JMFS

Hi weisberger! You're ready now. :) I dug up a couple posts that have a comprehensive collection of links to the training section and posts regarding puppy biting. The second link covers darn near everything you might encounter with puppy biting. At 3 months old you still have time before that "socialization window" closes so that's going to be a benefit. :) https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?106-Excessive-puppy-biting&highlight=bite https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?57-Biting-dog&highlight=bite Adrienne will be able to give more insight on the leash training. I can only speak to my experience and that was me starting leash training Momo the day I got him at 16 weeks of age. I used to put his leash on while we were in the house and attached it to my belt so he'd follow me around. It felt more natural that way And it helped me prevent potty / chewing accidents. The sooner they're exposed to it, even if it's just the collar dragging the leash around the house, the easier it will be to go on future walks.

Gertie gets like that once in a while. I can usually predict when it's going to be a tough time to recall her and on those days I'll take the treat bag with me. When she's distracted I'll shake the bag and hold it up so she can see that I have something far better than what she's messing with. I have a good success rate with that tactic. I also use a 50 ft lead. She can still run around, but only so far and I can reel her in. I use that primarily at night because she gets a bad case of The Zoomies just before bed. Black dog at night even with her NiteIze on is difficult to track. The bonus to the lead is that she's learned lead = business trip, no play. She tends to get her stuff done faster when I use the lead. The hardest thing for me to learn was to always praise them for coming back, even if they spent 5 minutes ignoring me (and making me feel foolish - it can be frustrating). With Gertie I learned that praise = faster response time. I'll be blunt - it's not going to happen overnight. I've had her since April 2018 and we're still working on it. Every article I read answers the question, "how long does it take to train recall" with "forever." It's always a work in progress. Some dogs are quicker with it, others, especially those with energy or who are slaves to their nose (Beagles and Hounds for example) are tougher to train. We're having to overcome their natural instincts and curiosities and frankly, some days I lack the energy to be more interesting than the environment. BTW, I saw a 30 ft rope yesterday at the Dollar Store if you want to try it out before buying a more expensive version. I bought a 50 ft rope for $8 and had my husband tie a handle into it, then I tied knots about every 18" so I can control how much play to give. I learned a hard lesson, too - the rope Burns if it slips through your hand - I had a gnarly blister / burn / cut across my palm after one mishap with a squirrel being too enticing. Now I wrap the end around my hand 5 or 6 times so it can't slip. You can also stand on the rope - I have two knots the width of my foot at the 40 ft mark for the days my arthritis is rearing its ugly head, making my hands weak. That way the knots act as stoppers against my foot.

14: "Also, also, as I said she is from the humane society, and she is very anxious and seems like she might have been abused (she cowers back when you lift your foot up or hand up like she has been kicked or hit before). She also might not have had proper socialization as a young puppy." I have two rescue pups and one rescue kitty. Momo came from a no-kill shelter! and Monkey (the cat) came from a kill shelter. Gertie came from the Humane Society in April 2018. I got Momo at 16 weeks so I have been in your shoes x 4 (okay, 3 if you exclude poor Monkey for being a feline). It gets better! I wouldn't have gone back for a 2nd and 3rd rescue if it didn't. :) As much as I'd love a purebred pooch from a breeder my heartstrings are totally pulled by the rescues every time (where it's still possible to find purebreds). Anyway, one thing that helped us was having play dates with my best friend's dog (if Adrienne already mentioned that then ignore me - I haven't made it through the entire post, yet). I knew he was current on shots so I didn't have to worry, and they were about the same size and energy level and played well together. I thought I'd poke my head in to give some encouragement from another person who's still learning about all this dog psychology and force free training. :) FYI, Gertie had No manners, whatsoever, when she came home, and she was so very timid. I was a bit overwhelmed initially, but after working through things one-by-one she's found self-confidence and is growing into a fine young lady. She even gets to accompany me to the granite store to meet clients sometimes (the owner of the store is an animal fanatic and has a handsome Rottweiler, Max, who loves Gertie's visits).

Gertie still prances around as though she's the bee's knees when she gets the stick and she continues to chomp it to bits. Water retrieval is met with better success - contained area. Indoor fetch is 100% on point, but as soon as this little minx gets room to do as she pleases she does just that. When I throw a ball for both she and Momo I'm guaranteed success because Mo will bring it back. I was hoping she'd copy off his paper, but so far there hasn't been much luck. I haven't pushed this particular training, either, so we're stagnant for the time being. I swear I need a boomerang or a ball on a string for her because like Blue, she loves the chase, but the rest of it she's not interested in. I honestly cannot even remember teaching Momo fetch! I know I did, but I cannot remember how or when we had enough room to do it.

Little dogs. :D It seems the smaller they are, the lippier they can be! Thank you for the giggle, he sounds like he's going to be quite a character. I started a couple threads in the Off Topic section for folks to share the good times (brags) and the bad times (laments) our canine counterparts give us. Somehow I feel Stone is going to give you some material to share and I wouldn't mind the company. :)

Well, we had to reschedule again. Longest time to complete training ever! We both keep having things come up. It gives me more time to practice with Mo before the next step at least. I'd say we're leaps and bounds beyond where we were when we started this adventure with his attack. I've had people tell me I should just put him down and I shook my head. Sure, the thought crossed my mind Right after the incident, but when I calmed down (there's a Lot of adrenaline involved with dog attacks!) I came to my senses. I took this boy in, I signed up for whatever came along. We don't just put our children down and I say we need to figure it out for whatever other creature we open our homes to. If the dog bites severely, okay, we do jail our children for battery so that changes the game. He didn't bite me, though, he told me in dog lingo to back off. Otherwise he's a fantastic pup who learns quickly and is happy. A little on the spastic side, but so am I so it works out. :D I told my brother Mo is fine as long as someone doesn't mess with his food. He said, "here's my pet rattlesnake, he's a good pet as long as you don't touch him." Not quite the same thing. Mo isn't venomous for beginners! Secondly, a dog can be trained out of aggression, a rattlesnake not so much. Not all of us can inherit a fully trained bird dog from Germany. Putting snark aside, I'm impressed. I honestly didn't think we'd get to this point. Yes he still hovers over his bowl and surrounds it with his paws, but there is zero tension when I come near now And . . . unexpectedly the other night he sat down when I stepped away and stepped back to the bowl. He's back to bowing to me when I come outside and he's Happy to have me out there - he's not shaking with nervous energy. I can see we still have a good distance to cover, but I'm also beginning to believe he Will give up his food to come to me. Funny story - yesterday morning I put his food in a 3' x 2' area in the grass - natural snuffle mat. I let him "break" his wait to start eating while I was still sprinkling the food. He walked under me as I was shaking the kibble out and one landed in his mantle. He wore it for about 3 minutes before I couldn't stand it any longer. I called him to me and he actually came after only three requests (sigh) and I was able to pick it out of his fur. The important part is that he Happily approached me whereas before he would have been nervous or annoyed. I let him get back to his game right away and life was good. :) I really think "touch" was the key to our breaking through whatever was preventing us from moving forward. Lastly, guess who got Momo to roll over? That's right, this girl. He's so stiff when he does it, haha. He's a compactly built little guy - all legs and rib cage. It took a little encouragement the first two times and the third time he nailed it. It's good to have my boy back and it was well worth the $500. Bonus - I know how to address this in the future. Extra bonus - I know how to prevent it from the start and I highly recommend everyone practice preventative training for this issue. Even with Gertie I practice trading up. It takes a lot less effort with her, that's for sure. I'm exhausted after a Momo session. Gertie shared treats with Max the Rottie today. He's taller than me when he stands on his hind legs - I'm right at 5'5". Such a sweet boy to share with Gerts, but he's a humper and next to Gertie he's ginormous - his paw is about as big as the top of her head. I love him. I'm pretty sure I saw something around here or in the training materials about that so off I go to peruse!

It kind of is like having a newborn! They listen to reason about as well, too. :D With Momo I took up his water about 2 hours before bed time. By the last potty break of the evening he was pretty much on empty and would sleep through the night. He was 16 weeks when I brought him home, so a little older but not too much more so you should be close to being able to get some regular shut-eye. I'm pretty sure I've seen at least one other post that Adrienne's answered as to what to start with. I'll see if I can find that. Personally I start with come, sit, stay, and leave. They're kind of the staples in our bag of tricks with dogs. I am learning, though, that "drop" is a good one to have. I trained Momo with only "leave" which meant "don't touch that" and "let go of it." However, it's been well explained here why drop is a good idea, plus if they know drop then you're close to teaching them to clean up their own toys! :D Found it, it's a question asking where to start and what order to proceed in: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?46-New-puppy-on-the-way-some-questions

Oops, I should have done a better job with clarity. He's tensing up when I call him away from the bowl and there's no more tensing when I walk by it to drop in something tastier than his kibble. When I call him, it's as though he knows he's going to leave his bowl undefended so he's trying to jam as much into his mouth as he can before he comes to get whatever I've got. I have no idea what phantom kibble thief he's defending against, but it's apparently a sneaky one. The love affair with Zuke's wore off so I had to bump up to Club crackers - I think he's a saltoholic. I'll be glad when he's at a maintenance level so I can go back to being responsible with his eats. Today it's hot dogs, yuck. He's doing nicely with the targeting and I'm kicking myself for not having known that trick all along. It's useful for so flippin' many things! I was watching his movements as we were targeting this morning and I'm thinking I can get him to do leg weaving. I told the husband I want 3/4" or 1" pvc pipes to set up an agility task for Mo, get his little tush weaving through those. Mental + physical exercise = tired pooch in 2 birds, 1 stone. Thus far I've been met with eye rolls - pvc pipes are for building, not playing! Contractors don't like us turning their tools into toys. He'd have a fit if I showed him some of the things folks have done with pvc pipe on Pinterest, haha. Off to Pinterest I go! :D

I didn't update after last week because Momo has officially stumped my Behaviorist and we kind of slacked off as she was turning the issue over in her head. She took the week to think on the issue because he blew through all the exercises she had lined up and he remains . . . a butthead. There, I said it. He's a butthead. :D This past week I've been working on targeting over his bowl, with and without food in it. While we're getting less "grrrr," and "seriously, Imma bite you, stop it" from him, he's still hovering over that bowl with his head and spreading his front legs to the side of it as though he's keeping it safe. I am able to put my hand in there now to drop in a tasty tidbit with less tensing from him, but he's resilient and attempts to call him away from his bowl are met with him hunkering closer and trying to grab big mouth fulls of meat pellets before he'll come. I think targeting has helped immensely. I'm having him target to the right of his bowl, then cross over it to target on the left. Sometimes in that crossover he's flipping me the bird and grabbing his food instead. He's an obstinate little guy! I do think that eventually with all this desensitization and counterconditioning he'll come around, but I think we're in for a long ride and I'll be old and grey before it happens (I'm already working on that grey!). We couldn't remember if she's been over 4 or 5 times and she said to heck with it, she didn't say good-bye to Mo so she's going to come over tomorrow regardless. She's welcome to come over any ol' time she wants to play with Mo - he really likes her. Heck, I don't even have to be home - she has her own gate code, he's already outside, and she knows how to handle canines. :p She also has three dogs of her own already, but still, there's only one Momo and he's something else, for sure. Oh! She got him to roll over! 8 years I've tried, 8 stinkin' years! He was ridiculously stiff while doing it, but he looked like he might do it two or three times in a row with some practice. It was funny, he was So close to doing it and she put her hand on his thigh to give him a little nudge and Nope! Up he sprang, feet spread out like he was clinging to the ground, he wasn't having any of that nonsense. She laughed because she knew it wasn't going to work but dangit, sometimes it looks like just a wee encouragement will do it. She was able to get him to do it a couple more times after that so no harm, no foul.

Momo used to be so very gentle with taking treats, but when my Behaviorist started coming over he became nippy - as if she wanted his nasty slimy cold hot dogs. I tried tossing the treats because he's a champion popcorn catcher, but that merely amped him up. Where I eventually landed was holding the treat in my closed fist, then opening with the treat on my palm with my hand pointed slightly downward so my fingers can extend out of tooth reach. It's tough for him to nip that flat skin on the palm. In fact, he has a harder time using his teeth so he has to often enlist his tongue kind of like a frog. :D Maybe it will work for Koda, too.

I'm training Gertie on the bell. I have one in the office where we're usually at so I can hear it. First I trained "touch" to get her familiar with it. Once she was touching the bell consistently I started taking her outside when she'd ring the bell. We're still getting over that hump of associating it with signaling the need to go potty - she doesn't like loud sounds so we have an extra degree of difficulty. I also haven't been very consistent. Our Behaviorist suggested having Gertie ring the bell each time before I take her potty now that she'll ring it on command. She should begin to associate the two. She's done it successfully a couple times, but my inconsistency kind of faded it out. So . . . as long as you're consistent it should work and you can move the bell, or maybe even place several, where you'll hear them. BTW, "touch" has become a powerful tool in my arsenal. I taught Momo how to open the door to the outdoor bathroom so he can get to his bed on cold days (it's insulated and there's a vent for heat) using "touch," and we implemented it into our resource guarding resolution "un"training. I also taught Gertie how to open the baby gate (when it's unlatched) for me when my hands are full. :D

From a non-trainer perspective: I'm going to emphasize a pitfall to avoid because dang near everyone I know (myself included x 100) does this at some point (or continues to . . .). Never scold your pooch for coming. Even if they just did something to make your blood boil (like when Momo killed a squirrel), or scared the heck out of you by running into traffic. It's tough to do the opposite, but Always reward for coming when called. If they're scolded for coming then there's very little incentive to come to you and a darn good reason to increase the distance instead. If they always get a great greeting they're going to be more inclined to see what you want. You don't have to bust out into a celebratory dance, but a few treats and a happy voice go a long way to convincing them you're the better deal. Besides, it's easy to say, "who's the naughty puppy, you are!" in a happy voice. They won't know. I had to Really work on myself for that one because I get easily frustrated with things I can't control (mostly inanimate objects like a printer acting up!) and I had to check myself when I started training Gertie and I slipped a couple times - I just had to try harder the next time. Her recall is getting better and better. I was able to stop her from following my daughter out of our gate a few days ago. This little monster was like, "open gate, what does this mean?!" and of course she ran over to investigate. I hollered, "Gertrude Marie, No!" Thank goodness we'd been working on recall because that got her to stop and then it was a breeze to get her to come running to me with a "good girl! Come on babies!" I swear, I speak so silly when I'm talking to the dogs. :D We work on it daily and other articles I've read which answer, "how long to teach recall," say the same thing, "always and forever." It gets easier as training goes by, but we're always going to have to reinforce it by practicing daily. I also use "Gertrude Marie" when I'm dead serious and there's a detrimental reason she needs to come. When I'm ready to go inside or just want her to be closer I use "Gertie." Her name used to be Hurdy Gurdy Gertrude, but I found as a mother a first and middle name works better for when I mean business because it comes naturally after 20 years of parenting. ;) Today I had to put Gertie on her 50 ft lead because the squirrels were absolutely wild, dashing about, teasing my poor pup. Always a work in progress. Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled programming. I had to throw that in there because I wish I'd had that explained to me 8 years ago when I first started with Momo. Oh, and we practiced a Lot inside first. Starting in the kitchen, increasing distance gradually until I was able to hide in the living room and eventually we turned it into a game using the whole house. Two birds, one stone - stay and come. :)

That is just too cool. I generally think of dogs as being physically superior to us so I didn't consider things like eyesight. You have had quite the trek through your doggy career! We took the girls with us to the in-laws' and Gertie did great even with a little bit on the floor playing with his toys. She was curious about this tiny human but she kept a respectful distance without being guided, and when he say "go away puppy," she did. Resource guarding, it's not just for dogs! Best of all she refrained from jumping on my mother-in-law, who's a little unsteady on her feet these days. I do believe Gertie will be welcome in the future. Hopefully they'll have the horses there next time - I was looking forward to seeing that reaction and exposing her to Big stimuli. :D Poor Mo had to stay home. I'm pretty sure he was a-okay with that. He was chasing goodness-knows-what last night, it was dark so I have no clue what had him riled up. All I could hear was panting, paws on the ground, and brush snapping and whipping as he was running the fence line back and forth. Crazy dog! Yesterday I taught him how to open the door to the insulated bathroom. He's freaked out by doors for some reason, but he's got that one conquered. I was wondering why he wasn't sleeping in his bed until I saw he was hesitant to try the door. Good thing Florida doesn't get terribly cold! I hope y'all had a great holiday. Pets and scratches to those beauties of yours.

Aw, poor pooch. I've had floaters and halos all my life and they're annoying! I won't night drive because of them. I didn't walk until I was 18 months old - I guess I didn't trust the ground! My vision is the pits even after LASIK so I empathize with the pup. They can't reason out why they're seeing these things and that's got to be maddening. How on Earth did they figure out the floaters thing?! We didn't find mine until I was in Middle School and we got to look through something that reflected on your retina and let you see all these squiggly lines (it's been a few minutes since I was that young so my memory is foggy on the Exact details). I asked what everyone was seeing because I wasn't seeing anything. Turns out I Was seeing them, but I didn't need the special gizmo - it was normal for me, lol. I can remember playing with a black dot I see. I'd bounce it all around my field of vision, thinking it was normal and everyone had one. I can only imagine a dog with that issue thinking there was something to catch! Maybe that's what's wrong with cats who suddenly look at the ceiling and then take off running . . . they just have floaters they're trying to catch or run away from. Mo did fine last night in the room so I'll keep him there and implement your suggestions unless something changes. I think I'll stop saying goodnight to him since he seems to be struggling with night vision and I do hover over him to scratch his ears or chin. I also like my nose where it is so I'll save those affections for the morning when it's light. It's weird because he's never been possessive over a bed before - he and Abbi shared the office bed. Maybe since he's getting over his food thing he's finding a new vice. Oh brother! Next he'll be bumming catnip off of Monkey. I'll be sure to mention it to my Behaviorist tomorrow. It's a sloooow and sometimes arduous process getting all these little issues in check. Having done some form of alpha training, and now using force free, I think I have enough perspective to impart an informed opinion. Alpha training yields immediate results, sure, but there's a greater potential for issues down the road and quite frankly, it's exhausting keeping up the "I'm the alpha" attitude. Some days I want to be the beta and others I want to be the omega, just leave me alone. Additionally, most alpha fans are quick to insinuate (or say) you are a gigantic ignoramus and that x problem is solved with training, but they never divulge How to train - you just Make the dog do it, duuuh. :rolleyes: Science-based method is repetitive and slow going, but I feel the lessons are more deeply ingrained. Looking back on it, the things Momo does the best with are the things I didn't need to alpha train. I think Gertie would shut down with alpha training, she's too sweet for that in your face tactic. Abbi would keel over in fright or flip the bird, I'm not sure which. I have determined I would fail as a dog. I wouldn't pick up half the things these guys do and instead I'd go lie down in a corner out of frustration. Go ahead and eat those treats, human, I'm resting! :D

Whew! Thank you for posting all that. :) I'll start incorporating these things in our daily routine. The bed part will be difficult because Momo is getting grumpy about her going near his bed - or maybe it's me, it's hard to tell. He snapped at my face the other night and I think that's because it was dark and he may have thought Gertie was coming over. He got to sleep in the crate in the office that evening - not sure if that was right or wrong, but we can't have him snapping at us in the dark! He likes the crate so it wasn't a punishment to be put in there, but being moved to a different room may have seemed like one. Or, he could have been perfectly satisfied with that - he's hard to read sometimes. I'm afraid some of his increased grumpiness may in fact be due to age. :( He already has his own thread, though so back to the girls . . .! I have started increasing the number of times I leave her with the husband while I go do something else for a few minutes and she's doing well with that. She still keeps an eye or ear on me, but she's staying with him instead of racing to catch up with me. The husband is beginning to participate as well, which is going to be a major help. Gertie is also beginning to stay on her bed instead of jumping up to follow me to the kitchen or bathroom, which has been a nice development. From what we've seen on the video she seems to do better when Abbi is in the room with her. When we see Abbi leave the room Gertie starts pacing and today she did a full-blown howl. Once Abbi came back in the room they sniffed each other, wagged tails, and settled down. Eventually I want to be able to move Gertie from the crate, but this office has to be pared down before that can happen and I Hope to get that done over the holiday since our business should be nice and quiet during that time. Should. I've gotten it Almost there and then life happens. She's proven herself to be untrustworthy currently outside of the crate when we're gone. She Kind of responds to the speaker when I talk to her through the Furbo so I'll reinforce that as well. All-in-all she's fairly quiet while we're gone until Abbi leaves the room, my daughter is leaving for work, or she sees our vehicles. The biggest obstacle is going to be our two trips next year. 1 week and then 3 weeks. I'll have to board her and Momo so I have until March to work this out. Momo could stay here if I can count on my kiddo to feed him daily since he's outdoors and has a climate-controlled area he could sleep in. Heck, he may not even notice I'm gone as long as he's being fed. Although, he has enjoyed being boarded in the past.

Aw, yes, post pictures of those two any time! I recently found a dog music album that is like Valium to our girls. I've been playing it on repeat lately as I get the year's accounting wrapped up. When numbers are dancing around my head I need the gals to chill out and this one does it: Album = "Dog Music - Calming Songs for Dogs" and the artist is "Dog Music" The cover has a picture of a black puppy, maybe a Pug, wearing red headphones. It's mostly piano music so it's human-friendly, too. :D Searching "dog music" on Spotify, YouTube, or Pandora has yielded good results for me so far so I thought I'd share since it was mentioned as a potential aid. I understand your feelings towards Brewer. Gertie is my "once in a lifetime" pooch. I love Momo, but he's got his way about him (I'm posting our saga as it unfolds) and he Hates cuddles and hugs. He digs scratches, though. Gertie can't get enough lovin' and she puts her head in my lap while I crochet - I eat it up. She's been a positive influence for me, even if she is a rascal sometimes. She's such a gentle soul. Anyway, welcome to the forum - I look forward to hearing about y'alls' progress. It's nice to read and learn from other folks' posts, especially when I need a break from those aforementioned numbers.

I'm so glad you posted that about putting it on them even when we're not leaving. I've been doing it for about 15 minutes each day, giving them treats while they're wearing their little shirts. It's a nice looking outfit, actually. :D Today the shirts were met with wagging tails. My husband will tell you Gertie is addicted to me. She'll be snuggled on the couch with him, passed out, and if I get up she does, too. I've been working on getting her to stay with him when I go to the restroom or if I get a glass of water. Baby steps, right? When she hears my keys oh boy, she gets all jazzed up. I put on her shirt today, crated her, picked up my purse, treats, sat down, got up, treats, stepped to the door, stepped back, treats, rinse and repeat . . .. I finally made it about 10 feet away. Even still in view she was whining and barking at that distance so I now know where her threshold is. It was interesting because her whine changed from one of desperation to one of annoyance. It was as if it went, "Doon't leave meeeee!" to "Whyyy are you leaving Again?!" This is going to take some time! I have to leave for a couple hours tomorrow so I'll have to see what happens. I won't be able to watch during my appointment, but with luck he'll run a little late so I can sneak a peek before we get started. Otherwise I'd have to watch while driving and I won't even talk on the phone while driving so that's out. Abbi is fine when the husband leaves if I'm in the room with her. If she doesn't know I'm there she'll carry on. And on. And on. And on. Once she knows I'm here she's okay - I don't even have to be in the room, just in the house. It's interesting, though, she doesn't seem to do it all that long when we're both out of the house. It kind of makes me think that little stinker knows I'm trying to get those last precious minutes of shut-eye and that's not working for her (we stagger our sleep schedule so he gets a couple hours of sleep free from me beating him for snoring and I get a couple hours of real sleep in the morning where I'm not having to accost him. Light sleeper + loud snorer is Not a good combination!). I have to nip this in the bud before we go on our Ireland trip - 3 weeks and they're both going to be a mess! I have 3 months before our trial run of 1 week. Gertie and Momo will be boarded, Abbi will stay with family (she can't get vaccinations any more & I think the husband would kill himself with guilt if we boarded her). Cheers from the house of lunatics! :)

Now she believes me. He's been on good behavior because the challenges have been easy, or at least were at a good pace to keep him under threshold. Today we took it up a notch and it was more than he was ready for. We're working up to me being able to take the bowl from him like it's no big deal, but I think we're still at least 3 more sessions from that. I could bee wrong, but after 8 years of this I think I have a good feel for his stubborness. :D We were working on getting him to leave the bowl with a little kibble in it and come to me. She had me put him into a wait about 5 feet away from the bowl, then I would go pick up the bowl, fill it, set it down, walk back to him. At this point I give him his release (which is, "okay"), and call him back right away before he gets to the bowl and give him a treat. I think chicken is going to be required for this stage, at least initially. He came right back to me the first couple times so she said to let him get to the bowl the next time. Well, I said, "okay" and he started to the bowl but paused and I gave him a treat and told him "okay" and he paused again so I gave him a treat. Oops. Mixed signals! He got a little flustered because he wasn't sure what I was asking him to do. Sooo, we reset and This time when I gave him the final release I encouraged him to go to the bowl, sans treat, when he paused. That all went alright. Next She filled the bowl and this is where it got tricky. Mo has intense eye contact and focus (unless there's a squirrel . . .). When he's focused on something - like the person who just put food in his bowl - he's going to maintain that focus. She Wanted him to look at me so I could give him the release and then bring him back, but he was so doggone focused on her and would Not look at me. He started drooling as we waited patiently for him to look to me for the signal. Mind you, he'd already had his meal by now And eating half a bag of Zuke's minis - he was far from starving. She increased her own distance to try to encourage him to focus on me instead. After what Felt like 2 minutes he started to waiver and his ears relaxed, his eyes started almost going to me, but snapped right back to her. Now I'm trying to remember if I did something to get his attention or if she told me to get his attention. Either way, I finally got him to look at me and he got his treat. After that he did it four more times, each being rewarded. I can't remember if she waited until I released him or if she walked over to us before the release, but I did give him the "okay" and then we were trying to get him to come back to me for a treat, but he was Not giving up that food he'd worked so hard for. He barked while he was eating, never lifting his head. She moved a little closer to try to get his attention and that was it. He barked, growled, then snarled at her. No big deal, she turned her back and let him be. She said up until that point she was starting to doubt he had any aggression. I keep telling folks, he's a happy fun-loving pup Until that food is His, then he gets serious. It was good that he displayed the behavior in that it showed her what I've been working around. Naturally I don't want him that distressed, but for the point of training I felt it was an important ingredient. She said it was fine, we just pushed him too far too fast and she took us back to the previous step. Poor Mo got a good workout today, that's for sure. Later this evening I did a couple recalls before he reached his bowl and he did a good job; however, getting him off that bowl is going to be a tough one and that's where I think the chicken will be needed. It's crazy how different it is feeding each dog. If I go by Gertie while she's eating she Wants me to stop by to give her attention, or she'll at least stop eating and sit, politely waiting to see what it is I want. Momo visibly tenses and hunkers down over the bowl and grabs a mouthful if you approach him. Abbi we have to coax, trick, bargain with, and pamper (I have been known to make smiley faces and other designs out of kibble for her and yes, it actually works, she's mental). Despite the growling and snarling, I feel today's session was the best because she got an exact display of the behavior I want to address. She's also setting this up so I can use it to get him to drop something in the yard. So, there you have it, our latest and greatest. :) Momo the Mean showed out today and she now knows I'm not making it up.

Hmmm, you just may be correct. Shocker (not, lol). We watched with the Furbo yesterday and Abbi mostly chills out on the bed, while Gertie just stares out the window from her crate. Once in a while Gertie will start whining and barking, maybe even toss in a little howl, but for the most part we Are finding that they're pretty chilled out. We'll keep watching! Abbi, once the husband leaves the house and I'm still in the bedroom, will carry on for a couple hours, non-stop. Totally different than what we're seeing on the video. I suppose we'll have to keep watching to see what happens and Then I'll post back if she's still going bonkers. This is something she's done since I met her at the age of 4, she's 10 now. Of course I did my homework before raising my hand, thank you for giving me benefit of the doubt. :D I Try not to make things repetitive. Try.

No resource guarding with Gertie - I think I've paid my dues with Momo. :D We just have to survive her puppy adolescent phase, which Should be fettering off around March. Should. She's already come so far from my first post about her being nose deep in the peanut butter. I was so very unsure I could do this again, but we're making progress in leaps and bounds. We do have a section for Abbi cordoned off where the bigger dogs can't get to (or at least they Think they can't) so she has her safety zone. She's just so darned riddled with arthritis that she can't get there quickly, and from my last flare up I know it's Very difficult to be tolerant of nonsense; so you're right, we need to get Miss Gertrude in check. Abbi is definitely not having fun. When she played with Momo it was soft silly growls. With Gertie it's an amazingly mean growlbark. I knew you would give me food for thought and I'll keep these ideas in mind to see where we can make alterations. The bed Abbi keeps laying on is intended for the bigger dogs, but Abbi likes to be near the husband and he won't encourage her to go to her own area so, and that leaves it up to Gertie and me. Unless I can finally convince him to build that pallet dog bed for Abbi so she can be up high to lord over the other dogs. He is a Builder, after all, surely it can't be any tougher than a human house! We're taking the remainder of December "off" starting next week (we'll be working, the rest of the people won't, which Does give us a big break) so I'll use that time to get everyone on board with a plan. Wish me luck - I'm up against a stubborn old lady and well, a stubborn old man (don't tell him I said that). :D Pets to Einstein and Petra. :)

I'm not Quite sure how to handle Abbi's separation anxiety. Gertie will be easier with desensitization and counter-conditioning and trigger / tell limiting. For example, this morning I put my purse on my shoulder, walked to the kitchen, set down the purse and walked back into the office. Gertie was watching me, waiting for me to leave. It confused her when I sat down and went back to work. :D Abbi, on the other hand. She doesn't really respond to triggers other than the "bing bongs" on our door when it's opened. Otherwise she chills out until she notices she's alone and then there's howling, barking, baying, hyena chuckling, chimpanzee hooting, and this high pitched thing I don't even have words to describe. She does the hyena chuckling, chimpanzee hooting, the indescribable high pitched thing, and heavy panting when the husband gets home. Me, not so much because I ignore her. :D It's as much training him as her!

Gertie's Thundershirt arrived today (eBay for the win, btw, $20. New in Box, but the box was taped up, lol). I put it on her. She's now rolled on to her side and given up on life. Abbi's shirt is on the way. :D Both girls have separation anxiety so I'm keeping my fingers crossed these work. Even a little bit.

I thought perhaps with familiarity and corrections and redirects Gertie would eventually learn that Abbi is Not a trampoline. Gertie is being dense, or we're being unclear. Or both. :D I picked up this new-to-me term, self-handicapping, from Patricia McConnell (my Behaviorist is a fan girl of this gal) and then found one of your articles using that term. I believe this to be the next thing we're after. Set up: Abbi is on the dog bed (I'm trying like the dickens to get her to stay in her own "apartment" where I've cordoned off a corner of the office for her). Gertie and I come in to the office. Gertie immediately jumps over Abbi, and onto the bed. "Good Morning, I'm here and this is So Exciting! Isn't it exciting?! Yes! I haven't seen you, male human, in like Fifteen minutes, it's been sooooo long!" She then does that play bow and jumps All over the bed, and poor arthritic, grumpy, old Abbi. Abbi responds by making these awful death / war cry sounds and going for Gertie's throat. Gertie backs off, Abbi presses for the advantage (Dachshunds /sigh), Gertie has nowhere to go so she play bows and resumes jumping because Any attention is Good attention, right? 10 lbs vs 45 lbs, we're not worried about injury to Gertie. Physical damage aside, I know it can't be healthy for Abbi to get to that frame of mind and she does redirect onto whomever picks her up. Again, not worried about injury from Abbi, even her hardest bite tickles. Thank goodness for that. I'm slow in the morning. Like, a zombie missing its feet walking in half-dried cement slow. I'm also not smart until 10 a.m. after the haze has cleared and coffee has been mainlined. I know I could prevent the behavior by making Gertie wait until I get into the office first, yes, yes, yes, this I know. However, that morning fog is a formidable obstacle. I shall work on that part. :D I may have to put her leash on her. Not a bad idea (I type myself through half the issues I start posting about). My morning stupor is so bad that my a.m. nickname is "The Sloth." It's my spirit animal, along with the Honey Badger. Until I can check Gertie's zeal, how on Earth do we get these girls to where they can greet each other politely when Gertie the Destroyer and I come into the room? It Mainly happens when Abbi is on the bed, regardless of time, but it can also happen if she's at the base of the husband's chair It's as though Gertie can't even see Abbi and the poor thing gets trampled. Then she gets ticked. Then we have a tiny Cujo on our hands and a Gertie completely misunderstanding Abbi's communication. I Think what I'm looking for here is teaching Gertie how to self-handicap so she's gentler with Abbi. She's great at self-handicapping with me. She plays rougher with the husband than she does with me, for example. I need her to tone it down about 180% with Abbi. Thank you, as always.

Fritos. Fritos are currently the Most Exciting Food in the World to Momo. Thank goodness it's only a handful per training session because that sodium content is through the roof! We had to cancel Friday's session and will be rescheduling. I was perfectly fine with that because Mo isn't Quite yet, but Almost, sitting before I reach for the bowl. I now have a little window of extra opportunity to get his butt to hit that ground the moment I start towards that bowl. Sooooo close! One thing I did notice today - he was Happy to see me near his bowl. I think it's the Fritos, honestly, I do. I was even able to pet his neck between attempts, but I shall refrain from trying that again because I don't think we're there, yet. He didn't do anything, but I could feel that Slight twinge of tension even though his body was relaxed. It's that hard-to-explain intuition thing. Interesting side effect: Gertie hesitates to eat her food while I'm out with Momo, and instead watches from the window, though I feed her first (always her first, then Mo). I actually had to cajole her into eating this morning after I came back in. I don't think she's sick, but I'll be watching to rule that out. I'm getting the feeling that she knows Mo is getting special treats and she's holding out for hers, or perhaps it's because she wants me to babysit her while she eats (not happenin' - I have things to do!). I could be doing that whole attributing human traits to a dog thing (anthropomorphism), though. I'll continue to monitor. I did get her to eat eventually by putting a portion of her food in her Orbee-Tuff Snoop Dog Toy (omg, a non-Kong toy that works!) and bringing it into the room with us (she normally has a whole room to herself to throw her Wobbler about without hitting our ankles and feet, but this toy is soft so it's okay).

Hi Lorine, Out of curiosity, are you able to close her in that room with a Kong or some other safe toy before things are going to be chaotic? That way it would be less of a punishment and more of a reward - hey, everything's going crazy out here, but I'm in here with this awesome treat! Maybe eventually working up to a baby gate so she can see the commotion, and then ultimately allowing her to join the group. What kind of exercise does she get? Does she show signs of separation anxiety? I'm sure Adrienne will have more, but that information will help. PS: Adrienne gave me a link to the PPG where I was able to finally find a non-alpha method behaviorist. https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/ To get a behaviorist to travel from 2 hours away was going to run about $170 per hour, including her travel. I have no idea if that's on the high end or not. I ended up paying for a 6-week package and it was under $600 and she spends more than an hour over here (mainly because I'm terrible about getting people off task, and we end up chatting about all things dog and everything else. It's my Super Power. :rolleyes:). Anyway, I thought of that after I clicked Quick Reply so I decided I better update with that info!