I've tried to catch you up on Pooh's progress, but haven't provided a lot of specifics so let me give you some journal notes from February 2011. Keep in mind, she had lived with us for 8 months and been on medication for 2 months when these were written.
-Put Pooh in her room, went puttered in garage, returned to get her, definitely anxious, didn't touch peanut butter
-overall tail wags! prances and likes love
-still really nervous in all doorways
-sits before outside, before getting in car etc, going really well- AMAZING how she is less scared of door simply because we tell her OK, like she knows it won't slam on her
-got Tug-A-Jug yesterday, bit of interest today, but not producing for her-trying to find mind/energy burners (bad weather)
-doing meds "in your room" loves pill pockets! in your room still hesitant, but lays in there and waits for me sometimes...so I bring more treats...she training me?
I told my co-worker that I was stuck again with Pooh and we talked about some of my struggles, like always, she had an idea and told me about Help for Your Fearful Dog: A Step-by-Step Guide to Helping Your Dog Conquer His Fears by Nicole Wilde. I read about it a bit online and decided it sounded perfect for Pooh. On a Friday in late February I got Help for Your Fearful Dog: I got it on my Kindle because I couldn't find a physical copy in town and I had some time on my hands. The book is over 400 pages and I absorbed nearly half of it in a weekend. There is SO much information and it's a book I refer to over and over because as Pooh progresses I use different sections or try another step in section we worked on before (wish I had bought it in paper). In the book Nicole did a wonderful job breaking things down so it isn't one size fits all. She explains how to identify different anxiety levels and adapt early stages of training based on your dog's reaction to situations. I realized that while I had the right ideas in how to deal with Pooh's anxiety I was not starting at a low enough training level for her. For example, her issues with strangers were so strong that I needed to start at a distance (literally) watching people in the park, letting them walk past us on other side of street, without any approach or contact at all. I didn't even know what the first stages of training should be until I read her book. If you have a dog like Pooh GET THIS BOOK and read it. One of my favorite take-aways from the book...don't be polite to people who insist on trying to pet your shy dog. Tell them your dog bites if they won't listen to a polite no. When I tell people not to approach/pet Pooh they say things like "dogs like me" and try to chase her down. Since reading this book I am VERY clear with people.
One day in March my husband and I were running errands and trying to figure out how to work through our next hurdles with Pooh. We looked at the DAP room plug ins ($50+/-) and some herbal remedies because we needed to attend a surprise birthday party out of town in April. Taking Pooh wasn't an option for this trip. My husband didn't want to experiment so we decided to go see our vet and talk to him. We didn't even bring our dog...just two people who we out of ideas and beaten. Dr. Erion talked to us about the fact that there had been NO DESTRUCTION in two months and what a huge victory that was. We agreed, but told him that we were feeling trapped and that her threshold was so low we were unable to utilize training tools I had learned from the book. (The threshold idea is that if the anxiety gets too high you have to stop/bring it down because the dog can't handle/isn't benefiting. If someone stopped by our house Pooh was done...probably hide in her room for rest of day.) He told us about DAP collars (different brands, we used Calming Collar) and we found that those calmed her quite a bit to allow us to bump up training or function in daily life. We used them for a couple months to get through the out of town birthday party, a June vacation, and July 4th. After fireworks ended we didn't buy another one. They last about a month, make the dog a bit more sleepy/relaxed than normal, but aren't intended for permanent use. I will certainly consider using again in the future though if needed. It seemed to be money well spent and ok to add along with Pooh's medication.
Shy Dog class was another huge leap for Pooh. Annie Ingersoll, the trainer at Willamette Humane Society developed a class that specifically targets dogs like Pooh. It's a small class that teaches skills to help work through the issues these dogs have. I think my number one take-away from Annie's shy dog class is that teaching shy dogs tricks is actually USEFUL. It gives them something to do instead of focusing on anxiety. For example, if I need Pooh to wait patiently and there is a stranger near us we'll do some Sit Pretty, Stand, or if room allows, Spin so that she is busy and not focused on factors that would stress her. I had previously discounted tricks because Pooh had so many issues I didn't want to spend time teaching tricks. Annie teaches the humans tricks too. The best trick Annie taught me was not to "baby" Pooh...get to her "puff up", be proud of herself, and confidently take pats to help build her confidence. (Consider the difference in how a parent would talk/interact with a newborn compared to a teenage boy.)
-Put Pooh in her room, went puttered in garage, returned to get her, definitely anxious, didn't touch peanut butter
-overall tail wags! prances and likes love
-still really nervous in all doorways
-sits before outside, before getting in car etc, going really well- AMAZING how she is less scared of door simply because we tell her OK, like she knows it won't slam on her
-got Tug-A-Jug yesterday, bit of interest today, but not producing for her-trying to find mind/energy burners (bad weather)
-doing meds "in your room" loves pill pockets! in your room still hesitant, but lays in there and waits for me sometimes...so I bring more treats...she training me?
I told my co-worker that I was stuck again with Pooh and we talked about some of my struggles, like always, she had an idea and told me about Help for Your Fearful Dog: A Step-by-Step Guide to Helping Your Dog Conquer His Fears by Nicole Wilde. I read about it a bit online and decided it sounded perfect for Pooh. On a Friday in late February I got Help for Your Fearful Dog: I got it on my Kindle because I couldn't find a physical copy in town and I had some time on my hands. The book is over 400 pages and I absorbed nearly half of it in a weekend. There is SO much information and it's a book I refer to over and over because as Pooh progresses I use different sections or try another step in section we worked on before (wish I had bought it in paper). In the book Nicole did a wonderful job breaking things down so it isn't one size fits all. She explains how to identify different anxiety levels and adapt early stages of training based on your dog's reaction to situations. I realized that while I had the right ideas in how to deal with Pooh's anxiety I was not starting at a low enough training level for her. For example, her issues with strangers were so strong that I needed to start at a distance (literally) watching people in the park, letting them walk past us on other side of street, without any approach or contact at all. I didn't even know what the first stages of training should be until I read her book. If you have a dog like Pooh GET THIS BOOK and read it. One of my favorite take-aways from the book...don't be polite to people who insist on trying to pet your shy dog. Tell them your dog bites if they won't listen to a polite no. When I tell people not to approach/pet Pooh they say things like "dogs like me" and try to chase her down. Since reading this book I am VERY clear with people.
One day in March my husband and I were running errands and trying to figure out how to work through our next hurdles with Pooh. We looked at the DAP room plug ins ($50+/-) and some herbal remedies because we needed to attend a surprise birthday party out of town in April. Taking Pooh wasn't an option for this trip. My husband didn't want to experiment so we decided to go see our vet and talk to him. We didn't even bring our dog...just two people who we out of ideas and beaten. Dr. Erion talked to us about the fact that there had been NO DESTRUCTION in two months and what a huge victory that was. We agreed, but told him that we were feeling trapped and that her threshold was so low we were unable to utilize training tools I had learned from the book. (The threshold idea is that if the anxiety gets too high you have to stop/bring it down because the dog can't handle/isn't benefiting. If someone stopped by our house Pooh was done...probably hide in her room for rest of day.) He told us about DAP collars (different brands, we used Calming Collar) and we found that those calmed her quite a bit to allow us to bump up training or function in daily life. We used them for a couple months to get through the out of town birthday party, a June vacation, and July 4th. After fireworks ended we didn't buy another one. They last about a month, make the dog a bit more sleepy/relaxed than normal, but aren't intended for permanent use. I will certainly consider using again in the future though if needed. It seemed to be money well spent and ok to add along with Pooh's medication.
Shy Dog class was another huge leap for Pooh. Annie Ingersoll, the trainer at Willamette Humane Society developed a class that specifically targets dogs like Pooh. It's a small class that teaches skills to help work through the issues these dogs have. I think my number one take-away from Annie's shy dog class is that teaching shy dogs tricks is actually USEFUL. It gives them something to do instead of focusing on anxiety. For example, if I need Pooh to wait patiently and there is a stranger near us we'll do some Sit Pretty, Stand, or if room allows, Spin so that she is busy and not focused on factors that would stress her. I had previously discounted tricks because Pooh had so many issues I didn't want to spend time teaching tricks. Annie teaches the humans tricks too. The best trick Annie taught me was not to "baby" Pooh...get to her "puff up", be proud of herself, and confidently take pats to help build her confidence. (Consider the difference in how a parent would talk/interact with a newborn compared to a teenage boy.)