Week Four: Anti-depressant update

Last Sunday, at our class, Lilly was PERFECT. And, I mean perfect. Not a single snark at another dog. She thought about it a couple times, but didn’t react. And, she was spot on in her training.

Her fast downs at a distance were a thing of beauty. I tried verbal cue only. Perfect. I tried hand signal only. Perfect. I even looked away and just waited, and she still dropped down at the spot we were targeting. I had to laugh. She seemed very pleased with herself. So, I told her, “Well, now … you’re just showing off.”

Keep in mind this is pet dog obedience, not competitive obedience or agility, just basic commands that Lilly already knows for the most part, but the goal with these classes is to keep her working in some capacity around other dogs and people. Her job is to stick close to me, work hard and not snark, snap or growl at any of the other dogs no matter what they do. My job is to keep her working and focused on me and to give her as much space as she needs from the other dogs.

So, here are a few of our victories …

When we first arrived, a boy on a skateboard zoomed by with his small dog pulling him. Generally the skateboard and the fast-moving small dog would trigger Lilly. I got her quickly focused on me, clicking and feeding for watching me. She did look over her shoulder, and I could tell she wanted to react, but I just said, “I see it. Watch me.” So that she knew I knew she noticed them, and then refocsed her on me.

While the other dogs play a bit before class to burn off energy, Lilly and I hang out outside the fenced training field. Two of the big male German shepherds were wrestling and making noise. Twice, Lilly shot to the end of her leash toward them, but she didn’t bark or growl, and her intent seemed more to make those rowdy boys settle down. But she didn’t flip out. I just called her back to me, and we walked away. She kept looking at them, but she would refocus on me when I asked.

During our recall exercise, one of the big shepherds (Conto, whom I adore and trust) mosied away from his handler and ended up right in front of Lilly. I’m at the other end of the training field, and I had just called her to me, when his big behind ended up right in her path. She didn’t respond. She just looked away from him … I think, hoping he would disappear. Then, when he moved away, I called her again, and she came right to me. I suspect a bit relieved to be away from the group.

While we were transitioning from one task to another, Lilly looked at Conto, smiled and even wagged her tail a bit. He was heeling a bit behind and to her right. Generally, if she seems nervous, I’ll move her to my other side, but she seemed fine, so I let her stay there, and they walked back to the training field in pretty close proximity.

There was one other close call when a classmate and her dog approached us after I’d loaded Lilly in her crate in the back of my car, but I stepped in and blocked for her with my body and the tailgate, and she didn’t react.

So, is that progress? I don’t know.

Just now, on our walk, a big truck pulling a long horse trailer rumbled past us. The trailer banged a lot over the washboard of the dirt hill. It was LOUD, but Lilly didn’t flinch.

The only other item of note is that Lilly actually came inside without incident quite a bit this week. She’ll still slink away when I ask her to come in, but if I ignore her and she comes to the window or door and asks to come in, then when I open the door she comes in just fine. I know it sounds silly, but we’ve been having a lot of trouble with that. See the Ever Worsening Recall  for details.