. ;) It's easy to keep it out of their reach, but if they can't get it here and there they'll get frustrated or simply give up. It takes Gertie about 5 - 8 minutes in the Florida heat (in the shade) to get tuckered out. Here's how I do it: Squeak the toy a couple times to get her interest (don't have to do this any more - she Knows what that guy is about) Flick it along the ground, pop it up in the air, let her chase it for about 20 seconds, let her get it Let her squeak it a couple times, then tell her to "drop" If she doesn't right away then I lure her with a treat while saying "drop." If she Does drop right away I'll give her a treat (Zuke's minis) and mark it with an enthusiastic, "yes!" I'll do that a few times and then I'll start telling her to "wait" as I wiggle it around on the ground, then I tell her "ok" and we go back to step 2 If she goes after it when I don't want her to I'll tell her "leave" and when she does, I give her a treat We're still in the treating phase because it's so doggone hot and we have wood floors inside which cause her to wipe out a lot so our training is going slow due to lack of opportunity. If you're able to do it more consistently then you'll probably pass us up, be sure to wave as you zoom on by! Eventually I'll go to a variable reward where she gets fewer treats for doing the correct thing and the idea is to phase treats out. I tell her "good girl" quite a bit throughout this ritual. I can flop the thing on her head and she'll leave it, but drop is proving to be more difficult. Be sure to stop before Sable gets tired. Gertie will lose interest completely all of a sudden and I'm having to watch her closely for signs she's ready to quit so I can stop the game before she does.

We had a doozie on July 4th. Holy Toledo! I had a Kong stuffed with Lemon Oreo-type cookies made for dogs and a jerky treat in the middle to keep him busy while the world was exploding around us. I had to walk past his bed to get back to my loveseat and brushed against his tail and How Dare I! Boy, if I thought we were in the green zone I sure was wrong. This was like red alert level 5. Okay, maybe I'm being overly dramatic because he didn't bite, but still, the little dude was over the top crazy. I let him get back to his chewing after our "I'm not challenging you but I'm not moving from this spot" shoot out. I made the smacking sound for Gertie and he went ape poo Again but this time coming towards me with his carrying on. At that point I wasn't risking anyone getting hurt and opened the door for him go outside, but he wasn't budging. All the while he was growling and snarling. I finally totally lost my senses and said (in a loud voice but Not yelling), "NOW!" My husband darn near went outside on that one. I don't know Why I didn't just make Mo go to his crate. In hindsight that's what I should have done and I think I was not thinking clearly because every time we have one of these altercations my adrenaline kicks in. It's very intense. His bed is far away from everyone else's couch and at the far end of my loveseat so I rarely have to go near it, but dang it all if I didn't need something off the shelf next to him that time. He's not bothered by fireworks (one year he grabbed one of the ground spinners with his mouth while it was spinning - he went on the leash after That brilliant move), but I thought I'd give the old man a break this year since he seems to be wanting inside more often. Maybe next time I'll put an old sock in the Kong so it's less valuable! We were doing so well. :( Time to take steps back and recondition / desensitize again.

Hi Steve, Here are a couple posts to get you started: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?41-Some-questions&highlight=clothing https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?42-Biting-clothes&highlight=clothing The more you work on deterring the biting the less likely he is to do it, but the higher the excitement level, the more apt he is to nip. New people are Very exciting to dogs so be prepared for some hijinx. If you've worked it out of him before he meets other people then I think he'll be less likely to nip them because he'll have learned that's not what gets him the good stuff (pets, scratches, treats, praise). I had to look up the breed as I've never heard of it. To me they look like a slightly shorter-haired black and white golden retriever. :D Given the description, it sounds like a breed I could get on board with! It says they're excellent hunting dogs so a flirt pole might be a good toy for him to distract from biting and pulling at clothes. Well, nevermind, Adrienne's on top of it. :)

That sounds so much like where we were about 8 months ago. It keeps getting better and I started up the silent whistle training again because it never hurts to have that ace in the hole. My neighbor is a poodle breeder and I can hear her all the way across the street (we're on about 1.3 acre lots) yelling at her dogs to come, but instead they frolic the day away, ignoring her. I like Adrienne's methods Much better. :D Hopefully she'll do fine with the chicken and it does make sense that if it's already in her kibble then she should be good to go. If she does well with it then you might see a Big change in her enthusiasm towards training. As you rule things in you may be able to expand the menu by adding one thing at a time. The more tools in your belt, the easier training becomes (or so I find). She sounds like a sweet pup, voluntarily checking in and wanting to keep you in sight. To me that's a sign of a good bond.

I know it can be overwhelming having products thrown your way buuuut . . . I wonder, if your hands were free would you be able to balance better? I bought this leash: https://www.petsmart.com/dog/collars-harnesses-and-leashes/leashes/kong-premium-pouch-and-bungee-dog-leash-48830.html and I Love it. I wear it around my waist so I'm hands free and then when she pulls she starts feeling that resistance right away. If not for now, it might be something to consider for the future when she's under better control so you can have your hands free. Petsmart is the only place I've seen it so far and I was able to purchase it in-store without the pouch. Even so it was $30, but when I take both pups to the Veterinarian it's So much easier to sign paperwork and whatnot. Like you, Gertie is fine solo, but when Momo is with us all Hell breaks loose. He's like a permission slip to throw All training out the window and just be a dog. Anyway, the thing I like most about that leash is that it's not Me reacting, it's the leash doing its natural thing in response to her behavior so it's a neutral entity. I get tense in social situations (my life goal is to become a hermit) and I may be prone to overreact so this leash is a good answer to that issue. I totally understand about wanting guidance. My Gentle Leader came with a DVD and I watched that video 2 times before trying the collar and then 3 more while I was adjusting it and training. I was very much aware that even a light touch was sending a clear signal to him and I didn't want to hurt him with it. I probably went overboard, but hey - I'd rather play to caution!

For the first 5 minutes Momo can be witnessed doing the Electric Slide with his face in the grass. After that initial temper tantrum he's great. I wish I could find mine, it got lost when I moved from TX to FL, because it was a heaven send for that little turkey. We literally spend 20 minutes spinning in circles because he's just so flippin' hyper and the (ours was the Gentle Leader) was night and day difference. All I had to do was flick my pinky and he'd come right back to heel - it was amazing how such a light touch could reel him in. I just looked at Chewy.com and dang, the things have come Way down in price in 8 years! Under $15 for the Gentle Leader and $13 for the Halti (medium sizes) compared to when I bought mine, which was $28. I'm definitely buying a new one.

Gertie is a good name, but so is Sophie. Sophie is a name fit for a classy lady. I was thinking less of weight and more of enticement with removing the amount she's trained with from her meals. The hungrier she is, the more appealing that kibble is going to be and the harder she'll work for it. Hopefully the chicken will work for her because they really do behave for that treat! If not you may be able to dampen the kibble so it gives off more odor. Grosser to handle, for sure, but if it works then it's worth the mess. I'm thinking maybe spritz it with a spray bottle. Since you mentioned crackers I'll share that I used to use Pepperidge Farm Goldfish because they're a good treat size. We also struggle with fetch. I honestly don't remember how I taught Momo. When I have both dogs fetching Gertie will bring the ball to me to keep it away from Momo, but if we're in the front yard without him then Gertie will grab the ball where it is, plop down, and happily chomp away on it. :rolleyes: She's a pro when we do pool fetch and I've figured out that playing fetch in the front doorway works well because we have bushes on either side of the sidewalk that make for an enclosed area. I toss the ball at the door and she brings it back to me, but as soon as we pass that hedge line she's triumphantly prancing around with her prize and ignoring me altogether. Little toot! We don't work on it all that hard and I'm sure if we did she'd be a pro. The two-ball method Usually works well. Sometimes she'll drop the first ball where she stands and come running to me for the second ball, which defeats the purpose because then I'm retrieving not only one, but Two balls! I'm sure she's having a laugh. Since Sophie likes to sniff so much and she does the find it game indoors, maybe she would enjoy some outdoor nose work. How does she respond if you make a lot of silly noises and wave your arms in the air? I feel utterly ridiculous doing it, but sometimes I have to make a fool of myself to get Gertie's attention. Adrienne says we have to be more interesting than the environment and that's sometimes Really tough to do. How am I supposed to compete with a twitchy squirrel?! Oh! I had another thought. The other day Momo was barking at the pest control man and Mo started running over to the man but I had my trusty silent whistle. I timed it between barks and Mo screeched to a halt, pivoted, and ran back to me. Here's my post on how I trained that: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?83-Silent-Whistle-Training-(How-I-Did-It)&highlight=silent It works well for when I need to call him in at 2 a.m. (I'm a night owl) because I don't have to bother the neighbors with a bunch of noise.

At least Sable is gentle. :D Gertie most certainly is Not. We've determined Gertrude doesn't understand size. At the dog park she played with the little dogs and the big dogs exactly the same way. She got trampled by the German Shepherds and she trampled the whatever that thing was, lol. Ball of Fur, I believe the breed was - I couldn't tell which end was which until it barked! Looking at the office at the moment I see another thing we did. We separated the girls with Gertie being next to my desk and Abbi next to hubby's. Abbi is also protected by 3 walls so Gertrude has only one access point and no reason to be there. On the couch hubby sits between the girls (I have my own loveseat so I can spread out my crochet) to act as a barrier. You're on the right track with redirecting her. Eventually she'll prefer to leave poor Bracken alone. I'm guessing walking her by Bracken and rewarding her for keeping her attention on you would further drive home the point that leaving Bracken alone = good times.

What kind of picking on is happening and when is it likely to happen? Here's what we experience: Gertie slaps her paw on top of Abbi sometimes and she'll do that play bow and wiggle all over the floor around Abbi. Well, that's all fine and good with another dog who wants to play, but Abbi is arthritic and 10 lbs as opposed to Gertie's 45+ lbs and I'm sure it's terrifying to Abbi. Abbi then goes into full Cujo mode and attacks Gertie, which excites Gertie. I'm not sure how Gertie translates that reaction but it sure doesn't stop her from trying to play. My solution is to recall Gertie to me and make her sit. Abbi chases her, though, so it's quite a task. With practice it's gotten better, but it can get the heart pumping sometimes! It happens infrequently now and we can spot when it's about to happen so we can stop it before it starts. I did watch a video yesterday of Victoria Stilwell dealing with a similar problem and size disparity. One of her solutions was to train the dogs together while both dogs were on leash so they could be more easily managed. When Bella (bigger dog) would go after Charlie (Yorkie) they'd distract Bella and reward her for leaving Charlie alone. It was simple training - getting them to sit. Then they swapped dogs and did it again. There was major tension between the husband and wife because they blamed each others dogs' for the behavior, hence the swapping so they'd bond with the other spouse's dog. As they became more relaxed around each other she'd move them closer and continue the training. The leash thing might work for you since your mobility is hindered and it would give you a little more control and reaction time.

I think any trainer is going to tell you recall is an ongoing training process. Some dogs are more responsive than others (Beagles are slaves to their noses, for example, and present a big challenge). I can only tell you what's worked for us and it sounds like you're doing things right so you may have already done what I'm going to share. In the last month Gertie has gotten So much better at recall so I'll relay what's been working for us. She's a grass connoisseur, lizard pouncer, squirrel chaser, and crow patrol, so we have Lots of distractions. I had to make myself more interesting than all those things and holy Hannah was that tough. I started making trilling noises, waving my arms, running away from her, and a couple times I even went inside because I was beyond frustrated that making a fool of myself didn't work. Out of all of that moving away from her works the best. Having her flirt pole with me is also a good enticement. When she does break from me (and she does more often than I'd like, but far less often than before) I don't even bother calling after her when she's running. It's after she's stopped that I'll tell her to "leave" because it's normally a squirrel (we're still working on that). She'll sniff around the tree or fence a couple seconds then run to the next and then the next and by the 4th time she's about to sniff something That's when I'll call her back to me. That has been working well and we're getting to where it's fewer and fewer sniffing spots (we've worked our way down from All of the trees to only a few). When she's particularly unresponsive then the next three or so times she goes outside she's put on the 50 ft lead and I attach that to the tie down so I can have my hands free. That seems to help with reinforcing that she's going to have to come back to me and she can either do it with freedom to run the yard, or by being constrained to a smaller area of the yard. I'm pleased to say I haven't used the lead in over a month (and I sure hope it continues!). She's had a couple infractions, but since she came back fairly quickly after running off without being released I skipped the lead. For a good month when she did come I praised her Ridiculously. As though she'd just won the Grand Prize Jackpot. Lots of enthusiastic "good girl" and chin scratches or ear rubs were lavished upon her and I really think that had the biggest effect. On days I know she's going to have an extra challenging recall day I'll take her treat bottle out with me (it's a creamer bottle I filled with Zuke's minis) and I'll shake that to get her attention. I let her have at least one "free sniff" period per day where she gets to smell all the things in the yard that changed since the last time we were out there before I call her back in. The rest of our outings are "business" and I'll use that word with her so she knows this one is a potty break, then it's right back inside. I've read that dogs will sometimes ignore when they're not allowed time to check out their environment because coming right away means they have to go inside when they want to be outside. In those cases recalling is more like a punishment. I'm willing to bet Adrienne is going to tell you your pup is entering doggy adolescence. :D It's a time when they test the waters, just like a teenager does. The only other thing I can think of is to practice more inside until she's got it down pat. She's still pretty darn young. Gertie is about 6 months older and has mellowed a wee bit now that she's reaching her 20's and is leaving the teens, ha! She's a golden / boxer / American staffordshire terrier mix and thankfully has the golden temperament so hopefully that's a foreshadowing of what you can expect. Your girl is definitely smart with the two breeds she's got in her so she'll piece things together. We do a lot of practice in front of the window where she can see what's going on outside. With you being on 10 acres that may pose more of an issue because you probably don't have the same stimuli that we do (garbage trucks, walkers, joggers, bicyclists, neighbors mowing their lawn for the 4th time that week . . .), but I thought it worth a mention since you may have wildlife that may catch her eye. What about plain chicken? Does that upset her belly, too? I know when I take chicken out with me she'll go off in the distance but she's just Waiting for me to recall so she can get a bit of that treat. I boil it without any spices but she still goes wild for it. Are you substituting her meals with the kibble when you train or do you feed her the full amount in addition to what you use for training? I know I'm not the expert, but I hope I've provided perhaps one nugget of useful information!

One thing I found was, as much as they love my pumpkin treats, those treats weren't high value enough. I had to upgrade to chicken and Newman's Own dog jerky. With the chicken I boiled a couple pounds then set some aside in the fridge and then cut up and froze the rest in individual Ziplocs so I could take them out each night to allow them to thaw for the next day's training. When I have leftover steak (not often as I usually devour it, lol) I cut that up and put it in the fridge for the next day, or I use it right then and there while it's still warm'ish. Cheese is another big motivator, but I limit that due to the fat content and dogs' general lactose intolerance. I've found the more tantalizing the treat smells, the higher value they assign to it and the harder they'll work for it. Oh, beef hot dogs cut in quarters lengthwise and then into ¼ inch (.75 cm?) pieces worked well, too. I just don't like the fat content in those because Momo is prone to pancreatitis (I also avoid pork products for that reason). How often does hubby participate in training? I know, firsthand, how much more of a challenge it is when you're the only one working with the pooch. Dogs don't see it as they're your dog or his dog, they see it as they're your dog and you're their humans - you're all one family, and because of that hubby's participation and support would be of great help. Feel free to send me a PM any ol' time if you need some moral support because I totally get the unmovable object issue. I normally check this forum a few times per day most days because I whip through my work fast and get bored, or on the tougher days I need a mental break and dog talk is just that. I'll leave the actual training advice to Adrienne, though I do like to Try to help by tossing in the "this is what worked for us" info here and there. ;)

Here's the course for leash training: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/pulling-on-the-leash/ I find that turning and walking the other way is an effective method. I will warn you that sometimes it Does take 10, 15, maybe even 20 or more attempts, but the number decreases over time. I have to retrain Momo every time I take him for a walk because we don't go very often since he has the run (and boy does he ever) of about half an acre of land with lots of trees and bushes to explore. Gertrude is much better, but before each walk I do a little refresher course in the parking lot because there's so much new stimuli and her attention is not on me until we do our mini session. I start in the parking lot because it's a smaller area that's easier to control and it sets the tone for the real walk. The more distractions, the tougher it is to train so starting with a smaller area and conquering that, then moving to a larger area, conquering that, rinse and repeat, is also a good method. When you speak of lunging, is it at people, children, dogs, cars, or just in general? Dogs tend to pull so they can get closer to whatever is interesting them.

If Ctl P doesn't work you might look at add ons for your browser. I have one for Firefox that I use to print crochet patterns to .pdf and it's called "Print Friendly & PDF." It gets rid of extra bits like navigation bars. I Think Adobe has one for Chrome but I have no idea what Internet Explorer, Edge, or Apple's browsers might support. If you're able to, you can highlight the text and paste it to a word program then print to PDF from there. The benefit of that method is gaining the ability to enlarge text (aging Gen X'er here ;)).

A lot of people train their own dogs for the very reasons you mentioned. Some of them select a dog based on criteria that may work well (e.g., Labrador and Golden Retrievers come to mind) and others happen upon a companion who would serve well in a service capacity, like Gertie. Contrarily, Momo would let me fall and probably run around in circles all excited, thinking I was playing a new game. He's beyond smart enough to be a service dog, but boy does he ever lack the temperament and empathy! :D My previous massage therapist trained her Yorkie to alert her when it was time to take her medication. I would have asked how she did it but it's tough to concentrate during a massage. If we can teach our dogs to help us, why wouldn't we? They're happy to help and it forms a stronger bond, which makes both the human and the dog happy. My husband thinks I'm silly because I'm not dependent like people with disabilities are on a true service dog; however, if she helps prevent injuries by preventing me from fainting then he's all for it. And, if my condition ever worsens to where I Would need her assistance outside of the home, she'll be ready'ish. As it is now I manage the dizzy spells by not kneeling or squatting when I'm out and about. Having her help at home, though, means I can do more things I wouldn't otherwise be able to (e.g., weeding the garden, detailing my car, and cleaning baseboards - normal things most people don't have an issue doing). I wish I knew more, too, because I am positive these pooches of mine have potential far greater than what I've reached with them. Sometimes I feel as though Momo's life languished because he could have been a champion at so many things, but then I think about the happy life he's had and he doesn't have it too bad. He has a swimming pool with a waterfall to lull him to sleep, a screened in pool house, and a huge yard to patrol and romp around in as well as plenty of wildlife to chase. :)

We've come a long way. :D I found head scratches to be effective for the canines and the human. He's usually more receptive to my feedback when he tries to get Gertie to do something and she won't, then I'll ask her and she does it right away. I also find biting my tongue to be a useful tool. After he's said "down, Gertie," five or more times I'll snap my fingers and say "bed" and she'll hop on over to her bed, then I turn around and go back to what I was doing. Occasionally she'll push the envelope and I have to start counting, just as you would do with a toddler. It's kind of sad and funny at the same time to watch her scurry to her bed when I say "twoooo." I suppose Mom tone translates into dog just fine. :D Having a trainer come help gives so much insight! Even though we were working on Momo's resource guarding, which was no laughing matter, it was fun with a trainer there to help. If I had oodles of time and dollars I'd definitely spend more of both on getting a trainer to help me fill in the blanks or give me new ideas. Sable is going to have an important job! Gertie helps me when I stand up after squatting for a while. I'm not yet diagnosed with low blood pressure, but I sometimes black out when I stand up and also sometimes have sudden partial loss of vision and it's so nice to have Gertie there to help steady me while I recover. She has a natural tendency to come to me when I bend over with my arms dangling (expecting lovin') and that's what I do when I'm trying to get my blood flowing again (so my head's closer to the ground in case I do go kerplunk!). She'll lean against me and I can put my hands on her shoulders to help steady myself, which is so cool! I'm also training her how to lead me to my side of the bed at night because my night vision is the pits. It's kind of neat building that kind of rapport with her so I can only imagine how close you and Sable will become over the years. Someone knew what they were doing when they put dogs on this Earth!

Here you go! https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/7-secret-potty-training-strategies/ (this is the main article) https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/potty-on-command/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/?s=potty (a search of the site - the first 5 results are specific to potty training, the others mention "potty" and came up in the results because of that)

Dogs have a tough time grasping the concept of "take it easy." Broken leg? No problem. Spinal surgery? No problem! Stitches? What stitches? Plaaaay! What types of games, if any, has she shown interest in? I can tell you from Gertie's stint in the "no play zone" we did a lot of brain games. I'd hide a treat under my hand and she'd have to touch my hand with her nose for me to release it. It was a good time to practice "leave," because I had a captive audience since she was a little drugged up. And yes, I totally exploited that situation and I have no shame about it. ;) I kept a stuffed Kong in the freezer so she'd have something long lasting to work on. I'd stuff it with yogurt and peanut butter mixed together, sometimes I'd get her dry food good 'n soggy and freeze that in her Kong. The Find It game was a hit. Even with an injured paw she had 3 others that would allow her to hobble around the living room finding treats. With Abbi I can wrap treats up in a blanket and she'll nose around to get them. Gertie will tear up the blanket and Momo would likely eat the thing so they don't get to play that game. Here's my post from when Gertie was sentenced to "take it easy." https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?51-Keeping-an-injured-dog-occupied-amp-potty-issues&highlight=fracture For the jumping try these on for size: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?196-Biting-and-Jumping&highlight=jumping https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?57-Biting-dog&highlight=jumping (specific to a 6-month old puppy) https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?166-Puppy-Jumping-up-Grabbing-me&highlight=jumping https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?43-Thieving-Pooch&highlight=table (not Quite your issue, but still good information) https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?42-Biting-clothes&highlight=jumping You are Definitely not alone in this. :) The good news is it's pretty common puppy behavior so there are Lots of ways to address it because it's been so thoroughly explored by pretty much every dog owner ever.

If you're not comfortable with it tell your trainer they'll have to find an alternative. If they won't, and you feel strongly enough about it, you might entertain finding a different trainer. You have to be onboard with the training methods used otherwise you're wasting time and money. I'd go with my gut on that one, especially since you're not warm and fuzzy about it you may hesitate to use it to its potential, negating the full benefit of using one. That's just my (not-so-humble) opinion. :) My brother has all sorts of suggestions for Momo, who has behavioral issues (including euthanization), and most of them involve discomfort for the dog (not pain, but unease). I chose to ignore his advice because I most certainly wouldn't treat my child like that so I'm not going to train my pups with such a heavy hand, either. At least not until all other options have been exhausted. Like a martingale collar.

Oh! If it's on a tiled floor then maybe putting a mat under it might help, too. Gertie's food dish used to rattle in the stand so I folded a towel and put that underneath - problem solved.

Aw, wook at dat widdle face, lol!

Hard to believe we went nearly 3 months without an incident! I was even able to give him a leg massage while he was eating this morning. He's got a charlie horse or cramp or something that causes him to yelp when he does Just the right movement so I was working on it for him and it must have been doing the trick because he was all about it and relaxed. Normally I would have waited until he was done eating, but I'd already started massaging before feeding him and he kept looking at the food scoop so I dumped that into his bowl and kept on keeping on. He didn't even tense up, which has been his unfailing indicator that he's about to lose it. So it's raining here and Mo is getting to where he wants to be with us instead of outside during times like that. I let him in and put him on the dog bed with Gertie. We'd played several games of Find It for about 30 minutes with the pups taking turns (one on the bed, one in the living room searching for treats). I wish I'd seen what happened to cause a ruckus. I gave each of them a treat on the bed for staying on the bed and I put their treats on opposite sides of each other so their faces would be turned away from one another. After they ate their treats I turned around to set up another game of Find It. That's when poo went sideways. Gertie was playing, Momo was Not. The treats were Long gone (my favorite, Zuke's minis) but Mo was suddenly in jerk mode. Any time Gertie moved he would bark and move towards her. No snapping, but plenty of teeth showing and a little growling, mild compared to past incidents. Gertrude didn't help at all by wiggling her little butt all over and tossing her paw onto Momo's face. So much for dogs being body language experts - Gertrude most certainly failed that doggy course. Mo was definitely restraining himself - I could See it. I had him get up but Little Miss Oblivious is still trying to engage him into play so he's rubberbanding back to the bed to growl at her, torn between going with me and having the putting her in check I suppose. I finally got him to follow me and he was sent back outside to simmer down since the rain had stopped. Clearly we're not to the point of treats mixed with lounging on the same bed. /sigh Other than that, though, he's been leaps and bounds better than when we started this journey (never before would I have been able to so much as pet him, let alone mess with his hind leg). And, where most people may have been horrified, I was actually kind of pleased that it was all noise and show because 8 months ago that could have been a real real bad scene. 8 months ago I wouldn't have even tried that, though. You can bet it will be a good long while before I do again, and absolutely not until we've done some training. Thought I'd give an update since something interesting happened.

I use empty yogurt containers instead of a muffin tray. If it's the noise that bothers him you might try a silicone tray instead. You may be able to desensitize him to the existing one by having it in your lap while giving him treats, then when he's good with that put it on the floor and give him treats, and when he's good with that you can maybe put treats on top of it (or smear a dollop of peanut butter on it) to see if he'll go near it, and keep increasing the criteria (a phrase I've picked up around here) until he's good with it. Go back a step if it seems the criteria got too high too soon. Gertie used to bolt from her bed when I'd raise or lower the blinds. She stays there now without me having to say anything. I started by giving her a treat when I'd touch the toggles because that's when she'd peace out - as soon as my hand hit those pulls she was Gone, bed flying halfway across the room from her momentum. Eventually I got to where I could lower them a Wee bit and before she'd leave the bed I'd convince her to stay there by offering a treat. Little by little I was able to lower and raise them all the way. Now we're working on the Roomba with her and the Dyson grooming attachment with Momo - there seems to be a never-ending world of alien objects in a dog's world!

Humans get over threshold, too, and especially so when something is out of our control - like an energetic or cranky puppy! The important thing is that we learn from it and correct ourselves in future instances. The key here is you feel badly about it, which means you know there's a better way and just need some guidance. You'll definitely find that here. I'm sure she'll forgive you so forgive yourself and do it differently next time. :) She very well could be picking up on your feeling of guilt so the sooner your emotional state is in balance the sooner y'all can move on to bonding again. On a more personal side - it can be challenging, especially when you don't feel well. I don't know much about MS and if you experience pain so I can only speak to my challenge. I have an arthritic back as well as chronic neck and shoulder pain. When I have a flare up my fuse is non-existent and I have to Really work to keep myself in check. I find with the dogs I have to internalize that and one way I do that is to gripe them out in a happy voice. It helps me vent and they're none the wiser that they're getting a tongue lashing! "Who's the little turkey? You are! Yes you are, you little turkey!" I kept it clean for the sake of public consumption, but you get the idea. ;) Sometimes it can be so very cathartic to verbalize. Other times I open a monologue, "why would you chase that squirrel when I told you not to?!" She just looks at me as if to ask, "what are we doing next?" More and more I'm finding my fuse growing longer so it's been a good thing for me, too. There are Those days, though. On Those days I give her a long lasting treat and quietly stew in my pain. Thought I'd share a couple of my tricks since I, too, get over threshold so I'm familiar with that struggle. We can't all be perfect, but we sure can make an attempt! :)

Oooh oooh oooh! I can vouch for the "go to your mat" method for that situation. It took months, and we still have oopses here and there, but Gertie is Finally to the point to where she'll stay on her bed when the husband comes home. It took a lot of Zuke's minis (still does some days - just like us they have their good and bad days) and repetition. She Knows she better move her little but when I start counting. None of us know what happens when I get to 3 and one day I'm going to have to figure that out. :D For now by the time I get to 2 she's plopped herself on that bed and is pouting. So here's our scenario: we're in the office, husband comes home, Gertie and Abbi go the baby gate at the kitchen to greet him. Abbi, well, whatever. Some days I can get her to stay on the bed and others she's too anxious to see "Pop Pop." Gertie, on the other hand, I've invested some real time and effort into and I can recall her from the gate and get her to go to the bed. Most days she'll stay on the bed, but others she's wanting to greet. What I did: every time her furry little tush got to hustling to greet "Pop Pop" I'd whistle, throw a treat on her bed and tell her, "bed." The first few times it was 3 - 4 treats to get her attention. She'd chomp that down and go back to greeting, at which point I'd catch her with a whistle and toss a treat on the bed and say, "bed." Over and over and over we did this. She's not perfect at waiting, but it's 185% better than it used to be. My daughter really gets her riled up because dogs love people who want nothing to do with dogs. :D My child is a cat person, but I still love her dearly. I do the same thing - whistle - treat - say "bed" until I get her (Gertie, not my kiddo) to stay on her bed so we humans can converse without a hairy bundle of energy wiggling all over the place. Once Gertie stays for a few seconds, and before she can't stand it any more and gets up, I toss about 5 treats on to the bed, trying to hit each corner so she has to give her attention to finding them, which helps quell some of the excitement over the person. I work from home and it was definitely a detriment to my work output when I'd have to repeat this over and over again; however, it was worth it in the long run. Besides, I can work any ol' time - that's why I'm often up at 2 a.m. It's in those wee hours that no sub-contractors (or husbands or brother-in-laws) are calling, texting, or emailing needing something, and I can work uninterrupted. And the dogs are asleep, that helps, too. Yard day is another challenge. The guys come by with the weed whackers and blowers and the dogs go wild, despite this being a weekly occurrence for the past 2 years. I've begun anticipating when the guys are going to be here and I put Momo in the crate with a Kong, Gertie gets a different Kong with treats in it, and Abbi, well, she's usually just sleeping and doesn't make a peep until the bigger dogs do. Today it worked like a charm. Normally I have to put more effort into settling everyone down so I'm hopeful we're all on the same page. Yard guys = peanut butter and cookies in a Kong! It's going to take tenacity and repetition, but she Will get there. Dogs are über social and we're asking them to go against the grain when we tell them to go to their bed instead of going to greet someone. Kind of like someone asking me not to twirl my hair - I don't know if I'd be so great at complying and I think I'd opt to ignore them more often than Gertie ignores me! There will be days when you'll wonder if your training is taking at all because she'll ignore your attempts to settle her down; but then there will be days when you'll realize she's on her bed even though distractions are happening and you didn't ask her to stay. Those are the awesome days when you know your effort is paying off. :) Gertie is still plenty puppy'ish, but with training she's learning to be more reserved and wait for an invitation to interact. I suspect that by this time next year she'll be quite a lady (who occasionally rolls in stinky disgusting gooey stuff . . .).