Play Date for Charlie - Long Post

I took Charlie to a play date with a friend's new puppy. The visit had multiple goals. Start teaching the puppy targeting, working Charlie around MASSIVE distractions (the puppy), keeping the puppy social, and keeping Charlie puppy social. I had visions of Charlie getting weird and spending his time in the car, and was prepared for all contingencies - I even left his leash on him in case I needed to catch him.

I couldn't have asked for a better response from my boy. He was AMAZING! Listened well, behaved well, performed on cue every time (until the end when his poor brain was getting fried), and was very polite in general. The puppy was another story. While he had good people skills and a nice soft mouth; much to the shock of both humans, the puppy was scared of Charlie! I really wasn't prepared for that. My friend told me that the breeder said that the puppy spent most of his time under the coffee table, and was raised only with adult dogs - only puppy in the litter. In addition, anytime Charlie even moved in the puppy's direction, we'd here a loud YIPE!

So, I worked Charlie on some basic obedience behaviors and tricks to calm him down a bit. Then, I got Charlie into a good solid down, while I fed the puppy near Charlie. To my surprise, Charlie stayed calm and let all sorts of things happen around him. I'm so proud of my boy. The puppy did start some targeting, so we ended that on a fun note.

We spent the rest of the hour and a half working on socializing the puppy to a friendly/calm dog (Yep - my Charlie stayed friendly and calm). Note: we took lots of breaks for both dogs with separated play time. The puppy ALWAYS had a safe place in which to "hide" if stressed. We took it really slow with lots of rewards for the pup and Charlie. In no order, other that what comes to mind, we did the following: I worked on shaping a heal with Charlie with the leash dragging. The puppy chased and pounced on the leash while Charlie kept working (YIPPEE!). Win, win here. Charlie worked under a HUGE distraction while the puppy got to play and have fun while following the big dog around. We played some basic recall stuff with the pup while Charlie chilled out in a down again (with random treats in place), as well as feeding the pup and Charlie nose to nose. We worked on puppy zen when I realized that mom wasn't treating the pup. I sat with Charlie, giving him random rewards for relaxation behaviors while not feeding the pup under any circumstances. When the puppy went to mom, lots of treats. By the time I left, the puppy would play bow and bark as long as Charlie was laying down. He'd run if Charlie got up, so I kept Charlie in a down, while the pup got to practice his play behaviors without any other social pressure. I feel like we had a lot of successes with both dog and pup today. We'll be doing this again, soon! Can anyone really believe that my crazy monster is now working on socializing a pup. I'm all but in shock!

An Interesting Night

Poor Charlie. The cold weather is really hard for him. Last it, he went out, did his business, and wanted right back in. Of course, he was then crazy with unspent energy. So, I set-up the cones in the living room and front entry, and practiced loose leash walking. His reward was tug, as I have less problems with Sheila that way. This helped burn-up some of his energy with moving and thinking. He did a really nice job overall. However, Sheila wanted to play this new-to-her game. I OBVIOUSLY haven't practiced this with her. She did somewhat okay until we got to the front door. She has always equated the leash with a walk outside. When we hit the door, she stuck her nose to it, and wouldn't move. I did get a nice sit, rewarded her with praise and a good ear rub, and worked Charlie a bit more. She followed us around, but didn't behave badly or get in the way. Guess I need to get her used to working on a leash INSIDE.

Nice Practice Today!

Last night, I worked on healing with Charlie. Since he follows me around anyway, I combined minimal targeting with capturing. He's starting to get the idea. I clicked/treated in place while moving when he was in the correct position with full eye contact. It seems to be working - including tight 180 corners. Based on trying several learning methods for heal, this seems to be working best for this particular dog.

Both dogs got to work today. As is typical, Charlie got more time than Sheila, but she has some time limits at this point anyway. If you work her too long, she shuts down, so I keep it short with her. We set-up the coffee table and a few other items to make a holding area in the living room. This meant that both dogs could see each other, but left 10 feet between the holding area and the working area. Then, I worked both dogs alternating every 20 minutes or so. I'm going to list by dog as its easier for me.

Charlie:

1. Shaping going around a cone 10 feet away while I sit in a chair. We're getting it, but its hard for him. He's NOT good at the going away part. This is a VERY clingy boy. Once you get him moving, he does pretty well. No where near being able to add a cue, but this is awfully hard for him. I admit, I did cheat. He already knows an informal "go"/"go around" command, and I used it several times to keep him moving. I am going to teach clockwise and counter clockwise behaviors, so need to decide what to call them. I may go with herding commands, as they already exist.
2. I was able to shape a fairly stylized "bow" behavior with paws between feet/nose to ground in just a few minutes. I'd like to refine this a bit more before adding a verbal cue, but this is coming along nicely.
3. Relaxation behaviors - a LONG way to go on this. However, I really think I'm going to have to move to a verbal marker to work on these - at least at first. The clicker gets him so excited, that he tends to be "on alert" the entire session.
4. Distance for sit/down - This again is hard for Charlie. Anything with distance is difficult. I worked with him in the holding pen with me pretty close (~3 ft away). He's getting it, including a drop down instead of a folded down. I really want that drop down at a distance! Looks like we may actually get there.

Sheila

1. Interaction with a cone: This is hard for Sheila. However, not only was I able to get a nose touch, but she knocked it over with her paw! I've had trouble getting a paw to even move, let alone target. Nice!
2. Find it: I threw a handful of treats across the room. She had to sniff out all of the treats. Good work for her, but something she's not very used to.
3. Sit/down: When I taught Sheila these originally, I never worried about distinction between the two. Right now, you get a sit for the first command, a down for the second command, and down on her side for a third command. Doesn't matter which command you use, that's what you get. I'm trying to get her to relearn these with full discrimination. She doesn't need to know the difference, but its good mental work for her. She's getting there, but it may take a while. She's had 12 years of history of no discrimination!

Missed Items from Yesterday's Blog

In speaking with our trainer last night, I realized that I missed a few items in the positive category. Charlie has also learned to paw target, wave, high five, and touch a piece of paper pretty much wherever you move it. He also learned to walk through a revolving door - he did bang his head once! He's also got his bite inhibition to a really nice level during play. I can now play tug while holding his teeth! He's learned to "give" his toys during play as well.

I believe I had an insight last night into some of Charlie's reactivity. Sheila has jumped him once or twice during training to snatch his treats. Its been some time since the last event, but I noticed how hard he worked the night before last when I used a tug as the reinforcer instead of treats. The difference was amazing. She's not in the least interested in the tug toy, and he showed no anxiety at all. He worked his tail off, too. She just laid quietly with no restraint because there was nothing in it for her except praise for staying put. Now, I just have to figure out how to work through this. I really think if we can get it under control at home, we'll have a big head start next time we go back to school.

Update After WAY Too Long

Charlie has come such a long way since I last posted (REALLY bad owner).

Positive Changes

• Goes to most strangers without hesitation (he's still having problems with large dark skinned people)
• Greats almost everyone (except me) nicely (see above comment)
• Plays well with kids and new lighter skinned adults (including my brother who plays ROUGH)
• Interacted nicely with an older white man with a cane
• Learned a top notch sit and down with duration (including turning my back, walking away 10 feet, praising Sheila, coming back, walking around him with a toy, then release to play tug)
• Learned a really nice general recall with limited distractions
• Learned to file his own front nails on a board
• Learned left from right paw on physical cue
• Learned a fairly consistent loose leash walk
• Perfected his rescue recall - its AMAZING - even with treed squirrels!
• Played and interacted in the house and back yard really well with a puppy dumped behind the house while I placed the puppy
• Worked for 1.5 hours on greeting/going to matt/behaving nicely/showing off tricks while getting oil changed with GREAT success (anticipated a 30 minute visit)
• Taught G'ma and G'pa to play tug at his command (I got this stopped - at least he took the initiative to play with adults!)
• Works in class within four feet of a known dog - further distance is required for new or other reactive dogs

In Progress

• Targeting with back paws with goal of filing own back nails
• Working towards a stay with duration with me out of sight
• Healing (just starting)
• Standing front (almost ready to add a verbal cue)
• Walking stop (just starting)
• Watching me more than things around him
• Working through Sue Ailsberry's training levels while not in school (allergies have kicked-up again)

Goals

• Creating a second emergency recall to a whistle (shouldn't take to long to transfer)
• Working towards minimal reactiveness (or at least controlled behavior) around other dogs while on leash
• Starting CDSP and/or APDT competitions in the next year
• Having a friend work with Charlie to develop more trust and teach him that others can work with him, too
• Perfecting , crisping up, and generalizing all of the items in the first two sections

Side Notes

Charlie did all of the above even though I was sick for a month in November.

I was able to meet the Animal Care and Control officer who removed Charlie from his abusive home. He wouldn't tell me much other than it had been one of the worst situations he had ever been involved in. However, when I asked some specific questions (i.e. I think XX must have happened to this boy) - he confirmed most of what I guessed - really nasty.

Sheila has starting shaping!!!!!

Charlie is now out of school for a while. The food he has been eating was changed, and now he's itching again. We're changing his food to grain free and raw, but its going to take a while to completely switch. Until the itching is under control we're only working at home. We're doing longer, more focused work at school, and I can't have him learning he can break stays to itch! However, he's doing really well at home with duration!