Despite a seriously lagging motivation after 2+ weeks recuperation time, following Lilly’s rattlesnake bite, we soldiered on with our behavior modification work. Here’s how it went.
Encounters during neighborhood walks
Each morning this week, Lilly and I went on our usual walk. As we rounded the first corner each day, we encountered our usual 2 barking dogs. I always cross over the road to give Lilly more lateral distance from them, and I feed her constantly as we pass. I’m happy to report that I did not have to shovel food at her every second. I could hand a treat over every 5-10 seconds. So, that’s progress … I think.
Her face and her body seemed pretty relaxed, and when she went in to full open mouth, smiley face, I would add on lots of verbal praise. That usually makes her prance and wag.
Thursday morning, we also saw a neighbor drive by twice with her 2 dogs in the car. They were both sticking their heads out the window, clearly looking right at Lilly. One barked at her the whole time. BUT, she just ate and ate and ate. She didn’t show any sign of wanting or needing to bark back or growl or whatever. HOWEVER, she was being very shark-like in taking her treats. My thumb is still sore … but that’s a small price to pay for a mid-level success during an unexpected encounter. Lilly was clearly worried and uptight, but I just keep giving her fists full of food.
Return to behavior modification work
We’re doing our sit-stay work again, just once a day until I feel like Lilly is up to more. She got this funny look on her face Monday like “Oh, we’re doing that again?” But, she dutifully stayed as I went through the various tasks. We’re working in different rooms and even outside. I’m happy to report that Lilly did well, even in the Kitchen, where we were having trouble a few weeks ago. Granted, I’m totally avoiding the scary window, but still. The worst I saw this week during actual work was a slight lean forward.
So, it seems no harm, no foul, after the snakebite and hospital terror. She seems to be back on track.
I’m looking forward to getting out of part 2 of the plan and into some of the people work that will precede dog work. Hey, we might actually get to leave the neighborhood once in a while … then again, the weather is getting cold. Brrrr.
This all sounds like good news. I know that I’ve mentioned this to you before — but my dog tends to make breakthroughs when *my* motivation is lagging. I think that I put less pressure on her which somehow frees her up to try new behaviors and strategies. Maybe the same will happen with Lilly!
I’m so glad that she’s mended sufficiently to start some training!