Wilson’s update:
Wilson’s been wearing a calming collar and it seems to be helping with training progress. (I don’t know if these have long term impact, but they can be $15 well spent during tough times.)
Wilson sleeps in his crate at night, is learning to actually return the ball properly when he fetches
Cornered the little cat and got his nose bloodied two days ago
He’s made a few new friends, including our house sitter
Pooh’s update:
Pooh is back sleeping in her own room because she would not sleep through the night
She spends quite a bit of time whining and howling (beagle) when she hangs out with Wilson during the day. He doesn’t seem to notice the whining or howling and I’m hoping he doesn’t pick up these habits.
Though we’ve made a lot of great progress on little things our goals for Wilson are still pretty much the same:
Minimize/understand reactivity with strangers (neighbors and reflections in windows too)
Interactions with Pooh positive
Able to get in the pickup or car…get to vet
Stop eating the beds
Progress in their interactions from this week:
Pooh and Wilson play! Yep, if you know Pooh it’s tough to believe, but we watched them run big circles in the back yard. They’ve been working on their game of hide and seek in the hedge and have no progressed to great big happy loops around the back yard with Pooh’s tail curl that only happens when she is having major fun playing.
A big moment from this weekend occurred when weekend we were sitting around in the living room and Pooh sat down by a bone and started chewing on it. Wilson watched her and I could see the wheels turning while he struggled to make the right decision. He wanted to growl and take it from her, as he has done every time with every toy or bone that she even looked at (fortunately she lacks interest in toys and bones), but this time he didn’t. We monitored the situation, gave him positive attention, and he kept to himself until she was done with the bone. He watched her, but it wasn’t the cold stare he had used before. That seems to be a pretty good indicator of how things are settling down…now if we can just get him to stop biting her neck at inappropriate times.
Wilson’s been wearing a calming collar and it seems to be helping with training progress. (I don’t know if these have long term impact, but they can be $15 well spent during tough times.)
Wilson sleeps in his crate at night, is learning to actually return the ball properly when he fetches
Cornered the little cat and got his nose bloodied two days ago
He’s made a few new friends, including our house sitter
Pooh’s update:
Pooh is back sleeping in her own room because she would not sleep through the night
She spends quite a bit of time whining and howling (beagle) when she hangs out with Wilson during the day. He doesn’t seem to notice the whining or howling and I’m hoping he doesn’t pick up these habits.
Though we’ve made a lot of great progress on little things our goals for Wilson are still pretty much the same:
Minimize/understand reactivity with strangers (neighbors and reflections in windows too)
Interactions with Pooh positive
Able to get in the pickup or car…get to vet
Stop eating the beds
Progress in their interactions from this week:
Pooh and Wilson play! Yep, if you know Pooh it’s tough to believe, but we watched them run big circles in the back yard. They’ve been working on their game of hide and seek in the hedge and have no progressed to great big happy loops around the back yard with Pooh’s tail curl that only happens when she is having major fun playing.
A big moment from this weekend occurred when weekend we were sitting around in the living room and Pooh sat down by a bone and started chewing on it. Wilson watched her and I could see the wheels turning while he struggled to make the right decision. He wanted to growl and take it from her, as he has done every time with every toy or bone that she even looked at (fortunately she lacks interest in toys and bones), but this time he didn’t. We monitored the situation, gave him positive attention, and he kept to himself until she was done with the bone. He watched her, but it wasn’t the cold stare he had used before. That seems to be a pretty good indicator of how things are settling down…now if we can just get him to stop biting her neck at inappropriate times.