I could use some help establishing expectations about Lilly’s ongoing struggle with anxiety. Living with a fearful dog can be a day-to-day, minute-by-minute thing, and I’m used to that. However, I’m trying to get a grip on what I can and cannot expect going forward as well as what shifts in dog behavior matter at this point.
Come May, Lilly will be 8 years old. That means we’re 7 1/2 years into her fearful dog reality as a member of our family and a good 5 years since we saw a major shift in her fearful behavior as she reached social maturity (around age 2 – 2 1/2).
In summer 2008, 8ur dog behavior modification work (combined with dog anxiety medications) got underway in earnest (after a couple of years of trying herbal and other scent-based remedies). This includes the Dog Relaxation Protocol MP3 files for which we are now famous for recording and providing FREE downloads.
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Stick with me, kids, while dipping into cognitive psychology, because the brain retraining touted in this book mirror and helped me better understand the dog relaxation protocol.
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The Relaxation Protocol for Dogs audio files we created remain one of our most popular fearful dogs resources on Champion of My Heart. Perhaps it’s time to revisit how this behavior modification plan for dogs works.
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Despite having ZERO time to read for pleasure lately, I’m making my way through a sheepdog book that our herding trainer recommended. It’s called Talking Sheepdogs: Training Your Working Border Collie (by Derek Scrimgeour).
While the book primarily deals with training a working / herding dog from puppyhood, I figure its good to know things from the ground up.
I still have a lot more reading to do (even though it’s a short book, just 128 pages, with lots of illustrations and diagrams), but here are two things I wanted to share.
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I sometimes wonder if I’d ever deliberately adopt a truly fearful dog again. Truth? I didn’t know what I was getting myself into with Lilly. Still, I cannot imagine missing out on all the amazing things she taught me about not just dogs and dog training / dog learning theory but also about life and love, relationships, and finding (perhaps) my true calling.
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Lilly has been off the xanax for a month now. While at first report, she showed no ill effects, drug withdrawal, or behavior problems. Things may have changed … and NOT for the better. Lilly had a rough few days last week.
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Yesterday, I reported on What Went Well in Lilly’s second herding lesson. Here is a recap of what didn’t go so well.\
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Last Thursday, Lilly and I hauled ourselves out to Valdemar Farm for our second official herding lesson. This I know … I’m probably the worst goatherd on the planet. Lilly loves bossing goats around.
Because no one could come with us and because we don’t (yet) have a TV crew following us around (ha!), I have ZERO video to show you. I did take a couple pictures, and I’ll again to my best to convey the outcome.
Today, I’ll explain what went well. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you what didn’t go so well.
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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.
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Sing it with me, kids. I’m a woobie. He’s a woobie. She’s a woobie. Wouldn’t you like to be a woobie too? (Look at me dating myself again, with an obscure 1970s Dr. Pepper reference.)
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Posted by Roxanne Hawn | Posted in Dog Brag, Dog Life, Dog Musings | Posted on 02-06-2010
A few weeks ago, one of Tom’s friends dropped by to chat. The boys stood out front for their conclave, and Lilly decided that Tom’s friend was her newest, very best friend. That’s quite a breakthrough for my fearful girl.
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