Posts filed under ‘Socialisation’
Nipping, Mania and Buffy.
Side Profile.
We were warned by Tracey that things get worse before they get better. Phoenix has been quite “nippy” over the past few days so we’ve stepped up the rewarding all good behaviour routine. She now knows “Sit” and “Stand” and is learning “Off” (to get off the furniture).
She has to be monitored and offered things to do all the time she’s awake, otherwise she gets bored. So we keep trying new things with her and make sure the plastic bottles keep a-coming. Luckily, Phoenix is sleeping a lot and is also easy to calm down. The manic episodes after the evening meal have begun, but we’ve found getting her to sit and then rewarding her, brings her back down to earth again. It must be frustrating having all that puppy energy but not being allowed to romp around outside for longer the ten minutes at a time, as otherwise your legs go wonky and your hips fall off. It’s the Uber-Suck as Buffy would put it.
The Language of Pooch.
Today, Phoenix met Indi again. Phoenix is under socialised with other dogs and hasn’t learnt canine body language/etiquette yet. She has the rather unfortunate habit of staring dogs directly in the eye, which is a bit of a no-no. So, spending six hours with Indi was useful because she was taught a few things about hanging out with her compadres.
Some canine dos and don’ts. (OK, mainly don’ts)
DON’T climb on top of a larger, slightly grumpy dog who happens to be lying down at the time.
DON’T bite the tail of a larger, slightly grumpy dog who happens to be lying down at the time.
DON’T stare at a larger, slightly grumpy dog who happens to be lying down at the time, she will just ignore you, or get up and walk away, then ignore you leaving you slightly bewildered.
DO take notice when another dog growls at you, it probably means trouble.
This Cat Does Not Want Your Friendship…
Tulip.
Back to the vet’s on the 20th for the second and final vaccination. More cuddles, biscuits and general fuss made of her. The vet checked on Phoenix’s ears which were giving off an odd smell. Appears to have been a very mild infection, the ear drops cleared it up in 48 hours. This means we can take Phoenix out properly for short bursts in a weeks time. Hurrah! No other problems reported.
Midge - Furry Anarchist.
Phoenix has discovered the joy of pushing open the bedroom door – she’s not allowed in either bedroom, but the door of the main one doesn’t close properly so she’s learnt a new exciting game of “push open the door and try and steal an item of clothing off the bed and chew it to smithereens”. It’s like a little explosion of happy, wagging life everytime she does it. It doesn’t help that this is the cats hang out, and they are most put out by this wagging interlocutor. Solution: a hook and eye to keep the door secure during the day.
Midge (she who must be obeyed, top cat and all round East End bruiser feline) is becoming increasingly bold around Phoenix. So far we have had two swipes and a number of guttural whines from cat to dog. Phoenix knows the cats mean trouble but they are just oh so irresistible. This will only end in tears. Mark my words. Why are the bad ones always so fluffy???
Heel, toe, heel, heel, toe.
Alert.
Training to walk to heel has been going on for about four days and Phoenix is beginning to get the hang of it. She’s still over stimulated by the outside environment so it has to be a balance between letting her explore new things and keeping her attention on Tim and the walk. Best way around this has been to walk her at dawn and dusk when there’s less info available to her and she can can focus on the task in hand. However, there were still enough stops to investigate badger and fox trails.
Phoenix has graduated from her PVC blue baby collar* onto her first proper clip collar which is doing the business with the flexi lead making heel training easier because it was impossible for her to ever pull on the lead. So Phoenix has the freedom to move around and the choice of coming back to walk to heel without getting into a tangled mess.
Flexi leads aren’t normally advised for training purposes but for heel training it’s proving to be invaluable.
*actually it’s soft felt but it looks like PVC.
Parrots, Petting and Popularity.
Phoenix and Tim.
Another trip around town in the sling. Phoenix was a huge hit in the local pet shop. Over a dozen people of all shapes and sizes came up to speak and pet her. One person said she liked the way Phoenix’s skin was so loose – we explained that she still had a lot more growing to do… More great socialisation experience – as usual she greeted everyone like a long lost friend, despite the towers of dog chews, pigs ears and assorted canine ephemera, she remained remarkably well controlled. We tried to introduce her to Jethro the African Grey parrot but he was more interested than she was.
Return of the Party Animal
At large.
Today’s puppy party was thrown by Tracey B. the “Puppy Guru” lady. She is very cool, and kept a crowd of eight eager pooches under tight (but gentle) control. Tracey is a strong advocate of positive training methods, she’s an animal behaviourist and a member of the International Positive Dog Training Association. Her brand phrase is “respect, kindness, harmony”. The basic principle is you reward every piece of good behaviour and ignore or interrupt any undesirable ones and NEVER punish your dog.*
Tracey also works with violent teenagers using the same techniques so, respect due!
Apart from a spaniel, Phoenix was the largest dog there, this didn’t stop her getting out and about and pressing the flesh though- she was polite and enthusiastic and remarkably self controlled. She did struggle during the early part of the party, as the dogs were let off the lead one at a time over the two hours, for around ten minutes.
No problems in the car – now definitely established as the provider of good things and the vet as her favourite place EVA!!!
*I love the fact that nothing is ever the puppy’s fault, it’s always the owner who’s to blame for not thinking ahead. It’s a very “oy vey iz mir” approach, but it works.
Gotta love those ears!
Love those Ears!
First ride in New Sling.
Did we mention the baby sling? Well, it came a few days ago, and today we took Phoenix out to our nearest town, Torrington, as part of her socialisation programme. Phoenix can’t go on the ground until her second set of injections have taken effect.
Not many people around, the wind was strong and she found this a little disconcerting – ears a-flapping. We met a labrador and human friend, after checking his vaccinations were in order, they had a brief interaction which went well for everyone.
Today was also the day Phoenix discovered the joy of empty plastic milk bottles. Despite an array of expensive designer dog toys, she prefers to hurtle around with an old milk container in her mouth. This must be a variation on the “kid prefers the cardboard box to the toy inside” routine.
Ice is Nice.
Walking on Water.
First journey around the land – we live on five acres of land which is planted up with around 1900 trees and shrubs. There’s also a river and a woodland. This was the first time our pond had frozen up – Adam took a chance and walked out into the middle. Phoenix decided it looked like fun and slip-walked her way out too, causing mild heart attacks all round. The words “hip dysplasia” and “astronomical vet bills” echoed in our heads as Phoenix effortlessly glided over the ice. Luckily, she soon wandered onto land again.
Phoenix is more or less toilet trained now – apart from an occasional accident. It’s been the use of the crate that has regulated her bladder,we were unsure about the whole crate thing as it seemed like we were caging her up, but she has found it a place of safety and comfort, retreating whenever she needed to. A bit like a den in the wild.
This, along with clicking and treating at the right moment, in the right place, has worked really quickly and really well.
She seems to be a smart cookie this one…but then we would say that wouldn’t we?!
Party Animal
Tim trying out new sling indoors.
First attempts at “stacking” using the clicker and treat method – as a preparation for Phoenix’s big turn in the (future?) show ring…show-biz is calling.
… we had a semi hunger strike on our hands. Phoenix took a look at her biscuit based breakfast and basically refused to eat – where’s the good stuff? Y’know the meaty stuff. Biscuits no longer working as a treat – not cutting the mustard anymore. Luckily we’d already stocked a freezer up with her specialist raw food. We made a 50/50 blend of raw food and biscuit, mixing them up. This was accepted without any problem.
There were only a couple of other dogs at the puppy party – organised by the lovely nurses at the vets in their own time – seven were expected and only two turned up. A springer-spaniel called Sasha (who barked a lot – an unfortunate trick which Phoenix immediately took up as her own. Arf and indeed Arf!). The other party animal was a beautifully trained 14 month old rescue border collie belonging to one of the nurses.
Sasha was quite timid and over-awed by the whole thing and also by Phoenix’s confidence and bouncy demeanour. Phoenix and the collie had an intensive play session and as usual she gave as good as she got…
Sleep update: not much of a problem, a bit of a howl at night but then all is well.
Chewing: oh, the chewing! We have been following the advice of Ian Dunbar (“Before and After Getting Your Puppy”) who says you should allow your dog to bite you in order to give appropriate feedback as to the intensity of the bite, so they can gradually soften the bite pressure. This is called bite inhibition. She seems to be softening her bite: only mouthing gently…
Car Frolics.
Phoenix, Indi and Annabel
Phoenix met Meg, our neighbour’s border collie as well as Eric (our nearest neighbour and Meg’s human companion). Tim took Phoenix out in the car for four very short runs to desensitise her, this, combined with nibbly treats, led to a calmer and more accepting attitude, Phoenix has started to associate the car with good, rather than bad things.
Belatarr Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla. 