Earlier, I shared some new dog behaviors that cropped up after we dropped Lilly’s evening dose of chlomipramine. Others of more concern began to worsen as the levels of meds in her system dropped for real after 6 weeks on a lower dose. So … we’ve decided …
As part of our dog product review of the KONG Braidz Monkey, I asked for interpretations of Lilly’s body position in one of the photos. The answer appeared later in the week in Wordless Wednesday: Third Time is a Charm.
What indeed looks like an appeasement gesture (lifting one paw) is a precursor to Lilly gearing up to be her bossy, border collie self. She often throws calming signals BEFORE and AFTER being a complete snot to an ever-patient (or ever-oblivious) Ginko.
Observe.
On the advice of our behaviorist from Colorado State’s veterinary school, Lilly has taken both chlomipramine and xanax/alprazolam twice a day, every day, since summer 2008. We didn’t just drug our canine heroine, though.
Helping Lilly better cope with the “scary” world at large also required hard-core behavior modification work spanning years. This includes the Relaxation Protocol, which provided the basis for everything we do for and with Lilly via training.
We’re what you’d call “early adopters” of the Music to Calm Your Canine Companion from Through A Dog’s Ear. I first wrote about it in fall 2008 for a boarding kennel trade magazine. So, we’re so pleased to let you know that Volume 3 is now available. That means we can have 3+ hours of uninterrupted relaxation music in the house.
(My CD player only holds 3 CDs at a time.)
Truth? I use the music as much for my stress as I do for the dogs’. Not kidding. Especially on days when I’m uptight (hmmm …. always?) or on deadline, I’ll pop the CD’s on and set the player to repeat all.
The lower, slower, simpler music arrangements spoil me. These days I find other music somewhat overwhelming, but that could just be my own stress train speeding across the plains of my existence.
With all the herding excitement, I haven’t had time to report on our recent trip to one of our drop-in, advanced dog training classes before xmas. We really, really wanted to see Gigi Moss (our awesome dog trainer), so on the first official day of our holiday break, we hauled ourselves up to Boulder for class.
That was December 22. It wasn’t entirely pretty.
Various family demands mean more time off the mountain than usual, of late. That, along with the fact that I’m STILL coughing a full three weeks after getting sick, have resulted in a very boring time for Lilly. She adjusts to fetch-only or cuddle-only days, but clearly Lilly needs more.
Despite the germs (which linger, I’m sorry to say), I took Lilly on a little outing down into town last weekend. We went for a short walk. Lilly scaled rocks and walls. She even practiced a little shopping etiquette. Here is how it went.
Years after we tackled the Relaxation Protocol ourselves (both the one by Dr. Karen Overall and the one our own behaviorist prescribed), it remains one of the top reasons people come to Champion of My Heart. Pretty neat, huh? So, I decided to revisit a couple of the common questions I get about our Relaxation Protocol work.
If you are new to our site, please check out the MP3 audio files to make doing the Relaxation Protocol easier.
In week 6 of the 2010 Never Shock a Puppy dog blog campaign, we discuss the special cases of training a fearful, reactive, or “aggressive” dog. Unlike the other topics so far in the campaign, this one is harder for me to summarize.
Every dog is different. Every situation is different. So, my fall-back reminder about doing any rehabilitation work or training with a fearful/reactive dog is this:
You cannot change how a dog behaves until you change how she FEELS.
We ask our dogs to LEAVE IT all the time. It’s a handy dog training cue that essentially means “Let it Go.” Ignore that food on the ground. Stop fixating on that squirrel in the tree. Don’t snark at that other dog. Yes, I know he’s being rude, but keep on walking. We ask, and if we’ve done all the groundwork, our dogs often comply. They let it go. They move on.
I know! Do not fall out of your chair. We actually have some dog-training updates to share. I cannot even begin to describe what’s what behind the scenes that continues to keep us from our regular progress. BUT, I have two out-in-the-world updates this week.
Our friends at PetFinder.com chose this week to promote “less adoptable” pets. So, the girls of Champion of My Heart will take this opportunity, once again, to tell you about Charlie … a fearful border collie in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, who needs a new, child-free home.
Yesterday, I spent a chunk of my day hiking and talking blog strategy and content with Amy and Rod from GoPetFriendly.com. They’ve arrived in advance of BlogPaws West (a pet blogger conference in Denver this week). They were nice enough to drive their RV up to the open space park just 2 miles from Chez Champion of My Heart. And, the three of us — plus their German shepherd (Buster) — went for a hike.
Because we’ve had less than zero luck trying to use BAT (behavior adjustment training) in the real world with dogs (because the ones we run into have their own issues), I tried doing a little BAT work with Lilly and this one black-and-white horse who loves to run out and follow us (along the fence line) on our walks.
Do not faint. We actually have dog training news to report. For the FIRST time since February 3, Lilly and I went to our advanced pet dog training class (drop-in) last Sunday. It’s a miracle. I know.
