skip Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 Sounds lovely. You must work very hard so you can bproud of you too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Kisses Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 That's such a wonderful update!! Go Thistle and mum!! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Best Dogs! Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 We went to bunnings last night! It was no big deal at all. Walked in, asked for item locations, still struggled to find items (literally right in front of me), Thistle was quiet but not overly uncertain or shutdown. She did start walking faster when a big guy with a trolley was going past so we moved over. Didn't try to get the muzzle off, grabbed our stuff and left (she walked a little faster when someone was throwing big heavy things into a car as we passed which made big banging noises. But she didn't bolt or freak out) Will be trying different muzzles tomorrow as it looked too small, sent a photo to head trainer and he agreed. Haven't put it on her properly since getting it so hadn't noticed. I think one more size up, hopefully. All in all, afterhours weekday bunnings isn't a big issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Best Dogs! Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 Yay he got it!!! Well done Justice!! He was so ready to sniff those boxes!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Kisses Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 Aww, Justice looks so happy! We had our first outdoors class last week too. In the hall next to us some kids were running around playing loudly, and a boy actually ran into the search area at one point. Malcolm did not care about the ruckus at all, he just wanted to continue his search. So some nice counter conditioning happening with both Justice and Malcolm this past week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taliecat Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 He's so keen to get to those boxes! Go justice go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottsmum Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 Love reading all the positive NW related posts (well - positive posts full stop). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Kisses Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 How's everyone going? We have an appointment with our VB next week to discuss an alternative to Trazadone. The relaxation protocol is going well: we're currently on Task 8. Otherwise Mal's been a bit up and down. And Taliecat, just wanted to say that if he knew who inspired the crate fairy visits Malcolm would be sure to thank you. Sometimes I wonder if he's listening when I yammer away about dog stuff, but Mr PK has taken it upon himself to be the crate fairy (a task he loves, lol) and last night he was watching a TTouch video and practicing ear slides on Malcolm. It is adorable. He also has a great aim so whenever Mal is relaxing in his crate, small morsels of food are spontaneously lobbed in out of nowhere. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Best Dogs! Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Guys! We did a Stand for Exam! IN CLASS. It wasn't actual testing but WE DID it. She kept her feet still, wasn't worried by trainer (did sniff approaching hand) and hand was run down head and back. Very proud of her :) She did it twice, too. Although second time she shuffled her feet a little but this isn't competition obedience, this is life style "not everything is scary" obedience. She also did sits and drops in circles with other dogs and me at a distance and people weaving between her. She did get worried when a water bottle was thrown past but was very good and didn't break. She was also very good at a literal strangers house while we played tetris with my car and a tank. I'm actually kind of confident to ask if we can test for the next level? Dog tetris: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottsmum Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Yay! Go Thistle and Thistle's Mum!!!! :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Kisses Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 :cheer: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Kisses Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Had our appointment. We are going to trial Gabapentin. It's mainly used for pain relief so it will be interesting to see if/how Malcolm responds from that perspective too... he keeps hurting his back whe he moves beyond his usual range of motion of being crouched up with anxiety. On the plus side, Malcolm is being moved up to Task 10 of the protocol tomorrow, and is being matched with another local dog to work on dog reactivity. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Best Dogs! Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Woah! Task 10!! Go Malcolm! Fingers crossed with the local dog activities :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Best Dogs! Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 (edited) We were back at bunnings today! 45 minutes. This time I pushed a trolley around. Thistle was not fussed by the trolley and I think it helped her be less alarmed when other people went past us with trolleys. She hid (stood) behind me a lot* and turned her back to people. Only one non-staff asked about her, nobody else gave a shit :laugh: except for a very small toddler who was DOGGIE but her dad guided her back to her kid's trolley. Thistle kept to her heel and ignored them. I had Thistle on the hands free lead the whole time (attached to my belt). She sniffed a lot of things and was very curious about pots and hoses XD I needed help finding things, most of the staff just ignored her. One guy made kissy noises but backed off when I said she's timid and here to build confidence so just ignore her. Same checkout lady as last time who remembered my vet joke. I think the check out is the trickiest bit, because we get a bit hemmed in but the trolley of stuff makes a great barrier for her. We almost got out scot free (after passing small child) when a staff member saw us and got excited like the kid did. Except, yknow, faster and louder and directly at us from behind. Thistle didn't bolt though! She skittered in alarm and went behind me (fair enough I jumped too!) but recovered and didn't attempt to run. The lead didn't go to it's full length! It helped the lady stopped her fast approach with an "oh a scaredy cat!!" as I was swinging the trolley inbetween and didn't push more but we kept moving away and out the door. I'll have to keep an eye out for the lady next time O_O gave us both a surprise! Thistle though, recovered very well and we continued walking with a loose lead - she didn't try to lead me in a rush out or flinch around. She was quiet, but not tense-shut-down-quiet, more new-place-worried. Didn't bolt, didn't freak out, didn't attempt to slip collar, didn't attempt to bite lead in half - was just alarmed for a moment and recovered :) Recovered so quickly I didn't even have time to get angry or alarmed myself! XD *I have been reinforcing this, which backfires on teaching the stand, but I am still reinforcing it because it gives her something to do when uncertain. Edited August 25, 2016 by Thistle the dog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Kisses Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 Lol lol lol So tomorrow we start our course of reactive dog sessions (waves to Corvus). And tonight we pass by another small reactive doggy, Malcolm giving a look of concern but concentrating on his sniffing, the other dog working on sitting and paying attention to his human after initially arcing up, and both of us calmly praising our dogs for being wonderful little boys. Then he came home and did multi-storey zoomies (well, it is wet out there!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taliecat Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 How is Malcolm doing on his gabapentin PK? I just took my morning dose of it and it reminded me to ask :Rolf: I think Malcolm and I started it around the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Kisses Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 (edited) When he's resting he seems more relaxed, but he's also more energetic, sprightly and playful the rest of the time and I think happier too. However, he's also been more reactive recently so we're trying to work out whether that's linked with the Gabapentin. Our VB has never seen that reaction, usually it makes dogs better or does nothing. If it's not the Gabapentin it might be related to him recently hurting his neck (pain decreasing tolerance) and the time of year bringing more dogs past our house on walks: the small white fluffies a few houses up have been yapping more too. Not that Mal yaps, he does the dog equivalent of swearing, but the SWF'ies do a great job of alerting him to potential issues. He's also seems hungrier in that he's eating his food faster again, being a bit of a food pest and chomping at my fingers in non-relaxation training (painful!). This too is a reaction our VB has never seen, lol. Edited September 2, 2016 by Papillon Kisses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Best Dogs! Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 Maybe his anxiety was affecting his diet so now that he's a little more relaxed he's eating more? <-Theory based off T who eats less when extremely worried :laugh: How did your course go? :) He's doing so well, but I feel like I've not seen any photos of him in awhile? :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taliecat Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 Gabapentin makes me eat everything in sight apparently that's a normal reaction! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Kisses Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 (edited) Which course? We finished Intro to Nosework two weeks ago, that went great. He's a lot more confident now and has moved onto Intermediate. The dog reactive stuff is not until this afternoon. :) His anxiety used to affect his appetite in the opposite way to Thistle! He ate everything immediately and very very fast. He became more relaxed on Prozac and decided it was ok to leave his food. Here's a cute photo from the other week. We were playing LAT in the cemetery with a young exuberant border collie who was playing fetch. That's a biggie for him as he can get compulsive about chasing and barking at dogs playing fetch. It's like he's fetches them, then trots back all proud of himself and excited to go again. It's probably his favourite game, especially when it's German Shepherds he's chasing, but again, it has a compulsive edge to it. Side note: cemeteries = good places not to encounter any dogs except those under effective control! Anyway, after playing LAT he dove through a bush and came out like this. HIS EYES SLAY ME. This is his puppy dog eyes for sausage look. :laugh: (You should follow us on Insta for more photos. I've only recently started using it but I've basically made my account his. :laugh: ) Edited to add that I get embarrassed posting pictures as I have no idea how to resize them on my phone, and that's where all my photos are! Edited September 2, 2016 by Papillon Kisses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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