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⚠️ DISCLAIMER: I’m not a professional dog trainer 😘
Class was good. It was just us and the trainer today. You would think it would be easier for her to settle with no one else around but it’s actually so much harder. I think when there are other people and dogs around she is content to sit back and watch but when there is only one other person (or dog) that is where all of her attention goes. I could very easily keep her busy with cues but I’m trying to get her to settle on her own instead of having to manage her. After class we discussed our plans for practice play dates with the staff dogs.
Our decompression walk afterwards was very productive. First we practiced our auto-recall cued by balls. We walk along the outside of the dog park and every time she finds a ball she is supposed to come back to me (without being called) instead of trying to grab it. It’s especially important to practice with the other dogs nearby and she’s been doing really great. After doing that for about half an hour and surveying the local dog behavior, I took her inside to practice.
It’s a calculated risk. This dog park is really nice and very out of the way. It was a Wednesday afternoon so it wasn’t very crowded and the dogs that were there were pretty well mannered. Besides the ball-cued recall we have been working on keeping doggy greetings short and walking away after a few seconds of sniffing. This is something that doesn’t come naturally to Mandana but I think with practice she will learn short polite greetings and it will help immensely. To facilitate both of these goals, I used a 15 ft longline clipped to the front of her harness. I made sure to keep the longline rolled up and out of the way of any dogs but there were a few times I needed to give a gentle tug to encourage her to break off the greeting when it was going too long and the other dog seemed uncomfortable. We have been practicing this exact scenario through the fence a number of times so I knew this setup wouldn’t agitate her the way leash pressure during interactions can sometimes cause problems for dogs.
I don’t have any pics or videos of her interacting with dogs because it requires my full attention but here is a video of her enjoying her first walk through the dog park without other dogs around.
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Grocery shopping tonight so we can sleep in tomorrow 😮‍💨
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Mandana did well in class. She was the calmest one there so they put us between the two troublemakers. We were all spaced out pretty well and they had movable dividers to keep everyone separated but she still had dogs hard staring, barking and even growling directly at her and all she did was look at them and then back at me. I had to opt out of the trainers lesson several times but I stuck to my plan and I’m really happy with the results. I want to go back for Wednesdays class if I can make it.
I used all my treats in class so we stopped at the treat store down the road. We were the only ones there so I put Mandana on her harness and let her sniff around for as long as she wanted. She fell in love with some fresh peanut butter cookies so I got a few and we headed to the park.
We had a really nice decompression walk and I got to practice my new longline skills. We both did really well with our new training method and I feel like we made a lot of progress. After that we walked around the outside of the dog park and when it was pretty empty I took her inside for a minute (still on her longline) to sniff where the dogs had been playing. I want her to be able to play with dogs but I need her to be reliably calm and respectful around them first.
We ate lunch in the parking lot and then headed home. We met up with Hubbins after work and now she’s having her regularly scheduled crate rest.
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Starting to apply some new training techniques on our longline walks. Similar to what we already do but with more refined skills I picked up from a training workshop.
Working on attention seeking behaviors at obedience class tomorrow. My goal is to set her up for success. It can get frustrating when you are testing limits to see where you are so I really want something easy to build our confidence.
And we’re implementing mandatory kennel time every day. A year from now she will need to be able to do #crate&rotate so we might as well start now. She’s fine when we leave the house and settles just fine out of her room but needs practice relaxing in her kennel while we’re home.
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Mandana has a tummy ache from too many treats yesterday so today we’re focusing on self care for both of us 🧸🫶
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I haven’t been feeling well enough to post every outing. I know I don’t HAVE to but I like to have a timeline of events for my records and Mandana’s Tumblr has come in handy many times for that reason. With that in mind…
This last weekend Mandana went with us to the annual health screening for his work. Mandana didn’t do great but she was fine. She followed cues and alerted appropriately but she whined a bit which is more embarrassing than anything else. We’ve been working on it at the training center and I think her last class muddied the waters a bit. I appreciate trainer feedback but I think she needs to go in and focus on settling around distractions instead of proving she knows the cues they’re working on. The trainers are fine with me doing my own thing I just need to be a little clearer with our intentions when they forget why we are there. (It’s a drop in class so we have new trainer every time. I just need to be a little more assertive)
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After the health screening we stopped for some food and to rest a bit. It doesn’t surprise me at all that a pizza shop is easier for her than a health clinic with full of people getting blood taken. She kind of acts the same in the cardiologist department and I’m positive there were a bunch of people there with heart problems.
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After that we stopped at the grocery store for a few things. We tried to make it a quick trip but apparently not quick enough bc Mandana did a really persistent alert and I had to tap out.
At home we’ve been working on her place mat again. She’s soooo good at settling at home that I haven’t trained for it specifically in a long time and that might be working against her during our classes at the training center. Specifically I’m working on bouncing balls around her while she’s settled and having Hubbins try to distract her. It took her a day or two to really commit to not playing when on her mat but she’s pretty good at it now.
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Today I’m feeling worse but life goes on. We went to the post office to drop off a package and she did a really nice persistent alert. Now we’re at Menards to do some more place mat work. She’s been on her mat for half an hour and hasn’t whined once which is great but I kind of already knew she would do that. She’s good at settling unless there are people talking to me or dogs playing and being trained around us. We’re going to stop by the pharmacy on the way home and I’ve already signed her up for another drop-in class tomorrow. I’m trying to get as much done as I can before my car goes in for maintenance on Friday.
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Vet Appointment: Librela #3
Today is a bad health day. I had to skip this weeks Methotrexate injection for various reasons and I’m really feeling it. I’m in pain and so exhausted I went to the vet appointment in pajamas and Mandana did a medical alert as soon as I walked in. Shortly after that a reactive yellow lab slipped his collar in the lobby and accosted Mandana. We’ve been through this many times before and nearly 100% of the time I’m able to manage the situation so that I’m dealing with the dog and not Mandana but that wasn’t in the cards today.
I was so exhausted and already shaking before I even went inside. I had been hanging out in the parking lot for a bit so I saw the lab had excitement/reactivity. As soon as I walked in I put Mandana up on a bench for her safety until we could check in and the tech was literally coming to take us to a private room when the dog slipped it’s collar and charged us.
It happened in a split second. I knew the vet tech was right next to me and the owner was immediately aware of the dog getting loose so I focused on controlling Mandana’s head and pivoting myself between them. It wasn’t enough to keep them physically apart in the initial moment and for a few seconds before we pivoted Mandana had her head and paw on the dogs shoulder. I feel bad for making Mandana feel like she had no control/safety over her own body as I physically controlled her head in that moment and turned us away. It’s not usually how I would handle that kind of situation but I had very little energy to utilize and no idea if that lab would escalate things especially if I tried to intervene directly.
In Mandana’s defense she handled it really well. She didn’t growl, have her hackles up or anything like that. The only way it could have been better is if her body language was looser and she didn’t try to assert herself over the other dog but considering he charged her she had every right to create space & safety for herself. She literally recovered in 2 seconds and was immediately responsive to cues with a happy loose wag while the dog was still pulling and barking towards her. As soon as the lab was back on leash we walked to our exam room and I took this video bc I was impressed with her recovery from such an intense situation. (It’s a tight pant but the interaction JUST happened. She’s got a nice tail wag & body movement off camera and this is her expression for “excited but focused and ready to train/work”)
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She immediately started to use her chin rest to volunteer for injections even with a new vet tech and in a room she’s never been in before. The vet tech was great and besides following Fear Free protocols it was clear she was also fluent in positive reinforcement training. We used the rest of the appointment to work on Mandana’s leash pulling from separation anxiety and despite the rough start to the visit we made a lot of progress. I stopped by Taco Bell on the way home and got her a cheese roll as a special reward for her awesome behavior. She’s a lot of dog but her personality makes it work 🫶
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Quick update on Mandana & I
I have been in a flare for a few weeks and Methotrexate has lost some of its effectiveness. I’ve discussed it with my Rheumatologist and we might up the dose but I can’t do that until my next appointment in April. Joint pain, joint stiffness, fatigue and heart rate spikes have all gotten worse but it’s still better than before starting Methotrexate. It’s a little disheartening but ups & downs are to be expected.
Mandana has attended 2 Obedience Classes. Of course she tested out of the classes on day one but our reason for going is to work on her excitement & attention seeking behaviors around dogs & when people are engaging with me. Her favorite thing is training so a room full of dogs & people using clickers & treats is very overwhelming for her (we’re working on it 😅)
The downside is that this training center is 45 minutes away. The plus side is their packed schedule is very convenient & flexible for me and it’s in a wealthy area with some safe parks. It’s a tough drive but I can attend the classes when I’m feeling my best so I’ve also been able to take her on decompression walks afterwards. This really helps her decompress after the intensity of the training center.
The park we have been going to has a really popular dog park. It’s large with lots of enrichment and most of the dogs are well behaved. I use my longline to walk her along the outside of the dog park so she can habituate to seeing dogs running and playing with balls. Eventually we will start to introduce her to playing with the staff dogs at the training center but that will come AFTER she learns to chill out in that environment.
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Another bonus is the only vegan pizza parlor in town is located nearby so we have a place to relax before driving home.
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We enrolled at a new training center today.
This training center has the classes I will need in the future and the resources to help me smooth out some of the issues I’ve been having with Mandana. The trainers are really qualified and we jive well which is great.
We made a game plan for working on Mandana’s doggy etiquette (they have demo dogs!) Our secondary goal is to work on her attention seeking/stressing up behaviors that pop up during conversation with other people. Besides that I’ll be getting familiar with the center and making plans for future socialization & CGC classes (2025🐾👀)
The only downside is that it’s all the way on the other side of the city. It’s 45 minutes there and back but I can take one of the lesser traveled routes to get there so I won’t have to drive straight through. The budgeting and scheduling is very flexible so that’s nice and there are a lot of areas on that side of town for longline walks after our classes. Oh and apparently there is another POTS service dog who goes there so maybe I’ll actually make a service dog buddy IRL 🤞😭
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I accidentally left the lid off for three hours 😅
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⚠️I’m not a professional dog trainer. My situation is unique. Resource guarding is serious so don’t consider this advice⚠️
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Ok so here is the gist of my plan.
Mandana is very responsive to training in these exciting doggy environments. It’s something we’ve been working on since she was a puppy so she has no qualms about opting into training when dogs are around. I’m going to leverage that against this new resource guarding behavior and turn “all done ball” into a game which basically translates to “the game is: avoid the ball and don’t get tricked into chasing it”
I got a 15 foot longline so I can focus on training instead of wrangling my 30-50’ lines and we’ve been practicing “all done ball” inside the house and in the backyard. She’s doing super well with her own balls. The tricky part is when a “stranger ball” comes into the equation. In her mind, any ball that is not hers has higher value. As luck would have it, we stumbled upon a previous tenants ball hidden in the backyard and we’ve been able to practice with that in the yard.
Today we graduated to our first session at the dog park (minus the dogs of course). We practiced some impulse control outside the park. Then we practiced impulse control inside the empty park on the longline. Then I introduced a short game of “all done ball” before letting her off the longline to sniff around. When I noticed a dog coming, I took her out of the park and we went back to impulse control. After observing that the small old corgi-mix couldn’t care less about engaging with Mandana, I brought her in on the longline for like two minutes to work on impulse control, one round of “all done ball” and then we headed home.
Some important considerations:
1) Mandana has zero issues with resource guarding against humans or being physically handled by humans (such as collar grabs) including strangers. If she had any issues like that I would NOT be working on this issue in public. Not without a professional and even then we would probably emphasize management.
2) This is a new behavior that she hasn’t been rehearsing AND she’s not super toy driven. She has done a snappy bark but hasn’t growled or bit any dogs. If she was showing worse behavior or was a toy-obsessed dog then I would choose the professional+management over this DIY approach.
3) We have a reason for wanting to work on this behavior around dogs (2025 🐾👀) but we aren’t in a rush. I am not a professional trainer but I’ve learned a lot from all the positive reinforcement we’ve done together under the guidance of the academy and I recently consulted with a separate trainer/certified behavioralist and they confirmed that the techniques we use are the same they would have put together for us. If I was in a rush or felt less confident then I would hold off until we could afford the trainer.
In conclusion:
I’ve got a longterm plan that I’ve broken down into increments. It focuses on strengthening cues she already knows to encourage self-interruption and leveraging the reinforcement history we have with disengaging from distractions to get her to disengage from toy play around dogs.
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45 hours and counting. I’m not even close to being sleepy 🥲😫
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Insomnia is the worst. I sometimes get it for days at a time from chronic pain and currently it’s a side effect of the short course steroids I’m on. I can’t imagine living with it as a chronic disability 💔
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This week has been hard. Nothing too serious just a lot of urgent problems popping up that require some serious adulting skills and effort. House stuff, health stuff, etc. It too much to post about but besides all that I’ve been putting together a training plan for Mandana regarding the issues that were revealed recently at the private dog park. I’m optimistic. It comes at a bad time for me but I don’t want to put it off. I’ll post more about Mandana’s stuff when I’m able to get my life together a little bit.
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Another great vet appointment. We got there 30 minutes early so we could hangout in the parking lot and practice being calm. She did well in the waiting room. I like to keep her stationed on a bench so as not to get an unpleasant surprise from dogs rounding the corner. She took her Librela injection like a champ. We did a little warm up with her chin rest but honestly she didn’t even need it. She was really eager to lay her head on the towel to opt in to the restrain-free injection. After that we practiced having the vet use some of her cooperative care cues to check her mouth, ears, paws, etc.
For the rest of the appointment we introduced having the vet walk her away from me. This is definitely the biggest hurdle we have at the vet. She will immediately lay on the floor & refuse to move so I had to break down the behavior a lot. I controlled the clicker & the vet delivered the treats. I started by rewarding her for just looking at the vet. We then moved on to walking together with the vet holding the leash. The last thing we practiced was the vet holding the leash while orienting herself towards the door and I would mark when Mandana would start to step towards the vet.
I’m really grateful to have a fear-free vet and hour long visits for extra training. We don’t stay the whole hour but it’s a lot better than feeling rushed to finish within the shorter appointment slots. We are going to start scheduling appointments with her vet tech who is also fear-free. She is generally more available and it will be good to practice our cooperative care skills with different people.
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Todays trip to the private dog park did not go as well. When we arrived there were two people playing fetch with their dogs and Mandana got excited watching them. I kept her on leash and we did some training while she calmed down and I let her off leash when they left. However, when she was running around with other dogs later on she started showing signs of resource guarding with the ball.
Now that I know this is a problem we are going to take a step back and work on training near the dogs instead of engaging directly with them. This isn’t something we usually struggle with and she was very responsive to training around the dogs so I’m pretty confident we can work through this. She’s not super toy motivated in general so I don’t think the ball itself is the problem. I think she just needs some practice around dogs to show her there are plenty of resources to go around and that she can trust me to distribute rewards fairly.
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