August 2012 -- Day Two

It's a challenge working with two boys at once. There is a lot of competition for resources so, when you are trying to get both to sit, you usually have one who pops up and the other one follows. It's much easier to work with them individually to teach them the skills before working with them together. Otherwise, we might be here forever waiting for both boys to sit and hold it while I open the door for them.

So I've separated them out at mealtimes so I can teach them proper manners while I'm preparing their meals. All meal prep stops if he gets up. Kiko is figuring out very quickly to put his bottom back down when I stop preparing his meal. He LOVES to eat (note the blury tail in the photo).

Even if Kiko is the worst offender, we want Poni to be very good at this too because, if he slips up and jumps up, Kiko is sure to follow. Timing is important. As soon as his rear leaves the ground, that bowl goes back on the counter. And, as soon as his rear hits the ground again, I can pick up the bowl and start to give it to him. In the beginning, I'm going to try to move pretty fast so they are successful but, as they get better, they should be able to easily hold that stay while I calmly put the bowl down.

 We're continuing to practice Poni's skills that will help him get out of situations when needed. We do this while we are getting him warmed up to other dogs. We did a lot of work with new dogs behind closed doors, through glass doors, and through baby gates.

Kiko is learning to walk nicely on a leash. I start out luring him so he gets the idea. I'm not going to use a lure very often, maybe just during high distractions and in these very beginning stages where is doesn't yet know what "let's go" means. At times, I work with him without a leash. I want him to really understand that "Let's go" means to walk nicely beside me. The leash should merely be a safety devise. I'm working with him separately so he has the skills before we start walking with him with Poni.

And poor Poni...I had the gates Poni proofed so now he can't sneak into Kiko's training sessions.

This will help too when we are working with new dogs. He has no problem with my dogs which makes Sinbad happy.

So back to leash skills. I'm going to have Kiko sit before we start and any time we stop. It's not a hard fast rule, I just want him to learn that we are consciously doing something on the leash, not just walk all Willy Nilly all over the place.

I'm going to reward proper positioning (where his ear is lined up with the seam of my pants). It's not that I want him to precisely be in that position at all times. It's just that I know, if I reward him when he's a little bit ahead of me, he'll eventually end up a few more inches beyond that and next he'll be pulling on the leash. If I keep my rewards where I would ideally like him, he's more likely to be at an acceptable position without pulling me.

Very common with puppies! Especially bouncy puppies. I don't reward him when he's leaping like a rabbit. I just make sure I'm always rewarding when he's on the ground in the proper position. Sometimes that means getting my treat down to him really quickly and delivering it low so he's not jumping up to get it. But the more I'm able to reward him, the quicker he will learn so it pays off to deliver that reward in a manner that does not promote jumping.

Ok, now it's Poni's turn. It may be Poni proofed but we have to interrupt this behavior to keep in Kiko proofed.

Poni feels very smug when it's his turn...

August 2012 -- Day One

The boys are back in all their terrier glory! So good to have them back!!

Kiko was his usual social self, happy to meet new dogs and play with everyone.

Poni was a little nervous with the new dogs. He was fine with the dogs he knew and warmed up to them right away, but the other dogs, that might take a little longer.

We can go slowly with Poni. Seeing the other dogs from afar and getting use to them from a safe location seems to work well for him.

And Kiko? Well, just put him in the middle of it and he's a happy boy.

Poni is still happy to play and have a good time. Signs that he is feeling much more comfortable with strange dogs.

 We started right away working on the sit for greetings. Poni was happy to show off his skills in this area.

 I'm really careful with Kiko to make sure I pull the treat back if his feet or rear come off the ground.

And I'm very quick to reward when he does it correctly. If I wait at all, it will be harder for him to understand what I am rewarding for and he may try something else if he doesn't think the sit is working for him. That means I have to be pretty fast because he's a quick little guy.

We can apply the same concept to the door except that, instead of treats, I'm opening the door. Every time their rears come up, my hand comes off the gate. This can be a real challenge with two dogs because you may have to delay the reward to get both rears on the ground. Practicing individually will help a lot.

It's so nice to have the boys back! Did I say that already?

July Day Six -- Wrapping Up

It's hard to believe this week is almost over and it will soon be time to say goodbye to the boys. They are so sweet and they have been so much fun to have here. They both have worked hard all week (and played hard too).

Helping puppies grow up into nice, healthy adults takes time, patience, and consistency. They need to know when they are doing something right so they will more likely repeat that behavior. It's clear they are already off to a good start by the happy response they have when they are praised. It seems like such a simple thing but it really goes a long way with them.

Interrupting inappropriate behavior before they do is ideal. Do you see that glimer in his eyes? He's thinking about doing something naughty. Not really naughty, but probably not anything we would want him to repeat. Catching him before he commits is much easier.

Once he's already doing the deed, you can still interrupt but he may already be getting a reinforcement for that behavior and it's just that much harder to redirect him.

It's the same with Poni's reactivity. Catching him when he's just barely noticed the other dogs instead of when he has already started lunging and barking is so much easier and more effective. Once he's started barking he is already at a hightened state of arrousal and it's much easier for him to react again.

Give him plenty of time and avoid forcing him towards something that is scary for him.

The boys will be missed. We can't wait until they come back!

July Day Five -- Progress!

I absolutely love watching their little brains work. It's so satisfying to see progress every day and to remember what they were like in the beginning. Sometimes it can be challenging to raise puppies but all the hard work you put in in the beginning pays off in spades.

Poni is playing with my dogs and interacting with them just like he does Kiko.

Poni and adjusted to my dogs at his own pace and we took things very slowly. A lot of his comfort level with them is through habituation. He's been around them enough that he's naturally learned that there is no threat there and he's developed a comfort level with them. This doesn't mean that he will be comfortable with every dog he meets but it should help him add to the info he has about dogs and that they are not all scary.

The combination of improving skills (like coming when called) and getting a little more use to other dogs helps give him more coping skills.

Right now, if he starts to lunge towards an unknown dog behind a barrier, I can say "no" in a calm voice and he will retreat and go find a toy. He gets tons of praise when he does this and you can tell he's so much more calm about it. He wags his tail with a loose, wiggly body and tries to initiate play. All very good signs. This is not to say that he won't sometimes bark and lunge but he has more skills and options to choose instead of that behavior.

In general, both of the boys are so good about responding to verbal redirection when they are doing something they arenot suppose to be doing. Always, lots of praise when they change their behavior to something appropriate. What good boys!

I am also using their recalls if they are doing something they shouldn't be...

And both boys are coming very enthusiastically.

We're making sure they have a nice balance too. It's not all about work. Play and doing dog things are very important to a well rounded puppy.

Kiko had a hard time keeping his feet on the ground for his sit so we had to set criteria for him. When I lured him into his sit and held the treat there until all feet were on the ground.

The second all four of those feet are on the ground, it gets marked with a "yes" and he gets the treat. He's a quick study and it didn't take him long to figure out what he needed to do to get the treat. Smart little cookie...

All worn out. Another day of hard work and play. I think he's wondering if he gets a vacation after this...

July Day Four -- Tools in our Toolbox

Both the boys are developing really nice recalls. I love the recall because, if done right, it can be such a fun and exciting thing for the dogs to do. That makes it a very nice tool to use to help out with reactivity, distraction, etc. If you are walking your dog on leash and there is something ahead of you that will either distract your dog or cause your dog to react...

Say their name and "come" and back away really quickly. This is a fun and exciting way for dogs to interact with you which can help get them out of a bad situation but also help to change their association with something that causes to be fearful.

Once you are ways away from the distraction, you can then work on attention. Practicing this a lot in non-stressful situations helps to make this tool sharp and ready to use when needed.

Because while Kiko accepts new dogs very well, Poni is still reacting to new dogs he meets (although he is much easier to redirect and the barking is at a lower intensity and duration).

Kiko participated in Puppy Playgroup today and had a great time! He met new friends and played really well with everyone (and did great recalls out of play!). Poni sat this one out. He's met a lot of new dogs this week so we don't want to flood him. Sometimes people think that saturating a dog in the thing that makes him fearful will help but it tends to backfire on people. He's doing really well with slow introductions and now he seems very comfortable around my labs (even playing tug with Sinbad today).

The boys, as they are affectionately called, are doing really well together. I've made sure, though, to work with each puppy alone and also given them separate play times in addition to their together time. Neither one seems attached in an unhealthy way which is great! That can be a big problem with puppies raised together who never spend time apart.

Poni knows how to beat the stress with a little bit of play. I've even noticed when he's stressed about a new dog behind a barrier, he'll bark, I'll interrupt him and he'll go grab a toy and run around. Nice way of coping!

Kiko just plain loves to play. If only he could figure out how to get this ball in his mouth, all would be right with the world.

Kiko's making progress on his downs. He's doing them much faster and we've weaned off of the lure. He's a busy little guy so sometimes it's hard for him to pull it all together but it doesn't take very many repititions before he gets in down (so to speak).

Oh, and Poni too. He loves learning and enjoys practicing his downs. And besides, look how cute he is...

Both dogs have figured out checking in pays off. It's ok if they are just after treats right now. A big part of what we are doing is conditioning them to like the behavior. It won't be long before they will still love to check in with you even when you are not giving treats. It's really handy to have a reactive dog who is pretty keyed into his people. Much better than a reactive dog who is more keyed into the dogs around him.

I almost forgot to mention, Kiko got lots of really good socialization in today with kids during the Puppy Playgroup. Once again, he's happy to greet the world.

It makes a guy thirsty...